1. Healing, for Night Stalkers

Snowpaw struggled to get out of the cat's grip. Someone was holding her tightly, someone she didn't trust.

"Who are you?" she screeched. She kicked even harder, pummeling the cat's belly impossibly hard. She unsheathed her claws and scratched the cat, or whatever being it was, mercilessly. Something red, deep, dark, crimson stained her claws and the other cat. What was that? She had no idea, nor did she care. This cat needed to stop. She wanted to get out.

"Someone get Waterstar!" the being yowled in pain. Who was Waterstar? What was she doing? Who was this cat, who was trying to kill her?

Suddenly, she felt the other cat retreat. Free and out of grip, Snowpaw jumped to her feet and tried to scramble away. But just as she could leave, another body crashed onto her.

"Amberlight, Whitetail, help me!" a female voice yowled. Snowpaw kicked hard, staining the evil, murderous cat with more crimson liquid. No one would kill her! Two cats came, and each were pinning down her paws. She struggled, thrashing from side to side, but to no avail. They were too strong...

"No... Please... Don't kill me..." she muttered. She slumped to the ground in exhaustion. She was done, and now they would kill her... These evil cats, she couldn't trust them...

Finally, broken and spent, she dropped her head with a bump and sank into unconsciousness.

Nightshine sat in the medicine den, licking her deep scratches. Blood still oozed from them. She didn't care. What had happened to her precious kit? Why did she want to hurt her? Why didn't she know who her own mother was?

She turned to the medicine cat, Graycloud, a dark gray shecat. "Will Snowpaw be fine?" Nightshine asked. She was asking silly questions, like a scared kit. She was so much stronger, braver, smarter, in battle, but when she thought of her poor kit being wounded, she wanted to mewl and cower.

"I'm not sure..." Graycloud said quietly, then added briskly, "I am confident it's just an injury that she's hiding!"

Nightshine sighed in exasperation. She wanted to know the truth, not be convinced that it was fine! Snowpaw would never hide an injury! Maybe she'd hide it from her mother, but not the whole Clan, including the leader! "Are you sure?" she hissed, unintentionally angry.

"No..." Graycloud moaned, her green eyes clouding. "That behavior was scaring me.. I've never seen anything like it!"

Nightshine's eyes widened in alarm. "What!? You mean that you don't know what happened?!"

Graycloud soothed her, "No, no, I'm sure we can find out how to solve this problem in no time!"

Nightshine tried to calm herself down. She's right, don't be such a pessimist. Surely Snowpaw would be fine eventually!

A loud dragging came from the outside camp. "Snowpaw will be coming soon.." Graycloud said. "Maybe you should go."

Nightshine had no choice to obey. She dipped her head to the medicine cat, and then stalked out of the den. She could see the cats dragging Snowpaw in the corner of her eye. Ignoring it desperately, she broke into a run and raced into the warriors' den. She sat down and flattened her ears, trying to block out the noise of her kit suffering.

She could hear loud screeches from the medicine den. She tried to block it out of her mind, but to no avail. She stood up, turned around, and raced for the den.

Snowpaw opened her eyes. She was in a strange place. Another cat stood over her. More? I don't trust any of you! she thought, yowling and throwing her paws up, batting through the air. More crimson. She was held down again, but she didn't know which direction she was facing.

A strange thing was held out to her on a dark gray paw. "What is this!" she screeched, swatting it away. "Don't kill me, you evil murderer!"

The stranger cat turned toward the light, eltting go of her momentarily. Snowpaw jumped to her feet and tried to race out, but the cat blocked the entrance. "I don't trust you, not any of you," Snowpaw snarled, and then suddenly, stuff came out of her mouth. It was foul smelling. She leapt back in fear, backing into a corner and closing her eyes tightly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice, like a light shining in her shattered darkness, sounded softly. "It's fine, you're fine..."

Snowpaw opened her eyes in confusion. She stared at the cat at the entrance, a black and white tabby shecat with amber eyes. Did she recognize her? Who was that cat? Was she the only safe, good cat here?

