Everyone seems to like this for some reason T.T

[firespirit]

A fun, easy read about cats I wrote in fifth grade. I got to like page 160. For your amusement, I'll post it here. Tell meh if you want more xDDD Prologue

Far, far away, in a crumbling shack, a shaggy, dirty brown cat woke up. Her fur was messy, and stuck up in places. Sunlight filtered through the broken ceiling as she arose.
“Morning,” she said. Her voice was raspy, like dead leaves blowing across a road. “Time for some to live, and time for others to die.” She laughed, a cold crackling screeching sound. Birds in nearby trees flew away, surprised at the strange, loud sound disturbing their sleep.
“You!!! Birds!!” She screeched, running around crazily. “You’ll all die! And your children too! And your children’s children! And your children’s children’s children-” her speech was interrupted by a coughing attack. “Stupid coughing” she muttered to herself. “For that Nightstalker will find someone young to kill today, oh yes someone young, with fresh blood, and weak bones. I will torture them; tear them apiece bit by bit, bone by bone, foot by foot. Tooth by tooth. Nightstalker has teeth and bits and bones and feets, but she doesn’t get torn. No, not today. Today Nightstalker tears. Or maybe next week, or next month…” She went on mumbling to herself as she walked along a deer path in the forest, looking for something to kill.








Chapter 1

I awoke to the sound of food falling into my dish.
“Lila, dear! Breakfast.” It was the human calling. They were nice, the female one fed me, gave me water, and played with me, and the male one stroked my fur at night while I sat by the warm fire. They were nice, and cared for me, and in return I played their silly games, and let their offspring pull at my ears and fur. But, even though I loved them, and loved my life, I always wondered what life would be like without them. It would probably have good and bad differences. I wouldn’t have to do my business in a plastic box, for instance, and I’d never have to listen to any of their silly rules. But, I would be cold, and alone. No one would be there to stroke my fur by the fire. No one would be there to feed me when I wanted to eat. And no one would be there when I wanted to play.
“Lila!” I hurried over to my bowl, the tags on my collar tinkling as I trotted over.
“There you are, sweetheart!” said the female, smiling with her toothy grin. “I thought you might have slept in. You didn’t come when I called!” The female bent down, and started petting my orange-brown fur. I purred loudly, and then said “Don’t worry! I was just thinking! I’ll always come when you call, I promise!” I knew the Humans couldn’t understand me, but it felt nice to talk. Oh, how I longed to talk to someone who could understand what I said! That would be another advantage of leaving. I sighed, and bent down to eat my food. Kitty Nibblers. Not, bad, but not so great either. Definitely not my favorite brand.
“We have a surprise for you,” The male said, walking over, his green-blue robe on and the newspaper in his hand.
“Oh, yes!” The female said excitedly. “You’ll love it! Let me go get it.” She hurried away, a curler falling out as she went. I looked up at the male.
“She’s very excited.” he said. He was tall, taller than the Female, with dark brown hair.
“I’ve noticed,” I replied, grooming my orange paw. The male sometimes understood me more than the female, but he still wasn’t an expert on cat language. He chuckled.
“I just hope you like it, too.” I then stared at him with uncertainty. He hoped I liked it? Usually when they had surprises for me, it was just a treat or a toy. I always liked those, there was no doubt about it, but now he hoped I liked it?
“Here it is!” said the female, hustling back into the room, a tiny black thing in her hands. She put it down. I approached it, and then touched it with my nose. It wiggled.
“What is it?” I asked myself, curious. Then, it yawned, revealing a mouth of little sharp teeth, and a tiny pink tongue. I jumped back.
“See? I told you she’d love it!” said the female, smiling happily. The male just watched me. I looked up at him confused. He smiled shyly.
“Lila, meet Smokey” said the Female, a strand of her light brown hair falling in her face. Her blue eyes sparkled with delight. The black thing stirred. She stroked Smoky, and he sat up. He had four paws like me, but he was all black. Two blue eyes stared into my green ones as the light made his whiskers shine. Could it be what I thought it was? Could it be a cat?
“Hi.” it said.
“Hi.” I said, wondering if it would understand. I got no reply, so I decided to ask him.
“Can you understand me?” I asked shyly.
“Yes, I can understand you! What are you, stupid? Why wouldn’t I be able to understand you?” I looked at him, confused at such a rude reply, but he continued.
“I told mother that I wouldn’t like it here. She should have believed me! Two dumb humans who think I like being petted, and this stupid cat who probably doesn’t even know her name!” That made me mad. He’s just a stupid kitten. I thought to myself. Plus, he didn’t even know me, or the humans.
“Umm, yeah. Ok, well, I’m Lila” I said, flicking my tail to the side. I really wanted to give him a good clawing, but I couldn’t. The humans cut my claws every other month. They didn’t cut them off; they just cut them real short. They would grow back soon, but then I would be off to the vet again to have them cut. They thought I was going to scratch their baby. Yeah, right. Humans are so overly cautious.
“Whatever.” said Smokey “Well, I’m bored with you. Adieu.” he said, and with that, he went mewing over to the Female, managing to wave his black tail in my face after he turned. I sneezed. The Female picked up the snickering Smokey, and carried him back to the room, cuddling with him and baby-talking to him all the way. The Male followed. I finished eating my breakfast. I wanted no part of that snobby black kitten. But, I soon got bored and walked over to the room the humans were in. When I arrived inside the room, Smokey was sleeping, with the female never taking an eye off of him. I meowed, asking to play.
