Beast of the Sea - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I'll be honest; I could never have imagined the way Aquaflash and I travelled to meet Seastar.

He padded to the back corner of the nursery and dropped me to the ground. As I fell, I glanced around, noting that Moonpoppy had left the den. The bubbling chatter of warriors outside had also silenced, almost as though they knew that something was going on. The only thing I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears as I watched Aquaflash.

His deep blue eyes glittered in the gloom of the den as he began to move the sand away with his mind. He didn't have to even raise a paw; the sand moved for him, almost as though he was its master. I shrank back, pressing my dark grey pelt against the edge of the nursery as I watched the hole in the sand grow larger and larger.

At last, Aquaflash turned back to me. His expression was blank, which terrified me even more. I liked to think I could read cats very well, but when they're body is motionless, and their face is blank, I can't. Frankly, that terrifies me. I almost felt as though I was drowning in Aquaflash's monotonous blue stare.

"Well, Ferretkit," he prompted. "Would you care to drop down into the hole?"

He phrased it as though it was a question. It wasn't. With one flash of his blue eyes, he could transport me wherever he liked. Moving objects was the power he was given when he became an apprentice. All cats gained powers. Well, almost, a little voice in the back of my mind shot back.

I gave Aquaflash a glare before padding towards him on quiet paws. Then, I glanced down at the hole. It looked as though it went down forever and ever. Aquaflash had the decency not to toss me in it, though, even though I hesitated.

"I'm not going in there," I responded at length, giving him a sharp stare. "I get I'm half-clan or something and you all hate me, but I'm not just going to jump into a pit of doom."

Aquaflash scrunched up his muzzle in such a manner that I couldn't tell if he was bemused, frustrated, or thoughtful.

"It's not a pit of doom, Ferretkit," the massive silver tabby responded at length.

Again with the Ferretkit. I swore cats kept saying my name a ridiculous amount, almost as though it was some sort of anomaly. I never really understood why, but hearing it over and over frustrated me. It was almost as though they were mocking my name, or befuddled that that even was my name.

As I hesitated, Aquaflash continued. I'd just like to point out that it is, in fact, very reasonable not to jump into a hole even though the deputy tells you to. I frankly think it's mouse brained how loyal cats are. Aquaflash is following the wrong cat, my darling. A voice rang in my ears, but I had no memory of where I had heard it.

"Ferretkit," Aquaflash sighed. "When you jump down into the hole, you will land in a pool of ocean water. It's salty, but not more salty than the water you jump around in while we're out patrolling."

"I don't go out," I responded almost instantly.

It was true; perhaps it was the way the nursery cats stared at me, or the whispers of my name I heard around the camp, but I mostly stayed in the nursery, watching the outside world from the shadows. Not interacting with it, but seeing, and learning everything about it.

Aquaflash had clearly had enough with my stubbornness, because, with a grand sigh, the deputy padded towards the hole. He shot me a look, and jumped inside. It was a few moments before I heard a splashing noise.

I curled my slender tail around my paws, and let out a long sigh. Then, I followed suit, plunging into darkness.

Wind whipped what was left of my ears, and my heart lurched in my chest for the couple seconds I was in freefall. Then, water came to meet me, and encircled my pelt entirely.

On instinct alone, my legs began to kick, even though my senses were entirely dark. I had a moment of remembering a memory of sorts of when my senses had been dark before, although that time there had been a lot of pain.

I had once asked Stormwing about it, but he had just shaken his head, and turned away. Though, I noticed that fear flashed in his eyes whenever he ever spoke to me after that.

Paws grabbed my scruff, and I unsheathed my claws. I slashed at the shape, and it let go of me with a hiss. Then, I felt rock on my paws, and scrabbled out onto dry, rocky ground.

I stared around, shocked at the world I'd just been plunged into. There were little bits of luminescent lichen glowing bright green in the shadows, and rock surrounded me on all sides. The cavern was enormous, with little winding tunnels creating several hollows in the cave walls.

"Was that really necessary?!"

Turning, I saw Aquaflash rubbing a paw on his thick, fluffy tail. A little bit of blood was running down it. I guessed that I must have hit him when he tried to grab my scruff to pull me to the surface. As I met his frustrated glare, I turned away, not letting myself care.

"Where to now?" I tried to sound nonchalant, but my voice came out high-pitched and squeaky.

Aquaflash flicked droplets of water off of his dripping pelt. "You're going into the Motherocean Cave," he put one paw on my dripping pelt, and used the other to guide my train of sight towards a cave in the far corner of the den.

My heart lurched when I noticed something bright blue glowing out of it. Aquaflash had already turned, and was sprinting towards the caverns in the opposite direction. Judging from how curvy they looked, I guessed that it would be difficult to make it out alive.

So the ominous blue cave it is, then! I snarled at myself furiously. Why can't I have a companion, just one! Every cat seemed to have a partner. Whether it was Dewpaw and Spikepaw, who were partners in crime, or Moonpoppy and Stormwing, who loved each other, or Aquaflash and Silvershine who led the clan above ground, every cat seemed to have someone to lean on. I didn't.

I think I once did. But either that cat is dead, or they abandoned me.

Perhaps if I had someone else in my life, I would understand why everyone saw me as so different. I can read faces as naturally as a cat eats prey, but I don't understand anything about how to live a normal life. Because no cat has ever been there for me.

It's better to be strong than have the most friends, the voice whispered in the back of my head. But even then, I have you, Oceankit.

The voice in my head seemed to talk a lot about this 'Oceankit' cat. I'd like to meet them.

"Are you even coming?"

I nearly jumped out of my pelt as I heard a booming voice from the blue cave. My ears flattened against my skull, but I padded forward, the blue light seeming to glow more and more intensely as I got closer and closer.

When I finally entered the cave, my eyes were watering from the overpowering colour of blue. As I finally padded inside, I realised that the blue was coming from a creature, but it wasn't a cat. No, this was a wolf, one whose eyes glowed bright blue. It smiled at me.

I snarled, taking a pace towards the animal who loomed above me. Questions spiralled in my mind as I unsheathed my claws. Fury overwhelmed me as I bunched my muscles. Then, the wolf spoke.

"Greeting Ferretkit." It stared at me with a faintly bemused expression. "It is I, Seastar." The wolf turned its back on me, then pulled out a rusty coloured crustacean.

"Care for some crab?"