The Prologue

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Utter panic.
Blood rushing in her ears, she couldn't look back.
Her heart pounding from fear and exertion, something running beside her.
Threating sounds behind her, driving her forward, unable to see her surroundings in her mind numbing panic.
Sudden pain blooming her back, a splash of water, darkness.
She couldn't see, her body feeling like it was ripping apart, the sounds of things approaching coming at fast rate. Something beside her, giving panicked calls. She opened her mouth to scream in the blazing pain, and was only numbly aware that her scream came out as a pained yowl.

A cat gave a light purr, another cat, a tom, licking it, from its' back. The purring cat, a she-cat, opened her eyes with some effort, glancing as much as she could without moving her head. Her whole body ached, she could barely see anything, but the tongue lapping at her back felt nice, and reassuring. She gave a mangled noise, and tried to move her head, but a deep purr stopped her as something nuzzled her head, between her ears.
"Don't move, I'll get you some water, Miranda." A voice said. It was deep, and the she-cat at first didn't recognize it, but it sounded familiar to her. Miranda? Was that her? She tried to think of her name, but for some reason, couldn't remember. She tried calling back any memories, prior to waking up, and found none. Her heart rate picked up, and she started to breathe faster in light panic. Something wet dropped on her head, as she was prodded to her side, her back giving fierce flaming protest as she moved. She looked towards what was poking her, since she could see it now, without moving her head, as a paw opened her mouth, and a larger cat, a tom, used his jaws to squeeze out some cold water from moss into her mouth. She gulped it down greedily, the cold water welcome, and greatly needed. She looked questioningly at the tom.
He was large, larger than most normal male cats, she thought, though she wasn't sure how she knew that. He was dark brown, with a gray underside, muzzle, and a gray stripe down his back, his fur thick, his eyes an icy gray. He seemed so familiar, but she couldn't place it.
"Wh-who..are..?" she couldn't finish the question, her throat to sore. The tom nuzzled her head a little, but kept standing.
"I am Wolf, don't you remember, Miranda?" He asked. The she-cat gave him a questioning stare.
"Mi..ra...nda...?" She asked. The tom, Wolf, nodded, and licked her head again. He didn't speak much after that, Miranda noticed, just went to get her water, and once a freshly killed mouse.
The mouse, for some reason, was a little difficult to start eating. She had trouble bringing herself to eat it, but at Wolf's coaxing, she finally ate it, actually enjoying some of the taste. Wolf also laid down next to her as well, licking her back as he did so, or licking her in general, grooming her, she guessed. The pain in her back subsided after a while, and his presence was comforting.
It was the third day, when she had enough pain to stand, and look at her surroundings. It was actually quite pretty, the area around her. She was near a small pond, lined with white marble rocks, the water completely clear. When she looked into the water, it actually looked like a deep blue, due to the rocks underneath. She saw, in the clear water, that there were stones that sparkled, clear crystal rocks, embedded into the deep blue rocks under the water. The pond was comforting, and she swore she could feel other cats there, while she peered into the water, though she was alone; Wolf had gone to hunt.
The grass was a pretty green, some trees near by, their leaves an emerald color. Miranda recalled that it was getting close to summer, though she wasn't sure how she knew, or what 'summer' was anyway. Wolf would always tell her to wait at the pond, when he went to hunt, so she spent her time trying to remember her past, and exploring the clearing. She found nothing interesting, but her back would become extremely painful if she moved to much, so she mostly sat by the water, watching her tail lap in the water. She finally learned her appearance, when looking in the pool of water, and seeing her reflection.
She already knew she was smaller than Wolf, her fur a lighter shade of brown. Two black stripes ran vertical down her back, and bright brown eyes stared back at her. She saw red crusted in the fur near her back area, and knew it was blood. She knew she was injured, but she couldn't remember how.
It was near night, the sun bathing everything in the sunset hues of dusk. Miranda was laying near the pool of water, Wolf had gone out to hunt.
Miranda turned to the trees, hearing a slight disturbance, expecting Wolf, with something to eat. Instead, a new cat appeared, one she had never seen before.
It was pretty, a white coat with a black spot on both hind legs, a black tipped tail, ear, a black splotch on is back. As it got closer, Miranda saw a black right front paw, and a black ring around one of it's eyes.
Miranda made a small movement closer to the water, though she knew she couldn't swim. The cat looked directly at her, yellow eyes glowing in the light.
"Hello little one." The cat said, surprising Miranda as it sat down. Miranda then discovered that it was female, a she-cat. Miranda nodded her head, not looking away, and not speaking. The she-cat purred a little, her eyes showing she was, at least, pleased. :What is your name?"
Miranda kept silent, wondering where Wolf was. She didn't feel threatened, per-say, but she didn't feel safe either. The she-cat gave a little, amused meow.
"My name is Blackwater. I am the medicine cat of Waterclan. Now perhaps, since you know my name, and which clan I am in, you could tell me your name, and which clan you are from." She said. Miranda flattened her ears for a few moments, thinking.
"Wolf calls me Miranda," She said, "I don't know what a 'clan' is, though." the she-cat, Blackwater, nodded her head, seemingly understanding.
"Amnesia, I would suppose then. Where is 'Wolf' now?" She asked. Miranda shook her head, indicating she didn't know. Blackwater nodded.
"Why are you here?" Miranda asked, feeling a bit more at ease. Blackwater purred looking directly at her, her gaze warm.
"Starclan spoke to me of your coming. I came to greet you, and offer you a home in Waterclan." She said. Miranda looked at her blankly. Blackwater gave her a light purr.
"I know you are confused now, but I assure you, it will become clear if you come with me to my clan. I would be able to treat your injury, and you would have better protection." She urged. Miranda flattened her ears.
