[Echoes Of Distant Past]
Leader - The Tom Who Is Understanding - A massive dark brown tom with green eyes.
Medicine Cats -
The She-Cat Who Cats Admire- A brown she-cat with white markings and green eyes.
The She-Cat With Scars - A dark ginger she-cat with murky, golden eyes.
Warriors -
The Tom Who Cares - A brown tom with ice blue eyes.
The She-Cat Who Plays - A tortoiseshell she-cat with hazel eyes.
The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind - A cream-and-dark brown she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: The Tom Who Pranks).
The She-Cat Who Leaps - A white she-cat with gray markings and green eyes.
The Tom Who Listens - A brown tabby tom with amber eyes.
The Tom Who Grins - A dark brown tabby tom with green eyes.
The Tom Who Fights - A russet-furred tom (Apprentice: The Tom Who Leaps).
The She-Cat Who Is Lithe - A long legged, pale gray she-cat with hazel eyes (Apprentice: The She-Cat With Energy).
The Tom Who Lurks - A black-and-white tom with pale green eyes.
The She-Cat Who Smiles - A ginger tabby with white patches and pale green eyes.
The Tom Who Is Large - A large, ginger tabby tom with pale green eyes.
The She-Cat Who Growls - A calico she-cat with bright green eyes.
The Tom Who Hates - A black tom with amber eyes.
The Tom Who Smiles - A black-and-white tom with bright blue eyes.
Apprentices -
The Tom Who Leaps - A golden-brown tom with amber eyes (Mentor: The Tom Who Fights).
The She-Cat With Energy - A small black, "golden", and russet she-cat with copper eyes (Mentor: The She-Cat Who Is Lithe).
The Tom Who Pranks - A dark ginger-and-white tom with one blue eye and one green eye (Mentor: The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind).
Queens -
The She-Cat Who Cares - A black-and-white tabby she-cat with hazel eyes, mother of The Tom Who Is Her Age and She/Her.
The She-Cat Who Fought - A dark brown she-cat with amber eyes, mother of The Tom Who Falls and The Tom Who Is Ageing.
Kits -
The Tom Who Is Her Age - A brown-and-white tom with blue eyes.
She/Her - A brown-and-black she-kit with blue eyes.
The Tom Who Falls - A thick-furred, dark brown tom with green eyes.
The Tom Who Is Ageing - A dark brown tom with amber eyes.
Elders -
The Tom Who Is Dark - A black tom with hazel eyes.
The She-Cat Who Was Strong - A muscular, reddish-brown she-cat with blue eyes.
[Claws Of Guiding Ancestors]
Leader - Cyantri'ide - A white tom with pale blue eyes.
Medicine Cat - Ripple - A silver tom with blue eyes.
Warriors -
Willow - A gray she-cat with green eyes.
Nightly - A large, jet black tom with dark blue eyes.
Gust - A long-legged, brown tabby she-cat with fiery gold eyes (Apprentice: Elysium).
Lee - A silver tom with blue eyes.
Mecca - A bright ginger she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: Arson).
Claws - A gray tom with frosty blue eyes.
Faded - A white she-cat with pale green eyes that can appear to be different colors.
Ender - A large black she-cat with dark blue eyes (Apprentice: Shade).
Pearl - A pearly white tom with rare, pinkish-blue eyes, albino.
Apprentices -
Shade - A dark gray-and-black tom with golden eyes (Mentor Ender).
Arson - A ginger she-cat with emerald green eyes (Mentor: Mecca).
Elysium - A white, black, silver, and ginger tom with golden eyes, though in certain lights his pelt can appear gray or golden (Mentor: Gust).
Queens -
Ladybug - A russet-and-black she-cat with stunning blue eyes, mother of Charm and Lucky.
Sapling - A slender and light brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes, mother of Shiver, Seedling, and Charr.
Kits -
Charm - A black she-kit with turquoise-blue eyes.
Lucky - A russet-and-black tabby tom with blue eyes.
Shiver - A blue-gray she-kit with hazel eyes.
Seedling - A black tom with golden eyes.
Charr - A large brown tabby tom with golden eyes.
Elders -
Umber - An umber-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes.
Storm - A gray, black, and white tom with blue eyes.
Warm - A white tom with hazel eyes.
[Warriors Of Gained Strength]
Leader - Star - A white tom with ginger spots and yellow-green eyes.
Medicine Cat - Feather - A ginger-and-white she-cat with blue eyes.
Warriors -
Birdie - A calico she-cat with green eyes.
Sharik - A gray-and-black tom with pale yellow eyes (Apprentice: Ryzeke).
Tawny - A large, tawny she-cat with green eyes.
Venom - A black tom with acidic green eyes.
Brownie - A brown-and-white she-cat with brown eyes.
Kiki - A long-furred, russet she-cat with green eyes.
Sakura - A pale ginger she-cat.
Nikine - A long-legged ginger, almost golden tom with amber eyes.
Tres - A black, ginger, and silver tom with yellow eyes.
