The very long awaited fourth chapter! Hope you guys like it!
note: There's going to be some VV5 spoilers from here on out, so beware!

Chapter Four: A Path

“Leader! Leader Kitty wake up!”

Kitty opened her eyes drowsily and began to mutter, “What, what do you—”

“The elders have called a meeting and you’re needed now.” Said the person.

Kitty opened her eyes wider and saw who it was. Thorn. He was the tribe’s best scientist and arguably the smartest man on the island, though he never seemed to like talking. He was tall and stick thin, with short red hair and eyes the color of the leaves in the summertime.

“Okay okay, thanks for telling me.” Kitty replied, propping herself up on the cot with one sleepy arm.

Thorn nodded curtly and walked off, most likely towards the science lab. Kitty sighed, and pushed herself up out of bed. It had been 11 years since the disappearance of her mother, and for five of them Kitty had led the tribe. It had been running fairly smoothly, Kitty never had to do too much, since the village was pretty happy, healthy, and well fed. She was living a very happy life, and even had a baby that lay in a cradle next to her cot at that very moment, but there was one time, exactly one year ago, where things had gone amiss.

It was like any day, sunny and beautiful, but Kitty had noticed that many of her villagers had a small cough. Everyone just associated it to a mild seasonal cold, but a day later half the population had been gone. The healers didn’t know what it was or how it happened. They tried their best, but nothing worked. Celeste didn’t even know what happened. It had never happened before, and it hadn’t happened since. Some say it was a omen that worse is to come, others called it a freak accident. Kitty didn’t know or care about what to call it, all she cared about was that it had taken half her village, and her baby’s father. The worst part was that some people who also didn’t know what to think blamed Kitty, and she had those fingers pointing at her, even now. She was the youngest leader in the tribes history and people saw that as inexperience and irresponsibility.

Kitty grabbed the whale bone comb that had once been her mother's and began to brush her hair. When she was done she scooped up her small baby from the blankets and went to the fire at the center of the village. The tribal elders huddled around it, quietly discussing something.

“Hello, Miss Catherine.” croaked Unity, the former storyteller. She was by far the oldest woman in the village by now, and not exactly her kind storytelling self anymore.

Kitty sat down and spoke quietly, “It’s missus, and you can call me Kitty.”

“Anyway,” Started an elderly man, “There is a far more important matter at hand.”

Others nodded.

“We found something.” The man finished.

“Like what?” Kitty asked, wondering what it could be that was so important.

A woman, maybe in her fifties spoke, “Rita and Arrow found a path at the edge of the village.”

Rita and Arrow. Rita was 12 with blond hair and blue eyes, always wearing something pink. She loved to splash in puddles and run around outside when it rained, though she refused to ever eat anything except blackberries. Arrow, a small eight year old boy with big eyes, short brown hair and a blue headband. He loved stories, especially the ones about adventures, though no one dared tell him any, for fear that he’d go out and try them himself. They did everything together, including getting in mischief.

“That’s great! I bet it’s the one back to the original tribe on the North shore!” Kitty jumped to her feet, causing the baby to jolt awake and start crying.

“Oh oh…” Kitty muttered as she sat back down and tried to calm the baby.

Unity muttered, “We must exercise caution. We know you are anxious to go exploring, but consider for a moment. You are still nursing, and are also young and a bit careless at times. You tend to make decisions based more on emotion than on rational thought.”

Kitty looked at all the elders, and began to feel uneasy. “But I’m the leader, and she’s my mother, and the baby’s granny! I can’t just not go now that I have a way!”

Kitty looked down and bit her lip, thinking a long time before speaking. Unity was right, but she still had to try for her mother.

“You don’t even know if she’s at the north shore. We all think it would be best to just fence off the path and forget this ever happened.” Said the old woman.

Kitty stood up. “What if you choose a search party to go with me? There would be strength, and caution in a group. Would you do that, at least?”

It was silent for a while, and the old man spoke, “Yes.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much! Kitty bent down and hugged the old man, and the baby even stopped crying, sensing her mother’s glee.

“I’m going to see her! I’m going to find my mother!” Kitty sang, skipping all the way back to her hut to pack.