So... It's been a while since I put up a Warriors story so guess what you get?! xp Lols! This is the story behind the death of two of my StarClan cats and also how one of my ThunderClan cats became the way she is ^^ Enjoy!
Hello, my name is Hawkeye of ThunderClan. I’ve come to tell you the story of how my sister’s and mine parents died that fateful day many, many seasons ago. I was still just Hawkkit at the time.
I remember being restless that night as I stared blankly at the wall opposite of where I lay. My mother, Heathercloud, was sleeping deeply as her side rose and fell in rhythm. My sister, Mintkit, twitched just ever so in her sleep, a peaceful smile on her face as she chased after a mouse, I’m sure.
With a sigh, I heaved myself up and padded to the entrance of the nursery in boredom. The camp was silent as the moon cast a soft silver glow around camp, casting long shadows into the far corners. A shiver raked down my spine as a breeze swept by. Bare-leaf was coming, everyone could tell. The fresh kill pile had been getting lower recently with the prey burrowing down farther into the ground, away from the chill we cats would have to endure.
Hearing a noise, I turned to spy my sister sitting up, her ears swiveling this way and that, her tail sweeping the ground where I had been laying previously. Smiling softly, yet sadly, I walked back over to her. Mintkit was blind, she needed me to be there for her.
“It’s ok, I’m here.” I whispered in her ear, sitting back down next to her.
“Don’t do that, you know I don’t like that.” Mintkit whispered back, though she smiled back at me anyways, as though she could see me. It was a little uncanny how she could do that and at times she even confused some of the cats into thinking that she wasn’t actually blind, a feat she was very proud of.
I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m restless.” I mewed back to her.
Mintkit stood up easily and bounded over to the entrance of the nursery, waving her tail over to me as she went. I followed after her out of curiosity of what she was up to and stopped next to her outside.
“Let’s go for a walk!” She suggested eagerly, smiling brightly at me.
“What, at this time of night? Mintkit, think about it, what if mother wakes up and finds us gone? She’ll go frantic searching for us and we’ll be in big trouble! Besides, remember what happened LAST time we went on one of your adventures?” I tried reasoning with her, but you couldn’t change her mind once she had it set. And besides, she knew and I knew that she had me cornered. I wasn’t about to let her go off by herself and I DID want to go for a walk real bad.
“Then we just won’t get caught!” She mewed, already heading over to the little trail that led to the dirt spot. It was the easiest way for kits to get out of camp.
I sighed as I followed after her, guiltily feeling the twinge of excitement in the pit of my stomach. “That’s what you said last time too.” I mumbled as I followed after my blind sister. She was pretty nimble for a blind cat, always seeming to know where she was going, but then, we had explored all around the camp whenever we could, just so that she WOULD know where to go and the like when she become an apprentice. And she WOULD become an apprentice, I knew.
So we slunk forward, slowing down our progress at the top so as not to get caught. Silently, Mintkit went first as she listened to the world around her, using her impeccable hearing and sense of smell to tell her that no one was around before slipping out and streaking across to a tree across the little clearing, disappearing behind it.
I took a deep breath and held it as I slunk forward and glanced back and forth, using my own senses to see that no one was around before racing on after her. By my sister’s side, we padded on together in the night. I couldn’t help but be glad that we had snuck out. It did me some good to walk around because I had been cooped up in the nursery all day with a sniffle and Mintkit had stayed with me, not to mention she needed some fresh air and loved to explore.
Nevertheless, I will forever have wished that we hadn’t gone exploring that night and that I had just ignored my restless legs and laid down next to mother and fallen asleep with the both of them.
The next thing we knew, the two of us were racing through the trees at high speeds, our tails streaming behind us in a blur. “Quicker Mintkit!” I cried over my shoulder at my sister as she was beginning to lag.
“What does it look like I’m doing?!” She hissed back as she tried to speed up, but only succeeding in falling over a rock, coming to a tumbling halt.
I could smell the rank stench of the monster’s breath as it raced after us. Two apprentices could hardly take one of these on by themselves and we weren’t even apprentice SIZE yet! “Hurry!” I urged again, shoving my sister up roughly and urging her own ahead of me.
We began to race off again, swerving around trees, bushes, logs, and rocks. By this time, the darkness was now a hindrance and I couldn’t see where I was going. Not only that, but with all the running and only being able to think of what was chasing us and the horrible thought of what it would do if it caught us, kept me from remembering which way the camp was and how to get there.