"You just vomited, that's all.. Don't you remember who I am?" the shecat asked, looking inquiringly at her. "I'm your mother.."

Snowpaw stared at the shecat. Her mother had helped her, and cared for her, her mother was all she knew, all she would ever know... Is that why I recognized her? She looked at her supposed mother one more time. She could still recognize her, her comforting, warm black-and-white pelt, her warm amber eyes... But nothing else came to her, no more life than that...

"Nightshine? Nightshine, save me, help me!" she wailed. Why was her own mother with these untrustworthy cats?

"I can't. You are fine, safe in the Clan.." Nightshine said softly, trying to soothe her.

"No, I'm not! Please, please save me from these cats! I don't trust them!" she screeched, and then felt nothing as she plunged back into unconsciousness, dropping to the unfamiliar floor.

Nightshine depressedly picked up a small vole from the fresh-kill pile. She sighed, and slowly carried it to the outside of the warriors' den. Picking at the food, she finished eating and pushed the vole away without even touching her food.

Her friend, Amberlight, came to sit beside her. Amberlight was a pretty, cream-and-gold shecat, whose amber eyes twinkled like stars. Everyone in PineClan loved her. Most toms in the Clan had asked for her love, but she had denied it. Of course, she was friends with everyone, given her prettiness and cheerful attitude. Nightshine, however, was a regular, typical queen, with a quiet and introverted personality.

Amberlight noticed the way that Nightshine picked at her food, and apparently pieced it all together.

"Don't worry too much about Snowpaw. Just eat your fresh-kill now, and we can maybe talk about it later," Amberlight said, and pushed the vole back toward Nightshine. Nightshine couldn't help but agree. Amberlight was right, she should just eat her food and be happy.

But the sound of Graycloud's scared tone echoed in her ears. She wasn't sure, not even the medicine cat seemed to know what had happened to Snowpaw...

"Hey! I told you not to feel bad!" Amberlight mewed, interrupting her thoughts. She gave Nightshine an affectionate nip, and then turned and walked into the den. Trying to convince herself that Snowpaw was fine, she finished eating, got up, and followed Amberlight into her den.

Snowpaw opened her eyes. She was in a different place now. Cats, all about her size, were sitting around her, staring at her with eyes wide.

"Who are you?" Snowpaw yowled, leaping to her feet. She tensed her muscles and unsheathed her claws in a defensive position. She glared at all the other cats, baring her long teeth.

"W-we are apprentices, like you," a strange cat said. Snowpaw did not let down her guard. What was this strange tone? What were these 'apprentices'? She didn't know. Snarling, she backed out of the place through a strange hole and ran straight away

Her paws pounded on the ground. Another feeling came into her. She didn't know what that was, either, so she ignored it and kept running. Snowpaw could hear pawsteps thundering behind her. She ran out of a big hole in a curtain of ivy, and set off, running even faster.

Suddenly, a body fell on top of her. She rolled over once, twice, three times, until she was sprawled on the ground, with a cat pinning her. She tried to wiggle away, but the cat's grip was firm.

"Snowpaw! Snowpaw! What happened!" a voice called. Snowpaw assumed it was the cat pinning her down. She couldn't remember her own name. Who was she anyway? What was happening to her? Why did she exist?

She went limp as the cat dragged her somewhere she didn't know. She was never going to survive. These horrible cats were killing her...

Nightshine stared in shock as the young apprentice, Leafpaw, dragged a pure white body her own size into the camp.

"Leafpaw! I was so scared when you ran out of the camp! What happened to you?" Nightshine yowled worriedly, because the apprentice was Snowpaw's best friend. She felt entitled to help her, having had no mother living as an apprentice, just like Leafpaw. Leafpaw's father was a rogue, giving her no parents alive.

The small grey apprentice didn't answer for a second, but then she mewed frightenedly, "Snowpaw ran out of the camp. I finally found her and pinned her down. She didn't recognize me..."

