Hello! Am I early? Am I late? I don't know! What I do know is that something very interesting happens in this chapter, which will lead on to a very happy scene in the next one. Thanks I-really-hope-not and Rainstorm for the reviews, and for the others who just started to read this Fan-fiction!
Remember, if there's any absolutely horrible mistakes in this story that you can't bare to see, please tell me, and I'll see how I can correct it, and if you can give any helpful criticisms as well, that's great!
(Don't forget about OC's for Breezeclan if you fancy a part of your creation here!)
And now, it's time that I say (after a few chapters without saying it) that I don't own Warriors, the Erin Hunters do, and it is best that they always own Warriors, for the safety of the World.
I'll see you at the bottom! Enjoy!
Birds twittered happily as they flew in and out of their nests, small blurs flashing past, weaving around branches and twirling in the rising sun as they searched for food to feed their young. Coal had been watching them for a while now. She had woken up, cold and lost, tangled up in the roots of an oak, moss keeping her body away from the hard ground, without a clue as to where she was. Her memory had taken it's time in returning to her, but when it did, images of dark rivers and shadows took over her, so she pushed them away, deciding to try and forget about the whole ordeal, and carry on forward. But she couldn't find which way was forward, and with the sun hiding behind the trees and the only way to figure out which way was which was to search her memories, she had decided to follow her small paw prints back to the river.
And that was where she stayed, her mind slowly waking up with the rising sun, with her body laying on the exact same rock she had washed up on. Her damp fur had warmed up and her muscles, though aching, had gained some energy. She was in no mood for travelling though. No matter how much she knew she had to find her Family, something was nagging her, and she had to try sort out her jumbled thoughts before she could even think about standing up. She was trying to figure out how she had survived yesterday, her only injury being her paw becoming worse. The Voice was giving no answers, his presence couldn't even be felt, and with the oncoming headache Coal was having from thinking so hard, she decided to give up.
That wasn't the only thought that was nagging her though. When she had woken up, she expected her hunger to have flared up overnight, especially after the struggle in the river, but it hadn't. In fact, she hardly felt hungry at all, only the normal hunger she had every time she woke up in the morning, waiting for her breakfast. It was as if she had eaten a meal before she had passed out, her hunger barely anything compared to what it had been previously. It puzzled Coal greatly, and like with how she'd survived, Coal couldn't find an answer as to how. So she decided to push that to the back of her mind too, another puzzle to be solved later.
She was facing to where the sun had set, the sun rays falling down behind her and the wind pushing a few thin branches out of the way, leaving her with a clear view of where she had to travel. Even without the setting sun, the scenery was still beautiful. Sparkles shone in the calm river, the ripples from the breeze making them dance and spin. Willow trees swayed slightly, the branches swerving back and forth, dancing in the light wind, catkins floating down and landing on the water, staying afloat and drifting out to the deeper parts of the river.
The water was surprisingly clear, a huge difference to the water upstream, and when Coal looked into the shallows, she could easily see the stone bed of the river. Coal stared blankly into the river, letting her thoughts drift away. She knew that she was searching for her Family, and she knew that they were likely to be searching for her, but with all of her thoughts focussed on whether or not she'd see them again, she hadn't even wondered about how they were. She hadn't wondered why they didn't notice she'd disappeared, or how they felt once they did notice. She hadn't even thought about if they'd been hurt or injured, whether they were safe.
Now that she was resting these were all she could think about. How could she have been so selfish? Only worrying about herself when her Family could very well be in as much pain as her. What if the reason why her Mother didn't come and instantly find her was because Dusk had been hurt, or the other way round? What if they were trapped somewhere, and were relying on her to come and save them? And all she was doing was basking in the rising sun, waiting for her thoughts to sort themselves out! She had to do something before-
She was distracted from her thinking by a flash of silver in the shallows, so quick that it was gone as soon as Coal was focussed again, as if it had been her imagination. Coal narrowed her eyes, peering closer at the river bed. What was that? She wondered, but before she could find an answer, another silver shape appeared. This one didn't flash by as fast as lightening, but floated there, hanging in water, small fins propelling it against the current so it wasn't washed away. Unblinking eyes stared ahead, searching for something, presumably food, and apart from the fins, it's small, scaly body was completely still.
A fish! Coal hadn't actually eaten one, she hadn't even seen one, but her Mother had told her and Dusk about the strange edible creatures in the water, which somehow preferred to be wet and slimy rather than dry and warm. She had given a description about them, and looking at them now, she realized it was a very accurate one.
