It's now or never (OPEN, Intro, Kittypet wandering into territory)

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    (I'm sorry this is so long lol Anyway, anyone's welcome to jump in! And just putting it out there, I'm considering/open to joining Thunderclan, but I'm unsure still... At the very least, I'd like Zinnia to become a loner.)


    Her journey started with a dream.


    Zinnia awoke with a start. Her heart beating like a drum, she stared into space as she tried to calm the panicking waves of her mind. It's over, it wasn't real. She wasn't spread out with her belly against the fluffy fabric of her bed like when she had fallen asleep, but was now curled up in a fetal position. Her body was tense still, and a glance downward showed her claws were unsheathed. Wow, settle Zinnia... It was just a dream.

    The kittypet rubbed her face against the stuffed teddy bear toy that her twolegs had given her, something she always did for comfort, and thought. The dream was so confusing and random, but it kept coming to her. It made no sense... There were birds, those creatures she saw through the windows of her twoleg's house... But they were inside?! Other creatures, which she had sometimes spotted in their yard, were jumping across furniture, squeaking and dropping leaves and nuts everywhere. Mice, more birds, and even bigger creatures that resembled cats, would find and chase her until she would eventually be forced to fight them in her dream. Then she'd wake up.


    Why?! Do I have some sort of phobia of outdoors? Zinnia half heartedly mocked herself, before rolling her soft bluish grey eyes towards the glass pane doors that shielded her from that very place. All she knew was that she was so fed up with having these dreams, as stupid as they were, making her more skittish by the day. Look, I'm just going to go out there then. I'll show myself it's not bad, then those dreams will probably stop! She perked her ears as she came up with the idea. It scared her, because it was something she had never done before, but this just had to be done. She could feel it in her bones.


    A few days later....


    The molly squeezed her slim body through the cracked window of her twoleg's house and landed hard, and quite ungracefully, on the sunbaked ground. She hadn't emerged without her trusty teddy bear, of course, which was clutched in her maw by it's scruff. Zinnia looked expectantly around, ready to face what seemed to be her fears. And guess what? There was nothing. Not even a single bird perched on the fence, or a squirrel digging in the flower beds.


    Just my luck... No, I'm not giving up here then! She thought, taking a few sets of brave steps until she met the brown picket fence that bordered the forest. Without realizing it, Zinnia's back legs wobbled as she prepared to jump over it. If she just ventured a little bit farther out, she would probably see a bird or something and then problem solved! Just DO it. Keep walking straight. Don't wuss out! Keep walking straight. Dont wuss out... She chanted in her mind as she flew over the fence. Adrenaline hit her like a train once she stood on the other side though. Instead of casually walking, she bolted straight forward. What in catnip's name am I doing!? She internally screamed because her mouth was full of the teddybear's scruff, which was flopping around her face like mad as she ran. Unknowingly into Thunderclan's territory.

    // Let me be the Graypaw to your Rusty ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


    Cypresspaw, whom wasn't all that great in anything except speaking, took pride in hunting. He wasn't fast, so he had to rely on stalking prey using the clan's natural surroundings. Though catching food became difficult since the prey rarely stayed above ground long enough for them to be able to actually kill them. "Hasn't leaf-bare passed already?" He grumbled to himself, after the second time his claws connected to nothing but dirt. The fresh-kill pile was steadily decreasing, and he wanted to be helpful in someway. So any chance he had to go hunt, he took it. Though, usually, his efforts went in vain.


    Shaking the dust off his pelt, the young seal point tom went to a nearby tree to cool down after his latest attempts to feed the clan. Sitting down and looking out to the distance, 'Oh shoot, I haven't realized I've gone so far out!' Standing back up once he had regained the energy to do so. A rustle from further back made him freeze in fear. 'What was that?' Turning towards the sound, 'No matter what it is, I won't stand a chance against it! I have to get back and warn the camp! Or you could save them some time, like a true warrior!' He debated his next steps, but couldn't decide fast enough and quickly encounters a running kittypet.

    (Thanks for joining. Lol oh no... that reminds me *facepalm* I havent read the Warriors books in so many years. If I had remembered I wouldn't have made a plot so similar xD I just totally forgot until I went and wikied it a sec ago. Now I feels like a plagiarist. :'( It was unintentional.


