Post by Ki on Feb 9, 2010 21:53:45 GMT -6
NOTE: NONE OF THESE CATS ARE MINE. (Well expect for Softcloud..) THIS IS ALSO PURELY A FIGMENT OF MY TIRED MIND MAKING A STORY IN MY HEAD. SO MEH.
"Softcloud? Softcloud?"
Softcloud was curled up comfortably in her abandoned badger sett. Its resident had long since moved out. Now it served as a den for herself and her father. Occasionally it housed her uncles as well, since they often came to visit her father. Suddenly a voice stirred her from her comfortable rest. Outside the stars shone brightly above her, and she felt that familiar tug. That thing that drew her close to them. At first she thought the voice was those starry-pelted cats again. Calling her name. Instead, however, she picked up a scent. A vaguely familiar scent. She padded to the den's entrance, her fluffy tail twitching warily. Sitting outside the den was one of the cats she'd seen at that full moon thing. That Gathering.
"Can you come out here, so we can speak?" The she-cat's eyes were inviting and happy. "Don't be frightened, Softcloud. I won't harm you."
All the same, Softcloud pinned her ears back warily. Her father, her main source of protection, was away. And she hadn't had a mother since she was too tiny to open her eyes. "What is it? Who are you? What do you want?"
A brief smile flickered across the she-cat's face. "I'm called, Tawnywind." Her eyes sparkled. "You are Twistedclaw's daughter, aren't you? Very bold, I can tell from the eyes. Always ready to fight it seems. But you look so much like your mother..." The she-cat began to walk around her, looking her over carefully. "Same eyes, same pelt, same build." A brief flicker of sadness and remorse went through Tawnywind's eyes. She sat down in front of Softcloud again. "It's like she's alive again."
"...you knew my mother?" Softcloud asked cautiously. The only cats she'd ever met that had known her mother were her father, of course, and her two uncles. The other cats she'd encountered in her life were just hapless loners that were chased away by her father faster than you could blink. The night before was her first time seeing so many cats gathering in one place. But her uncles and father never talked about her mother. It upset them all too much.
Tawnywind blinked in shock. "Of course! She was my mentor."
"Your..." Softcloud blinked again.
"She trained me. To become a medicine cat." Tawnywind explained. When Softcloud still looked clueless, Tawnywind sighed. "Did Twistedclaw not tell you anything? About your mother and ShadowClan and why they both were banished?" She judged from the shocked look on Softcloud's face that she'd guessed correctly. "Oh...how do I put this..."
Softcloud simply stared at her. ShadowClan. One of the four Clans of the forest? Why had her father never said anything? Well, that explained his name and her own. It also explained why her uncles did not live with them. They still lived in ShadowClan. Why had her parents been banished? And what was a medicine cat? "What are you talking about?"
"...your parents were banished because...well...because of you." Tawnywind said gently. She must have seen the shock and horror in Softcloud's eyes. The medicine cat rose hastily to her paws. "No, no it's not like that...it's just...your mother...she was the medicine cat before I was. And their job is to talk to StarClan and receive signs from them, and tend to the ill and wounded in their Clan."
Softcloud's eyes grew even wider. "StarClan?" Were those the starry-pelted cats that were always calling to her? Always visiting her in her dreams? What about that she-cat she always thought was a mirror image of herself?
"They're cats that have passed on. They watch over the Clans even after their deaths." Tawnywind explained. "Your mother...she broke a big rule."
Softcloud raised her ears. Was that she-cat she always saw...the one she had always thought to be herself...her mother instead? What about the others? Who were they? "What rule did she break?"
Tawnywind pawed at the ground. "Our leader, Specklestar, found out she was having kits. Something medicine cats are never supposed to do. She confronted your mother about it, and she confessed to falling in love with your father. Specklestar banished them both on the spot." By that time Tawnywind was a seasoned apprentice, and her sister had already become a warrior. But it had still been a huge shock to the entire Clan. Snaketail and Lizardeye had protested bitterly, but Twistedclaw had told them to stay with ShadowClan. The two had departed and Tawnywind was promptly named medicine cat. It hurt to have her mentor, who was like a second mother to her, ripped away from her so suddenly. And for a good deal of time she'd resented Specklestar greatly for it. Tawnywind relayed this story to an awed Softcloud.