At her realization, Coal flicked her tail, not realizing it dipped into the water, scaring off the small fish. She blinked in surprise at how quickly it had disappeared after how still it had been, and how easily it was scared. Imagine trying to catch one of those to eat! You'd have to be swimming after it to get anywhere near catching it! Coal let out a small laugh, imaging how stupid a cat would look purposefully going into water. It's probably impossible to catch a fish, I don't know why Mother told me about them.
Behind her, the sun had risen a huge amount since she'd woken up, nearly at sun-high. I think I should go soon. Coal knew that she had to leave, or else there'd be hardly any time left to search, but the rock was so warm! Coal rolled onto her back, not caring how close to the edge she was, stretching her paws above her head and letting out a huge yawn. She winced as she moved her swollen paw, but quickly relaxed, still on her back, with her eyes closed. The sun felt nice on her belly, a good change to the hard rock she was lying on. She wriggled around a bit, giving her back some form of massage, her body relaxing even more. She purred contentedly. The River Experience, as she was know calling it, had left her body battered and sore, and this relaxation was what she really needed. I'm acting like I'm some old cat, not a two moon old kitten!
Coal slowly turned back onto her belly, then cautiously stood on her paws. Her injured paw wasn't allowing any weight on it, so Coal had to try and balance on three legs without falling back into the water. I really don't want that to become some daily occurrence! Imagine how horrible that would be! Coal limped to the edge of the rock and half slid, half fell down to the rocky beach, landing on her paws for a split second. Before she cold celebrate her success though, Coal lost her balance completely and fell flat on her face. Her nose buried itself in the pebbles, and her body just flopped over, leaving her in a tangled up ball.
She groaned loudly, slowly lifting her head off of the floor, and opened her eyes. She rubbed her nose with her good paw, trying to get rid of the slight sting there, all the while mumbling angrily to herself, "Stupid rock, why did it have to be so high? And stupid river, making it all slippery. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did this stupid beach have to be made of stupid pebbles? Do they not realize that they hurt? So stupid! Ach! My nose! Stupid pebbles, look what you've done to me! You've gone and hurt my stupid nose and now my stupid paw hurts and the stupid sun is high enough as it is, why the stupid Hell are you wasting my time?" she was running out of air from ranting to herself, and she took a deep breath, planning to carry on naming all of the stupid things around her.
But she stopped before she could carry on. What am I doing? Out of everything here I'm probably the most stupid, I'm talking to myself! Coal shook her head. Why had she started doing that? I was probably just angry, she decided. Dusk usually started rambling on about how she hated everything she could think of whenever she was angry, Catnip always explaining to Coal that it was her way of letting out her anger without hurting someone. So maybe this was her way, blaming her actions on other things.
Coal knew that it was her fault that she had fallen over, she hadn't really thought about what she was doing and just hopped right off of the edge of the rock, thinking everything was fine. Thought I would have learnt my lesson in Starclan, but oh no! I just can't help myself! I just have to jump off of every dangerous rock there is! Coal suddenly realized that anger was coursing through her body, taking over her thoughts. She growled at nothing in particular, her anger rising slowly but steadily, her eyes narrowed, glaring at the beach.
Why am I so angry? Coal stopped growling, her body stiffened, and she lay there, her eyes widened in confusion. Why am I so angry? She asked herself again. She hadn't even noticed her anger rising as she lay in the sun resting. Now that she thought about it, she had woken slightly annoyed, lashing out at the moss, ripping it off of the roots, and watching it with narrowed eyes as it rolled away from the force of her paw as she bashed it aside. "Why am I angry?" she asked again, but no one answered her. The feeling was receding, replaced with confusion and a slight fear.
Her brow furrowed as she tried to conjure up some excuse for her anger. She knew that she would start to feel better if she could blame this almost foreign feeling on something, rather than let it go and have it unanswered, floating around the back of her mind for the rest of her life. It always helped her when she was confused with something, but didn't know the answer, she just made one up, an answer which satisfied her enough before she went and asked her Mother about it. But Mother isn't here. I'll just have to wait until she is here, then ask her about my anger.
