CHAPTER 4 ||

Henna's POV

The sunset bloomed just above the landscape, the sun's rays cascading upon the grassy land like rivers snaking through a valley. The gentle flow of water could be heard, the quiet croaking of frogs just audible over the murmuring of cats in the small clearing.

Birch trees cascaded over the clearing, their black and white wood shining from beneath the spiked leaves that overhang the cats' heads. The slowing songs of birds could be heard, as it slowly got quieter and quieter, finally stopping, just as the last of the brilliant orange sun began to disappear underneath the landscape, going anywhere.

The moon hung about level with the cats' vision line, it's faint white moonbeams flowing peacefully from the crescent-shaped celestial body.

The stars shone with the fierceness of fire, the twinkling lights gazing down upon the living things that conversed in the clearing. The light was faint, but enough to provide the small amount of light needed for the cats to see each other.

"Willow, I really think you ought to sleep," the mew of Henna could be heard, her voice worrisome and tense. "If something attacks us, you might just get in the way, and you could be ki-"

Her voice was interrupted by Willow, who had shoved his fluffy cream tail in her face, succeeding at silencing the pregnant she-cat. "Hey, I'll go to sleep! If it makes you shut up, I'll go to bed!"

"Good." Henna nodded her head, a successful look in her bright green eyes, her tail curled around her paws. "Now, Thistle, what were we talking about?"

She turned to the gray-and-white-patched tom, only to find him curled around his mate, her blue-gray fur melting in with the gray patches. "Oh... Good night, you two..."

Their three kits lay curled at the couple's stomach, their pelts somewhat matching. Cosmo's pelt blended in with his mother's, the two almost twins. The small kit let out an audible snore, causing a small chuckle from Henna, whose eyes had focused on the blue-gray tomkit.

The brown tabby she-cat widened her jaws in a yawn, blinking tiredly. She padded over to her nest in the center of the camp, laying next to Chocolate, who was curled in the center, her rosy pink nose sticking out from the clumped mess of brown and black fur. Henna snorted, and curled around the young cat, her swollen stomach moving awkwardly to avoid being crushed.

Thistle had said the kits should open their eyes soon, after all, it had been about two weeks. Maybe they'll open their eyes tomorrow... Henna thought sleepily, closing her eyes, her lids drooping upon her face.

Exhaustion overwhelmed the expecting mother, and she fell asleep as gentle snores echoed from her nose, silence surrounding the clearing.

--

When Dawn's rosy fingertips met the land of the earth, the horizon, blocked by the large pine trees that surrounded the clearing, Chocolate's eyes opened. Henna saw it happen, too, as she was awake.

"Good morning," she purred, licking the she-cat's ears. "It's a lovely morning, is it not? I've been up before dawn."

As the pregnant she-cat turned her gaze to the east, the faint pink light of dawn could be see spreading across the sky, like the sugary food twoleg kits used to eat. They seemed to love it.

"It is. I'm happy to be awake," Chocolate responded, yawning widely. "I love the morning."

The dark brown tabby stood up, arching her back in a stretch. Henna stood up next to her, copying the she-cat's moves. "Like this?" She asked, arching her back.

"Of course! Do you not know how to stretch?" Chocolate joked, a happy light in her forest green eyes. "Were you a kittypet once, Henna?"

"Why, yes, I was. Those were nice days, with a bunch of kits to rub their hairless paws across my back, endless food, and plenty of time to rest. But now, the twolegs are all gone. They must have died, or something..."

Chocolate scrunched her nose, as if she had smelled something particularly nasty. "Living with twolegs was awful! My mother was a kittypet, and so was I, for about 5 moons. That's why my name is some kind of twoleg food. That's what my mother said, at least." She joked, shaking her head. "But it really was awful. Dry, tasteless food, I was trapped inside that awful place. It felt like the walls were closing in on me, so I ran away."

"Oh, Chocolate. It was like that for my first six moons, but, once the twolegs decided they could trust me, they let me out!" She purred, licking the smaller she-cat. "Of course, I always had to come back in, but my life inside wasn't that bad."

"It wasn't 'that bad?' From what you said, your life was perfect," the dark brown tabby snorted, licking her lips.

