Goodbye Home! Hello Adventure! [OC Story]

[Willowfern]

1.
A rooster crowed in the distance as the sun rose above the farm, casting her warm rays over the golden fields of wheat, the waving green rows of corn, and the vegetable garden, which was currently occupied by squat, not-yet-ripe pumpkins and large, happy tomato vines.
Inside the large, wooden red barn, a small cat family of three cuddled up against each other for warmth as they lay among the stacks and piles of clean hay in the loft. All had their eyes closed, save for one, the youngest of the three, a small, lanky white and orange tom with an odd red tuft on his head, giving him the appearance of a rooster-turned-cat, who had been awake for more than an hour, his eyes trained on a ladybug that was bravely scaling the barn wall. The kitten desperately wanted to leave the cozy grip of his parents to go exploring the farm, as the humans had installed a new wing to the horse stable, where there were plenty of new, interesting things to discover. The kitten squirmed a bit in his father’s grip, and his father let out a snort and his eyes flashed open.
“Wuzzat- Oh. Mornin’ Rooster,” He meowed, looking down at his tiny, wiggly son. Hay was a heavyset golden tom, he’d been raised on a constant feast of mice, and he’d never lived without a meal, and he spent most of his days in the barn, catching mice, cuddling with his mate, Ace, and sleeping.
“Good morning, Papa!” Rooster squeaked, wiggling out of Ace’s grip and jumping onto his father’s belly and digging in with his needle-like claws, causing Hay to let out a little “Ah!” of surprise, “Did you see that the humans put up a brand new room next to the stable? I really want to go see it! Can I? Can I? I’ll be home by supper, promise!”
Ace stirred next to Hay, her golden eyes narrowing as she stood, her white, diamond-shaped spot on her brown tabby chest shifting with her as she stood to look at her son and mate, “What’s Rooster saying, Hay? He wants to leave the barn and go exploring again?” She asked, her tone flat, as per usual.
“Yeh, honey bunch,” Hay groaned rolling over to look Ace in the eye, knocking Rooster off of him and onto the ground as he did so, “I don’ know wha’ to say, he seems so eager, yeh?” He looked at Ace with a kind of helpless expression, as he usually let his mate decide these things.
Ace let out a soft, breathy sigh, “Fine. Rooster, you can go explore, but you can’t go beyond the fence, is that clear?” Her golden eyes narrowed even more as she looked at her adventurous son. When Rooster didn’t reply all the way, she repeated her question, “Is that clear, Rooster?”
Rooster nodded swiftly, a huge smile spreading across his white muzzle, “Yes ma’am! Thank you, Mama! I promise I won’t go past the fence, okay!” He squealed, leaping to his feet in five seconds flat and rushing down the ladder, his fiery reddish-orange tail streaming behind him like a flying snake or something else equally as cool.
This was going to be so much fun!
As soon as his paws hit the gravel path outside of the barn, Rooster veered swiftly to the left and began racing towards the stable, sending a flock of startled chickens flying out of his path as he did so. As he ran, he didn’t notice the dark circle above him, until it was too late.
BUK BUK BUK- BAKAWK!
Rooster let out a “mew” of almost silent terror as Solomon landed in front of him. The giant rooster had his ugly, chipped beak open, and he looked like a chubby bird of prey. Rooster was terrified of Solomon, and he’d always been cautioned by his mother and father never to get in a scrap with him, and his parents were usually around to save him when Solomon got angry, but not this time. This time, Rooster was alone, and it took all of his strength not to let out a scream, as Solomon had poor eyesight, and a scream would definitely alert the behemoth chicken to his location, and that was the last thing Rooster wanted or needed right now.
Before Rooster could try to back away, though, Solomon advanced, flapping his wings and aiming his sharp beak straight at the kitten’s head, not playing around at all.
Rooster jumped to the side, and the rooster roared past him like a steam engine. Hopeful that he could run away now, Rooster took a couple steps forwards, but Solomon wasn’t going to give up his “prey” that easily, and he kicked the ground behind him before charging again, and this time, he didn’t plan on getting tricked again by sidestepping kittens.
Panic started to set in as Solomon started getting closer to Rooster. What was he going to do? What could he do? Oh God, what if Solomon killed him? What if he never got to see his parents again? What if-?
The rooster rammed into him, nicking the kitten’s shoulder and causing Rooster to go tumbling to the ground and onto his back, a dangerous position that he certainly didn’t want to be in right now.
Help! HELP! Screamed his brain, but no sound came out of his quivering, terrified mouth except for a small, weak gurgle. Perhaps this was how Rooster would die, alone, killed by his namesake. How poetic. How… lame. How utterly lame.
So, as the rooster charged again, Rooster closed his eyes and sent up a desperate prayer to whatever divine beings controlled the universe,
Please don’t let him kill me.