Lovely Creation

Kitty uncurled herself from the tight ball she had remained in the whole night. Her body ached, her stomach hurt and her heart was crying. She looked around the hole she had called home and sniffed. It hadn't changed.

Glancing up at the entrance, she saw the blue sky through the tree leaves, and knew she had to get out of there if she was going to live.

Crouching with her back legs bunched underneath her, she readied herself to jump. Keeping her wings drawn in as tight as she could, she sprung up, reaching for the lip of the hole. Her claws scratched at the wood a good three or four inches below the hole, but didn't sink in. As she tumbled back to the ground, she rolled into the corpse of the giant bird.

Yelping in fear, she scampered away from it, breathing hard. Her eyes were round and her ears were laid back along her head. But then, with a shake, her eyes trailed up it's still form and she realized that the bird was leaning against the wood in such a way that if she were to climb it, she might be able to get out.

Shaking, she took one step after the other, inching closer to it. Would it suddenly wake up and eat her? Despite the clear signs of death, she felt like her heart was going to explode. Reaching out, she tentatively tapped a feather, then jumped back and coward in a ball. Nothing happened.

Of course, nothing happened! She shook her head and told herself to get ahold of herself. The bird was dead. It was not going to eat her!

Taking several deep breaths, she planned her assent and then with a running start, dashed up the side of the bird, digging her claws and fingers in to keep from slipping back down, and finally found herself perched on its shoulder, next to the head. Her whole body was vibrating as she stared at the huge curved beak.

All she could think about in that moment was how easily it could kill her. She could almost be swallowed in one bite!

There was a faint noise to her right, and she managed to turn her head just enough to see outside of the hallow. A small songbird was perched on a branch, singing away, oblivious to her terror.

Blinking her eyes a few times, Kitty focused on the entrance and crouched. She dug her back claws into the stiff feathers of the bird's shoulder, and pounced for the hole.

She made it! Grabbing the lip her mother had clung to so many times, she looked out at the world before her. Breathing hard, she pulled herself the rest of the way out, and perched on the fragment of a branch that was all that remained just outside the hallow she had called home her whole life.

She sat there, watching the clouds move across the sky, the leaves dance in the wind, birds fly by, and then she looked down.

Her claws sunk deep into the wood beneath her feet. The ground was so far away! Her breath was coming in little squeaks. She was going to die.

Then a large gust of wind hit her tiny frame, and she found herself looking up at the sky again. The branch she had been clinging to was getting smaller and smaller. Almost as an afterthought, she turned her head, her body followed, and her wings opened up. The ground that had been so far away was suddenly inches away, and then it was over.

Kitty opened one eye, tentatively. Then the other quickly followed. She had landed on something soft and green. She flexed her toes and fingers, feeling each blade of grass as it tickled her. Folding her wings back against her sides, she sat down on her haunches and looked around. She was still breathing hard from the adrenaline, but now that she was safe, she could afford to look around again.

A large bush was just to her left, and as she examined it, she saw sharp thorns covered each branch. She stepped forward as a sweet scent came to her attention, and stepped on one of the branches.

Ouch!!

She jerked back and looked at her front paw. Between two of her fingers was a small drop of blood where the thorn had poked her. Licking it, she decided whatever that sweet smell was, was not worth the pain of finding it.

Turning away, she began to wander through the trees, sniffing at everything she encountered. Every blade of grass, tiny flower and wayward stick was examined. She bounded happily over a rock, all her worries forgotten in her exuberance and freedom. A much larger rock lay just ahead and she smiled in anticipation of climbing to it's top.

With her tail wagging and her little behind bobbing, she scampered over to it and looked up it's massive girth. Preparing to leap, she crouched down close to the ground, then froze. A shadow flew over the surface of the rock, and she was immediately frozen in panic.

Her eyes flitted up, and there was an enormous bird, diving right at her! She darted to her left, not caring what may be in the way, and dived under some branches. They didn't afford much protection, so she continued her breakneck speed all the way back to the bush with the thorns. She could hear every flap of the bird behind her.

Screeeech! It was mad because she was so fast!

Trying to catch her breath, she dived under the prickly branches of the thorn bush and scrambled to the very center of it. Behind her, she heard the bird screaming in anger as it didn't want to come after her in the bush.

She sat hunched in on herself, making herself as small as possible, trembling in absolute terror as the bird tried from several different angles to reach her.

Time passed and she sat there, sad and afraid. The bird had left, but she could just imagine it sitting on a branch, waiting for her to peek her little head out. Why did life have to be so mean? Tears collected in her eyes.

A snuffling noise, drew her out of her thoughts, and a little pink nose stopped in front of her bush. Connected to the nose was a fluffy white creature. It looked in at her, and snuffled around the bush for a while, whining. When she didn't come out, it finally wandered off too. This was a new creature she had never seen before. She didn't know if it was nice or not, but because it was so much bigger than her, she opted to stay put.

Hours passed and she became more and more uncomfortable. The thorns were poking her everywhere and she was covered in scratches. As the sun moved passed its zenith, she finally began the arduous task of extricating herself from the brambles. It was a lot harder than getting in had been.

As she arrived at the edge of the bush, she studied her surroundings carefully, noting that the sky was empty. Finally convinced it was safe, she finished crawling out and stood up. Her legs ached and her wings needed to be stretched out.

Spying a rock that was laying in the sun, she made her way to it and stretched out. The sun beams soothed her aching muscles and she dozed quite contentedly for a good long while.

When Kitty woke up after her nap, her mood was much improved. She stood up and surveyed her surroundings. She saw the bramble bush she had hidden under all morning, and the large pile of rocks where she had been playing. Something glinted just past the rocks, and caught her eye.

She made sure to keep a good eye on the sky as she went around the rocks. The sound of rushing water hit her ears and she paused to inspect the source. She had encountered water before, when it rained in on them in the hallow. She had never thought in her wildest imagination that there could be so much water in one place.

Hunching down in the grass, she stalked towards the water. There might be prey she could catch near it, and it would keep her out of sight of any predators. Unfortunately, her tail refused to play along, waving in the air for all to see.

As she drew close to the water, small dancing things were playing just in front of her. Reaching her paw out, she quickly went to snatch one up. The water splashed everywhere and half a dozen tadpoles went flying up unto the bank. Blinking in surprise, Kitty shook her paw. The water was cold!

The wriggling tadpoles drew her attention, and her belly rumbled to remind her that she hadn't eaten that day. She watched them as they tried to wriggle back to the water, and decided they didn't look like anything her mother had brought her, but she was hungry.

They went down easily, but she wasn't sure she cared for the wriggling sensation in her belly. Deciding it was preferable to the hunger, she chose to ignore it.