Snow - A white she-cat with green eyes.
White - A tall white tom with deep amber eyes.
Mhina - A ginger she-cat with blue eyes.
Spirit - A dark ginger tom with amber eyes.
Apprentice - Rzyeke - A scarred, tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes (Mentor: Sharik).
Queen - HAVEN - A dark gray she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Dark and Deer.
Kits -
Dark - A white-and-gray she-kit with green eyes.
Deer - A black-and-gray tom with amber eyes.
Elders -
Cherry - A dark ginger she-cat with yellow eyes.
Thunder - A dark brown-and-ginger tabby tom with amber eyes.
The sound of silence was the only sound that She had ever heard. Most cats moved their jaws in strange and confusing movements that others seemed to understand, and responding back in the same manner. Those weren't things that She understood, but She could wrap her head around others - tail movements and muzzle points and ear flicks were universal, and that was the language She spoke.
She thought the fact that She didn't understand those mouth-movements was obvious, but apparently it wasn't. Cats would try to speak with Her like they talked with everyone else, but they would be slowed down, as if that would help her to understand better. Every time it happened, She would narrow Her eyes and flick a useless ear until they gave up and wandered away. The cat who did this the most often was The Tom Who Is Her Age, and the other kits in her den that seemed to draw amusement from his actions. Almost everyday - sometimes multiple times a day - he would slow his mouth-movements down to a crawling pace. Was it supposed to be funny? If it was, then She didn't know why.
The Tom Who Is Her Age was unfortunately a common presence in Her life, and even more insulting, they looked alike. He had pale brown fur, with white paws, chest, and belly. A few strands of his fur were black, but they weren't noticed unless a cat was really paying attention to his pelt, even though the dark color stood out in his pale fur. They did, however, mix well with the dark blue color his eyes were becoming.
She, on the other paw, was covered in much darker black fur. Unlike the tom, She had no white in Her pelt. Her tail, some fur around Her paws, underbelly, chest, throat, and chin were a much darker shade of brown. While The Tom Who Is Her Age's eyes were only getting darker, Her's were starting to become paler.
But he wasn't around, now. Everyone seemed still and idle, and The Tom Who Cats Look Up To even more so. He lied in the center of the clearing where cats seemed to spend most of their time in (although, sometimes cats would leave, and when She tried to follow She would be stopped by one of the Older Cats, and even by The Tom Who Is Her Age once). Her eyes were sharp, but She doubted they needed to be for her to see that he wasn't breathing.
She turned, blinking up at the cat that always seemed to be watching over Her - a black-and-white tabby she-cat. No other cat in the group She lived in had that pattern in that color, so She could only assume that she was special. Unlike Her and The Tom Who Is Her Age, The She-Cat Who Cares had hazel eyes that stood out from her mix of pale and dark fur.
She waited until The She-Cat Who Cares' eyes met Hers, when she breathed in deeply enough to make sure that her flanks were clearly moving. Then, she gestured to The Tom Who Cats Look Up To with a flick of her tail and shook Her head, hoping that Her confusion conveyed itself on Her face. The She-Cat Who Cares' face fell and she shook her head. She folded a useless ear backwards before The Tom Who Is Her Age slipped between the older cat's front legs and did his slow and exaggerated mouth-movements again. The She-Cat Who Cares lifted a paw, cuffing him gently around one of his ears.
The She-Cat Who Cares did her own mouth-movements - ones that were fast and, based on the look on her face, must have been scolding in nature. The Tom Who Is Her Age only shrugged, but She could detect shame on his face and in his scent. The She-Cat Who Cares shook her head once more, but she didn't make anymore mouth-movements. Instead, she directed her kits toward the group of of cats that were lining up in front of The Tom Who Cats Look Up To.
One by one, they dipped their heads and made their mouth-movements, then backed away and allowed the next cat in line to do the same thing. The three cats joined the line, behind a she-cat that She knew well.
Her fur was a mix of dark colors, mostly black and brown, with a few bright ginger patches in the fur. Her eyes were the same hazel as The She-Cat Who Cares, but they were full of a happy and playful light that the elder she-cat's didn't have. The tortoiseshell constantly played with Her when the other kits wouldn't - and she even played with the other kits. With some strange power that She, Herself didn't possess and could barely even comprehend, The She-Cat Who Plays was able to make every kit play together.
She balanced on three paws, tapping The She-Cat Who Plays' hind leg with a forepaw. The tortoiseshell turned her head, blinking down at Her as She did Her best to display Her confusion. The older cat dipped her head for quite a bit longer than a nod - a motion that She had learned was one that was used to display gratitude or respect. With wide eyes and an open jaw, She nodded her new understanding.
Out of the corner of Her eye, She saw The Tom Who Is Her Age give an almost confused facial expression and do his mouth-movements. The She-Cat Who Plays must have replied to him, because when She'd turned Her head to face him he had a surprised look on his features.
