Journey into the Unknown

[Orca]

Alias crept along the shore of the lake, hopping along the rocks absent mindedly. He didn't have a care in the world as he played his game. He only jumped on rocks of a tan color. Water lapped at his paws and he squealed with joy. His mother didn't know where he was and he didn't care. Though Alias missed his sister's company, he had wanted to go exploring alone today.

He remembered his mother's warnings. "There are bad cats in the forest, Alias. You can never go in there!" She said. What did his mother know? They hadn't seen the "monsters" since the day his father had died and he didn't expect to see any today.

Alias was looking at the lapping waves as a big shadow crossed his path. He looked up, confused. What was that? He puffed out his spotted coat in fear. A tree! The biggest tree he had ever seen. Alias wasn't afraid of much but the thought of the tree's height made him quiver in fear. Falling, falling, that's all Alias remembered.

It took a couple of seconds for the cat to get up and bolt. He ran into the woods. Why did he run in here? Shelter probably. Though he didn't like trees, they provided the shadows that he would hide in.

After a couple of seconds of panting, the little cat looked around. He didn't know where he was. He was hopelessly lost. Alias whimpered. He could have sworn there were eyes in the woods. The monsters!

Alias ran pell-mell through the dense undergrowth, scared of the secrets that the woods held.

[†Missy†]

Cherrypaw pounced on the rabbit and dealt a swift bite to it killing it. Picking it up pride filled her. The rabbit was large and would feed everyone. As she headed back to camp she could hear quick footsteps. She quickly berried the rabbit than went after the the thing that was running through her forest. As she ran through a bush something hit her straight on sending her flying.She let out a loud oomph as the wind was knocked out of her. Jumping up she puffed out her fur and hissed angrily. "What do you think your doing you stupid Furball?" Turning she looked angrily...at a kit?

[Orca]

Alias shook himself off as he got to his feet. He had run into a cat, he wasn't even sure where she had come from. He leaped back, his mother's words running through his head. Monster... She wasn't a monster! She looked just like the other cats he knew, no claws flashing and no teeth snapping.

But she had called him a furball and that was intolerable. "Who are you calling a furball? Watch where you're going next time!" he faked bravado. He instantly regretted this burst of anger and soon looked apoligetic.

"Look, I'm sorry. You just scared me a bit there. I didn't think that cats lived in this forest. I'm Alias by the way." That cat looked angry. He hoped that his calmer words would prove to her that he was not a threat. But Alias didn't like the way she looked at him. Like he was too young to be here or something. Hey, he was small but he was growing! He was almost six moons old after all.

He looked at her with a tranquil demeanor, his blue eyes searching. Alias sat stock still and was not more than two tail lengths away from the stranger.

[†Missy†]

Cherrypaw bared her teeth. Her tail flicking with rage. "Why have you trespassed here kittypet? This land belongs to me and my clan. You have no right." Her claws where unsheathed and rage could easily be seen in her face. But slowly she began to calm down. After all he was just a kit. Sitting down she curled her tail around her front paws. "So tell me kittypet why are you here? Strayed away from your twolegs have you?"

Getting up she circled the tom. Opening her mouth she let his scent roll on her tongue. "Hmm you can not be a kittypet. But your also not from these woods. You smell more of grass and water than trees. A rouge's kit is it than or a loners? Speak up you little furball which is it?"

She sat back down and licked her paw and began to clean behind her ears. Just than she could hear more paw steps. Her hair pricked up and she sniffed the air. recognizing the scent she stood up straight and her eyes hardened.

Dovefeather padded out of the bushes. "Cherrypaw why are you so relaxed around this kit? You should have chased him out the second you saw him." Padding up to the kit she looked down at him. "Where is your mother and father kit? Have you gotten lost? Or did you just think you would do a little exploring on your own. Either way you should learn to be more careful. Come with us you shall be coming to our camp." She nudged the kit and motioned for Cherrypaw to guard his left while she guarded his right.

[Orca]

"Clan? Kittypet?" Alias cocked his head in confusion and let the strange word roll off his tongue. This cat sure was strange.

A strange scent washed over him and another cat appeared. She was just as harsh as the first cat but looked much more serious. And older. There was anger in her eyes. She told the other cat that she should have chased him out and called him a kit. A kit?! For the last time, he was Alias, scourge of the lake! No one called him a kit!

