I really am sorry about disappearing on you guys like that. I honestly don't know why I found it so difficult to just write. Thankfully, I found a way, and that is by continuously playing quiet music in the background, which somehow helps me write instead of distracting me. Huh. If you don't know them already, then please check out Of Monsters and Men, I love their songs!
Anyway, I'd like to thank you guys for sticking with me and my rubbish updating schedule, and even bothering to click on my story in the first place! Thanks! Love you! (Not in that way! :O )
Enough from me, here's the next chapter!
A chilling wind whipped through Coal's fur, reaching her skin and making her bones shake in their sockets. Her small body was shaking violently from the cold, and her injured paw was sending spasms of pain up her leg. She let out a soft groan, slowly opening her eyes and trying to sit up without affecting her paw. Coal blinked away the sleep in her eyes, where tears had already started to form due to the harsh winds. I don't remember it being this cold when I fell asleep. She thought sleepily, her thoughts still trying to catch up with everything that was going on around her. She sat there shivering for a few heartbeats, allowing the last webs of sleep fall away. Her eyes travelled around the hole which she had hidden in to sleep. The walls were soggy, a few trails of water ran down them from the soaked grass at the rim of her hole, but they still stood firmly. It wasn't too deep, if Coal stood on her hind legs she could poke her head out of the hole with ease, if she wanted to get out, she wouldn't even have to climb.
A drop of water fell on her back, sending more shivers down her spine. She turned around to lick it off so it wouldn't make her more cold, but it didn't matter. As she twisted her head around, she caught sight of her body, which was soaked through and coated with mud and leaves. It must have rained while I slept. Her stomach let out a loud rumble, and Coal became aware of the pains of hunger clawing at her insides. She groaned again. "Great. I'm cold, wet, dirty, hungry and lost. Can it get any better than this?" She mumbled sarcastically, shaking the droplets that had fallen on her. A few blobs of muck flew off of her as well as the rain. Mother would hate seeing me like this, filthy. She would probably never stop trying to clean me. Another drop fell on her nose, and she sneezed. Maybe I should clean myself so I won't be captured by her.
Coal collected her legs beneath her, preparing to jump out of the hole. She could feel her muscles protesting and rapidly growing weaker from her lack of food as she gathered up the remainder of her energy. She sprung upward, hooking her paws into the forest floor and started to struggle pulling herself up. She managed it fine though, the practice from climbing the rock in Starclan helping her greatly, her muscles aching but used to the movement and quickly allowing her to escape her temporary bed.
Sunlight streamed through the leaves, the angle of the beams of light indicating that the sun had reached it's highest point in the sky. How am I supposed to find my Family now? Panic started surging through her, and she started shaking for a different reason to the cold. If the sun wasn't rising or setting, then she wouldn't be able to follow the setting sun towards where she and her Family were originally heading, she would have to wait for a while to work it out. Coal sighed, and tried to stop her shaking body. What did Mother do whenever I was cold? She sat at the edge of the hole, not having moved since she climbed out of her sleeping place. A small memory floated through Coal's mind, it seemed blurry and it was hard to reach out to and grab, each time her mind was about to grasp it, it would quickly float away at the last second. Coal huffed, stopping her attempt. Her belly let out another loud rumble, and her hunger suddenly intensified. She groaned in pain, and curled up in herself, willing her hunger to go away.
'If you want to stop being hungry, then find something to eat!' An exasperated and familiar voice sounded in her head. She felt her heart skip a beat and her body stiffened. Even though she knew that the voice was her imagination and probably came from the fact that she was alone, she still uncurled herself and quickly glanced around her, checking if there was anyone there. Of course, she couldn't find anyone, and she curled back into a ball, completely ignoring what the Voice had said. Wait a second, what did he say? And what is he doing here?
'I'm here to help, obviously, why else would I tell you to hunt?' he meowed, as if it really were that obvious. It probably is. She mumbled to herself.
