The Tale of Mozart the Meerkitten

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

****
“What is that ruckus?” muttered Dora.

Dora, Myrrh and Jak were walking towards the Main Building to find the four kits. Noise had broken out in the direction of the Gate though and the three cats automatically changed course towards it. As they came around some of the village houses they could see a group of cats clustered around the Gate and hear them talking and yelling. Myrrh suddenly smiled.
“Oh I know who they are.” The old she-cat said knowingly.
“Do tell.” Said Jak curiously.
“I’m sure they’ll want to introduce themselves, but I will say that the last time I saw them your brother and sister-in-law, Rita and Jako, were tiny kittens.”
Dora’s eyes suddenly widened, “They- you don’t think-,”
“And I thought my eyes were getting bad! Oh Dora, that you can’t even recognize your own brothers!” Myrrh laughed.
Jak’s jaw dropped, “Brothers?!?”
Dora had regained control of her emotions and said, calmly, “Yes, brothers. And they are in so much trouble.”
****
As the group of cats walked through the gate Mozart got a better look at them.
The leader was a big gray cat with white stripes on his sides that faded into his fur. He had kind, green eyes and a confident posture. He wore a sword around his waist, but Mozart got the impression that he could fight perfectly well without it.
The next cat was an equally big black-and-white tomcat with brown eyes. He too wore a sword and he radiated an aura of strength and determination.
The next cats to come through were two she-cats herding three young kits. One she-cat was a young tortishell, obviously the kits mother, and the other was an old black she-cat with white stripes and fierce eyes. Of the three kits, one was gray with white stripes, one was black and the third was solid gray.
Then came the last three cats in the Catlition- two young tomcats, one gray and one brown- and a huge cream-colored tom who merely seemed calm, and a little amused.

Once they were inside- and Caspian and Toto had shut the gate-, the leader turned to them and smiled.
“Ah, thank you, good kits, I was beginning to wonder how long we’d be stuck out there. Now, you are probably wondering who we are.”
“You said you were Catlition.” Said Dorthy curiously.
“Yes, we are, but we have individual names you know.” He winked at her, “My name is Ribbony. These are my brothers; Explorer and Creamy, and my charges; Brightheart and Clancy. I have also escorted the she-cats Missy and Tori here, along with Tori’s three kits: Frodo, Shadow and Smokey.” He pointed to each cat in turn as he said their name.
“This place must get a lot of travelers for this to be the second group today.” Dorthy muttered to Caspian.
“Second?” asked Brightheart curiously.
“We were the first.” Explained Toto, who was regarding the group with a mix of awe and fear.
“And who are you kits?” Explorer asked.
“We’re not kits!” squeaked Dorthy, “We’re warriors!”
“Not yet.” Toto hissed quietly.
Mozart pushed her way through her siblings, “I’m Mozart and these are my three siblings- Dorthy, Caspian and Toto. We’re Myrrh’s adopted kits.”
“Myrrh! When did she start adopting kits?” exclaimed Explorer.
“Three months ago.” Announced Dorthy, “How do you know Myrrh?”
“Why she was the one who brought us here four years ago when we were young cats!” said Ribbony with a smile, “And- if I’m not mistaken- here she comes now.”

The four kittens turned to watch Myrrh, Dora and Jak hurry the last few feet towards them. Myrrh stopped beside her kits and Jak hung back a bit, but Dora kept going until she was right in front of Ribbony, Explorer and Creamy.
“Dora!” rumbled Creamy, “Good to see you again, sister.”
“Don’t try to sweet-talk me!” snapped Dora, “Four years! Four years! Two messages in four years! I didn’t know if you were alive or dead! You lousy, dirt covered, closemouthed, rude, fleabags! I can’t believe you wouldn’t even write to your own sister!”
“Now, now, Dora,” stuttered Ribbony, “There really wasn’t anything to write about. Our lives were pretty uneventful after we left…”
“Uneventful?!?” Dora shrieked, “Your first letter was to tell me that you’d acquired a couple of little kits, those two, I assume,” she said, gesturing to Clancy and Brightheart, “And the second to inform me that you were headed into the mountains and might never come out again! Four years! Two of which with absolutely no communication from you! And then you just show up on the doorstep again! You’re lucky these four let you in, because I would’ve left you outside to starve and freeze. Its no less than you deserve, afterall…”

“Wow, I’m never gonna leave my sisters outta anything now.” Frodo told Tori as they listened to Dora’s long-winded speech.
“I should hope so.” Replied Tori, then, “Dora, this is all well and good, but my kits are tired and we need some sort of lodgings.”
Dora broke off in mid-sentence looking rather surprised.

“Oh, you have, you brought… Tori? The last time I saw you, you were… you were…”
“The age of her kits.” Said Myrrh with a smile, “I’m sure my charges won’t mind sharing a room with your kits, Tori. Now if Dora would just take us to wherever that room is things would be purrfect.”
“Yeah, and if we could get some food!” piped up Caspian.

Mozart started laughing and it infected the rest of them. Pretty soon, even Dora was cracking up. When she had composed herself once more, the fluffy brown she cat replied.
“Well then, let me show you your rooms and then escort you to the dining hall.”

****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

“I still can’t believe you’re leaving so soon.”

Myrrh’s four charges had come into the old cat’s room to say goodbye. It was the morning after Catlition had arrived and Myrrh was anxious to get back to her home.

“You’ll be fine here.” Myrrh said, as much to reassure them as herself, “You will learn much that I cannot teach you.”
“That’s what they always say in stories.” Said Toto sadly.
Myrrh sighed, “I know, but its true. And you can better fulfill your destiny here than hidden away at my little house farm.”
“I don’t want a destiny.” Mozart said angrily, “I want to be a kitten!”

Myrrh sighed and gazed at her littlest kit sorrowfully, “We all have a destiny, Mozart, some of us just have greater destinies than others. The four of you have a destiny to defeat Cogg and free the forest once more, or so I believe. So your mother believed.”
“Do you think we’ll see our real parents while we’re on adventures?” asked Toto hopefully.
“I don’t know, perhaps.” Secretly, though, Myrrh was doubtful they would.
“At least we’ll get to fight!” said Dorthy excitedly.
“Fighting is dangerous, you should not relish it. With fighting comes death, and if you love killing, Dorthy, then you will never stop.” Myrrh said quietly.
Dorthy’s ears laid back on her head, “That wasn’t what I meant, I mean, I just want to end the war and have things go back to the way they were before- peaceful and happy. And I don’t think we can do that without fighting. I want to be able to fight for good.”
“If you feel that way, then I do not think you will want to fight any longer when this war is over, Dorthy.” Said Myrrh.
“Speaking of fighting,” broke in Caspian, “When do we get our weapons? Mozart said you had swords for us all.”

Myrrh nodded. She walked over to her bed and pulled a bundle out from under it. It clinked as it moved and the kittens leaned in eagerly to see what it was.
“These are your weapons, made for you by your noble father and mother.” Myrrh reverently pulled out two more swords (Mozart was wearing hers on a length of cord) and a recurve bow with a quiver of arrows. She set them on the floor, then drew out four belts each with a dagger attached to it.
“The way you will always be able to tell these apart from others is by the gems on the pommels. On Mozart’s sword and dagger the gem is blue, on Toto’s golden, Caspian’s red and on Dorthy’s dagger, green. Each matches the color of your eyes.”
“Hang on a second,” said Caspian in surprise, “My eyes aren’t red!”
Myrrh smiled, “In battle, when you defend those you love, that is the color they turn, my dear Caspian.”
Caspian looked astonished and opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again silently.

The four kittens took their respective weapons, sliding the swords onto their new belts then buckling them on. Dorthy used a belt that was attached to her quiver to buckle her weapons on.

“Now you are as prepared as I can make you.” Said Myrrh with a sad smile.
“What’s that?” Mozart cut her off.
“What? Oh, this! I’d nearly forgotten about it!” out of the bag, Myrrh drew out a small blue stone necklace. It shimmered as she held it up, the tiny gemstones glowing like diamonds in the sunlight.
“When one is wearing it, this necklace makes you invisible. I found it one day while I was walking in the woods. I haven’t used it much, but it’s a handy little thing when you need to hide.” Myrrh held it out to Mozart, “I meant to give it to you as a going away present- I think you’ll need it more than I will.” The old she-cat winked at them.

Mozart stared curiously at the necklace for a moment, then tucked it into a little pouch on her belt. “We’ll take good care of it, Myrrh.” She said reverently.
Myrrh nodded, “I’d rather you take good care of yourselves, honestly.”
“We’ll do that too.” Caspian said reassuringly, “I’m sure Toto’ll make sure we don’t do anything too stupid.”
Toto cuffed his brother around the ear and grinned, “You better believe I will!”
“And now I must leave you.” Said Myrrh, “Be careful, my little ones, and most of all do as the White Cat wills. For unless we follow His path we had might as well just let Cogg win, for it is only with the White Cat’s help that we will win this war live to tell.”
The four kittens stared up at her seriously. “We will always follow the White Cat, Myrrh, as long as we still have control of our minds.” Mozart promised.
Myrrh shut her eyes, “I know, little ones, I know.”

****
Myrrh’s farewell party was small- only the four kittens, Catlition, Missy, Dora and Tori, but they could all see that it meant a lot to the old she-cat that they were there.
“May the grace of the White Cat be with you always.” Myrrh said as she waved goodbye. Then, the old she cat walked into the forest, turned and disappeared from their view. After a moment, the gates boomed shut behind her and Reandalawo was once again closed to the world.

****


“So, any of you kits up for a scouting mission?” Jak asked cheerily at breakfast.
“’Course we are.” Said Caspian, speaking for all of them around a mouthful of food.
Mozart gave him a little shove, “Myrrh leaves and you start talking with your mouth full, typical.”
“Hey! I’m ‘ungry!” Caspian protested.
“We should go on different ones so we get a better idea of how the land is laid out.” Said Toto.
“I’ll go with mister Hungry over here.” Said Mozart poking Caspian in the side. He shied away from her, scowling.
“Then I’ll go with Dorthy.” Said Toto decisively.
“Great, I’ll put you on the noon and evening patrols.” Said Jak before heading off.
“I call evening!” said Caspian, swallowing his food.
“You just don’t want to risk missing lunch.” Joked Dorthy.
Caspian glared at her, “I’ll have you know that I like the evening hours very much! Its more peaceful than during the day, and its cooler too.”
“So you’ll freeze and we won’t, great!” Dorthy grinned.
“Sisters.” Caspian grumbled.

Toto, Dorthy and Mozart started laughing. After a moment, Caspian joined them.

****

“Everything seems quiet.”
Toto and Dorthy were following the rest of their patrol group, looking off into the woods at the sides of the trail occasionally. They were supposed to be looked for anything strange or out of place, but to the two young cats everything looked fine.

Suddenly a flash of movement caught Toto’s eye. When he turned to look more closely, however, it was gone. He shook his head, he must be imagining things.
Abruptly, Dorthy jerked her head to the side, then turned and looked at him. Confusion showed clearly on her pale golden little face.
“I think I just saw something over there.” She whispered to him.
“I thought I just saw something too!” Toto replied, fear beginning to mount in him.
Dorthy stopped, then suddenly let out a shriek of fury and screamed, “AMBUSH!” as a rat leapt on her and bowled her over.

Toto rushed to her side, drawing his sword with shaking paws and driving it into the rat’s arm. In front of them he could hear the rest of their patrol being attacked as well, but he dared not leave his sister alone.

The rat sprang back up and drew its own sword. The creature was larger than Toto, but he had a great deal more skill than it. In less time than he could have thought possible the creature lay dead at his paws, his sword dripping with its blood. He staggered backwards in surprise and horror.
“Toto!” Dorthy’s yell brought him back to reality. He whipped around just in time to face a wave of new enemies. Fear stole back into his heart when he realized that they couldn’t possibly face so many. Dorthy was already firing arrows into the mass, aiming to disable, but killing as often as not.
Toto raised his sword to fight what he knew would be a loosing battle. He didn’t know what would happen to them once the enemy won; would they be killed, taken captive? He couldn’t imagine is free-spirited sister in chains any more than he could imagine himself as a killer. Yet both were true, or would be in a short time.

In a matter of minutes Toto’s predictions came true. He could no longer see the rest of their group through the trees- for they had been pushed back off the track by the enemy- but he hoped that they had fared better than he and Dorthy had. Their attackers had surrounded them, and now they were taking their weapons, tying them up and shoving them forward at a steady run.

