Where I Stray

Chapter 1

Winston was in shock at how large the clearing had been. There had to have been at least a dozen other cats in this clearing. They all stopped dead in their tracks and turned to watch Ember and Winston walk in the entrance.

Some cats were whispering to each other, and Winston knew instantly they were talking about him. Winston couldn't help but feel awkward.

"Who's that?" A young grey female kit squeaked.

"Shhh, Daffodil," An older cat hushed the kitten by wrapping her tail around the kit's mouth. "We mustn't eavesdrop on business that isn't ours."

Ember led Winston up a small rocky path to a small cave that overlooked the clearing. With a flick of her tail, she motions for Winston to enter the cave. Winston limped into the cave, Ember following closely behind him. She jumped up onto her special rock and stared down at Winston.

"Who are you?" Ember wastes no time finding out about Winston. Winston can feel his ginger fur standing up. Ember was scary when she wanted to be. "Why have you decided to intrude into my territory?" Ember had the brightest blue eyes, which was odd for a cat of her color. It was dark inside the cave, but Ember's eyes were shining brightly.

"My name is Winston." Winston mewed. "I didn't know that I was intruding on anyone's territory." He flicked his tail and winced. That Rowan cat really knew how to fight. But Winston felt that he had held his own pretty well.

"Impossible." Ember snorts. "Any cat around here knows not to mess with us or to enter our territory." Ember flexes her paws and her claws show. Long and sharp. She could kill Winston instantly if she had wanted to.

"I'm not from around here." Winston meowed. It was true, Winston had not been from around these parts of the forest. The question was, would Ember believe him?

It felt unlikely.
"So if you're not from around here, where are you from?" Ember asks suspiciously. "Who sent you to spy on my clan." Ember jumps down from her rock and leans in closely to Winston.

"Spy? Nobody sent me to spy. I told you, It was by mistake that I was even in your forest to begin with." Winston's heart began to race. He wasn't sure how he was going to prove to Ember that he wasn't spying on her or her clan.

"Why are you avoiding my question?" Ember paces along the rock flooring of her cave, and digs her claw into the rock.

Winston sighed. "I ran away from my owners, I can't tell you how long it's been since I've seen them, but I've been gone for a while." Winston begins to explain. Ember's eyes widen and she immediately sits on her haunches, ears flicking with curiosity.

"I didn't want to be a no-fur pet anymore. I was tired of living my life the same way every single day of my life. Wake up, eat food from a bag, make dirt in a sandbox, and sleep. So I left. I ventured off, leaving my owners for good, in hopes of living on my own. The mouse I caught was the first time I had eaten anything wild like that. It was actually quite a thrill."

Ember's eyes lit up in amazement, but nodded her head at Winston's story.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Ember asks cautiously.

"Do you know of any cats willing to leave the comforts of their home to live in the wild?" Winston purred with amusement. "I'm a rare breed."

Winston and Ember's conversation was interrupted by another cat who had entered the cave.

"Ember, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Talon wanted to know if he should head out and try to find prey since Rowan and Luna didn't." A Snow white she-cat with blue eyes asked, avoiding eye contact with Winston.

"I guess that would be best. I don't want him going alone though. So why don't you go with Talon, Dove." Ember suggests. Dove dips her head and makes her way out of the cave.

Winston watched as the beautiful she-cat made her way back into the camp, and turned back to face Ember.

"Dove is her name?" Winston asked. Ember purrs with amusement.

"Don't get any ideas. She's young, and aims to please." Ember stretches her front legs out. "There's still the matter of you attacking Rowan and Luna." Ember sighs.

"I didn't want it to escalate that far, and Rowan had attacked me first anyhow." Winston hisses in annoyance. He needed to be careful with how he spoke to Ember. Ember, oddly enough, felt more powerful than Winston actually knew.

"Because you hunted on our land and took our prey." Ember says dryly. "We know what you did, uh, I'm sorry, I don't think I've caught your name." Ember apologizes, but it felt fake.

"Winston." Winston meows quickly.

"Winston." Ember repeats Winston's name like it would magically tell her everything she needed to know. "Winston, in this camp, we are a team. We work together, we fight together, we eat together, and we sleep together. Does that make sense to you?" Ember asks staring at Winston.

"Sure." Winston meows. "At least I think I do anyways."

"We protect each other here, and that is the code we live and love by. Protect each other." Ember mews seriously.

Winston was lost. Where was Ember going with this?   Was Winston in trouble? Now it just seemed like Ember was rambling and it made her seem crazy.

"Winston. I'm going to give you two options."
Ember hops back up on her rock, and quickly washes her face, smoothing her whiskers.

"Oh?" Winston meows confused.
"You can either leave here, leave this forest and never return. That means no hunting anywhere near us, you know the drill." Ember explains matter-of-factly.

"Or?" Winston asks quietly.

"Or, you can prove your loyalty, and join my clan, and protect and serve." Ember blinks at Winston, while he thinks about what Ember had just said.

"Do you honestly think your clan would even want me to be apart?" Winston asks, frowning. He had just attacked two of their clan mates, Winston was probably the talk of the entire camp at the moment.

"I watched you hunt that mouse today. For someone who's not born in the wild, you sure did pick up some skills naturally. We could use you your skills." Ember tail flicks excitedly.

Winston thought about the choices Ember had left him with. He could either leave forever, or stay here and prove himself as a wild cat. The more Winston thought about it, the more the choice became clear.

Winston would stay here. He began to daydream of his possible new home.

"Well Winston?" Ember's voice snaps Winston back into reality. Winston looked around at the rock walls of the cave, and suddenly it too small in there.
"Have you made a decision?" Ember asks.

"I'd like to stay here." Winston mews. It was the best choice for Winston. When Winston had first left his old home, he had saw posters hung up around town with his face on it. That's when Winston had decided to venture further down south into the forest. Nobody ever came into the forest.

"Excellent choice, Winston." Ember smiled, and Winston was sort've frightened by her smile. It was almost sinister like.

"Now what?" Winston asks, stretching his hind legs.

"Now we break the news to the rest of the camp." Ember jumped down from her rock once more, and made her way to the cave exit. Winston following closely behind her.

The sun was beginning to peak through the grey clouds, and from the high ledge that led to Ember's cave, you could see everything.

"Gather around the high ledge for a clan meeting!" Ember's voice rang out and echoed through the camp. Cats of all shapes, sizes and colors began gathering around high ledge. Winston gulped at the sight of the entire clan watching him.

"Today is a day of welcoming. Today we bring in a new member to our clan..." Ember meows excitedly.