"What about Wolf?" She asked. She glanced around, willing her companion to appear, but he did not.
"He could join us to! Once we get to the clan, I will ask Moonstar to send out a patrol to look for him." Blackwater said. Miranda wrapped her tail closer around her, her ears pressing against her head. She lowered her head down, closer to the ground.
"I'm not going anywhere without Wolf." She said, her voice low. Blackwater opened her mouth, to say something, but was cut off by a loud hiss from behind. The two she-cats looked to see Wolf, a fresh caught rabbit at his paws. His muzzle was slightly bloodied from when he killed it, and his fur was bristled with anger. He bared his teeth at Blackwater, hissing even louder. A warning. Blackwater got up and walked away from Miranda, but only so far. Wolf kept his eyes on her as he picked the rabbit back up, and brought it to Miranda.
He placed it next to Miranda, and licked her fur lightly, settling her, before turning his head to Blackwater.
"What do you want?" His voice was cold when he spoke, and he kept close to Miranda, his tail resting on her back gently. Blackwater dipped her head respectfully.
"My name is Blackwater. I am the Medicine Cat of Waterclan. I would like the two of you to join me, and come to my clan." She said. Miranda, from the corner of her eye, saw Wolf stiffen when Blackwater mentioned she was a medicine cat. It took him a few moments to respond.
"Why would we do that?" He asked. Blackwater calmly met his gaze.
"It is nearing night fall, and as you already know, it is getting colder. Leaf bare is coming quickly. She is injured, and needs the help of a medicine cat, which I can offer her. You both could use the stability of a clan, along with its protection." She said. Wolf didn't respond right away, and looked from Miranda, to Blackwater, and back and forth a few times, before nodding his head.
"Fine, but I wont risk any more injuries to Miranda. If I have any reason to fear she will come under attack by any cats of your clan while I am possibly not there, I will take her and leave immediately." He said. Blackwater nodded in understanding.
"I assure you, she wont come under attack. If she does, I will protect her myself as if she were my blood kin. I can assure you would get the same from our leader, Moonstar." She said. Wolf nodded, and nudged Miranda to a shaking stand. Miranda was tiring out. Blackwater didn't get up.
"I think it would be better for her to eat, before we depart. It is a long walk, and with that injury, it may be difficult for her." she said. Wolf nodded, and Miranda bent down to eat, leaning on Wolf, who stood beside her, dependable as stone. When she finished, she nudged Wolf, who ate what was left. He nodded to Blackwater,who finally got up and made her way from the clearing. Wolf kept pace with Miranda, allowing the smaller she-cat to use him to lean on as they followed.
It seemed to take forever, but Miranda was able to see more of where they were as they walked. There weren't really that many trees there, but she saw a few small ponds, but none that seemed as pretty as the one she had woken up at. Small bushes and shrubs also dotted about, and she saw some mice every now and then darting into them. They had to stop every now and then, Miranda finally collapsing, and Blackwater would leave, and return with moss filled with water for her to drink. After a few minutes, they would get up and continue on. It was well into the night by the time they seemed to reach where ever it was they were headed. It was an area filled with shrubs and bramble bushes, an opening made with some tones, and as Miranda saw, there was old cat hair stuck and flattened in the opening from years of cats going through. The wave of scents almost over whelmed her, and she pushed closer into Wolf for comfort. He nudged her lightly, licking her ear, as Blackwater ducted through the hole. Wolf carefully helped Miranda through as well.
Miranda looked around, amazed. She could see a few cats, and they looked back at her with interest. It was a wide clearing, the floor solid and flat from years of cat paws treading upon it. Thick bushes all around, though some had openings, and Miranda could smell stronger scents coming from inside them. The wall of bushes and brambles in front of her had a high stone jutting from it, flat on the top where a cat could easily jump up and be seen from the entire clearing. There were two openings on either side, ground level of the high stone. On the bushes to her right, there were two opening, much like the other side. On the left side, near the entrance she was at, there was a hole with some fresh kill still inside. Blackwater had disappeared into on of the entrances next to the high stone, the one on the left, she noted. After a few moments, she came out, another cat following her. Wolf nudged Miranda to lay down near the entrance, and Miranda happily obliged.
"Wolf, Miranda, I would like you to meet our leader, Moonstar." Blackwater said once she was close enough. Miranda looked to the other ca,t Moonstar. Moonstar was a beautiful she-cat, she noted, her fur a lovely shade of black, white paws and tail tip, with a white dash resembling a diamond on her chest. Her eyes were a clear blue, that resembled the sky in the morning. Miranda bowed her head slightly, tired to the point she really just wanted to lay down and sleep.
"Miranda, Wolf, it is very good to meet you," Moonstar began, "I am Moonstar, as my medicine cat said. I would like to welcome you to Waterclan, that we can do formally tomorrow, when you both have rested. For now. You both need rest." She nodded to Blackwater, and left, back to the opening she came from. Blackwater nodded to Wolf.
"I offer my den to the both of you, so I can treat Miranda, and you have a place to sleep for tonight, before we announce to the clan where you will sleep tomorrow It would be bad if you were attacked by the warriors, because you simply went there to sleep." She said. Wolf nodded, and nudged Miranda to her feet, the smaller she-cat giving a slight hiss of frustration and sleep-deprivation. Wolf guided her to Blackwater's den, which Miranda noted was the other opening next to the high stone, and slipped her inside, where Blackwater was preparing a bed of moss. She nodded when she was done, and motioned for Miranda to lay on the moss, which Miranda did with a pleased sigh, curling slightly so her tail was wrapped around her, and already falling asleep. She was only lightly aware of something, she guess Blackwater of Wolf, licking her back, then lightly applying something to it, before she went to dream.