Trapped [Open]

Darkstar awoke slowly, groggily. She was warm, for some strange reason, and feeling considerably lighter than she'd ever felt. She could smell something, the scent of her kittens, other cats, and Twolegs. But why was the last so strong? Her yellow eyes flashed open and she almost fainted.

She was inside a Twoleg den. What had happened? She couldn't remember anything past the night before.. or was that two days ago? A week ago? The leader stood up suddenly, but fell down just as quickly. She was far lighter than what she was after her first litter. Too light. Something must be missing. Gazing down at her limp leg, she found that it wasn't there anymore. The she-cat let out a shriek of shock, biting at the hard white substance that now covered where her leg had once been. She tried to stand, but the sudden loss of weight was throwing her off-balance, not to mention being stuck in what seemed like a tiny den with hard, shiny vines at the front.

A loud noise startled her into silence. With what she could see, her tiny den was inside a much larger one, but it seemed to have no entrance or exit. But the sound was coming from an indentation in the wall, until it burst open to reveal an ugly, hairless creature with brightly colored pelts adorning it. She'd seen Twolegs before, but never, ever this close before. It reached a paw towards her den and she shrunk back, hiding her three kits from view. The vines swung aside and small dishes were set before it. The creature did not leave immediately; it stayed by the entrance to the large den, watching her for a moment, before finally exiting.

It took Darkstar a few heartbeats to relax. Then she crept towards the now open exit and hovered there to take a look at her surroundings. Everything was soft-looking. She tentatively reached a paw out and sank a bit in the strangely poofy pelt she was on, almost making her lose her balance. She left her kittens in the relatively safe den so that she could look around. There was a tall, skinny tree stump covered in claw marks that smelled of other cats, a robust, huge box that on closer inspection was made of wood. She pulled on a long piece that jutted out to see that it was mostly hollow inside, with some pelts all across the bottom. Why do they need so many?"

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. There was a patch in the wall that appeared to be made of ice, but she could see through it. She went over to investigate, and found that it looked into an alley. At the far end was a group of cats, and her heart caught in her throat. Maybe they could get her out. She howled and scratched at the ice, making horribly high-pitched screeching noises. She needed to get out as soon as possible, along with her kits.

Blackpaw swarmed within the group of several cats. His shady black pelt, speckles acknowledging its tranquility, seemed to blend in with the night. He glanced towards the window, mystical blue orbs sheathed by a dark purple. His ears perked, he moved towards the ear-piercing noise, recognizing the frame of a cat. His leaps were perfectly precise, and his tail tousled the pines. He flattened his ears for a moment, yet to no avail, Blackpaw was not provoked. He opened his mouth, and scented a clan cat, yet ever so faintly.

Blackpaw's pawsteps moved so soundly, nearing the windowsill. His mew did not arise; he stayed silent as he gazed up at Darkstar, pity in his deep blue eyes. He shut them, and winced. He paced, searching for a way to help Darkstar escape the Twoleg nest.

Frozenflame winced at the horrible, ear-shattering, high pitched sound of claws scraping against something solid and squeaky. He lifted his heavy amber gaze to a ice-coated hole in the side of a twoleg nest. The deputy stepped forward next to Blackpaw and squinted up at the transparent substance. "Darkstar," he gasped, the word coming out raspy as it caught in his throat. The tom stepped into a patch of light so that his leader would be able to see him clearly through the ice block. "Darkstar! We'll get you out of there! Hold on!"

The tom ran forward and leaped up, reaching forward with his claws outstretched. He made it about three-fourths up the wall, one-fourth away from the ledge that the ice block was on. Frozenflame's claws caught the rocky red substance that was stuck together in block form. He slid down, leaving long claw marks in the red and brown blocks.

A silver kit with swirled tabby fur stirred in his sleep, by his mothers wails. He lifted his head, and opened his eyes, they were yellow in color. He shifted, and sneezed as the soft pelt tickled his nose.

Blackpaw darted across the outline of the house, wooden frame skimping his paws carefully and swiftly. "Darkstar," Blackpaw muttered, tiny, shining eyes glancing up. He fostered his stance with outstretched claws. He flexed them, as he wondered what to do. He narrowed slit eyes and skirted the house, yowling slightly in an attempt to distract the Twolegs with his presence.

It was risky, yet Blackpaw was determined. He adorned himself with reeds and yowled as loudly as he could. He signalled with a flick of his tail-tip for everyone to hide themselves.

They saw her! Darkstar gazed at her deputy with unbound relief. A familiar face. She searched the edges of the ice for any sort of space she could work with, but found none. Then she saw an apprentice go out of sight. She vaguely recognized him as a kit she'd seen before, Blackkit, so he must've been apprenticed in her absence. That was an odd feeling. She should have been there for her clanmates, she shouldn't have gone to Highstones in a vain attempt to be closer to Starclan.

Another loud sound came from deeper within the den, and the Twoleg burst through the entrance, no doubt to investigate the amount of noise she was making. It stood in the doorway, looking out of the window and spotting Frozenflame outside. The leader couldn't move as the creature loomed over her to make a veil of long white leaves hide the outside world from view. Then there was another wail, farther away, that caught the Twoleg's attention. It went to investigate, leaving the entrance slightly ajar. Was this her chance? She looked back at her kits. With her sudden imbalance, the leader could only carry one. Would her clanmates dare come to help get them out? She couldn't possibly choose between them if they wouldn't. So she picked one up at random - she hadn't got to naming them yet- and made her way through the den.

Cat scent was everywhere, and as she delved further, she found kittypets and former loners alike resting together in a pile. "What do they even live for?" Her thoughts were to her remaining two kits all alone, and her heart nearly stopped when she set her gaze on the Twoleg right in front of her. Its back was turned, peering through the front entrance to the den, looking for the source of the noise. Darkstar could see the eyes of Blackpaw, hidden well enough to not be noticed. What was his plan? Surely it would have to be quick, and all of them going back to fetch her other kittens wasn't going to cut it. So she left the one she was carrying in a secluded spot and made a silent dash to where she had awoken. There she picked up another and brought them to their sibling.

"Darkstar," murmured Blackpaw, "Come on!" Blackpaw jumped quickly out of the way, slipping out of reach of the Twoleg's groping hands. He leapt onto a few rocks, jutting unevenly out of the ground, as ferns rustled all around him. The Twoleg lost sight of him, as he gave a brief nod to Darkstar.

He felt a pang of admiration for the leader, so strong in the face of captivity. He knew, in her lean shape, that she was a clan cat. He blinked, blue eyes unreadable by any. His gaze flickered towards the confused Twoleg, who was tumbling awkwardly through the bushes. He then looked back to the former ThunderClan leader, her kits by her side.