“Hush, Lila!” said the Female. “Can’t you see that he is sleeping?” She said, indicating the black ball of fluff curled up beside her.
“Yes, I can.” I said. She had never spoken to me like that before, except for when I was a young kitten and hadn’t learned the litter box rules. I was upset that she was treating me like that now.
“Hush!!” She exclaimed. “Don’t you care about other cats?” She looked at me angrily. What was this kitten doing to her? I didn’t do anything wrong, so she didn’t have to get mad at me.
“Yes, I do, but not him!” I said, wrinkling my nose as I said “him”.
“Get out, Lila, you’re too loud.” said the Female. I just stared at her, astonished. “Shoo!” She said, sweeping her hands at me, making me jump up, and run out the door. She closed the door behind me. How could she? She had never punished me, other than when I was a kitten! But now I was full-grown. I was still young, but I was polite, and I knew what not to do. Talking was never on that list. I sat by the door, waiting to see the Female rush out and hug me, with teary red eyes, and apologies running out of her mouth like water in a stream. But all I heard was the Male and the Female talking quietly. Then, I heard the Males voice from behind the closed door.
“Why should we get him spayed?” He asked. “We never got Lila neutered.” He sounded angry. I waited by the door for a bit longer, but then, realizing neither the male nor the female was going to come out, I slowly walked to my soft bed, and fell into deep sleep.
When I awoke, it was later. The sky was dark outside, but not dark enough for it to be the bedtime of the Humans. I walked across the floor, the only audible noise being the soft pad of my paws, and the occasional jingle of my tags. Then, I heard laughter. I sprinted into the living room, to find the Humans playing with Smokey. They were laughing, the Male too, although he rarely laughed, as Smokey acted like a fool in trying to catch my toy mouse. He saw me and grinned. I could tell he didn’t like the humans, or playing with my toy mouse. He was just doing it to make me mad, and his actions and body language made that clear. I was feeling very left out, so I ran over and picked up my mouse. Then I bolted over to the Humans and rolled onto my back. I wouldn’t normally make a fool of myself, but I feared I would die if I didn’t get any attention.
“Lila! What’s gotten into you?” said the female, obviously very upset. I stared at her, confused. “Taking toys from kittens! Why, I never thought you’d do such a thing!” I looked behind me. Smokey was crying. Well, fake crying. The Female picked up my mouse and brought it over to Smokey. He grabbed it and purred. Then, she laughed. I felt like crying, but it wouldn’t improve my situation. My green eyes stared unhappily at the Male, but he avoided me gaze. I then turned tail and slouched over to the front door, far away from that room of horrors, to go outside, but my cat door was stuck. I couldn’t get out until the humans fixed it. That would probably be soon, but they wouldn’t be fixing it for me. They’d be fixing it for Smokey. I sat, watching the window and watching life go by outside. It was probably just a phase they were going through, and it probably would be done by next week, maybe even tomorrow. I sighed and sat still, lost in thought.
When it was time for the Humans to go to bed, I left my spot by the door, and sadly walked up the stairs and into their room. I always slept in their bed, even though I had my own. When I arrived they were both in bed, and the Female was turning off the lamp beside her bed. I jumped on the small bed, and nuzzled myself against the humans. They both pet my fire-colored fur, and scratched my cheek over by my tinkling collar. I purred as loud as I could. It was wonderful. But, then, I saw Smokey approach, outpurring me. The Humans immediately stopped petting me, and moved their hands over to Smokey. I was only in their way. I climbed back over by their feet. When they finally finished petting Smokey, he walked over and hissed at me. I narrowed my eyes, and prepared for a fight, claws or no claws. I lashed my tail. But, before I could pounce on him, the Female started talking.
“Ahhh, look!” She said. “Smokey’s territorial about the bed. That means he already feels like this is his home!” She said, smiling. I couldn’t believe it.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked Smokey. “You hate them, I can tell.” I said, hissing.
“I know. They are very annoying, and I don’t see how you can live with them. They’re just plain stupid.” he said, snickering.
“Well, if that’s how you feel, why don’t you leave?”
“I need someone to feed me, plus, if you can get control over them, you can do almost anything, and what you can’t do, you can make them do it.” He laughed, and I just glared into his eyes.
“I know you’re just doing this to make me feel bad.” I said. He thought about it.
“Partly, perhaps, but for now, you better leave.” He quickly swiped a paw at me, and before I knew what was happening, I was falling off the bed. He was way stronger than any kitten.
“You’d better sleep in your own bed tonight.” said the Male. “It looks like Smokey doesn’t want you here.” I looked up sadly, trying to make the saddest face I could manage. “Oh, cheer up Lila. You’ll get your turn to sleep in this bed too. Smokey’s just going to sleep in here tonight, okay?” I sighed, and sadly walked away.
Now, I’ve learned not to trust the male. That “He’s just sleeping in here tonight.” Lasted five weeks, every day the same thing. They ignore me, and adore Smokey. Sometimes they even forget to feed me! But do they forget about Smokey? Nope. Never. And every night, the Male always says the same “Just for tonight”.

