Hi guys!! I finished the second chapter, where things finally start taking off. It feels a little rushed, but idk :s 

BUT ANYWAY HERE IT IS!!!

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Ash could only faintly remember what his mother had said to him before she left. He had felt her paw gently prodding his side, attempting to wake him up. He only groaned tiredly, and rolled over in response. He felt her paw again, a little harder this time. Ash only groaned louder.

"Ash," She whispered to him, a sense of urgency in her voice. "I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later, don't leave the den, and keep an eye out for strangers, alright?" Ash mumbled again, not fully understanding. He managed to open one of his eyes, but only caught her leaping up out of the den and into the forest, leaving him in his nest.

After Ash had actually woken up, he realized he had slept in. He couldn't tell the time of day, because the sky was clouded over, and heavy rain had begun to fall. Ash crouched in his usual spot, watching the storm as it cleansed the forest.

The world really changed when it rained. The air felt cleaner, there was less erratic bird call, and everything felt calmer. He watched the rhythmic drip of water on the bramble leaves beside the den, they crawled from one leaf to another before finally dropping onto the ground. He managed to reach his head out of the den slightly and catch a few drops on his tongue.

When he had drank enough, Ash stretched his jaws wide as his yawned again, letting a slightly embarrassing squeak out while doing so. After a short attempt to stay awake, his head fell to his paws, and he dozed off again.

His sleep was disturbed by a distant caterwaul. His head snapped up and his ears were forward in alert. It was night now, and now the rain was falling even heavier than earlier. The beat of it against the earth was hard to hear over. But eventually he could make out the voice...no, voices of several cats. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but they sounded angry.

Ash immediately dipped his head under the roots where he had watched his mother come home the day before. He tried to keep himself still, but his paws were shaking and his whiskers were frantically twitching. As the voices grew ever closer, he nearly stopped breathing.

A quiet sloshing of deliberate pawsteps came from above him. They were uneven, as if they were searching for something. The pawsteps stopped right above him, and he saw a bit of dirt fall from the edge of the roots. Whoever was out there, was looking right into the den.

There was silence, as both of them waited. Ash heard a louder voice, a bit aways off, and the cat above him scrambled backwards. He heard their pawsteps quickly run away from the den, and back into the forest. Ash exhaled all the breath he had been holding and slumped backward against the roots.

The exhale was cut short as a huge body dropped onto the floor of the den, nearly making Ash jump out of his fur. But when he recognized the dripping gray pelt of his mother, he nearly felt overcome with relief. She put a small lump of fur down beside her before looking up frantically.

"Ash?" She whispered in a panicked voice, looking desperately around the back of the den. Ash tumbled out from under the roots and ran to her, falling onto her paws. She gasped in relief. "Oh thank goodness, for a moment I was sure they found you."

Ash sat up, his fur still sticking up on end. "I thought they found you!" He cried. His mother just wrapped her tail comfortingly around him, but her eyes showed no signs of being content.

"They did." She said hushedly, sounding defeated. "They were after me because of this" She stood, and circled around a small piece of prey she had been carrying. Ash stared at it, and realized, it was still moving.

...It was a kit!

He moved closer, and realized the kit was crouched and shaking. They had white fur with gray patches, their wide eyes were a beautiful pale blue. When his mother had gone to check the entrance in case more clan cats showed up, he tried to speak to them.

"H-hello." he spoke quietly, not only because he wanted to be gentle with the kit, but because he himself was frightened. He had never truly seen another cat before besides his mother, let alone speak to one. He continued softly, "I'm Ash, what's your name?"

The kit just stared at him, and glanced wearily around the den. "I'm....I'm Aspenkit." Ash flicked his ears, trying to ignore their strange name. But before he could speak they spoke again. "Where am I? Who are you cats? What do you want with me?"

Ash blinked in confusion at the sudden questions, and tried to understand them. "We...I don't know. But I promise you're safe here." Both of them looked up as Ash's mother approached them, towering over them both.

