Chapter Text
When the darkness came and smothered Kitty's eyes, she had thought that something dark and evil would've happened to her yet again. Turns out, the complete opposite had occured.
They had opened their eyes in a forest, (A real forest! Not the confines of that tower!) and to its surprise and relief, the human that had kept them trapped for so long was no where to be found.
Kitty stood up tentatively, eyes carefully scanning the surrounding area, his cream colored fur rippling in the slight breeze. The sunlight poured through the trees, dappling the forest floor in its warm, golden rays. Birds sang, fluttering above Kitty and he lifted his head to get a good look at the creatures. They were small and feathers covered their bodies with yellow beans and curious eyes. They were staring down at Kitty, fluttering their wings like the cat had just poofed out of thin air.
'I suppose I have,' Kitty thought to herself, pawing at the soft dirt. 'I do not know how I am here. The evil human must've put me here.' A flicker of uneasy crossed Kitty at that thought. If the evil human had put her in this place, did that mean it was bad? The cat blinked, confusion taking over. 'This does not look like a bad place, infact, it looks wonderful. Much better compared to what I was just in.'
Then it hit him.
Kitty wasn't human anymore...she had paws again, a tail, fur! Oh, thank the gods! Kitty bit back a strangled sob of excitement, their tail going high in the air to show her joy.
It was such a relief to be back in his normal body. 'Nothing hurts anymore! My body is right! My body is right!!' It was almost overwhelming, having all of her cat senses come rushing back to her, her enhanced hearing, her enhanced scent.
'Goodness, I have forgotten how much the world smelled in my time trapped in that wretched place.'
Kitty opened her jaw slightly, drinking in the scents of the forest. She could not smell the sharp scent of that human! This was wonderful news! Her tail flicked with satisfaction, relief and hope washing over them. 'I may as well explore this new place. I do not plan on going back to the tower...'
With a deep breath, Kitty put one law in front of the other, excitement buzzing beneath his fur with the thought of living their life outside the confines and harsh gaze of the man that had kept him prisoner for so long.
___
The forest was big. Kitty had been walking for quiet some time (granted, she was stopping everytime they saw something interesting, but can you blame them?!) and hadn't found the end of the trees or bushes. In all honesty, Kitty didn't want the forest to end. It was the most freedom she was allowed to have in a while, and they wanted to enjoy it.
Forest critters, like squirrels birds, had bounded across his path, and he had even seen some mice as well! The sight of the mice's fat bodies had saliva rushing to fill Kitty's mouth in an instant, the memories of their delicious taste filling her mind.
The mouse that Kitty has locked eyes on was too busy nibbling on a seed to notice her. 'Silly mouse is distracted...!' Kitty thought, a gleam shining in their eyes. 'It shall be an easy catch, much deserved, too!'
With a push from her hind legs, Kitty leaped into the air, soaring towards the mouse with her paws outstretched, claws unsheathed. Dirt flew as they pounced, landing directly on the mouse!
...
Or so they thought. When Kitty looked underneath it's paws, there was no kill to be shown for her efforts! A frown crossed her face and she looked up, eyes scanning for where the mouse had skittered off to. 'The mouse is lucky...' Kitty thought grudgingly as she pushed herself up right again. She shook the dirt out of their coat before licking themselves to get the rest. 'It must have heard me. I do need to be quieter.'
Kitty let out a sigh. It would be okay, she'd find something else to eat instead!
___
She continued padding through the forest, eventually making it's way to a strange black path, when an unusual scent caught their nose. It was...-! Kitty's brain gave no answer; she had never smelled this scent before! He opened his jaw, drinking in the scents, trying to pinpoint it's exact location...
The tree!
To their left, stood a large birch tree, the source of this new scent, and as Kitty neared it, she realized that the smell wasn't all too different from her's. It had the same base smell; cat, but it almost seemed like there were...layers to the scent? It smelled of the forest, of other cats and-
"The ShadowClan border is just ahead," a voice said cheerfully from the forest, breaking through her thoughts.
