Chapter Text
“Say goodbye, kittypet.”
Tiny felt his breath squeak helplessly out of his lungs as his assailant’s teeth dug into his skin. The massive brown tabby had his jaws clamped tight around Tiny’s neck, ready to snap it like a twig. And from the sounds of it, he was about to.
Tiny closed his eyes, unable to take another breath, fully prepared to never open them again…
“Stop, Tigerpaw!” the blue she-cat screeched. “That’s enough!”
The jaws finally lifted, though a giant brown paw planted itself firmly in the middle of Tiny’s chest, pinning him to the ground, threatening to crush him with its weight.
The tabby scowled up at the she-cat. “I was just defending our territory,” he grumbled.
“And you’ve done that,” the she-cat said, her voice filled with concern, yet steady and confident. “This kit has learned his lesson.”
The paw rose from Tiny’s chest. He scrambled to his paws, ears flat against his head, every muscle in his body ready to make a break for it. He looked up into the amber eyes of Tigerpaw, not a drop of remorse in them. If anything, he was disappointed to have to let the kit free.
Still, his lips were pulled back into a smiling snarl. “Yeah,” he growled. “You’ll never forget me.”
With that, Tigerpaw turned to his companions, and the three turned back into the forest where they came from. Tiny shivered, the feeling of those powerful jaws still burrowing into his skin, those long claws still stinging his face, the hot breath still clinging to every hair on his pelt.
He had to get out of here.
But where else could he go? The forest would be full of more of those bloodthirsty cats, and from what the tabby said, they were extremely defensive of their territory. If he went back home, the twolegs would find him, and throw him in the river, like Ruby said.
The claw-wound on his face began dripping blood. It ran down his cheek and along his lips, falling right into his mouth. The metallic tang bit back at him, shook him to his core.
He had no home, now.
He sighed, turning back to look towards his home one last time. There were so many fences, he forgot which one he came through. But as he looked, he saw a figure of another cat approaching him. The adrenaline returned to his body.
Every muscle told him to run, ached to bolt out away from the stranger. But he couldn’t move. His legs locked themselves into place.
“S-stay back!” he warned, his voice shaking so much he wasn’t sure the words made it out.
But the cat continued approaching.
A she-cat, definitely. Tall and lithe, but with trained muscle beneath her soft pelt. Her sharp face and long ears framed piercing amber eyes the color of sunshine. Her black fur nearly sparkled in the light, the errant white patches practically glowing. And behind her slithered a long, black tail.
“Wh-who are you?!” Tiny shouted. “What do you want from me?!”
The cat stopped in her tracks, tilting her head curiously, her expression blank and hollow. She blinked down at him, then continued walking past him, off down the line of fences towards the twolegplace.
Tiny’s legs finally started obeying him again. Weird, he thought, watching her walk off.
Before she got very far, however, she turned back to him and cocked her head again. Tiny paused, unsure of what to do. The cat smiled a bit, flicking her tail to summon him closer, then began walking again.
Does…she want me to follow? he thought.
With nowhere else to go, he swallowed hard and followed the stranger off into the twolegplace.
The two continued walking along the rows of fences, occasionally stopping to cross some obstacle or avoid another cat.
The stranger remained silent through their whole journey. Tiny did the same.
After a while of walking, the stranger turned to a hole in one of the fences. It was too small for her to follow, but just big enough for Tiny to slip through. She gestured again, urging him in.
Tiny hesitated. Who knows what could be on the other side? A dog? Twolegs? More of those bloodthirsty cats?
But the stranger’s eyes were kind, and something about her felt safe to Tiny. Though she had never spoken a word to him, he felt he could trust her. Tentatively, he peered through the hole in the fence.
No dogs or twolegs, thankfully. But there was a cat. A round orange tabby, his belly out to the sky, soaking in a puddle of sunlight. His round face pulled back in a drowsy smile, a collar around his neck, and one white paw curled up against him.
Tiny’s heart jumped, looking down at his own white paw.
He had heard his mother speak well of his father, the cat who had really given birth to him. And by all means, this cat matched toe-to-tip.
Tiny turned back to the stranger cat. “Thank-”
But she was gone. The ground where she stood wasn’t so much as disturbed, as though she were never there to begin with.
His heart sank. Had he been dreaming? Or hallucinating? Or did she just abandon him here in the hopes his father would accept him?
But his thoughts were interrupted yet again.
“Hello?” called a voice. “Is someone there?”
Tiny turned back to the yard to see the orange cat staring straight back at him with big, green eyes. But he looked kind. And he didn’t sound angry. Tiny took a breath for courage and stepped through the fence to greet this cat.
“H-hello, there,” he started. “C-could you help me?”
The orange cat rose to his paws, his eyes growing wide. “Who are you? What happened to you?” he began, rushing over. “You look like you’ve just lost a fight with a forest cat!”
Tiny’s gaze turned. He felt his ears getting hot, and pulled them down in shame. The orange cat blinked. “O-oh…” he said. “Are you alright? I’m sure my twolegs could--”
“Um,” Tiny interrupted. “Are you Jake?”
The orange cat jumped a little. “Ah, yes! Have…you heard of me?”
Tiny nodded. “My name’s Tiny, sir. My mama’s name is Quince. She says you’re my dad.”