Chapter Six
Getting a good distance away from ThunderClan, and arriving at an abandoned twolegs nest, Starfleck slowed down a little to catch her breath. Here, the scent of rotting wood and rust replaced the fresh foliage.
Mounds of dirty yellow straw scattered across the surrounding area, loomed over her like some giant beast. The barn itself was deterrent enough for her to keep her distance.
Otherwise, most of her mood had settled and a large soft grin was plastered on her face. ‘She was right,’ Starfleck agreed as she began to give herself a light bath by licking her paws and rubbing them against all over her face.
‘It was a good idea to run for a while.’ Even if she thought that, a small hollow hole still lingered in her heart. Tiny, but it was there nonetheless.
Pausing as her ears began to flick, sounds of muffled snoring coming from within the barn caught her attention. For a moment, Starfleck paused to listen to the sound, curious and fascinated at the same time.
Without thinking, she forgot all about returning to ThunderClan, and instead started to pass through the open doors of the barn. The sunlight from outside barely reached four paw-lengths inside the collapsing barn where the smell was far stronger here.
Filled with sharp fangs that the twolegs used to destroy the land, all of them rusted and worn, Starfleck narrowed her eyes in the gloom. Tilting her head, Starfleck continued to listen, and upon hearing the snores coming from the loft; her heart began to hammer in her chest far harder than it possibly should.
Hunching down, and tail flicking, Starfleck began to ascend the vertical platform, claws dully clicking on the wooden planks as she had them unsheathed for extra grip.
Holding her breath as dust began to filter through the stuffy air, Starfleck steadied herself on the ledge of the loft before gasping a bit too loudly for her comfort.
Laying on his belly near the open window so that sunlight poured in, was a tom three times her size with the darkest russet brown she had ever laid eyes upon. Even his tail was the fluffiest she had seen.
Bits of straw clung to his pelt, and when she breathed in his scent, the smell of the barn filled her soul and mind. She would never forget this smell for the rest of her life.
But, was he a loner or rogue? It didn’t matter to Starfleck at this point. Silence in the barn was heavy enough to push its weight on her body. Taking the risk, Starfleck lowered herself to her belly before dragging her body in a low crawl.
Starfleck crept inch by inch toward the sleeping tom. She was almost there when she stopped, a tremor of doubt pulling her toward ThunderClan.
Her body started to pivot away - then something in the tom held her: the way his pelt caught the sun, the soft droop of his whiskers, the little twitch of his ears whenever a fly landed on them.
She didn’t know why. She only knew she swivelled back and moved again, softer this time, breathing in his scent until she was a whisker away.
He stirred; his eyes cracked open. Starfleck froze.
For a long moment he watched her, confusion in his gaze. The seconds stretched. At last his lids fell and he snored on.
She waited until she felt certain he was asleep before shifting her hind legs. She should have checked her surroundings - she hadn’t seen the bucket by her paw. Her paw struck it; metal thunked on wood and the sound smashed the silence.
She glanced over her shoulder, heart racing - and felt eyes boring into the back of her head.