She was struggling. Limping. Every step was full of pain. Her vision was tainted with red and the world swayed before her eyes.
Her tail was dragging limply on the ground and she held up one forepaw close to her chest. Her pelt, once a beautiful black, was a solid crimson red, stained scarlet by her own blood.
One ear was nearly torn off, and every step left behind a bloody paw print. Her amber eyes were full of exhaustion, as if in just a few more steps she would crumple in die.
But she had to make it there. She had to get there. She had heard so many rumors about them... Maybe they could save her. Maybe they could protect her. Maybe they would let her be one of them.
They had a code of honor to follow and warrior ancestors to believe in. Everywhere one of them went, they had the silent but forever loyalty and companionship of their friends.
Unlike them, though, she was all alone. She had no one, not even a belief in the stars. She was just her puny self, a rogue about to give up and die. After the attack, she was so ragged... so torn...
She wanted to live- she needed to live -but it impossible for her to survive. Impossible for her to hunt. Impossible for her to sleep. Impossible for her to do anything but continue limping forwards until she made it to them.
And here they were. The strong scent of cat hung heavily in the air, taunting her as she carefully made her way down the slope. She knew, somehow, that once she pushed through the thorn thicket ahead of her, their they would be, just as she had always imagined them.
So she pushed through. Three final steps, leading her into a large hollow. Three final steps, taking her into a whole new world. Three final steps, bringing her into the middle of a strange group of cats.
"Intruder!" she could hear them yowling. "Guar the queens! The elders! Some cat get Stormstar!"
They were taking up defensive positions around her, preparing to leap and fight.
"Where are the others?" some cats called, fear evident in their voice. "It's going to be an ambush! Don't lose sight of your den mates!"
A pale light brown tabby she-cat was hurrying towards her, followed closely by a dark gray tabby tom and a silver-and-white she-cat. The pale light brown tabby held a bundle of leaves in her jaws as she skidded to a halt before the ragged she-cat.
The dark gray tabby tom narrowed his eyes, inspecting her suspiciously. "Rogue," he was snarling. "It's a rogue."
"What's she doing here?" the silver-and-white she-cat was asking herself. "A rogue! In the ThunderClan camp! Nearly dead, too!"
She sank to the ground, her crimson-stained fur barely making the cold, hard surface beneath her tolerable. "Please," she gasped, flanks heaving. "Please let me stay. Please let me join your clan."
Then everything went black.
She awoke in a cave, her scarlet fur groomed thoroughly back to its normal shade of black. Cobwebs and strange dressings covered her various wounds, and the stony area itself smelled heavily of herbs and cat scent. A small trickle of water fed a small pond in the corner, but she did not have to go there to drink; a soaked moss ball had been left beside her.
The pale brown tabby she-cat from earlier hurried over. "Are you alright?" she was asking, but to her the words were barely distinguishable. Her mind was racing into the past, trying to figure out how she got here. The last thing she could remember before waking up here was collapsing in the hollow.
"Who are you?" she tried to ask, but the words sounded so chopped, so broken, that she doubted the other cat could understand her. "Why am I here?"
The pale brown tabby crouched beside her, murmuring soft, uncomprehend able words. She could barely register the feeling of the she-cat gently grooming the back of her head and neck.
Her eyelids began to droop, and soon she found herself fast asleep.
"Ebony! Get over here!" the black-and-white she-cat scolded. "Don't wander away like that without your father or I!"
Hanging her head, Ebony trotted over, her tiny kit paws pattering the ground. "I'm sorry, mother," she mewed quietly. "Snow, Hail, and I just wanted to have some fun."
A white she-kit stared at her, blue eyes wide with faked disgust. "You made me!" she whimpered, pressing against their mother's pelt. "Mommy, Ebony made me!"
"I was really scared, Mama," a black-and-white tom added piteously. "I thought I was going to die!"
Ebony shot a glare at her two littermates before continuing to trudge back to her mother. Her soft black pelt was covered with mud and dirt, making her look more like some sort of fierce creature then a kit. She could only begin to imagine her father gently teasing her and calling her a rabbit.
She softened at the thought of her father. Unlike her mother, her father was kind and gentle towards her. He didn't believe black cats were bad luck. He thought black cats were good luck. "I'm really sorry," she repeated absently. "When will father be coming? Isn't it time he comes and brings some prey for us to eat?"
"He'll be coming soon," Mother retorted tartly. "But you won't be having anything no matter how much food he catches today."
Tail dragging in the dirt, Ebony curled up on the ground, wrapping her tail over her nose.
