Warriors: Rise of the Weather [1] : The Journey Begins (OLD/DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Eighteen

Edited ✔️
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Mouse plodded forward, guilt still wrenched in his chest. His shoulders were squared and his head was lowered to the ground as he trailed along behind Mist. His legs felt wobbly and ached horribly, but he didn't dare make a protest to his mother for he feared angering her, since he'd already done enough with sneaking away without her permission.

Suddenly, the lightly dappled she-cat pulled to an abrupt stop, Mouse tumbling into her heel with a startled squeak. Carefully, Mist pulled her leg forward and away from Mouse, causing the tom-kit to tumble into the ankle deep snow, which happened to be belly dee for the young cat. Mist flicked her tail over Mouse's ears, her whiskers quivering as she tasted the air. "We'll rest here." She meowed calmly, turning tail and nudging the kit forward. Mouse looked down, his eyes growing round.

"In a rabbit's burrow?" He meowed uncertainly, blinking up at his mother in slight fear.

Mist nodded. "For your safety." She replied calmly, her tail swishing back and forth.

Mouse stepped towards the hole, peering down into the murky darkness. "Where will you stay?" He asked, tipping his head curiously as he noted how small the tunnels seemed to be — it would definitely not be able to fit a fully grown cat.

Mist exhaled, her blue eyes narrowing. "In that bush over there." She said firmly, indicating towards a nearly bare bush with it's leaves nearly entirely stripped away from its branches from the leafbare season.

"Oh." Mouse responded, his yellow eyes flicking over to the bush. It's close enough. He reassured himself, even though the thought didn't give him any more comfort. Fear squirmed in the pits of his stomach.

"Go inside. I'm off to go hunting, I'll be back later." Mist meowed commandingly, nudging Mouse forward with her muzzle. Mouse skidded into the den, falling a few mouse-lengths before plopping on the dirt ground. His gaze followed Mist as she turned and padded away. He swallowed, looking around at the small space as a small shower of dirt tumbled down to him.

"This is gonna be a long day..." he muttered quietly to himself, curling up into a ball and wrapping his tail around his muzzle.

***

Dirt spilt down on Mouse's sleeping form, grit tumbling between his fur. He lifted his head, blinking warily as a shadow was cast over the entrance of the rabbit's burrow. A sudden burst of fear crept into his chest, and he scrambled back, keeping low to the ground as to not bump his head and send the ceiling collapsing. Suddenly, a blue eye gazed down into the dark hole.

"Mouse, come on out." Mist mewed softly, her breath billowing down. Relief washing over him, Mouse crinkled his nose, not too fond of how his mother's breath smelt. He shook away the thought, and Mist quickly backed away so Mouse could fit through. Slowly, the kit made his way out of the hole, his fur clumped and tangled as pieces of earth knotted it's way into his brown and white fur. Quickly, he shook his pelt in hopes to clean it at least a little bit, but to no avail. He blinked up at Mist, who carried a scrawny rabbit in her jaws. She dropped it to the ground, stepping back so her kit could have his share.

Mouse knelt down and took a large bite out of the rabbit, trying to finish it as quickly as possible. The heavy feeling of silence was weighing down on his shoulders, and it wasn't the good kind, either. Quickly, he finished the piece of freshkill in a few large bites, before backing away so his mother could have her share. Mist picked it up and carried it over to the bush she'd claimed to stay at, settling down quietly in a comfortable position.

Mouse crawled back into the rabbit's burrow, smoothing his fur in hopes not to get anything knotted in it. He curled back up, exhaustion suddenly weighing down on him. His eyelids drooped, and his jaw parted in a yawn, before he closed his eyes and fell to sleep.

He woke up in an odd clearing. The grass was a beautiful shade of green, however tinted with a starry white, and thriving trees stretched endlessly into the sky, sunlight filtering through their leaves and dappling the ground. A small breeze ruffled through the branches, and there was a large scent of prey, however the scent of a cat mingled with it. As if on queue, a black tabby tom padded forward from between a few trees, his fur was smoothed calmly and stars glittered around his dark fur. Mouse immediately recognized the tom as Darkblaze from his previous dream, and a prickle of discomfort rushed beneath his fur. Reoccurring dreams aren't normal. He thought to himself, his eyes narrowing at the dark tabby. Maybe it actually means something.

"Why am I here?" The kit asked immediately after his thoughts, his fur rising in discomfort. Darkblaze looked at him solemnly, his sharp amber eyes glowing with an eerie light.

"You and your mother must follow the brightest star of the night." The strange tom replied simply, briefly shrugging his shoulders.

Mouse tilted his head to the side, his jaws parted slightly as he hesitated in his response. "And if I don't?"

Darkblaze narrowed his eyes to slits, looking over at the tom-kit. "If you don't, you'll never have a home again." He meowed coldly, his ears twitching slowly in every direction.

Mouse stiffened, unable to stop himself from jumping a few mouse lengths into the air. "Never? Again?" He cried, fear springing into his chest at the thought of always being on the move, never living in one area. That's no home!

Darkblaze nodded, knowing he had struck a nerve. "Never again." He echoed quietly, settling down into a sitting position as he avoided the kit's gaze. Finally, he looked into Mouse's yellow eyes. "When you follow the brightest star, you will find cats whom you can trust. Cats who will risk their lives for the sake of yours, and cats who will welcome you to their home with open paws. You will be safe, and have a place to live amongst those of the rising weather."

Mouse's racing heart seemed to stop for a moment, his eyes growing wide at the tom's words. "Really..?" He asked in a hushed tone, his fur smoothing out. Darkblaze gave a small, and encouraging smile.

"Really." He meowed, his voice tainted with honesty, along with a sliver of hopefulness.

Mouse tore his gaze away from Darkblaze's, feeling as if there was a lump in his throat. "How do I convince Mist?" He asked in a hushed tone, his tail lowering close to the ground, his paws shuffling uncomfortably.

"Your mother?" Darkblaze meowed after a moment of thought, his head tipping greatly to the side as he gazed at the kit. Mouse nodded eagerly, his whiskers quivering. Mist probably wouldn't believe him, and tell him to stop daydreaming. Darkblaze slowly angled his head so that he could face Mouse. "I'll visit her in a dream. In the morning, bring it up to her." He said, his tail twitching in satisfaction with himself.

Mouse smiled. "Okay!" he chirped, raising his tail into the air. Darkblaze let out a soft chuckle, and gave the kit a brisk lick between the ears in a fatherly fashion, smoothing down a tuft of hair that had stuck out.

"Good luck, young Mouse." The tom meowed, a smile curling into his expression. Mouse nodded in response, and before he knew it, a blinding flash of light had emitted throughout the clearing, consuming his vision in less than a heartbeat.