A sudden fear clenched her heart. 'I have to hunt?' she whispered, her voice shaky and almost hopeful, hopeful that he would laugh and say he was joking, that she didn't have to hunt. It was weird whenever she talked to the Voice, even though she knew she was the one saying the words, it felt and sounded as if it were someone else entirely talking to him. She always planned what she was going to say, but then someone would steal her words and say them to him for her, and she would listen to the conversation happening in her head, reacting to it even though it felt as if it wasn't her. But she hadn't planned her voice to be hopeful, so maybe the one stealing her words was hopeful for her. And I am hopeful that I don't have to hunt, my paw feels really sore this morni- well, it's sun-high, so I can't say that! And the climb hadn't really helped her paw at all, even though she was trying to use her other paw to pull her up, she still had to use her injured one as well. The fact that she was cold and shivering probably wasn't helping either.
She thought back to what had happened the last time she had hunted and caught some prey. The memory clear and sharp in her mind, the head-splitting pain from it still memorable, causing Coal to wince just thinking about it. 'I don't want to hunt.' she meowed. She could feel the Voice pausing as he processed what she had just said.
'Why?' he asked cautiously, as if he already knew but just wanted to check, or see if she would lie to him.
'Uh...' Should I tell him? Do I trust him? Coal thought back to what the Voice had done for her. He continuously scared her whenever he showed up, she didn't know who he was, or what he looked like, if he had a body at all, and he was very secretive. But, he had helped her, giving her the idea on how she could find her family, and being her company while she was on her own. Could that be enough to trust him? Or did he have too many bad points? He is my friend. He was helping her find her Family, and he started helping her even though they hardly knew each other. Well, he actually knows everything about me, more than I know apparently, since he has always been watching over me since I was born. Coal paused her thinking. But, he's a figment of my imagination, how does he know more than me when he's a part of my mind? She was getting off of topic. If she could trust herself, then she could easily trust her imaginary Voice, no matter how secretive he was.
I'll tell him, to get it off of my chest. 'Last time I hunted... it didn't end too well.' she paused, wondering how she could explain this to him. 'Last time, instead of killing my prey, I became my prey.'
'I know.' he meowed shortly. Coal blinked confusedly. 'Then why-'
'Because that isn't a reason to not hunt. Sure, it scared you and it probably hurt a lot, but that doesn't matter; you need to hunt to survive.' Hurt filled her as he said that. So he doesn't care for me? He doesn't care that I'm too afraid in case it happens again?
'Of course I care!' he meowed harshly, startling Coal out of her sad thoughts. 'Just because I say that it doesn't matter doesn't mean that I don't care! It just means that you need to toughen up, you can't chicken out because of something which might not even happen again!'
Coal remained silent, shocked into not speaking by the realization that he had just said that he cared her. 'You've never said that.' Coal whispered, barely audibly. She knew that he was looking after her and trying to help, but it never occurred to her that he actually cared to what happens to her. Now that he'd said it, it became quite obvious, because, who would tell an undersized kitten like her what to do unless they cared? If he hadn't started talking to me, I wouldn't have got back up when my paw made me trip up. A wave of gratitude towards the Voice washed over her. Her paw was injured, and he was continuously encouraging her to push onwards, despite the pain that it brought her. I thought that it was my need to see my Family that kept me going, but it was actually the Voice that kept me going. Coal almost fell over at this realization.
She knew that her need to be with her Family again was strong and partly why she carried on, but the Voice helped her even more, comforting her and helping her, without her even realizing it until now. If he hadn't been there, she would have probably starved by now... her belly let out another loud rumble. She still hadn't eaten, because she was too afraid that she might turn into a mouse again. It was probably your imagination, Coal, you silly cotton-head! She laughed at the thought. Slowly letting herself starve because of something which isn't even possible? How stupid could she get? Coal let out another small laugh. It was pretty easy the last time she had hunted, so how hard could it be now? Not hard at all, she would easily be able to catch something and fill the hole in her stomach, and stop the aching inside of her.
Fully opening her eyes, Coal leaped to her paws, wincing when her paw protested, but she didn't fall this time. Suddenly, Coal remembered how her paw had reacted when she had attempted hunting on her own; it was very painful. The Voice obviously sensed her worry and her words, and quickly meowed, 'I know that your paw still hurts, but after that long rest of yours, it has healed quite a bit, so it won't bother you as much as last time.' he reassured.