*Epic xD face.*

It gets better, I promise. More?

[Birdybot]

MMMMMMMOOOOOOOORRRRRREEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[firespirit]

lol ok xDD

It’s been five weeks and two days since Smokey entered my life. Nothing has changed about him or the Humans since then. That very day, my claws were starting to grow back. I couldn’t live like this anymore. The thought of escape had crossed my mind more than once, but I had to get revenge on Smokey before I left, or else I would seem like a coward. A plan had grown in my mind, starting as a seed, but I nurtured the idea more and more, like a flower. When I felt the flower was about to bloom, I put the plan into use.
I awoke early in the morning, stretching, weary from another cold night alone in my bed. I yawned, and started trotting up the stairs. When I got to the top, Smokey was already by the door.
“Stupid cat, you woke me up with that dumb jingling.” He
hissed. I wanted to insult him, at least a tiny bit, but I held my tongue, and after a great effort, I said the words:
“Look, Smokey, I know we’ve been off to a bad start, but I was thinking, and I’ve decided that I will put you in control. You’re a natural born leader, and you know how to use your power. I’m sorry I didn’t accept you. Would you like to come outside with me?” I asked, smiling. Smokey thought for a long while
“Are you willing to become my servant?” He asked. He wasn’t a kitten anymore, now he was a huge male cat. But, he wasn’t as strong as he was when he was a kitten, due to all the Humans’ pampering. Now I was the strong one.
“Oh, yes!” I said, bowing my head. He believes me! Hah! I thought, but he couldn’t see the grin on my face.
“Hmmm…. all right. We can go outside to talk. But when we finish, I would like you to catch a songbird for me.” He said, smiling at the thought of getting live food.
“Yes, master.” I said. And with that he went in front of me, and we started walking down the steps. Smokey was talking about how happy he was that I finally realized his importance, and how he knew I would’ve soon come to my senses, and realize my place. But I was only half listening. I couldn’t help grinning stupidly all the way to the door. My plan was working! I would finally get revenge. It was a good thing he couldn’t see my face.
When we got outside, I silently closed the lock on the cat door after I went through. I learned how from watching the Humans doing it. He didn’t notice. I walked behind him, until we got into the middle of the yard.
“Well...” I started. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that!” And then the laughter rose in me, like helium, and I started cracking up.
“What do you mean? Stop laughing at once!” He commanded, his blue eyes turning icy. I stopped laughing with some difficulty.
“It’s my turn to be mean, now, Smokey.” I said, grinning devilishly. He looked scared for a moment, but then hid his fear. “
“What do you mean?” He asked, while stepping closer and closer to the cat door.
“I mean, I’m going to fight you, now. Then we’ll see who really deserves the attention of the Humans!” Suddenly, Smokey looked terrified. He sprinted back towards the cat door, but only succeeding in bonking his head.
“It’s no use.” I said calmly, waving my tail. “I’ve locked it.” Smoke’s blue eyes raced around the yard, looking for an escape.
“Are you ready?” I asked “I’ll wait, I fight fair, unlike you.” Smokey ignored me and continued to look for an escape. I didn’t intend on hurting him, just giving him a few small scratches to remember this day.
“Scared?” I asked, my green eyes flashing. His head shot up, and he stared at me.
“What did you say?” He asked.
“I asked if you were scared.” I replied, flicking my tail to the side as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
“No, I’m not scared.”
“Then why don’t you fight?” I smiled sweetly. Smokey grumbled to himself, but then said.
“I’ll fight you now.” He leaped at me, claws outstretched, but I quickly jumped back, making him fall on his face. He layed there, shocked for a few seconds, giving me a chance to make my attack. I came from his side, and dove, claws scratching every which way. He cried out, at first, but then he swept a giant paw over my muzzle. It hurt, and bright red blood started falling. It got in my nose, and my mouth. It was hard to breathe without breathing in blood. But, that didn’t stop me. I withdrew myself, then leaped over him, and started biting his black tail. He quickly turned, but as he did, I scratched him across his face (avoiding his eyes) with my claw. He yelled out in pain, then cried for mercy.
“I’m finished with you.” I said, spitting on his pitiful body. “But, now you have a scar, and many other wounds. You won’t forget me, or this day easily.” After saying that, I hopped on the snow white fenced that bordered my humans’ lot, and jumped over on the other side. I was free at last!