‘White Cat help us. I’ve killed creatures and now I’ve been captured by Cogg’s forces. And so has Dorthy. How could I have let this happen?!? Just this morning I swore to Myrrh that I would protect my siblings…”
Tears sprang unbidden to Toto’s eyes as he ran, but he pushed them back. He must be strong for Dorthy, he must trust that whatever was to happen it was the White Cat’s will.

He must.

****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter eight
Jailbreak​

“Shouldn’t they be back by now?”

Mozart’s voice sounded worried. Dorthy and Toto’s patrol had been gone an hour later than they should have been. She had addressed the question to Jak, who was staring out into the forest from the walltop.

“Most likely. Its possible they found something and are investigating though.” The tomcat replied absently.
“But shouldn’t somebody have come back to tell you?” countered Caspian.
“Maybe…” muttered Jak, he sighed, “I guess I should send a party out to check.”
“We want to go.” Said Mozart quickly, “They’re our siblings, and you’ve seen how well we fight.”
Jak looked down at the tiny, resolute kitten beside him, “I’ve seen how you fight in practice, you’ve never been in battle, though. In a battle you fight entirely differently- not just to disable your opponent, but to kill them. You have never faced that, you may turn tail and run as soon as fight when you see real enemies coming at you.”
“You think we’re gonna have to fight? To the death?” asked Caspian, slightly surprised.
“We all will, eventually.” Said Jak grimly.
“Then let us start now when there’s nothing to lose but ourselves and a patrol.” Mozart said persuasively.
Jak shook his head, “You’d think differently if you knew what fighting a real battle was like.”
Mozart thought for a moment, then nodded, “You’re right, I probably would. But the fact that my siblings are out there and might be in danger would still be the same, and we would still want to go after them, no matter what the cost.”
Jak shook his head, “Fine, just be careful, I don’t want to tell Myrrh that her four kits died on their first recon mission. Now I just need to find creatures to make up the rest of the group.”
“I believe we can fill that gap, Jak.” Said a deep, cheerful voice behind them, “Weigh youth with experience, eh?” Ribbony trotted up the last of the stairs to stand behind Jak.
Jak shook his head, “Now you five we can’t afford to lose. There aren’t many warriors like you around and I need you to train the rest of the young creatures.”
Ribbony shook his head, “Catlition has been away from the world for far too long, we need to repay that time to the creatures we unintentionally abandoned. Besides, Jak, what good is experience if you don’t put it to use? Me and my Catlition are more likely to be able to handle anything we find out there better than just about any creature here- no offense.”
Jak sighed again, “You’re all against me today, aren’t you? Fine, go with the kits, see if I can stop you.”
Ribbony nodded, “If it makes you feel better, I’ll leave Clancy and Bright here- they have less of a debt to pay to the world.” The big gray cat smiled, “They won’t thank me, though.”

****

“I smell blood.” Said Explorer quietly.

Ribbony and his two brothers, along with Mozart and Caspian, were moving nearly silently along the trail Dorthy and Toto had been following just a few hours earlier. Explorer’s head was slightly uplifted, his mouth open to scent the air.

“Blood has a smell?” said Caspian, surprised, “I thought it only had a taste and look.”
Explorer lowered his head, “When you’ve been in as many conflicts as we have, youngster, everything in a battle has a smell.”
Mozart wrinkled her nose, “Well I don’t like that smell, whatever it is. It smells like… like bad, I guess.”
Ribbony nodded, “Battles are bad, little one.”
Mozart glared at him, “I’m not that little!” she grumbled.

The five of them continued to a place where the trail widened slightly, with bushes and rocks on either side of it.
“Great place for an ambush.” Said Ribbony, looking around.
“Look!” Caspian pointed one slightly shaking paw at the ground ahead of them. It was littered with blood and pawprints and emanated the smell Explorer and Mozart had noticed.

“There are no bodies.” Said Mozart in small voice, “Does that mean that… everybody lived?”
“Bless you kit, of course not, it just means they’ve taken them away and lain them to rest somewhere.” Said Ribbony gently.
“But what about Dorthy and Toto?!?” squeaked Caspian, “How will we know what happened to them?”
Explorer peered along the trail, “It shouldn’t be hard to find out where they were going. Shall we take a look?”
Ribbony nodded, “By all means- it’s what we were sent to do anyway.”

The group moved on from the dismal scene, Explorer following some sort of trail that appeared to lead further into the woods.

****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

“Where are we, Toto?” Dorthy asked in a small, shaking voice.
“Some sort of camp it looks like.” Her brother replied, looking around at the black and red tents around the clearing. There were only about twenty of them- a guerilla force sent by Cogg to harass Reandalawo’s trade suppliers and local villages.
“Shut up!” one of the creatures who captured them cuffed Toto around the ear, “No talking from the prisoners!”

There were five prisoners from the ambush, less than half the patrol. The Reandalawoins had been outnumbered and caught by surprise; the only reason Toto and Dorthy were still alive was the fact that Cogg was always demanding more slaves. The wolf was also furiously angry that a small group of slaves had managed to escape by slipping out the back door, right under the noses of his guards.

Dorthy and Toto were taken to the center of the camp with the rest of the prisoners and put in metal cages covered in canvas. Ten guards stood around these, but the number went down to five when a raid was afoot. It was getting dark when they arrived and Toto had found a tear in the canvas, through which he watched the first early stars pop into the sky.
‘Oh, what have we gotten ourselves into? We’re just kittens for cryin’ out loud! We’re too little to make any difference and we only get into trouble. What are we doing here?’

Toto stared up at one lone star. The tiny, bright speck of light glowed in the dimming evening sky, illuminating its place in the universe. Toto reached a small golden paw up to the cage bars and wrapped his claws around it.
“Mr. White Cat,” he whispered, “If you’re out there listening, then please get us out. Get us out of everything; this prison, the war… Myrrh was mistaken, we’re not heroes, we need heroes right now. So please, help us.”

Toto stood there, staring out the gap, until Dorthy pulled him aside and the two of them huddled in a corner under a thin blanket for the night.

****
“Well that’s a pretty picture.”

Ribbony, Explorer, Creamy and the two kittens were staring out at the little camp from behind a screen of bushes. In the center, they could see four large canvas-covered cages where the prisoners were undoubtedly kept. It was nearly nightfall, if they were going to break out Toto, Dorthy and the others they would have to do it that night.

“Any ideas?” Explorer spoke again.
“We could attack them.” Said Caspian uncertainly.
Ribbony shook his head, “Too many. Next?”
Mozart eyed the camp carefully, “What if somebody snuck in and broke them out?”
“There are too many guards, we’d be seen.” Said Explorer.
“Maybe not.” Said Mozart thoughtfully.
“What do you mean, kit?” Ribbony asked.
“Well, when Myrrh gave us our weapons as parting gifts she also gave me this.” Mozart took out the blue stone necklace.
“Pretty, but I don’t see how jewelry can help us.” Explorer said, looking skeptical.
Mozart glared at him, then promptly vanished.
Explorer jerked back as if he’d been stung, his eyes wide.
“What happened? Where’d she go?!?” he demanded, twirling around looking for the little kit.
Ribbony stood still for a moment, slightly stunned, then a smile came over his face and he lifted his head and called out softly, “Alright, Mozart, you’ve had your fun, come out now.”
Mozart reappeared as quickly as she had gone, still holding the blue stone necklace on one paw. She was grinning, her innocent blue eyes alight with mischief.
“A necklace that can make you invisible. That’s new.” Creamy chuckled.
“Will you listen now?” Caspian demanded, staring triumphantly at Explorer.
Explorer glared back, but said nothing.
“Ease up, Ex, we were kits once too.” Said Ribbony, still smiling, “Now what’s your plan, Mozart?”
Mozart nodded, satisfied she had their full attention, “I think that I should go in and break the prisoners out. We’ll need a diversion of some kind though, too. I thought you guys could do that.”
Ribbony considered this, “Sounds fine. Fire works well for a distraction, but it’s too noticeable. We could perform a hit and run maneuver,” he gazed down at Mozart, “You’d need to be quick though.”
She nodded, “I can do it!”
Caspian shook his head, “No! I’ll do it. I’m not risking you, Mozart.”
Mozart glared at him, “You can’t stop me. Stop being so protective.”
The fur on Caspian’s neck stood up, “Toto and Dorthy are captives! I’m not going to let you get caught too, or worse.”
“And it would be better that you got captured?” Mozart retorted, “Caspian, think this through; I’m the smallest, quietest (no offense, everybody) and I’d probably be the least effective member in a fight. I actually might be safer than you, since I won’t be in direct combat, hopefully.”
“She has a point.” Said Ribbony reasonably.
Caspian’s ears flicked back, “Fine, fine. I just have a feeling something bad is gonna happen.”
“It’s a war, there’s always that possibility.” Said Explorer.
“Anyway,” said Ribbony, steering them back on track, “We’d better start getting ready. We can give you ten minutes at the most, Mozart, use that time wisely.”
The tiny kitten nodded, “Don’t worry, I will.”

****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Mozart slipped through the bushes surrounding the camp, avoiding the sentry posted at the edge. She hadn’t donned the necklace yet, deciding that she would move more quietly and less noticeably if she knew there was a possibility she would be seen; for though her stone guaranteed she was invisible it did not account for noises and pawprints.
Once past the perimeter guard she slipped the stone around her neck and disappeared. She stared straight ahead, not daring to glance down at her invisible paws and risk tripping.

She worked her way to the middle of the camp, where several cages were sitting, covered in dark canvas. In one of those cages her siblings were probably curled up, shivering in the cold air- for doubtless their cloaks had been taken from them.
Mozart crouched behind a barrel, steadying her breathing and waiting for the distraction Ribbony had promised. A minute ticked by, then another, then another.
What was Ribbony doing? Had they been caught? What were they waiting for?

Then, just as Mozart was about to give up and run back to see what had happened, she heard yelling coming from the south side of the camp. Soldiers ran out of their tents and guards darted past her hiding place.
When they had past Mozart leapt up and hurried over to the cages. She gripped the bars with tiny, invisible paws and pushed back the canvas to peer inside. There stood five prisoners, who had jumped up to listen to the noises outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw two smaller figures amongst them.

“Dorthy! Toto! Over here!” she hissed.
Her two siblings looked up in confusion. Of course, they couldn’t see her!
“It’s me, Mozart!” She pulled the stone off from around her neck and became visible once more.
“Mozart!” Dorthy ran over and grabbed her sister’s paw, eyes glowing.
“You came.” Toto whispered.
“Well I couldn’t leave you two, now could I?” Mozart grinned, then took out her dagger and started on the lock. “Caspian’s here too. And Catlition. They’re the distraction.”
“You are brilliant, little sister.” Dorthy said with a smile.
“I try.” Mozart heard a click and dragged the door back, “C’mon!” she hissed urgently.
“Hey! You three! Stop staring through the canvas like fools and follow us!” Toto growled to the other three prisoners. They stared at him through the open doorway for a moment, then ran out to them.
“Come on!” Mozart started running towards the bushes at the edge of the clearing with the others first trailing behind her, then overtaking her. Toto and Dorthy ran breathlessly beside her.

Suddenly, Mozart gave a squeak of surprise and tumbled to the ground. Dorthy and Toto continued for a moment before realizing what had happened and stopping.
“Mozart!” Dorthy started to run back, but Toto grabbed her.
“I’ll go, keep going!” He shoved her towards the trees and started back. He stopped short though when he saw a line of warriors running towards him. Their time had run out.
Toto reached for his sword, but then remembered it had been taken from him when they were captured. He bared his teeth at the oncoming creatures, and unsheathed his claws at the same time he sprung forward onto a rat who was bearing down on his sister. He clawed at the creature’s face and sent it screeching to one side, then ran on.

Mozart had been downed by an arrow in her leg. She hadn’t removed it and was instead standing, sword drawn, against the rush of foes. She turned and looked at him.
“Toto, run!” she threw him her blue stone necklace and faced the wave of evil once more. Toto stood, torn, before being abruptly shoved aside by a huge paw.
“Run, kit! We’ll hold them off!” Explorer stood there, with fire in his brown eyes.
“Mozart…” stammered Toto.
Then he felt teeth grip his scruff and he was lifted off the ground like a newborn. He tumbled out of the cat’s jaws at the edge of the forest and looked up to see Creamy glaring down at him.
“Run! Run if you want to live!” the big cat yowled.