    And thank you AnneMarie ! Sorry my post is a little weird because I rewrote it to fit with yours a few times xD)


    Zinnia's heart eventually stopped racing so much and the fearful adrenaline slowed down, but her paws still hadn't. They galloped strong and swiftly across the forest ground, eventually hitting a dead stick in her blind rampage. Crack! Thankfully the noise snapped her more out of it and composure came flooding back. Okay. I'm never going to find any wildlife like this... I'm just scaring it all away! Settle and slow down, Zinnia, before you-


    Her realization came just before someone else's fur and eyes flashed in front of her. What in the name of...? Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the form of another cat as well! Was she about to stumble across an exploring-the-forest convention or what? She had no idea what Clan cats were, so it was the next best guess. Well, whatever it was, the kittypet dug her paws hard into the ground, attempting to put on the breaks in time to avoid hitting either one of the cats.


    Unlike rugs and hardwood floor that usually took time to slow her down in her Twoleg's house, dirt stopped her much faster than expected. "Wahh!" The molly yowled as she tumbled head under heels. "Oof." She rolled in a harmless ball formation and finally flopped to a stop, flat on her back, a safe distance from the two cats. However, during her spin out, her teddybear went flying through the air, right towards/into (either one of) the apprentice's face. Meanwhile the kittypet wiggled pathetically on her back, her plump belly fully exposed for a few seconds, which made her suddenly feel very venerable and out of place. She was so dizzy and still trying to grasp what happened, so she couldn't even speak to the two cats yet.

    // i have to use that quote. It is perfect lol. Welcome to Thunderclan! We hope you stay!


    Moonpaw hated this weather. It was gosh darn awful. She loved hunting. She prided herself in it but in this weather, no one was going to catch anything. There was honestly nothing to catch. All the prey were smart. They buried themselves in the earth where is was cool. Moonpaw wanted to do the same.


    Quite frankly, it was the heat that ticked her off the most. Moonpaw had dark grey fur that wasn't exactly the thinnest. She often found herself in the middle of puddle when she awoke from a afternoon nap. It made her mad and clouded her head. It made her do and say stuff she didn't mean, not that anything really passed though her head much anyways.


    No willing to give up on the food problem, Moonpaw found herself out on one cat hunting patrol. She just couldn't take the chatter of the others. It drove her mad. As she walked though the forest, she picked up a scent, Cypresspaw's. She immediately followed it. Moonpaw knew that the apprentice was a good hunter and she could use a hunting buddy. He was also a good listener and didn't talk very often.

    "Hey Cypresspaw! Wait, do you smell that? Kittypet. What would a kittypet be doing here?" Moonpaw looked around. Soon, in front of her came a crazy looking cat. More crazy than Moonpaw. She had a weird bendy thing in her maw that bounced here and there as she ran. Her running, well, it looked like someone just set fire to her tail.

    "Whoa. Slow down! Who are you?" Moonpaw's curiosity took over.

    // haha it's fine. I think it's cool.

    Why does this look like a double post?


    Moonpaw watched as the Kittypet flopped onto the ground. Moonpaw was too busy laughing to see the brown floppy thing soar through the air and hit her in the muzzle. "Ugh, what is that?" She prodded at the weird item. It wasn't a mouse or a bird. Oh well, kittypets were weird.


    She snatched the brown thing off the floor and walked over to the kittypet. Dropping the unknown object, Moonpaw said, "That was quite the entrance you made there. Who are you?" She honestly didn't even want to know what the brown thing was.

    Yewstain stumbled upon the trio just in time to watch the kittypet fae tumble and toss whatever she was carrying. She was obviously young, and even more obviously a kittpet based on her smell, her possession and of course the fact she didn't know how to stop on dirt. The warrior walked towards the three apprentices, eyes studying them all carefully.

    "Two stray apprentices and a kittypet." Yewstain mumbled, the tom staring mostly at the stranger. "Out on an adventure away from your nest?"

    Yewstain had mixed feelings on kittypets. He found many of the adults were rude towards the feral cats such as himself, but the younger ones tended to be rather docile. Yew felt the young fae wasn't a problem for both the apprentices and himself, so he chose to be fairly kind. The child was probably new to her nest, and had yet to be told what laid beyond the fence.

    Cypresspaw was overwhelmed to say the least, at first he thought the kittypet was going to hit him, but instead tripped over an rolled to her back not too far from him. The thing she was carrying, which he didn't even notice until it flung to the air and landed on Moonpaw, whom he was just as surprised to see. 'What is happening?!' He didn't know how to process what was going on, but looked at the kittypet in worry. "Are you hurt?" He didn't know a thing about non-feral cats other than the stories he heard from the nursery, and just assumed that any cat who lived with two legs out of their own volition were fragile in general.


