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Speechless
By Swifty
Prologue[]
Autumnpaw glanced at her mentor. "I've never helped kit before! What do I do?" The tips of her dark fur tingled with a mix of fear and excitement.
Scarletsun glanced reassuringly at her apprentice. She held up her tail. "Just do as I say."
Autumnpaw nodded, feel a bit more relax. But not completely. She watched the queen's fluffed out fur, and heard her agonized gasps. 'This looks like torture. I'm glad I'll never have to go through this.'
Scarletsun watched the queen calmly. Her gaze had no signs of longing, only betraying that she had a duty to the Clan, to this queen. Her yellow eyes met the queen's. "Here comes the first one!" Scarletsun placed her paw on the queen's flank.
After a long while of yowling, three healthy kits lay beside the queen, suckling. The queen's gaze was filled with love for each of her beautiful kits. Her mate lay by her side, his eyes containing the same love.
Autumnpaw suddenly wished she could share a moment like this with her own mate, her own kits. She quickly pushed the thought away. The Clan was her kits.
With a gasp, Autumnpaw suddenly collapsed onto the dirt, writhing in pain. "Scarletsun..." She rasped.
As her vision turned black, she heard Scarletsun cry out, "Autumnpaw!"
When the black was gone, Autumnpaw found herself standing in a barren ash-filled field. A gentle breeze blew through the landscape, stirring the ashes. She glanced around. Nothing. "H-hello?"
"Hello."
Autumnpaw turned, to see a lone figure. A gray tom, his pelt blending with the ashes, watched her carefully, his face unreadable.
"I am Foxchar. I come as a messenger of StarClan." He spoke in monotone.
Autumnpaw widened her eyes. "A prophecy?"
Foxchar nodded. "Yes." He closed his eyes, then when they opened, the where pure white.
"Feathers fall far from their nests.
Silence is all they can make.
But silence can have strength.
Silence is the only way to burn the clutching vines."
Autumnpaw blinked. "What?"
Foxchar was gone.
The ashes started swirling in the wind, and created a storm. Autumnpaw shut her yellow eyes. When she opened them, she was back in the nursery.
Scarletsun stared at her. "What happened?!"
Autumnpaw let out a whimper. "Prophecy!"
Chapter One[]
Quietkit opened her eyes to a bright ginger flank. Flamekit. Again. She rolled her eyes, and shoved her sister away.
Flamekit let out a angry mew. "Hey!" She fluffed up her fur. I was dreaming about blossoms falling from the sky." She prodded their mother, Blazeleaf. "Quietkit woke me up!" She complained.
Quietkit snorted.
Blazeleaf opened her vibrant green eyes, yawning. "Go back to sleep." She curled up again with a content sigh. Then, she wrapped her tail around her kits.
As soon as Blazeleaf started softly snoring, Quietkit was up. She slipped out of their rocky nest, and silently padded to the center of camp.
Darksong sat in the clearing, staring at the moon. Her dark tabby tail was flicking back and forth nervously.
"Hi, Darksong." Quietkit thought.
Darksong glanced at her. "Quietkit!" She smiled softly. Her fur shimmered with stars. "What would you like to learn tonight?"
Quietkit thought for a moment. "Can you show me that move again? The badger one!" StarClan cats, such as Darksong, could read Quietkit's mind. They also appeared to her at night, where she trained with them.
Darksong nodded. "Okay. Watch me." With a swirl of her tail, a starry badger was formed. This didn't phase Quietkit, though. It wasn't real. Just an illusion.
Darksong pounced on the badger's back, as if it were real. She hung on with her claws, and moved one front leg forward. She sliced her claws under the badger's throat, and it collapsed, like it was dying. Darksong stepped back. "And that, is how you kill a badger."
Quietkit widened her eyes. 'Can I try?' Her ginger-and-white tail flicked back and forth.
Darksong nodded. "Just let me make it smaller." Her eyes glittered with bittersweet amusement, a if she had a bad memory. "Can't have you killed, thinking you could attack full grown badgers."
Quietkit mouth tipped into a frown. 'Aww...' Her tail brushed the ground. 'You look sad. What's wrong?'
Darksong shook her head. "We have a kit in StarClan, who was killed attacking one. She stomped her front paw on the stone floor, and the badger shrank to twice Quietkit's size. "Think you can take it?" She asked.
'I can kill it in one move!' Quietkit wiggled her haunches excitedly, making her tail shake as well.
Darksong chuckled, stepping back. "We'll see about that. I don't know anyone who's ever mastered this move on their first try. Much, much less a kit."
'Well, I'll be the first!' Quietkit declared, sneaking closer to the black beast. She pounced at it, but instead of landing on it, she skidded across the cold ground. 'Oops.' She stood, color rising to her cheeks. She swiftly shook herself.
Darksong smiled. "Let me activate it next time," she purred fondly. "Ready?" After a nod of confirmation from Quietkit, she flicked her ears back.
The badger stirred, and slowly turned to face the ginger kit.
Panic shot through her. 'Darksong!' She squeaked, her sky blue eyes wildly searching for her friend.