Chapter 3

“Hey! That was a pretty good fight!” I whirled around, and found myself face to face with a group of cats. Stray, wild cats.
“Oh, umm thanks.” I said, addressing the one who had spoken, a big grey tabby Male.
“For a pampered spoiled cat!!!!” He yelled laughing! “A pet cat!!!” Most of the group bursted out laughing.
“Hey there, pretty kitty? Want to go eat dried food with you mommy human? Huh?” They were all laughing now. I took a step back, making my tags jingle. A bad mistake.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” The cat said in a mocking tone. “I didn’t know you were a reindeer!” There was a confused silence.
“I-I’m not.” I said, confused. I stared at the big cat. I was getting mad, I’ve always had a short temper, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to get in a fight with this big, muscular cat.
“Oh, Then why all the jingling, Jingle Bells?” All the cats burst out laughing again, this time harder than before.
“Oh, let it rest, Storm.” said an older blue-grey cat. She looked exactly like the other cat; she even had the same yellow eyes.
“You’re scarin’ the pretty thing out of hah wits!” She said, nodding at me. “Plus, if I didn’t know ya better, I woulda guessed ya liked her.” The old cat smiled, showing a mouth of missing teeth, and all the other cats let out an “oooooh!!!” Or an “Hey, lookit what Stormies got! Some even whistled. I was too shocked to move.
“Hey, but I don’t blame ya! She’s a mighty fine cat, that one is. I knew my son would soon soften up to a sila.” The old cat smiled at her son, who looked down, embarrassed. Then she walked over to me.
“Don’t mind Storm, he’s all right once ya know ‘im!” Said the cat smiling. “now, what’d be the name of a pretty thing like ya’self doing out heah, away from your cat pet home?” She smiled. She seemed nice enough, but I was still kind of shocked. Should I trust her? I thought. Well, there’s not much else I can do. It’s going to be snowing soon, and I’m hungry. Maybe I should have waited later to do my plan… Oh well. It’s too late now. So, I told the old cat my whole story.
“Oh, ya poor little pretty thing! Come here wit me, ya look ‘bout the same age as my daughta’. She’ll help ya think of a name suitable for out here.” The grey cat walked away, flicking her tail, a signal for me to follow.
“A suitable name?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah. Lila’s not gonna do much good out heah! Oh, and by da way, I’m Cloud.” When I looked at Cloud, I noticed her hair was actually much longer than Storm’s. Oh well, Cloud seemed nice enough. I hoped her daughter would take after her, and not be like Storm. I sighed, and shivered as we crossed through the mazelike alleyways.
A bit later we reached the “house” of Cloud. It was a large wooden crate on its side. There was a cat sleeping in there, who looked identical to Storm. Oh no. She looked exactly liked him. I just hoped she didn’t act like him, too.
“Rain, look who I’ve found!” Shouted Cloud. Rain groaned.
“Mom, I’m sleeping!” Rain complained, without getting up.
“Rain, ya better get up soon, or I’ll have to feed Storm your food for today, and ya know he’ll eat it!” Cloud said. Rain groaned, and slowly raised her head. She blinked twice. What I saw surprised me. Rain had clear blue eyes, that were even prettier than Smokey’s. Yawning, she stretched. Then she saw me.
“Oh,” She said, standing up. She was lean, muscular, and pretty. Not beautiful, but pretty. “Hello. What’s your name?” she asked, bowing her head respectfully. It made me feel nervous.
“Oh, you don’t have to bow your head, or anything, I’m nothing special.” I said, shyly. Rain looked up, smiling. “But, your name is…”
“Oh! I’m Lila.” I said quickly. Rain’s smile disappeared. Then, she noticed my collar. She narrowed her eyes.
“A cat pet!” She hissed, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits. “What are you doing here?” I shied back.
“Aww, Rain, lighten up, will ya? She’s a very brave cat pet; just listen to what she’s done!” Cloud protested. Then, they both stared at me. I finally understood they were waiting for me to speak. I told them my story. I didn’t think it was very impressive or anything, but they listened like it was the most amazing thing in the world. I stared into Rain’s calm blue eyes as I spoke, they had a relaxing effect. When I finished, they both smiled.
“Wow! You’re a brave cat pet, all right! Much different from all those others. They’d probably run from any cat who hisses at them. You’re smart, too!” Rain said. It felt good to be admired.
“Thank you.” I said, smiling. But, then, Rain looked at me, worriedly, and started whispering to her mother. I stood there, in the dark corner of the crate as they talked. They talked for awhile. I missed the humans. Even though they had their bad sides, they were really good people. I missed them so much. I sighed, remembering the kind face of the Female, and the strong, trustworthy face of the Male. I yawned. My eyes started to droop. No!!!! I thought. I have to stay awake!!! Maybe I’ll just lay down, that can’t hurt. But, as I lay there, my eyes began to droop again, and my head started swimming, with images of the humans flashing in my mind, before I fell into a world of deep sleep.
