Storms.
They had always scared Blackkit.
Even though the little she-kit had never actually experienced a storm, she was always told that storms happened because StarClan was angry. Thunder would clash the skies and send deafening, booming clasps through the lands. Lightning would split the heavens in a scary array of blinding white and purple light.
She was born at the end of leaf-bare. Soft snowflakes gently floated down from the snow-filled clouds, but no frightening storms had she encountered. And this unexpected large newleaf storm wasn't a good sign.
A wind was brewing in the distance and it slowly advanced to the ThunderClan camp, blowing trees as they threatened to topple over, but never did, and sent the fresh petals and blades of grass swirling through the air. A gentle drizzle had started, but it quickly turned into a heavy downpour.
A small, dark-colored shape was huddled in the corner of the ThunderClan nursing den, her pitch-black pelt puffed up and her bright amber eyes stretched wide with fear. She tucked her paws underneath her and watched the outside hesitantly.
"Blackkit, what's wrong?" An older, dark grey tabby she-cat padded over softly, the pads on the bottom of her paws making her steps silent, like a small breeze in an open meadow. Her yellow-green eyes reflected concern as she gazed down at her daughter, lying down to be at the little she-kit's eye level.
"The rain," mumbled Blackkit, sweeping her short, fluffy tail back and forth across the ground, scattering some dust that blanketed it in a thin layer.
"Rain?" the older cat, Echomist, murmured, the rain seen in her bright, clear orbs. She chuckled and smiled warmly at the young kit, comforting her. "There is nothing to be scared of, Blackkit. Rain isn't frightening."
Blackkit shuffled her black paws underneath her. She slowly sat up, still slumped over, eyes dark. Slowly, she looked up at her mother and mumbled hesitantly, "But… But what if it turns into a storm?"
The tabby she-cat looked directly into her amber eyes and whispered to her, "Is that what you're afraid of?"
Blackkit didn't answer, she just looked down at the ground, scooting back as the rain fell harder and harder by the minute.
Her mother took that as a yes.
"Listen, Blackkit," Echomist spoke gently, wrapping her tail protectively around her daughter. "Storms may seem a bit loud at first, but they aren't scary. StarClan is not angry, storms are just nature's way of cleaning up and making everything newer and fresher." She smiled. "Isn't that nice?"
"I-I guess…" Blackkit muttered. She still imagined clouds battling in a dark grey sky sending loud waves of thunder vibrating through the air, shaking the grounds. Lightning would strike the earth and trees, making a forest fire burn through the clan. And the rain. The gloomy, dark rain would keep falling down, falling on her skin like ice and tiny jagged rocks, and they'd block her path, her vision, until everything finally went blurry and unclear.
"It's nothing like that, Blackkit," Echomist seemed to read her young daughter's mind. Blackkit's amber eyes widened even more. Echomist shook her head dismissively. "Nothing like that. Trust me, it'll be over before you even know it."
"But—" the she-kit started.
"Where did you hear all that, Blackkit?" her mother asked, visibly concerned. Blackkit tried to hide her fear, hide what happened, but it didn't work. Echomist's stern and intense gaze seemed to burn through her own gaze.
"Well, Hawkkit, Firekit and Icekit told me that… storms involved lightning and fire in the sky, and ice falling down from the clouds and winds blowing all the trees away…" Blackkit murmured, barely audible, but Echomist heard all of it as clear as day.
"The other kits told you that?" Echomist asked, eyes beginning to widen in both surprise and some slight anger. The three other kits in the nursery were older than the youngest Blackkit, and often taunted her. Echomist knew that all too well, but she couldn't be around all the time to keep an eye on the four kits.
The dark-furred little kit laid down and splayed down on the ground. She gave a silent nod and remembered what happened a few sunrises ago…
"Hawkkit, Firekit, Icekit!" Blackkit squeaked cheerfully as she bolted into the nursery, running as fast as her little paws could take her, skidding to a halt as she saw the three larger kits standing before her. In the lead was a tough-looking brown tabby tom, his lime-green eyes narrowed. Firekit, a lithe dark ginger tomkit stood a little bit behind the leader, and a last white-and-silver she-kit stood behind them.
"What do you want?" growled Hawkkit immediately. Blackkit frowned a bit as his tone but quickly cheered back up. Firekit's yellow eyes glinted with amusement as he saw the black she-kit.
"What are you guys playing?" Blackkit asked enthusiastically. She tried to peek behind the three bigger kits, searching for a moss ball or piece of prey or anything that they could have been making a game with.
"We're not playing anything," Icepaw replied firmly, her blue eyes stern.
Blackkit looked down sadly. They never let her into their games. And many times, they'd even lie about having any.
"Then what were you doing?" the black-pelted kit gazed up at them, piping up again.
"Talking," Firekit replied simply, flicking his ginger-colored tail. "What else?"
"About…?" Blackkit cocked her head to one side.
Hawkkit looked outside. There was a light newleaf rain, freshening up the skies and forest, but the outside world, at the time, looked dark grey and gloomy. His lime-green eyes twinkled with mischief and he cracked a crooked smile.
"Storms," the brown tabby kit finally replied as his two littermates didn't have any answer to Blackkit's question. He nodded firmly, as if guaranteeing his answer was true. "We were talking about storms."
"Storms?" Blackkit made a confused face. Her mother had told her about storms before, but the young she-kit had never actually seen one. The days where she was born were either sunny or cloudy or filled with gently falling snowflakes. Never real storms. But by her mother's description, it was just harder rain and more clouds, right? Nothing to make a big deal over.
