Death can come to one like a thief in the night, quiet and unseen, like in a twinkling of an eye, but other times, it can come slowly like lava flowing down a volcano's side, loud and uncanny, like a warped cough of the sick. Maybe that's why, bleeding and obviously dying, the queen, much to old to bare any kits, thought of the names she did. Perhaps, the insanity of knowing she was going to die drove her as far as to name the kits, the six kits doomed to die with no mother, what she did.
Thief, a black and white tom with one brown paw, the oldest, and biggest of the litter, if the old queen had lived through this she was sure that he would have grown to be the best. Blood, named after the blood she was born in, she was a shivering red she cat with grey eyes already opened. Death a large black tom, almost as big as Theif but not quit. Another large black and white tom, Curse, named after what he and his siblings were, a curse from above, from the mythlogical StarClan. Fear, a red and white she cat with a bobbed tail and of course the runt. The ungainly little Gryphon, a tiny golden tom with black paws, shoulders, ears, and tailtip, the bringer of death the gryphon was, and since Gryphon was surely going to be the first to die, the name fit.
The old queen, Murmur, as other cats called her, snarled at Gryphon, why not kill him? Why not kill him, it would give his litermates a chance of meek survival, killing off the weakest of them. Yes, why not kill him? Because old Murmur had already dyed before she was able to do the deed.
Thief, Blood, Death, Curse, Fear, and Gryphon huddled together around the cooling body of their mother, warmed only by the blood sticking to their fur and Murmur's. With no protection, food, or warmth, they'd be dead by morning. Suddenly the wind picked up, it looked as if death was already swooning upon them. But it wasn't, instead, it was the warm wind of the East coming to warm them with her brother West, North and South grimaced up in the heavens at the wind's tresspacing on their cool winter land, but made no blast of cold to stop them.
"Fear, Blood, Curse, Gryphon, Thief, Death." The winds whispered over and over.
The kits managed to lift their heads as the many voices of East and West spoke in their soft melody, such sweet voices repeated such horrid names sounded all to wrong. But they continued to repeat and they continued to say the six names over and over until each one was stuck in the kits minds, each word wringing itself over and over, until it was entombed in every fragment of their brains.
"What's this?" A sudden voice screeched, making the East and West stop their songs.
"Looks like Murmur's had her kits, six of 'em really." Another male voice lazily, as if not surprised at the sight of a dead cat and six orphan kits. "Why do ya' ask Kei? It's right in front of ya' face." It added.
There was a sigh from the she-cat and in an all to loud voice she said, "Oh look at them aren't they so sweet?" There was a huff as a reply. "Well we will have to take them, won't we Jash?" She said excitedly. Their was another sigh from Jash but he decided against saying that they would just die in a few days and allowed his mate to do whatever she wanted.
"Yes we will, now we'll have to name them!" Kei stated happily. Jash rolled his green eyes again, they already had names he was sure but he didn't know what they were and he doubted that the kits knew what they were either. But they did, the winds had told them. "Alright let's see...how about...Tasi, Sighem, Befi, Changi, and um...Jash after you." She smiled, pointing to the five bigger kits.
"What about dat smaller one?" He asked, pointing to Gryphon with his tail.
Kei looked at the kit for seemingly the first time, she scrunched up her face, "That runt? Please, and ruin my, I mean our, reputation? Please." She said. Jash looked at her angrily and Kei shrugged. "but...if you want to I guess we could take him..."
"Shi." Jash said suddenly.
"What?" Was the response.
"Shi will be his name." And it was. Tasi, Sighem, Befi, Changi, Jash, and Shi had another chance of life. But would they survive was the question.