Ayu POV

The strong scent of mouse wafted into the air, and my eyes narrowed with anticipation. I turned into the winding alleyway, my gaze tracking the small rodent. Real, fresh prey like this was rare to catch in a city, so I prefer to go hunting when it's dark out; less humans means more prey.

The mouse six feet ahead of me was big and round, a perfect meal for the harsh life of a city cat. My green eyes narrowed to slits and I crouched, sliding each paw forward with anticipation. Finding food in the city was difficult, even when humans usually dump their scraps in the trash, because the cruel humans chase us off and let us starve while we smell the food. But, that's how life works, I guess.

No. I'm not putting my guard down and letting this mouse get away.

I fixed my gaze on the unaware mouse once I was four feet away. I slid my claws out, straightened my tail, and leaped. The mouse squeaked as my claws closed around it and I delivered the killing bite. I purred enthusiastically, crouching as I ate my first meal in days.

After I finished I licked away the rest of the scraps and straightened. I felt healthier and stronger already, so I threw myself at a rain pipe and clambered my way to the top. After pulling myself up, I gazed around the rooftop. It was a large and empty apartment, perfect for a stroll.

    Maybe you've heard about the Rooftop Gang. You're probably saying, "Ayu, you're an idiot for being on their territory." But before you do, calm down and notice I'm in the side of town where the Rooftop Gang doesn't live. Some cats need to just chill.

    I had walked in circles around the wide building, every so often hopping right up on the edge and looking down the two stories at the ground, which was dark and speckled with colorful lights. My whiskers twitched with a sudden nauseated feeling from height and leaped off again.

    I had just sat down to groom my fur when I heard clambering from the rain pipe. The scent of cat came to my nose, and I knew it was the two strays Mustang and Stratus.

    Mustang came up first, a long-furred tom with bright yellow eyes. He was panting as he scrabbled up onto his feet, then caught sight of me and forced himself to look relaxed. "Hurry up, Stratus," he yelled down, almost lazily. "That's the easiest thing I've ever done." I couldn't help but giggle; he always tries to look strong and tough when I'm around.

    "Yeah, right," I heard Stratus grumble as he hauled himself up. He had short striped brown fur and golden eyes, which were shining with annoyance. "I could've gotten up before you if you don't always insist on being first. You're just trying to impress Ayu, because you like her." He raised his voice at the last part, and I snickered again. Mustang's face went pink under his fur, I could tell.

    "I do not," he said quickly. "I know it's you who likes her, you're just blaming it on me."

    Stratus rolled his eyes. "Anyways, hi, Ayu."

    "Sup." I waved my paw to him. "How's it going?"

    "Pretty good. You?"

    "Great, actually. Caught a mouse." I stood up and sat closer to him, while Mustang looked frustrated I was talking more to Stratus.

"So," he said, making his way over. "Did you hear Dancer joined the sewer gang a couple days ago?"

I was surprised. The black she-cat usually didn't lie, no matter how ambitious she got. "Really?" I blinked. "Didn't she say she was going to start her own?"

"She did," Stratus said. "My theory is she's gonna try and be second-in-command and eventually leader. Then she won't have to work to get a bunch of strays to join her."

"That would make sense," I murmured. "Dancer's weird. She's all mysterious and barely ever talks to people unless she wants to make a point."

"Yeah, well, some cats are just like that," Mustang sniffed.

    "Why the sewer gang, though?" I asked. "Dancer's the cleanest cat in the whole city. I don't see why she would want to live in a sewer."

    "And, there are lots of cats there already," Stratus piped up. "If she wants to be leader, why would go to the largest gang? The more cats there are in the gang, the smaller the chance there is to become leader. Very odd."

    Mustang rolled his yellow eyes. "Dancer's just insane. We don't need to worry about her."

"I'm not worried, I'm just confused..." Stratus stopped talking is Mustang shot him a furious look.

"Anyways, the moon is really pretty, isn't is, Ayu?" Mustang purred, inching closer to me.

I smiled. These two always made my day, wether they were arguing or just trying to impress me. It was pretty cute.

"I think it's beauti-"

I stopped mid-sentences as a sudden flash of lighting appeared above us and thunder echoed through my ears. Us cats scrambled to our feet in surprise as rain came pouring down, soaking into our delicate fur.

"Get down the pipe!" I screeched. "There's an overturned garbage can we can hide in." I could barely see the toms through the pouring rain, but I could make out their figures darting to the silver pipe. Mustang went first, then Stratus, then me on his tail. My ginger fur was already soaked to my skin, and trust me, it was not comfortable.