"And then...they came here." Softcloud could guess what it would have been like. Her mother, heavy with kits, and her father inspecting the possible den thoroughly. When they settled in he'd watch over her constantly, leaving only to hunt what little he could in this abandoned stretch of land. Then the kits came, almost all of them weak and still-born. Had that been a curse from these cats in the stars? Getting revenge on her poor, lovesick mother? Then, to make everything worse, her mother soon died. She'd been weakened terribly by the birth. It left Softcloud without a queen to nurse her and Twistedclaw broken hearted and overprotective of his only living kit, who he named Softcloud after her mother. Somehow he'd found a queen willing to stay with them until Softcloud could be weaned. But whoever she was had left as soon as she could.
"Snaketail and Lizardeye told me you died with her." Tawnywind mewed quietly. "I supposed Twistedclaw was worried about you...I asked about your mother frequently, because I knew they were going to see their brother as often as they could. And when I asked..." It was amazing. For nearly ten moons they'd kept this a well-hidden secret! "And then I saw you at the Gathering..."
Softcloud turned her gaze away. "Those...cats...with the stars in their pelts. They talk to me. Often." She didn't notice Tawnywind's ears rise or eyes sparkle hopefully. She just kept thinking about how bad it would be if her father came back from his brief hunting trip. He didn't take kindly to any cats but his brothers. "They told me to go. But..." Her eyes turned towards the stars and narrowed. "They let my parents be banished from where they grew up for falling in love, and wanting a family."
The medicine cat flattened her ears against her head, eyes narrowing in anger. "The fault was not only Specklestar's. They both knew what they were getting into. And it was a time of war! A pregnant medicine cat wouldn't have done us any good!"
Softcloud scoffed. "Why should I care about those mouse-brains? It sounds like, because of them, I don't have a mother!" She turned to disappear back into the badger sett. Suddenly she felt guilty for being so rude to Tawnywind. She was, after all, one of her mother's old friends. With a sigh she looked back at the elder she-cat. "You should go. My father will rip your fur off if he finds you here."
With a reluctant sigh, Tawnywind dipped her head. She turned to go, only to freeze in place. Twistedclaw was standing behind her, a scrawny mouse at his paws. His eyes were narrowed in anger. "Tawnypaw. What are you doing here?"
"It's Tawnywind now." she corrected him lightly. "How are you, Twistedclaw?"
He picked up the mouse and moved past her. He nudged Softcloud further into the den and dropped the mouse in front of her. "Busy."
"You never said much, even back in ShadowClan." Tawnywind murmured. "You let your brothers lie to me! They told me that all of the kits died with Feathercloud!" Twistedclaw flinched visibly at the sound of his mate's name. It pleased her. Her fur began to bristle. Ever since she'd had a horrifying encounter with her father, Alfa, when she was just a kit, both she and her sister could get very agressive at times. Her claws were unsheathed and her fur was bristling. "You're a liar, Twisteclaw!"
He hissed at her, "Leave! Leave us in peace!" Twistedclaw nudged her farther into the den.
Instead, Tawnywind moved forward. "She's destined for something, Twistedclaw. Feathercloud herself told me!" Another flinch. Another wave of satisfaction. "You can't prevent her from her destiny."
Twistedclaw hissed again and dove at her now, landing on the ground just beside her. Tawnywind looked at Softcloud. No, she wouldn't fight in front of her. Narrowing her eyes at Twistedclaw, she ran off. Softcloud's father watched her go. But he did not relax. He turned on Softcloud, his eyes filled with fury. "What have I told you about talking to strange cats?"
"She said she knew Mother!" Softcloud protested.
"I don't care." he growled. "Don't go near them. Ever. Now eat and go to sleep."
"But-"
"Now, Softcloud."
With a low sigh, Softcloud obeyed. She ate what she could of the mouse before padding over to her nest and curling up inside of it. What destiny was Tawnywind talking about? Did her father know about? Well, if he did, he would sure do everything in his power to stop it. Especially if it involved anything Clan-related. Perhaps her father could not stop whatever what was to become of her. But he would fight it to the end. And maybe she would as well.