And Toto ran, farther and farther away from his little sister. When he met up with the rest of the group he stopped to catch his breath. Explorer, Ribbony and Creamy came barreling after him.
“Mozart,” Toto heard his brother say, “What happened to Mozart?”
“I thought she was with you kit!” Ribbony said, surprised.
“I saw her,” Explorer said quietly, “Just before she fell before them. She was standing there, glowing, like a tiny angel. Like Kit used to.”
Toto stared up at him, mouth open, not comprehending.
Caspian let out a shriek, “You left her?!? We have to go back!” he started to run back towards the clearing, but Ribbony stopped him.
“There was another camp, nearby. We didn’t know. They came as reinforcements. There are too many, Caspian. If Mozart is alive she’s already been captured.”
“But… Mozart.” Whispered Caspian.
“Poor brave little hero.” whispered Creamy sadly.

Then, Toto remembered no more.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter nine
The Lost Warriors

Mozart shivered in the cool night air. She felt sick and scared. When she tried to open her eyes the trees around her were a blur. She moaned and quickly shut her eyes again.
Then, suddenly, she heard voices around her- had her siblings and Catlition come back for her? They were mumbling something about “too much blood” and “too small to last long” and “can’t just leave her!”.
Then the world went silent and she remembered no more.

****
Mozart woke to the sound of whistling. It was not Myrrh’s whistling which confused her. She tried to open her eyes and see who was making the musical sound and felt a sharp stab of pain in her head. She gave a small cry and instantly the whistling stopped. She heard pawsteps which added to the throbbing of her pounding head. Then a quiet voice spoke above her.

“Well, well she’s awake. I told you she’d be fine.”
“She’s still badly hurt.” Answered a second voice, “She could still die.”
Pushing through the pain Mozart let out a defiant squeak. “I’m not going to die!”
The first voice spoke again, amusement in it, “See? She’s got spirit. Didn’t you see how she stood up to those creatures? Extraordinary!”
“Don’t be too amazed, Misty, it’s something many creatures in this forest would do for their friends.” The second voice said.
The first voice, Misty, spoke again, “Yea, but most creatures in the forest are a lot bigger than her. She’s different.”
“It’s that kind of talk that got us where we are now.” The first voice said reprovingly, “Now get along, you have chores.”
“I’m not a kit, pops, you can’t pull that on me anymore.” Misty said, mischief in his voice.
“Oh yes I can.” The first voice said menacingly, “I’m not going to poison her, she can live or die on her own, now git on and get some work done!”
“Whatever, pops.” Replied Misty. Mozart heard the creature’s pawsteps retreating.
“Don’t call me pops!” the second voice called angrily.
Mozart winced as the yell intensified the pain in her head. Then, mercifully, she blacked out again.

****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Mozart blinked her eyes open, the light from a nearby window momentarily blinding her. She wondered for a moment where she was, then it all came crashing back; the jailbreak, the evildoer’s reinforcements, the two creatures who had rescued her.
At least, she thought they had rescued her- they could be holding her captive, she supposed. It seemed unlikely though that they would go to so much trouble to keep an enemy alive.

Cautiously Mozart sat up and gently ran a paw over her head. It was bandaged, and she could feel the stains of old blood on the fabric. She wasn’t seeing spots though and her head was only hurting a bit now. For this three-month old kitten that meant it was time to explore. Carefully she climbed out of the bed and surveyed her surroundings.

She was in a living room. It had a wood couch with some dried moss for cushions and a small woodwork table with a mug set upon it. There were three windows, two on one side of the room facing her little bed and one behind it. The bed she had been sleeping in was tucked away in a corner, hidden behind a wooden armchair and rocking chair. Opposite it was an unlit fireplace with the stubs of a few charred logs inside. Atop this was a vase of wildflowers.

On the far side of the room, next to the fireplace was a doorway, the frame of which was covered in carvings of all sorts of creatures and their adventures. Peering through it to the room beyond Mozart could see a dining room with a large table and five chairs set around it, and plenty of room for more. A brick oven stood against one side with a counter going out from either side of it. A small, glass, chandelier dominated the ceiling. Mozart had never seen anything like it- the first time she had ever even seen real glass had been in the windows of Reandalawo and to think that something so beautiful could be made from it…
Mozart crossed the room, pausing a moment in the middle to gaze reverently at the chandelier.

The next doorway led her to a hallway with a number of doors in it. She peered through some of the open ones and saw that they were bedrooms. She wondered vaguely why she hadn’t been put up in one of those. The hallway was a dead end, or seemed so until she bumped a loose nail in the wall and a small doorway opened. Curiously, Mozart slipped down into it. Some rickety wood stairs led her down to a creepy cellar filled with all manner of preservatives. Spiderwebs hung from the ceiling and the floor was damp and cold. Mozart quickly scurried back up the stairs and out of the chilling place.
And right into the paws of a large burnt-orange tomcat with blazing brown eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing nosing around my house?!?” he demanded angrily, “We save your life and put up with having to care for you for over a week and the only thanks we get is you poking around where you shouldn’t be!”
“I-I-I’m sorry,” stammered Mozart, “I was just curious, and I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere!”
“You can’t just go snooping around creature’s houses! You should have waited for one of us before you went wandering around!”
“Well if you weren’t prepared to deal with the tendencies of a three-month-old kitten then maybe you shouldn’t have rescued one, since I’m so bothersome!” Mozart retorted angrily, “Maybe I was looking around so that I could thank you for saving my life, did you ever think of that, mister?!?”
The tomcat was silent for a moment, then said coldly, “Were you?”
“Partially.” The little she-cat said defensively.
“What is all this hollering about?!?” a lean gray tomcat with white paws peered out of the dining room and down the hall. “Is our little guest awake or is somebody trying to steal our food again?”
“She’s hardly a guest! She may very well be a spy.” Said the orange tomcat irritably.
“Aw, now why would the enemy wound one of their own spies just to get her into our house? Are we really that interesting?” the gray one replied, amusement peppering his voice.
“You never know. These are dangerous times, Mistyfoot, and it would be wise for you to show more caution.” Growled the first tom.
Mistyfoot grinned and turned to look at Mozart, “Don’t mind my old dad, kit, he’s been in this war since he was younger than you. C’mon, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Grateful to be away from the older tomcat Mozart scampered off to the dining room where Mistyfoot was rummaging through a cupboard.
“You can call me Misty.” He said, setting a loaf of bread and some jam on the table. “What’s your name, little fluffball?”
“I’m not that little,” huffed the she-kitten, “My name’s Mozart.”
“Huh, name seems familiar. Ah well, I must just be getting old.” He winked at her and Mozart grinned back. “So where ya from?”
“Well, I came from Reandalawo,” Mozart began.
“Ah, the great fortress! Lovely place, lived there once myself, when we were still involved with the war- my mom, dad and I.”
“You still… involved?” Mozart asked curiously; she had thought that all the woodland creatures were somehow helping one side of the war or the other.
“Not really. The last big battle against Cogg was more than three months ago. We lost my mom then and dad said he wasn’t going to risk losing me too.” Misty leaned over the cupboard door and sighed, “I told him I was still going to fight for my freedom, but he’s managed to keep me away from that so far.” His drooping face perked up again, “But then you came along and gave me something to do besides hang out with my old fuddy duddy pop.”
“I’m sorry you lost your mom,” Mozart said quietly, “I’ve never met my real parents. My foster mother said that they haven’t been heard from since that battle, right after I was born.”
“Ah yes,” sighed Misty, “War does awful things to families- tears them apart.”
Mozart nibbled on the sandwich she had made, “I’ve still got my siblings though- they were who I was helping to rescue. Two of them had gotten captured while they were on patrol.”
“Ah. Well, war makes us all victims at some point.” Misty shut the cupboard and walked out, “Some more so than others.”

Mozart let out a little gasp of surprise when she saw the tomcat full out for the first time. His right back leg was only a stump- it had been cut completely off.
He grinned at her, “Casualty of war. My leg had to be amputated after some of the tendons were cut through by a shallow move from an enemy sword. Doesn’t bother me too much now, though.”
“Mistyfoot! Are you done talking to our little spy? I need your help out here!” Misty’s father called.
“Oh for the last time, I’m not a spy!” Mozart grumbled, following Misty out the door.

The other tomcat was standing inside a deteriorating shack with tools and half-finished weapons hanging from the ceiling and laying haphazardly on the tables and floor. At the back of the room the orange tomcat stood before a set of shelves that covered the whole back wall. It was filled with dusty scrolls.
“Take these.” Misty’s father dumped a heap of scrolls into his son’s paws. Misty nearly fell over before he could tuck some of them under one arm.
“Jeeze, pops, I’ve only got three legs, remember?” Misty protested.
“Then have the little spy help you.” The other cat retorted.
“I’m not a spy!” squeaked Mozart indignantly.
Misty placed a few scrolls in her paws then nudged her back towards the house. “Just ignore Jako, he’s a grumpy old furball, and stubborn too!”
Mozart twitched at the mention of the name ‘Jako’- something about it struck a chord in her, she just wasn’t sure why.

When they had taken all the scrolls inside Misty leaned back in one of the chairs and sighed. “So what is all this stuff for, pops?”
Jako glared at his son, “For the last time, don’t call me pops!”
Misty grinned, “Whatever you say… pops.”
Jako looked as if he was about to explode, so Mozart quickly intervened, “This scroll says it’s part of the History of Reandalawo. How did you get these?”
Jako turned to her, “They were sent here to be kept safe. I haven’t looked at most of them for years. The newest one, though, I wrote. I was going to put it with the others when I realized that they were hopelessly out of order. I’m going to arrange them, you two can help me.”
Misty groaned but Mozart shook her head, “No. I’m not going to help you with scroll work. There’s a war going on out there! I have to get back to help my siblings and the rest of Reandalawo. You may have given up this fight as hopeless, Jako, but I haven’t! I will fight for the freedom of this land and for the White Cat as long as I still have breath in my body!” Mozart’s fur had fluffed out and her burning blue eyes were narrowed down to slits, shooting daggers of fury at Jako.
Jako stared in awe at the small kitten. He had seen warriors act like that before, when the White Cat worked and spoke through them.

Abruptly, he turned and picked a scroll off the table and unrolled it. The paper was fresher than the rest and Mozart guessed it was the one Jako had written himself.
“This is the account of the last great battle with Cogg before this time. I was there and I fought in it. Now, I am going to tell the story to you, so that you know why I seem to have given up.”

Then the tomcat began to read.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter ten
The LFF Catlition​

“Caspian?”

Dorthy approached her brother warily, afraid his temper was still intact form earlier when he had snapped at everyone, saying that nothing mattered because Mozart was gone.

“Leave me alone.” The young tomcat muttered.
Dorthy sat down beside him, “I know you miss Mozart, but we can’t give up, she wouldn’t want us to.”
“We can’t just leave her in the paws of the enemy though.” Caspian said, his voice shaking, “We have to get her back!”
“Well, we can’t do that alone.” Mused Dorthy.
“What if we had our own fighting force? Like a miniature Catlition?” said Caspian.
“Maybe, who would be in it though?”
“Well, you, me, Toto and I was thinking maybe FSS.”
“FSS?” asked Dorthy.
“Frodo, Shadow and Smokey.” Explained Caspian, “I know they’re young, but they could be scouts or something.”
“So there would be six of us.” Said Dorthy, “That’s not many.”
“Catlition only has five members.” Said Caspian defensively.
“Yeah, but they’re full grown tomcats. We’re half-pint kittens.” Dorthy said, a glimmer of amusement in her voice.
“We’re smart, and fast and inconspicuous.” Caspian told her, “We can do it.”
Dorthy looked into her brother’s eyes and saw a glimmer of determination and hope there. She just couldn’t snuff that out.
“Okay, we’ll give it a shot.” She said.
“Great!” Caspian grinned, “Let’s get the others!”

****
About an hour later they had tracked down the other four members of their hopeful Catlition.
“Me, Dorthy and Toto would be the fighters,” Caspian was explaining, “FSS, you guys would be the spies and scouts.”
“But I want to fight too!” protested Frodo.
“You’ll fight soon enough.” Said Toto grimly, “I think we’ll all end up fighting before this is over.”
“Anyway,” Caspian said, dragging the conversation back to its original point. “Our first mission is to rescue Mozart.”
“I suggest going at night if you’re determined to go ahead with such a foolhardy mission with only six kittens.” Said Toto reprovingly.
“We’ll need to plan it out too.” Said Dorthy, “And we need a name. We can’t just go around calling ourselves ‘Catlition 2’.”
“Mini Catlition?” suggested Smokey.
“The most coolest Catlition?” Frodo piped up.
“No, it has to be something catchy.” Toto said.
“Mozart’s Catlition?” Caspian said hopefully.
“She doesn’t even know about it yet!” laughed Dorthy.
“How ‘bout the LFF Catlition?” Shadow said timidly.
“LFF?” Toto asked critically.
“Little, Furry, Friend.” Shadow said.
“I kinda like that.” Dorthy said with a grin.
“It’s catchy and probably true.” Toto said with a nod.
They all turned to Caspian, who was contemplating the name deeply.
He lifted his head, “Mozart would like it. Let’s do it.”

