A Quiet Mind
Prologue:
Ever since I was a kit, I knew I was... Different.
I was born with reddish-brown fur, which was particularly odd, considering neither of my parents had red or brown fur. My eyes are said to be the colour of death; a deep brown accompanied by unusual flecks of grey, another thing which none of my family members had. I stuck out like a black cloud against a clear blue sky, and I was reminded of my indifference each and every day.
But please, do forgive me... I do tend to get ahead of myself sometimes.
It all started many, many moons ago, on the night that my mother was kitting...
Dark clouds loomed over the forest, obscuring both the stars and the soft light of the moon as rain poured down at a seemingly endless rate, soaking the earth in a blanket of freezing rainwater.
A loud cry that could only be described as one of a deep sadness and misery rang out through the forest, cutting through the gentle twilight just as harshly as the freezing raindrops that fell from the sky.
"They're gone!" a pale coloured she-cat cried out, wailing in despair as the medicine cat quickly collected three tiny, cold, and lifeless bundles into her jaws.
"They're all gone! My beautiful, beautiful kits!" The she-cat shouted in vain, utterly drained both emotionally and physically.
The two other queens in the nursery sat beside their dear friend, Mistedheart. For she had just suffered a loss no she-cat should ever have; all three of the kits in her litter had been stillborn. Each one barely even able to take their first breaths as they slid out from their mother already still and forever asleep.
A dark grey tom with harsh green eyes by the name of Sorrelpath loomed outside the nursery, soaked in rain water as he listened to his mate cry out into the night.
"Sorrelpath," A voice murmured, soon followed by the dark shadow of a large tom. He sat beside his friend and bowed his head, deep sorrow in his eyes. "I... I'm so sorry. I offer my deepest condolences for both you and your mate."
Sorrelpath nodded uneasily, claws gripping the wet earth beneath him as he refused to show his sadness towards his friend. "Thank you, Crowmark." he replied, glancing at the nursery uneasily. "We had been so excited when we found out she was having kits... I didn't-"
"There's no need to explain, my friend." Crowmark said slowly as he could tell Sorrelpath was clearly in no condition to speak on that dreadful matter any longer.
Here there was a long silence, as the two no longer knew what to say to one another and Mistedheart's cries he begun to cease, the only noise being that of the pouring rain which beat down on both of them.
"Sorrelpath, I know that you and Mistedheart have been wanting kits for quite some time now, and under the circumstances, I think it would be best if I told you now..."
The grey tom frowned. "Told me what?" he asked, the tip of his tail flicking with apprehension.
Crowmark sighed. "During our patrol, we found a kit... She appears to be only hours old, yet the den was empty and abandoned." He said, staring off into the distance, bright green eyes piercing the night like a blade. "We brought it back to camp, and that's when we heard news of your litter."
Sorrelpath looked at the nursery and sighed. "I understand. And, seeing as Mistedheart still has milk from our litter, I'm sure she'll be more than willing to raise this kit."
With a curt nod, Crowmark flicked his tail forward, and no sooner did one of the Warriors, Eveningtalon, trot forward with a small bundle of reddish-brown fur in her jaws. It was squirming quite furiously, batting at Eveningtalon with all her might; tiny eyes and ears clamped shut.
"Shall I bring her into the nursery?" Eveningtalon asked, struggling as the kit nearly fell from her jaws.
"Yes, go on ahead." replied Crowmark, who then turned back to Sorrelpath and said, "Now I think it might be best if you told Mistedheart about all this, and see if she's alright with it... We'll wait out here until you're ready."
Nodding, Sorrelpath gingerly made his way into the nursery and slowly padded towards his mate. "Darling, how are you feeling?" he asked in a calming voice, sitting beside her and draping his long tail over her back.
Mistedheart lifted her head a little and looked up at Sorrelpath with exhausted yellow eyes. "Oh, Sorrelpath..." she whispered in a pained tone. "They're... They're all gone." she meowed gravely, resting her head back down on her paws.
Sorrelpath stayed silent for a moment, licking Mistedheart's ears in a calming, soothing manner before saying, "A patrol found something, dear..." he gently waved his tail, motioning for Eveningtalon to bring the kit in.
Mistedheart glanced up as the white and silvery grey warrior padded into the nursery and placed what was in her jaws down beside the grieving queen.
Reacting immediately by pure instinct, Mistedheart pulled the kit to her belly and began to lick her fur clean of the grime that had gotten itself tangled in the delicate little russet strands. She then paused once she was done cleaning and allowed the kit to nuzzle into her side; suckling happily.
"Poor little thing..." Mistedheart murmured, looking down at her. She looked back up at Eveningtalon and Crowmark. "We'll raise her as out own. She will become a member of the clan and we shall both proudly call her our daughter." She said in a somber, solemn voice.
Crowmark smiled faintly. "That's very kind of both of you. I'm sure she will grow to become a fine young she-cat." he looked to Eveningtalon. "Shall we go and tell Creekstar of the new arrival?"
Eveningtalon opened her mouth to reply when she was promptly interrupted by an abrupt, "No."
Both cats turned their head to Mistedheart, confused.
Mistedheart sighed, looking down at the kit with sad eyes. "I... I don't want her to feel like she doesn't belong... We will say a fourth kit was born and managed to somehow live."
Crowmark glanced doubtfully at Sorrelpath, but only received a firm nod as an answer. "Alright, agreed." he replied, quietly padding out of the nursery with Eveningtalon.
"I have a dreadful feeling about all this, Crowmark..." Eveningtalon muttered under her breath as the two strode out into the clan camp, the rain beating down on the two cats mercilessly.
Greetings, dalrings!
I hope you all enjoyed reading my newest Fanfic that I have been wanting to write for a while, but haven't exactly gotten around to until now.
I know I should probably be writing other stories at the moment, but I like to have variety on my page so there's a little something for everyone.
(And yes, this one also takes place in the Counting Every Echo world as well.)
~Ciao!