-Bleh-
...stupid cold medicine making my brain weird. DX
"Softcloud? Softcloud?"
Softcloud was curled up comfortably in her abandoned badger sett. Its resident had long since moved out. Now it served as a den for herself and her father. Occasionally it housed her uncles as well, since they often came to visit her father. Suddenly a voice stirred her from her comfortable rest. Outside the stars shone brightly above her, and she felt that familiar tug. That thing that drew her close to them. At first she thought the voice was those starry-pelted cats again. Calling her name. Instead, however, she picked up a scent. A vaguely familiar scent. She padded to the den's entrance, her fluffy tail twitching warily. Sitting outside the den was one of the cats she'd seen at that full moon thing. That Gathering.
"Can you come out here, so we can speak?" The she-cat's eyes were inviting and happy. "Don't be frightened, Softcloud. I won't harm you."
All the same, Softcloud pinned her ears back warily. Her father, her main source of protection, was away. And she hadn't had a mother since she was too tiny to open her eyes. "What is it? Who are you? What do you want?"
A brief smile flickered across the she-cat's face. "I'm called, Tawnywind." Her eyes sparkled. "You are Twistedclaw's daughter, aren't you? Very bold, I can tell from the eyes. Always ready to fight it seems. But you look so much like your mother..." The she-cat began to walk around her, looking her over carefully. "Same eyes, same pelt, same build." A brief flicker of sadness and remorse went through Tawnywind's eyes. She sat down in front of Softcloud again. "It's like she's alive again."
"...you knew my mother?" Softcloud asked cautiously. The only cats she'd ever met that had known her mother were her father, of course, and her two uncles. The other cats she'd encountered in her life were just hapless loners that were chased away by her father faster than you could blink. The night before was her first time seeing so many cats gathering in one place. But her uncles and father never talked about her mother. It upset them all too much.
Tawnywind blinked in shock. "Of course! She was my mentor."
"Your..." Softcloud blinked again.
"She trained me. To become a medicine cat." Tawnywind explained. When Softcloud still looked clueless, Tawnywind sighed. "Did Twistedclaw not tell you anything? About your mother and ShadowClan and why they both were banished?" She judged from the shocked look on Softcloud's face that she'd guessed correctly. "Oh...how do I put this..."
Softcloud simply stared at her. ShadowClan. One of the four Clans of the forest? Why had her father never said anything? Well, that explained his name and her own. It also explained why her uncles did not live with them. They still lived in ShadowClan. Why had her parents been banished? And what was a medicine cat? "What are you talking about?"
"...your parents were banished because...well...because of you." Tawnywind said gently. She must have seen the shock and horror in Softcloud's eyes. The medicine cat rose hastily to her paws. "No, no it's not like that...it's just...your mother...she was the medicine cat before I was. And their job is to talk to StarClan and receive signs from them, and tend to the ill and wounded in their Clan."
Softcloud's eyes grew even wider. "StarClan?" Were those the starry-pelted cats that were always calling to her? Always visiting her in her dreams? What about that she-cat she always thought was a mirror image of herself?
"They're cats that have passed on. They watch over the Clans even after their deaths." Tawnywind explained. "Your mother...she broke a big rule."
Softcloud raised her ears. Was that she-cat she always saw...the one she had always thought to be herself...her mother instead? What about the others? Who were they? "What rule did she break?"
Tawnywind pawed at the ground. "Our leader, Specklestar, found out she was having kits. Something medicine cats are never supposed to do. She confronted your mother about it, and she confessed to falling in love with your father. Specklestar banished them both on the spot." By that time Tawnywind was a seasoned apprentice, and her sister had already become a warrior. But it had still been a huge shock to the entire Clan. Snaketail and Lizardeye had protested bitterly, but Twistedclaw had told them to stay with ShadowClan. The two had departed and Tawnywind was promptly named medicine cat. It hurt to have her mentor, who was like a second mother to her, ripped away from her so suddenly. And for a good deal of time she'd resented Specklestar greatly for it. Tawnywind relayed this story to an awed Softcloud.
