Outcasts

Chapter twenty-one

Angel woke with a start. Panting heavily, she glanced around her in staccato movements. Only then did she remember what had happened to her. A big tortoiseshell cat pounced on her from behind and dragged her away from her clan, no her family. That’s what she saw the group as, not just a cluster of homeless cats, but a community.  She started feeling that way just after Scar’s passing. However not everyone was taking that approach which worried her. Closing her eyes and letting them glaze over with tears, she took a deep breath and opened them again, forcing the wet droplets to dissipate. She tried to think of what the others would do in her situation. They would probably start by scenting the air to check for familiarities. She opened her mouth and let the damp stale air hit her tongue.  Angel hissed in irritation when she couldn’t recognise anything. She was supposed to be a housecat not a feral. This was not something she was good at by far. Trying a different tactic, she pricked her feathery ears to see if she could hear something. She froze when she heard steady breathing near her. Lifting a delicate paw, she slowly felt the ground around her. It was too dark to see anything and she squeaked when she brushed foreign fur. 

                  “Mm, what?” A male voice grumbled.

                  “Sorry.” She said quickly. There was an awkward silence for a few moments until he spoke again.

                  “You must be Angel.” He said.

                  “How did you know?” She asked.

                  “I don’t recognise you from Gale’s hoard and I heard her talking about kidnapping you.” He replied casually.

                  “Oh.” She said quietly. “Hang on. I can’t see you so how can you tell if you can’t recognise me?”

                  “Smell.” He said flatly.

                  “Oh.” She repeated.

                  “I’m Kimba by the way.” He said.

                  “That’s a very nice name.” She commented.

                  “Thanks, my dad chose it.”

                  “He sounds like a smart cat.” She smirked.

                  “Yeah...” He trailed off.

                  “I’m sorry, did I offend you?” She asked quickly.

                  “Oh no, it’s just my father died when I was young.” Kimba said quietly.

                  “I’m so sorry.” She said and placed a comforting paw on what she hoped was his shoulder.

                  “Don’t worry about it.” He said. “You sort of get used to being alone after a while.” Angel shivered at his comment. She could never imagine living by herself, without the other cats or even her humans.

                  “Where are we?” She asked changing the topic.

                  “Gale is holding us in some sort of badger or fox’s hole. I don’t really know where we are.”

                  “Why are you in here?” She asked.

                  “I was starting to question her actions so instead of killing me which would have lost her big points from her followers, she decided to keep me prisoner instead. Gale and I never saw eye to eye. In fact the only reason I stuck around her was to see Bandit.” He said glumly.