Fallen Stars 9-A Sign in the Stars

Sunset crouched in the tall grass, her gaze fixed on a small, stone-gray bird. She tensed, preparing to leap. Then, Sunset heard a meow coming from behind her.

She hissed, immediately thinking, Blossom!

She whipped around, preparing to see the sweet, smiling face of cute little Blossom, but, instead, to her disappointment, there stood Ivory. The voting had led to his staying, so he now slept in the cave that she, Crow and Blaze shared.

"Hello, Ivory," Sunset said flatly.

"Well, then, ahem, what are you doing out here?" Ivory meowed, seeming quite fidgety.

Sunset glared at Ivory. "I'm hunting. What are you doing, Ivory?"

Tension crackled in the air. "I'm just taking a walk. That's a crime around here, I suppose?" Ivory shot back, genuine hurt in his voice.

Sunset felt a stab of guilt for the cat. Who was she to judge him? Who was she to say if he was bad or good? Sunset blurted out, her words tumbling over top of one another, her tone desperate, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to--" Sunset suddenly realized that she'd said too much already. "I mean, okay, then. Carry on with your walk."

"Alright, then. Goodbye, um, Sunset," Ivory meowed. Then, he left, his white figure was swallowed by a thick wall of trees. Sunset walked to the East, walking only about twenty yards behind Ivory. She was heading towards the river in hopes that there would be more prey there.

******

Sunset returned to the cave after an unsuccessful hunt. She had only caught a fish and a mouse. She placed her catches in the small pit that served as a prey pile.

Then, Sunset thought, anger burning inside of her, I would've caught more if Ivory hadn't scarred that bird away. Why did he have to make so much noise? Where was he going, anyway?

Sunset's tail twitched. Then, it occurred to her that Ivory had been away for a while. She decided to ask Blaze if anyone had seen the white tom. As she made her way across the clearing, a little orange ball of fur tumbled into her.

"Canary!" Sunset exclaimed, laughter in her voice. She was quite fond of the sweet kitten. Sunset had always wanted to have kits of her own.

"Hello, Sunset," Canary meowed, trying to sound formal and polite, but obvious joy rang through her mew. Then, the kitten gave up being formal. "Want to play with me?"

"I'm sorry, Canary, but I have to talk with Blaze at the moment. I will play with you afterwards," Sunset meowed. Canary looked crushed. "Maybe Stone or Lavender could play with you while you wait for me," she suggested.

"But I want to play with you!" Canary protested.

"Canary, I am very busy right now. I need to talk with Blaze. I'll play with you when I'm done. Please understand," Sunset pleaded. She needed to speak with Blaze.

"Okay. I hope that you have a nice conversation. Goodbye!" Canary chirped happily, losing all of the heaviness that had hung in her voice.

Then, Canary trotted off. Sunset watched as the kitten headed into the cave where she and her parents lived. Sunset pulled her gaze away from the kitten and walked over to the log that the rest of the cats slept inside.

"Blaze! Blaze, are you in here?" Sunset called from where she stood at the entrance of the log.

"Who's there? Is that you, Sunset?" a voice echoed from the back of the fallen tree.

Sunset immediately recognized Blaze's meow. "Yes, I'm here. I need to speak with you."

"About what?"

"When I went out hunting in the afternoon, Ivory bumped into me. He told me that he was taking a walk and then left. I haven't seen him after that. Now that it's sunset, I was just wondering if you have seen him," Sunset meowed once Blaze came into site.

"No. I thought that he might have joined you," Blaze replied.

"Then we should look for him. He might be in trouble!" Sunset raced out of the cave with Blaze at her heals.

Then, Sunset hit something, large, white, and furry. Ivory! she thought. Sure enough, when she stood up, her ivy-green eyes met Ivory's mud-brown ones.

"Hello, Ivory. What are you doing back so late?" Blaze asked.

