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It was around the fourteenth or fifteenth day since Snakepaw and Dustydot left their Clan for a more peaceful and loving home. They were far from their Clan's territory and were now entering unknown land. The landscape they had encountered in their travels was a rocky one with rocky hills and some mountains. So far, they had managed to get around anything to steep, but now they met their end. It was like an anaconda, wrapping itself around Dustydot and Snakepaw's exit from this tiring domain into something the two hoped was much less pointy and gray. The sharp, rocky wall that kept the two sand-brown cats was about nine foxes tall and who knows how wide.
"Do you think we can go around it?" Snakepaw asked their grandmother after a while. The she-cat didn't respond just yet. She made a great leap on top of a high rock then made an almost impossible jump (do to its width) onto another. Her legs dangled as she struggled to climb on top of it. Once she managed to, she looked around, only seeing that the sky-high rock that surronded them.
"We could try, but I think it'd just be a waste of time and energy, darling." Dustydot told them then did her best to climb down from the rock she was on.
"Grandma, wait!" Snakepaw shouted, running towards her. "I hear something."
"Hear something? Well, darling, what? What do you hear?"
"I-I think... I think its two-legs." They shouted back to her. The much older she-cat looked from where she was over to the distance. There, she saw the body of a two-leg trotting with a long, black, pointy object in its paws. As it approached, then grandma began to hear it humming.
"You're right," The tan she-cat hissed. "We have to leave, now!"
"L-leave? But how?" Snakepaw mewed frantically. "We have to scale that entire rock to leave! A-and I can't do that."
"Why not?" Dustydot questioned, "You're an excellent climber!"
"Yes, of trees! I can't climb that rock! No way no how!" As Snakepaw yelled this to their grandmother, they heard the two-leg stop its song and grumble something lowly to themself. "Dustydot, what do we do?"
The tan she-cat looked over to the two-leg. It had the black thing in its paws pointed towards the rock she stood on then slowly point up towards her. She failed to realize what the two-leg was doing until a powerful spur of wind came rushing at her with some small metal or steel piece flying in it. She ducked just in time as it flew past her. She raised herself back to her paws and looked down at the two-leg in bewilderment. "Sn-Snakepaw! It's dangerous, run!" She called down to her grandchild. They looked up at their grandma, unable to leave her.
"I can't! Granny Dustydot, I have to save you!"
"Save yourself, Snakepaw, I can manage!" Dustydot hissed as another bullet flew past her. She crouched down, feeling the power in her muscles as she leapt down to the rock she jumped on before. She watched steadily at the two-leg, observing its movements carefully. It pointed its black stick at her once again and prepared to create a shot accurate enough to end Dustydot's life. The much older she-cat's pelt bristled up and hissed at the two-leg. It made yet another shot that the tan feline dodged by leaping down from the rock that she stood on. She raced passed the area where the two-leg was, causing the creature to follow her.
"N-no! Dustydot's going to get killed! I... I...!" The young apprentice thought, not knowing how they could save her. But I have to do something! Think, Snakepaw, think! Agh, you're so stupid! Why can't yo- They stopped themself once they saw the two-leg completely turned around, exposing its backside to them. Snakepaw watched as Dustydot ran past the two-leg and observed the stupid creature shot her dust. I have the upper paw now. Snakepaw snuck over to the two-leg with a hunters' crouch, carefully making sure they didn't step on anything or make a sound while he crept towards the beast. The two-leg let out another shot that, of course missed Dustydot, but was rather close to hitting her based on her horrified yowl.
Dustydot! Snakepaw thought, sharing the same horror their grandma felt as if her experience was their own. They crouched down, unsheathed their claws, and felt the energy course through their legs. They wiggled their hunched then sprung up, landing right on the two-legs hind quarters. The beast wailed, moving around in a circle, trying to spin Snakepaw off of itself.
