9 Chapter 9
It's been a few months since we took in Bandit and Smoke. They've been safely hidden, but they almost got caught a couple of times, and they're now adults. Our kits have grown as well, and they grew nicely. Bell has green eyes; she is a tomboy, and she can be pretty reckless at times. Yuna has light yellow eyes and is shy around others, but she loves to talk about the things she likes.
Echo has dark yellow eyes, and he is very curious about everything, and he tries to make new friends, but his head is always in the clouds. Sometimes, his eyes would shine like the night sky if he found something he likes. Throughout the months, Jaja and Klaus died, and people are becoming more suspicious of Ace, but that quickly blew over. Today, I was finally able to see Bandit and Smoke for the first time in a while. When I got behind the waterfall, I heard a sigh of relief and one of them shouted, "Birch! It's you!"
Bandit's fur was almost jet black, and both of his front paws were white. He had eyes that looked like the sunset, and he was fairly tall. Smoke has grey fur with a black nose. He has violet eyes, and he was as tall as Bandit. I sat down and said, "It's been quite a while you two." Bandit walked over and licked my shoulder saying, "Thank you for taking us in... you saved our lives you know."
Smoke said, "He is right. If it weren't for you, we would've run away without any guidance." I said, "No problem. But why did you want to run away?" Bandit said, "Because we were found by the Cats of the Night. We aren't official members or something like that." I didn't say anything. Then Smoke said, "An elder named Queen Firefly told me that her daughter found us on the side of a road. Our mother was dead next to us, but she said her body was still warm."
I said, "I'm sorry for your loss... I'm sure you don't remember anything about her." Smoke lowered his head, and Bandit said, "Yeah... but I do remember something. When I looked at her face, I couldn't see any emotion. There was always nothing." I said, "She must've been suffering from something. Did you ever see your father?" Bandit said, "No. All I remember was her."
I sighed and said, "Well this didn't turn out as I expected. Let's talk about something else." Bandit said, "Ooh! Me first! There was this one time..."
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I'm getting tired, and Birch still hasn't returned yet. "So what happened after that?" Echo asked. "Hm... I don't know. I wasn't watching." Bell said, "Aw man... I had my hopes up too!" Then Yuna said, "It was really exciting..." I laughed and said, "Oh well. Maybe someone else has a story to tell?" Bell said, "Yeah! Let's go ask someone else!"
They ran off like excited kits, and I saw Birch coming to the entrance. I ran to him and said, "So how did it go?" He said, "It was kind of sad at first, but Bandit lightened the mood." I didn't want to ask about the sad parts, so I said, "That's great! Ever since Bandit found out that your kits were almost done growing, he would keep asking, "Is Birch with you?"
He laughed, and then Lu came over and asked, "What are you talking about?" I said, "Oh nothing much. We're talking about some things our kits did." Lu said, "Okay. Anyway, Birch, you're going to be an older brother! King Rudy is expecting kits!" I think that was the most excited I've seen Birch. He said, "Thank you for telling me, Lu!"
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I was so so happy to hear the news, but then there was a blood-curdling cry. We ran to my parent's den, and what I saw took my excitement away. A cat was next to my dad, and he shrieked, "He's dead!" Cats started murmuring amongst each other, and I forced my way inside. I sat next to my dad and placed my head on his chest.
There was a quiet heartbeat, and I shouted, "He's still alive!" Lu and Rudy rushed inside as well, and Rudy picked up his head and placed it on his knees saying, "Please please don't go... I'm having your kits... you have to live to see them!" Jet slowly opened his eyes, and said, "That's... great hon.." Rudy flattened his ears and he placed his head on dad's.
Lu announced, "He's been stabbed in the back... three times... I can't save him..." I lowered my head and started crying. My kits and Jay walked inside, and they all sat next to me.
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My vision was decreasing. Rudy's warmth kept me from trembling, and when I looked to my right, I smiled. I saw Birch with his new family. A family of five. "Birch... you're doing good for a kid who used to barely talk or walk." He looked up at me with tearful eyes. I turned my head back to Rudy, and said, "Rudy. You are the best mate anyone could ask for. I'm glad you were mine."
He finally opened his beautiful blue eyes, and I said, "Will you name two of our kits... Hero and Storm?" He nodded, and I sighed. I wasn't looking at a dark ceiling. I was looking at the one who lit up my whole life. I felt the blood under me start to spread to my arms, and it reminded me of the one who stabbed me.
He made me angrier than a thousand suns. He deserved to go to hell for what he'd done. I started struggling for air. The pain in my back started to fade, and my vision was getting worse. Soon, I just let go. I only saw darkness. When I blinked, I saw the most beautiful place ever.
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