The six kittens grinned at each other, then Caspian stuck out a paw.
“LFF Catlition on 3.” He said as the others put their paws on top of his, “1…2…3...”
“LFF CATLITION!” they cheered together.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter Eleven
Jako’s Tale

‘Two months past this date one of the greatest, bloodiest and most terrible battles ever fought against Cogg was waged. There were few survivors besides myself and most of those who did survive were taken prisoner. When the battle ended we all fled and I have not heard from any of the other warriors since that fateful day. My son, Mistyfoot, and I retreated to our old forest home and have hidden there since then.

This is the account of the battle itself as I, Jako the cat, remember it:

We stand before the Wolf’s great army. Beside me stands my son and younger brother and on the other side, my young and fiercely determined wife. Death rushes towards us with howls of fury and we brace ourselves for the fight of our lives.
I give a yowl of my own and our force rushes forward to meet the evil ones.
The two armies meet with a crash of steel on steel and the twanging of bows as arrows rain down from both sides.
I fall into a battle with a group of rats. They are not particularly hard opponents to defeat, but the Wolf has many creatures and even the best army can be destroyed by numbers.

My eyes search for the wolf himself, for Cogg. I see him, standing on a hill amongst the trees, his red eyes burning, his grotesque mouth turned up in a smile. Beside him stands his best commander, Tigerclaw. Even as I watch, the cat leaps into the fray. I hear the screeching of a catfight and whip around, spinning my sword to clear the enemies away from me. I charge towards the noise, ready to help one of my soldiers if needed.
I emerge from the sea of fighters to see a horrific sight; my wife, Rita, wrestling with Tigerclaw. The huge tomcat has her pinned to the ground and is bringing his claws down towards her throat. I give a scream and leap onto his back, sword plunging into his foreleg.
The other cat gives a yowl of fury and turns his claws on me. Rita and I attack from both sides- me with my sword and her with her claws. Tigerclaw hisses and growls at us, slashing out with his forepaws, his right one clumsy from where I stabbed him. What a pity I missed his heart.
Then, suddenly, one of his paws finds its mark. Blood blinds me as his claws catch my forehead. I screech in anger and pain, then hear someone screaming my name. I know it is Rita but I can’t find her from inside the haze of blood and pain. I wipe away the blood just in time to see Tigerclaw and some of his accomplices dragging off my unconscious Rita.
The battle did not last much longer. We were badly outnumbered, and I am sad to say that I left my creatures behind to try and find my love Rita. I did not see her or Tigerclaw for the rest of the battle. We were forced to retreat and flee for our lives with Cogg’s army chasing us, killing and capturing stragglers. I met up with my badly injured son, Mistyfoot and we escaped into the forest. I did not see my brother again.
That is the account of the great battle between the resistance and Cogg.

There was silence for a few moments. Finally Mozart spoke.
“I think I understand.” She looked up at Jako, “I’m sorry you lost so much, but Reandalawo is strong once more. Catlition has even returned!”
“Hey! I’ve always wanted to meet those guys!” said Misty with a grin.
“You can’t live in the past forever, Jako.” Mozart said quietly, “You have to keep fighting, so that others don’t suffer like you have. Giving up is just what Cogg wants us to do, because he wins when we lose hope. But we always have hope.”
Jako stared at the tiny kitten and a memory stirred in him as he remembered Rita telling him something similar long ago.

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll come back to Reandalawo. I can’t promise I’ll fight though.”
A smile alighted on Mozart’s kitten face, “Great! Thank you, Jako!”

Then, she ran up and hugged him.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter Twelve
The Warriors Return

A week and a half after their creation, on the same day Mozart regained consciousness and began exploring Jako and Misty’s house, the LFF Catlition was ready to put their plan into effect. It had taken quite awhile to create a plan they could all agree on and Toto still called it “completely insane and possibly suicidal”. It was the best they had though, and Caspian was tired of waiting. He wanted his sister back.

That night the six kittens prepared to leave through the little Northgate where they hoped to escape the notice of the guards. Just as they were starting to pick the lock though they heard shouting and pawsteps running. They ducked into the shadows, afraid that they had been discovered when they heard a voice on the other side of the gate yell, “Oy! Somebody let us in, will you?”
There was more shouting on the wall above them, then Caspian heard a familiar voice.
“It’s all right! They’re with me! Mozart!”
Caspian gave a shriek and screamed, “GIMME THE KEY! LET ME OPEN THE DOOR NOW!”

Two minutes later, a furry cannonball leapt onto Mozart, knocking her over. Laughing, Mozart tried to push her brother off her, “C’mon Caspian, you find out I’m alive and now you’re gonna suffocate me!”
Reluctantly, Caspian got off her, “You’re okay though? You’re safe?”
“Obviously.” Grinned Mozart, “Now let us inside, silly.”
Caspian led them through the Northgate, where Mozart was again pounced on, this time by Dorthy and Toto.
“We thought you were dead.” Toto said, his eyes watering.
“Well, Toto was afraid you were. I knew you’d be okay.” Said Dorthy, her eyes twinkling.
“Ah yes, it is good to be alive.” Mozart said, still grinning.
“You certainly have affectionate family, little one.” Chuckled Misty.
“Who are you two anyway?” demanded Caspian.
“I’m Mistyfoot, little fireball, and this is my old pop Jako.” The gray and white tomcat said, “And who might you be?”
“I’m Caspian, and I’m not little!” squeaked the tomkitten.
“And this is Dorthy and Toto, my other siblings.” Said Mozart.
“Nice to meet’cha.” Misty said with a smile.
Dorthy had been staring at Misty for about a minute and now she burst out, “You’re missing a leg, Mister Misty!”
“Mister Misty, I like that. Well yes I am, liddle lady kit, nice of you to let me know.”
Dorthy’s ears turned pink, “Well, I just, it was…”
“Can we just go in and get this over with already?” grumbled Jako suddenly, “Enough of chatty kittens already. Let’s just go.”
“Gee, calm down, pops, we’re just talkin’, nobody’s stopping you from goin’ in and seeing your ole buddies.” Misty said cheerily.
“If there are any of them left.” Growled Jako, pushing his way out of the group.
He was just passing the bushes to one side of the gate when suddenly there was a screech and Frodo leapt out of the bush yowling, “SURPRISE ATTACK!” the small gray kitten landed on Jako’s tail, claws out, sending the orange tomcat about a foot into the air with surprise. Jako whipped around, glaring at the tiny enemy behind him.

For a moment there was complete silence. Then, from somewhere inside the bush there came a giggle and everyone else lost it. Laughter exploded into the still night air and echoed all the way back to the Main Building, concerning some of the occupants. Even Jako joined in, after a few moments of glaring at everyone.

When the laughter finally ended it was as if some dam had broken loose and left them all, if not friends, then at least cordial with each other. They went to the Main Building together and there was never a happier welcome party than the one that assembled after Frodo, Shadow and Smokey ran around yelling that Mozart was back and with friends too! Dora put on the quickest feast in the history of Reandalawo, Jako was greeted by many of his “ole buddies”, and Caspian had never smiled wider in his whole life than he did that night, knowing his sister was safe and sound inside the walls.

It was a good thing that they all had fun that night, for it was one of the last peaceful nights they would get before the storm of war pounded on the walls and doors once more.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter Thirteen
“I’m not lost!”

“Midnight, face it, we’re lost, loster than we’ve ever been in our lives.”
“Says the queen of adventuring! How many times have you gotten stuck out in the woods, alone and lost, and I had to come and get you?”

Midnight glared at his sister, Flower, who glared defiantly back. The two young cats lived at one of the villages that Catlition had passed through on their way to Meandrao. The two had grown up hearing stories about Catlition and their bravery in long past battles and wars and had always wanted to meet them. So, after Catlition had left the town the two kittens had followed them. It had been days now, though, since they had had any sign of Catlition, or civilization in general. They were running low on food (they hadn’t brought much with them, as they didn’t realize how long their journey would take) and morale.

“This was your idea, not mine!” protested Flower.
“Yeah but you were all for it, this mess is as much your fault as it is mine!” Midnight growled back.
“I like adventure! You’re the one who’s always worrying, I figured if you thought it was a good idea that we’d be fine!”
“I am not always worrying! And when I do worry, it’s for a good reason!” Midnight’s voice rose, ending squeakily on ‘reason’.
“That’s a matter of opinion.” Grumbled Flower.
The two siblings walked on in silence for a few minutes.

Finally, Midnight sighed and turned back to his sister, “Okay, fine, I’m sorry I snapped. But I’m still not lost.”
Flower shook her head, “Yes you are, mister, at least I know when I’m lost. Apology accepted through.”
Midnight rolled his eyes.

****
The two siblings, focused on their bickering and tracking abilities- or lack thereof- never heard the stealthy approach of the weasel and ferret soldiers stalking them. After the report had come back to Cogg that his Reandalawoin prisoners had escaped he had been furious and sent out dozens of small patrols to search the area for them and for others like them. These were two such patrollers. Unwittingly Midnight and Flower had nearly stumbled on top of another of Cogg’s forest bases like the one Dorthy and Toto had been held captive in. The two creatures following them had been sent out to see if they were hostile.

The weasel and ferret had been instructed to merely investigate the cat scent that had prevailed on the camp border, but when the pair saw that there were only two cats and that they were rather small, they decided to apprehend the pair themselves.
They approached the bickering siblings on either side, with the wind blowing towards them so that it was only a second before the ambush that Flower smelled the rotten stench of the two creatures.

The little she-cat gave a yelp just as she felt a paw reach around to grab her mouth. Another paw had grabbed part of her scruff, forcing her to go limp. This, however, did not stop the feisty kitten from biting as hard as she could into the sensitive (and disgusting) paw of her captor. He let out a yelp then began to suck and spit out the blood welling up in his paw, as if Flower had injected poison into it. This left the little brown and gray she-cat free to shout insults at the kittennappers.
“You lousy, smelly rat faces! Filthy bandits! Lemme go an’ I’ll show ya how a real warrior fights!” Flower shrieked.
“Shut ‘er up!” growled the weasel, who was holding a scruffed Midnight.
“S’al right for you!” grumbled the ferret, “Yours didn’t bite yew!”
“Scared are ya?” Flower went on, “Wimps! You can’t even handle a little bite! I could take you with my bare paws! I could string you up by your tails to a big tree! I could…”
Her stream of insults was halted by the ferret stuffing a dirty rag into her mouth and tying it ‘round her head. Flower struggled furiously as her paws were also (loosely) tied. The weasel trussed Midnight (who was putting up less of a fight than his sister) in a similar fashion.
“Phew that little ‘un’s quite a windbag.” The weasel said, “Best get ‘em back to camp.”

****
Flower and Midnight were half dragged back to the scouts camp where they were deposited into a cage similar to the one that Toto and Dorthy had been thrown in. The two young cats sat miserably on the ground inside. Their paws were unbound and once they had ungagged themselves Flower began spitting out insults once more.

“Cowards! Smelly rats! Why, if you knew who we were you wouldn’t dare lay a paw on us!”
“Jus’ as well we don’t know who you is then.” Chuckled one of the guards.
The other guard, less amused by Flower’s defiance yelled, “Shuddup in there, or I’ll cut yer tongue out!”
Subdued for the moment, Flower sat sullenly by her brother, glaring out at the world.

