Father's teeth dug firmly into my scruff as he walked through the grass. I could feel myself swinging back and forth—it certainly wasn't comfortable, but I didn't deserve special treatment. I was a naughty kit who had run away. My ears wilted, but my father didn't turn back toward Mother and Bonny. Instead, he crouched and leaped upwards, toward the clouds and the treetops and the vast expanse of the sky.

"Father! What are you doing?" I asked, eyes wide as he steadied himself atop the fence. Before I had realized it, he had set me down on one of the wooden posts. "Why are we up here?"

The brown tabby sniffed quietly, tail slowly lashing over the edge of the fence. "Fleeter, I wanted to show you the forest. Look out there. It's enticing, isn't it? You want to go out there and play and explore and see everything the wild has the offer." His words were enchanting, but his tone was hard and cold.

"What's wrong with the forest?" I meowed, eyes narrowing slightly as I stared at the endless green leaves. There's nothing that could be wrong with that! It's so beautiful! 

My father let out a little cough, giving his chest fur a few licks. "You see, Fleeter... I used to live out there." His posture seemed to fold slightly with each word, back bending forward so that his head was nearly even with mine. "I used to live among those trees and bushes. I used to hunt for my own prey and fight for my own nest, and I was a wild cat." 

"Why aren't you a wild cat anymore?" I interrupted, earning a flick on the side from Father's tail. He didn't look particularly mad, though, just amused by my questioning. "Sorry..."

"I'll explain it all in due time. Just listen," he purred, giving a quick lick between my ears. Father cleared his throat and leaned back, staring out at the forest. His eyes looked empty, as if memories were playing back in his mind instead of him experiencing the present, but he quickly snapped back to reality. "I was crossing a road, and I was hit by a Twoleg monster." He swallowed, the memory haunting his eyes.

"Is that why you have a limp?" I gave a quick glance to his hindquarters, as if I needed to take a second glance at Father. There were deep scars on his back legs, and some of the fur hadn't grown back properly.

He nodded. "Yes. I was found by Twoleg, who kindly took me in and helped me get better," Father explained. "They eventually decided to keep me, and that's why I live here now." He dipped his head.

"What was it like to live in the wild?" No story about my father's injury would sway me from the fact that the curling bracken fronds and mossy treetrunks were for me to climb and play and hunt and fight through. 

Father's whiskers twitched. Reluctantly, he meowed, "There are cats out there, a big group of them. RuneClan, they call themselves. They're strongs cats. They hunt for each other, protect their young and queens, fight against anyone who dares to trespass on their territory..." His tone carried a hint of warning. 

"They hunt wild prey?" I let out a little gasp. "Wow! They must be strong cats."

Father chuckled. "I hunted for my own prey, mind you. And you and Bonny are strong too... you just get to be safe and warm here at the Twolegplace." 

"Did you live with RuneClan?" I asked eagerly, now looking at the trees is a new light. There are whole families out there! I wonder if they're hiding at the treeline, watching us right now, so we don't trespass! They must be really good hiders! My eyes scanned the bushes, searching out for stray tails or eyes glowing in the shadows.

Father shook his head. "No, I was a loner. I lived near them, and sometimes when it was cold, they would let me stay in their camp." He could tell I was interested as my ears piqued up. "They have a big clearing, and the sides are full of brackens and ferns. Beneath the ferns, cats make nests out of moss and sometimes feathers. It's very soft to sleep in, but not as soft as the Twoleg's nests."

"I want to sleep in a RuneClan nest!" I squeaked, jumping to my paws and nearly teetering over. Just before I plunged down into the grass, Father darted forward, faster than lightning, and grabbed me by the scruff. He set me back down. My whiskers drooped. 

He let out a little chuckle. "Be careful, Fleeter," he warned me. "You may want to go live out there, but the wild is not kind like the Twolegs. The wild does not care if you are in desperate need of one last mouse, or bird, or shrew. The wild minds its own business." 

"But it sounds so much more fun than living here," I objected, ears swiveling. Usually, I could barely hear the birdsongs, but now they seemed much more lively. They're calling for me now.

"Is having to search for prey in bushes really all that enthralling to you, Fleeter? Do you want to have to sleep in a soggy nest, because there's no Twolegs to run to out in the wild. You have to sleep out there in the rain and thunder and lightning, and if you get unlucky just once, you die. If the Twolegs had never found me, I'd be in StarClan by now." Father's chest puffed in and out with each breath.

"What's StarClan?"

Seeming to believe my interest in the wild had evaporated, Father's eyes sparkled as he continued. "StarClan is where RuneClan believes cats go when you die. Only Clan cats go there, however."

"Where would we go?" I asked.

Father shrugged. "We don't know, and I hope you don't know for a very long time." He stretched forward and gripped me by the scruff again. He leaped down the fence, but this time, we were on the other side. He set me down.

My heart quickly began thumping as I stared into the trees. Before Father could snatch me back up, I darted forward and into the bushes. The leaves rustled as I squeezed underneath a branch. A twig dug into my back, but the shadowed forest was more important than a little scratch. Sucking in my chest, I squeezed out and into a tiny little clearing. There were a few rocks sitting next to a huge tree root, and the fronds of a fern tickled the top of my head.

"Fleeter!" I could hear Father cry out for me, galloping into the trees after me, but I ignored his pawsteps, which shook through the ground. 

Instead, I hopped up onto one of the roots, eyes wide as I stared into the endless expanse of trees. It was more than amazing—it was everything I had dreamt of and more. There were vines that stretched around tree-trunks, little leaves folded out to catch any drops of sunlight that managed to get through the leafy canopy above. There were tiny red berries that hung from bushes, and big waxy leaves that wavered in the slight breeze, and dew still lingering from the morning on the tall blades of grass.

Teeth squeezed my scruff, and the ground disappeared beneath my paws. I could only meow as loud as I could as Father pushed through the undergrowth, nearing the fence. He was muttering something, but I only caught bits and pieces. "RuneClan's going to... stupid kit... your mother will hear.... bad influence... Bonny." 

"I'm sorry Father!" I cried out as he set me back down on the other side of the fence. "I just wanted to go see the forest, and it's so amazing! I want to go back there and smell everything and touch everything and see everything and hear everything and eat everything!" The red berries seemed to dance in my vision. 

Mother's tail swept over my shoulders protectively. "You're not going out there for a very long time, Fleeter," she told me in a calm, soothing voice as her tongue rasped over my ears. "You're too young, and it's far too dangerous out there." She met eyes with Father, and they shared a glance that I wasn't supposed to see. 

"But—but"

"I'm sorry Fleeter." Father's voice had returned to the cold, hard meow from before. "Would you like me to finish telling you about RuneClan?" He seemed almost apologetic. 

"Can I listen!" Bonny skipped over to us, her eyes bright as she stared at me, almost triumphantly. Her expression seemed to say: Ha! You got in trouble, and I didn't! 

"Bonny-darling, why don't you go back and have a nap?" Mother cooed, leaving me. My pelt went cold without her warm touch. Father's eyes flashed disapprovingly, but he didn't dare to say anything to his beloved mate. 

I swallowed. "Can you finish about RuneClan?" I mewed.

Father nodded. "RuneClan had many different positions. There were kits, like you and Bonny. But when a kit was six moons old, they became an apprentice. And apprentices were trained by the warriors. There was a deputy, who would become leader if the leader died, and the leader was the strongest cat in the Clan." He continued to meow, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it.

By Rio ⛈