I awoke to a paw prodding me at my side. I yawned. Uggh. I thought.
“Smokey, stop it!” I mewed. The prodding continued. “Smokey! Stop it now!!” Then, grumbling to myself, I stood up.
“It’s enough that the humans spoil you, why do you have to bother me? Shouldn’t you be cuddling with them anyways?” Then, I shook myself and opened my eyes. I wasn’t at home in my bed. I was in a large crate, with enough room for at least five more cats to sleep in.
“What? What happened?” I asked myself. Then, memories from yesterday, or maybe it was just this afternoon, flooded into my head. I looked around. No one was there.
“Cloud?” I called. No answer.
“Rain?” Suddenly, I saw movement in the darkest corner of the box. Something sprang out, faster than I would probably ever be. A grey streak of fur came racing towards me. I tried to jump back, but my collar got stuck on something. I tugged and tugged and tugged. Who was this cat? Definitely not Rain, Cloud, or Storm. Suddenly, I flew backwards. Whoever this cat was, it had bitten of my collar. I felt free without it, its constant rubbing, which I had become used to, was gone. And, there was no more jingling when I walked. Grinning, I turned to my enemy, who was laughing.
“Hah! No more jingling now, Jingle Bells!” He (I could tell that it was a tom by his voice) continued laughing, but I sprang and bit the intruder sharply on the front paw, making him trip, and give out a sharp cry. From there, I quickly put my paw on his neck, extending my claws just enough so that they would prick ever so slightly.
“What did you do with Cloud, Rain, and Storm?” I asked.
“What do you mean? Oh, you idiot, get off me! I’m helping you!”
“Yeah, right.” I said, my claws extending further, making tiny cuts in the skin of his neck.
“Lila! It’s me, Storm! Now get off me before I blow you off with my paw!” He cried. I looked at him closely. He was a grey-blue tabby tom, with yellow eyes. It was Storm. Oops. I immediately leaped off of him.
“Sorry…” I mumbled. I felt my fur lie flat against my body again. He snorted, and said something I couldn’t understand.
“What were you doing?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.
“Trying to get your dumb collar off.” He grumbled, flicking his tail irritably.
“Oh. Sorry.” I looked down, then up again. “Who was prodding me with their paw?” I asked.
“Me.” He replied, staring at his tail, which he flicked back and forth.
“Oh. Then how’d you get in the corner so fast?” I asked again, my green eyes searching for anger in his yellow ones. I found none. He shrugged his muscular shoulders.
“I ran.” Well, I had seen how fast he was, so I didn’t deny him. I wished I could be that fast, he was like a bolt of lightning.
“Oh, well, thanks for getting my collar off!” I said. He shrugged and continued watching his tail. He wasn’t very polite, in fact, he was the rudest cat I had ever met! After a few minutes of watching his tail, he stood up. Muscles rippled under his fur as he stretched.
“I’m gonna go catch some mice. My mom and Rain should be home-” He started to say, but at that moment, Cloud and Rain ran through, and skidded to a halt in front of me.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“Oh, Storm didn’t tell you?” asked Rain. I shook my head.
“I’m going to hunt some mice.” Storm said from behind us.
“Ok, you do that, Stormie!” Said Rain. Storm hit his sister lightly with his paw as he left. She giggled.
“Ey! Lookie here!” Cloud said in her accent. “Now, Storm’s gotten her collar off!” Cloud said, pointing at my neck.
“Why, you’re right! But, to answer your question, Lila, we were searching for an object that would make a good name for you.” Rain explained. I looked at her, very confused.
“Well, when a cats gotta have a name, shes gotta find a-something that would make a good one for her! Cloud said, noticing my look of confusion.
“So we went out for you, and we found the perfect thing, that would make the perfect name!” Rain said, excitedly.
“What is it?” I asked eager to know what my new name would be.
“Whactcha say, Rain, should we tella, or should we wait till Stormie comes back?” Asked Cloud, grinning her toothless smile. Rain winked at me and said.
“Let’s just tell her. We decided to name you: Topaz.” She smiled triumphantly. Well, the name sounded pretty, but I had no idea what topaz was!
“Well, I like it, but what is it?” I asked them. Rain laughed, but not a joking one. A kind one.
“Well, we where walking past the jeweler’s store, and we saw a female human admiring a necklace, with a pretty gem, that was the same color as your fur, on it. And then she said “Look at that beautiful topaz necklace!” So, me and Cloud decided that was the perfect name for you!” Rain smiled, so did Cloud. And so did I. Topaz, the free, stray cat.

