Forgotten Memories

The long-grass swayed in the wind, rippling like a dark, green ocean, the faint sound of whispering pervading the air. A bubbling brook tumbled through the meadow, carving a curving path edged with rocks. The stream merged into a sparkling pool at the end of the clearing, where the water backed against an impossibly high rock wall that reached for the stars. A beautiful waterfall fell, glowing like a silver sash, producing an almost soothing rumble that backed up the melody of the grass and the brook.

It was the home of Neverblue, the place where she was born and raised with her littermates Hawkeyes and Eversky, before that fateful night.


It was well past moonhigh, in the middle of Thunder Moon, which was what the Twolegs called July. Neverblue and Eversky were still wide awake, watching Hawkeyes trying to catch a fish in the turbulent brook.

Whereas the two sisters often enjoyed splashing the shallows and scooping the elusive trout from the water, Hawkeyes preferred the musty forest prey and the crunch of leaves beneath his paws. He took after the unknown father, who their mother, Echocry, called Sunblaze, a "warrior" from a place called ThunderClan. Neverblue had never seen him, nor had any of her littermates. They had never known the protective gaze of a father, the patience in his eyes as he taught his kits how to fight and hunt. They had only known the loving, pervasive mother who hovered over their shoulder and prevented them from doing anything even vaguely dangerous.

Thus developed their rebellious nature and sneaky personality.

Neverblue had always laughed as she watched her brother attempting to catch the fish she herself scooped out so easily. And she laughed now, making her clear aqua eyes shine with an inner glow. Her voice was clear and melodic, adding to the omnipresent song of their secret haven. She leaned forward, her mew raised teasingly, "Come on, Hawk, when you see one of them, just grab it!"

The lean gray tom narrowed his eyes warningly at her, the amusement in his eyes giving his emotions away. Hawkeyes knew this was the thousandths time his sisters had made him try to catch the slippery creatures in the water, and he also knew this wouldn't be the last. "I'm too tired to try again," he meowed, groaning with a clear air of exaggeration.

"Lazy bum!" Eversky meowed, leaping at Hawkeyes. He was half-expecting it, but it didn't prepare him for the black she-cat's powerful leap. He staggered, off-balance, and Neverblue darted in from the side, pushing him into the river.

There was a gigantic splash as Hawkeyes tipped into the water, creating an even bigger racket as he flailed around, fighting the weight of the water that dragged at his thick fur. He was perfectly capable of swimming of course; Hawkeyes just enjoyed amusing his little sisters.

As Neverblue leaned back, her eyes dancing with laughter, whiskers twitching at the amusing spectacle, a shadow moved in the corner of her eye. It was so completely unexpected, so out of place and sudden that the three young cats had no time to even react.

There was a cry of pain from Eversky.

And then there was a roar of anger from Hawkeyes as he surged up the stony bank.

Heavy weight slammed into Neverblue as she was struggling to take in the scene, pinning her down, claws pinching nerves.
Her vision dulled at the edges, a numb feeling in her body.

There was another yowl of pain, this time from Hawkeyes. Eversky was silent now, and then so was her brother.

The shadows moved around, shoving the three littermates apart. There was no sign of Echocry, even though she must've heard the yowling here.
"We're all done. Time to go," announced a soft, slightly edged voice. It was a familiar voice. Neverblue struggled to turn toward the sound. Her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton; all the sounds were muffled.

Paws clamped around her shoulders as she shifted an inch, claws piercing Neverblue's sleek silver fur. "Don't move. Or you'll just suffer more." She definitely knew that voice. It was a voice she'd heard since… since….

A blow slammed into her head, shattering her train of thought. The last thing Neverblue saw before sinking into unconsciousness was the brilliant, smoky blue eyes of her mother.


Neverblue sulkily padded through the misty forest, the trees lost in the swirling fog. She had tried climbing one of them once, going up, up, up, up, but it never seemed to end. When she'd finally looked down, Hawkeyes was staring up at her, but he was smaller than a mouse. The trunk still seemed to slide on and disappear into the mist, going on forever and ever.

Her claws ached, her legs were sore, and her aqua eyes were hollow and dim. She hadn't remembered anything before waking up in a cave in this slimy forest, lying next to her two littermates, in the middle of Hunter's Moon, which Twolegs called October. Neverblue frowned. She didn't even know why she called what other cats here called "moons" individual names.

