*puts out prologue last night. says will update in a few days. decides to put out the first chapter today anyway*
Woo! Welcome (or welcome back), to my story, I hope you like it :)
The air had noticeably cooled over the past moon as the season of Leaf-fall settled in; leaves yellowed on their branches until the gentle breeze sent them drifting to pile on the forest floor; the thud of falling acorns echoing through the trees, as well as the rustle of squirrels and other rodents as they raced to gather and store as many as they could before the frost and snows came. The coming moons would be difficult for every creature living in the wood, but for a pair of young she-kits who had only known the warm, easy season of Greenleaf, the thought seemed so strange and impossible to their naive minds that it was hard for them to worry about any sort of hardship at all...
"Ooof," Breezekit gasped as she was sent sprawling from where she had been balancing on one of the gnarled sprawling roots of an ancient oak tree.
"Aha!" Her opponent cheered triumphantly above her. "Snowstar is victorious once again!"
"Please," Breezekit snorted back, getting to her paws and shaking out her grey black tabby pelt before leaping nimbly back up the exposed tangled roots to rejoin her sister. "You just got a lucky hit, that's all."
Above them, perched on a low branch of the oak, their mother gazed down at them fondly. "Remember to always stay light on your paws in a fight," she meowed encouragingly. "That way it's harder for your foe to unbalance you."
"Yea Breezekit, maybe if you keep trying one day you'll fight better than a kittypet." The tabby kitten was so light a grey that she looked almost white, her blue eyes striking in contrast to her pale face and watching her much darker furred sister with a mischievous gleam.
"Snowkit, did you forget that I beat you the last two times?" Breezekit's green eyes narrowed in playful challenge, striped tail lashing. "Maybe you need a reminder." And with that the kits were back at their game leaping from one root to another, screeching in delight as they chased each other around the tree, trying to knock the other to the ground.
"Kits." Their mother's mew caused them to pause a short while later, and they looked up at her expectantly. The black she-cat had gotten to her paws, stretching, before she dropped down from her perch and gestured with her tail for them to return to their den which was located in a roomy gap in the oak's roots. "I'm going to go hunting. Maybe I'll even find a nice fat rabbit for us, how does that sound?"
Breezekit perked up. Rabbit. They were one of their favorite types of fresh kill and their mother caught them when she could, but sadly they weren't very common in these woods. From her stories though, the she-cat's old home had been absolutely teeming with them most of the year, and she had been quite pleased when her daughters seemed to favor the taste of them over other prey as well. 'It's your WindClan blood,' she had purred proudly.
WindClan…
Their mother had told them many stories of her former home; all about the Clans and the warrior code, and even StarClan who watched over them even here. Breezekit thought it all sounded so wonderful and she dreamed of becoming a WindClan warrior one day, but Moonwing had told her that wasn't possible. She had left and the Clans didn't take in outsiders except in very rare circumstances, but Breezekit didn't really mind that. She would train real hard and maybe one day if she worked at it enough and proved herself, she would be welcome. Besides, if her mother had been one of them, why wouldn't she be let in? It's not as if she was some rogue; she had WindClan blood, like her mother said!
"Can't we come with you?" Snowkit's whine snapped her out of her thoughts, and her eyes glanced to her pouting litter-mate. "I want to practice."
Moonwing had been teaching them the basics of hunting, often taking them with her on her trips. Supposedly Clan kits didn't begin any sort of training until they were six moons old, but their mother had decided that because they didn't have a whole Clan to support them, they could start a little early to prepare for the hard Leaf-bare that would soon be upon them. At just over five moons, the sisters already had the makings of capable hunters, or so their mother told them.
"Not this time," the black she-cat purred, licking Snowkit between the ears. "I'm going to explore a little farther beyond the stream to see what prey I can find there, and I don't want you with me unless I know it's safe."
The pale tabby still didn't seem happy, but Breezekit bumped lightly with her shoulder, purring. "Come on," she mewed. "She'll be quicker by herself, and the sooner she's back the sooner we can get back to our game."
Snowkit meerly grunted in response, but followed behind her anyway into their den beneath the oak.
Moonwing purred sympathetically, leaning in to touch her nose to both kits'. "I won't keep you waiting long, and I promise you can come with me tomorrow." That seemed to perk Snowkit up somewhat and she settled down without a fuss.
Breezekit crouched in front of her just inside the entrance, whiskers twitching as she watched their mother's dark form disappear into the undergrowth. "I have an idea," she murmured after a long moment, glancing back at her sister with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"What?" Blinking, Snowkit sat up.
"You want to go hunting, right?" At the tabby's nod, Breezekit continued excitedly. "Well let's go out and catch some prey ourselves. That way Mama won't ever be able to say we can't come with her again."
Snowkit seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then she purred and jumped up. "You're right! We're five moons old now, that's plenty old enough to go out when we want!"
