One moment he had been chasing a hare across the frozen ground, glorying in the crisp cold, the next caught in a silvery cage that had been cleverly concealed in the burrow the hare called home. Astraeus froze, fur spiking, fear-scent flooding out. They were growing smarter. He- he was caught. The silvery tom-cat threw himself against the bramble, hoping that this one, like others he’d escaped, wasn’t quite as sturdy as the humans had hoped… but these were smarter, and the wire did not yield to his paws.
For hours, he searched frantically for a way out, pawing at every corner, throwing himself against the sides, with a frantic energy that only a caged animal possessed. The SkyClanners would surely find his scent sooner or later… but would they even care? Astraeus was just a helpful loner. Not someone they’d grown up with.
After all, Astraeus reflected, he was the only one he had. Yet as spindly paws grabbed the cage and carried him away, Astraeus left a scrap of silvery fur on the snow. They would know he had not run off and abandoned them. When he escaped- when, not if- this would make sure his reputation with the Clanners remained untarnished.
He clung to his plans, his forethought- for they were the only assurance he had that everything would be okay. That everything would be back to normal.
Soon.
All that was left was a depression in the snow, the scent of humans and his own fear-scent, and a single scrap of silvery fur.
