Chapter Text
Rusty fled from the forest, blood dripping from his ear as he ran with wide eyes.
He ended up outside his friend Smudge's den. Shaking out his fur, he quickly jumped onto the fence and jumped into the black and white tom's yard.
Smudge quickly trotted out, meeting the ginger with wide eyes. "Rusty! What happened? You're covered in blood!"
Shaking out his pelt, the ginger stared at his friend for a moment. "You.. Those stories were right. They were so aggressive!"
Tilting his head, the tom frowned. "Oh no.. I shouldn't have let you go in the first place.. Are you going to go back to your housefolk?"
Hesitating, Rusty shook his head. "No.. I made my choice.. I don't want to be a house cat anymore." He thought for a moment, brows furrowed, before looking at his friend with a wide smile. "Let's make our own!"
Smudge blinked, confused. "Our own what?"
The ginger bounced up, his eyes lit up. "Our own group! Or, clan or whatever they called it. We can do it our own way. Smudge I tasted freedom, and mouse, and it's so much better than just lazing around all day! Come with me! We'll ask Princess too, and maybe Tiny if he's still around."
The bicolored tom frowned, glancing away. "I.. I don't know Rusty. Running away? Where would we even go? The wild cats already have the forest."
Rusty thought for a moment, tail twitching. "Hmm.. OH! The farm, on the other side of the field! There's a forest just past it near some other housefolk dens. It'll be away from these wild cats and near other house cats."
Smudge took a breath, giving the ginger a curt nod. "Alright. I'll come with you Rusty. But.." He paused, staring the tom down. "I want to be able to leave at any time. I don't want to be trapped in the wild."
Tilting his head, the firey tom nodded. "Deal. C'mon, let's go tell Princess about it!"
The two toms jumped out of the yard, Smudge sending one last look at his den before they began to trot towards Princess's. Jumping into the she-cat's yard, they called out for her to come out.
She ducked out of the den, eyes bright. "Smudge! Rusty! What brings you by today?"
Rusty grinned, bounding over to his sister. "You remember all the stories of groups of wild cats? We're making our own group! We're gonna ask Tiny to come too. We're going to the forest on the far side of the farm."
Princess blinked, gaping a little. "You're.. leaving?"
He paused, eyes wide. "Er.. Kinda? But we want you to come too!"
She took a step back, concern lighting her eyes. "In.. the wild? I dunno.."
Smudge smiled, his tail still twitching with uncertainty. "We can leave anytime we like, Princess. If you ever want to come back to your home, you can."
The she-cat sent him a grateful look, glancing back at her brother. "Well.. I'll try it. I'll at least help you set up where you'll live."
Rusty dipped his head gratefully. "You'll both see! It'll be great! C'mon, let's ask Tiny then get going."
Princess took a moment to look around her yard, taking a deep breath before nodding and following the toms.
The trio made their way quickly towards Tiny's home.
Ruby and Socks played in the yard, looking up as the trio arrived.
Ruby bounded over, grinning. "Hi! What are you guys doing here?"
Rusty looked down at the she-cat, barely hiding his distain for the bully. "We're looking for Tiny."
Socks frowned, snorting. "Why? He's no fun. Besides, he ran away earlier today. Couldn't handle a little joke."
The littermates giggled, clearly reveling in their cruelty.
Smudge growled, glaring at the pair. "Fine. We'll go find him."
Princess glared at the two for a moment before leaping down on the other side of the fence and beginning to search for Tiny's scent.
The two toms joined her, eventually finding a scent trail from earlier that day.
Following it, they slowly entered the forest with prickling fur.
Rusty heard it first.
Tiny was yowling, begging for help.
The ginger raced ahead, a snarl written on his face as he burst into the clearing where Tiny was.
Longtail, the tom Rusty had fought that morning.
The warrior sneered, looking the tom up and down as he stood above the small black house cat. "You again? I thought I got rid of you."
Rusty's fur bushed up, eyes wild with fury. "Step away from him."
Cackling, the warrior dug his claws further into the small cat's pelt. "Oh? Step away from this trespassing scrap of fur? I don't think so."
Smudge and Princess quickly entered the clearing, both glaring at the pale tabby.
Tiny looked relieved, but still terrified.
Rusty snarled, staring the warrior down. "You won this morning, sure. But I won't lose now." Racing forward, the smaller tom barreled into the warrior and drove him away from his half-brother. Standing between the downed tom and warrior, the ginger glared as the larger cat stood back up.
Not giving any more down time, the ginger raced forward again as Princess and Smudge tended to Tiny. Leaping high into the air, Rusty stretched out his claws and caught the warrior across the face. Digging in, his claws gouged at one of the warrior's eyes, tearing it to shreds.
Longtail screeched, his good eye blown open wide with pain and horror. He fled, screeching in pain.
Panting, the ginger turned back to the three other cats, slowly padding over.
Tiny slowly stood up, albeit shakily. "Th-thanks.."
Princess nudged him closer, letting the wounded tom lean against her side. "C'mon. We can talk in safer territory."
The group traveled in silence until they returned to the housefolk dens. Settling by a fence, they laid down for a rest.
Rusty looked at his half-brother, tail twitching. "We're making our own wild cat group. Away from these aggressive ones."
Smudge gave the black tom a concerned look. "Why did you run away? Was it Ruby and Socks?"
Nodding, Tiny frowned. "They... they chased me from the yard this morning.." He looked at the three others with wide, hopeful eyes. "Can I join your group?.. I have nowhere else to go.."
Rusty smiled, nodding. "That's what we came to ask. We're going to the forest past the farm. We can rest for now and leave tomorrow."
The four cats nodded, curling into a pile and sleeping pressed against each other.