Kitty's eyes widened and they turned around, scanning the dense undergrowth for the owner of the voice. 'I will hide and wait to see who they are. I do not want to get in trouble..!' Kitty was lucky that the wind was blowing towards her, carrying the speaker's scent to her and not her's to them.
The cream cat scrambled up the white and grey tree, sharp claws digging into the soft bark as they hauled themselves upwards before settling on one of the branches, watching as four other cats came into view just below them.
There were two large cats, bigger than Kitty herself that she could see. One was golden colored, with fur so thick, Kitty wondered if water ever seeped through. The other large cat was a dark brown, with darker almost black stripes littered across his pelt. The two other cats were just a bit smaller thank Kitty. One was the color of a warm, orange fire, and the other was a cool dull grey.
Safe to say, Kitty was fascinated. He had never seen other cats in his life and now there were four of them right below him!!
"This over here is the Thunder Path." Said the golden cat, gesturing with his tail to the strange black path that Kitty had spotted earlier.
'Thunder Path...so that's what it's called.'
"Past the Thunder Path is ShadowClan," the golden cat continued. He seemed to be teaching the two smaller cats for all Kitty could tell. "The Thunder Path is a very dangerous thing to cross; it's home to many monsters."
"Monsters?" Asked the orange cat. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his paws as he stared up at the golden cat. "What kind of monsters?"
"Ones that can turn you into crow food." Answer the large brown one matter-of-factly. "They'll make quick work of an apprentice like you." He turned to face the ginger tom, looking down at him.
The young orange tabby bristled indignantly. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"
"Lay off the kid, Tigerclaw," sighed the golden cat with a role of his eyes. "He's still learning. Taunting him won't get us anywhere."
The large brown tabby, Tigerclaw, scoffed. "I'm only telling Firepaw the truth, Lionheart. If he runs onto the Thunder Path, the Monsters will trample him."
'Tigerclaw Lionheart, and Firepaw...what an interesting choice of names. I wonder what the other one is called.' Kitty pressed herself closer to the tree as the wind started to pick up, rustling the branches and leaves-
Oh crap. The wind was picking up...and it was blowing downwind! They were sure to be found out soon...!
Her fur was ruffled the wrong way as a stronger breeze swept through the forest, the sunlight dancing on the leaf littered ground. Kitty could see the way all four cats tensed as her scent was carried downwind, the way their stances changed almost instantly.
"What's that smell?" Asked the grey cat, looking to the older two. "It smells of cat but it doesn't smell of any of the other Clans...?"
"It's coming from that birch over there." Firepaw said, pointing with his nose to the tree Kitty was seeking refuge in. The four cats looked up, their eyes scanning the branches of the tree for a moment before spotting Kitty among them, her own eyes gazing down at them.
Tigerclaw's gaze hardened as soon as he spotted Kitty sitting amongst the trees. He unsheathed his claws, digging them into the soft forest floor. "Who are you?" He hissed.
Kitty looked down at the massive tabby from her perch in the tree. Sure, he may have looked scary with all his scars and whatnot, but Kitty held dealt with worse. He did not scare her. She stared him in the eyes (as best she could from her height) and tilted her head, cream fur glowing in the sunlight. "I am not from one of your Clans," Kitty said, their voice steady despite their heart pounding against her chest.
"Yes, we figured." Tigerclaw grummbled, his glaring not loosing any of its heat.
Lionheart stepped forwards, blocking Tigerclaw's view of Kitty as he did so. "Apologies, strange cat, but you are trespassing on Thunder Clan territory." He said, shooting Tigerclaw a looking before turning back to face Kitty. "You speak our tongue but smell not much like us. Not of Twolegs or the Thunder Path even. Who are you and what is your name?"
Kitty blinked in confusion. 'Twolegs? What a strange word for humans.' She quickly regained her composer though, peering back down at Lionheart. "My name is Kitty." She said simply.
Tigerclaw let out a short and sharp bark of laughter at Kitty's name. "Kitty?" He repeated as if in disbelief. "You walk into ThunderClan territory and say your name is Kitty?"