'Really? Well, that's good.' She was surprised that it was already healing, and she was also very glad, it definitely wasn't helping her with finding her Family, or surviving even.
Coal stared up through the thick foliage above her, the sun rays still pointing directly down, indicating that hardly any time had passed while she was talki- communicating with the Voice. 'How long did you say I had been asleep?' she asked.
'Hmm... a while.'
'Very useful!' she snorted sarcastically, then she feigned a serious tone,'Honestly, I think I need to find a new Voice to help me!'
'You can't,' he replied simply, destroying the joking feel to their conversation that Coal had created, 'I am the only Voice that you will ever be able to talk to, and the only one that currently exists.' Coal hadn't noticed that she had been smiling, but when he said that, it fell off of her face as if it had been a drop of rain falling from the heavens. The only one? A pang of sympathy passed through her. He's all on his own then! He sounds like a fully grown cat, so he must have been on his own for his entire life!
'Enough of these depressed thoughts!' his voice took on a lighter tone, 'We need to get some food into you before you collapse!' Her stomach agreed with him, and her head did too, but something was telling her that she shouldn't do as he said. Instinct? Coal doubted that was it, so she easily pushed the strange feeling aside, and retreated back into the real world from the unusual place that she entered every time she and the Voice spoke, beginning her search for a decent meal.
The Voice had been right. Her paw wasn't bothering her as much as it had previously, and she found that she could crouch and stalk through the undergrowth without upsetting her paw. But she didn't. She knew that was what she needed to do to hunt, but her throat was burning from the lack of water, and walked around, licking at bushes which still had a few drops on them from the rain. It wasn't much, but it was definitely helping her with beginning to regain some of her concentration. The Voice had suggested finding another stream or river after she had started her hunt, and the sun had moved a fraction, which was enough to tell Coal which way the sun set, so she followed the trail and kept an eye out for a source of water.
It didn't take long, the sun had moved more, but Coal hadn't tired at all. She couldn't be bothered to circle around a patch of brambles, and decided to weave through it instead. She'd nosed a few branches out of the way, earning a few shallow scratches, and found a gap that she could fit through. After squirming around a bit, she had managed to squeeze through most of the jungle, only pricking herself on a million thorns. A few more moments of struggling, and she could see the end of the thicket, and raced towards it, tired with all of the prickles surrounding her. What she hadn't thought about was what was on the other side of the bramble thicket.
Her paws had met thin air, and she found herself tumbling down a bank towards a river. The only thing she could think was Is this going to become a daily occurrence or something? Before she plummeted into the raging rapids of the drink that she was looking for.
Now she had washed up onto the bank of the river, half drowned and exhausted from the struggle of trying to stay on the surface of the water. She had had a nice long drink, a tad too long for Coal's taste, but now her throat was burning for a different reason. Her fur was even more damp than when she had woken up, in fact water was streaming down her, her fur too wet to even think about drying any point soon. Even her bones felt wet from her experience, her muscles were screaming in pain from being overworked and she felt as if she would never be able to walk ever again. She shuddered as she thought about what had happened.
As soon as her body was submerged by the freezing river, the chill went straight to her bones and her body stiffened. The shock from the cold caused her to momentarily forget how to move and what was happening, and she sunk deeper into the depths of the river. She didn't know how long she allowed the river to take full control of her, but she soon became aware of the cold wet seeping into her skin, and the dark, murky river flinging her body around, as if it weighed nothing but air. Coal couldn't make sense of which way was up or down, and the lack of oxygen was making it harder for Coal to think straight.
Her paws floundered around her, her instincts making her swim, but her body too weak against the current to alter which direction she was heading. Coal saw black dots dancing around her vision, her lungs burning, begging for more air, but when Coal opened her mouth, it was instantly filled with the dirty water of the bottom of the river. She struggled harder, trying her best, using every ounce of her energy to just try and rise to the surface and breath again. But Coal still couldn't make sense of which way was up or down, and she wasn't sure if she was making much difference anyway. I'm drowning! She screamed internally, and thrashed around her, her vision blackening more with every heartbeat...