"Not... Perfect. But pretty good. I have a long and complicated past I don't need to get into." Henna replied, closing her eyes to block out the memories.

"Please? Now I'm curious. Please, can I know?" Chocolate begged, placing her face right under Henna's.

"Umm... I don't think you want to know about my past. It's not good, other than the food and kit petting."

"I'm sure it was fine! You can tell me anything!" Chocolate purred, puffing or her chest to make herself look bigger.

Henna rolled her eyes, trying to stop herself from laughing. "Okay. But you have to be serious. This is a serious story." Henna mewed, her usually bright eyes dulling.

"I will, Henna. I can be serious, I swear." She mewed, sitting up straight, the playful look in her forest green eyes fading.

"Okay. You might want to sit down. This is a long story," she mewed, placing her tail on the she-kit's shoulder. "Now, I'll start at the very beginning."

"Okay, so from when you were a ki-" Chocolate's new was interrupted by Willow, who had placed his fluffy tail in front of her mouth.

"Go ahead, Henna." His raspy mew was serious, and his milky eyes staring forward. "We're listening. All of us."

The expecting she-cat glanced over Chocolate's shoulder, to see Gemma and Thistle laying down, their eyes serious, their ears pricked. Gemma gave a sort of nod, smiling kindly.

"Well, I wasn't born Henna. My name was Dandy. I don't know why, that's what my mother's twolegs called me. It was a weird name. Anyway, so, I was taken away from my mother when I was just a half-moon old, not even old enough to eat real food. But I was forced to eat real food. Not real food, but twoleg kittypet food," she paused, licking her lips. "It wasn't good for me, and I often got sick. Luckily, one day, I didn't get sick when I ate the food anymore, I was probably about a moon-and-a-half old. My twolegs were nice, and they pet me, and gave me delicious food, it was some sort of fish."

"So, it wasn't your twolegs that were the problem, was it?" Chocolate asked, earning a glare from Willow, who still stared ahead blindly.

"They weren't. It was something else. I'm getting there." Henna growled, going back to her story. "So my life was like that until I was about five moons old, when I was let out of the nest. It was nice to have freedom, and I would come back every night. I did that, and it was good. One day, when I was around seven moons, my twolegs didn't let me out, and I was confused. They kept me inside, and locked me in a room with a tomcat. So, umm, yeah, and they let me out later in the day. It was awful. So, I was carrying that tom's kits. He was awfully rude. I can't even say his name to this day, it just brings back memories... Memories I don't want to remember..."

Willow touched his nose to Henna's ear, an act of comfort. He purred quietly, as if trying to make the brown tabby calm down. "It's okay, Henna. You can continue. Don't worry," he purred, licking her face, before going back to sitting.

"O-okay. So, my kits came two moons later, and I had four. I was only nine moons old at the time. The tom whose kits I had had injured me enough that I had to protect my kits from anyone. I didn't even let my twolegs touch my kits. But my twolegs took my kits just after they had opened their eyes, and I never saw them again. I was heartbroken. I had lost my kits..." She paused, taking a deep breath. "So, I lived without my kits for a moon and a half, until I was forced to have kits with that same tom again. I don't know why. I didn't even want more kits to have the same destiny. They came, but three of the five were stillborn. I missed them, but I was happy they weren't forced into this life..."

"Did your life go on like that until the disaster?" Chocolate asked, her normally happy and bubbly eyes teary and dull. "I feel so sorry for you..."

"No, luckily, I only had to have one more litter with that tom, and I had six kits in that litter. Five survived, one was too sick. His name was Blu. He looked kind of like Gemma. That's what the tomcat looked like, after all. I miss him." Henna stopped for a moment to grieve her dead kit. "But, that old tomcat finally died. He just left with the twolegs one day, he had been sick, and then he didn't come back. I don't know what it was, but the twolegs seemed kind of sad."

"Oh. Why would they miss him if he had been so rude?" Chocolate asked, innocence in her round eyes.

"They didn't know, sweetheart. He had only clawed me out of their view," Henna explained, licking Chocolate's forehead.

"Oh, I didn't know that," the dark brown tabby whispered, licking her nose. "Sorry.."