Firepaw and the grey one seemed annoyed at Tigerclaw's comment, their ears flicked and Firepaw shot the brown tabby a look that Kitty did nit think was friendly. Good. Kitty did not like his words either. This big cat seemed one who is quick to judge.
"It is a simple name," Lionheart corrected. "But names do not define. Why don't you come down from that tree?"
The grey cat took a small step forwards to get a better look at Kitty still perched in the trees. "Can you even get down?" He asked. Kitty could tell there was no malice in his voice, just pure curiosity, but it still made her huff.
"Yes, of course I am able to get down. I managed to get up here, didn't I? Who is foolish enough to start something they cannot finish?" They answered the grey one's question, though the last part of their answer was directed at Tigerclaw. 'I am not some helpless kit. I am capable of holding my own.'
Kitty gracefully hopped to a lower branch before leaping back onto the forest floor, his claws digging into the soft dirt to steady themselves. The cream cat sat down, eyes flicking over the four cats. The two smaller ones were whispering about something and Kitty managed to catch the grey one's name; Greypaw.
'Straight forward name.' Kitty thought to herself, tail twitching in amusement and curiosity. 'Both he and Firepaw have paw as a last name. Does it hold value to these forest cats? Perhaps it means something.'
Kitty sat back, it's tail curling neatly around their paws, acting as though four strange new cats weren't standing less that a fox length away. "You say 'ThunderClan' as if it is a place," Kitty remarked. "Is it the place you call home?" She didn't give any of them a chance to speak before her gaze drifted over to Firepaw and Greypaw. "You both share 'paw' as an end name. Does it mean something? Mayhaps you are family or closely knitted?"
Greypaw held his head high, eyes shining with pride as he answered their question. "'Paw' means we're apprentices! We're training to be warriors and when we are, we'll get a different end name!"
Tigerclaw's tail lashed, seemingly annoyed at Greypaw's sudden outburst. "Enough talk," he said, turning to face Lionheart. "We can't have a rogue on our territory, especially not one so close to our ShadowClan border. StarClan knows those cats would try to get her to spy on us."
Lionheart's expression turned thoughtful, the tip of his tail flicking as he spoke. "She carries no scent of ShadowClan-"
"She carries no scent we are familiar with," added Firepaw, his eyes staring Kitty up and down in confusion.
"-Right." Lionheart said with a nod. "Kitty, would you be willing to walk with us? Bluestar, our leader, may wish to see you."
To Kitty, Lionheart's words sounded much less of a question and more of a summons. She knew when she was out numbered and mostly likely out matched by these strange new forest cats. They opened their mouth to answer but before they could, their stomach let out a pathic gurgle.
Kitty's ears flattened slightly in embarrassment, her mind going back to the mouse that had looked so good, so juicy, only for her to miss the catch.
"Your belly seems to have more to say than you do!" Greypaw joked, though his eyes were kind and there was no heat to his words.
"There was a mouse," Kitty said, his voice taking on some of the lingering hunger and frustration. "I pounced on it but when I looked it was not there. The mouse did not stay to be eaten." Her tail ashed in annoyance and embarrassment.
"You pounced from the air?" Firepaw asked, tilting his head. "You didn't stalk it first? Or crouch? That must be why it heard you, Kitty." He offered her an apologetic smile.
Tigerclaw let out a "Tch," his tail twitching.
Lionheart's eyes softened for a moment. "If you come with us back to our camp, you may be able to get food. We won't let guests or strangers go hungry."
Kitty perked up at the mention of food, but she was still cautious of these new cats. "And what does this 'camp' involve?" They asked standing up, shaking dirt off of her soft cream fur.
"It involves survival." Tigerclaw interjected. He had already made his way to the thick undergrowth, turning back only to stare Kitty in the eyes. "It also involves not standing around like lost kits. Let's move. Now."
Kitty stood and began after Tigerclaw. She did not like how the dark tabby was harsh and seemed to have no joy and whimsy, but the promise of food was too tempting to pass up. So, they followed Tigerclaw and the other cats into the brush and undergrowth of the forest.