Lights: A realistic one-shot of the beauty of Christmas through the eyes of a fellow warrior cat.
Happy Holidays, everyone! This is my little tribute to celebrating Christmas. I was debating if this should be part of LoF, but Christmas is special, or any other holiday occurring around this time. So this should deserve it's own thing, right?
"Mother!" Sagepaw screamed, clawing desperately at the Twoleg vines, "MOOOOOTHER!"
"Sagepaw, no!" Tears started forming in Sagepaw's eyes as Cherrypelt became smaller amd smaller. "Darling, don't worry, I'll find you..." Cherrypelt's voice faded, and all Sagepaw heard was the roar of the Twoleg monster. Sobbing, she clawed at the vines, only to scratch it lightly. She backed up, then head rammed the strange hollow, only succeeding making her den rattle for a few heartbeats.
"Hey, watch it!" A huge ginger tom hissed, who was in the den below her, "some of us are trying to sleep!"
Sagepaw stood in the dank den, panting. Think, Sagepaw, think! You are a warrior of WindClan; warriors don't panic! Calming herself down a bit, Sagepaw looked around, narrowing her pale blue eyes to see through the dark.
Cats of all sizes, shapes, and colors were in dens similar to hers. Some were wailing and shouting, while others just sat in their den, eyes wide with terror and shock. Meanwhile, Sagepaw saw two cats who's golden pelts were almost the same exact shade. They must be siblings, or at least relatives.
"Hush, Lark, don't cry," the older one whispered. The younger cat, who was female, was silently crying, tears streaming from her eyes. "I'll find a way out."
"You can't," the ginger tom said again, his tail lashing angrily. The golden tom glared at him before going back comforting Lark. "I've been here before," the ginger tom continued, "the Upwalkers have the little thingie that can set us free."
"Then..." Sagepaw croaked, "then what happens?"
The ginger tom looked up at her with solemn amber eyes. "It depends."
"I-I want to get out of here!" Lark sobbed. "Brother, can't you do something? Moon, please! I'm scared!"
"Can someone tell her to stop blubbering?" an annoyed face below snapped. "My fur is getting wet!"
"We just have to stay alive," a black she-cat muttered, "just stay alive, stay alive. Stupid Upwalkers..."
Sagepaw shivered in her own den. It had nothing to do with the cold air. StarClan, wrever you are, help me!
"Is anyone here from the forest, or the Clans?" Sagepaw meowed loudly. Silence mheet her reply, and Sagepaw felt the last bit of hope drained from her bones. She was alone.
Lark's sobbing died down into an occasional hiccup. Sagepaw nearly wished for Lark to start crying again; the silence was unnerving. It seemed like all the cats were just waiting for death to come upon them. Sagepaw took a shuddering breath and rested her chin on her paws, downcast.
For what seemed hours, the monster finally stopped moving. Sagepaw looked up hopefully. She heard Twolegs yowling at each other in their high voices before light streamed painfully into the dark hollow. Cats were hissing in discomfort as their eyes slowly adjusted to the new light.
"Take your filthy paws off of me, dung!" The black she-cat hissed. But the Twoleg iognored her and took her out of her den. "Dung-eater, filthy-breath, you..."
"Mrrow!" Sagepaw shrieked once she found huge hairy Twoleg paws wrapping themselves around her stomach. Trying not to panic again, she felt herself being lifted from her den and out. She turned her head side to side frantically. Moon was taking a swipe at a Twoleg paw, while the ginger tom was snarling angrily. All Lark did was was lie limply in the Twoleg's embrace, too frightened to do anything else.
StarClan, StarClan, oh StarClan, help me!
---
The days passed into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Sagepaw watched through the "window" of the Twoleg house she was in now as leaves of brilliant hues swirled outside with the wind blowing at them.
"Hey, girl."Sagepaw purred as warm hands stroked her calico fur. "You like that, Beauty? Aren't you a beautiful calico, Beauty."Sagepaw had no idea what the Twoleg were saying, but she understood that the gentle hand did not mean her any harm. A few moons ago, she would have ran away before a Twoleg could even be a mouse length away from her. But not anymore.
At first, Sagepaw tried everything to escape, from scratching Twolegs where she could reach, to banging her head on the "door". But Sagepaw had come to accept her fate.
I'll never sleep with my friends again in the apprentice den.
Mother will never scold me for getting dirty again.
Cedarfoot will never teach me the hunter's crouch.
I'll never be in WindClan again.
I'll never run in the moor again.
No more Gatherings, training sessions, or going on patrols.
I'll have to adjust to my life... as a kittypet.
Sagepaw sighed and lowered her head, meowing sadly. She was "Beauty" now. Well, it isn't all that bad, Sagepaw tried to cheer herself u vainlyp. You never go hungry, and some Twolegs aren't that bad. And kittypets aren't that stupid either. In fact, Gladys is pretty smart. She's going to teach me something called the Calling, she says, when I get to eight moons. Hey, what's that-- "MEOW!"
"Sorry, Beauty!"The young Twoleg called, holding onto a big green tree with his paws. "Move oof the way!"Sagepaw quickly got up to avoid crashing into the leafy fronds of the tree again. Twolegs were acting very silly lately. Twice Beauty got covered in sticky clear stuff the Twoleg's called "tape", and she kept on spotting Twolegs grooming each other at the mouths under certain plants hanging from the top of the nest. ut Laughter rang through the halls often these days, along with packages wrapped in shiny leaves exchanged frequently. What was going on? Sagepaw tiptoed carefully in the main den of the nest. The tree was standing up properly on a queer stand, and the oldest female Twoleg who was stroking her was hanging shiny spheres onto the tree. That looks fun! Beauty grabbed a red shiny sphere and started batting at it playfully. Take that, evil ShadowClanner!
"No, bad kitty! Don't touch!"Sagepaw grudgingly stopped batting the sphere and nudged it towards the female, understanding that she had done somethingbad. The female Twoleg smiled at Sagepaw. "Thank you."
The "bell" suddenly chimed loudly from outside of the nest, and Sagepaw ducked under the couch. The sound still hurted her ears. "That must be the carollers!" The female Twoleg exclaimed. "Coming!" Sagepaw peeked out curiously from under the couch.
"Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace..."
Sagepaw just stood there, silently acknowledging the beautiful sound. There were no thoughts or words to describe the simple sound of it. She did not understand the words, nor knew what was happening. But something, something about the tone was soothing her broken heart, her broken dreams to become a warrior. She did not cry; she was too harden to cry. But she was relaxing inside from the sound, soothing her thoughts.
I know I'll never go home again. It's impossible. But maybe life here won't be so bad, because now I have hope, the will to keep going. Gladys will help me, I know. Mama, I'll always remember you, and the Clan. But now I have a new life here. Maybe we will see each other again in StarClan...
"Hey, someone turn on the lights!"
"Oh, ooh," Sagepaw breathed. Instantly, the whole nest was lit up with beautiful dots of all colors. Red, green, blue, silver... the whole nest was transformed into a twinkling mass.
Lights, lights... so beautiful.
Yes, beautiful. Almost as beautiful as hope.
This was so crappily done... Merry Christmas.