"And then...they came here." Softcloud could guess what it would have been like. Her mother, heavy with kits, and her father inspecting the possible den thoroughly. When they settled in he'd watch over her constantly, leaving only to hunt what little he could in this abandoned stretch of land. Then the kits came, almost all of them weak and still-born. Had that been a curse from these cats in the stars? Getting revenge on her poor, lovesick mother? Then, to make everything worse, her mother soon died. She'd been weakened terribly by the birth. It left Softcloud without a queen to nurse her and Twistedclaw broken hearted and overprotective of his only living kit, who he named Softcloud after her mother. Somehow he'd found a queen willing to stay with them until Softcloud could be weaned. But whoever she was had left as soon as she could.
"Snaketail and Lizardeye told me you died with her." Tawnywind mewed quietly. "I supposed Twistedclaw was worried about you...I asked about your mother frequently, because I knew they were going to see their brother as often as they could. And when I asked..." It was amazing. For nearly ten moons they'd kept this a well-hidden secret! "And then I saw you at the Gathering..."
Softcloud turned her gaze away. "Those...cats...with the stars in their pelts. They talk to me. Often." She didn't notice Tawnywind's ears rise or eyes sparkle hopefully. She just kept thinking about how bad it would be if her father came back from his brief hunting trip. He didn't take kindly to any cats but his brothers. "They told me to go. But..." Her eyes turned towards the stars and narrowed. "They let my parents be banished from where they grew up for falling in love, and wanting a family."
The medicine cat flattened her ears against her head, eyes narrowing in anger. "The fault was not only Specklestar's. They both knew what they were getting into. And it was a time of war! A pregnant medicine cat wouldn't have done us any good!"
Softcloud scoffed. "Why should I care about those mouse-brains? It sounds like, because of them, I don't have a mother!" She turned to disappear back into the badger sett. Suddenly she felt guilty for being so rude to Tawnywind. She was, after all, one of her mother's old friends. With a sigh she looked back at the elder she-cat. "You should go. My father will rip your fur off if he finds you here."
With a reluctant sigh, Tawnywind dipped her head. She turned to go, only to freeze in place. Twistedclaw was standing behind her, a scrawny mouse at his paws. His eyes were narrowed in anger. "Tawnypaw. What are you doing here?"
"It's Tawnywind now." she corrected him lightly. "How are you, Twistedclaw?"
He picked up the mouse and moved past her. He nudged Softcloud further into the den and dropped the mouse in front of her. "Busy."
"You never said much, even back in ShadowClan." Tawnywind murmured. "You let your brothers lie to me! They told me that all of the kits died with Feathercloud!" Twistedclaw flinched visibly at the sound of his mate's name. It pleased her. Her fur began to bristle. Ever since she'd had a horrifying encounter with her father, Alfa, when she was just a kit, both she and her sister could get very agressive at times. Her claws were unsheathed and her fur was bristling. "You're a liar, Twisteclaw!"
He hissed at her, "Leave! Leave us in peace!" Twistedclaw nudged her farther into the den.
Instead, Tawnywind moved forward. "She's destined for something, Twistedclaw. Feathercloud herself told me!" Another flinch. Another wave of satisfaction. "You can't prevent her from her destiny."
Twistedclaw hissed again and dove at her now, landing on the ground just beside her. Tawnywind looked at Softcloud. No, she wouldn't fight in front of her. Narrowing her eyes at Twistedclaw, she ran off. Softcloud's father watched her go. But he did not relax. He turned on Softcloud, his eyes filled with fury. "What have I told you about talking to strange cats?"
"She said she knew Mother!" Softcloud protested.
"I don't care." he growled. "Don't go near them. Ever. Now eat and go to sleep."
"But-"
"Now, Softcloud."
With a low sigh, Softcloud obeyed. She ate what she could of the mouse before padding over to her nest and curling up inside of it. What destiny was Tawnywind talking about? Did her father know about? Well, if he did, he would sure do everything in his power to stop it. Especially if it involved anything Clan-related. Perhaps her father could not stop whatever what was to become of her. But he would fight it to the end. And maybe she would as well.
-Bleh-
...stupid cold medicine making my brain weird. DX