I'm posting two chapters at a time because they're usually short

[kittiepie]

Can has more, plz?

[firespirit]

That night, I stayed with Rain, Cloud, and Storm. They were very kind to me, even Storm was a bit nicer, and we all got to be very good friends. Especially me and Rain. She’s very nice and funny, she’s also a lot like me. We ate the mice that Storm got. It wasn’t as much as I was used to, but it was enough for all of us. Mice tasted wonderful, much better than that dry food. From that day on, I knew I would never be able to eat dry food, “cat food”again without gagging.
“So, Topaz, how do you like mice?” asked Rain, smiling.
“Amazinf!” I said with my mouth full. “I’m neverf gonha eat dry catf foodth again!” Rain, Cloud, and Storm just laughed. I felt good again, I felt wanted again. I felt like part of their family. I just hoped they would let me stay.
“Get up, Topaz, get up!” It was next morning. I had slept next to Rain last night, and so I wasn’t cold, even though it was colder than I have ever felt outside. I yawned.
“I’m sleeping.” I said. Rain started prodding me with her paw. Then I felt a sharp prick.
“Ow!” I said, jumping up. I looked around. Cloud was there, next to Rain. Cloud had one claw out, next to my skin.
“Are ya awake, or should I prick ya again?” Cloud asked, smiling.
“I’m fine!” I said, getting up. Rain and Storm started laughing. Cloud just groomed herself.
“You and I are going to get food today!” said Rain. “I’ll show you everything I know. C’mon!” And without waiting for me to say anything, she trotted out of the crate. I shook my head, and followed.
“Bye, Jingle Bells!” Storm called from behind me. I flicked my tail, bopping him on the nose, and left.
I shivered as I stepped into the cold, outside air. Rain flicked her tail. I kept close to her, observing everything we passed.
“Where are we going?” I asked Rain. We were curving in and out of alleys, running up and down streets.
“Well, first I’m going to show you the Bluebird.” She said, as if that explained everything. “Then, we’re going to the dump, in case there isn’t anything good at the Bluebird.” She talked without looking behind her. If she did, she probably would have told me to hurry up. I was falling behind. She was fast and muscular, and used to doing this kind of thing, but I wasn’t. I staggered along.
“What do you mean by anything good?” I asked, panting.
“Oh, well if the mice at the Bluebird aren’t any good, then we’ll have to go to the dump.” This time she looked back at me, and seeing I was still confused, she just ended with: “You’ll see when we get there.” We continued on in silence. I felt awkward to me, so I decided to start up a conversation with Rain.
“Rain, who is your father?” I asked her. She sighed.
“Actually, Topaz, I don’t know. He died when I was young, according to my mom. It’s kind of sad, since my mom is now the only one who can take care of me and Storm, since she doesn’t have any sisters or anything. But, I’ve asked about my dad, and Cloud says he was the strongest and bravest cat to ever live. So that’s what I believe.” She said sadly. We walked the rest of the way in silence.
The Bluebird didn’t look like much from the outside. Just an old, wore down, truck on its side. But, when you went inside, well, it was the loudest and noisiest place I had ever been in. There were cats everywhere, fighting, and eating, and drinking, and talking. There was a big pool of water in the middle, where many cats had gathered to drink. Rain and I edged our way through the crowd, avoiding the cats that were fighting. A few cats whistled as we walked by. It made me very nervous.
“Rain?” I asked. “Are you sure this is the right place?” I figured no mouse could live here with all this noise.