    When Yewstain mentioned them, he calmed again. He didn't think he could take a predator and felt good knowing that even if he did encounter one, his mentor was just around the corner. But he also looked at the tom for any further instructions, not knowing how to deal with the unique situation.

    Zinnia grumbled with effort as she flexed her back and wiggled. Her body turned, putting herself back onto her paws and stomach at last. Her eyes drifted past the ground in the process, looking for signs of what happened. It featured fresh scuff marks. She picked up noises from the unfamiliar cats behind her, most noticeably one's laughter. I get it, har har. She thought, good-heartedly. I must have looked like a doll that was dropped down the stairs. Speaking of which, where's my..?

    The kittypet lifted her doe eyes quickly, just as she saw the other molly approach with her bear. How did that get over there? However it did, it made an explosion of embarrassment spread over it's owner's features. Why did I bring that thing? Zinnia shuffled her paws as she dipped her head in thanks, her eyes still watching the she-cat. She gave a faint chuckle and responded "Zi- Zinnia. Who are you?" Her eyes tried to beg the words, 'you must never speak of this,' meaning, her bear, at the same time.


    Zinnia's eyes swam past the molly's side, and there she saw two other cats standing. Now there were three? Something about this seemed too strange to be a coincidence. One of the cat's mentioned the word Kittypet, and seemed to be referring to her. She blinked owlishly under his stare. "I am." She mewed, hoping it was okay. She felt like it was up to him, if it was. Zinnia sensed an air of respect around the tom for some reason. She tilted her head "Apprentices? Kittypet? What do those mean?" She asked with genuine confusion, the molly's head tilting.


    She focused on the other apprentice at the sound of his voice, who she had spotted first when she bolted in. His question made her consider these cats somewhat trustworthy and friendly. "I don't think I'm hurt, thank you." To test this theory, she straightened into a tall sitting position, now that she also didn't expect any attacks coming from these cats.

    Moonpaw blinked at the kittypet. It was true. They wern't the brightest. "I'm Moonpaw. Your in Thunderclan territory." She looked over to find Yewstrain mumbling. "Sorry." Moonpaw was just getting used to the whole apprentice thing. Were they even allowed to leave camp by themselves? She still had no clue. She did it anyways. "Apprentice is a term used to describe a cat like me. We are training to be a warrior like him." She bumped Yewstrain a bit. "A kittypet is a term used to describe a cat like you who lives with twolegs or whatever you guys call the." What did they call twolegs? "Now, why are you away from your den?" She couldn't help it. Her curiosity was too strong.


    Yewstain's ears focused on each cat as they spoke, head tilting a slight bit as Moonpaw explained what a apprentice and kittypet was, flicking a ear to acknowledge the bump she offered when describing a warrior. Frankly, the tom had no reason to distrust the kittypet, but he still remained on guard. If anything went sour in any way, he was the one that had to protect the apprentices, so he wasn't about to loosen up anytime soon.

    "I have the same question." Yewstain said, flicking a ear. "Your two-leg must be worried, no?"

    Zinnia found herself slightly curious of these cats, who all seemed connected to one another in some way. While standing completely solid, she hung on the words the molly said as she tried to describe what their terms meant. Her ears slanted as she tried to process everything. Thunderclan? Moon...paw? Did they live out in the forest? Typical of a naïve young cat, she wanted to ask question after question, as it all still didn't quite make sense to her, but the kittypet held them in her throat as the two cats started to question her instead.


    "Twol- ah. I know what you're talking about." Her narrow head bobbed to show she was on the same page and then the kitten shuffled her paws again, in a thoughtful manner. She explained, "They're not at the den right now, so they don't know." She planned the escape after studying their schedule. They were so predictable, it had to be beyond boring to be one of them. "I just wanted to do something before I went back... I'm here to solve a fear I have." Zinnia mewed, lifting her chest up a little bit more to add to the point she wanted to be brave, that she was on a mission. "...Speaking of which, wheres all the little creatures? Usually about yea big, that dig and climb around trees?"

    Moonpaw was surprised that a kittypet would want to come out here, ever. "A fear? What kind of fear?" How do you solve a fear by running into a couple apprentices? Moonpaw didn't really have fears. Her every more was usually done without her brain. Without it, no thoughts kicked in and with that, no fears.