“We can’t fight our way out, sis.” Whispered Midnight.
“Then we’ll have to trick those dimwits.” Flower hissed back.
“Quick too,” said Midnight, “They won’t keep us here long, and I bet their superiors aren’t as stupid as they are. Oh I just knew this was a bad idea!”
“It was your idea!” Flower giggled.
“Yeah, but you convinced me we shouldn’t tell anybody!” her brother grumbled back.
“It would have ruined our plan!” Flower protested, “No way they’d have let two six-month-old kittens chase after Catlition!”
“Exactly.” Breathed Midnight, “Guess it doesn’t matter now though.”
The two ‘twin’ siblings sat silently side by side, each trying to figure a way out of their impossible situation faster than the other.
Midnight and Flower had been found together in the town hall of a sleepy little village when they were about three weeks old. They had been in a paw-woven basket, snuggled up together under a crocheted blanket with a note on top of them with their names and the request that they be kept safe. At first the villagers had tried to separate the little fraternal twins, but the two always ended up back together again and the villagers quickly realized that they were inseparable. At first, little Flower had been shy and quiet to everyone but her brother but she quickly became the talkative little spitfire that she was to this day. Midnight had always been kind, but quiet and rather detached, except when it came to Flower. The young black tomcat adored his sister, and, though he was sometimes stern with her, he always forgave and looked after her.

Flower had never been content living in their sleepy little town, so when the greatest heroes of the forest- Catlition- had come there Flower had begged Ribbony to let her and her brother come with them. Ribbony had of course refused (for her own safety) and Flower had been deeply depressed until Midnight had suggested- jokingly- that they follow Catlition. Flower quickly latched onto the idea and had gotten her reluctant brother into it as well.
So now here they were, sitting on the dirt floor of a smelly holding cell, surrounded by evildoers with a lust for blood and power.
Finally Midnight stirred. “I’ve got an idea, but it’s not gonna be fun.”
“At least we’ll get outta this stinkhole!” Flower said indignantly.
Midnight smiled at her, wondering silently how he ever had gotten dragged into this mess.

****
“This is a bad plan.” Announced Flower that night as the two kittens waited to enact Midnight’s idea.
The plan was that the two would wait until it was dark and shadowy, then they would slide out of their cage by parting wooden the bars that Midnight had painstakingly separated by sawing on the rope that bound them together. This process was aided by a small hole Flower had dug beside the bars to make it easier for them to crawl through. They had done this when the guards weren’t watching, with the kitten who wasn’t working keeping lookout. Once they had escaped their prison, the two kittens would slip past all the guards and make it out home free- theoretically.

“If you’ve got a better idea, tell me now.” Midnight hissed to his sister through gritted teeth.
Flower shook her head, “Let’s just get this over with.” She grumbled.

With some difficulty, Midnight wiggled the bars out of their places, making a hole big enough for them to slide through.
“You go first.” He hissed to Flower, while keeping an eye on the dozing guard at the front of the cage.
Flower slid out, trying to make as little noise and movement as possible. When she had pulled herself out the other side, she crouched in the shadows and nodded to Midnight, who slunk through after her.
The two kittens crept towards the woods as quickly as they dared. It was dark though, and most of the creatures in the camp were asleep- except for those on guard. The two escapees began to hope that they might make it into the forest undetected.
Then, just as they reached the edge of the camp, they heard a yell as one of the guards on the perimeter spotted them. Throwing caution to the wind the siblings hared across the open space to the woods. Flower leapt into the bushes at the edge of them just as Midnight was intercepted by the guard.

“Run Flower, I’ll be right behind you!” he yowled into the dark forest.
Flower crouched in the bush, torn on whether to go back and help her brother or to go while she still could. Eventually she decided that one of them staying free to fight another day was better than one of them being recaptured and she darted off into the woods.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter Fourteen
Plans of Destruction​

Tigerclaw sat nervously in front of his master as the Wolfking tapped a claw on the armrest of his throne. Tigerclaw had been Cogg’s commander and closest advisor for many years, but the wolf was unpredictable and those years had bred more caution than loyalty in Tigerclaw.

“So, do you wish to redeem yourself after your recent failures Tigerclaw?” the wolf’s voice was cold and thick with hate- an emotion that was the wolf’s constant companion.
“Of course my lord.” Said Tigerclaw, aware that any other answer would get him killed.
Cogg nodded, “I precieve that it is time for a strike against Reandalawo- a direct strike. We have allowed the pathetic creatures within its walls to run free for far too long. It is time to crush them and destroy the hope of all the slaves here that someday they may be rescued like the five cats you allowed to escape a few days ago.”
Tigerclaw took the reprimand without retort. “The army has not been deployed in full force for years, my lord.” Warned Tigerclaw.
“Then make it ready. Growled Cogg, “You march in three days.”

****
Flower stood panting at the edge of the Wolf’s woods. Her heart ached with the loss of her brother, who could be dead for all she knew, but she knew her only hope lied with the great fortress standing regally in front of her.

Flower, much like Mozart and her siblings, had only ever heard stories of Reandalawo and its magnificence and, despite her fear for her brother, she couldn’t help but be in awe of it. Reandalawo managed to be both intimidating and beautiful, in its own ancient way.
The walls were browned stone and 25 feet thick in most places. These were also dotted with arrow slits on the parapets, were defenders could fire down on their enemies from relative safety. The great wooden gate also seemed nearly impervious to attack. In the little village that Flower lived in there was a small wooden wall, no more than five feet high and two feet thick surrounding it, with a small gate in front that could easily be knocked down. Reandalawo’s gate was nearly as thick as the walls and had room on top where the defenders could stand to shoot down on their enemies. Two round towers guarded the castle- one on the southwest corner and another on the northwest. It was possible, Flower realized, that she had already been spotted.
To add to the defenses of the great fortress it had been built upon a hill, with the trees cleared for about a quarter of a mile around it- an opposing army would find it difficult to sneak up on this place, Flower knew.

The little she-cat took a deep breath and gathered her courage. These creatures were not her enemies and it was possible that they would even help her get back her brother, yet she could not hold back a mounting sense of dread that something terrible was going to happen if she entered that castle.

‘Don’t be such a kit.’ Flower scolded herself, ‘If you stay out here then something worse might happen. At least in there I know I’ll be safer than anywhere else.’ And with that she lifted her head and began walking through the open ground towards the fortress.

She was maybe ten feet from the walls when she heard a voice call to her from the top of the wall. She had no doubt that she had been being watched this whole time though.
“Halt, cat!” called the voice, “State your business in Reandalawo!”
“I am a refugee looking for safety!” Flower yelled back, “And I am also looking for a group of cats called Catlition!”
At the mention of Catlition there was silence. Flower fidgeted nervously, peering up the huge wall, looking for the creature who had hailed her. After a few agonizingly slow minutes a head popped up over the wall. The creature who stared down at her appeared to be a fellow cat, but from this distance it was hard to tell.

“Why do you seek Catlition?” he called. His voice was younger than the first, so he obviously hadn’t been the one who spotted her in the first place.
“Because I want to join them, an’ I need their help!” Flower yowled up to him.
“You’re just a kit!” the creature’s voice cracked as he spoke.
“You’re not much older! An’ I’m nearly seven months old- that’s hardly a kit!” Flower yelled defiantly.
“I’ll have you know I’m almost two years old!” her correspondent cried.
“What’s going on here?” a new voice broke in. A much larger creature, this once most definitely a cat from his silhouette, stood on the wall with the first.
“I’m looking for Catlition!” Flower shouted in exasperation. Was she every going to get anywhere with these daft creatures?
“Oh let her in, the kit means no harm, Clancy, why are you detaining our guest?” the new tomcat bellowed.

Flower’s head jerked to the side as the great Gate was pushed open. Whoever this new cat was he obviously had authority, which could be good if he was willing to listen to her. Shyly, she walked through the gate into the great fortress. In front of her was a stretch of open land that faded into fields for farming. Most of these had already been harvested, as it was well into winter (though it was a winter lacking in snow) so Flower could see the true size of the place. It was massive, the size of a city, but lacking enough houses. Except for a few homes that the permanent residents of the fortress lived in the only other buildings were those necessary to sustain the stronghold in times of war. In the dead center of the whole establishment was a massive house, which was of course, actually the Main Building.
As Flower stood gawking at the interior of Reandalawo, much as she had done to the exterior, Explorer walked up to her and gave her a little poke to snap her out of her trancelike state.

Flower jumped and turned in midair to face him. “What was that for?!?” she said in a disgruntled squeak.
“Nothing, I merely wanted to get your attention, kit.” Said Explorer with a smile.
“Why does everyone keep calling me ‘kit’?” groused Flower.
“So, impressive, isn’t it?” asked Explorer, ignoring her question.
“Yes, it is. You’re part of Catlition, aren’t you?” Flower answered bluntly.
Explorer look surprised, “Well you’re sharp, aren’t you? Alright wise cat, what are you doing here? You said you were a refugee, is Cogg attacking more villages?”
“Well, not exactly.” Said Flower, tipping her ears back so that Explorer couldn’t see them reddening, “You see, my brother and I, we, um, we met you-er- Catlition, when you stopped in our town and, uh, we tried to follow you…”
“You did what?!?” Explorer’s fur fluffed up and he cast a disapproving eye on her.
“…and we ended up getting captured by Cogg’s creatures an’ held in a camp but then we tried to escape and I got out but my brother didn’t and now I need help to get him back.” Flower finished in a rush.
“Of course you got captured you little furball, that’s why we didn’t want you to come with us in the first place!” Flower winced as Explorer’s words, “We didn’t want kits getting into this mess, so we left you where you were safe, where you should have stayed! And now you’re in trouble and you want help, well we’ve got bigger problems! We could be attacked at any minute and Catlition needs to be here to defend Reandalawo, that’s why we returned!”
Now, Explorer was a great cat and a loyal friend, but his worst shortcoming was his hot temper, and at the moment he was livid. He was about to continue his tirade when he was interrupted by a far more cheerful voice.

“Now, what’s this here, who are you yelling at, Explorer?”
Mistyfoot hopped up to them and looked curiously at the trembling little Flower. Flower in turn, looked curiously at the three legged cat who had just halted her verbal punishment.
“It’s none of your business, Misty.” Growled Explorer.
“Alright, but who is the unfortunate object of your wrath exactly?” Misty asked.
Taking advantage of a friendlier interrogator Flower piped up again, “My name’s Flower, I was looking for Catlition in the forest with my brother, but we got captured by Cogg’s creatures. I escaped but my brother is still stuck there. I wanted help to get him out.”
Mistyfoot nodded, then turned back to the still ruffled Explorer, “So, what’s the problem, Ex?”
“Don’t call me Ex.” Growled Explorer, “And the problem is she’s an idiot. She ran into danger without thinking of the consequences and now she thinks the problem can be fixed just by finding us!”
“I seem to recall my mother telling me stories about a young black and white cat who used to do the same thing.” Misty said quietly, “I should think you would be willing to aid a kindred spirit, Ex, not berate her.”
It was Explorer’s turn to hide his ears, which were turning just the slightest bit pink.

Finally the big tomcat relented and said, “Alright, I suppose I’ll take her to Ribbony and see what he says.”
Misty smiled and Flower perked up a bit, “You mean I get a chance to plead my case?” she said hopefully.
“Yes, furball, now follow me.” Explorer trotted off towards the Main Building, with Flower bouncing in his wake.
****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Well that was a lot. Caught up now though.

So, if you're just now coming to my little thread, Mozart and her siblings are the four main characters in this book that I originally wrote when I was 13. Since I wrote four books in about three years I got quite a lot better at writing, therefore I am completely re-writing my first book. What I have been recently posting is a part of that. Basically Mozart and her family and friends must defend their forest from the evil wolf Cogg who wants to kill/enslave them all and take over. Rated PG for adventure, violence and general evilness on the part of the villains.

Yeah, the story sounds better if you actually read the book, so I'm gonna stop now.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

I am here to back up my story.
But it would be lovely if someone actually READ it.


Mozart was dreaming. She was walking the lawns of Reandalawo with the White Cat beside her.
“There will be a great battle here soon, Mozart.” He warned, “You must fight.”
“But I’m only a kitten! What can I possibly do against an army?”
“You are in an army, Mozart, my army.” Said the White Cat, “When you fight you will not be alone, I will be with you and I will give you strength. Trust me.”

The dream faded and Mozart woke up. It was still dark outside and she judged that dawn was still a few hours off. Shaking her head to clear it she got out of bed and crept out of the room so as not to wake her sister up.
Mozart slid down the banister to the first level of the Main Building and walked down the hall to the big double doors at the entrance. She shoved one side open a crack and scampered across the lawn to the wall.

