|
| Flame | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: No one |
Rise from the Ashes | Succeded by: The Spark |
Characters:
Loners:
Willow F (51 moons)
Rain's Shadow M (25 moons)
Withering Mist F (4 moon)
Small Flame M (4 moon)
Dying Cinders M (4 moon)
P r o l o g u e: w i l l o w
'Willow! You can do this.' A small voice in my head said. My stomach heaved with my new kits. 'Oh my kits. Just survive this last snowstorm, I promise.' The snowstorm was worse than ever and it was even worse because of my tiny kits. They had become a wiggling worm for the last few days. A blast of icy wind greeted me as I moved down the slippery slope. Rain's Shadow was next to me, but his compliments are nothing to me but some dung. He doesn't know how it feels like to be me right now. "You can do this Willow! Just a few more steps then you are almost at the beginning of the forest! Then you can give birth to the wonderful kits I will know you will have…" Rain's Shadow babbled on and on while I glanced at the endless valley below me. It was impossible. The sheets of ice clung on to me like burrs on my pelt. My paws were… no. I can't even feel them. Rain's Shadow talked on and on while I struggled in the wind. I promised Starling I would meet him there with my chattering nephew but I knew that was just one promise I couldn't make. I collapsed on the rocky slope, my stomach hurting more than ever. This was the place my kits would be born. Then my stomach dropped into a dizzying black.
A small jerk of pain woke me. It was my kits. I didn't imagine I was even alive. The pebbles that stuck to my aching back felt more like needles than pebbles. Rain wasn't here. No one was. Obviously they abandoned me. They didn't need a small withering pregnant she cat. Another thing caught my mind. A agile but muscular ink jet black she cat with shining stars on her pelt. Is it stars? I really didn't care though. The quiet she cat walked briskly towards me, seeing that I was awake. "Hello, tired one. Your kits are coming. I am Dancing Stars by the way. Sorry if I disturbed you but I can't leave a hurt one dying," she said, in a more of a commanding type of voice. "Another fine fellow, I think his name was… Chatter Box? Fox Dung? No… it was Rain's Shadow, who went down the valley, searching for a tom named Starling. I suppose he is your mate? He wanted to let him know you were kitting. He was foolish, alas, to leave you alone," she continued, dryly. Another jolt of pain surged though me. I tried not to flinch at the pain. Dancing Stars did not continue her talking; she brought me only some moss and a stick. My temper already grouchy from the pains, I blurted out, "Why did you only gimme moss and a stick?! Fox dung. I thought there will be a special herb type thing for me?!?! You are the lousiest thing in the world. Yes, thing. I don't even consider you a cat!" I rambled on and on until she shushed me. By then, I was feeling like the Dancing Stars thing was trying to kill me. Why else would she give me a stick? Is that a magical wand or something? I afraid so, it was not. "You are a first timer, aren't you. Kitting is the most natural thing in the world. As long as you have enough strength, you will be able to withstand the pains of kitting," Dancing Stars said very patiently, like instructing a kit to hunt. The stick in my mouth broke as my first wave of a new type of pain settled in me.
I knew pain. I withstood many pains, from a broken leg (which I still have a very slight limp from.) to a long ragged scar on my flank from an infected scratch. But this was in a whole new level. My breath literally blew off as my first kit started slithering through. I can't tell you how bad I felt. It was worse than I ever felt. You wouldn't be able to feel the same level as pain as I did. But I had three healthy kits after what it seemed like moons. Dancing Stars was next to me the entire time, guiding me to the progress and letting me relax. She is a natural healer. By the time we were done, Rain and Starling was next to me, soothing me. I had three kits, a blackish blue kit like Starling, and two russety colored kits. The blackish blue one was small and withering; she was the runt. "Let's name her Withering Mist." Starling agreed. I wanted to name a flame colored kit after my sister, Blue Flame. She died hence her namesake; she died in a wildfire, seventeen moons ago. "Let's name that tom, Small Flame." Starling wanted to name him Red Sparrow because of the reddish and black spots on him that made him look like a Red Sparrow. "Name it Small Flame. Do you remember Blue Flame? Or did you forgot about my sister? My only littermate?" I demanded. "Is your sister that important? Why can't I name a kit? They are mine as well," Starling said in sort of a snarling way. "I don't care what you name it. We will no longer be mates, Starling. I want my sister to be here, that is why I want his name to be similar to hers," I choked. I couldn't believe I was breaking up with Starling, the only one who I trusted. "Let's go, Rain's Shadow. We got to go," I muttered.