"Well let's go!" The black tabby chirped as she turned and slipped back out of the den, waving her tail for Snowkit to follow. "We'll have to be careful, of course, and try to be back before Mama returns."
Her pale sister flicked an ear in acknowledgement, and with that the pair set off into the forest. Breezekit led them in a similar direction that Moonwing had gone, though she veered off enough that she was sure they wouldn't run into the black she-cat if she was heading past the stream like she had said. They didn't want to run into her, after all. At least not yet. As confident as she was, Breezekit knew their mother worried about them and their safety when she went off to hunt without them. Moonwing was used to having a whole Clan of warriors to look after and protect their kits from any danger, but out here they were on their own. At least now the sisters were old and strong enough to be able to somewhat defend themselves if it came down to that.
"Look," at Snowkit's hushed mew, she froze, following her sister's gaze to where a plump squirrel was foraging among the leaves a few fox-lengths away, seemingly unaware of their presence. Perfect.
Breezekit lowered herself into a crouch and took a few careful steps towards the squirrel, waving her tail for Snowkit to circle around from the other side. If they could work together and cut off it's escape, they would have a better chance of catching it; that's how Moonwing had taught them. She'd said that it had been a good way to hunt rabbits on the moor, and how WIndClan was able to have so much success catching them, but it was quite effective here with woodland prey as well.
Once Snowkit was in position, Breezekit continued forward, careful to avoid stepping on any leaves or twigs that would make a sound and alert the squirrel. But then it suddenly looked up, straight at Snowkit, who's silver and white pelt stood out starkly among the undergrowth, and it let out a squeal of alarm before dashing towards a tree to escape.
Oh no you don't. Acting quickly, Breezekit sprang forward and managed to snag her claws into the creature's fluffy tail, dragging it close before finishing it off with a swift bite to the back of the neck. "Thank you StarClan for this prey," she murmured quietly, as their mother had taught them.
A frustrated hiss made her look up, and her sister was approaching, lashing her tail. "I brushed against a bramble like a hare-brain and made it see me!"
"That's okay," Breezekit tried to reassure her. "We still caught it!"
"You caught it," the pale tabby grumbled, flattening her ears. "I want to bring prey back for Mama too! Let's keep going."
Breezekit hesitated, but then scraped leaves over her squirrel and nodded for her sister to lead on. They couldn't be out for too long, unless they wanted Moonwing to catch them out, but there should still be plenty of prey around still for Snowkit to catch.
Continuing deeper into the forest, the young cats kept their ears and eyes perked, moving as stealthily through the undergrowth as they could. But then a new, strange smell suddenly caught their attention and they paused, puzzled.
"What is that?" Breezekit had never smelled anything like it before; powerful, musky and dangerous. Her neck fur pricked uneasily, sensing that this wasn't going to be a creature they should mess with.
"Let's check it out." Snowkit pressed on, seemingly unafraid.
The dark tabby hesitated for a long moment, but then crept after her; the scent getting ever stronger as a sense of foreboding settled over her. "We should turn back."
"Shh," Snowkit hushed, blue eyes peering out from between a clump of ferns. "It's a den!"
Sure enough, looking out, there was a wide hole beneath a fallen tree where the strong scent was coming from. Some creature had made their nest here, and if the size of the opening was anything to go by, it was big; much bigger than they were at least.
"We should turn back," Breezekit mewed quietly, tip of her tail flicking back and forth anxiously.
Her sister just gave a little snort, flashing her a challenging look. "Don't be a scaredy-mouse. I want to see what it is!" And then before Breezekit could stop her, Snowkit left the cover of the ferns and stalked slowly over to the den, peering inside the hole with her ears perked curiously.
"Snowkit!" The dark tabby hissed sharply. "Get back here!"
There came a scuffling from the den, and to Breezekit's horror, a huge black and white creature pulled itself into view. It's paws held massive claws, just as sharp as the teeth in it's striped, pointy face, and it's beady black eyes peered down menacingly at Snowkit as it let out a low growl.
The silver kitten shrieked in alarm and fear, turning to dash away, but the creature's paw lashed out and knocked her to the ground.
Suddenly, a fearsome yowl sounded from nearby and the creature looked up just as a black shape burst into view and launched itself straight at the huge beast.
"Mama!" Breezekit cried out in amazed relief. Moonwing was a battle trained warrior, and the tabby watched in amazement as the she-cat leaped onto the creature's back and dug her claws deep into its flank, fastening her sharp teeth into its ear with a snarl.
As the animal stumbled back with a cry of anger, Snowkit was able to get up and dash away to safety at her sister's side, trembling.
With her kit out of immediate danger, Moonwing loosened her grip and allowed herself to be shaken off, twisting nimbly in the air and landing facing the creature. Her back arched as she hissed at it, slashing out at it's nose with her sharp claws. "Get away from my kits you bee-brained badger!" She risked a glance in their direction, and Breezekit had never seen her mother look so furious. "What were you two thinking?"
