Chapter Twenty-Five

Sunny's P.O.V.:

Pain was flirting with my dreams, bringing my mind back from the darkness. "Oh," I moaned in a quivering voice. My eyes fought to find the light, fluttering for life. My stomach was a glowing ember, no longer the ravaging fire it once was, but my head was heavy and spun like a raging wind.

Finally, I managed to find the ability to blink open my eyes. My surroundings were strange yet oddly familiar. I spotted a tall, soft striped object a few tail lengths in front of me. Couch, the word registered in my mind. Where was I? And why did I feel like I had been here before?

It was then that a wonderful scent touched my nose, and I realized that a pelt was gently pressed against mine. "Violet?" I murmured with the little strength that I had.

"Yes, my sweet," the pale ginger she-cat answered. "What do you need?"

"Where am I?" I asked, attempting unsuccessfully to lift my head.

"My home," she purred. "It was yours, once. Do you remember?"

Flashes of string, warm milk, and long naps rushed through my mind. "Yes," I replied at last. "I do."

"You were quite the adventurous kit," she recalled, amusement in her voice. "Once, you climbed to the top of the piano, though you were hardly larger than one of its keys."

I purred, despite my lack of understanding. I could not remember what a piano or a key was. I could not remember climbing up so high. I could only remember my mother and the games we played together. At that moment, even though pain gripped my body like an eagle's talon, I was a kit again. I was with my mother once more.

After many long nostalgic moments, I wondered, "Where is Ravenpaw?"

"He had to return to the barn," Violet meowed. "If he had stayed here, it would have scared my house folk."

"How…how long have I been out?" I questioned, my mind still groggy.

"You've woken up periodically to eat or drink," she began, "And once, when my folk changed your bandages." She pointed her tail at the white cloth around my belly. "But not including those times, you have been sleeping for three days."

"Three days?" I echoed in shock.

"Yes, you had quite the affair," my mother reminded me.

I gulped, my mind drifting to Snake and Ice. "Where are they? Your brothers?"

"Dead," Violet replied flatly. "A truck flattened the two just after we arrived."

"I…I'm sorry," I stuttered.

"For what?" Violet turned her green gaze toward me.

"They were your littermates," I hedged, squirming internally.

"They were no kin of mine," she spat, her eyes sparking cold fire. "After shedding the blood of so many cats, they finally got what they deserved."

It sounded like such a wicked thing to say, but I couldn't disagree.

"When can I see Ravenpaw again?" I demanded after a few moments, my mind, as it always did, floating back to him.

Violet's eyes warmed with amusement. "Soon," she answered simply.

"How soon?" I begged desperately.

"As soon as you can walk," she explained. "Barley and Ravenpaw cannot come into the house, but they can meet us in the yard."

"I want to go home," I muttered. Already, images of hay and endless mice swirled in my head. I longed to walk by the creek with my uncle and lay in the shade close to Ravenpaw. I wanted to look into the black tom's dazzling green eyes forever as we soaked up the sun. I wished for another of Barley's stories as dusk set upon the farm. Homesickness took a devastating blow, one that I never expected to feel.

"I know, darling," my mother murmured.

"Can't they just visit?" I pleaded with a yawn.

Violet purred. "First, you must sleep."

"But I'm not tired," I lied with a pout. Now that I was alert, I didn't want to fall back into the shade of sleep.

"Sleep," she repeated, tracing her tail down my spine.

"I don't want sleep," I murmured groggily, my eyes growing heavy, "I want Ravenpaw."

"Soon, Sunny," soothed my mother, her voice echoing in my mind as darkness took over once more. "Soon."

A/N: Sorry for abandoning you all for one whole month. D: Did you know I actually wrote this about 3 weeks ago, but didn't know whether or not to use it? Yeah. I haven't forgotten about you all, I've just been trying to decide which direction would be best for my readers! But I'm so very sorry it took so long. This was what I call a "block" chapter. It's like a rock in a stream. Once it is cleared, my writing is free to flow, but, first, I have to move it out of the way. Now that this one is out of the way, the rest of the story will come much more easily for me.

To make up the long cliff-hanging wait, I will be updating tomorrow. :) Review, review, review!