"I'm not a kit!" he protested as the two cats led him through the forest. He was going to their camp or something? A camp? "I just went out to explore! Then you scared me! What did I do wrong?" he asked fearfully. These cats weren't monsters but they were still scary. "My mom doesn't know where I am, she and Snow are going to be mad!" The little cat kept babbling as he followed the two she-cats through the woods.

[†Missy†]

Dovefeather forced herself not to purr and kept the scowl on her face. "You should have thought of that before trespassing little one. This whole forest belongs to me and my clan. I am the leader of the clan. You must be taught a lesson now come along." She continued to pad deeper and deeper into the forest until the reached there camp. She could see Dusk keeping guard. "Dusk go and look by the lake shore for a queen and another kit. Apparently one of the kits name is Snow. Bring them here to camp. Take Cherrypaw with you." Turning on the kit she flicked her tail to a bush. "You shall stay there until they find your mother and litter mate." She sat down by the entrance of the camp the only way in and out. She locked her eyes on Mooneyes, Snowfeather and Alusia. She than turned back to the kit. "What is your name little one? And why where you in our forest.?

Dusk nodded and led the way to the lake.

Cherrypaw quickly padded after them.

{You don't have to play snow and the mom. I'll just have them find Pixie who went looking for you}

[Orca]

Alias watched the other cats leave. Where was he? Alias had never been in a forest and he couldn't help but feel a tad claustrophobic in the dense woods. He flicked his tail nervously. Alias wasn't sure if he should tell this cat about his family.

Boy his mother was going to be mad. Snow, well, Snow might forgive him. But mother was going to kill him. Here he was, in the den of the cats his mother had warned him about. He wished Pixie was here to share the excitement. He pushed his mother out of his mind for a moment. He wanted to enjoy this adventure.

"I'm Alias," the kit meowed. "I wanted to go exploring, spend some time alone. I've never been in the forest before so I decided that it would be fun to go exploring!"

[†Missy†]

Dusk was halfway to the lake when he smelled another cat. He lifted his tail for Cherrypaw to stop. Crouching down he stalked the cat. When he saw the shecat he was surprise to see it was a kit like the one Dovefeather brought back. He pounced out of the thickness hissing he pinned the kit down with claws sheathed so it would do no damage.

Cherrypaw fallowed quickly. She circled the two and breathed in her scent. "Are you Snow? If so come with us. If you aren't your still coming with us," she hissed angrily.

Pixie had bean fallowing her brothers trail. She was distracted and hadn't noticed she was being hunted. She felt something heavy hit her and pin her down. She wriggled and claws at the cat with her back legs with unsheathed claws. "Let go of me." She didn't care how bad she hurt the cat. "What have you done to my brother."

Dusk grabbed her and threw her against the ground knocking the breath out of her. "Come on you stupid kittypet." His right leg was dripping in blood but the kit was unharmed.

Pixie gave up and fallowed them.

Dovefeather looked at the kit. "Well Alias you are in allot of trouble. We will talk more when Dusk and Cherrypaw bring your family here."

[Orca]

The she-cat said that he would be in trouble. He was able to roll his eyes at this. He was always in trouble and it made no difference to him. But when she said that she was going to bring his family, Alias was afraid.

First of all, his mother was going to be furious at him. That is, if the cats found his mother. Alias had wandered a significant distance around the lake before he had been captured. Maybe they wouldn't find his family. But if they did, and if they hurt Snow, his mother, or even Pixie (he doubted that would happen, she was a feisty one), then Alias was going to use his amazing kit powers to bring down these cats. Because if they hurt his family, then they would be monsters. And he had sworn to take down all monsters.

Alias mustered all the bravery he could into his next words, "Who do you think you are? I won't let you hurt my family, not again! Not while I'm here to protect them!" Though Alias really felt scared inside. In fact, he was more scared than he had ever been. He just hoped that his family was okay.

Morning

"Pixie? Alias? Where have you two gotten off to?" Mo cried as she searched frantically around the small, abandoned fox hole the group was using as a den. Snow was out hunting for the moment and Morning really needed his help. It wasn't the first time the kits had wandered off but where could they be?

[†Missy†]

Pixie was shoved through the tunnel quickly fallowed by Dusk who was bleeding and limping. He hissed angrily at this cat. "If this kit wasn't a kit I would have shredded it," he hissed angrily and limped over to the fresh kill area and grabbed a thrush before nudging Pixie over to her brother.

