following the loner

Murka couldn't tear her gaze away from this tom. He was a large, muscular tom, covered in scars, with amber eyes. After the dog had fled, the tom turned to the she-cat. "Are you alright?" he said, and sniffed her, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "A kittypet! What are you doing here?!" Murka's eyes widened. Where was her home? Around her, the fields stretched to the horizon. The loner stood for a moment, then spoke. "My name is Darkmane, and I don't care about your name.!" he said, just as the she-cat was about to open her mouth. Catching a strange glint in her eyes, he let out a mocking snort and hissed venomously, "My love must be earned. And if you're a kittypet, you'll never manage it!" With that, the tom flicked his thick tail and vanished into the bushes. For a moment, Murka stared at the spot where Darkmane had stood. "Wait! I don't know how to hunt!" she cried, but her voice echoed hollowly through the thicket. Fear gripped the she-cat. I... I have to follow his scent! she realized, but her stomach let out a loud growl. I need to catch a mouse. Murka thought hard, recalling how the tom from next door used to show off. She opened her mouth and immediately caught the scent of a mouse. Frantically trying to remember what that tom had done, she flattened herself to the ground and crept forward. To her own surprise, she barely managed to catch a mouse—and it was an old one. Grimacing in disgust, she muttered, "Forest prey is so bony! Nothing like kittypet food..." The sun was setting beyond the horizon. The sky blazed with fire in the twilight. The she-cat followed the tom's scent and soon found a small hollow tree filled with dry leaves. Climbing inside, she curled up, heavy-hearted, and drifted into a restless sleep.