Hunters Raven's adventure (short story)

Chapter 6

The cats started heading off again with Pepper leading them.

Raven hoped that they would find at least one cat who would be willing to join the Clan on this journey.

A drop of rain landed on his nose and he looked up.

Gray clouds covered the sky and thunder rumbled overhead.

The six cats were by Nofurplace as rain hissed down harder.

Raven narrowed his eyes against the rain as he noticed a shape moving among the trees.

He flicked Mokey's shoulder with his tail and beckoned towards the shape.

Mokey had been the closest cat to him and she meowed. "Probably just another kittypet. They probably wouldn't want to join us."

Pepper's ears pricked. "Well maybe we could ask them?" She suggested. "Perhaps they know of the Clan cats?"

Raven nodded in agreement as the cats headed toward the shape.

"Hello!" Pepper purred. "We were just wondering if you would like to join us. We are on a journey to find some cats."

The shape moved closer and a low growl sounded.

Raven's ears flattened in surprise. Amber eyes gleamed back at them and a dog stepped out.

It looked about the same age as the one they met earlier.

"Run!" Pepper yowled. She turned tail and ran. Raven dashed after with the rest of the patrol following close behind.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the dog pounding eagerly after them, tounge lolling out of its mouth.

"Quick up here!" A voice hissed above them. Raven looked around and noticed a cat up in the tree.

He noticed that Pepper and Butters had heard because they were already climbing up the tree.

He felt teeth sink into his scruff and whirled around, but it was only Mokey, she had had his scruff in her jaws.

Mokey was heading up the tree too with Violet and Cinnamon following.

A black and white tom was crouched on a higher branch while a tortoiseshell she-cat was on a lower one.

They looked nothing like kittypets. They had no collars nor soft and sleek pelts. Neither looked plump either.

Mokey sat Raven down beside her. Raven noticed that a Nofur had come to fetch the dog.

"Are you cat pets?" Asked the tortoiseshell.

Cinnamon tipped her head to one side. "I'm guessing you mean kittypets? No. We are not." She answered.

Mokey lifted her tail. "Well I am but now I'm traveling with them."

"What Clowder are you from?" The black and white tom asked.

Violet looked confused. "Uhm? Clowder? What is that?" She mewled.

Butters sat up. "We are from Clans not Clowders." He answered. "Whatever that is."

The tom flicked his tail. "Nevermind." He grunted. "You're no threat."

The she-cat scanned the traveling cats. "What are your names?" She asked.

Pepper stepped forward. "I'm Pepper. The brown tabby she-cat is Mokey, the black she-cat is Cinnamon, the siamese tom is Butters, the gray siamese she-cat is Violet, and the black kit is Raven." She introduced.

The tortoiseshell flicked her ears dissmissevly. "Never heard names like those before. I'm Autumn, and this is Magpie." She flicked her tail to the black and white tom. "We live in a Clowder."

"We live in Clans." Pepper explained. "There are eight Clans. RainClan, NightClan, CloverClan, TreeClan, CreekClan, BasinClan, WarrenClan, and TideClan. We are from RainClan. Except for Mokey who used to be a kittypet."

"I see." Magpie meowed. "We have never heard of the Clans before. We have only one Clowder."

Violet's eyes widened. "So that means you don't have to worry about any other Clowders crossing your border?" She asked.

Magpie shook his head. "Nope. Although we do need to stay clear of dogs, foxes, and badgers."

"So do we." Cinnamon sighed. "Anyways, where do you two live?"

Magpie and Autumn exchanged a glance. "Well we are travelers and our home is far away from here." Autumn answered.

"We're travelers too!" Violet gasped. "We are looking for more cats to join our Clan."

"I'm afraid we can't come." Magpie told them gently. "We are on our own journey."

Raven wrapped his tail around his paws. "Have you seen a fluffy orange tabby kittypet anywhere? His name is Laird. We are looking to see if he will join our Clans."

Autumn widened her eyes. "Laird! We know him!"

Magpie nodded in agreement. "Yeah but I doubt he will join you. We asked him if he wanted to join our Clowder several times but he declined."

Pepper flicked her tail. "Nevermind. Can you just tell us where he lives?"

Autumn stepped forward. "Well he lives near our Clowders so you may have to take a train to get there. His Nofurs live pretty far away. The train is beyond the Stonepath over there." She flicked her bushy tail over to where a Stonepath snaked across between the trees.

Butters nodded. "Thank you." He meowed. "We won't forget your help. Hope that we see you around sometime."

Magpie smiled. "We are glad to help." He purred.

Pepper started climbing down the tree.

Butters grabbed Raven's scruff and climbed down after her.

Mokey, Cinnamon, and Violet were next and the cats headed off to the Stonepath.