    When the kittypet motioned at the height and talked about an animal that climbed trees and did some digging, Moonpaw was utterly confused. Again, she never used her brain. "Um do you mean a squirrel?" She didn't know if they did any digging but they did climb trees. "I doubt you'll be seeing any of them out now. It's kinda too hot for them. Maybe try at night or in the morning before the sun comes up. You might be about to find some them." She doubted the kittypet knew that they were in the middle of a drought.


    While he was unsure if what to do, Cypresspaw still listened intently on their conversation. Once Zinnia started giving her reasons for entering their territory, the tom was surprised to learn that the she-cat was much more brave than he recently assumed. She asked about what squirrels were and Moonpaw obliged. At first, he brushed the question off as just an innocent thing a sheltered cat wanted to know about, but then Moonpaw brought up their problem. "What are you planning to do with them?" He asked, suspicion rising from the tone in his voice.


    He didn't know how to deal with kittypets, but he knew what his clan needed. Food was getting scarce and he wasn't going to allow anybody to steal prey from Thunderclan, harmless or not.

    (Sorry I've been busy the last few days! X_X Talk about heat... irl, it's been in the 80's-90's. *fans self rapidly* I think I might melt)

    What kind of fear? The kittypet searched inside herself once again, her eyes rolling from the cats to the ground in apparent deep thought, but weak guesses sprouted a doubtful look on her face. Her youthful features squished. They don't know what I've been through... Would they understand? She decided to try and explain anyway. "Well," She lifted her head, so she was speaking clearly to them. "In my dreams almost every single night, I'm... chased by those 'squirrels' and other creatures." Her voice faded out sheepishly. She ended up strangled with fear in her dreams, but out loud it sounded just as silly to her as it probably did to the feral cats. Zinnia even cracked a half hearted smile at what she just meowed. "I cant place my paw on why or make it stop. I'm sure I could learn to... but I think think the fastest way is to... face them." She hoped, so she could get some peaceful sleep again soon.


    It hit her after she had explained that she had come all the way out here for nothing, though, as moonpaw's words repeated in her head. Wont see any of them?! She couldn't deny it was sweltering, her pads were beginning to feel a little sweaty, as she was used to an AC treated house. But that was just so inconvenient! She might not get another chance to slip out of the house, once her folks realized how she escaped. I'll have to come back another time then? Zinnia's ears drooped at the news, barely even perking when she shifted her attention to the young tom, Cypresspaw. He seemed concerned with what she had planned. "I'll..." What was she going to do? Her chest puffed up a little as she mustered up the answer, "I'll chase them for a change!" She declared, but then her face sank again. "Or, I was going to... But there's none here now, right? Or anywhere else?" She was on one of her last strings of hope.

    Moonpaw



    //Haha same though. It's been up to 110 here.


    Moonpaw tilted her head. Was she hearing the kittypet correctly? Scared of squirrels? But their prey. Who in their rightful mind would be scared of their own food? But then again, she was a kittypet. "Umm, maybe trying to chase them this time around will work but I don't know what to tell you." She paused a bit, no knowing what to say. That seemed so ironic at the time. Moonpaw would do anything to get her paws on a squirrel who Zinnia was running away from them. If only dreams were real.


    Moonpaw felt a rush of 'cooler' air and looked up into the sky. All the talking and crashing and looking at each other had taken more time than she expected. The sun was on the verge of setting and a thin sliver in the sky resembled a faded moon. "Well, if you stay or a little while longer, you might see some in the woods. ThunderClan territory is your best bet."


    //Freaked for a moment since I thought celsius but then remembered fahrenheit was a thing.


    Cypresspaw calms after Zinnia started explaining. While he found it kind of funny that she would be scared of squirrels, he admired her bravery by facing her fears head on. 'At least she's taking initiative. Which I gotta give credit for.' So he pushed aside his thoughts on the kittypet stereotype and take her more seriously. Maybe it was because he assumed she lived a more luxurious life did he start to unconsciously look down on the she-cat, but for the small time they've been talking, his expectations went tossed out the forest. 'We've lived different ways but are we really that different?'


    He looked to Moonpaw, whom answered most of Zinnia's questions. "But we'd prefer it if you didn't." He told her, "Catching prey is hard enough as it is and chasing them around with no intention of catching them seems wasteful." He wasn't sure where he was going with this but he didn't think they'd be happy with the result. "So instead, why don't you join us?" Not knowing why these words were spilling from his maw. 'I'm not in the position to ask this! Why am I asking?!'