The line trailed on. Slowly, each cat displayed their gratitude to The Tom Who Cats Look Up To. Before either of her kits, The She-Cat Who Cares dipped her head and did the mouth movements, then flicked her tail and padded a short distance away to wait. Next, The Tom Who Is Her Age copied their mother. When he was done, he looked at Her and stuck his tongue out (She knew that he was mocking Her, and She made a mental note to get back at him later) before he made his way towards the She-Cat Who Cares.
She stepped forwards, and like the cats before Her had done, She dipped Her head. I'm not really sure what your job is, She thought, but I know cats think you're important. So, thank you, The Tom Who Cats Look Up To, for whatever it is you do. She raised Her head, padding over to The She-Cat Who Cares and The Tom Who Is Her Age with a skip in her step.
To Her, dreams were paradise. There was none of The Tom Who Is Her Age, The She-Cat Who Cares and The Tom Who Cares were trusting Her to be alone, and The She-Cat Who Plays was a constant presence.
In this dream, however, The She-Cat Who Plays was nowhere to be seen. Carefully, She raised a paw, and She stared into the unmoving water before her. While it wasn't exactly a common sight, every once in a while an Older Cat would bring back a fish. She hadn't had the chance to try one yet, but She was constantly wondering what one would taste like. Lately, that had been what Her dreams were about.
Out of the corner of Her eye, She saw something. Eyes wide, She snapped Her head in that direction and stared, but She saw nothing. Ultimately, she decided that it must have just been the wind making her surroundings shift, as wind tended to do, and turned Her attention back to the water. She saw a flash of scales reflecting against the sunlight, and instead of using Her paw to capture Her prey, She dove into the water.
Accidentally, She had kicked The Tom Who Is Her Age - something which caused him to wake up quite unpleasantly. In return, he woke Her by leaping on Her, his forepaws landing on Her unguarded belly. She woke with a cough, panic from the remnants of Her dream - she had thought she'd started to drown - floating through Her mind before she spotted the young tom. He sat across from Her, his shoulders shaking in amusement. The panic quickly left her, and She turned over to ignore the brown-and-white tom. Just barely, She could feel the vibrations traveling through the ground and towards Her as his small mass stormed out of the den. She ignored him, snuggling deeper into The She-Cat Who Cares' soft fur.
Eventually, She got up. She stretched Her paws in front of Her and let out a silent yawn before She padded out of the cozy den, Her eyes narrowed for a heartbeat against the bright sunlight.
The place where the group lived was large. Behind Her, was where the mothers and the other kits lived. There were two separate dens for the cats who could leave the area - one was closer to the entrance and the other was across from the entrance. The one closer to it had Younger Cats inside then the one across from the entrance. Next to the den for the Older Cats was where The Tom Who Cats Look Up To slept, and on the other side of the entrance from the den for the Younger Cats where two cats slept and was full of weird smelling leaves. Beside the den where She slept was where the cats even older than the Older Cats slept. A large boulder sat in the center of camp.
She wasn't allowed in any of the other dens, as She had learned when She tried to enter them. She watched as a group of cats lifted up the limp body of The Tom Who Cats Look Up To out of camp, his tail dragging against the ground as they moved him. She watched with a tilted head, before Her eyes met a familiar tom and She brightened, running towards the larger cat.
The Tom Who Cares was a brown tom, the color matching the brown on Her own pelt. His eyes were the same dark blue that The Tom Who Is Her Age's was quickly becoming. In return, is eyes brightened when he saw Her.
She ran across the clearing as fast as She could, greeting The Tom Who Cares with a tail wave as she skidded to a stop in front of him. He responded in the same manner, easily swishing his tail back and forth. She didn't have much time to react before The Tom Who Is Her Age slammed into Her side, making Her stumble while The Tom Who Cares narrowed his eyes at the smaller tom.
She lifted Her head and watched as The Tom Who Cares made his mouth-movements - unlike the other cats in the group, he didn't do them as often. Around some cats, the ones he spent more time with, like the kits and The She-Cat Who Cares, he would do them more often, but other than that he seemed to not see the need to make them (She would argue that there was no need for them). His were also smaller, and he didn't do them for as long as the other cats, like he was trying to make them more succinct than everyone else.
She turned Her attention away from The Tom Who Cares and crouched, Her tail flicking from side to side, before She pounced. Her paws met the soft fur of The Tom Who Is Her Age, and the two tumbled around on the ground. She ended up on the ground, with the small tom above Her, pinning Her to the ground. He made his slow mouth-movements again, a grin on his face. Frustrated, She lifted a paw and pressed it against his muzzle, stopping the mouth movements. The Tom Who Is Her Age narrowed his eyes, and out of the corner of Her eye, She could see The Tom Who Cares shaking his shoulders and twitching his whiskers from amusement.
april 28th, 2019: my cat gave assistance in the edits to this chapter, but unfortunately, they could not stay. as much as i appreciate his creativity, "silveropllllll" is not a word.
you tried, Moon Unit. you tried.