“Yep.” said Rain. I wanted to ask her more, but a big, old cat walked up. He had mottled gray fur, much lighter than Rains, and brown eyes. One of his whiskers was broken, and half of it hung while the other half was strait. He was an odd site to see.
“Hello Rain!” He said in a gruff voice. “Oh, and who’s this pretty young lass?” He smiled at me, showing many broken teeth.
“This is Topaz.” Replied Rain, seeing I was to shy to answer.
“Ahh. A pretty name for a pretty young cat” he said, chuckling. “And how is that sweet mother of yours doing?” He smiled, at us again.
“Fine.” said Rain “Actually, Forest, we came for mice.” Rain said.
“Oh, yes! The mice! Actually, I’m running a little low. There are always a lot of cats here in the winter, so I always run a little low at this time of year. But, I still have a bit, enough for your small family.” He smiled once again, and turned. Not sure what to do, I looked at Rain. But she was already up ahead with Forest. Suddenly, a mangy brown cat bolted into me.
“Watch were you’re going, you mangy, flea-bitten, loser- well, hello. If it isn’t a young sila.” His eyes went from angry to, not really friendly, but, friendlier.
“What’s your name, sweetie?” He smiled, showing a full jaw of yellowing teeth. He scratched himself behind the ears, and a bunch of fleas came showering out. I noticed he smelled bad, too.
“Umm, I’m Topaz.” I said, unsure what to do. The cat smiled at me, his horrid stench making me wrinkle my nose.
“You can call me…” he thought for a moment, as if he didn’t know what his name was “you can call me Boulder.” He said, his yellow eyes glistening.
“Topaz!!!” Rain darted towards me. “Topaz, where have you been?” Then she noticed Boulder. “Oh, you.” She said flatly. “What was his name this time?” She asked me.
“Huh?” I asked, confused. Rain rolled her eyes, and Boulder glared down at her.
“What are you doing, you ugly ball of fur?!?” he hissed at her. “I was just trying to have a nice conversation with young Miss Topaz here and I get you, a disrespectful, and narrow minded, greedy-” Rain put her paw on his mouth.
“Save it, Squirrel.” Rain’s eyes flashed green for a moment, and then returned to their normal beautiful blue color. Squirrel? I thought That’s a weird insult…
“C’mon, Topaz, Forest is waiting for us.” said Rain. And without another word, she turned tail. I looked at the strange brown cat, who smiled, then ran up to Rain. I heard him grumble something about stupid sila’s. Since I still didn’t know what a sila was, I decided to ask Rain.
“Rain, what’s a sila?” I asked. “Because that cat, Boulder-” Rain interrupted me. “First, his name’s Squirrel. He’s a stupid tomo, or, in your language, a male, who tries to get silafriends… I guess you’d call them femalefriends. He thinks he can attract any female, with his so called style. But, he fails every time. I’ve never seen him with a… a female who wasn’t clawing his face off. And, everyone knows who he is, and so he has about no luck.”
“Why’d he say his name was Boulder, and what’s a sila?” I asked. Rain gave me a little smile. I liked Rain. She was a nice cat.
“He gives himself these grand names, like for me he was Fang. He does it to try to impress other cats, since, I have to admit, Squirrel isn’t the best name ever. But, it really fits him. A dumb coward.” She looked at me for a second. “Oh!!!” she exclaimed “I almost forgot. A sila is like, a female. That’s what we call it. And tomos are males.” She smiled at me.
“Oh. That makes sense.” I said, smiling back. We edged around the crowd of yelling, hissing, and fighting cats all the way to the front of the truck.
“Where have you been?” asked Forest, looking at me with his brown eyes.
“We had an encounter with Squirrel.” Replied Rain, spitting as she said the word Squirrel.