Starling and I parted ways after that. I never saw him again. We walked on into an endless path of rocky cliffs. It was harder with the kits. Withering Mist always kept complaining about something. The blackish red tom was tugging on to me like burrs. I wasn't sure what to name the last kit. The russety fur. The amber flickering eyes that were watchful. He was the youngest, but he looked like the oldest to me. After two hours or so, we stopped for some freshkill and hunted. This time, Rain's Shadow hunted. I stayed with the kits. Then, out of nowhere, Dancing Stars popped out. I saw her black pelt slithering out of a bush. "Hello, Willow. I watched you the entire time. It is time for you to name the kits." I nodded nervously. "Name it what you want to name it. Name it Fox-Dung if you think that is right. Follow your instinct, Willow. I will see you later." Dancing Stars disappeared, then Rain's Shadow arrived. "I have the names for the kits. This one is Small Flame. That one is Dying Cinders."
c h a p t e r o n e : w i t h e r i n g m i s t
It is my first day out! I am so so excited! Willow, my very overprotective mother, finally said we could go out the burrow! Nothing to see though. Well, there is mountains of rocks and a Twolegplace near the please where the burrow was. Small Flame and Dying Cinders are next to me. Their names are sorta fiery type; mine is sorta like water. Mist… water? Do you get it?
"Can we go to the Twolegplace? Please please please please please!" I asked desperately at Rain's Shadow. I thought he was my father at first but he isn't. They won't reveal who my father is. I mean, my father might be a kittypet! Those rotten thugs. They only eat those pellets that taste like nothing. How do I know? Pssst… don't tell but I went to a old cat named Davis and he gave me some pellets. Willow would freak out if I did. But that was 2 moons ago. I am 4 moons now.
"No. Willow specifically said that we are going to go that forest. I am going to teach you how to hunt. This is a learning session, not a trip to the Twolegplace," Rain's Shadow said, flatly. Small Flame and Dying Cinders nodded, like owls. Their eyes became so big! The forest is like a billion fox lengths away. Just kidding. But it is sorta far from here. "Are we going to pounce on mice and shred it into pieces?" I wondered out loud. I like shredding things. Like leaves. "Can we fight the kittypets?" Small Flame asked. He seemed to be more hostile to the kittypets these days. I mean, kittypets are bad but I don't want to be shredding Davis.
"No and no. If you shred the mice, there won't be any to eat. And no, Small Flame, why would you harm them if they didn't do anything to you?" Rain answered, impatiently. "We are going to hunt something easy. Mice. You need to be quiet. Stalk it like… this." Rain's Shadow looked funny. His butt was in the air, but I couldn't hear him walk. I snickered. Rain was really serious and it was rare to see him do something funny. "Stop laughing, Withering Mist! You too, Small Flame!" Rain shouted. "You try stomping in the forest with the laughter you have. Try catching some decent prey without tumbling in the brambles!"
The rest of the day was boring. Plain flat face boring. Rain nearly tore Small Flame in half after he tried to attack the kittypets. I nearly got the stalk correct. I got a mouse too! Nice and plump. Small Flame didn't get anything but Dying Cinders was impressive. Three mice! I mean, three mice! Rain got a squirrel and two mice. We had a decent meal that night. Willow was impressed by Dying Cinder's stalking. After we ate the meal (and I ate that mouse I caught), Willow immediately told us we need to go to sleep. I sleep in the corner of the burrow, the place with the mix match moss. Dying Cinders slept in the pile of moss that is the cleanest and Small Flame slept in the shredded moss. He keeps on pretending that the moss is the kittypets. I usually pretended to sleep, so I could hear what Rain and Willow was talking about. That usually never works. But today, I got some news.