Blackkit flicked an ear. She said matter-of-factly, "What's there to talk about? They're just storms."
Hawkkit's two littermates quickly caught on to what he was doing. Firekit suppressed a small snicker, holding his paw to his mouth, and Icekit's dark blue eyes gleamed in amusement.
"Oh, did you say, just storms?" Firekit asked, the words coming out extra loud and slow. He pricked his ears up and widened his yellow eyes, as if not believing what Blackkit just said. "They're not just storms, Blackkit."
"Yes," added Icekit, holding back a smirk. "Haven't you heard the whole story of what a storm is really about?"
Blackkit frowned. She shook her head.
"You mean, you haven't?" Firekit pretended to be extra surprised. He gasped, then leaned in closer, glancing around nervously as if looking for someone who would spy on them. "Well, maybe your mother didn't tell you this, but…"
"Newleaf has many storms," Icekit cut in. "And you'll definitely be in one sooner or later."
"So?" Blackkit meowed. "What's so bad about them?"
Hawkkit spoke in a hushed voice. "Storms are actually when StarClan gets angry. You know StarClan, those ancient dead cats that live in the clouds or whatever?"
Blackkit nodded faintly, her mouth just a tight line across her face.
"Well," continued Hawkkit, "when they're mad and they want to punish us, they create storms. Storms are very scary, Blackkit. This is what really happens: First, a powerful wind will come, blowing all the trees and messing with the camp. You might get blown away, never to be seen again if you're not careful."
Blackkit gasped at this but Hawkkit shushed her.
"I'm not done yet," Hawkkit continued. "Then, dark clouds will hang above your head, so close to you that you'll feel like you'll get sucked into those black-colored monstrous clouds at any moment. When they meet each other, they get angry, because they're different parts of StarClan. For example, one large cloud may be us, then another is ShadowClan. When we come together, we'll fight of course. So that's what makes a horridly loud boom deafen your ears called thunder, and you'll never hear anything again!"
"Really?" asked Blackkit, eyes wide and truthfully, somewhat scared now. "But how come you can still hear me?"
"Ah, luckily, we were smart and escaped alive," Firekit smirked and said, puffing out his chest like he really meant that he was more intelligent than the rest. "We know a secret way to survive storms without being deafened, but it's a secret and we can't tell anyone!"
Blackkit's ears drooped and she frowned, looking at the ground.
"No no, I'm still not finished," Hawkkit interrupted. "After you very not possibly survive the wind or even the ability of the thunder, something worse, much worse, comes." Blackkit's ears perked up instantly and she strained to hear him, listening intently. "Next, there is what is called lightning."
"Light… ning?" asked Blackkit in confusion. Icekit nodded and Firekit agreed in a "yes."
"Lightning," comfirmed Hawkkit. "It's something strong indeed. It's an enormous blinding white snake. An electrical, jagged snake that appears in the sky when there's a storm."
"If you look into it, you'll get blinded!" exclaimed Firekit dramatically.
"And the snake breathes fire," Icekit added. "Oh yes, anything that happens to be in its way, the snake will destroy entirely with its hot flames! It can burn down whole forests. Cats are a breeze! Heck, those snakes eat warriors for lunch!"
Blackkit whimpered and backed away.
"The sky turns dark and black, and the rain will turn as hard and sharp as ice," Hawkkit taunted. "It will cut you too if you're not careful."
Blackkit let out a yelp and ran, fleeing, her black tail streaking behind her as she searched for somewhere else. Three haunting voices followed and she imagined a land of fire and fangs before her eyes.
"That's because StarClan is out to destroy you!"
"That's why you're scared?" Echomist asked her. The rain outside had already turned into a downpour and deep rumbles of thunder moaned and groaned in the distance. Echomist noticed, but didn't say anything.
"Yeah," Blackkit admitted softly, shuffling her paws. She gazed up. "Is it… real?"
"No, they're just making it up," her mother said. "Don't listen to them, that's not entirely true of what happens in storms. Some of it is, like that there is lightning and thunder, but it certainly will not blind you or make you deaf or kill you. And if you stay in the dens during storms, lightning will not harm you either."
"Do you promise?" Blackkit said, her voice shaking.
"I promise." Echomist smiled. "And besides you haven't heard the best part of a storm yet. It's that—"
Suddenly, one last crack and rumble was heard in the sky, as the rain quickly started the thin out. Echomist gazed at the weakening drizzle as the grey clouds also started to scatter and turn lighter. Blackkit smiled wide at the sight that the storm was clearing. Her confidence suddenly was regained and she sat up straighter, her eyes sparkling with a new happiness.
"Actually," Blackkit murmured softly, shuffling her paws a bit, "now that I know what storms really are, they're not so bad! They actually look kind of pretty."
Echomist's eyes were clear as they reflected the fresh, new world outside.
It was indeed beautiful. The songbirds shook the raindrops off their feathers and flew off, singing their melodious songs. Trees and grass were covered in droplets, fresh and seemingly completely anew. Everything even smelled fresh. And the best part, a beautiful multicolor streak was seen overhead, as many cats padded out of their dens to stare in wonder.
Blackkit's mother smiled and turned to her daughter.
"Now, let me tell you what a rainbow is…"
Aye, I remember I used to be scared of storms. -_- Ah well, a kit experiencing his/her first storm.
-Challenge for Silverclan-