"Neverblue." The meow was harsh, commanding, almost quiet, but it carried clearly. The slender silver tabby scowled. Out of all the cats here, she disliked Claw the most. He was an old, silver-muzzled tom, yet he was still shockingly fast and strong. The broad-shouldered black-and-white tom also took special interest in making Hawkeyes' life miserable, which made Neverblue despise him to even a greater degree.

"What are you doing?" Claw stalked out from the shadows, his eyes narrowed. "I hope you're not hoping to escape this place. It's impossible, and not favored upon."

Neverblue gritted her teeth. He was also the one who told her that the three littermates had fallen into a coma, causing them to lose their previous memories. Claw insisted that they had lived here all their lives, and Echocry had been raised here as well. Privately, she thought that even a kit would see the lie in the patchy story he weaved.

"Why would I want to leave the place I was raised in?" she growled, stressing the last four words. Her claws itched in their sheaths, and Neverblue longed to cleave this old flea-bag in half. Without waiting for an answer, she turned her back and raced away blindly into the fog.

Neverblue hated this place, and she couldn't even imagine living in this stinky old woods her whole life. It had been three moons since she had woken up from her "coma." Even Hawkeyes, the cat who enjoyed stalking through the undergrowth, wrinkled his nose at the idea of living here. Eversky and Neverblue especially itched to leave. They rarely saw Echocry, and the woods also seemed to go on forever. Neverblue had thought she'd seen the end of this miserable place, but guards seemed to be waiting behind every tree.

As if she had summoned her, Shade leaped out from behind an oak. "Go back," the black she-cat meowed curtly. "Now." Without waiting for an answer, Shade shoved her, bundling her away. Neverblue hissed. What was wrong with the guard this time? Shade had always been curt, but she was especially flat this time. "What's your problem?!" The silver she-cat stumbled as Shade hurried her faster.

"Never go back there!" Shade snarled, and gave Neverblue one last shove before whipping back around into the fog. Neverblue stopped and stared after the retreating figure. What was so special about here? She glanced around her surroundings, realizing that she had never been to this area before. The trees actually seemed to be regular oaks and maples now, and the fog was thinner. Escape? Her heart quickened at the idea. For some reason, Neverblue knew she used to live in a place much better than Eternal Forest, which was the grand name Claw called these woods.

"Neverblue?" That voice. It was muffled by the fog, familiar, lilting like a song in some way. Neverblue stumbled as a vision entered her mind, a glimpse of tall, swaying green grass. That voice. That sound. Shadows. "Time to go." Those words. Memories. Another flash, the sound of laughter, the gurgling of a brook. Echocry padded toward her, materializing from the alabaster-colored fog. Her brilliant, smoky blue eyes appeared first. Those eyes! "I remember," Neverblue gasped.


"I don't understand." Eversky stared at her sister, whose aqua eyes were glowing, some life finally coming back to that hollow gaze. The black she-cat frowned. Her eyes have always been dark like that, right?

Neverblue paced in front of her, whipping back to stare at Hawkeyes who was blinking, nonplussed, beside Eversky. "Can't you remember that night?" she insisted. "The shadows? Hawkeyes trying to fish and falling into the river after we pushed him?" Eversky frowned. She leaned forward and stared into her sister's eyes, searching her face. She's telling the truth. "How do you know? According to Claw, we're not supposed to remember anything after our coma."

Hawkeyes snorted derisively. "Do you actually think Claw is telling the truth? Why would we three all have a coma at the same time, wake up at around the same time, and losing practically all our memories?"

Eversky conceded the point. She didn't really want to live here anyways. "We…used to live at a haven?" Neverblue nodded enthusiastically, looking relieved that her littermates were finally beginning to believe her. Eversky shifted, sifting through her memories, slamming into a dead end, three moons ago, in the middle of Thunder Moon. She clawed mentally at the barrier, struggling to think back even day past the time when she'd woken up beside Hawkeyes.

"I think the way that Echocry approached me today was a dead-ringer for my memories. Claw's going to be furious," Neverblue whispered.

Hawkeyes blinked. "We're not going to say anything. That'll be stupid. So, when are we going to tell Echocry?"

"You're not telling her." It was not a question. Eversky stared at Neverblue. "She's our mother! You're going to leave her here at the mercy of Claw?" How could you?

"Shut up!" Neverblue spat, bristling, her claws sinking into the moss beneath her paws. "And lower your voice! I have a perfectly good reason why I'm planning an escape that doesn't involve Echocry." She flexed her claws, baring her teeth, ears flat to her head, her eyes blazing with fiery anger. "Echocry is part of the reason of our forgotten memories!"