Coal shuddered again, the chill still deep in her bones. A fraction of her energy had returned, and she felt that she might just be able to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they had stones attached to them. When she finally cracked them open, she was surprised by the brightness that she was greeted with. Closing her eyes again, Coal waited. She wasn't sure if she was even waiting, or if she was trying to sleep, but she knew time was passing. She couldn't think straight, her mind was feeling fuzzy and wasn't working properly. She wasn't thinking about anything, shecouldn't. All she knew was the strange abyss she was apparently floating in, her body and mind numb, both useless and limp.
In the darkness, Coal began to gain a bit of feeling in her paws, and they started twitching, twitching in the nothingness. Her tail started swinging slowly from side to side, batting at air in the nothingness. Her ears started swivelling around, picking up the thick silence of the nothingness. Coal's mind processed the hard, cold surface that she was sprawled across, seeping all non-existent warmth from her, and the almost scorching heat spreading over her back. Her mind slowly caught up with what was happening, but it was so hard, so tiring. Things were still fuzzy, and Coal could only think of simple things. She lay there in the nothingness.
It was so cold. That was all Coal could think about. The freezing in her bones that seemed to be coming from all around her as well as within. She was breathing heavily. Why? She didn't know, and quite frankly, she didn't care. Coal was happy just lying there for ever. She wasn't needed for anything, she wasn't doing anything important before she came her, she could just relax and sleep. But, she wasn't sleeping. She was thinking. And something was telling her that she had to do something, that she had already started and needed to finish. Maybe Dusk would know, and she would finish it for her, she was just too tired to get up yet- Dusk!
A slither of her memory returned, she and her Family had left home, searching for a new one, but something happened. What happened? Think, Coal, think! Oh Yes! She was separated from them and as soon as she had woken up she had started searching for them, following the setting sun. She had to find them! Why wasn't she right now? The darkness pressed in on her. All she had to do was open her eyes, and she could search! Why weren't they opening? They felt as if they had been glued shut, intended to never open ever again. But they had to, or else she would be alone forever...
With a great effort, Coal managed to crack open one eye, a slither of green standing out against her damp, black fur. A loud crashing noise filled her ears, never ending and staying the same volume. Her fur was clinging to her body, and she was clinging to a rock, the hard surface digging into her soft underbelly. Her limbs felt as if they would fall off any second, her muscles screaming at her. Her head was spinning, her thoughts all jumbled up and she wasn't able to form a single simple thought. Her white paw lay limply in front of her muzzle, and to Coal's horror, it had swollen up, giving off spasms of pain up to her shoulder, forcing her to keep still. She could feel her tail dangling over the edge of the rock, dipping into freezing cold water, which sprayed over the rest of her already wet body.
Coal groaned. Where am I? Her neck ached, but Coal lifted her head up, her dizziness subsiding slightly, and she looked around, both of her eyes finally open. She was sprawled over a rock, one out of a rather large group, on a small stone beach. The beach sloped up towards the lush undergrowth of the forest, the trees casting shadows over the edge where the grass turned into pebbles. Coal looked above the trees to the sky, which she had a clear view of now there was no branches blocking her sight. The usually blue sky had turned a deep purple, early stars beginning to appear, not a single cloud out to cover them up. So, the sun has set, or has begun too at least. But where is it?
Coal swivelled her head around until she was looking behind her, and Coal had found the source of the crashing noise. A river. Memories resurfaced, and Coal flinched away from the spray, suddenly hating the expanse of water that was rushing past in front of her very eyes. As Coal's heart stopped racing, she became awed by how fast the water was flowing, crashing into rocks, erupting into an explosion of freezing droplets. How did I survive falling into that? The question couldn't be answered. All she could remember was struggling to get air and everything turning black. She remembered waking up on this bank, before she blacked out again.
