Kitten #: 2
Cat Name: Marsh
Gender: Male (he/they)
Rank: Baby
Clan: The Edge
Age: 5 moons
Prompt: [ 496 words ]
- Marsh really, really wasn't supposed to be out here.
He was just visiting his older sister with his parents, not here for a miniature adventure of his own. But his sister's job had always so intrigued him, and this might be his one opportunity to see for himself what it was like outside the walls of the Nest. Ignoring the danger, he had snuck away from his family as soon as he could, slipping around buildings and ducking behind corners until he was there: the border wall.
It took him awhile to find the exit tunnel hidden by illusions, and by the time he'd found it, the moon was dangerously high in the sky. Everyone knew you came back into the Nest well before midnight, lest you be lost when the border region reset. He'd come so far, though.. it couldn't hurt just to peek.
And so the kitten scrambled through the dark tunnel, tumbled out the other side.. and into a small forest no different than the one at home. Marsh frowned in disappointment. He'd been hoping for some dragons, maybe an ocean, something from the myths and stories he was told at home. Still, there had to be something out here.
It didn't take him long to find that something. A twig snapped, and Marsh ducked behind a tree, heart racing as another kitten walked past, light brown fur dusting his ears and a long scar marking his front leg.
He seemed so.. alive, like Marsh was. Skipping between plants and sniffing at interesting bugs like Marsh might do at home. He didn't seem like a programmed creation of the Edge, but he didn't seem like the evil invaders he'd been overhearing the adults argue about lately either. He just seemed like.. a kitten. Alive, happy, free. It almost felt safe enough to-
Suddenly, the other kitten seemed to realize someone was watching him. His head snapped up and eyes locked with Marsh, who froze in fear. What was he supposed to do??
The stranger relaxed at the sight of another cat. "Hi!" he chirped, the bright grin on his face accenting his lighthearted tone. "I'm Puddle. It's nice to meet you."
Thoughts churned through Marsh's mind as his eyes widened. He wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, he definitely wasn't supposed to talk to outsiders, who knew if this was a real cat or a monster in disguise or-
He took off running back for the tunnel, quickly ducking out of sight and not stopping until he was safely on the other side and within sight of civilization. Not a moment too soon, as the moon was just about at its peak. Hopefully, that meant the kitten - Puddle - couldn't follow.
"There you are!" his mother exclaimed. "We've been looking all over for you. You shouldn't just run off like that."
"I know. It won't happen again," he lied. Already, he was rethinking. Perhaps he'd go out again and meet this Puddle properly someday.