When she woke up, it was night. Her mother was pacing across the clearing anxiously, shooting a protective and motherly glance towards where Snow and Hail slept every so often. "Oh, Shade," she was whispering. "Please tell me you're not dead."
Ebony jumped to her feet. "Father hasn't come?" she mewed worriedly, forgetting that it would be best to keep quiet.
Mother swung her head to glare at Ebony, eyes blazing. "This is none of your business! Go back to sleep!"
In silent refusal, Ebony spun around and bounded into the bushes. She had to find her father! He was the only one who cared! Eyes narrowed in determination, she sped through the shadowed forest blindly, unsure where to go and where to not go.
She opened her eyes, staring wildly around. She was still in the cave and the cobwebs and herbs were still covering her wounds. The pale brown tabby she-cat was curled up in a mossy nest, her flanks rising and falling gently with every breath.
Dragging herself to her feet, she gazed around the cave for a moment, the vivid memories from her dream rushing. Of how, all those seasons ago, she had run away from the one source of protection she had had. How she had made herself alone and vulnerable. How she had stumble upon her father's dead body the next day, a squirrel, a sparrow, and two voles dangling from his jaws.
Of how she had journeyed for three more days after that, trying desperately to find her mother. Of how she had found Blaze's group. Of how she had joined them, having nowhere else to go. Of how she had been trained to be brutal and to kill everyone who entered her group's territory. Of how she had learned to be a killer. A murderer.
She shuddered, her memories overwhelming her. The moonlight was pooling at her paws, making them sparkle in a sense. With a great sigh she glanced back at the pool, the water glistening slightly. It seemed to be calling to her, whispering, Drink. Don't be afraid. Don't give up. Just drink. Replenish your strength.
Nodding slowly to herself, she heaved herself to her paws and struggled to the pool to crouch and sip the water.
"Get the rogue," the order rang out.
Shivering, she closed her eyes as tightly as she could, trying to fake sleep. Maybe they would leave her alone if she seemed to be resting.
She had no such luck. Teeth sunk into her scruff, dragging her further and further away from her warm nest. Struggling to find her feet, she sprung away and walked in a somewhat dignified manner towards where the pale brown tabby she-cat was. At least she seemed friendly enough towards her.
The dark gray tabby tom from earlier was sitting next to her, his eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he demanded as she padded quietly up.
"I am Ebony, a rogue who wishes to join your clan," she mewed formally, trying to recite the words she rehearsed in her head long before she had struggled into ThunderClan's camp. "And you?"
His bristles told her that was the wrong thing to say. "I am Stormstar," he snapped. "Leader of ThunderClan. Where do you come from?"
"I come from the forest," she replied simply, flicking her tail. "Why do you ask?"
"For the safety of my clan. Who were your parents?"
"My mother and father. Duh. Does this matter?"
"Yes. What were their names?"
"I called them 'Mother' and 'Father'. Like any sensible kit. You did the same, I assume."
"Will you shut up? Can you hunt?"
"Do you honestly expect me to answer your questions when you make me shut up?"
"Are you going to rebuke me every time I ask you a question?"
"Am I expected to not voice my own thoughts after every answer?"
"Don't I have the rights to speak without you questioning me?"
"Won't you accept the answers I give you?"
"Are they even true answers?"
"Wouldn't I know whether they are right or wrong?"
"Can I trust you when you say you are telling the truth?"
"Yes, and I am telling the truth, but when did I say I was telling the truth?"
The dark gray tabby tom lashed his tail. "Stop this," he growled.
She flicked her tail, taking a step back. "And now you're telling me to shut up again," she mewed, rolling her eyes in irritation.
"You may return to your nest, Ebony."
She was rising to her feet when she noticed something strange. The pale brown tabby she-cat wasn't there. So she had padded to the entrance of the cave and had seen the dark gray tabby tom standing on a ledge, speaking to his cats.
He had been telling them about her and they had been making a vote. A vote on whether she was to stay or to go.
A vote where nearly every cat voted for her to go.
She watched in horror as a second vote was started. A vote to decide whether to kill her or to let her go alive.
A vote where nearly every cat voted for her to die.
She bushed out her fur, eyes wide. She was trembling in fury, but unable to speak her protests. Instead she could only watch as the ranks of warriors turned and charged towards the cave.
She didn't know what she was thinking when she ran away. Away from the cats who could have and would have ended her pain. The pain of knowing she had done wrong so many times and got away with it.
She was running away from a destiny that she probably deserved. A coward. Yes, she was a coward. She, Ebony, the misfit, the rogue, the coward. The one who got away.