Dustydot finally stopped running and looked at Snakepaw. "What are you doing?!" She cried, her voice full of worry. "That thing's going to hurt you!" But Snakepaw didn't answer. They only sank their claws in more. The two-leg dropped their weapon and danced around trying to shake Snakepaw off. Dustydot decided to work with what Snakepaw left her and insure the safety of them both. She ran over to the two-leg's black stick and grabbed it in her jaws. After making sure Snakepaw could handle himself for a while longer, she dragged the item over to the rocky wall that remained a barrier to the two tan cats. She climbed a bit of it, getting to a point where there was a big enough ledge to support one cat at a time. Placing the black stick directly underneath her, looked back over to her grandchild. "Snakepaw!" She cried over to her grandchild, causing the cat to look over to her. They detached themselves from the two-leg then began dashing towards their elderly kinfolk. The two-leg was in too much pain to follow Snakepaw, so the apprentice was able to safely run the distance to the wall.
The apprentice stopped once they faced the rocky wall. From up close, it looked like it had no end and went up to Silverpelt. "Granny Dusty, I don't think I can climb this." Snakepaw said, placing two paws on the wall. "It's too steep!"
"Well you'll never know until you try!" Dustydot called down to them. The two-leg looked as if it recovered from the pain that Snakepaw caused and was angry about it. It stumbled towards Snakepaw with its forelegs sticking out. "Snakepaw, watch out!"
Snakepaw turned around to see the two-leg charging towards them. Fur bristled and eyes wide, they tried climbing the wall but there were no claw holds on that section. Their head turned from the wall to the two-leg and back until an idea came to mind. Snakepaw readied themselves for the two-leg's arrival. Once it was close enough, Snakepaw let the beast crouch over and try to grab it, then they leapt over and climbed up the two-leg's leg until they got to its back. Once they were there, the two-leg stood upright, allowing Snakepaw to climb up the creature onto its head then jump to a section of the wall with paw-holds. As Snakepaw scaled the wall, the two-leg growled something to them and tried reaching up and grabbing them. Dustydot looked around frantically as she tried to think of a way to save her grandchild. She looked and looked then remembered something. The black stick! She pulled out from underneath her with her teeth, grabbing it by the end that never faced her when the two-leg shot, and tried her best to hit the two-leg with it. This sight caught the creature's eye and they left Snakepaw alone and tried to grab their weapon from Dustydot. The tan she-cat tightened her grip on the weapon then made a leap onto a higher part of the wall, allowing Snakepaw to jump onto her former spot.
"Can't climb this rock, hm?" Dustydot teased after she placed the stick under her.
Snakepaw sniffed in amusement. "I guess I can now... What will you do with that two-leg stick?"
"This," Dustydot said simply, kicking it away with her forepaw. The stick landing square on the two-leg's head, creating a cracking sound. At first, the two tan cats worried that it was the two-leg's skull that cracked but upon further observation, they realized it was the stick instead. The two let out a sigh of relief then climbed the rest of the wall until they were on the other side of it.
"So, how was it, Rock Climber?" Dustydot asked once she and her grandchild were on the green grass of the other side of the rock. "Was it scary?"
"Yes, but it wasn't as bad as I thought." Snakepaw breathed, exhausted from all the climbing of that day.
"Good, good." Dustydot said, taking in a few breaths before continuing. "Snakepaw, I think what you did was quite brave back there."
"Really?"
"Yes. You saved my life and allowed both of us a chance to escape. Great job!" Dustydot purred. "Snakepaw, I think I should teach you how to climb walls rockier than that. If I would've died you would've been stuck down there with that beast so for just in case reasons, I want to teach you how to scale steeper terrains."
"That'd be great! But where?"
"Down there is far too dangerous. Must be the two-leg's land." Dustydot thought out loud. "Maybe if we continue forward we'll meet a Clan with rocky territory?"
"And maybe a kind heart too?" Snakepaw added optimistically.
Dustydot purred. "You got that right! Let's sleep for now, though. My everything is aching."
"Yeah, me too... Goodnight, Dustydot."