Coal let her thoughts wonder as she tried to come up with her excuse. Maybe it's because I can't find my Family and I feel as if it's my fault that I can't find them. Maybe I'm just mad that the Voice hadn't warned me about the river and is now ignoring me. Maybe it's because I slept cold and wet again. Maybe I just want someone to talk to and I don't want to be alone any more. Maybe it's all of this, and I just can't control it, everything is just happening and I can't do anything to stop it.
It seemed that this was helping her more than she had thought. Her muscles relaxed, and she sighed, her shoulders drooping a fraction. Her thoughts stopped racing, she hadn't realized that they were, and she felt calm, almost sleepy. She shook her head. She felt strangely refreshed, and there was no trace of her anger anywhere. Not only had she let out her anger without hurting someone like Dusk did, but she had also somehow managed to push the remainder of it away, not storing it inside of her, waiting for it to build up then explode, she had let it go, pushing it away and out of her, letting it drift away like the catkins on the river.
Thinking of ways to help with her confusion had never helped Coal as much as it did just then. Maybe it's because I actually found the answer to why I'm angry. Or it could be just that I've never done this before to help me with my anger, only to think of answers to questions so I didn't look stupid in front of Dusk. Their relationship was weird. Even though she loved Dusk with all of her heart, they always competed against each other, trying to be better than the other, as if they were rivals. They didn't fight, they just wanted to be the best kitten out of the two of them. And that's why I don't like looking stupid! She'd be in the lead for Best Kitten!
Coal sighed, slowly getting up onto her paws, making sure her injured paw was tucked up against her chest so that she wouldn't hurt it any more. She instantly straightened her tail for balance as she felt herself lean too far to the left, not wanting to bash her nose on the pebbles again. Well, now that that's dealt with, I think I should focus on the next problem. Heading to the treeline, a thought struck Coal. It would be easier to follow the setting sun if I travel on the banks of the river, there would be no trees blocking my view, and I'd be less likely to trip over something.
Suddenly changing her direction to follow the river, Coal almost fell over again, barely catching herself before she hit the floor. It would be easier to walk on the grass. She realized. One of the main reasons that she kept on falling was because the stones continuously shifted beneath her paws as she limped forward, making it harder to keep a good grip as she walked. Coal changed her direction again, heading to the grass instead. There was a few tail-lengths of grass before the trees started, and it was clear form any obstacles apart from the occasional root creeping out of the forest. Coal sighed in relief as the ground beneath her became solid and steady, and she found it easier to keep her balance. Just like I thought it would! She congratulated herself silently for her smart thinking, nodding happily. This is why I should be ahead of Dusk, she can't use that head of hers!
Now that Coal wasn't tripping up as much as before, she continued her journey, following the setting sun in search for her Family. She focussed on keeping her paw off of the ground, dodging around the few roots that she came across. No matter how relaxed she had become, her whole body still ached from the previous day, her muscles stiff and tired. Even though she was just walking, she felt her energy quickly depleting. She started to struggle at just keeping her paw safe, lowering with each step that she took. Her breathing became laboured, as if she had just run around the whole world, and before she knew it, her place slowed until she was going about as fast as a snail.
Well, aren't I just full of luck! I can't even walk without getting tired! She had reached the wider part of the river, her rock becoming harder and harder to see amongst the cluster of rocks surrounding it. The foaming river crashed against them, creating small explosions that Coal could see even from this distance. It shocked Coal greatly at the vast difference between the river beside her and the one she had left behind. It's hard to believe that they're the same river!
Coal flopped down on the grass, narrowly missing a small stone that she hadn't noticed, and closed her eyes. The sun had hardly moved since she had set off, which Coal supposed was a good thing, it meant she had more time for searching. But it also meant that it hardly took anything to tire her out, and Coal needed all the energy she had to search. If she has to rest every few seconds then she would be wasting too much of her precious time. I need as much time as I can get if I want to be with my Family by today.
Thankfully it didn't take too long for most of Coal's energy to return, and she immediately set off once her breathing was normal. She was determined to find her Family before it became dark. Coal hated sleeping on her own. Even though she hadn't really thought about it, she missed resting her head wrapped up in her Mother's tail, tangled up with Dusk. No matter how strange she and Dusk must look, a ball of fur and legs, twisting their bodies in weird ways so that they were both close to each other as well their Mother, it was the most comfortable thing that Coal knew. They were so close that on more than one occasion, their Mother joked that Coal was Dusk's shadow, literally, her black fur and her closeness with Dusk would make anyone think that she was a shadow.
