Alley Cats

Feather finished the last bits of food. She looked at Shadow. Then all around, and suddenly felt embarrased. She looked back to Shadow.

My gaze followed after hunter and rolled my eyes with a grunt.My ears twitched and flicked before looking back at shadow with a curious gaze

Shadow broke the silence with a sigh. "Well," he said standing up. "I guess I'll see you around then."

"Soon brother....Soon"i said and stood up from the group, about to take my leave.

Frostbite, silent and unmoving for the whole time and unable to fight, finally stood up and sighed. "Well, that was interesting..." she commented. Frostbite padded over to Feather and touched her tail to her shoulder. "It's gonna be alright," she whispered to her. "you can already tell that Shadow is coming around, just a few more prods and you'll get him." She silently got up and asked Phantom, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Ya," Feather said and sighed, although comforted by her touch. "Well I don't think we can stay here. Frostbite where do you think we should sleep tonight?" Feathers eyes, usually happy and content, we starting to cloud.

Frostbite shrugged. "We definitely can't sleep here because of the dogs, what about that old nest you had by the hotel?" she said. "Maybe its still safe." She turned to Shadow and Phantom, "Do you know anywhere that's safe?"

"It's a city," Shadow spat at her his old temper flaring up. "There is no safe place,"

"Thats not exactly true, Roof tops never seem to have anyone there." I stated towards the group and looked at shadow for a moment before sitting down, My tail twitching calmly behind me.

"Except for birds, so don't go crying to be when your eye gets poked out by a ravening crow,". He mumbled his tail trailing behind him as he padded away from the group.

"If I cut the birds beak off it wont shadow" I stated and watched his back start to retreat."You know, you have changed a lot since you were a small kit" I said and tilted my head.

Shadow froze in place. Anger burning in his eyes.
"You're not my brother!" He spat at Phantom his eyes blazing fire. "I don't remember you from anything! The only thing I remember from my past is my parents dead!"

"Of course you dont remember anything after that! you shut the world out from your mind when that happened!" I shouted in anger towards him as I stood up and flattened my ears, I didnt care if he said I was his brother or not but it still sucked to know he didnt remember me.

Feather looked at the arguement and padded between the two tom. "Stop it right now!" She spat. Then in her brain she thought ,'Don't loose your temper.'

"Leave us alone!" He snarled at Feather. Unsheathing his claws he striked her across the cheek.

I hissed loudly and ran towards shadow, my claws dragging across his side with a harsh stare."Stop being so selfish and self center!" I snapped at him and looked at feather.

Feather blinked. Crimson liquid welled up were Shadow had scratched her and a couple drops dripped into the dirt at Shadow's paws. Feather back away a few steps, and looked at Shadow. And then started running away, leaving only the blood drips behind.....


.....The wind ruffled her fur and she was cold but she didn't care. She had ran and ran until she couldn't anymore. Now Feather was about 1 1/2 miles away from Shadow and the others. She was in a large tree that was near a mass of other trees in a small park for cyclists. And it was almost dawn. No dogs came here, only people and cats.

(Tree Feather was in.)



As Feather sat up in a nook between branches, a light breeze blew. She was shaking. Her face had since sopped bleeding but she still has a bloody patch on her cheek. And the last few stars remained visible in the sky. Feather was thinking, 'Does Shadow hate me? Do [i]all[i/] of them hate me?' She stared at the last star as it disappeared. The breeze slowed and knocked down a few leaves.

Mairenn stepped out of the bushes, following Feather's scent. And there she was, cold, bloody and forlorn in a tree. Walking up to her, Mairenn began to speak. "Feather, come down," Mairenn said coldly. "I am not to pity you, nor should you pity yourself. You knew what Shadow was like when you began to love him, and no doubt he regrets what he did. But Feather. You need to be more assertive. I understand that your sweet personality is part of what makes you you. But there won't always be someone to save in hard times. You need to grow stronger, and more independant, to help the people you love. Now, lets go back, and talk to Shadow."

"you need to stop and open your mind or you will lose everything" istated coldly to shadow and narrowed my eyes, walking away.My paws carried me away from someone I once knew, seeming only as a distant memory to me now.I was long gone before feather or the other she cat had returned off in my own time and place.

Feathers ears swiveled to hear Mairenn. She went ridgid about half way through her talk. Feather sighed. "But why would he do something like that? The Shadow I knew, the Shadow I love would never have hurt me." She looked down to Mairenn. 'Why can't I be like her? She's not scared of anything and she'd fight back.' She thought, hoping her eyes didn't give her away.

Mairenn sighed softly. "We're most likely to hurt the people we love, actually. Shadow was already in furious and emotional, so when you came in, he lashed out. Now, please, let's go back. Hopefully, he will have calmed down a bit. If not, well, thats love."

Feather looked at Marienn more, longer, then said, "Claws are very different than words." For the moment she had said that she looked alot older than her age. She shook herself.Back to normal she said, "I don't know......"

"Well," she said gently. "Maybe its because I can see myself doing that." Mairenn looked deeply into Feather's blue eyes, and her own eyes softened. "Others aren't as wonderful, or as evil, as you might think. Shadow has a complex personality. You won't be able to judge his moves as well as you assume you can, his past too tragic, his mind too dark, his love too fragile. And I am sorry Feather, but I would've reacted similiarly."

"I know, but, that last thing I want to do is seem like Princess." She quivered saying her name. "She was vile and did unspeakably cruel things......" Feather looked deep into Mairenn's eyes. She took in a breath and said, "Ok lets go." Feather worked her way down the tree and looked at Mairenn. "I wasn't really paying attention on my way here......" She said embarrasment in her tone.

Before Frostbite could react, Feather was gone, as if swept away by the wind. "Fea-" she stopped. There was no way Frostbite's paws could carry her that fast. She cowered away from the fight that was happening between Shadow and Phantom. She felt anger well up in her small body until she felt ready to explode. Frostbite unsheathed her claws and pounced unseeingly in the first place she could think of, right onto Phantom's back. She dug her claws into some soft material, as she thought, and screeched " WILL YOU PLEASE STOP FIGHTING, I AM SICK OF THIS!"