Suddenly, I realized that it had gotten quieter. I came to a screeching halt and looked over my shoulder, panting real hard, only able to hear my heartbeat in my ears. It took me a moment to realize why it was too quiet. The creature and Mintkit were gone!
I gazed wildly around me but saw no sign of either of them. How far back had Mintkit and I gotten separated? I hurriedly backtracked but even as I stuck my nose to the ground, tracing my pathway through the forest by finding snapped branches and crumpled bushes, I couldn’t find either of their scents!
Panting, I finally came to a stop, trying to lower my heart rate. After a moment I thought I heard something and crept forward until I realized I was next to the WindClan border. The river was racing down to the lake, but soon, I figured, it would freeze up or at least be un-swimmable.
Flicking my ears, I gazed in confusion over my shoulder, hearing the bushes rustle. I braced myself to run when I suddenly blinked in surprise when Bluestar came out.
“There you are.” She mewed with a kind smile, padding up to me. I noticed that her fur seemed unkempt and she looked disheveled as though she had just woken up…
“Where’s Mintkit!?” I cried, deciding to wait until later that we had woken her up for leaving camp.
She frowned and glanced over her shoulder. “Your parents are looking for her now. Come on, let’s get you to camp.” She mewed kindly turning toward where camp was, looking back over her shoulder at me.
I stood still for a moment, seemingly not comprehending and then shook my head. “N-no! No, Mintkit is out there being chased down by a fox and it’s all my fault! I have to help!” I cried furiously back at my leader, not at her specifically but at myself.
“A fox?” Bluestar questioned, seeming disturbed by this turn of events.
“Yes, that’s why we were running and got separated… You didn’t know?”
Bluestar shook her head. “I found your scent first and told your parents to go on and find your sister as your two scents led different ways.” She mewed seriously.
I blinked in surprise. If Bluestar hadn’t known about the fox, then would my parents know to hurry and find Mintkit before she got killed?!
Quickly, I began to race off again, heading up the river side as though following a path that I couldn’t see. Bluestar easily stopped me and gave me a stern look as she ordered me back to camp. Just then, however, my life turned upside down, for the worse.
There was a screech up ahead, barely heard over the river and both Bluestar and me looked up to where the Moonpool was, listening intently for the noise we had just heard.
That had sounded like- “Mintkit!” I cried out, racing past my leader, once again, and began to clumsily stumble across the rocks, up to the Moonpool.
“Go back to camp now!” Bluestar hissed at me as she raced past me, diving straight through the brambles that guarded the Moopool.
I halted in my pawsteps and reluctantly turned around to head back to camp. After all, I had caused enough trouble for the night, but as I was about to head back, I heard a yowl that sounded suspiciously like my mother and I just had to make sure everyone was alright!
So I quickly finished climbing the rest of the way, panting by the time I made it to the top, but I slipped through the opening, possibly made larger by the fox that had blundered through after my sister.
The scene I looked upon was more horrid then any I would ever see for the longest time.
The large orange and white creature had had my sister cornered in between the side of the cliff and a rock, her body cowering helplessly in the crevice she had managed to squash herself into. My mother was clinging onto the beast’s shoulders, her eyes glinting madly as she shook her head back and forth, tearing at its shoulder.
Meanwhile, my father, Runningwing, had raced up and was clawing the beast’s side, hissing furiously at it as well.
Bluestar was right there with the other two, biting into its back leg. But still, the creature wouldn’t stop until it had gotten its revenge. And it would.
It happened so quickly and yet so slowly that I could hardly believe what I saw. I still don’t want to believe it even now.
The fox whipped its head around, grabbing my mother, my beautiful and kind mother by her back leg and flung her away as though she were a twig. I watched in growing horror as she hit the side of the rock, near my sister, and fell limply to the ground. That had set off my father and he lunged forward, clawing the monster across the eye.
This only made the fox madder and he snapped at Runningwing only to get stopped by Bluestar in the process as she cut him off, biting into his front leg. The creature easily lunged forward, going too quick for the leader to dodge and dug his fangs into her sides, tossing her away as he set his eyes for my mother and father.
Bluestar fell a ways off, her sides bleeding as she gazed without seeing ahead of her. Her body fell limp and I stared worriedly at her. But, I had heard she still had lives yet to spare, I shouldn’t need to worry unless the bleeding made her continually lose lives.
But, a horrid yowl on the other side of the clearing caught my attention and I turned to see Runningwing getting smashed painfully against a rock as he clung to the fox’s shoulder.
