리틀팍스

 Last Story- The patrol to find the missing cats go out, but they are having very harsh days without anything to eat in a Twolegplace. So Mudpaw go out in secret to catch prey for his starving Clanmates.

As soon as Mudpaw left the green bush and his Clanmate behind, he began to regret the decision. There's no need to sneak out in secret, he thought. Maybe I should go and tell them I'm hunting. But he knew that his kind Clanmates would say he wasn't strong enough to catch any prey for all of them. Mudpaw hardened his decision and determinedly padded forward, his chin and tail held high. He didn't anyone to know that he was because of the chilling wind piercing his bone, or the emptiness filling his hungry belly. But there was no need to pretend to be confident; because a friendly meow interrupted his miserable thought.

"Hey, what are you stalking at?" Mudpaw turned his head irritably, and found a plump white-and-black tom with a silver collar around his muzzle padding toward him with  curious, wide eyes. His color reminded Mudpaw of Birdpaw back in the WoodClan camp, but the tom looked soft and far too fat for a cat living at leaf-bare. But then again, Mudpaw remembered, kittypets eat whenever they want from their housefalks. 

He cleared his throat and meowed at the kittypet in his maturest voice. "Well, I'm hunting for my Clanmates." The kittypet looked confused. "Hunting? Why? What are Clanmates?" Mudpaw rolled his eyes dramatically. "Mouse-brain! I'm Mudpaw of WoodClan, and my Clanmates are starving because of the harsh leaf-bare." The kittypet screwed up his face, then his eyes widened in surprise and awe. Mudpaw somehow felt smug.

"You're a Clan cat!" The kittypet cried. "I heard about wild cats who live in woody camps, hunting furry animals and believing in dead cats from Fluffy, but I didn't believe it because he's always lying!" He looked stunned, then shook his head. "I'm Taily. Would you like to visit my house and eat for a while?" Mudpaw jumped behind with a hiss. He would never eat a kittypet food! 

"No thanks." He meowed harshly. Then he lifted his chin. "Do you know any place to hunt few voles around here? A thrush would be nice either. Or anything else. Mouse, blackbird, pigeon, or..." 

"Not that I know." Taily meowed, his tail drooping. "That's why I offered you food." Mudpaw suddenly felt bad of the way he treated the plump tom. He might be a kittypet, but he was kind and he offered him food, although he didn't approve of it. 

"Hey." He started awkwardly. "I'm sorry. But we warriors don't eat any kittypet food; it's against the warrior code." Even though I'm an apprentice, he bit back the word. He did get in trouble in his nursery times for violating the warrior code. Taily lifted his head, and looked better. "I understand." He meowed. "But I really don't know anywhere to hunt around here." He pawed the ground with his soft, white front paw. "I wish I could help you, but I can't."

Just then, a yowl came from a Twoleg at the front of his den nearby. The tall, hairless Twoleg waved its big, cream-colored front paw at Taily, who purred, meowed "Goodbye!" and ran toward him, who opened the door wider to let the tom in. Mudpaw's pelt prickled irritably- he should have known that kittypets couldn't be any help for his hunting.

As he continued his way, avoiding any other kittypets, he kept sniffing the air for any scent of preys. But all he smelled was kittypets, Twolegs, Thunderpath, loners, dogs, and other weird Twoleg stuffs. 

"Hello!" Another friendly meow shattered Mudpaw's concentration. A kittypet! 

"What is it?" Mudpaw hissed, swiftly turning to face a pretty pale silver-gray tabby she-cat with a fluffy tail. She was holding a strange, over-smooth round silver thing filled with small, brown things in her mouth. She hesitated and put the bowl in front of Mudpaw. "I... I thought you might like this." She paused for a while. "I'm Silver, and I heard from Taily that you were going to hunt for... your friends." Mudpaw narrowed his eyes. "So?" Silver shrank beneath her thick leaf-bare pelt. "So... I brought you some food." She pointed her small paw at the thing she had brought. 

"I'm not eating any kittypet food!" Mudpaw hissed furiously. Anyone who thought he would eat that food was completely wrong. "But you're starving!" Silver protested. "Eat just a little, so you wouldn't die. And take the rest to your friends."

Mudpaw padded slowly toward the kittypet food, feeling shameful but also tempted. With this, his Clanmates would not die of hunger. With this, they could get the strength to continue their journey and find the missing cats. Maybe this wasn't against the warrior code after all, when it could actually help the Clans.

"Well?" Silver burst out. Mudpaw looked at Silver, at the bush where his Clanmates were hidden, then at his own empty belly. The food looked so tasteless, but his mouth was watering with temptation. 

Finally, with one desperate look at the bush, Mudpaw padded closer and started gulping down the small brown things, guilt prickling his belly.