Mistlenose's Journey - Mini Story

written by mistlenose
It was an abandoned shed I could see. Upon a small hill. The windows were broken. Glass littered the grass like small leaves. The hinges of the door were all rusty, resulting to the wooden door being hanging loosely from them. Something about this shed had caught my attention. It was the source of an awful smell.

It was my new mission to investigate it. I want to know. I can feel the load in my chest- telling me to go home and forget about this place. The smell is getting worse by the second, and it makes my nose twitch. "I have to find out." I said calmly, as if my own mate was standing beside me.

"I'll be back." I said in the same voice as before- slowly pushing away until I was about a fox-length away from the door. My claws begin to itch, and I slowly creep forwards. More glass. Suddenly, I start to walk with my knees lifting high, and making sure I inspect the ground before laying down my paw.

I was inside. I could hardly breathe.

What I found- was awful.

It was a body. The body of a badger. I gasped. The smell of it's fur. It was familiar. I'd never been so close to a badger in my life, but I felt I held a connection to this one. I stared at it's white muzzle. Lifeless- the skin was covered in spores and fungus. It was best not to touch.

If the medicine cats were here, they would surely sprinkle some lavender or rose on the body- for the odor was simply awful.

Now I felt I wanted to hurl. I did a little in the corner. But the badger wasn't the only smell. There was still more smell.

I could feel the tightness in my chest again, and I decided I should flee. But again, I needed to find out. Gulping, I slowly crept in.

The shed was not that big. I took double takes every few seconds to make sure no one was at the door- I didn't want to get trapped in such an eerie area. My fur was spiked up. My whiskers were pushed out, and I felt against the walls with gentle strokes.

The walls were peeling. Rust covered the old nails that held the shed's boards together. My brows furrowed. Was I the first person to come here for years?

I remember so little... The sights and the smells, nothing rings a bell. I'm walking off my territory, into a place that seems so strange.

My blood runs cold. I feel as if I have been here before. "H-Hello?" My shallow meow echoes through the shed. I gulp, slowly creeping further in. The door looks awfully far now. I slowly pivet- looking at my paws.

What? A small dash of sunlight! I look around for where it was coming in. Yes! There is a small whole in the shed's wall. About the size of a tomcat. A fat tom. What ever was it for? Below it, there was a box. A cardboard box with Twoleg script on it... Looking in closely- I could see it was clawed.

Leaning in, I sniffed the deep markings. The badger. I looked back at the badger; wide-eyed. Did it kill something? Good thing it was already dead. Then, the pang of blood dappled the air once again.

A cat. The body of a black tom. His ears were sliced, a large gash through the middle of his white-splashed neck. His amber eyes were open, glazed over with white. The box. The badger. This must've been the cat! I pressed my nose to the tip of one of his chopped ears. The collar around his neck was badly torn- and the tag was virtually illegible.

The scent. It made my head spin.

"You were so young when it happened..." The croak of an old cat startled me- and at first, I thought it was only my head. I squealed, ducking behind a bag of sand.

"W-Who's there?" I yowled.

"Oh, just me." I looked up to see a cat in the broken window ledge. Her fur sparkled. Her eyes were as green as new leaves. I stared at her. "But, you wouldn't remember me anyways." I continued to stare at her, eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?" I asked sternly- watching as she frowned. I felt guilty, and looked down to hide my shame. "Sorry, I don't remember." I confirmed quietly.

She nodded. Then she took a breath. "I am your mother, my little Mistlenose." She said feebly.

written by lichentuft
"Oh, Timothy." Calmriver breathed softly. "They are gorgeous." Two small kits were resting against her plump side- suckling milk. "They are just gorgeous."

The black tom gave a curt nod, his black nose pressed against his mate's shoulder. "Calmriver- they certainly are." He replied, the small bell on his collar tinkling. "Are you sure we should stay in my Twoleg's shed? I'm sure he'll be mad to find out we've been trailing out prey here."

Calmriver bit her lip- looking down. "I don't know." She blurted out, as if she'd been holding in her answer for a long time. "I mean, the kits were born last night- Timothy. We can't expect to move them into the forest right now! They won't make it!" Her green eyes grew wide. "I don't want that." Her whiskers shook as she fought to remain in eye contact.

Timothy shrugged. "They have thick, long fur like you. They won't get cold so easily." The grey tabby insisted, licking the she-cat's neck. "Besides, we should bring them to the forest at a young age. Then maybe they can become warriors like you want them to."