Pixie hissed angrily, looking around she saw her brother and ran over to him. "Alias, what have you gotten us into now?" She puffed up to twice her size. And though she was a horrible fighter she would give it her all. "Why have you brought us here. Let us go we haven't done anything," she hissed at Dusk.

Cherrypaw sniffed the wounds and went and grabbed some garlic and cobwebs. She rubbed the garlic over the wounds than wrapped them in garlic.

Dusk hissed from the garlic it stung. "Fox dung couldn't you just let them heal by themselves? That stuff stings."

Dovefeather padded over to the kit. "Are you Snow? I know your not the mother so you must be snow."

Pixie glared at Dovefeather. "No I'm not Snow." She glared at her brother he didn't mention her name why? "I'm Pixie his sister."

[Orca]

"Pixie!" Alias hissed, "You can't just tell them that kind of information! I didn't tell them about you cause I didn't want them to find you too!" He looked at Dovefeather reproachfully. He pressed against his sister for protection and to feel safer. Then, in a voice that only Pixie could hear, he whispered "I think these are the cats mother warned us about. The ones that killed father! We have to be careful!"

"What do you want us for anyway? Just let us go!" He spoke to all the cats present then. He glanced around. The little cat, the one he had met first, was putting some kind of weird stuff on the dark cat's wounds he guessed Pixie had inflicted. That was strange. Had Pixie really attacked him? It didn't seem like her. He shrugged this off. They all did weird things under pressure.

[Stern]

Alusia padded into the camp. She had been out fishing alone for the first time in a while. Usually, Dusk accompanied her, but today she had gone off alone. She just needed a bit of time to be by herself sometimes. She still hadn't completely conformed to Clan ways. She didn't want to, in fact. She didn't want to be some cat that did everything their leader told them blindly, she could think for herself. Then she noticed two kits in the middle of the clearing, held there by Dovefeather. Cherrypaws off to the side, tending to Dusk. He had a few scratches, she noticed. She put her fish on the freshkill pile, then hurried up to the kits, "What happened?"

[†Missy†]

Dovefeather looked at the kits and sighed. They where just kits. Hearing Alusia bad in she turned and smiled. "These kits where caught trespassing. The tom was brought first than the shecat later. There litter mates. The tom is Alias and the shecat Pixie. When Dusk tried to bring Pixie in she clawed at him but do not worry he didn't lay a claw on her."

Pixie still couldn't believe the way she had acted. She pressed against her brother scared. "What's gonna happen to us Alias?" She whispered softly.

Cherrypaw finished taking care of Dusk and stepped back "Come and see me if you think anything is getting infected."

Dusk nodded and padded to the freshkill pile and grabbed a vole.

[Orca]

"Pixie, we can't tell them where mom is! No matter what!" Alias whispered to his sister. What was going to happen to them? Alias didn't know. All he could do was comfort his sister. They needed each other more than ever before.

A new cat entered the area and walked close to them. Why were there so many cats here? The older she-cat introduced them. Like Alias and Pixie couldn't do that themselves. He snorted and stood up proudly. If he could put on a confident show, then maybe these cats wouldn't harm him and his sister. Or at least his sister. If anything happened to her, he'd never forgive himself. He prodded Pixie with his tail and urged her to look stronger, more sure of herself. The truth was that Alias was scared to death. He just hoped that the other cats wouldn't see that.

[†Missy†]

Cherrypaw padded up to Pixie and sniffed her. "You weren't hurt where you?" She cast her gaze over the kitten. She arched her eye a little as the tom tried to look proud and strong. A purr rumbled through her. "Do not worry you will not be harmed. We don't believe in hurting kits."

Dusk shook his head he would love to train the little shecat. She had fire in her.

Pixie nodded and tried to look strong but fear could still be seen in her eyes. She was scared and unsure of what would happen to them. When she heard what Cherrypaw said she felt some relief. But she still didn't trust them.

Dovefeather circled the two, "what Cherrypaw says is true. We do not wish any harm to you. Your just kits. But but you still need to be taught a lesson. Maybe a day or two away from your mother will teach you to stay out of the forest." Padding over to the freshkill pile she tossed a mouse over at the kits. "Eat up, I'm sure your hungry after everything that has happened." She than grabbed a vole for herself. She quickly climbed up to the leaders den and laid down on the ledge outside of it.