2 Chapter 2

I woke up to a lot of talking. I walked out of the den I was sleeping in, and I saw a lot of cats in the clearing. "Molotov and Jaja are here too, so it must be a Sun meeting." I whisked around and I see Lu with a worried expression. I said, "I hope it's nothing too bad. Has the meeting started yet?" She shook her head, and Quinn ran over shouting, "Guys!"

He skirted to a halt, and said, "King Jet is planning a territorial raid on the Cats of the Night's territory!" I gasped and Lu asked him, "How did you find out?" Quinn said, "I overheard Klaus talking to Jet about it! This is going to cause chaos!" I flattened my ears in anger. I murmured, "Mom would never do something like this."

I looked at the crowd and I saw my older brother Ace. It looked like he knew what was going on because he had a worried expression. I asked Quinn, "Where's Jay?" He shrugged and Lu said, "He must be by the river already. Let's go!" We would go to the river near our camp so we wouldn't get involved in any fights. Quinn and I followed Lu to the river, and it was just as she said. Jay asked us, "Do you know what's happening?"

Quinn explained what he said to us, and Jay said, "Hmph. It's better to stay out here for now. We don't want to get into another fight." The sun was going down, but it was still cold even though spring is right around the corner. Lu set up leaf bedding and Quinn caught some food before any of us could offer to catch any.

It was dark, but the moon provided some light. I looked at where we came from, and there was a bright light. Dad must've made a fire. Slowly, the fire started to fade away. We were united against humans once, and now they're going to fight each other. It was also almost the day of The Eclipse. The Eclipse is a day when the moon is full and red, and it's when we get to have a grand meeting. This battle will tear everything apart.

On the next day, we traveled back to camp and Klaus came rushing to me asking, "Birch! Where were you!?" I sighed and said, "Near the river. I didn't want to get involved with you and dad's scheme." Klaus flattened his ears and walked away. He then told dad that I had returned. Then dad walked to me, and asked, "What do you mean you didn't want to be a part of it?"

I said, "Allies or not, we're still all cats. Even if you're a pet." He just sighed and turned away. Quinn said, "Forget about that! It's finally spring! I'm definitely going to get a mate this time!" Lu just laughed and Jay said, "That one girl is definitely going to be all over me." Quinn looked at Jay and shouted, "Who!? Who has eyes on you!?"

I sighed. I didn't really have any interest in getting a mate. Lu asked me, "Are you thinking about getting a mate?" I shook my head and said, "I'll still be happy with my friends, mate or not." Lu smiled and said, "You're really something Birch. Speaking of mates, I already have something arranged with Kyle."

Jet and Quinn looked at her in surprise, and they both shouted, "Kyle!?" Kyle is one of the most popular cats in the entire Cats of the Sun's territory. He has yellowish fur that shines like the sun, and blue eyes that match the sky. His white paws are hard to miss, and his personality to other girls is "adorable". He's just somewhat stupid.

I wasn't surprised. It was obvious that Lu liked Kyle, and Kyle eventually fell for her. I chuckled and said, "I'm going to go in my den. I'll be there if you need me." Without waiting for anyone to say anything, I walked into my den and laid down. I looked at the ground and thought about my now distant past. I remembered playing with my siblings, and it made me a bit sad.

If I chose a favorite sibling, it would probably be Ash. He did have an attitude most of the time, but he cared about me a lot. He helped me up when I had trouble walking, and told others what I said when I used to have trouble speaking. I started tearing up. I saw Ash die in front of me because he protected me. I closed my eyes and thought about the good times we had together.

That night, I woke up with a strange feeling. It was hot, and I felt very uncomfortable. I stood up and looked out into the clearing. A few females, including Lu, were out in the clearing looking at the full moon. Joy was outside too, and she looked excited. Soon, Kyle walked outside, and Lu bounded over to him and they touched noses.

A few other cats did that as well, except for Joy. Males tried to get her to accept them, but she shooed them away. She was waiting for Jay. Soon, he walked outside, and his fur shined with the moonlight. Joy started walking towards him, but Jay growled at her, making her back away. He sniffed the air, but then went back into his den.

Joy lowered her head, and she walked into her and her sister's den. I was kind of confused, but then I realized that all of the girls in the clearing were in heat. I slinked back into my den and purred happily for Lu. The uncomfortable feeling still hasn't gone away, so I decided to ask my dad about it later.