I spotted the gleaming garbage can and led the toms to that area. Mustang insisted on me going all the way in, then quickly scrambled inside leaving Stratus on the edge, where I could tell his right side was getting soaked.

"Everyone okay?" I called. At least I'm not claustrophobic like some cats, other whys I'd be hyperventilating.

"Ayu, can you go in a bit farther?" Stratus responded. I could visibly see him shivering. "I'm still wet."

"I'll try." I squished myself against the wall as far as I could, and Mustang pressed against me. Stratus was in a better position, but his whiskers were still getting wet.

"Better?" I asked.

"It's f-fine," Stratus answered quietly, shutting his green eyes and setting his chin on his paws.

    Rubble POV

    I just don't trust Dancer.

    Ever since she's joined the Sewer Gang, things have been different. It all just seemed... Darker, almost. It's very rare to have a normal conversation with her. And I never know what's she's doing! I'd be walking and she'd just appear from the shadows. Creepy. And she just has those eerie yellow eyes...

    I've tried consulting the second-in-command Candy about it, telling her that Dancer can't be trusted. When she politely refused to listen, I even went to the leader Slick himself, but his opinion wasn't any different than Candy's. It's very strange... it seems like nobody notices how weird she is other than me. Maybe Dancer brainwashed them somehow.

    I walked down the sewer sidewalk, as we like to call it. Sewage water runs down the middle of the pipes like a river, and there are ledges on either sides, the sidewalks. Our camp was an intersection with a pile of crumbling bricks.

    I had just checked through the pipe that always had light streaming in, and I could tell it was nighttime. As I was walking back I heard a loud crash above me, which was peculiar, for the pipes were normally far underground. Then there was the audible patter of rain, hinting that it was raining. I shrugged. I'm underground, how can rain affect me?

    On the way back I managed to catch a scrawny rat. I carried it into our camp and went straight over to Sprite, a bubbly silver she-cat with white markings. "Hey, uh, you wanna share this rat I caught?" I smiled nervously.

    She grinned, her blue eyes shining. "Sure!" She leaned down at took a large bite out of the rat. "How's it going?"

    "Gooood," I said awkwardly, shuffling my paws. "Uh, how about you?"

    "Awesome!" She cheered.

    "May I ask why?"

    "I have a really really really good feeling that something awesome is gonna happen!" She grinned again, hopping from foot to foot.

    "Why?"

    "I dunno but it's gonna be awesome!!"

    I purred nervously, my yellow eyes fixed on her blue ones. "I hope so," I whispered, my heart filled with nothing but joy. Sprite always had a way of making everyone feel better.

    "I don't hope so, I know so!" Sprite purred.

    Larry POV

    Drifting in and out of consciousness...

    In...

    Out...

    Glimpses of blood, glimpses of metal around me, cold hard fear...

    Pain...

    How long had it been? I really don't know. All I remember is waking up surrounded by a metal mesh on each side, and feeling very, very light-headed. I numbly tried to stand but instantly gave up, shaking from an awful pain that had just swarmed my whole body. "Everything hurts," I rasped, my eyes squeezing shut.

    "I'm not surprised," A soft voice replied. Nervously I opened my eyes again and turned to the right, my vision blurring and clearing. I finally made out a golden she-cat with green eyes. She had a thick white cloth wrapped around one paw. "You were bleeding like a whole building had fallen on you. You've been unconscious for a while, it's not even night anymore."

    "Where am I?" I stammered, glancing around at my surroundings. I appeared to be in some sort of building, with tan walls and dozens of cages stacked up. It looked like me and this she-cats were the only ones here.

    "This is the SPCA, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals."

    "So they're helping us?" Larry gulped, trying to stay conscious. A sickening wave of nausea had just ran through him.

    "Yep. Don't be afraid, don't struggle, they're only trying to help," she said softly.

    "Wh... What do you mean, 'don't struggle'?"

    The she-cat blinked her wide green eyes. "Well, the humans here... They're going to come in and take you to another room, and use a needle. They already did it to me, they're waiting for you to be able to stay awake."

    I flattened my ears. "H... How do you... How do you know?"

    "Oh, I have this special ability to understand humans. My mother was a pet, so it's a bit natural to me."

    I said nothing as another nauseating wave swept over me.

    "Oh... Oh! You- You're passing out again. But you did good! You stayed awake, right? I'm Summer..."

    The only thing I managed to say before I blacked out was, "My- My name is Larry."

    Author's note:

    The SPCA is a real thing. I didn't make it up. Just to let you know :)