"You changed greatly, nephew. I remembered when I was pregnant and you were this chatterbox," Willow was saying. "Time made us all change, Willow. You changed. Or do you feel like the cat who gave birth to the kits?" Rain replied. "But why am I here? I usually sleep in the burrow next door." Willow's voice dropped. "The prophecy. Remember Dancing Stars? She is a spirit of a cat, who lived on this world, long ago." Rain's voice dropped even lower. "The prophecy. I think it is them." I knew who he was talking about. Me and my brothers. Willow replied softly,
"Three cats would rise from the ashes,
One of water, two of fire,
One would die from it's clashes,
The other two would hold the fate,
the fate of the world in their paws."
c h a p t e r t w o : d y i n g c i n d e r s
The following stuff is going to be very boring.
The next few days, Rain's Shadow was like our "mentor" and we are his apprentices. Withering Mist always, always want to go anywhere new. After the day of hunting, we explored the Twolegplace. The day after we explored it, she wanted to explore the river. She is impossible to control. I don't know how Willow manages with her anyways. Small Flame is more quiet but he likes to kill kittypets, as I observed. Kittypet this, kittypet that. Once, I tried shutting him up by stuffing deathberries in his vole. But Small Flame saw something weird in it and we tossed it into this thing called the trash can. Rain was a kittypet for the first 7 moons of his life. That is how we know about it. And guess who ate the vole in the trash can? A old old kittypet named Davis. Withering Mist cried when she saw Davis, dead. I would never understand her.
When we hunted all day long, Willow took care of our ditch. No, ditches. Rain's Shadow sleeps in the burrow next door 'cause he says it is too small for him. And I agree. Rain's Shadow is big. One of the litter stays with Willow and freshen the bedding and fix any problems with the ditch. That job is one of the most boring jobs in the world. After you fix any mistakes and the hunting party still didn't come, you fish. Small Flame is excellent at it. I mess up every try. I am very impatient for the fish to come in the river.
And guess what? Today is my day to stay home with Willow. She is way too overprotective. I mean, she never lets me or any of my siblings to go out and do stuff without Willow or Rain. If I need to make dirt, she asks Rain to come with me. So when I woke up, I saw Withering Mist's head hovering above mine. Her silverish blue body is the smallest of all the five bodies in our "clan". She is the runt. "Time to get up, brother! Your turn to be stuck with Willow. Poor you," she sarcastically said. A growled formed in my throat. I never had a good relationship with Mist. With Flame, maybe, other than that time I stuffed deathberries in his prey. "Fine. Aren't you supposed to be with Rain? I thought you were going to hunt? Or maybe you want to switch jobs?" I muttered under my breath. I rose up, my moss clinging to my neck. It was getting hotter and hotter every day. Willow says this is green-leaf, whatever that is.
Rain already left with the two pesty siblings. It was only me and Willow. "Cinder, grab some moss near the old oak tree, back there." Willow was already ordering me around, even though my mind was still groggy. This was going to be a long day. The entire day was fetching moss, getting reeds and pebbles, and fetching this and that. Finally, the torture was over. "Can I hunt?" I asked, my voice becoming more excited. "No. Fishing. We might find a trout or two, to add to the pile," Willow commanded. "Time to fish in the river." I groaned.
I tried to make my shadow away from the river but it was too late. All the fish had seen me. My splashing scared away any oblivious fish. "Fox dung," I muttered. A minnow flashed by. Claws unsheathing, paws flailing, I reached into the pool, desperately trying to get my second fish. My first fish was purely an accident. I fell in the water and squashed a fish. And I failed. Willow looked frustrated and walking away towards downstream, she shouted over the roar of the river, "I am going downstream for better fish. You scared them all." I sighed. But that was a second before I realized that this was a rare event. Willow never let's me be alone. I walked, practicing my stalk until I heard a shout. A scream. A yell. Then something that only one person could make. "Dying Cinders! Help!"
