Silenced Nights - wc

KESTRELPAW/14

     "Come on now, Kestrelpaw. It feels better, doesn't it?" I snapped at myself, lifting my leg up a bit, furrowing my eyebrows as a dash of pain ran through my pelt and out my mouth, emitted with a small groan.

     "Nope, it doesn't. Not at all. Like, yep. I mean, no," I hissed beneath my breath, hanging my head low. Hm, who knew that worms and bugs tasted decent when you were in the middle of nowhere slowly dwindling away?

     Will I even go to Shiningclan if I die out here?

     Brushing off such a thought with a tilt of my head I limped along, glancing around for any danger. 

     It was like this for a bit, before I realized something.

     Hm, maybe I shouldn't be walking around.

     "Good idea. Let's rest a bit," I murmured, sending my gaze around until I spotted a reasonable looking bush. As I slowly found my way towards it, dying from the sweltering heat, I observed my surroundings.

     No... seeable predators. I sighed in relief. Or prey. I added glumly, my pawsteps becoming more erratic. Thankfully, it was close by, so as soon as my pelt touched the leafy thing, I attempted to find my way through the sharp sticks that poked out.

     It took longer than I was hoping, but I eventually settled on the ground right beneath its shade, letting out an exhausted sigh, before resting my head on my paws.

     My hunger pounded in my stomach. I needed prey soon, or I would surely die. I wasn't sure if I was ready to join Shiningclan, or if I would even be worthy of getting accepted into Shiningclan. Head resting on my paws, I closed my eyes with a sigh. I began daydreaming.

     Come on, Shiningclan, let some prey run into my paws... better yet, straight into my mouth... mmmhhh...

____________

     Rustle, rustle...

     I jumped up, awakening at the sudden noise. The noise stopped. Heh, heh. Kestrelpaw, you haven't had any prey in forever! You love hallucinating, don't you? Ha, ha!

     But it came again. The slight shaking noise that shook the bush. My heart pounded in my chest as I clenched the ground. I could only imagine what it was- one of those strange cats? Something worse? Maybe even... some prey?

     My mouth started watering at the thought. Even if I wished to hide and stay away, I simply couldn't. I slowly started crawling out of the bush, finding my way to the other side. I saw a scrawny figure, face stuck in the bush.

     They're a cat. Yes, I know that. Odd black stripes, mixed in with a whorl of white, and, lastly, dashes of brown marked the cat. Crookedleg and Larkstem sort of look like them. And Vineflower.

     That didn't catch my eye for long. What did, though, was the thing beside them, at their paws. It was already a miracle they didn't catch scent of me, and an even bigger one that a plump mouse lay at their paws.

     It looked a day or two old, but.... it doesn't matter, I'm so hungry. Saliva dripped from my mouth, running onto the ground as I approached slowly. The cat started pulling themselves away from the bush, sparking a flare of panic in my brain.

     I yanked the mouse up, taking extra care on my leg before I started hobbling away as much as I could possibly hobble. A yowl of surprise and fury came from behind, and I took a quick glance behind me. The cat's fur was ragged and torn, eyes wide and neck distorted looking with an odd loop around it.

     They were frozen, but not until they started chasing me. I wouldn't be able to run. They're obviously going to kill me. They're obviously apart of that group!