Terra's Adventure by Bravestar ("Luna") (find a book to read .txt) 📕

other sister, Aqua. I was a fool to have even thought I would find her, he realized. She could have moved far away, or...or even died! And if I do find her, she might not want to even join AshClan!

Terra shook his head. I have got to stop thinking this way, it's going to drive me crazy! I can't lose hope...I can't give up...

The sun was starting to set, turning the sky a bright, fiery crimson. Terra looked up at the sunset and yawned. He blinked sleepily, and his tail dragged the ground. He looked for a place to spend the night and found a nest among the roots of a large tree. Due to his exhaustion he didn't realize that the nest was filled with strong panther scent. He soon fell asleep, dreaming of Hinta of course, as the sun disappeared behind the trees.

~*~*~*~

Not long after falling asleep, Terra's eyes flickered open to the sound of cat voices. Instantly alert, he looked around warily and sniffed the air. Panther!

He panicked. Sol's mate has finally found me!

Through his terror, Terra did not recognize the she-panther's scent that, under any other circumstances, he would have recognized in a heartbeat.

"Oh, Robin, you're such

a fantastic hunter," a she-cat purred. That voice...where do I know that voice?

Terra wondered. He peered out between the roots of the tree and watched.

The she-panther he heard speak was looking up admiringly at another panther, who had several mice and a big rabbit in his mouth. He purred in reply, unable to mew around the prey, and grinned at her.

Terra started to back away. I have got to get out of here!

He stepped on a twig and snapped it in half, wincing as the sharp crack echoed through the den.

The she-panther's ears twitched, and she turned to look at the den with protective blue eyes. Terra shuddered and had to stop himself from crying out in fear. It's her!

he thought. The one who wants to kill me!

He turned around and started to scramble out of the den.

But the panther called Robin was faster. He dropped his fresh-kill and leapt in front of Terra, snarling. "What do you want, trespasser

?!"

Terra flinched in fear. "I-I just needed a place to stay for the night..."

"Enough!" he roared. "If you dare to lay a claw on my dear Aqua, it'll be the last-"

Terra's eyes widened in shock. "A-Aqua?!" he studdered, looking over at the blue-eyes panther, then turning back again to face Robin's dark-amber eyes. "She is Aqua?"

"Yes!" Robin growled. "And if you come near her..."

Aqua seemed to have woken from the daze of watching the fight. "Robin, back off." She walked closer to them, and Robin backed away, still watching Terra suspiciously. "Terra? Is-is it you, dear brother?" She stared into Terra's eyes.

Terra nodded.

Aqua gasped. She was speechless, and happiness danced in her ocean-blue eyes.

"I have been looking for you for several days, sister," Terra said. "I found this Clan called AshClan, and I want you to come join, and you can come see Luna and meet her kits, and..."

"Luna?! Kits?!

" Aqua's eyes widened. "You know where Luna is? She's alive? And she has kits? Who's the father?"

Terra purred in amusement. This is definitely the Aqua I grew up with,

he thought. Maybe Mother should have named her 'Bird', or something like that, instead.

"Yes, Luna is in AshClan. Yes and yes, she's alive and she has kits. And Jaguarclaw is her mate."

"Oooh!" Aqua kept mewing nonstop. "I always knew they would end up together. And how are the kits? How many? What are their names? Are they cute? What do they look like?"

Terra rolled his eyes and looked over at Robin. "Poor you," he whispered. He could barely imagine putting up with this all day, every day. He then turned back to Aqua. "Why don't you come see for yourself?"

Aqua nodded. "Good idea. Let's head for AshClan tomorrow. Is that okay with you, Robin?" She turned to look at the other panther.

Robin nodded. "Let's check this 'Clan' out. So, are you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, yeah! Robin, this is Terra, my brother. Terra, this is my mate, Robin."

Robin dipped his head. "Nice to meet you, Terra. And sorry about earlier...I was just being protective of Aqua." He laid his tail across Aqua's back.

Terra nodded. "It's okay. I know exactly

how you feel," he said, with a flash of guilt as he remembered how he killed Sol several days ago.

"Oh, you do?" Aqua asked curiously. "Who's the lucky she-cat?"

Terra shook his head. "You wouldn't know her, probably. And she's not my mate...yet. Besides," he yawned, "I'm tired. I might tell you tomorrow about her."

"Okay...let's all eat and get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow!" Aqua picked up the rabbit and took it over to Robin. she sat down close next to him, and they shared the rabbit.

Terra took two mice and ate them. He laid down and looked up at the stars, sighing happily. I'm done. I have found her. I can go home again.

~*~*~*~

Late the next morning, Terra was woken up by a nose poking his stomach and the chattering of a she-cat. "C'mon, Terra, time to get up, sleepyhead!"

Terra looked up sleepily into Aqua's lively blue eyes. He moaned. "Not time yet," he hissed grumpily. "Five more minutes."

