[ Chapter Three ]

  A Slice by the River

  “What a waste!” Mother said, her paw flashing out of the river. The kitten, playing with a ball of reeds on the river-bed, looked over. A nasty bite had appeared on her paw, blood was already welling. The kitten raced over, the ball of reeds forgotten. Mother began to lick the wound, the kitten joining her. “Can you get some reeds?” She asked politely, her voice a mask of the pain that lay below. The kitten nodded, and bounced over to the reed-ball he was playing with. Soaked in water, he carried it back to Mother, wrapping her injury with the soft reeds. He put a glob of cobwebs on the reed-wrap, and patted it in with soft orange paws. Mother purred. Even though the kitten was still so young, barely two months old, he was a bright learner of the wilderness. Mother purred warmly. The kitten nodded, happy that he could help his adopted-mother. She gave him a lick on the ear, before the cat went back to fishing. The kitten bounced happily, spinning in a little circle. There was a brief moment of love between them, before it was interrupted by a sharp noise. It cut through the air, louder than the gurgle of the stream. It was a strange noise, pain and sorrow mixed together. Mother’s ears shot up, an emotion that hardly ever was felt in the calm forest rose in the air. Alarm. Mother sat up, her injury forgotten, and started to pad towards the sound, still growing louder and louder. The distressed cries echoing through the dense forest. Mother beckoned the kitten with her tail, still walking slowly towards the sound. They arrived at a tall cliff, the kitten had ventured near it before. Mother had advised him to stay away, it was dangerous. The kitten always listened, but now the cries were coming from the base of the cliff. A sharp tang soured the kitten’s delicate nose, he had smelt it in Mother’s paw when she had injured herself. Blood. The kitten raced over, despite Mother’s yowls to stay back. Near the base of the cliff, a sprawled figure lay at the bottom. Blood was pooling around them, turning the grass red.

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