Coal hated opening her eyes, expecting to see her Family curled up around her, only to find that roots were curling around her instead. Not only was it uncomfortable and cold, but the warm feeling her Family always gave her in her heart was never there, leaving behind an empty space, a gaping hole. Coal was not used to the feeling, especially now that she was on her own. The Voice was there to talk to at some times during her journey, but it was nothing like having a real cat to talk to. The Star-cats were no different, they were in Coal's head too, a dream that Coal had conjured up to try and rid how alone she felt, to try and cheer her up.
The shadows from the trees stayed away from her, keeping to themselves under the protection of the branches. The river passed her calmly, it's depths hidden in the darkness of the water, the surface clear and smooth, reflections showing in the water, hiding everything under the surface. Her two fears, sandwiching her in between them, giving her no way to go apart from forward. If her Family had been with her, they would be able to protect her from her fears, fighting them off, keeping her safe. But she was on her own. She had put herself in this position, so now she must face the consequences, she must fight her fears by herself. She must stay strong, and carry on, no matter what stood in her way.
She had already told herself that she needed to grow up, and now she had even more reason to. Coal knew that the world was a dangerous place, her Mother had said so plenty of times, and now that she was no longer safe at her home, she had to fend for herself. Even when she was with her Family again, she knew that she couldn't go back to being a careless kitten again, she would put her Family in danger as well as herself. She had to grow up and help her Family with surviving in the wild, they didn't have anyone else to depend on, they could only depend on each other, and the only way that someone could depend on her was if she could survive on her own.
Coal hadn't noticed, but while she had been walking, she had also been crying. She could feel the tears falling down her face, warm and salty, her eyesight blurry. She felt so alone, so sad, that she could feel her chest physically aching from her emotions. She was trying to hold back all of her feelings, knowing that if she wanted to grow up, she couldn't let her feelings take over her, but the tears managed to escape her. She wasn't sobbing or wailing like she knew she would have if she was being protected by her Family, but she couldn't hold back the tears, they fell from her eyes like rain from the clouds, springing up too quick for her to push them away like she had with her anger.
So she allowed it. She allowed the tears to fall, but she didn't stop searching. She didn't let her emotions take full control of her. She couldn't. She didn't stop crying, even when she was resting, her cheeks always remained wet, but she always remained quiet, accepting that she couldn't stop crying, but knowing that she could force away any other actions that her grief could bring her. Her body never shook, her face stayed blank, her mouth clenched shut, no noise escaped her, just the tears showed any sign that she was upset.
Coal continued travelling beside the river, watching the sun as it crawled across the sky, slowly beginning to set. No matter how many twists and turns the river made, it always ended up following the trail that Coal needed to follow. Her muscles were screaming at her to stop and just sleep, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to give up until complete darkness took over the sky. Her struggle to keep her emotions in check was tiring her out quickly, and as Coal had continued, she had found herself needing more and more breaks. Now, she wasn't sure how much longer her mind would be able to carry on suppressing her feelings, her body felt weak and a headache had arrived ages before her muscles started hurting so much. Her barrier was crumbling.
The wall that she had built up to trap all of her feelings in was slowly beginning to crumble, the strain too much for it, her feelings too strong. She stumbled forward, trying with all of her might to carry on until the sun had fully set. She could see the sun, barely brushing the horizon, turning the sky back to the deep orange that she had found it in after the River Experience. She still had plenty of time to search for her Family, she could carry on and find them, finally be with them again. But her body had other thoughts.
Coal tried to take another step forward, desperate to not give up just yet, when everything suddenly became too much for her. She felt her barrier finally brake, falling down, allowing all of her emotions to come tumbling out. She collapsed to the floor, curling up on herself slightly, sobs racking her body as she cried her heart out. All that she had done was try to grow up, to help her Family, but she hadn't helped anyone, not even herself. The pain in her chest grew tenfold, and Coal howled in pain as it became too much to bare.
She knew that it wasn't a physical pain, just the pain from being so alone, but Coal felt it worse than any cut or bruise she ever had. Her heart felt as if someone had ripped it out of her chest, and was clawing at it in front of her very eyes. Coal loved her Family so much, and spending this much time away from them was finally taking it's toll on her. I just want to be with them. She scrunched her eyes shut, hoping to block out everything that was happening to her. Her body shook from the force of her sobs and the force of her emotions. "Why can't I be with them?" she mewed miserably, her voice weak and shaky, "I don't want to be alone any more. I don't! I don't want to be alone!" she shrieked, raw emotion in each word as she let out her pain to the sky. She just wanted her Family back.
