Living on the Lone Side

Chapter 3

Boulder stared at the night sky. Countless stars seemed to be looking down at him. With a shiver, he knew that his parents was staring at him from the stars, waiting for his chance to say something. But what...?

Boulder sighed. He hoped the others' parents would come to them in their dreams. He didn't even know if Shadow would come to him...he doubt that. Moss and Minnow were the younger cats, and his younger siblings. So Shadow should appear in their dreams.

Still, to actually see his father for the first time sparked a father-son relationship. He wondered why he never seen Shadow...he'll probably ask Shadow after he seen Moss and Minnow.

"Boulder? Are you ok?" Ivy slipped beside him and bumped her head against his shoulder. "You seemed stress today," she said. She sat down beside him and lifted her face to catch a breeze the blew toward them.

"Beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Ivy whispered. She glanced at forest and added, "Lets get back inside. It's going to be cold tonight." Boulder nodded and followed her inside.

Moss and Ember were curled up next to each other. Ember lifted his head when they entered. He gave a small snort before falling back asleep.

Boulder followed Ivy to the back of the den. There, she curled up and fell asleep. Boulder sat laid next to her and breathed her sweet scent. The scent overwhelmed him, and he drifted off the sleep.

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

Boulder sat in a sandy clearing. He blinked, then looked around. The clearing was surrounded by thorn bushes. Standing up, Boulder trotted to on of the thorn bushes.

Something flashed out of the corner of his eye. He whirled around, ready to defend himself, but something crash into him.

He hissed, and battered at his ambusher's belly. The ambusher reared up and hissed. Catching a glimpse of her, Boulder realized the attacker had gray fur and unusually blue eyes.

Hissing, the she-cat limped to the other side of the clearing. Her eyes glimmered with amusement. "Flight was right," she purred. "You're always alert." Boulder dug his sharp claws into the ground. "And I will do anything to protect myself and my friends," he growled.

"Let me introduce myself," the she-cat said. She walked up to him and sat down, drawing her tail close to her chest. "My name is Feather. I am Shadow's mate, and your mother." Feather purred and licked her son's ear.

Boulder's eyes grew round. This was her mother? She was smaller than him! Feather purred. "Surprising, I know," she said. "But you are right, I am on the small side." She glanced down at her body and shook her head.

"That is not why I have come," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Shadow had left out some, well...details. I've come to tell you that what he meant last night was the Skytrail...did he tell you about this yet?"

Boulder shook his head, suddenly interested. Shadow was fading away about the time he reached to "Skytrail". Feather nodded her head. "Ok, the Skytrail was used by many cats. Of course, you'll probably hear many different things cats call them these days.

"The Skytrail leads to...well now, I can't give everything away, can I?" Feather flicked her tail, eyes shining with mischievous.

"Just find the Skytrail," she said after a few seconds. Boulder fell silent. Skytrail? Was that like...somewhere in the sky? It sure sounded like it! Feather seemed to read his mind.

"You'll see what I'm talking about," she sighed. "The Skytrail is on the places where sun kisses peak good-morning and good-night. Be quick or you all..." Her voice trailed away, as so did her body.