Featherpaw's belly rumbled loudly. They had gone several days without a proper meal. The mountains were harsh and towered above them. Prey was scarce, even though it was Newleaf. The four traveling cats had no idea what they were looking for anymore. The trekked day after day deeper into the mountains looking for signs of cats. But as days faded into nights and dawned bright days again they began losing hope. "Careful." Dewpaw called. "There is a gap here. We have to jump it."
"Jump it?" Sparkpaw mewed incredulously, peering over the edge. "Jump that?"
Ravenpaw squeezed forward and joined them. "Come on. It's not far." And with that he leaped easily over the gap and landed with a tail length to spare. "Come on Featherpaw!" He called.
Feeling slightly nervous Featherpaw crept to the edge. That's a big drop. She thought. A very big drop. She took a deep breath and hurled herself over the gaping edge. She crashed, rather hard, on the other side. Getting up she shook her silver fur and turned to watch Dewpaw leap across. Dewpaw's claws scraped against the stone and she got to her paws, looking winded. Sparkpaw was last to jump. For a single, heartstoping moment Featherpaw thought he had missed it but then he landed next to them, looking scared but relieved. Up ahead there was a sparkling stream of icy water. Featherpaw dipped her muzzle in and lapped up a couple drops of water. It filled her, cold and refreshing. Her friends were also enjoying a refreshing drink. The weather was relatively nice, the sky was blue and sunny. However strong winds blew over the mountains, making it hard to climb them. A sudden faint scrambling sound caught Featherpaw's attention. Flicking her tail at Ravenpaw they stalked down stream. A scent hit Featherpaw's nose. Rabbit. A plump one too. It sat, nibbling on something in its small front paws. Featherpaw leaped and, missed. Hissing in frustration she turned to pelt after it and found Ravenpaw holding it looking pleased. "It ran right into the bush where I was hiding." He mewed, dropping it at her paws.
"Lets bring it back to the others." Featherpaw mewed. She picked it up and trotted back up the stream. After a quick snack they continued moving. The rabbit was the best thing Featherpaw had tasted in along time. It seemed to fill her with fresh, new energy. Harsh winds were picking up and whipped at their fur, feeling like it would throw them off the mountains. Featherpaw was deeply annoyed when she realized that she couldn't sink her claws into the stone to steady herself. They couldn't go much further if it would continue being like this. Then she picked up a faint whiff of cat scent. A scent marker! Opening her mouth she drew in the scents, trying to detangle them. There was definitely cats living here, more than one which was promising. "Guys! I found a scent marker!" She called over her shoulder.
Ravenpaw leaped up and joined her. "This must be it!" He breathed.
"Lets rest here. We don't want to be trekking into unknown territory tired." Featherpaw meowed, sniffing around.
"We can sleep here." Sparkpaw suggested, sticking his nose under a ledge. "I can take first watch."
Featherpaw settled down, wrapping her tail around her paws and putting her nose on them. Ravenpaw curled next to her. He was so wonderfully warm and comforting. Featherpaw closed her eyes and drifted into a soft, peaceful sleep. The next thing she knew was cats poking them awake. "Well well well. What do we have here?"