Running From The World

Chapter 9

A leaf-fall breeze blew through the long blades of grass and flower stalks, making them dance in the wind: the way the breeze blew the grass looked like the wind was blowing a cat's pelt the wrong way. Some fields were filled with tall golden stalks of grass and others where the crisp hay had been were rolled up in cylinder-like shapes by big field monsters with sharp gnawing fangs. The river moved along placidly, sheltered slightly from the wind in the hollow it flowed through.

A tortoiseshell pelt stalked through the thin trees that lined the river, there was barely any undergrowth or bushes to hide in so the she-cat walked extra quietly on her toes, careful not to step on a fallen leaf or twig. The scent of robin touched her nose and she skilfully tracked the red-breasted bird to a young beech tree.

The tree was quite slim and only looked like it could hold a light weight, when Amber Flame attempted to climb the pale bark tree the robin sensed her quickly, fluttering up to a higher, thin branch which was out of the tortoiseshell's eager grasp. With a grunt she gave up on the bird and fell back down to the ground, it's brilliant coloured chest puffed out teasingly. Un-victorious, the tortoiseshell trudged to the forest, disrupting some of the red-hued leafs that scattered the ground but her expression couldn't care any less.

That was the thing that annoyed the she-cat about the territory. It was all very open, with sparse undergrowth to hide in or thick aged trees to climb. However much she wasn't fond of the place, Amber Flame knew that herself and Ferret would be moving on within a few days. It had taken a while for her to make up her mind wether or not to travel with Ferret, but over the past moon the brown and white patched she-cat had been quite enjoyable company; and considering she had no where else to go, it was an obvious option, though it had seemed to loom above the tortoiseshell's head at first.

Padding along the brook Amber Flame had settled for minnows after her unsuccessful huntings all morning since dawn, and which it was now almost sun high. The slippery prey was not her favourite if she had to admit, and the small shiny scales often felt weird on her tongue, but they were easy enough to catch and would at least quiet her hunger for a little while.

The sun shone directly overhead by the time Amber Flame reached a prey-filled nook in the river, however, the sky was anything but blue. Light clouds swamped the sky so the sun's rays didn't warm the tortoiseshell's dark pelt, but she was grateful that rain wasn't on it's way anytime soon.

Small dark shapes flittered under the clear surface of the water, and Amber Flame sat back a little so she wouldn't cast a shadow over them. With a dainty paw she swiped like a flash of lighting into the river, spaying herself with a few droplets. Her claws hooked into the fish's soft flesh and quickly pulled it up out of it's habitat before it could escape her grasp. It flopped helplessly on the thin grass that surrounded the river; the fish was so small that all Amber Flame needed to do to put it out of it's misery was place a paw hard onto it's flank until it stilled.

After a few hours of waiting for the fish to return before snatching them up again, Amber Flame had managed to catch two minnows out of the four she had been hoping for, but in return of the two she missed the she-cat had surprisingly caught a sauger with her amateur skills.

The minnows had been a measly meal and barely took up much of her hunger. However much her belly craved the sauger, the tortoiseshell knew it would be respectable to share it with Ferret, considering the short she-cat had done most of the hunting for both of them over the few days when Amber Flame first woke into consciousness.

Ferret has been so compassionate towards me, I really owe her one, she purred at the thought happily, reflecting on all the kindness she had shown the tortoiseshell despite her being a complete stranger to her at first. All the hassle I caused her to take care of me I'll make back up to her. She's been way more nicer to me than-