Sitting atop the wall she gazed out at the forest that stretched forever before her. She shut her eyes and sighed, ‘I’m just a little kitten, haven’t I been through enough already? If this is what war is like then I don’t want any part of it, and I don’t see what I can do about it anyway.’
‘The White Cat believes in you.’ Her mind replied.
“Well maybe he’s wrong! All I know about Him is from Myrrh’s stories anyway!” Mozart said aloud, angrily.
‘Ribbony talks about Him too. He calls him Kristoren and says that He can even bring creatures back from the dead. He created you, have a little faith.’
“Oh who asked you?” Mozart muttered sulkily.
‘You did.’
“I did not!” Mozart squeaked.
‘Did too. We can do this. You heard the White Cat, he said he’d be with you and he’s never let you down before.’
“I know, but I’m just so scared! What if I fail? What if something awful happens to my siblings? What if they die? What if I die?” Mozart’s eyes widened.
‘Then that will be the Price you pay.’ Her mind replied.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

This chapter contains one of the few songs from the original draft that I actually felt were good enough to keep in the second draft.

Chapter fifteen
The Price We Pay​

‘The price we pay,
Is sometimes great,
But other times,
It’s very small.
Sometimes we give,
Our life,
Other times,
We give a part.
War brings grief,
And sorrows too.
So many things,
Are wrong,
But yet we live,
In this place,
Safe it seems,
Till War and Darkness come,
And seem to overwhelm us all!
Yet it is,
The price we pay,
To keep all,
We love safe.
We’ve died and lived,
Defending, Dying,
For all those,
Who are now free!
We give them life,
But the price we pay,
May be our own life too.’

“That is a good song, little one.”
Mozart jumped as a voice sounded behind her.
“J-Jak, oh I didn’t know you were….”
“Yes I heard you, little one. It is a good song, one that should be remembered for many days.”
“I just made it up, it’s nothing good really.” said Mozart softly.
“Oh, I don’t know little warrior.” Said Jak staring at her curiously, “Perhaps you should have been a bard instead of a fighter.”
Mozart smiled, “Maybe.”
Jak smiled back, ‘So much has changed about her since the first time I saw her,’ he thought, ‘She’s still little, but she’s got courage and determination, and intelligence! And she’s the reason I have my brother back.’
“So why are you up so late?” he asked.
“I had a dream.” Said Mozart.
“Oh come on, nobody wakes up for just ordinary dreams. What happened in it?” Jak pressed.
“Well, I was talking with the White Cat. He said that a great battle would be fought here soon.”
“Did he say when?” asked Jak, looking a bit worried.
“No, just ‘soon’.” Mozart looked down at her paws.
“I think you should come and tell the warriors about this.” Said Jak, his anxiousness nearly tangible.
“Aren’t they asleep?” Mozart cocked her head to one side to stare at him.
“They were having an emergency meeting. All I know is that it involved something that kit that showed up today, Flower. I’m responsible for the defenses though, so here I am on watch duty.” ‘Good thing too, or I would never have heard about Mozart’s dream.’
“Come on, let’s go tell the others.”

****
Tigerclaw paced in front of Cogg’s army, at least two thousand creatures strong. Reandalawo, he had heard, had less than a quarter of that number of defenders. The enemy still had the advantage as long as they stayed inside their castle walls though, tall, thick walls that were impossible to breach through conventional means.

But Tigerclaw knew the weakness of the walls; two smaller gates on the North and West walls of the fortress that were easy to breach. The first time Cogg had attacked Reandalawo they had used one of these to break through into the fortress. Unfortunately these were predictable places to attack and Tigerclaw was sure they would be defended. Therefore, they would attack on three fronts; the main gate, the northgate and the westgate. This would make a division in Reandalawo’s smaller force that would prove fatal to them. While the Reandalawoins were distracted by the fighting Tigerclaw planned to send in his best spy who would open the gates from the inside, creating even more confusion. Then, Tigerclaw would rush into the fortress and take it.

Tigerclaw turned to his number one spy. He was a young cat with brown fur and black spots, perfect for blending in with the forest trees or creeping through shadows. He was small and lithe and known for his loyalty, despite being a cat. He reminded Tigerclaw a bit of himself when he was young.
“You have your orders. Infiltrate the castle and wait for my signal. Then, open the gates and let in our wave of death.”
“I will not fail you, my lord.” The young cat said in a quiet voice.
“You had better not. Now go, bring about the Reandalawoins undoing.”

The young tomcat slunk off, low to the ground, weaving through the shadows in such a way that even Tigerclaw, who knew he was there, could barely see him.

The young cat’s name was Sanga.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

I thank my 13-year-old self for drawing maps of my world so that I can use them as references five years later.

Chapter sixteen
The Siege of Reandalawo​

Mozart stood nervously on the walltop with her siblings. They were waiting for Cogg’s army to arrive, for though nobody was sure of the exact time that the enemy would appear Ribbony had guessed that it would be the night after Mozart’s dream, partly because it would be the night of a black moon and thus would give the attackers the advantage of stealth.
“It’s just the kind of clever trick they’d pull.” The gray warrior had said, “But we’ll be ready for them, thanks to Kristoren and little Mozart here.”

Mozart and her siblings were keeping watch. Below them on the lawn and fields camped the rest of the Reandalawoin army. There were guards posted on each of the four walls, waiting to call the force to arms, Mozart and her siblings were dispersed along one of the side walls.
“They’re only kits,” Jako had said to Catlition, “We shouldn’t make them fight unless we have no choice.”
Ribbony had nodded, “Agreed.”
“But we want to fight!” Caspian had squeaked, “We know how! We can help- let us!”
Jako had glared at him sternly and said, “You will keep watch and alert the army when Cogg’s forces come, but you will not fight unless we are desperate. I will not have kits risking their lives for no reason.” The pain in his eyes had stopped Caspian from continuing to argue, but the little cat had still grumbled once he and his siblings were out of the earshot of their elders.
“What does he know? We can fight! We’ve done it already! We aren’t scared, are we?” Caspian had boasted confidently to his siblings.
“Fighting in a war isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Caspian.” Toto had said quietly.

Since then, none of the four had spoken a word to each other. They were spaced out along the wall, each sentry about twenty feet away from the other. Mozart could see Caspian on her left, fiddling with the hilt of his sword and staring out into the night. On the right, Dorthy was standing nervously, nocking and unnocking arrows on her bow.

“Scared?”
The question made her jump. She turned and saw Mistyfoot had slipped up beside her. For a three-legged cat, he was surprisingly quiet when he wanted to be.
“Terrified.” Said Mozart, “I’ve never fought in a real battle before.”
“You fought those creatures when your siblings were escaping.” Misty reminded her.
“Yeah, but that was just a skirmish. This is a battle, with good guys fighting and dying all around you as hundreds of evil warriors storm towards you!” Mozart squeaked.
“You’ve been hanging out with Jako too much. Don’t think of the death and destruction, think of what you’re fighting for; your family, your friends, your home.” Misty swept a paw out to encompass Reandalawo, “Then it’s not so overwhelming.”
Mozart sighed, “You’re probably right. I just wish we didn’t have to go to war like this, why can’t we all just get along? Why does Cogg have to come in and try to kill everyone and take over?”
Misty shrugged, “Isn’t that the question? Some creatures just want everything, no matter how what the cost.” He looked down at her and smiled, “But don’t worry, good always wins.”
“It didn’t last time there was a battle like this, my parents were taken from me then!”
“I mean in the long run.” Said Misty, “We’re always gonna have creatures like Cogg who make trouble and want to hurt others in this world, but we’ve got Kristoren on our side, so nobody can defeat us forever. Someday we’ll have peace at last and it won’t ever end.”
Mozart was silent for a moment. “You’re pretty smart, Misty, you know?” she said finally.
Misty’s ears twitched in embarrassment, “Aw, shucks, well, I’m glad you think that, kit. You’re kinda like that quirky little baby sister I never had.”
“I’m not that little!” Protested Mozart, “But I’d be proud of you were my older brother.”
Misty grinned, then turned and stared out into the night. He twitched, his tail flickering once, then muttered, “Look out there, in the trees- no, not to the side, straight out- right there! There’s a flicker of light.”

There was no torchlight up on the walls, which served two purposes; one, the sentries eyes didn’t have to adjust every time they looked from the wall to the woods below, and two the enemy wouldn’t realize that the Reandalawoin army had been assembled until it was too late.
The enemy, however, seemed to have no such qualms. A massive black wave tinged eerily with a reddish orange light streamed towards them. Mozart watched for nearly a full minute before she realized what she was seeing, then she ran to the opposite side of the wall and shouted down, “THEY’RE COMING!” at the top of her lungs.
Mozart’s shout echoed back through the ranks of the army below, and armor clanked as the creatures stood to attention. Mozart had turned back and was watching the wide orange rope draw slowly closer.

“Why are they all lit up?” she asked Misty.
“They want to scare us.” Said Misty grimly, “They want us to surrender, so they’re showing us how big they are, but they don’t want us to see any tricks they might have up their sleeves, which is why they’re only carrying torches around the edge.”
Mozart squinted at the undulating black mass coming towards them. “Why isn’t there a line of torches at the back?”
Misty sighed, “That’s for one of two reasons, neither of which are good- one, their army is so big that we can’t even see the back yet, or two they don’t want us to know what we’re up against.”
Mozart swallowed hard, “Misty, do you think this is a battle that we’ll win?”
Misty watched the army approaching and shook his head.
“Well, I dunno, Mozart, but we’re certainly due for a victory.”

****
Sanga crept through the woods almost invisibly. He took a route parallel to the army for most of the way, then split off heading away from it as he drew closer to the fortress.
It was not hard for Sanga to slither up the wall and sneak into the castle- the sentries were focused on the approaching army, not a scrawny brown spotted tomcat slinking inside their walls, and Sanga was an expert in breaking into places. He was an orphan and had made his way in the world by stealing until Tigerclaw offered him a job as a spy. He didn’t exactly agree with what Tigerclaw and his master were doing, but they fed him and gave him a place to sleep, which was more than most creatures were willing to do, so he didn’t speak out against them.

Once inside the castle it was easy for him to blend in. It was controlled chaos as creatures rushed around, executing last minute checks on weapons, armor and strategies. Kits peered out of the Main Building, watching the excitement with wide eyes. Sanga could see field hospitals being set up that would provide aid to the wounded and food, from what he could see.
‘This place is a well-oiled machine. Too bad they’re gonna be wiped off the map soon.’ The thought made him frown, but he quickly shook his head and focused on what he had to do. He slipped through the other creatures like a ghost until he arrived on top of the front wall. He would wait there until Tigerclaw’s signal, then slip off to let in the army.

Or at least, that was his plan until an all too cheerful meow sounded beside him.
“Hi!” Sanga turned to see a young gray and black striped she-cat standing there. She looked about his age, with bright brown eyes that looked nervous and excited.
“Are you one of the newbies too? I don’t know anybody, I just got here and they popped me up on the wall and told me to watch for an army! Crazy, huh?” she grinned at him.
“Uh, yeah, crazy.” Said Sanga, a little taken aback.
“My name’s Flower. I only showed up here the other day. I escaped from one of those patrol camps out in the forest. My brother’s still there though, and I came here looking for help, I didn’t realize I’d get here right before a huge battle!”
“Huh, yeah, bad timing.” Sanga replied, trying to figure out if this cat was on to him or if she was really as oblivious as she seemed.
“Tell me about it. I think we’ll be okay though, I mean, this place is nearly impenetrable, from what I’ve heard and the only way the enemy can get in is by climbing the walls or if opened the gate up.”
Sanga started, “W-why would you think they could do that? I mean, this gate’s so heavily guarded, nobody would be able to get it open even from the inside anyway.”
“Well, there’s always the north and west gates, they mentioned those to me. Just little things, I heard, but if they get opened….” She drew a paw across her throat.
“Yeah, I guess there’s that. But I’m sure they don’t know about those gates anyway.”
Flower shrugged, “Dunno. I’d hate to think of what would happen to this lot if they break through though, I mean, this isn’t just a war zone, there are whole families tucked up in here.”
“Oh?” said Sanga, feeling a bit dizzy.
“Yeah, this place has a bunch of full-time occupants who live here even when there isn’t a war going on. Not that I’ve lived here that long to know that, but that’s what I was told. And besides, look at all these houses and fields, why would they be there if there weren’t families?”
“Yeah, yeah that makes sense.” Sputtered Sanga.
“Well, nice talking to you, I’d better get back down and see where I can help.” Flower smiled at him, “Hope to see you again when this is all over!”
Flower scampered off. Sanga blinked several times, staring out into the night, lost in thought. Then, he silently crept further down the wall and disappeared back into the shadows.

****

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

“This is insane! What are we even doing here?”

