Homes and Purposes

Part One- Dawn

It was a great day for Dawn. She had finally gotten outside! Unfortunately, she only had a little time outside, because she was not meant to be out here, and her owners would come looking for her at any minute now.

Dawn had to enjoy this time while it lasted. She had to do something special, important. She had to do something memorable. Dawn thought for a quick second, lying in the soft, cool grass while she rubbed her paws together in anticipation.

Dawn noticed the forest near her house, and a brilliant idea formed in her mind. She would explore the forest! Dawn slowly climbed the fence that enclosed her backyard, her thoughts brimming with excitement.

She walked up to the fence and placed one paw on it, unsure on how to climb. Dawn had never done it in her house, aside from jumping up her small cat tree. That was nothing compared to the huge, sheer fence Dawn had to climb to get out of her yard. She eventually settled for digging her front claws into the wood, and then digging her back claws in. After Dawn had done that, she hung there for a moment, thinking on what she should do next. 

After a second, Dawn decided to carefully unstick one of her foreclaws from the fence, move it up a little, and then do it again with the other paw. Then she did her back legs. Eventually, after a lot of trial and error, Dawn made it to the top of the fence. She rested there for a second, because her claws felt like they were about to fall off. 

Suddenly she saw her owners running outside in search of Dawn. Her owners were frightful creatures. They had long, spindly legs, pink skin, and long, spidery paws. They also had no skin anywhere but their head! It was frightening. They looked nice in a way, but her small self thought they were scary.

Dawn landed with a whump!  On the pavement outside of her yard. Dawn hesitantly walked forward, taking in the world for the first time. She marveled at how big and wonderous it really was. 

The world was...beautiful.

Dawn was snapped out of her excitement by a loud noise. It sounded horrible, and Dawn jumped.  ok, it was just a... what? A human?  No, her owners didn't make those sounds, and Dawn was assuming no other human made those sounds. So what was it? 

Dawn got her answer seconds later. A giant metal box roared past Dawn, almost flattening her. She yelped, jumping back. The box rolled past her on wheels that were bigger than her. If she hadn't gotten out of the way fast enough...

Dawn shuddered thinking about that. She quickly crossed the giant strip of concrete, and continued on her way to the forest. 

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Once Dawn reached the outskirts of the forest, she stopped. She never knew how creepy  the forest looked from up close. It was dark, and spooky, and barely any sunlight filtered through the leaves. It would be difficult to see in the forest. 

Dawn entered the forest, courage hardening her features. 

I came all this way to go in the forest. If I chicken out now , I won't have accomplished anything. With that, Dawn tightened her jaw and walked in to the forest.

It was as spooky as Dawn feared. As she walked past the skittering bugs and the chirping birds, she began to get unsettled. I should start heading back now, Dawn's mind told her. 

Just a little longer. I want to explore the world. Dawn complied with her mind and continued wandering through the magnificent, scary, and exciting forest. Dawn was awed. Who knew the world was so big?  

Dawn was getting a little hungry. She didn't want to go home yet, because then her adventure would be over. For good. But Dawn wasn't sure how to get food any other way. Food just appeared in your bowl, right?

That's always how Dawn got her food. She wasn't sure there was another way to get food, but she would have to figure out a way. Dawn saw a mouse run under the roots of a low-hanging willow tree, and she smiled. This would be easy prey. 

Dawn crouched low, her hindquarters wiggling in the air, and the stalked forward, rustling the tall grass beside her. The mouse's ears perked up, and it scurried away. 

Darn. I really thought that I could catch it. I guess I'm just not good at getting food for myself. 

Dawn walked away from her hunting spot, flattening grass in her wake. She smiled. Not even failing to catch a mouse could ruin her day! She was outside!  Dawn danced around in circles, overjoyed at the prospect at being outside. Then she realized it was getting dark, and Dawn didn't want to be out in the forest after dark.

Wolves...

Bears...

Owls...

Dawn shuddered. There was no WAY she was staying in here after dark, so she had to start heading home. 

Then the realization hit her.

Which way was was home?

Dawn was so excited that she had forgotten which way she came from. It was rapidly turning nighttime, and Dawn needed to get out of here! She turned around, looking for signs of which direction she had come.

There were the hunting marks, so that meant she had to have gone left... 

No. It was right.

It wasn't either of those! She had come from straight ahead. 

No, she hadn't. Which way had she come from? 

Dawn was scared. At night she normally curled up in her warm cat bed and went to sleep!  There was no way she would do that out here. A bear could just come along and eat her! She looked around and noticed the night creatures were coming out. The butterflies and birds from the day were being replaced by the moths and fireflies of the night. 

It didn't look like the same forest Dawn had entered roughly four hours ago. It looked like the day creatures had gone to sleep, and eerie night creatures had replaced them.

Dawn couldn't stay here any longer. What had been a great day had spiraled down into a horrible nightmare. She picked a random direction and started walking, hoping it was the right direction. Hoping with all of her heart. 

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Dawn had wandered that way for what seemed like hours. There was no way this was the right way. So she turned around and went in a different direction. Dawn wandered through the tall, creepy trees that looked different than the ones in the forest near her home. She continued walking, for what felt like a very long time, but it wasn't until Dawn came across an unfamiliar clearing that she admitted to herself that she was lost.

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(A/N) 

How was it? Do you guys have any suggestions? Do you think Dawn will be able to find her way home? 

If you liked it, please comment & vote! It would make my day if we got at least 15 votes!

TYSM to @thegreatamericanbook for this AMAZING cover!!