    (Daaang. And now I'm dying in 100+ weather ^-^ lol and sorry for the late reply)


    Zinnia had been crossing thoughts in her mind as she listened to the two, trying to figure out whether to come back another time, as the she-cat called Moonpaw had suggested, or well... go home and quit. As she turned her doubtful looking face towards Cypresspaw, she discovered why he seemed suspicious about what she was planning to do with the 'prey.' "Oh! you're having a hard time finding them too?" Zinnia felt bad, she should have been thinking about this before. If these cats were feral, they had to eat something... It had previously not yet crossed her brilliant mind that that something might be squirrels. That's what happens when a cat fed little crunchy balls her whole life steps outside for the first time. "I'm sorry, my plan sounds like a bad idea now. When I said I wanted to chase them, I wasn't thinking about-" The she-cat stammered, retracing the toms words "uh, thinking about... Did you say join you?- er, Thunderclan, you mean?"


    The kitten didn't understand what that mean in total, to join them. To be one of them... Except for the obvious change in diet. It sounded like that was Cypress's whole point though, to eat the squirrels rather than just chase them away, or so she gathered. Zinnia glanced down at her paws, between which there laid her stuffed teddy bear, a permanently upturned maw on his face. Embarrassed to be watched with the thing next to her again, she looked away from it as she continued, "What would that mean? What do you do? Hunt and eventually become a 'warrior?'"

    // Finally got with the program and just colour coded my text.


    The tom had said those words, and couldn't find it in him to retract them. So he just continued with the train of thought, 'It'd be another mouth to feed, but I think she'd be able to handle it. Or at least persevere since she seems determind enough.' Cypresspaw made up his mind once he argued with himself once more, 'Anyone who'd be willing to give up such a comfortable life must be tough, or at least strong-willed.' With his mind set, the seal point apprentice just went with it, "Yes."


    He understood her confusion, seeing as the invitation was not only sudden but she also seemed sheltered. It was obvious that Zinnia didn't really know anything about the clans, so he elaborated, "We do everything that's necessary to survive. Hunting is not the only responsibility given to a clan cat, because living in a clan means working with your clanmates to face whatever comes our way...Like a giant family." He hoped that his answer was sufficient; that it conveyed his pride in his clan. "It might not be as safe or as pleasant as being a kittypet, but it's very exhilarating. You find self worth taking care of others whom you grow to care for, and are then taken care of in turn once you're down." Cypresspaw meowed, before adding, "Sometimes not even in the physical sense."

    The post was edited 1 time, last by [Iago] ().

    //tbh I get to lazy to color code things sometimes


    Moonpaw nodded. The prey was running short and attempting to catch a squirrel might not be the best idea. Given how bad the prey levels have gotten. As Cypresspaw offered for her to be an apprentice, Moonpaw didn't know how long the kittypet could handle it. Like the first move she made was she made was crashing through bushes. But, Moonpaw didn't say anything mean about it. "We live by the warrior code and are loyal to our clan. Do you have any questions you want use to answer? I know this might be a bit confusing."

    Everything that Zinnia heard sounded quite serious. As she tried to gather the gist of their words, her head bobbed slightly and ears stood tall. Her innocent gaze looked like a kit studying something they'd never seen before. Being one of these feral cats was not just a job, it was a life style. Not exactly safe or easy, but they were all in it together like a big 'family.' Wow... Zinnia had little to no experience on responsibility, hard work, hunting, or... family. Joining them wasn't her first desire, but the Siamese-tabby mix gave the suggestion a chance anyway. She was thankful for Moonpaw welcoming questions at the end of it all. "That actually sounds nice! You have things to do all the time and friends to be with." She meowed, reflecting on her own life for comparison.


    Every now and again, her folks would get down on the soft ground and push her toys around, playing with her; she assumed. She had a cat 'tree' to climb. A bowl of kibbles that magically refilled without end. Her teddy. No troubles. It seemed like everything. But she paused and thought about what Cypresspaw said. '...not as pleasant as being a kittypet... but... you find self worth.' Zinnia felt a little hook tugging her closer to accepting. She shifted her eyes to Moonpaw, though, and meowed. "Then I guess it would be important for me to ask what the Warrior Code is? And theres other clans then?"