"Sleep tight, darling, and tomorrow you'll properly learn how to climb rocky walls."
"Do you think we can go around it?" Snakepaw asked their grandmother after a while. The she-cat didn't respond just yet. She made a great leap on top of a high rock then made an almost impossible jump (do to its width) onto another. Her legs dangled as she struggled to climb on top of it. Once she managed to, she looked around, only seeing that the sky-high rock that surronded them.
"We could try, but I think it'd just be a waste of time and energy, darling." Dustydot told them then did her best to climb down from the rock she was on.
"Grandma, wait!" Snakepaw shouted, running towards her. "I hear something."
"Hear something? Well, darling, what? What do you hear?"
"I-I think... I think its two-legs." They shouted back to her. The much older she-cat looked from where she was over to the distance. There, she saw the body of a two-leg trotting with a long, black, pointy object in its paws. As it approached, then grandma began to hear it humming.
"You're right," The tan she-cat hissed. "We have to leave, now!"
"L-leave? But how?" Snakepaw mewed frantically. "We have to scale that entire rock to leave! A-and I can't do that."
"Why not?" Dustydot questioned, "You're an excellent climber!"
"Yes, of trees! I can't climb that rock! No way no how!" As Snakepaw yelled this to their grandmother, they heard the two-leg stop its song and grumble something lowly to themself. "Dustydot, what do we do?"
The tan she-cat looked over to the two-leg. It had the black thing in its paws pointed towards the rock she stood on then slowly point up towards her. She failed to realize what the two-leg was doing until a powerful spur of wind came rushing at her with some small metal or steel piece flying in it. She ducked just in time as it flew past her. She raised herself back to her paws and looked down at the two-leg in bewilderment. "Sn-Snakepaw! It's dangerous, run!" She called down to her grandchild. They looked up at their grandma, unable to leave her.
"I can't! Granny Dustydot, I have to save you!"
"Save yourself, Snakepaw, I can manage!" Dustydot hissed as another bullet flew past her. She crouched down, feeling the power in her muscles as she leapt down to the rock she jumped on before. She watched steadily at the two-leg, observing its movements carefully. It pointed its black stick at her once again and prepared to create a shot accurate enough to end Dustydot's life. The much older she-cat's pelt bristled up and hissed at the two-leg. It made yet another shot that the tan feline dodged by leaping down from the rock that she stood on. She raced passed the area where the two-leg was, causing the creature to follow her.
"N-no! Dustydot's going to get killed! I... I...!" The young apprentice thought, not knowing how they could save her. But I have to do something! Think, Snakepaw, think! Agh, you're so stupid! Why can't yo- They stopped themself once they saw the two-leg completely turned around, exposing its backside to them. Snakepaw watched as Dustydot ran past the two-leg and observed the stupid creature shot her dust. I have the upper paw now. Snakepaw snuck over to the two-leg with a hunters' crouch, carefully making sure they didn't step on anything or make a sound while he crept towards the beast. The two-leg let out another shot that, of course missed Dustydot, but was rather close to hitting her based on her horrified yowl.
Dustydot! Snakepaw thought, sharing the same horror their grandma felt as if her experience was their own. They crouched down, unsheathed their claws, and felt the energy course through their legs. They wiggled their hunched then sprung up, landing right on the two-legs hind quarters. The beast wailed, moving around in a circle, trying to spin Snakepaw off of itself.
Dustydot finally stopped running and looked at Snakepaw. "What are you doing?!" She cried, her voice full of worry. "That thing's going to hurt you!" But Snakepaw didn't answer. They only sank their claws in more. The two-leg dropped their weapon and danced around trying to shake Snakepaw off. Dustydot decided to work with what Snakepaw left her and insure the safety of them both. She ran over to the two-leg's black stick and grabbed it in her jaws. After making sure Snakepaw could handle himself for a while longer, she dragged the item over to the rocky wall that remained a barrier to the two tan cats. She climbed a bit of it, getting to a point where there was a big enough ledge to support one cat at a time. Placing the black stick directly underneath her, looked back over to her grandchild. "Snakepaw!" She cried over to her grandchild, causing the cat to look over to her. They detached themselves from the two-leg then began dashing towards their elderly kinfolk. The two-leg was in too much pain to follow Snakepaw, so the apprentice was able to safely run the distance to the wall.