"No no no! Up, now! We gotta get going so we can make it to AshClan faster! I wanna see Luna, and the kits, and meet the others!" Aqua playfully swiped at Terra's ears with a forepaw. "You haven't changed a bit from when we were kits. You were never a morning-cat back then, either."

Blinking, Terra flicked his tail in annoyance. "I just journeyed for more than a quarter-moon. I'm tired!"

Aqua rolled her eyes. "Get up! The sooner we get moving, the sooner I get to see Luna!"

And the sooner I get to see Hinta again,

Terra realized. He got up reluctantly and stretched. "You happy now?" he yawned.

"I won't be happy until we arrive at AshClan, but yeah, that's a little better. Now eat, and let's go! Robin and I already ate." As Terra started eating the bird that Aqua had dropped in front of him, his sister kept talking. "I wonder what the kits look like. I can't wait to be an aunt! Someday I want kits of my own, and so does Robin. Are they cute and healthy?" Terra nodded sleepily. "That's good. I haven't seen Luna in so long! How's she doing? Is she happy with Jaguarclaw?"

Terra swallowed the rest of that bite of bird and blew a feather away. "Very," he mumbled, nodding and taking another bite.

"That's good. You can't imagine how happy I am to have Robin as a mate. He's very strong, and smart, and such a good hunter, and..."

Terra rolled his eyes. He finished the rest of his bird and stood up. "That's very good. Now, let's get going. Where's Robin?"

Aqua flicked her tail to where her mate was sitting. "Over there. You never told me about your

mate! What's her name? Do I know her? What's she like? Is she nice? Does she live in AshClan, too?"

If panthers could blush, Terra's face would have been the color of a robin's chest. "I told you, she's not my mate. And she can't ever be." He looked down sadly. Stupid Clan rules...

Aqua was instantly hushed. "Oh." There was a long pause before she spoke again. "But...why? Does she not love you back?"

Terra shrugged. "I don't know. I think she does...but it doesn't matter anyways. She's the Clan's medicine cat, and medicine cats aren't allowed to have mates."

"Oh," Aqua said again. "That's...that's awful. Isn't there anything you can do?"

Terra shook his head. "No." He said it in a tone that said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He walked over to Robin. "Are you ready to go?"

Robin nodded and stood up. "Let's go to your Clan. Lead the way, Terra."

Terra nodded gratefully and sniffed the air. He looked up at the sun and knew he had to go the opposite way of it, to the west. He started walking through the woods, and Robin and Aqua walked close together not far behind him. Terra looked back at them and sighed. I wish my own heart would stop falling in love with the wrong cat, and I would be as happy as them, or as Luna and Jaguarclaw. Maybe that way, my heart wouldn't feel so empty... He shook his head. But I still have Hinta. No matter what happens, or how much they try to keep us apart, I'll still love her.

~*~*~*~

Terra lead Aqua and Robin towards AshClan territory until late evening, when the sun was starting to touch the tops of the trees. He sat down tiredly and panted. "I'm tired. I think it's time for a break."

Aqua and Robin nodded in agreement. "Good idea." The talkative she-panther was so tired, Terra guessed, that she could only say two words. That's got to be a record for her, he thought, purring. They both sat down next to Terra.

Aqua looked at her brother. "So...you never did tell me what this she-cat is like," she said.

Terra rolled his eyes. So much for exhaustion keeping her quiet, he sighed. "Well...she's really smart, especially with herbs. And she's...she's the nicest and most beautiful she-cat I have ever met."

Aqua pretended to look hurt, but her eyes were amused. "But...what about me?" she asked with mock sadness.

Terra rolled his eyes. "You don't count, you're my sister. And anyways, you have 'most chatty'!" he purred.

Aqua swiped a forepaw at Terra's muzzle playfully. "Once I get done with you, mister, you won't be able to talk at all!" she growled and laughed.

Terra ducked and hissed. "I don't know if that would work for you, you'd probably find a way to talk, anyways!" he purred.

They were both giggling so hard they didn't hear a faint rustle in the bushes. But Robin heard. He flicked his tail in the littermates' faces to silence them. "Shhh. I hear something!"

Terra and Aqua were instantly quiet, and they were looking to the shadows of the forest. Suddenly, a large panther leapt out of the bushes. Terra looked into her eyes and couldn't stop himself from shrieking in terror. It was her! She was considerably smaller, though, since she had evidently had her kits already.

She looked around and stared at Aqua. She leapt on her and growled. "Where is the panther named Terra?" she hissed.

Terra stood up, his legs weak and nearly shaking from fear, and glared at her challengingly. "Right here. Your quarrel is with me, not her. She is innocent of Sol's blood."

She twisted around to look at Terra. "It was you! You killed the father of your own newborn nieces and nephews. You took my mate away." She jumped off of Aqua and stepped menicingly towards Terra, hatred and fury blazing in her blue eyes. "You killed him. You killed your brother!"

Aqua gasped. "No! Terra would never

do that!"

The other she-panther turned around to glare at Aqua. "Shut up; you keep out of this."

Aqua instantly fell silent, and Robin stepped forward. "You leave