“Oh.” Said Forest, knowing what she meant. He glared over to where Squirrel was talking to a fema- sila, who was rolling her eyes.
“Some days, I just want to kick that dumb cat out of here!” grumbled Forest. “He is always coming into the Bluebird and annoying everyone. Gets into alot of fights, too.” Then, he shook his head, looked at us, and jumped onto the steering wheel.
“Why is this place called the Bluebird?” I asked. Forest smiled brightly.
“Why, you sure are full of questions, aren’t you! Well, my father was a smart cat. He learned how to read, something that humans do. When this truck fell over, my father was the first to find it. He saw it on its side, and he saw words. They spelled The Bluebird Express. Now, I’m not sure what that means, but my father decided to call this place The Bluebird, since that was the name of the truck.” He finished his story with a smile. “Now, come on. We better get those mice before Cloud gets too worried.” And with that, he hopped off the steering wheel, and out the window. Rain did the same, and I tried. I jumped up to the steering wheel okay, I just wobbled a bit once I was up there, and then I tried to jump out the window as gracefully as Forest and Rain had done, but instead, I hit the border of the window, and fell to the ground. I wasn’t seriously hurt, just bruised a bit. There were about four cats there, not including Rain and Forest, and they all started laughing. I stood up, shook the dirt off, and started grooming myself, nervously.
“Be quiet! You’ll scare all the mice away!” boomed Forest, his voice ringing. The cats all stopped laughing, and went back to what they were doing before.
“Thanks, Forest.” I said quietly, my eyes sparkling with gratitude.
“It’s really no problem, Topaz.” He said. “Now, follow Rain, and she’ll show you were all the mice are. Rain smiled.
“Okay, Topaz. Follow me.” She then turned, and started walking. I ran to catch up. It felt good to be outside again. We walked a little while, then Rain stopped over by a small clearing.
“Okay, Topaz. I’ll teach you how to hunt mice. But first, you need to know some things. Can you tell the difference between mice and rats?” she asked.
“Yes, I can.” I said, impressed with myself that I could.
“Wonderful. Wait, be quiet for a second. Don’t move.” Rain’s eyes grew large and her ears flicked back and forth. Then, I heard it to. A small scuffling. “Shhhhhh. Follow me.” She got down on her stomach, and started crawling towards the noise. I did the same, trying to make as little noise as possible. Then, I saw it. A mouse, its back to us. Rain licked her lips, and out of the blue, sprang upon the poor creature. The mouse squeaked in fear, and it said no more. Rain picked up the dead creature, and dropped it at my feet.
“You see?” said Rain. “It’s easy. Just silently sneak up on the mouse, and POUNCE! Hopefully, we can catch enough for today and tomorrow.” She smiled.
“How much do we need?” I asked. Rain thought about it for a moment.
“About…let’s see… 12. Well, 11 now, that I caught this little guy.” She said motioning to the dead mouse. “But, if we have time, any more will be appreciated.” She was about to go look for more mice, when I said.
“12? That’s, a lot!!! How long will we be here for?” I asked eager to get home and have a nap.
“Until dark. Usually we’d bring either Storm or Mom with us, but today Mom thought it’d be better if it was just me and you.” Rain explained. “Why?” Rain cocked her head to one side.
“Oh, no reason. Just wondering.” I said, not wanting to admit I was tired. Rain walked off, and tried to listen for more mice. I suddenly heard more rustling. Crouching down, I crept over to an unsuspecting mouse. Then, I pounced, and, the mouse ran. He ran over to a small, but long, tube, and he ran inside it. I sighed and sat down. Today was going to be a very long day.

lol