The sky had darkened, and Coal found herself asleep, curled up in the grass, tears staining her cheeks, her mind and body exhausted from everything that had happened that day. Her mind was too tired to let her dream that night, and Coal was left with an uninterrupted night of much needed sleep. The stars twinkled in the clear, night sky, looking down on Coal, feeling her pain. They had all lost someone dear to them, they all knew what the small kitten was going through, so they let her sleep, let her recover. They stood guard over her, watching her as she slept, keeping any danger away from her. They protected the kitten, knowing that there wasn't anyone else who could do that, they protected her from the harsh world.
The stars knew that Coal would find her Family, it was written in their very skies. But, they didn't know when, the kitten could be alone for a very long time before she caught wind of her Family. So they decided that they would help her in the only way that they could, protect her from the Darkness while she slept. It wasn't much, but they knew it helped Coal more then they thought possible, it was one of her fears after all. Coal was as much their kitten as she was Catnip's, and they all felt the burden of keeping her well until she could fend for herself, the burden of a parent.
So they shined and twinkled in the sky, fighting off the Darkness so their Coal could sleep peacefully.
But one star couldn't take seeing Coal like this. He had died before he could properly parent his kits, leaving them behind to face the world on their own. He felt the fatherly urge to do more than just watch, to go down and comfort the defenceless kit. And so he did.
Grey Wing curled around the kit protectively, his star studded pelt scaring off the Darkness that threatened to creep into Coal's mind. He didn't care if any living creature decided to take a closer look at Coal, they couldn't see him unless they believed in Starclan, but they could sense him. Any creature that stepped too close would be overcome with the feeling that if they hurt the small kit, something bad would happen. They could feel the protective shield surrounding her, instantly recognising it as a fatherly protection, and knew that unless they wanted something to attack them, they should stay away. If a cat who believed in him came, they would be too awed to even think about hurting Coal, and if not, they would be likely to listen to what he said.
Coal was so still, her chest barely rising with each breath, Grey Wing wouldn't be surprised if someone thought she was dead. She started shivering, and he licked her head, calming her down. He knew that she would be cold, she was out in the open at night, and he was dead, his body wasn't warm. Even with him wrapping his body around Coal, all that he was doing was creating a shield against other animals, he couldn't keep the cold away from her, no mater how much he wished he could. Poor thing. I'm glad that she has her 'Voice' keeping an eye on her. He continued licking Coal's body, not only just to comfort her, he was cleaning away all of the dirt that she had managed to collect on her travels. She's filthy! How can she manage walking around with such a dirty pelt?
He stayed beside Coal throughout the entire night, protecting her from the Darkness. He would have to return to Starclan when the sun rose, but by then Coal would be safe enough to be on her own for a while. He watched as the sky turned from black to blue as the sun finally began to rise. As the first rays of sun hit the ground, Grey Wing stood, stepping away from the still sleeping form of Coal. She shifted a bit in her sleep, but settled back down once she was comfortable again. He smiled down at her, his heart warming at how peaceful she looked.
"Good luck, Coal." he whispered, before he turned to look at the sun. It had been a while since he had seen this sun, and he wanted to experience the feeling one more time before he returned to Starclan's hunting grounds. He took a deep breath, sniffing the fresh air. He blinked as he caught a familiar scent on the wind, not too far away from where they were. He chuckled, glancing down at the kitten. "You don't have to search for much longer." And with that, he gracefully leaped into the air, his body slowly fading away as he returned to his home.
I really need to get better at this once every fortnight thing, I mean, I'm a week late! Right, my first excuse for this is it's snowing! In March! It hasn't snowed here for about 4 years! At least, not properly. So I can't let this go to waste can I?
Second excuse is that I wrote this, what do you expect? Me to actually be on time for once? Ha! As if!
Well, I hope that this is enough for you, it's ended on a happier note than the last chapter. I know that she broke down in tears near the end, but wouldn't you if you were lost and alone? She's trying her best to be strong to help her Family, but some things just can't be done, and growing up so suddenly definitely isn't a feat that a kitten can do.
Please review and give any helpful criticisms! And don't forget about OC's for Breezeclan! Now I'll see you when I do! Bye!
-zZCoalpawZz