Amidst the rubble and waste, a silver she-cat lay curled around a small litter of kits. The she-cat, named Liddy, had 4 kittens to care for during the onslaught of a two-leg war. They'd been going at it for moons on end. Liddy could not remember the last time they had been at peace. She had been known as Silverstone then. She'd been part of Fireclan, living off the land at the edge of the massive two-leg town. Her mate had been Stonestar, the clan leader. He was a gorgeous tom, with bold black spots over a golden coat, his eyes the most vibrant sapphire she'd ever seen. Her own coat, a dull chestnut with muddy, splotchy, brown stripes, had been the least attractive in the clan, and her green eyes had always gone unnoticed as well.
"Silverstone, I did not become your mate for nothing. You're beautiful as you are, you just don't see it. Your soul is beautiful, as is your personality." he would say anytime she felt bad about her coat. Eventually, her self-consciousness, as well as the words of a few jealous she-cats, drove her from the clan to hide amongst the kitty-pets. Unknowingly, she had been pregnant at the time. Now, she had kits to care for.
Although, one was born already dead. With three live kits, the last thing she needed was stress, sickness, and human war. She had to deal with all of it though, and her surviving three kittens were not faring well. Her eldest was a charcoal-grey tabby with black stripes. He seemed to be faring the best out of the three. Her second-born was a small tom with, strangely, green bengal spots over a brown pelt. Her youngest (aside from the stillborn she-kit who had been the last born) was a thin white tom with golden stripes. A soft glow was emitting from the young white and gold kitten. He was sitting awfully still, the only thing that moved was his small chest as he breathed. Liddy licked his still-damp fur, feeling a small shiver pass through his form.
All she could do was wait.
Light woke to the familiar sound of the iron-birds high above the building they were staying in. His mother's form was soothing against his back as the ground shook from the fire-rocks they dropped. Shadow, his brother, sat up next to him.
"Don't they ever quit?" he whined, turning to curl into Thorn's side. The brown-and-green kitten stretched out on his belly, looking over to his mother for answered.
"No darling," Liddy murmured, "I don't think so. At least it doesn't seem so. They might one day, not today though."
Thorn frowned, "Well they should! I'm tired!"
"I am too!" Light complained, standing on his small legs and hopping over his siblings to get closer to his mother's fur. It was warm, and long. He vanished right into it.
Well, almost. His stripes were letting out his namesake. Light. His pelt was glowing again, softly though. Liddy laughed.
"Well. Aren't you just a mouse hiding in his hole?" she teased. Light poked his head out of her pelt, grinned, and ducked back in. The young cat curled against her warm belly, trying to fall asleep. Shadow had other plans for his smaller brother though, for he quickly dived in as well and dragged him out by his furry tail. Thorn and the eldest kitten then began a game of swat-and-run over their little sibling. They would dart up close to him, smacking lightly(ish) with the flat of a paw, and flash away again. First cat to get smacked back lost the game. Light wasn't very good at this game. His legs were to short, and anytime he tried to chase after them he would always be outrun.
"Hey now you two, go easy on your brother." Liddy scolded, watching them. The fire-stones had quit falling by now.
"Mama! Can we go outside? Please, while the iron-birds aren't coming?" Thorn asked, sliding to a stop so suddenly that Light, who had been chasing him, crashed right into his green-spotted hide. The white and gold kit sat back from his brother and rubbed his nose, wincing. Liddy flicked her ear, thinking.
"Well, I don't see why not-"
"Yay!" the kits all squealed, turning to dash toward the opening of the building. Liddy was up in a flash, shoving between the kits and their destination.
"Have you lost your minds? What have I told you about just running out into the streets?! Do you want one of those crazy animals to snap you up?" she growled down at them, reminding them of the dangers of the outside world.
The Illness, also known as Black-Bite, was the latest addition to the dangers of the outside world. Really, it wasn't just outside, it was everywhere. A severe disease which eventually dragged every victim to a bloody insanity, and beyond that, an agonizing death.
Light shuddered. He'd only seen the illness at work once. During the winter moon that he'd been born, his mother had scooped them all up in her teeth and climbed up the side of a building, hiding on a windowsill. The animal had been a deer, as his mother had informed him, the usually graceful creature was wandering in a zig-zag pattern up the road with it's head held low. Blood had been running down it's muzzle, coming from it's eyes. The rest of the herd had come tearing down the road earlier that day, most likely fleeing their now sick herd-mate. Light had seen the creature wander in circles all day, occasionally stopping to chew on it's own legs, often until they bled. It left only because another deer, a male which had been hiding nearby, took a chance and dashed off, attracting the attention of the infected doe, who, in turn, flashed off after him in a bloody brown blur.
The bloody murder that had followed had given Light nightmares for days.
"S-sorry Mama…." Light mewled, sitting on his haunches with his head low, tail covering his paws. Liddy sighed, nuzzled them, and turned around to poke her head out of the shadows of the building. She looked in every direction before she nervously took a step out, fluffy brown tail rigid behind her. Liddy's green eyes scanned the empty streets around her, her expression unreadable.
After what felt like a moon of waiting, Liddy motioned her kits that it was safe, and they scampered out to swarm her feet.
3 moons passed…