"I'm sorry... But Snowpaw has a problem. We can't find out what it is," the voice of Graycloud said. Nightshine whipped her head around to find the medicine cat standing behind her. Nightshine wondered if Graycloud had more news now that time had passed.

"Can you tell me more?" Nightshine asked Graycloud urgently. She was desperate for information. She needed to know what was happening, right now. Snowpaw was in danger.

"Yes," said Graycloud, and Nightshine followed her into the medicine cat's den.

"Snowpaw has some sort of problem. As you know, she disappeared for one moon. We have brought her back, with no wounds. Yet, she is still not recognizing her own Clanmates. She does not trust anyone. She cannot seem to remember who she was before she disappeared, what had happened," Graycloud began. "But there is one thing that she seems to recognize... You."

Nightshine unsheathed her claws, digging them into the ground in anguish. Snowpaw didn't remember anything! Not anything she needed to survive in the Clans! She didn't remember that she was an apprentice, she didn't know the other cats, not anything! She still didn't trust anyone, not even her mother! Snowpaw was truly doomed!

Nightshine let out a wail of anguish and defeat. Her one and only kit was going to die. If her kit died, she might as well too... Another yowl escaped her as she clawed the ground, tearing up dirt and grass mercilessly. She tipped her head to the sky and screeched fearsomely.

"Wait! No! Please stop!" Graycloud screeched fearfully, but Nightshine pulled away from the feeble attempts to soothe her. She violently turned away and ran out of the camp's ivy border.

Snowpaw opened her eyes. She was back in the strange den, with crazy, untrustworthy cats around her... She needed help... Where was Nightshine... Was Nightshine an evil cat too...?

This time, she didn't thrash or wail. They were going to kill her.. She was going to be dead for sure..

But no one touched her. No one was in the den. Was it time for her to escape? Was she going to be free?

Not knowing the answer, she scrambled to her feet, and bounded out of the den. Her mother betrayed her. Her mother was with these bloodthirsty cats. Her mother was horrible.

She crept slowly through an exit that no one saw, skirted the clearing to the entrance, and ran through the forest. Nightshine would pay for her actions... Joining these terrible cats... She didn't trust anyone! No one!

She finally found the black-and-white shecat sitting alone in a clearing. She hid behind a bush, creeping forward. She paused, and then pounced, scraping the cat with her claws. Crimson stuff, that strange, red liquid, burst out. Her mother, her terrible mother screeched and flailed helplessly.

Suddenly, the thundering of pawsteps echoed in the clearing. Snowpaw turned behind her, and a multitude of cats was standing behind her, claws unsheathed, fur bristling.

"Stop! Snowpaw! Don't you remember who you are?" a cat yowled. She was Snowpaw's size. Snowpaw couldn't understand what she was saying... They deserved to die... Snowpaw burned with hatred for these murderous cats.

Suddenly, pain seared through her head. She screeched, "No!" Her head was about to burst. She shuddered, backing away slowly. Her claws unsheathed by themselves, her fur bristled, her tail was down. She was scared. She didn't like this emotion.

Her mother had a strange look in her eyes. Pain filled Snowpaw's head again. She didn't remember what it was... A screech escaped her, filling her soul. She suddenly felt it, felt it after such a long time... She felt love. She knew who she was before. She smiled at her mother, even while she was experiencing so much pain.

She knew herself again. And then she sank back into emptiness, and she suddenly felt so much remorse. What had she done?

Then she couldn't remember. She couldn't tell if anything had happened to her anymore. Everything she had felt was gone. She was in the terrible world. No one could rescue her. She was with the bloodthirsty cats. She was with a traitor of a mother again.

Words were whispering in her head. She was screaming, but she could only hear the voices. They were whispering. But their voices sounded so peaceful and serene. But she didn't know if anything was peaceful or serene anymore.

Nothing was left of her. She was no longer herself. She was no longer anything.

But one thought suddenly came to her head, just one. In her empty head.

Mother, I love you.

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