"That's right. You're safe now," She spoke gently. Aspenkit seemed to relax at the sound of her voice, and let themself completely drop to the floor. Ash went up to them and ran his tail comfortingly over their back.

That night, as the rain fell heavily, all three of them slept against each other. Aspenkit had fell asleep instantly with exhaustion. His mother was sleeping soundly too, but Ash couldn't help but to just stare at the tiny kit. Who are you? He kept wondering.

His mother couldn't have given birth to them, she was at least Ash's age. She smelled strange, not like the earthy scents of the den, but rather like the sweet scent of flowers. And what did those Clan cats want with her? Could this kit have done something wrong among them?

He recalled his mother's words, how clan cats would kill kits or trespassers. Perhaps the kit had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ash shook his head, but the thoughts kept coming to him.

Who are you?

Eventually Ash fell asleep, and the moon passed over the sky, coming into the dawn. Ash awoke well into the day, tired from staying up late. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and realized the den was empty. Even the kit was gone. Was it a dream? No, he told himself. I can still smell their scent.

Ash sat in his normal spot near the roots, and figured that would've been the end of it, but every occasional night, his mother would return with a different kit. They all looked different, and some of them smelled differently than others. There was no pattern to it, except that they all had -kit names. Smokekit, Featherkit, Finchkit, and so on.

He questioned his mother, of course, but every time she would dismiss him or tell him he was worrying too much. Eventually, he got sick of unanswered questions.

One night, his mother was gone later than usual, and he suspected this would be the night she brought home another kit. Ash arose from his spot on the roots, which had begun to shrink. Or perhaps he was growing. Either way, he made a careful step outside of the den, onto the cool grass. A shiver ran up his spine, but he forced himself to go completely outside the den.

Out here, he felt exposed. His den was small and sheltered. But here there was only the grass and some of the brambles to hide him. But no matter where he was, he felt as if something could see him. I'm not scared. He reassured himself.

Every step he took led him further away from the den. He tried to smell his mother, but all the smells of the woodland was overwhelming, and he couldn't pinpoint hers. Ash kept walking, jumping at the slightest movement.

He looked upward, past the canopy of leaves. A full moon shone between a few wisps of clouds. He was glad, the bright moon made it easier to find his way among the thick brambles. It makes it easier for predators to see you. His conscious whispered back. He realized that his pale gray face was easy to see in the moonlight, only making him anxious again.

Eventually ash came to the edge of a path. It looked unused, but it still carried the smell of cats. Could that belong to the clans? He started at the loud cry of a cat. Ash realized it was overwhelmingly close. More voices erupted with it, and they began to grow even closer.

Ash was frozen at the edge of the path. He breathed heavily, wondering if he should run or hide. He managed to crouch down, just enough so that anyone wouldn't see him if they weren't being cautious enough.

Anxiety boiled in his stomach until he heard their movement through the trees. A single cat leaped through, coming down the path. As the cat passed directly in front of him, time seemed to stop. He and the cat locked eyes for half a heartbeat, but it was enough for both of them to register each other.

His mother, carrying another tiny kit, turned to look at him. Her green eyes filled with shock and fear for her son. Ash tried to call out to her, but he couldn't breathe a word. Both of them had never felt more panicked in their life.

She had too much momentum to stop, and before he could do anything a mob of cats came tumbling after her. They were hissing and shouting at her. Ash watched in horror as his mother ran, faster than all of them, swerving around the path back into the forest. The other cats didn't falter as they followed after her.

They were out of sight, but he could still hear their screams. Ash shook himself and started running. He didn't care where he ended up, just not here! His pelt was scratched and bruised as he sprinted past thick brambles, they snagged at his pelt but he kept moving forward. His foot caught on a winding root and he felt himself fall, hard onto his head.

His consciousness fled him, and felt the senses drain from his body.

And in a moment all was gone.