Heathercloud, though she was so apparently weak and disoriented, still stood and wobbled over to her fighting mate and lunged at the creature, sinking her fangs into its throat.
The fox roared at her and ignored my father as he latched onto my mother, beginning to tear her away from him. But she held on with all the strength she had left, not allowing the fox to drag her off of it.
And I just stood there, watching as the fox tore the last of my mother’s strength from her and tossed her uselessly away again. I didn’t truly hear, because all my senses aside from my sight had left me, but I saw my mother land in the water of the Moonpool and I saw the pool begin to run red just ever so from her pouring blood.
And, though I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the horrid sight of my lifeless mother, I still know what happened to my father. He fought valiantly, bravely, and both of them would be forever known for having such traits, but it just wasn’t enough for him. Runningwing and Heathercloud had always been a couple and couldn’t seem to cooperate properly without the other around. When they fought in battles together, they were unbeatable. And now that Heathercloud was dead, Runningwing seemed to have lost half his strength, half his will, half his heart, and half his soul.
It was easy for the fox to smash my father against the rock one more time before he fell to the ground in a heap, still snarling furiously at the fox though tears were streaming down his eyes as he called out to his mate.
The only thing left for it to do was kill my father off. And that’s exactly what the fox did.
It seemed so easy for the creature to merely bend its head and bite into Runningwing’s neck, sapping the life out of him.
And now, I stared helplessly into my mother’s glazed over eyes, even from where I stood, and as the fox strode over to where my sister was still helpless, the only one left in the shape to fight stood groggily from near the cliff and through herself back into action.
Bluestar, now that the fox had been weakened by so much fighting and had lost so much blood, easily dispatched it and took the life from the unforgiving, merciless creature.
I can’t really remember what happened after that as I seemed to have blacked out. All I remember was coming to in the medicine cat’s den and gazing blearily around, wondering to myself if my sniffle had gotten so bad that I had to be put in here.
But my thoughts were quickly crushed when I remembered what had happened during the night and surged up too quickly, nearly blacking out again as I sat down. Icepaw quickly told me that I was fine and that my sister was as well. We had just been too over worked and she quickly left after that, leaving something hanging in the air and I already knew what it was.
Mother and father. Both of them had died that night and it was my fault! If I had gone back to camp I could have gotten some warriors to help them out!
It turns out that my parents had been buried in the Moonpool area, and the fox body thrown out.
When we were apprentices, I had gone off by myself over to the Moonpool area and had slipped in, knowing that I probably shouldn’t since I wasn’t a leader or a medicine cat, but, I was hoping to see something or receive a sign of any kind.
I sat by the lake edge, staring sadly into the pool and I felt the some rain pitter all around me, soaking me to my fur. “Mother, father… I miss you… We both miss you.” I mewed pathetically, softly, staring into the rippling water.
“And we miss you.” A sweet, soothing voice mewed into my ear.
I saw her, my mother, in the water, but when I looked up, she wasn’t there. Gazing back into the water in depression, I saw her there again. She was smiling so motherly at me that I could feel my heart bursting.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” I cried to my mother.
“Shush. There, there now my dear. Understand this, it wasn’t your fault, nor your sister’s that this happened. It was our time to go.”
“Yes, sweetie.” Runningwing was now next to his mate, smiling kindly back at me. “And make sure your sister understands that.”
“But we need to go darling, and so do you. Watch over Mintpaw for us, and make us proud.” They smiled and waved their tails at me as the water rippled over their images and they were gone.
I had gone back to camp soaking that night and slipped into the apprentices den, not really caring that I was as wet as RiverClan.
Mintpaw hissed angrily at me as I dampened her side and she nearly lashed out at me in annoyance.
I sighed and rested my head on my paws. I missed my sister back when she was the kind, caring and sweet kit before all this. She blames herself for everything because she had wanted to go out of camp so bad. And now that I’m the only one who seems to support her, aside from Bluestar, into becoming a warrior despite her blindness, the apprentice was trying to prove herself more and more every day, nearly throwing herself into exhaustion just to show that she was as good as any other apprentice.
I still love her, but I miss the old her. However, I especially miss when our parents were still alive.
“They say it’s not your fault and they want you to make them proud. Be the best warrior you can.” I mewed softly into my sister’s ear and laid back down.
“What do you think I’m trying to do? Be the worst?” She snarled back at me, but I would later learn that this was her way of saying that she would. And she did.
“I love you too.”
 angels_dance · Sat Nov 08, 2008 @ 12:44am · 0 Comments |