Dorthy’s exclamation echoed Mozart’s thoughts. The two she-kittens and their brothers were crouched on the ground near the northgate, awaiting orders. Above them, bows sang, swords clanged and shouts echoed through the night. The fighting on the wall was fierce and Mozart was secretly very glad that she hadn’t had to engage in any of it. Caspian on the other paw was frustrated that the battle was passing him by. He paced and kept glancing upward like he was thinking of running up and joining the fight.

“We’re being treated like kits, that’s what!” Caspian scoffed.
“Caspian, you do realize that creatures are dying up there, don’t you? And not just the bad guys, the good guys are dying too.” Toto said.
“Yes and we could help!” said Caspian, stamping a paw on the ground.
“Even me?” asked Mozart quietly.
Caspian turned to her, opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again.
“We’re all scared, Caspian, you don’t have to bluster around and pretend that you aren’t.” said Dorthy.
“Alright, fine, I’m scared.” Confessed Caspian angrily, “But if I’m gonna be scared I want to be doing something to help, not just sitting down here feeling stupid!”
“There isn’t much we can do. If the battle gets to us… well, I really don’t want to think about it.” Said Toto, looking nervous.
“Caspian has a point though, just listening to this is driving me batty!” Dorthy nervously twirled an arrow in her paw, her eyes darting around as if she expected enemies to come upon them at any moment.
“Hey, who’s that?!?”
Caspian’s sudden exclamation made the other kittens jump. Mozart turned and saw that her brother was pointing up on the wall, where a lithe shadow could just be seen weaving through the defenders.
“Is he running away?” asked Toto, mystified.
“Let’s go see!” before anyone could stop her, Dorthy had darted out from their cover and run over to the wall. The other three caught up with her when she was partway up the stairs.
“Dorthy, hang on a second!” called Toto.
The little she-cat refused to slow down though, and Caspian was hot on her heels, leaving Mozart and Toto no choice but to follow their siblings.

The four kittens came to a halt directly above the northgate. Things were a bit quieter here; the fighting was all behind them now. Before them stood a scrawny young tomcat with rusty colored fur and black spots. He looked skittish and was staring intently over the wall to the forest below.
“Hey, you! What d’you think you’re doing up here?” Caspian demanded in his most authoritative voice.
The tomcat started and looked over at them. He looked sad, and when he saw them Mozart saw his composure shatter. A silent tear rolled down from one of his eyes as he gazed at them, and his head bowed.
“I… I’m sorry.” He said quietly.
Hesitantly, Mozart looked over the wall and her siblings followed suit.
“Oh… oh my gosh.” Gasped Dorthy.

Below them was a massive chunk of the army, fresh and battle ready. They stood before the northgate like a panther, waiting to pounce on its prey, starving for blood. Mozart knew instinctively that if they got in Reandalawo would fall.

“I-I have to let them in.” the quiet voice of the tomcat informed them.
“WHAT?” squeaked Dorthy. Toto shushed her, but it was in vain, “You can’t do that! We’ll all die!”
“They’ll kill me if I don’t do it.” The tomcat replied.
“Don’t be selfish! Would you really sacrifice this whole fortress to save your own life?” Caspian growled, outraged.
“My whole life I’ve been looking out for myself, it’s what I’m best at. Even if I don’t let them in this place will still fall- you haven’t seen what I’ve seen. This is only a part of Cogg’s army- the whole thing would wipe you off the map, Cogg just doesn’t want to risk all his troops in finishing this place, he doesn’t want the losses to overshadow the gains. But he will conquer this place, have no doubt.” The young tomcat looked torn and lost, despite what he was planning to do, Mozart couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

Mozart took a few steps forward and stopped in front of him, with Caspian yowling for her to get back the whole time.
“What’s your name?” she asked softly.
“I don’t want anybody to know that. I don’t want my name to be associated with the destruction of this place.”
“Then don’t help. Fight back, help us!”
“You’re the losing side.” He replied miserably.
“You don’t know that.” Mozart said defiantly, “We have a few surprises left in store for Cogg!”
“Yeah? Like what, little kittens like you?” he shook his head, “You can’t win, it’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible.” Replied Mozart, “Not with the King I serve.”
“And who’s your king?” he asked, slightly sarcastically.
“He’s got a few different names, but he’s most commonly called The White Cat or Kristoren, and He makes Cogg look like a harmless insect.” Mozart’s eyes blazed with blue fire as she stared up at him, “He made the universe, he made us all, he has the power to win this war and he is on my side. That’s why we’re going to win and Cogg is going to lose. We have Kristoren, and what does he have? An army, pah! Lots of people have armies, but only have a few actually have something to fight for.”
Sanga stared at this little kitten who had such unshakeable courage. Sanga had never met anyone like that before.
Maybe, just maybe, this place did have a chance.
But only if he chose to help them.

“You could help us, we would let you stay here, you don’t have to be our enemy. You have a choice.” Said the little kitten.
Sanga made up his mind.

Without warning, the young tomcat jumped onto the walltop and yowled down to the awaiting army.
“Hello, troops! This is Sanga, your number one spy, or should I say ex-number one spy! It seems I am defecting, good luck getting inside the walls!” Sanga dove back to safety behind the wall as several arrows streaked towards him.
Beside him, Mozart grinned hugely. She stuck out a tiny paw, “Name’s Mozart the Meerkitten. Nice to meet you, Sanga.”
Mozart’s siblings darted over as arrows continued to fly over the wall.
“They’re not happy.” Said Toto, sounding worried.
“No they aren’t!” grinned Caspian, “Nice going Sanga!”
“Have those guys got siege ladders?” asked Dorthy.
“Yeah, I think so.” Said Sanga, who couldn’t help but grin with the three younger kittens.
“Then we’re about to have a fight on our paws!” said Dorthy, nocking an arrow and looking uncharacteristically serious.
“Okay, okay, okay, um, let’s see…” Toto had his eyes shut tightly, but his paws kept moving as he thought. Then suddenly his eyes shot open again and he began giving orders.
“Dorthy, Mozart, stay close to this edge of the wall and try to cut the siege towers down before any of the creatures can get up them. Caspian, you and I will head further down the wall to the left, while Sanga goes to the right, we’ll catch any of the creatures who make it up. Any questions?”
“When did you get so good at strategy, Toto?” Dorthy said, a smile tugging at her mouth.
Toto raised an eyebrow at her, then slunk down the wall with Caspian as Sanga headed off the opposite way.

It wasn’t long before the first siege ladders appeared. At first, Mozart and Dorthy had no problem cutting the ropes to them and giving them a shove off the side of the wall (though it took both of them to knock one of the ladders off), but the creatures below soon realized that there were only a few defenders repelling them and began to send up several ladders at a time. It didn’t take very long for the girls to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers and the enemy began to swarm over the walltop despite their best efforts.
Yelling battle cries, Toto and Caspian charged into battle, swinging their swords with deadly accuracy. Sanga, meanwhile, sprung onto the unsuspecting creatures from behind and killed several of them before they even knew he was there.

Despite their valiant efforts, the five kittens began to tire, while the wave of foes just kept coming. Caspian parried clumsily and squeaked as he received a cut on his left forepaw from the rat he was dueling. The little cat swung his sword viciously across his foe’s chest and the rat tumbled before him, only to be replaced by three more. Toto darted around a weasel and stabbed him in the back while using his dagger to stab a stoat in the eye. He gave a cry as he slipped in a patch of blood and was nearly decapitated by a swing from another foe.
“I’m almost out of arrows!” Dorthy yelped, swinging her bow like it was a staff.

Mozart was a tiny whirlwind. She was so small that most of her foes couldn’t keep track of her. She ducked around them, rolled under their paws or suddenly appeared beside them, sticking a sharp little sword into their gut. She was only a kitten though and she knew that she couldn’t keep this up forever.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

‘C’mon, Kristoren, a little help here would be nice!’ she thought as she heard another one of her siblings cry out in pain.
Mozart let out a shriek as she was suddenly lifted off her paws by her scruff. She found herself face to face with an ugly looking weasel, who sneered at her and said, “Sorry, kit your time’s up.” He raised his sword and Mozart deflected it with her own just as it was about to hit her chest. He laughed and threw her to the side of the wall, where she curled into a ball and gasped.
The weasel walked over to her, still sneering and raised his sword. Mozart shut her eyes.

A roar split the air. For a moment, Mozart thought that perhaps Kristoren himself had come to join the battle, but when she opened her eyes again what she saw amazed her even more.
It was Jako. He had dove at the weasel and knocked him to the ground, where they wrestled for a moment before Jako drove his sword into the creature’s heart. He glanced over at Mozart, nodded once, then launched himself into the fray.
Seconds later, Mozart heard, “CAAATLIIITIIOOOOON!” and looked over to see Clancy and Brightheart fighting alongside her siblings. Filled with energy at the sight of her friends, Mozart jumped to her feet and retrieved her sword, joining in the battle cry as she renewed her attack.
With the help of Jako, Brightheart and Clancy the five kittens cleared the wall. The three tomcats knocked down the siege ladders and, for the moment, the other evildoers seemed content to stay below.

Jako turned to the five kittens assembled in front of him, his eyes stern.
“What did I tell you about going into battle?” he demanded.
Caspian looked down at his paws, “To not do it.”
“And what have you done?” continued Jako.
“Gone into battle.” Caspian said, his eyes still downcast.
“Exactly. And now I know, without a doubt exactly who you four kittens are.”
Mozart detected a subtle change in Jako’s voice and looked up just in time to see a glittering tear roll down his cheek.
“And what would that be, sir?” asked Caspian quietly.
Jako’s face broke into a tearful smile and without warning he wrapped the four siblings up in his arms and buried his face in their fur.
“My kits.” He whispered.

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter Seventeen
Plans of Retribution​

Mozart and her three siblings sat in the council with all the war leaders of Reandalawo. Sitting inbetween the kits, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other, was a very proud looking Jako. After the battle had officially ended Jako had relayed his revelation to the rest of Reandalawo. After that, things had been a bit of a blur to Mozart. She and her siblings had been bandaged up, then ushered into the council meeting with their father.

Their father, it felt weird to call Jako that after knowing him as the stoic, battle hardened warrior that he had been acting like from the moment Mozart had met him.
“It does explain why he was so overprotective of us.” Caspian had pointed out when the kits had had a moment to themselves.
“He could have told us sooner.” Dorthy had grumbled.
“But guys, we have a dad! I mean, how cool is that?!?” Toto had gushed.
Mozart had stayed silent, still trying to absorb the fact. She had a real flesh and blood parent, that was going to take some getting used to, and she still had a great many questions for him. Why hadn’t he tried to find them after the battle? Would she go to live with him when this was all over? Did this mean that Mistyfoot was actually her brother?!?

That last thought made her smile. Misty being her brother helped soften some of the other questions that weighed in her mind.

“This is getting ridiculous. How long can we hide in this fortress before Cogg’s armies overcome us?” Ribbony was saying in the meeting.
“He’s right,” Jako’s voice beside her made Mozart jump, “We won’t survive another attack like that.”
Mozart shivered. She wasn’t entirely sure why she had been asked to be here, it seemed the point of the meetings was simply for the grown-ups to discuss depressing ideas and some of them scared her.
“A direct attack would wipe us out faster than if we stayed put!” Dora’s voice protested, “We can’t possibly break into Cogg’s fortress with our own army so beat up, it would be suicide!”
“Then be clever.”
Mozart peered around Jako to stare at her brother along with everyone else. Toto looked nervous, but also incredibly determined.
“No offense kit, but, what in the world are you talking about?” asked Jak.
“Exactly what I said. Be clever. If we can’t win by a straightforward approach then be sneaky, do something…. Unexpected.” Toto’s ears were turning red and he looked like he wanted nothing better than to melt into the floor, but he held his ground, and his courage gave Mozart a burst of hope. Toto was right, it wasn’t time to give up yet, whatever the grown-ups said.

“Toto’s right!” said Mozart, jumping to her feet, “If we do something crazy, we might just win!”
Jako was looking back and forth between his kits like he wasn’t sure whether he should rebuff or encourage them.
“And what crazy thing would that be then?” asked Jak.
Mozart deflated a bit, “Um, well…”
“See, that’s all very good in theory, but crazy only works if you know how to use it.”
Mozart thought for a moment, then suddenly jumped onto the table and whipped out a necklace with a blue stone hanging on the end of it.
“CRAZY!” she squeaked breathlessly, while the older creatures stared at her like she’d gone insane.

