Morning Shadows ~ Chapter One

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First~ https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/954016770 Previous~ https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/954016770 Next~ Not yet ~Chapter One of Morning Shadows~ “Swift. You know I hate rat.” Swift winced. Red had said Terror hated rat- he should’ve listened. He thought up a lie, quickly. “Um, Jessie’s kit, Sedge? She loves rat. Sorry, Terror. I was getting Sedge her favorite food. I can go hunt again later.” Terror narrowed her dark blue eyes. “Fine. Go hunting right after you give it to her. I want fresh vole.” Swift flinched just slightly, but Terror didn’t notice. It was hard to get fresh prey besides rat these days. To get that he would have to wander into the river lands. Two-Legs went there in greenleaf to put up flappy dens, but they always left when the weather got cold. Besides, he wasn’t used to hunting. He usually scavenged. “I’ll- I’ll try my best, Terror.” She nodded and, through slitted blue eyes, watched Swift enter Jessie’s den. “Hey, sis.” “Swift! Come on in. The kits have been dying to see you.” He slid into the den and eyed Fox in the corner. Fox seemed to make Jessie happy, as he was her mate, but Swift thought something was… off about him. Sedge leaped up on Swift’s leg and mewed to her younger siblings. “Come on, guys! He’s a dog!” Fern giggled and bounced onto Swift’s lowered head, but Jay simply looked up, then down again, as if he was too wise and old for kit games. Creepy, Swift thought. “Grrrr! Meany dog. Look, mommy! Imma earn my first tooth!” Fern started to pull at Swift’s lips. Swift chuckled. He wanted kits of his own, to love and play with. But he had never met the right cat. “Swift?” That was Terror. “Sorry, kits,” Swift said. “I gotta make the boss happy.” Fern and Sedge sighed enormously and crawled toward Jessie. Jay just watched Swift leave through narrowed eyes. ———— “Well, that only took forever.” Swift smiled at Mouse. The clumsy tom had already chased two voles away, but finally he had caught one. Mouse was too heavy on his paws- he would be better at fighting. Swift, however, wouldn’t mind if he never stopped hunting. He loved it. “Red! Mouse! Swift! Terror requested your presence.” The three toms turned to see Fox, a blank look in his smoky blue eyes. “Now,” he said, as if they hadn’t moved at all. They nodded curtly and trotted toward camp ———— “There have been some intruders at Jessie’s den.” “What!” Swift growled and sank his claws into the dirt below him. “Where? Show me!” “I admire your willingness to fight, but we chased them off. The bad news is that they… well, they took Sedge.” Swift was gone in a flash. He didn’t hear Terror, Red, Mouse, or Fox calling his name. He caught the scent quicker than any prey he ever had and started to run. The trail was stronger than ever now. His paws were starting to burn with exhaustion, but he forced himself to continue to run. That is, until he ran into a fence. The trail ran right through there, but Swift could see a way past the fence. There were no gapes in the fence, no holes underneath it. They could’ve climbed it, but Swift was not a climber. But he would try. “Are you okay?” A rough, high voice mewed. Swift whirled to spot a huge brown tom sitting on a wooden fence. His tail flicked back and forth, and his blue collar around his neck had no teeth. A kittypet? “Who are you?” “I’m Tom. You looking for something? Or… someone?” How did he guess? “That’s the most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard. Would Two-Legs name my sister She-cat?” “I guess so,” he said, starting to groom himself. “So. Looking for someone?” How strange. He wasn’t offended at all! “Yes. Some strange cats? They would have a kit with them. A light brown kit, with white around the eyes, and white paws?” Tom narrowed his eyes in thought. “Oh yeah. Yeah. Fangstar, Clawslash, and Toothsnap, huh? They made those names up, obviously.” He paused to yawn. “They steal kits a lot. Tried to take my sister’s once. The kits name was Lucy- cutest little thing you ever did see! It happened like-“ “Thank you for telling me this, Tom, but I need to go.” He decided that politeness would outweigh threats this time. “Sure. Yeah. Get ya kit back.” Was that wistfulness in his eyes? “Thanks.” Swift shot toward the chain-link fence and curled his claw on the chain. Here goes nothing… He hoisted himself up and over the fence with a grunt, plopping down on the other side. That was easier than expected, Swift thought. I should practice more! He continued to follow the scent trail until he reached the river lands. The marshy ground made it harder to keep the trail, but Swift was determined. Suddenly he heard voices. Ducking down under a bush, he slowly crept forward to hear better. “From now on, you’ll be called Sedgepaw.” Sedge struggled under a large yellowish-brown tom’s paws. His green eyes glowed as Sedge started to slow down and give in. “Blackleaf will mentor you.” Mentor? Sedgepaw? This was… a Clan?