"I's sorry if I got you worried. I'm fine. I just needed some time alone," Ivory meowed. Then, the tom brushed his tail pointedly at a small shrew that sat beside him. "I caught some prey," he offered. A few days ago, Sunset had found out that Ivory was a terrible hunter.

"Okay, then. Lets go to sleep now. It has been a long day," Blaze meowed as he ushered Ivory into the log.

Sunset stayed out in the clearing, though. She looked up at the starry, ink-black sky. Then, suddenly, five stars shot downward. They were strangely clustered together. As Sunset gazed upon the colored shooting stars, an image formed in her head. The stars morphed into kits. The one that was light blue turned into a white she-cat with eyes the color of the star that she used to be. The two that were dark orange turned into brown tabby kits, one female one male. The one that was dark blue turned into a pitch black she-cat. And the one that was gray-blue turned into a stone-grey tom.

Sunset's eye lids flew open. The stars were gone.

"It's a sign," Sunset murmured.

-KittyLover8
© 2012

Fallen Stars 8-A Sound In The Bushes

"I-I wish to join your group," Ivory meowed.

Sunset flattened her ears and hissed softly. This wasn't natural. She didn't think that this was right. Why would someone what to join the small group of cats all of the sudden? And how did Ivory even know about the cats? Sunset was about to question the cat, but Blaze stepped forward.

"Hello, Ivory. My name is Blaze and this is Sunset. I will have to speak with the rest of the cats before we can allow you into our group," Blaze said. "Come. We will escort you to our home."

Blaze led Ivory to the camp and Sunset brought up the rear. Soon, they where about halfway to the cave. Sunset felt unnerved around the newcomer, but she was quiet. She knew that she would have her say at some point. A loud crunch in the bushes made heads turn. Sunset was still for a moment. Then, she stepped forward. She stalked around the bush in a circle. She knew that the animal that made that sound was bigger then a regular squirrel. Sunset nosed around in the leaves along the edge of the bush. No scent. She sighed and turned away from the leaves momentarily.

"Blaze, I can't catch a scent!" Sunset called. "Should we continue?"

Blaze replied, "Well, yes, yes we should. It was probably just a rabbit or something."

Sunset walked over to him and nodded, although, she knew that he too, was unsure. The rest of the trip was quiet. A bird chirped ever once in while, but that was all. Once they where at the cave Blaze and Sunset parted to tell everyone about Ivory. Blaze went over to fallen tree where Crow, Blaze and Sunset slept. Sunset headed over to the small cave that Lavender, Stone and Canary shared.

"Lavender! Canary! Stone!" Sunset called. Canary and Lavender lifted their heads. Stone appeared from a spot in the shadows of the cave wall.

"Yes?" Lavender answered.

"Blaze and I found a new cat while we where hunting. His name is Ivory and he wishes to join our little group. Blaze says that we should all have a say in this," Sunset meowed. She herself didn't trust this cat, but Blaze seemed conferable enough around him...maybe she was just overreacting.

"Okay," Lavender said, blinking in confusion. Stone nodded slowly. Meanwhile, Canary bounced around the den.

"Ivory! Can I see him? PLEASE mama! Can I? Can I?" Canary begged.

"Honey, this Ivory cat is just like you and me. I'm sure that he is nothing out of the ordinary," Lavender meowed gently.

Canary stopped bouncing and looked up at her mother. Then she said, "But what dose he look like? What color is he? I still want to see the new cat."

"Fine," Lavender sighed. "You can see him. Come along, then."

Canary raced ahead of her mother, talking about how she was going to see the new cat all of the while. Stone followed his mate out of the den. Sunset couldn't help thinking about the strange new cat. Who was he? Where did he come from? Was he going to stay or leave? And what was that sound in the bushes? Questions nagged at her mind. Then, Sunset shook her head. Ivory seemed nice. He was sure not to cause any trouble. As she left the small cave, one more question seeped into her mind. Or was he?

-KittyLover8
© 2012