"Anyway, so, after he died, they got a new tomcat. He was just a bit younger than me, and he was beautiful. He had beautiful green eyes, with a beautiful pelt. And he knew it. He was very self-obsessed. The twolegs called him Narcissus. I don't know why, but that was his name." The brown tabby chuckled. "He was fairly nice, much nicer than the other tom. I didn't have to have his kits until he was about 25 moons old, and I was 28. I had a nice, relaxing life until then. But, then I was forced to have kits. But, they all died. All three of them. They were stillborn, and they came a moon early. It was awful. I didn't even name them, or anything."

"Oh..." Chocolate mewed, her eyes teary. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I got over it, and then I had another litter. There were seven kittens. It was crazy! I didn't know how I handled it. I had one kit, however, who looked just like me, and loved to hang out with me. His name was Jasper. He was so sweet, and he would just lay with me when his siblings played. I don't know why, but I loved him a lot." She purred. "The twolegs saw that, and didn't take him away with my other six kits. Jasper stayed with me, and I was happy. He was happy too."

"Where's Jasper now? Why isn't he with you?" Chocolate asked, her eyes wide. "If he loved you so much, why would he leave you?"

Gemma hissed at the she-kit, obviously seeing that Jasper was a sensitive subject for Henna. "Quiet, kit!" She growled, curling around her kits a little tighter.

"Well, Jasper began to be a problem. My twolegs had another she-cat. She was only about 4 moons old, so she hadn't even been out. She hadn't had kits yet, she was only just old enough to have kits. But, Jasper forced her to have his kits. I was upset at my son, because I knew that it was painful, having to have the kits of a tomcat you didn't love. I stayed away from him from then on, spending most of my time with the she-cat. Her name was Pepper. She was a beautiful calico, and she was very nice, and still innocent. Not after that."

Willow pursed his lips, letting out a low growl. "Were all the toms in your life horrible?" He growled, flexing his claws. "That's awful."

"No. I did meet a tom once, and he was sweet, but that doesn't matter. I loved him, but he wasn't well. He died of sickness." She growled. "Back to the story. So, Pepper had kits at only six moons old, and I helped her, until her kits were taken away. She was pretty sad, but she learned to live with it. We weren't really friends, I had just helped her. So, we didn't really stay with each other that much after he kits were gone. I didn't have another litter of kits in that house again. But, Jasper was still with us. He had gotten worse, abusing every other cat, except me. He still loved me. But he would claw at Pepper, and even Narcissus. Surprisingly, Narcissus seemed to always protect his looks. But he didn't care, apparently. When Pepper was forced by Jasper to have his kits again, he was taken away. The twolegs didn't want him to force her to have kits. They wanted her to have kits with Narcissus."

"So, where did Jasper go?" Chocolate asked.

"I don't know, but it was better from then on. I didn't have to have kits anymore. Pepper only had to have kits. I felt bad for her, but I knew, eventually, she wouldn't have to have kits. And, that day came eventually. After her sixth litter, she was about 36 moons old, and she didn't have to have kits. I was about 60 moons old then, not much younger than I am now. But, the disaster struck about 10 moons later. That was all, other than Polar. But he isn't important."

"Who is Polar? I want to know!" Chocolate purred, smiling.

"My mate. But I never had kits with him. He died, like I said. I don't even know if he wanted kits." She growled, turning away. "I'm not saying anything more."

Willow nodded in understanding, nuzzling Henna, his blindness not stopping him from getting his head, where he had meant to nuzzle her. He gently lapped at her forehead, purring quietly. "That was brave of you." He purred. "I could never do that, if my life was so bad."

"It was okay, I guess. I didn't mind it much." She shrugged. "We should go and hunt, and get some water, or something."

"Okay." Thistle mewed, nodding firmly. "Let's go."

Whew! That was a long one, haha. What did you think of Henna's past? I kind of just thought of it on the bus this morning. I figured, she was a former kittypet, and she wasn't spayed, that she was a breeding cat!

Anyone get the Narcissus thing? And the first tom's name was Ferrio. It was an Italian family, and they had experience with African culture, so her name was Henna. Narcissus was because, well, I'll let you figure that out. Pepper was because Italians love to cook lmao.

Hope you enjoyed it! Also, sorry for the wait, I've been very unmotivated, and I had the worst writer's block. But I wrote an extra long one just for y'all! ;33