c h a p t e r t h r e e : d y i n g c ι n d e r s
I ran. Withering Mist's shout filled the air. I ran. My chest heaving, my heart beat thundering, I used up my last bit of strength to go faster, downstream. "Help!" My feet hit the ground. Time slowed down. My feet pounded the ground, every step. When I got downstream, I expected an entire army of cats. But no. Only seven cats were there, four was my siblings and my family. The unfamiliar cats glanced warily at me. "Hardly a challenge. They are just skin and bones," a tall light brown tabby muttered. "Hush, Pine," a smaller but leaner dark gray tom mewed. "But they were trespassing in our territory!" Pine exclaimed. "They weren't causing any trouble. They most likely have no idea what territories are," the third cat, a silver she cat, said with a hint of wariness in her voice. Suddenly, Rain interrupted the silver cat. "I think I know what territories are, whatever your name is. I lived in a place with territories. Somewhere called WindClan for 5 moons. Then when WindClan didn't accept me anymore, I left and lived with my aunt." Rain pointed to Willow. I remembered that story, vaguely. When I was only one moon old Rain told me that he was born as a kittypet for 7 moons. Then he discovered a clan called WindClan with four clans, ThunderClan who was the sassiest, ShadowClan who attacks for no reason, and RiverClan who eats rotten fish. He left when they teased him too much, no matter how much the leader, Owl something said. He left to live with Willow. "What is your name?" Willow asked. "Why should you know? There isn't any purpose anyways," Pine snarled aggressively. "Don't listen to Pine. My name is Kestrel," the dark gray tom said.
"I am Little Deer," the silver tabby said, flatly. "And you know who that tabby is," she continued, her eyes blazing for a second. "That is Pine." Small Flame walked up to me, saying, "Pine is a hothead." The wind blew in my ears. There was a distant sunrise, far far away. Greenleaf seemed to be over. It seemed like Leaf fall. "I know," I replied. "We better get going," Kestrel said hastily. "The camp is waiting for us and our fresh kill. Nice meeting you." Then Kestrel, Little Deer, and Pine walked away, swimming through the river and walking away towards the forest. "Well that was quick," Rain said. "Why did you scream help, Withering Mist?" I asked. "Well, they were so so big! I mean, so so big! They were the biggest things I ever seen! Especially that Pine cat," Withering Mist excitedly said. It wasn't true. Pine was easily the size of Rain's Shadow. Little Deer was a little taller than us. Kestrel was a tad shorter than Rain. "What did you get today?" Willow asked Rain. "Two mice. Worst catch ever," Rain replied disappointed. "Seems like Leaf bare already." "I hope it isn't severe as last year's leaf bare," Withering Mist piped in. "Wait until you realize how harsh the leaf bare was 4 moons ago. You won't remember it. You were born in a snowstorm, y'know," Rain answered. "Time to go home," Small Flame suddenly said. "Time to go home," I echoed. "Well, since Cinder doesn't like fish, he could have the mice. You too, Small Flame. The rest of us can share two trouts," Willow said briskly. "Why do I have to get the fish? I mean, why can't Small Flame have it? It isn't fair!" Withering Mist wailed. I sighed.
I thought about the cats. Pine, Little Deer, and Kestrel. Why were they doing there? Are they like WindClan, ThunderClan, and all the other clans? Kestrel seems like the leader. Maybe his name is Kestrelstar. And Little Deer is called Littledeer and Pine is Pinesomething. Maybe Pineclaw. That suites him well. For the next few days, I was distracted. Very. I lost seven mice, four squirrels, and a hare than ran over my toes. My punishment was to be with Willow for a week. But I kept on think about the cats. I liked Kestrel and Little Deer. Pine might be too much aggressive. But they seem like family other than the fact that I met them for three seconds. I wanted to go there, where they went. I wanted to go to the forest. I don't care if they lived in the mountains. I felt like I belonged with them. One night, a half moon after the encounter, a small shadow appeared in the den. Willow was outside, picking some common herbs for Leaf Bare. Rain was snoring next doors. My littermates were asleep. "Hello. I am Hollyleaf. I have many names, the ones that landed here called me Dancing Stars. But when I lived with the clans, I was Hollyleaf." Clans? Oh, she meant RiverClan and blah blah Clan. "When Rain told me a story about you, he called you aggressive and sharp tongued," I managed to stutter out.
To be continued