Kittypet Clanborn - Tales Unleashed

Like Father, Like Daughter?

Read on to see how a certain black and white housecat came to take in a very young, bright-eyed new kittypet as his own...

Smudge's POV

Chapter 1

Everything around me was exactly as it always was – the sun was shining bright in the middle of the sky, the birds were chirping, the grass below me was green, and the trees that loomed ahead were as tall and strong as they had always been.

At least, for now.

While everything in my immediate earshot and sight was normal, I was still filled with lots of discomfort by the sounds that I could hear from a distance. While all I could see was the forest ahead from the top of my wooden fence, I could also very easily hear the construction that was taking place deeper into the trees – the clacking and creaking of monsters, trees being shredded and falling to the ground, and the loud voices of Twolegs shouting at each other. I still had no idea what they were doing, but I knew that it meant bad news.

Would what they were doing in that forest ever affect me? There was absolutely no way – housecats were never hurt by things like this. But at the same time, I felt a tugging panicked feeling every time it occurred to me that these Twolegs were likely doing work right where the Clans lived – where my old friend, Firestar, currently lived. I worried for him, his family... every cat in ThunderClan, even. There have been times where I've almost considered checking on him... but I'm almost certain that the construction is going on right around where his camp is...

I then let out a sigh, twitching my tail anxiously from my spot on the fence. And if not, it's surely affecting them either way...

I then began to shake my head slowly, giving a shake of my fur before leaping off of the fence and back down into my yard, those nervous thoughts consuming me within just moments. I can't think about this stuff for too long, especially when it's all out of my control, I told myself as I began to pad towards my cat door that led inside, deciding to grab my mid-day snack that my housefolk always laid out for me. It certainly never does my belly any favors... but they always put it out for me... and I always eat it.

But just as I was poking my head through the door, I felt my ears flick as I heard a voice shout from behind me.

"Heya, Smudge!"

I abruptly stopped, backing out of my cat door to see my neighbor, Henry, making his way into my yard. The plump tabby tom was struggled to squeeze his way through a small gap in my wooden fence – an easy passage through Henry's yard to my yard.

But I had to suppress a purr of amusement as I ran up to meet the tom, grabbing his scruff in an attempt to pull him through. Well... not so easy for Henry.

Luckily, my fellow housecat was through the gap within seconds. And just as he always did, he didn't make anything of the struggle and simply cleared his throat and shook out his fur. "Gosh, I don't think I've ever gotten up this early," he murmured groggily to me, stretching out and giving a yawn. "Are ya proud of me?"

I continued to hold back laughter, cocking an eyebrow as I licked one of my paws and ran it over an ear. "Considering you typically get up just a bit before dinner time... sure?" Somehow you always make it sound like being fat and lazy is an achievement...

Henry then gave a snort and a lash of his tail. "Well, with all of those ridiculous noises from the forest ripping my ears apart, I think it'll be happening more often, those darned Twolegs..."

With those words, I suddenly felt another overwhelming wave of worry for Firestar and his Clan – thinking that maybe all of these sounds we were hearing were destroying them at this very moment. Aw, Rusty... it's times like this where I wish you had never left...