Little Ant, Always Fearful

The little calico's ribs showed through her medium-length pelt, which was saying something. The fur was dirty and matted, making her look more like she was tortoiseshell. Her tail curled around her tiny paws as she sat in a dark, wet corner. Ant's tongue hopelessly rasped against her pelt, struggling to make it look better. She didn't get far, knowing she had to store as much water as she could. A rat that was almost as big as she was scurried in front of her and hissed savagely, turning to move towards her. Ant's little kit claws dug into the rotting wood she was standing on fearfully, and she laid her ears back. A pitiful hiss of her own came from her throat, but the creature advanced on the tiny kit.

When it was closer, she clawed at its nose, but she only succeeded in making it angrier. Quickly, she dashed out of her corner and away from the rat. Scary scents flooded over her, including those of other cats. When she found a 'safe' spot -- if any place here could be considered safe -- she curled up into a scared ball. Plenty of crowfood was scattered about, and she was hungry enough to consider eating it. Ant carefully crept out of her hiding place and pulled a... something towards her. It was so rotted and mutilated that she wasn't sure what it was, but even if it made her sicker than she already was, having a bit of food in her belly would keep her a bit healthier. Or so she hoped.

Padding through ShadowClan territory, Mudfoot was content with his day of hunting. After what happened with his mate, the heartbroken tom needed something to distract him, and hunting was a perfect distraction. He'd gotten quite a few frogs, two birds and squirrels. Luckily for him, all the prey was plump from new leaf and thus they weren't very fast when it came to running away from the tom. Padding away from the Thunderpath were he'd finished his hunting, he padded back to camp, but something told him to check out the Carrionplace. No one had been there in a while, so he decided to follow his gut. Besides, he was heading in that direction, so might as well stop by the place. Slightly changing the direction that he walked, he made his way to the Carrionplace.

Trotting at a steady pace, he gave a sigh. This food would be for his motherless kits and although he was so thankful to have kits, he would never fully get over his mate. Before he reached his destination, a squirrel shot out from under a bush and Mudfoot couldn't let a perfect piece of go to waste, and after a good chase, the squirrel was buried in the ground. Now that the hunt was over and he focus on his surroundings, he realized how close he was to the Carrion Place. Hm, that's odd, usually prey does stray this close to here. The only things that lived and could actually survive at that horrid place were rats, crows, and maggots. From experience, he knew that forest prey were always skittish and scared of anything larger than them and the Carrionplace was an immediate death wish. Unlike forest prey, rats were horrible, ruthless beings that shouldn't even be considered animals, more like monsters. Mudfoot even heard that rats have been known to attack twolegs. Those foxhearts. He despised the hairless creatures, but he would never attack one. Continuing to the twoleg place, Mudfoot was soon outside the fence.

Standing outside the carrion place, the stench was unbearable. How does anything live here? Scrunching his nose in a disgusted sort of way, he could hear the sounds of claws scuttling and scratching the hard surface. They were most likely just rats, but his curiosity soon took over. Slipping under the fence, the fluffy tom walked towards the big overhang that held nothing more than twoleg junk in a huge shadow. Keeping his senses sharp and looking around in all directions, he could see the beady eyes of rats and it gave him a shiver. Thankfully even rats knew not to mess with a full grown, healthy cat. "Hello?"

Hearing the tom's voice, Ant scurried back into her hiding place, abandoning the horrid crowfood. Then, a good bit of water fell off of something and poured onto her head. The calico's instinct to cry out from the shock of cold and the sudden dampness overpowered her instinct to remain hidden, but because she was so sickly it was hardly even able to be considered a pitiful mewl. Fear overpowered her. Of course the other cat had heard this. Was he going to be hostile? Would he hurt her?

She couldn't run from a grown cat, especially in her current state. The creature she had run from previously even gave her trouble to flee from. Ant doubted she could outrun a grown cat on her best day, in fact. Although, the healthiest she had ever been in her short five moons was having runny eyes and a runny nose with a half-full belly.

Mudfoot walked slowly forward, hearing a sound that didn't sound like rat, but something bigger. A cat? But why would a cat be in this horrible place? Stopping where he stood, he took a deep breath, trying to breathe with all the smells around him. Looking into the shadows, he just barely noticed a very skinny and sad looking figure. A kit? Horror overwhelmed the tom. Why would a queen leave her kit here? In a place like this, to be eaten by the rats?! Taking another step forward, he realized who ever this was, was extremely scared and seeing a large cat like him might be overwhelming. "Hello," he meowed softly, slowly lowering himself to the ground and half laying down. If anything, he wanted to look like he meant no harm, for he needed this poor kit to trust him.

She was still cowering, and kept her now soaking wet ears laid back. Ant hissed a pitiful hiss that wouldn't have scared a mouse, keeping her tail curled tightly around her paws. Most cats she had met would claw at her or chase her away because she was in their home. Toms especially. Besides that, she clearly recalled amost losing her life to a big grey tomcat with amber eyes. The tiny calico's heart was pounding out of fear.

To her, he looked sort of like he was in a hunting crouch. However, she noticed that he was more laying down than crouching. Ant didn't trust others easily, but he didn't seem to pose a huge threat. Besides, he was too large to get to her in her current hiding place. The kit relaxed just slightly, but didn't speak.

Mudfoot's tail swayed gently back and forth, trying to show that he meant no harm. "I'm Mudfoot of ShadowClan, who might you be?" He asked, curious as to if the kit could understand him. The stench of sickness filled the air and he wondered if it was the kit that cowered in front of him, or just the place in general.

Shifting his weight around, Mudfoot laid in a more comfortable position. It was a dangerous move, laying there when rats lurked in the shadows, but he needed this kit to trust him so he could get her out of here. "Hello Ant," he continued softly. "Are you okay?" From where he was, the tom couldn't tell if the small cat was physically hurt.

Ant was quiet for a moment before speaking. "No..." It was strange for someone to care about her wellbeing, but it didn't quite bother her to have him seeming concerned. Still, in case he wanted to hurt her, the little calico female kept herself backed into her spot.

Looking around, he wondered if a queen was anywhere near here, coming back to get her kit. "Well, is your mother around?" He asked, not able to pick up any traces of a queen. Maybe she'd been killed... only this kit could give him answers.

Her eyes filled with tears at the mention of the word 'mother', not that her eyes weren't already runny. "She left me when the fire started..." Ant whispered, remembering the trauma clearly even though she had only been two moons old.

The fire? So this kit was abandoned? She wasn't his kit or his problem, but Mudfoot felt extremely bad for this small, helpless cat and wondered how he could help. I couldn't take a sick cat like this back to camp, could I? Pondering the ideas, he noticed some rats were creeping in to get a closer look. "We should get out of here," he meowed, looking back to the kit.

Her eyes widened in fear again, both at the rats and the prospect of leaving her hiding spot. Quickly she weighed the risks and benefits in her mind. After a few moments, she figured that the possibility of being cared for was better than dying -- whether from starvation, dehydration, sickness, or a rat attack. Slowly, the pitiful little kit crept out, which revealed just how terrible shape she was in.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he was so glad that she trusted him. Unfortunately, his mini celebration didn't last long, for seeing the condition that the kit was in made him sick. How could a cat even get that sick? "It's okay, I promise I won't hurt you," he meowed softly, realizing that the rats were slowly closing in. "I have some food, but you need to come with me to the outside of the fence, can you do that?"

She nodded, her eyes looking around at the predators. Frankly, they were terrifying, and she hissed her pitiful hiss at one.