Then, with no warning, Mozart disappeared. Gasps echoed around the room, Jako leapt up with a cry of astonishment and fear, Dora yowled, “What dark magic is this?” to which Creamy replied, “There’s no such thing as magic, Dors!”
Dorthy, Caspian and Toto remained surprisingly calm throughout this and smirked at each other as the grown-ups panicked.
As suddenly as she had disappeared, Mozart appeared again, grinning and waving the stone in her paw. Jako grabbed her and shook her, yelling, “NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!”
Jako set her down again and Mozart, slightly shaken but still grinning, replied, “Okay, dad, I’ll make sure to warn you next time I use my epic invisibility stone to turn invisible.”
Jako nodded and sat down, apparently sated for the moment. Next to him, Caspian was trying not to die laughing.
“Where did you get that, Mozart?” asked Ribbony curiously.
“Myrrh gave it to me.” Said Mozart, “I bet we can use it to get into Cogg’s fortress! It’ll be like what they tried to do to us with Sanga!”
“If we could storm in through the main gate… We’d take them by surprise. Then, after we got in we could release the slaves and nearly double the size of our army, because really, how many of the slaves aren’t going to fight for their freedom?” Ribbony sounded eager, he was clearly warming up to the idea.
“Hang on, we are not sending my daughter into Cogg’s fortress on her own.” Protested Jako, “She’s far too young and all my youngest kits have seen enough bloodshed for an entire lifetime. I’m not putting them in danger again.”
“Finally, somebody who understands my opinions about Mozart.” Muttered Caspian.
“Hang on there, dad,” piped up Dorthy, “Why can’t we fight? We’ve proven ourselves in battle, and you even seemed proud of us last night when you realized we’d held off a major attack force on our own. We’ve been trained our whole lives, we can handle a little breaking and entering.”
Mozart was impressed by how much confidence Dorthy had gained since last night. Her sister sounded confident and defiant, and maybe just a bit more mature.
“Yes, all four months of your lives.” Said Jako, looking at her sternly, “You four are only kits, yes you’ve proven yourselves in battle, so why go into another one when you don’t have to? There is a big difference between bravery and foolishness, Dorthy.”
Dorthy’s eyes blazed, “What do you know? You haven’t seen us train, you don’t realize what we’re capable of! We’re the ones in the prophecy!”

The room fell silent.

Jako looked away, “That is what your mother believed.”
“So trust her judgment.” Said Toto, “Dorthy’s right, we need to be in this battle.”
“Dad’s right about one thing though,” said Caspian, “We can’t just send Mozart in alone, somebody should go with her for backup in case the plan goes haywire.”
“I’ll go.” Volunteered Dorthy, who glared at Jako as if daring him to defy her.
“You’re talking like we’ve made a decision.” Broke in Dora, “This plan is far from perfect. We’d be sending in two young, new recruits with little experience into an extremely dangerous and difficult situation. We need to know some details before we decide if this is the best thing to do.”
Ribbony nodded, practically reading his sister’s mind, “There are ten guards on the walls, two for each side and two extra on the wall with the main gate on it. Cogg isn’t expecting an attack from us, he knows we’re weak, especially now. The girls could get in relatively easily. The problem would be them opening the gate. It’s not quite as big as our gate here, but it is big enough to pose a problem to two very small she-cats.” He glanced at Mozart and Dorthy skeptically.
“We could do it.” Insisted Dorthy.
“But what if you can’t and we’re all stuck outside waiting while you kits get captured?” said Explorer, “No, Ribbony’s right, we need somebody else to go.”
“What about that Sanga fellow?” asked Jak, “He’s an expert at sneaking, right? And he knows the fortress. He’s a perfect candidate.”
Ribbony thought for a moment, “Could work…” he muttered.
“So, lets hash this out; Mozart and Dorthy can climb up the wall on either side of the gate and take out the guards, then Sanga sneaks down and opens the gate up for us. We storm in, take out anyone who opposes us, free the slaves and fight until the enemy surrenders to our vastly outnumbered force. Kristoren help us. Have I missed anything?”
“Don’t think so, sis,” said Ribbony with a grin, “Sounds perfect to me. Any objections?”
Jako remained silent, the others in the room shook their heads.
Ribbony nodded, “Good. Get some rest then, everybody, tomorrow, we end this war, for better or for worse.”

 

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Chapter Eighteen
Entering and Breaking​

After the war meeting let out, Dorthy and Mozart had found Sanga and informed him of their plan. He agreed to go with them, but was a bit surprised at their decision.

“You guys actually trust me enough to include me in this?” he had asked skeptically.
“Well, you did help us beat up the bad guys the other night.” Said Dorthy.
“What Dorthy means is you proved yourself.” Mozart clarified.
Sanga smiled and nodded, “I’m glad you think so. Trust me, I won’t let you down!”

Several hours later Mozart rolled out of her bed reluctantly and started to get ready for their attack. Part of her couldn’t believe that she was actually going to do this- and that she had volunteered for it. At the moment, it seemed like madness.
Dorthy sat up in her bed next to Mozart’s, yawning hugely. “Well, time to get ready to fight the bad guys. Again.” She hopped up and buckled on her belt without bothering to brush out her fur and reached for her bow and quiver.
Mozart shook her head. Dorthy caught her look and raised any eyebrow, “What? It’s not like they’re gonna spare us because we look nice.”
Mozart laughed. She smoothed her own fur out, then clipped on her belt and sword, making sure that she had her little blue stone necklace tucked safely into one of the pockets.

The two little she-kittens scampered out of their room and down the hall. They slid downstairs on the banisters, laughing and enjoying their last few minutes of freedom before they would have to become serious warriors again. As they reached the bottom though, Mozart saw movement in the shadows next to her. Jako stepped out, hesitated a moment, then approached them.

“I wanted to talk to you two before you run off to do heroics.” He said, glancing around.
Dorthy was immediately on the defensive. “If you still want us to back out, we’re not going to. We’re gonna do this and then you’ll see that we’re real warriors!”
Jako stared at her and shook his head, “I don’t doubt that you two are real warriors, Dorthy, and that isn’t why I protested about you two fighting.” He looked sad. “I protested because you two remind me so much of your mother.”
With a jolt, Mozart remembered Jako’s tale about the battle against Cogg that had occurred right after she and her siblings had been born. Jako’s wife- her mother- had been lost in that battle. Suddenly, Jako didn’t seem so overprotective after all.

Dorthy, however, had not heard the story, “Well, what’s wrong with that? I bet our mom was amazing!”
“Oh, she was.” Said Jako, “But she was taken from me in that battle, and I do not know what happened to her. She could be a slave, she could be dead. I don’t want that to happen to my two daughters that I only just found.” He sighed, “Your mother believed in what she was fighting for, more staunchly than anyone I ever met. You two have her defiance and courage, and her stubbornness. I told her not to give you kits up and I told her not to fight in that last battle. She did it anyway and now she’s gone. You kits have to understand, it’s not that I don’t have faith in your abilities and bravery, I just don’t want to lose my family again.”
Mozart and Dorthy were silent.

“This is a terrible time we live in. I want this war to end, I want my family to be safe and whole again, but things are too uncertain.” He looked at the two she-kits, “And I know that if we don’t try, then we will most certainly lose, and we will lose everything. So I am going to risk it. I am going to let you two try to save the world so that at the end of the day there might still be a world left. Whatever happens and whatever you two do, know that I love you, and I am sorry for all the things that I haven’t done for you.”
Dorthy sniffed, “I think I understand.”
Mozart smiled, “We love you too, dad. And we’ll come back, don’t worry!”
Jako smiled back at them, “See that you do.” He said sternly, “Look after each other. Be the warriors your mother knew you would be.”

Mozart hugged him, and after a moment, Dorthy joined in too.
“I hope you explained this to Caspian and Toto too.” Said Dorthy after she had stepped back again.
“I just came from talking to them.” Said Jako, “Now, come, the others are waiting.”

****
Mozart, Dorthy and Sanga stood at the bottom of the walls of Cogg’s fortress observing the movements of the guards up on the walltop.
“The dangerous part will be getting up there, if they spot us before we reach the top we’re toast.” Said Sanga.
“Yes, thank you for reminding us of that, Sanga, it calms my nerves ever so much.” Replied Dorthy, through gritted teeth.
Mozart chuckled softly, “We’ll be fine. Just remember to let me get up first so that they’re distracted.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Huffed Dorthy, “Right, good luck to you, little sis, see you later.” Dorthy shot off to scale the other half of the wall.

Mozart took a deep breath and readied the bow and specially designed grappling arrow that she had been given. She tilted the bow until it was nearly vertical with the wall, giving it just enough of a slant to clear the battlements. She released the bowstring and sent the arrow soaring into the air. With a small clatter it hooked into the edge of the wall. Mozart tugged the rope several times- it held. She waited a few moments to make sure that the noise had not alerted one of the guards, then, with a final “Good luck.” From Sanga, she began her ascent.

Mozart was good at climbing, but she had never scaled something like the walls of Cogg’s fortress. There were kinks in the skin of the wall, but they were too far apart for her to use, and much of the wall was smooth, devoid of pawholds. Needless to say, Mozart was very glad she had brought a rope.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Mozart reached the top of the wall, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. She dug her invisibility necklace out of her pocket and put it on, enjoying the relative safety it provided her as she recovered from the climb.
Then she remembered that Dorthy also had to make the climb, and that her sister wouldn’t have a stone to make her invisible while she caught her breath, and that Dorthy was counting on her to provide a distraction. Energy shot through Mozart, and she staggered upright. She walked right into the closest guard’s path and planted herself there, her sword drawn. The guard remained oblivious to the danger, until he tripped over the little cat. Muttering a curse, the guard stood up, looking around for the source of his fall.

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his arm made the guard yowl, alerting the others on the walltop. The creature stared in surprise at the sword wound that had appeared on his arm.
“Yooou, whooo!” called Mozart from behind him. Whipping around, the guard found himself whacked in the chest by the flat of an invisible sword. Drawing his own weapon, he angrily started slashing around him, hoping to hit his hidden enemy.
By now, the second guard had run over and was staring at the scene in confusion, unsure what to make of his partner’s vicious attack on the air.
That is, until he felt a searing agony in his right leg. Howling in pain, he hopped around the wall, his head turning wildly as he searched for the source of his anguish.

The guards on the other side of the gate were watching, unsure if they should help or not, when suddenly arrows sprouted from their backs and they collapsed to the ground in heaps. Mozart saw this and quickly finished off the guards on her side as well, stabbing one in the side and throwing her dagger into the chest of the other.
Taking off her invisibility necklace, she surveyed the damage she had caused. She suddenly felt sick and guilty for taking these creature’s lives, even if they would have killed her too, had their roles been reversed.
Sanga appeared beside her, startling her out of her daze. “Ready for phase two?” he asked.
“Y-yeah.” Said Mozart, her voice sounding very small.
Sanga set his paw gently on her shoulder, “We’re only doing what we have to do.”
“I know, but that doesn’t make it any less horrible.” She replied.
“No, but just remember- we’re fighting so that we can be free, they’re only fighting to destroy. Now c’mon, let’s get that door open.”

The two kittens scrambled down the wallsteps silently. At the bottom of the wall, Dorthy met them again.
“I was beginning to wonder what happened to you two.” She said, her green eyes wide.
“We’re fine, now let’s do this thing before more guards show up.” Replied Sanga curtly. He marched over to the gate and put his paws under the bar that held it in place. Dorthy and Mozart rushed over to help, leaning up against the gate and pushing up on the bar. With a great deal of effort, the three of them raised it. It was solid oak, and Mozart was glad that they had Sanga to help them lift it- she and Dorthy could never have done it on their own. Once the bar was out of the way, the three companions shoved the double doors of the gate open and stood waiting.

After a few moments, a gray head peered through. Ribbony slipped through the open door and smiled, whispering to them, “Well done, kits, well done.” Then he raised his voice and called out to those behind him, “The fortress is ours! C’mon, warriors of Reandalawo, lets free our comrades!”

The rest of the army began to file through the gate after Ribbony. Mozart, Dorthy and Sanga joined ranks next to Caspian and Toto, who looked distinctly relieved to see their sisters alive and well.
They marched in like they owned the place, but Mozart knew that the fight was far from over, and that they still had a long night ahead of them if they hoped to win.

‘Kristoren, please help us. Just show me what I have to do to help us win. And help me to not be scared when I have to do it.’ Prayed the little kitten, who had no idea how much she would need the courage she asked for.