She had turned the rest of her body around too so it wouldn't hurt her neck as much, and it would be easier to see the river this way. She looked upstream, noticing how the current seemed stronger, and how it weaved around the rocks that sprouted out of the river. How did I not hit any of those? She wondered, before she checked downstream. And it was a beautiful sight, almost worth nearly drowning in a river to see.
The river had smoothed out, becoming wider and calmer, almost becoming a small lake, with no ripples, making it look solid and a if it could be walked on. It stretched on and on, as far as Coal could see, and further. Like the sky, the water wasn't its original colour, it was a blazing mess of orange, red and yellow flames, a bright beacon in the darkening forest. The sun was setting, sinking slowly into the never ending expanse of flaming water, it's bright rays reflecting off of the water. It stained the purple sky into an orangey pink, the orange seeping into the trees and grass and stones. The setting sun had turned everything into a beautiful blazing mess, putting everything to shame with its beauty. Coal couldn't stop staring.
She wasn't sure how long had passed until Coal finally tore her eyes away from the view. Her eyes had started watering after keeping them wide open for so long. The sun had sunk until it had almost completely set, the world fading back to the shadowy place it was before. The rock beneath her had become cold without the sun to keep it warm, and it was taking the warmth out of Coal's body that she couldn't afford to lose. She started shivering, now surrounded by shadows, dark, dark cages of cold and-STOP! She quickly shook the thoughts away, and ignored the shadows. Her fur hadn't been able to dry due to the continuous spray from the river which she was still surprised she had survived from, so her body couldn't warm her up. Her muscles had regained some energy, and Coal felt that she would have enough to find shelter to sleep in for the night.
Her legs were stiff, but Coal managed to shakily stand up on all fours, her injured paw numb from cold. In fact, nearly her entire body was numb. I really need to find some shelter. She clambered down off the rock, slipping a few times because of the spray. The stones shifted slightly under her paws as she landed, and she only stumbled for a few steps before she regained balance. Coal headed towards the treeline, her pace painfully slow. She wasn't sure what she was going to find, but she knew that there was at least more shelter in the thick undergrowth than out on the stony beach.
As time progressed, feeling returned slowly to her body, her numbness in her paw receding, her energy ebbing away. The river experience had taken a lot out of her, and Coal wasn't so sure if she would be able to find a safe place to sleep before she passed out. The world was darkening, Coal didn't know if it was due to shadows or if she was beginning to black out, but either one was the reason to the rapidly dimming light. Almost tripping over a root, Coal carried on limping forward. Her mind was just processing that pain was flaring up her leg, but she could barely feel it. She could barely feel anything. Another root. Where are these coming from? Glancing around, Coal realised that she had reached the forest. When did I get here? I thought I was still on the beach- where am I? She tried to remember which direction she had come from and which way she was going, but her mind had clouded over.
What had she even been doing trying to get into the forest in the first place? Was she trying to get into it, or out of it? Had she been here the whole time, just wondering around? Was this even a forest? As Coal continued to stare, the light was quickly diminishing. Her eyesight became blurry, and when she blinked it only became more blurry. Her ears felt as if she was listening from underwater, strange noises barely reaching them. Her head couldn't comprehend what was happening, she was hardly aware of the fact that she had collapsed, all she knew was the aching tiredness which had suddenly spread throughout her entire being. She struggled to keep her eyes open, still trying to get her sight to focus, but her eyelids started drooping on their own accord. Then, darkness swept over her.
Hmmm. Another long wait for another chapter. Sorry. And sorry for the ending to this one, I honestly have no idea why I make Coal suffer like this, it just happens! Just so you know, she didn't die, and if you're wondering how the Hell Coal survived, well, why hasn't the Voice responded to her yet? That's your clue.
I hope that you're enjoying this story so far (even though this is just the beginning for it) and that you will continue to enjoy this as the story progresses. I think that soon I might need a beta person to help me with this, because I am terrible at finding mistakes! So, sorry if there are any in this chapter! I should probably thank those who have followed this at such an early stage, so thanks to BonEpic, I-really-hope-not, and RainySpirit, as well as those who are bothering to read this rubbish! Thanks!
Now is time for me to disappear again, so see you when I do I guess. Bye!