Firin heard meows from inside of the orphanage. The caretakers will be serving breakfast, Firin thought. Maybe I'll get to eat? Even though fresh-kill was served to the kits who were too young to hunt at least once a day in the autumn, the big kits sometimes took Firin's, and she went hungry, sometimes for days on end. One time, she had tried to hunt in the forest, but her white-and-gold pelt stood out among the undergrowth, and she didn't know how to stalk prey anyway. Her left ear was deaf, which made it harder to tell where the prey was.

Firin padded back inside the orphanage, trying to keep low. All of the other kits were already lined up, the caretakers passing out fresh-kill. Firin moved to the back of the line. The cat in front of her, a gray tom named Ruphel, gave her strange look and shimmied the tiniest bit away from her.

Firin sighed. At least it's not Durrog. Ruphel kept looking at her oddly. "Um..." He started speaking awkwardly.

"Yes?" Firin asked guardedly. Is he going to actually have a conversation with me? He doesn't look like a bully.

Ruphel looked around somewhat nervously before focusing on her again. "Who hurt you?" He lowered his voice. "Was it Durrog?"

Firin stared at him, slightly astounded. Someone actually cared! "Um, yeah, it was."

Ruphel laughed grimly. "Yeah, he's a bully. I got that kind of treatment for a while from him.

"Really? He really only picks on the weird-looking kits, or ones he thinks he can control." Firin studied Ruphel. Nothing looked too weird about him. His ears were a bit big, but other than that, he seemed perfectly normal. "You don't seem weird at all."

He chuckled darkly and held up his right forepaw. Firin gasped. It had seven toes. It wasn't as weird as having one purple eye and one blue, but it was enough to get bullied. "I see," Firin whispered sympathetically.

He set his paw down. "No need to sympathize. He stopped teasing me awhile ago, and I am treated mostly normally. I try to keep to myself to be on the safer side, though. That's probably why we haven't talked before."

While the pair had been talking, the line had been moving up. It was much shorter. They were almost to the front. Firin could smell the fresh-kill. She contemplated if she should become better friends with Ruphel. If we do, then he'll probably be tormented by Durrog again. I don't want to put him through that. She pointed her nose up the line. "Look, it's almost our turn."

He followed her gaze. "Looks like it." He looked back at her. "Wanna eat together? I usually eat alone. It would be nice to have some company for a change."

Firin shifted awkwardly. "Are you sure? Durrog..." She trailed off. Secretly, she felt like jumping for joy because someone actually wanted to eat with her, but the thought of Durrog hurting her new friend pained her.

Ruphel snorted as if that wasn't a problem. "Yeah, I'm sure. I think the two of us could handle him. Besides, he looks a bit busy." He gestured towards Durrog, who was play-fighting with one of his buddies.

"Oh. Well, sure, then. You can eat with me. But if he does attack us..." Firin scrutinized Ruphel again. He was well built, but would be no match for Durrog alone. He was bigger and older than Firin, probably six moons old. Maybe together they would be able to put up a fight.

"Oh, stop fretting," Ruphel laughed. "It's fine. Look, it's out turn." He asked the caretaker who passing out fresh-kill for a mouse, and Firin asked them for a blackbird. The caretaker slowly picked up a blackbird from the pile and placed it in front of Firin, eyeing Firin's violet eye. It was considered bad luck to be around cats with abnormalities, but it wasn't believed by everyone. Unfortunately, most cats followed that superstition and made Firin's life miserable.

Firing quickly snatched up her meal, and instantly regretted choosing a bird. She liked the taste, but they had feathers that would stick in one's teeth and make conversing difficult. Thistles and thorns.

Firin decided she would just have to eat around the feathers and trotted over to where Ruphel had settled down. It was a spot near the edge of the wall, so they wouldn't really be noticed. He knows a thing or two.

Ruphel purred as Firin lay next to him. He looked at what she had chosen for her meal, a funny expression crossing his face. Then he smiled. "Blackbird is my favorite."

Firin gaped. "That was not what I thought you were going say."

He chortled. "Yeah, not many cats like birds much because they have feathers. I, however, think they are quite tasty. Do you like mouse?"

"Oh. Um, yes. I do."

"Well, it just so happens I like blackbird more than mouse. Mouse is too soft for my taste." He pushed his mouse towards her. "I propose a trade?"

"Oh. Sure. Thanks," Firin stammered awkwardly. She gave Ruphel her blackbird, and he gave her his mouse. They both dug in.

After a little while of munching and silence, Ruphel spoke. "I actually think that your eyes are pretty."

Firin froze. "R-really?" Self-consciously, she crossed her eyes. "To be honest, I don't really know what they look like. Just that one is purple and the other is blue. There aren't any mirrors around here." Firin had always thought that her purple eye was weird and cloudy.

Ruphel frowned. "Hmm. Well, I like them, and I don't see why it's something to be teased about. Your violet eye has this cool twinkle in it. It's almost iridescent."

"Really?" Firin asked, astonished. "Now I wish I could see it." She looked around for a reflective surface. She didn't see any.

"Yeah." Ruphel sighed. "Whichever ancient ruler of the BrushPaws started the superstition that abnormalities were hosts for bad spirits, I hate them so much I could explode."

"Me too."

Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by a blare of frimples, an instrument with a loud, rich bellow.

Firin started. "What's that for?"

Ruphel jumped up. "A messenger!"

"Messenger? Whatever for?"

"We'll find out! They're calling everyone to the center of town! Let's go!"

A/N: Hey, people. Fiiiiiiiiiinally published this chappy. Took me like forever! Sorry guys! Hope you enjoyed. Rainy out.