Living on the Lone Side

Chapter 2

Boulder felt himself running through a damp forest. Puzzled, he skidded to a stop. He was for sure that he was lying in his nest, asleep. Had he gotten outside to patrol the area for dangers, or was he...dreaming?

No he thought. I can't be dreaming...can I? He looked around, trying to get a bearing on where he was. It was simple. In a forest. A very damp forest. With...electric blue mist? No, that wasn't right! He was defiantly dreaming.

There came a faint whisper. Alarmed, Boulder glanced uneasily at a clump of bushes next to him. He back away, then turned tail and fled.

He stopped to catch his breath, and as he was resting he realized he had ran into a mossy clearing. A small maple tree was in the middle of the clearing. He padded to it.

As he neared the tree, he saw a shape standing below it. Boulder stopped. The shape faded. Cautiously, he crept forward and glanced around the tree. No sign of life. He collapsed to the groan.

As he was resting, he saw a shadow flicker next to him. He turned and yelped in surprise. Standing next to the tree, peering down at him with smoky gray eyes, was a large black cat.

The same kind of electric blue mist twirled and danced around his paws. Stars glimmered in his pelt, and he would glance at a berry bush some feet away.

Uhh...what should I do? What should I say? That was the first thought that flashed in Boulder's mind. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the large black cat silenced him.

"I understand you are surprised," he said. "But there are too many unanswered questions for me to tell you. The first thing is, do you know who I am?"

Boulder squinted his eyes and stared at the cat. He was strangely familiar...then it hit him like a cold wind slapping his face. This cat was standing next to his mother in the memory!

The black cat nodded as if he read Boulder's mind. "That's correct. I am your father, and your mother's mate. But I have came to tell you...you mustn't explain this it your friends, understand?" Boulder nodded his head, curious.

"This place is called Starland. When good cats die, they come here. Bad cats go to this place called Darkland. Me, your mother, and your friends' mother and father are all here." Boulder's mouth came open. My mother! He thought. She's here!

"You can't talk to her right now," Boulder's father said. "She is busy. And you may call me Shadow. If you don't know this, your mother is Feather. And back to the topic...

"We have seen you suffering. All of you. We have been searching for a place to stay, and we have found one...but we can not tell it to you individually. Just follow a trail that will lead you to your new home."

"Can you at least give me a hint?" Boulder blurted out, desperately. Embarrassed, he looked down at his paws. "No," Shadow said firmly. "Follow the trail...Skytrail..." Shadow's voice faded away, his body too. "Wait! Don't go!" Boulder wailed. But it was too late. Shadow was gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Boulder woke up to feel something hard prod his side. "Come on! Wake up!" A voice hissed. Boulder scrambled to his paws and shook the moss from his fur.

Sitting next to his nest, Minnow had a deep scowl on his face. His sleek black fur was shining, his gray paws working on scooping up moss and letting it fall back to its place again.

"Finally! I thought you were going to sleep forever!" He snapped. Before Boulder could defend himself, Minnow said, "Come on. Ember wants us to hunt before everyone is awake."

Ember? When will he stop being so bossy? But even if Boulder was jealous that he wasn't have to give order, he was thankful that Ember was doing the job. He was fierce and aggressive, which made him perfect for the job. Other than that, he was the most skilled of them all.

Boulder shook the last scraps of moss from his pelt and following Minnow out the den. Minnow flicked his tail to a small dip next to one of the trees root, about the size of a bowl. "Place the kill in there, Ember wants us too." Then he pointed with his tail to the right side of the clearing.

"I'm hunting on this side," he said. "See you later." Then he bounded to the other side of the forest. Boulder bit his tongue, unaware of what to do.

Hmm...let's start on this side of the first. With the clumps of bushes and seeds, there should be plenty of prey here... Boulder bounded to a nearby honeysuckle bush.

He sniffed around it, and at once caught the scent of a blackbird. Staying low to the ground, he crouched and crept silently around the bush.

He saw the blackbird pecking at the ground. It seemed to have not detected Boulder yet. He paused, calculating where how far he should leap. He crept closer. The bird didn't notice. He pounced.

The blackbird spread its wings and was about to call a warning call, but Boulder was fast. He bit the back of the blackbird's neck and felt it's body go limp. First prey done, now try to kill two more.

Since the den wasn't far, Boulder picked up the blackbird and padded to this small bowl-shaped dip among the tree's root. He dropped his kill and scampered off to find more.

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By the time the sun was rising, Boulder had killed a mouse and a sparrow. Happy and proud, he padded back to Towering Oak.

As he emerged from behind a blackberry bush, he saw Minnow. "Hey! Watcha catch?" He called and ran toward his younger brother. Minnow scowled, which was hard to do because his mouth was full.

He dropped his kill on the ground and proudly stared at it. "I managed to catch a rabbit and a mouse." He said. "This is the best we ever found!" Boulder nodded his head in agreement.

They carried their catch to the small dip and dumped it there. They then walked into the den. Boulder paused to stretch before walking in the comfortable den.

The air smell fresh and warm with the scent of his sleeping friends. He saw Ivy, who was washing her fur. The soft rhyme of her tongue soothed Boulder. He sat next to her and began to clean his tail.

"How's the prey jumping around out there?" She asked between licks. "Good, good. Me and Minnow caught enough for everyone," Boulder said between licks. "That's great! We'll finally have some food after ages!" She said, purring.

Boulder nodded and as he starting to clean his face, the dream flashed back in his mind. Boulder stopped licking and grew worried. He glanced at his friends.

How can he not tell them that something was wrong? Would Shadow come to them in dreams? That seemed less likely. Maybe their parents would come to them while they were sleeping...

"...coming?" Ivy called. Boulder jump and stared blankly at his mate. "Fresh food?" Ivy asked again, tilting her head. "Oh uh...yes thanks for reminding me." Boulder's fur grew hot and he got up to follow Ivy outside.

Still, Shadow's words will not escape his mind. There must be something I can do to help... he thought. But he pushed the thoughts he had in mind out of his head, and decided to saying nothing.

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I know this one was longer this time. I just felt like Chapter 1 wasn't good so I tried to make this one better. Anyway, good-bye and dink of some cats for meh :D

                                 ~Buddymykitty~