The badger snarled down at the she-cat, who was now backing off slowly, but then to the kits' horror, it suddenly lunged, knocking Moonwing off balance and trapping her between muscular forelegs before fastening it's teeth into her flank.
"No!" Snowkit's cry echoed Breezekit's own as Moonwing shrieked in pain.
"Run!" Even now, Moonwing did her best to fight back, jabbing at the badger with her paws, twisting in it's grip, but she was already weakening and Breezekit saw blood begin to pool beneath her. "Now! Get out of here!"
The badger gave a mighty shake of it's head and a sickening snap was heard as Moonwing gave a final cry and fell limp. It released it's hold on her, and she thumped to the ground, green eyes staring towards them lifelessly.
"No," Breezekit rasped in horror, unable to look away as the badger picked her back up and dragged her body back into it's den, both disappearing from sight.
"Mama," Snowkit trembled. "Mama come back, I'm sorry."
The dark tabby felt grief welling up inside, threatening to overwhelm her, but she shook her head. "We have to go," she mewed quietly. And then, when her sister didn't reply, she gave her a nudge with her shoulder. "Come on, it's not safe."
"I'm not leaving her!" Snowkit spat, turning to her with a sudden fury shining in her blue eyes. "We have to save her!"
Breezekit opened her mouth, then closed it with a sigh, ears flattening. "She's dead," she breathed. "It killed her, didn't you see? We have to leave now before it gets us too."
"You don't know that," her sister protested weakly. "Mama's a warrior, she couldn't die that easy."
"Well she did!" She felt a stab of guilt as Snowkit flinched at her sharp words. "And I'm not going to let her death be for nothing so let's go!"
Snowkit bowed head, ears flat, and nodded. "Okay," she breathed. "Let's go back to the den."
Breezekit leaned in and buried her face briefly to the silver tabby's shoulder, in as much of an effort to comfort herself as well as her sister, before turning back to lead them back the way they'd come.
Their journey back to the oak was grim. Breezekit did stop to grab the squirrel she had caught earlier so they would at least have something to eat, and it's fuzzy body held in her jaws as they walked gave her an excuse not to say anything. What could she even say? Their mother was dead. And it was their fault.
She wanted to blame Snowkit for so foolishly approaching a strange animal's den like that, but she was the one to suggest they go out in the first place. If they had waited at the den and not gone out like Moonwing had told them, this never would have happened. Blaming her littermate, or even herself, wouldn't do them any good now, and from the haunted look in Snowkit's eyes, her sister was already feeling guilty enough.
They ate the squirrel in silence on the roots of the oak, before retiring to their nest inside and curling up tightly around each other.
"What are we going to do now?"
Breezekit sighed at the hesitant mew. "I don't know. We could just stay here?"
"But what if that monster finds us?" Snowkit lifted her head, blue eyes shining in the dim light. "If even Mama couldn't fight it off…"
Breezekit had to agree with that. The badger's den wasn't too far from their own, and she didn't fancy becoming it's next meal if they crossed paths with it again. But she didn't know where else they could go either, this forest was all they knew, and the thought of wandering into strange new territory where they didn't know what awaited them frankly terrified her.
"I know!" Snowkit seemed to brighten up as a thought struck. "We could go find WindClan."
"WindClan?" Breezekit blinked, sitting up.
"Yea! Mama's from there, so they'll let us join, right?" The tabby sounded excited now. "We'd train to become warriors, and with so many scary cats around no badger would ever dare and mess with us again!"
As Breezekit thought it over, the more she realized that it was really their only option. Moonwing had always loved talking about the Clan she'd come from and teaching their ways to her kits. She had said she'd been forced to leave after a disagreement soon before they had been born, but her kits had no enemies there. Right?
"I don't know," she meowed slowly, and felt her sister droop in disappointment at her unsure tone. Purring, she flicker her ear teasingly with her tail. "I don't think you're scary enough to be a warrior, Snowkit."
The pale tabby made a noise of surprised outrage, butting her head into Breezekit's flank. "That's Snowstar to you." She gave a little purr, but then quieted and meowed hopefully. "But do you want to? Find WindClan. I want to be a warrior like Mama, but I don't want to leave you either."
"Of course," Breezekit licked her cheek. "I've always wanted to see what it was like, Mama made it all sound so wonderful. We can leave in the morning."
Purring, the sisters settled down to sleep, a fragile hope in their hearts momentarily weighing out their grief.
Heh, well that happened... Story's off to a nice start, eh? Poor Moonwing, she can't catch a break it seems. I thought about dragging out the beginning and spending more time flushing this part out, but ultimately decided against it; gotta get the plot rolling and this was going to happen eventually :)
Next chapter is ready as well and will be put out in a few days (seriously this time), let me know what you think!