Magpiewing's life as leader was all too stressful for the tom to handle. It was dropped on his shoulders too suddenly, and with the rising tension between clans with RiverClan and ThunderClan's war, he couldn't take it. Anxiety and pressure broke him, causing him to step down rather unceremoniously. Regret filled his life. Regret over his failures as leader, regret over his inability to cope, regret over all of the things that caused his fears. While the clan was supportive, his guilt pushed him to often leave camp, spending all day and night hunting or patrolling to limit his encounters with ShadowClan. He felt as if he betrayed them, as if he was too weak to even be a warrior for them. Perhaps they would be better off without him.
Unfortunately for him, StarClan had granted his wish to be whisked away from any leftover responsibilities. But StarClan worked in mysterious ways. They either had a cruel sense of humour, or had planned for him to suffer for his decisions. Whatever it was, his carriage away came in the form of his worst nightmare. Twolegs.
He was quickly sold off to a young family, a caring pair and their youngling. The tom was devastated, the trauma from his first capture resurfacing within the night. He needed to go home. He wanted to go home. It didn't matter how much his clanmates looked down on him, anything was better than this. But he couldn't escape. He was what they called "an indoor cat". And all of his fears from long ago came back, consuming his heart and mind. He became afraid. He became complacent. He became a kittypet.
His memories of the forest faded away. They were locked in the deepest part of his heart, seemingly becoming a distant dream rather than his reality. Magpiewing was gone, and Jude had taken his place.
Jude's life was comfortable, to say the least. He was kept locked away from the forest, forced to explore the crooks and crannies of the twoleg nest instead. It was warm, his bed was soft and plump, and there was always food, albeit disgusting mush. He ate it anyways, growing plump within the span of a few weeks. Despite the foggy "dreams" of scampering about in the marshes of his true home, the new kittypet never felt inclined to leave. He was captive, a prisoner in their nest, but with his true personality locked away he would never know the reality of his pain. He was curious about his history from time to time. It was a mystery to none but him. Yet it did not bother the tom. His current life was comfortable.
Comfortable.
This is uncomfortable.
The carrier was bashed around in the back of his twoleg's carriage. Nothing but a few strings held him in place, keeping his cage bound to the monster but not well enough to keep the large bumps of the Thunderpath from knocking Jude around. He let out a suffering yowl, hoping his owners would hear from their cabin. His vision was blocked by the hard walls that confined him, only the entrance letting him see anything of interest. His golden eyes peered around curiously, watching the various colours pass by. Dark blue, green, brown. Colours he could see while watching the world outside his nest. The world he was only inches from. The world he would only know through the sweet aromas that wafted into his cage.
Was this what the outside smelled like? A plethora of sweet and sultry scents that almost felt... nostalgic. Despite the trauma that was going to be the bumps and bruises that dotted his skin, he couldn't help but enjoy the scenery around him. White dots filled the night sky, illuminating the woods, adding to the aesthetics that Jude was growing more and more attached to.
As he took a deep breath inward, entranced by the smells of the forest, the vehicle swerved, jerking him to the side and interrupting his momentary serenity.
Everything happened so fast it was hard for him to ascertain what had happened. One minute, the black tom was dwelling on the more enjoyable aspects of his trip, the next his cage was tossed from its binding. Ripped away and tossed into the ditch, Jude's cage rolled to a stop, soft, long grass peeking through the grated door. The kittypet inside groaned, his paw twisting slightly in a way he knew it was not meant to twist. His ears rang with a high pitched squeal and his vision blurred. Red filled his left eye as he tried to peer through the tall grass that now surrounded the tiny cage. Behind the ringing in his ears and the hot liquid that pooled into his eye he could see something large and bright. It flickered against the starry sky, almost as if the sun was present, consuming what he discovered was his twoleg's car. With eyes wide and mouth hanging agape, he stared as the burning grew stronger, and a loud explosion filled the air.
The noise itself was fear inducing. Yet the most frighting thing was the inability to do anything. He was useless as he sat, watching the scene carry out in front of him. Sirens followed closely, blinking lights of red and blue surrounding the fire. Everything was so... loud. Overwhelming.
All the tom could do watch and wait. Wait for his twolegs to find him.
Or something else...
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