Lostkit froze. She felt an immense amount of fear weep from her mother's body, and it felt uncomfortable, as if every sense of courage left in the little kit's body was sucked out of her like the color from leafbare, She wanted to see the bravery in her mother's face, but, no matter how much she wished and prayed, all she saw was black.
A soft pelt brushed against Lostkit's, and Horsekit's smoothing scent wafted in her nose. Unlike their mother, Horsekit gave off a sense of denial, as if he dared these strange cats to come closer despite how even their mother and the rest of the queens in the nursery reeked of fear.
"Mommy, what are they going to do to us?" Asked a tom, who Lostkit could tell from the quivering voice and the strange accent was Freshkit. His mother licked his ear, the gentle lapping sound making Lostkit envy the timid kit. She was barely four moons old, yet her mother had already treated them like they were warriors.
"I hope not too much. You are too young to die," Sunflower, Freshkit's mother, muttered softly, her treatment of Freshkit causing frustration to rage inside Lostkit. Horsekit licked her head, whispering words of comfort to her, but she ignored it.
Then, a short, loud cough cause Lostkit to flinch. These cats sounded mean! "I'd hate to interrupt such a precious little moment, but I'm afraid we haven't much time. Just give us the kits, and we'll be on our way. Don't, and... well, we'll let our claws do the talking."
Lostkit felt her fur bristle as a cold tongue rubbed against her back. "I don't care what you threaten, my kits belong with me. I won't let you even lay a whisker on them without a fight."
"Way to go, mom!" Horsekit murmured as he groomed Lostkit calmly. Lostkit, however, could feel the ripples of unease stir from the depths of his fluffy fur.
"Mousebrain," Lostkit thought out loud. Freshkit shot her a glance, she could feel his eyes pick at her fur. It was surprise that stung in his glare, as if he was shocked to see her call her own mother a name. Lostkit ignored the look, instead staring at the cats as if she could see.
"What'll it be?" A tom growled, the viciousness of his tone nearly shaking Lostkit. "We haven't got all night, you know. Oh, and your time to think is done. What'll it be?"
"I-I'll give you mine... just, please don't hurt them too much..." Sunflower offered with a quaking voice, and Lostkit heard Fiercekit, Freshkit's brother, yowl in defeat.
"Excellent. Come here, you three, or I'll hurt mommy," The tom chuckled in a threatening yet playful sneer.
"Please... we'll come... we'll come..." Rosekit squealed, her tiny paws thumping against the stone around Lostkit's nest. "Don't... hurt anymore cats..."
As the others followed after Rosekit, Lostkit heard Moonlight give off a small screech. She figured it was because the tom turned to her.
"And you?" The tom whispered ever-so softly to Moonlight. "Aren't you a pretty little she-cat? Too bad we can't take youalong, it'll be fun watching you work."
"I have a mate, just for you to know," Moonlight snapped, the intensity of her words causing Lostkit to smirk. She liked Moonlight. "And I too will give up my kits, not that I want to, but because I want to avoid an unnecessary battle. I'm not as strong as I once was."
Lostkit took notice of Marshkit's wail of denial. "You are too strong, mommy," she had said, her voice quivering with uncertainty.
"Shut it. I know I'm not, now go with the other four. May Starclan light your path," Moonlight grumbled, her voice cracking with tears and sorrow. "I... I want to see you again soon, Marshkit, Dewkit, and Eaglekit. Please, be safe, and on your best behavior for me."
"Mommy, I don't wanna leave. I wanna be with you," Dewkit cried, the anguish in her voice breaking Lostkit's heart. She felt tears sting in her own eyes.
"Yeah, mommy. You may not be as strong as before, but we'll still protect you, and hope for the best for you, no matter if they trapped us far away," Eaglekit comforted the queen, his voice smooth as if he were the mother and Moonlight was the kit.
"Now or never," The tom scoffed, and the three kits let out a yowl of misery as they sweep past Lostkit and Horsekit, to which Dewkit tried desperately to cling to Lostkit's slick fur with no avail, as his little kitten claws slip through the fluff with a whimper.
"Good. Now, Rabbithop, what about you? Will you give up your precious little life for your kits like you promised? Or will you give them away to us? We'll take care of the kits of the great Rabbithop," The tom grunted, his nose pressed against Lostkit's head. She felt hopelessness stir in her heart. What would they do to a blind kit?
"I... no, I can't. I'm sorry, but you can't have them. They belong with me, in Windclan, and not with a barbaric warrior like yourselves. If you were to kill me, do it now. You are not getting these kits," Rabbithop proclaimed, intrepidity masking the fear hidden deep inside her. Lostkit caught a frustrated grunt come from the Shadowclan tom.
"...You'd rather die before you give up your kits? Well, that can be arranged," With a scream of battle, the visitor launched himself onto her mother; Lostkit heard the yowl as her mother hit the floor of the nursery, blood covering the comforting scents of the nursery as the last of Rabbithop's unfinished yell was cut off by death. There was no more scents of emotion coming from Lostkit's mother.
"You... you monster!" Lostkit bellowed, her legs swaying. Her mother was dead, there was no denying it. Lostkit tensed when she realized that she had no idea how her mother was killed, and whether or not the tom gloated over his victory, as all her working senses seemed to fog up. All she felt was rage and depression.
In a heartbeat, a powerful jaw clamped around the small kit's scruff, and she inhaled the scent of a different Shadowclan cat, most likely a male due to his strong jowl. She heard Horsekit let out a squawk of surprise as the tom carried her away from the nursery. Away from her now dead mother, but mostly her only home in order to make her a slave to their own desires, and not only that but by force as well, and Lostkit couldn't help but leave the familiar scents behind.