The apprentice stopped once they faced the rocky wall. From up close, it looked like it had no end and went up to Silverpelt. "Granny Dusty, I don't think I can climb this." Snakepaw said, placing two paws on the wall. "It's too steep!"
"Well you'll never know until you try!" Dustydot called down to them. The two-leg looked as if it recovered from the pain that Snakepaw caused and was angry about it. It stumbled towards Snakepaw with its forelegs sticking out. "Snakepaw, watch out!"
Snakepaw turned around to see the two-leg charging towards them. Fur bristled and eyes wide, they tried climbing the wall but there were no claw holds on that section. Their head turned from the wall to the two-leg and back until an idea came to mind. Snakepaw readied themselves for the two-leg's arrival. Once it was close enough, Snakepaw let the beast crouch over and try to grab it, then they leapt over and climbed up the two-leg's leg until they got to its back. Once they were there, the two-leg stood upright, allowing Snakepaw to climb up the creature onto its head then jump to a section of the wall with paw-holds. As Snakepaw scaled the wall, the two-leg growled something to them and tried reaching up and grabbing them. Dustydot looked around frantically as she tried to think of a way to save her grandchild. She looked and looked then remembered something. The black stick! She pulled out from underneath her with her teeth, grabbing it by the end that never faced her when the two-leg shot, and tried her best to hit the two-leg with it. This sight caught the creature's eye and they left Snakepaw alone and tried to grab their weapon from Dustydot. The tan she-cat tightened her grip on the weapon then made a leap onto a higher part of the wall, allowing Snakepaw to jump onto her former spot.
"Can't climb this rock, hm?" Dustydot teased after she placed the stick under her.
Snakepaw sniffed in amusement. "I guess I can now... What will you do with that two-leg stick?"
"This," Dustydot said simply, kicking it away with her forepaw. The stick landing square on the two-leg's head, creating a cracking sound. At first, the two tan cats worried that it was the two-leg's skull that cracked but upon further observation, they realized it was the stick instead. The two let out a sigh of relief then climbed the rest of the wall until they were on the other side of it.
"So, how was it, Rock Climber?" Dustydot asked once she and her grandchild were on the green grass of the other side of the rock. "Was it scary?"
"Yes, but it wasn't as bad as I thought." Snakepaw breathed, exhausted from all the climbing of that day.
"Good, good." Dustydot said, taking in a few breaths before continuing. "Snakepaw, I think what you did was quite brave back there."
"Really?"
"Yes. You saved my life and allowed both of us a chance to escape. Great job!" Dustydot purred. "Snakepaw, I think I should teach you how to climb walls rockier than that. If I would've died you would've been stuck down there with that beast so for just in case reasons, I want to teach you how to scale steeper terrains."
"That'd be great! But where?"
"Down there is far too dangerous. Must be the two-leg's land." Dustydot thought out loud. "Maybe if we continue forward we'll meet a Clan with rocky territory?"
"And maybe a kind heart too?" Snakepaw added optimistically.
Dustydot purred. "You got that right! Let's sleep for now, though. My everything is aching."
"Yeah, me too... Goodnight, Dustydot."
"Sleep tight, darling, and tomorrow you'll properly learn how to climb rocky walls."
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Side Notes- Without counting all of the color coding this was about 1,602 words. Along with that, if there's anything you can't read or anything like that, feel free to tell me!
A side note that doesn't only refer to Chamrosh, the host of this raffle, if this is the wrong thread to post this, please tell me! This is my first time ever doing something like this so I'm sure I might've made a mistake somewhere.
