"Go ahead and lay down. You need to get warm and get those wounds taken care of." The dark ginger tom walked away from Rain as she hesitantly laid down in the cave he had led her to. The kit lay snuggled between her paws, trembling and crying weakly. After Rain had told the tom her name, he had demanded that she follow him. With nowhere else to go, she did so willingly. He had taken her to a decent-sized, relatively warm cave in the face of the mountain. She was terrified of him...but she knew trying to fight him off and stay in the cave herself would be useless. She watched as the tom began to gather a pile of dried sticks and twigs in front of her, his threatening face showing no emotion as he worked.
It wasn't long before a pile the same size as the kitten was in front of her. She looked up and saw the tom shove a large, flat stone close to the pile. He then climbed up onto a small outcropping before quickly shoving a much larger rock down. Rain jumped in shock as the rock fell down and flipped against the other, sparks flying up and falling onto the pile of sticks. Smoke began to rise from the pile as a fire slowly formed. "There," grunted the tom, leaping down. "Now you and that kit can get warm. Lick its fur in the opposite direction to help dry it quicker." He came over to her and began to do the exact same to her fur.
Rain looked at him in surprise, feeling very awkward, but did as he said and began to lick the kit's fur in the opposite way it grew. It wasn't long before the kit was completely dry, its fur soft and fluffy instead of damp and flat. It curled up against Rain's chest, purring quietly as it fell asleep. Rain was also soon dry thanks to both the fire and the strange tom grooming her fur. Once she was dry and warm, he left her and went to the opposite side of the fire, lying down. "You said your name is Rain, right?" He asked her quietly.
She looked at him, hesitating before giving a small nod.
"And you're pregnant?"
Another small nod.
He looked over and put his paw in a hole that was in the side of the cave wall. He dragged out two large, plump mice, moving one in front of him and then shoving the other towards her. "Eat," he told her, bending his head and eating his own mouse.
Rain blinked and looked down at the mouse, staring for a moment before she tentatively began to nibble on the mouse. The moment she tasted it, however, her eyes widened and she began to ravenously devour the mouse. It was the most amazing thing she had ever tasted. It was plump and had clearly been healthy and well fed. She left nothing of the mouse but its bones, sighing comfortably once she was done eating.
"Feel better?" asked the tom, also done with his own mouse.
Giving a small nod, Rain licked her paw and looked up at him. "Yes, thank you, um..."
"Zero," he blinked his golden eyes slowly.
Her eyes traced over his frightening profile, observing the absence of whiskers on his face. "A-and...Zero...you live out here alone?"
He nodded, his tail flicking a bit. "What about you? What is a pregnant mother doing out here, with a kit no less? You know there are wolves running about the mountains, right?"
"Of course I do...I live-...lived further up in the mountains. With a Tribe."
His ears twitched curiously. "Tribe?"
"A group of cats that live together in a cave..."
"Why are you all the way out here, then? Shouldn't you be with your Tribe?"
"I left," she mewed quietly, giving a small shrug.
Zero frowned, looking confused. His expression, though, made Rain flinch some. He looked more viciously angry than curious and, in the back of her mind, she was working out a plan to get away if he attacked her. "And why would you leave a place where you were safe?"
"I was anything but safe there," she whispered shakily. "S-Shard...our leader a-and...my mate...he wanted to kill my kits...because he'd rather lose them than lose me, one of his favorite mates..."
"One of?"
"He has many," Rain looked up a bit, grimacing. "Any she-cat he thinks is pretty, he takes as a mate. It doesn't even matter if he's related to them...if they're pretty and he selects them, they become one of his mates." She sighed and closed her eyes, licking the kit's head gently. "I...I'm terrified to be away from the Tribe...but I couldn't stay. I couldn't just sit there and let him kill my kits...!"
Zero was staring at her, his eyes tracing all of the bones that were jutting out of her scarred, dull blue pelt. "Was food scarce?" he asked softly.
Rain looked up, surprised by how gentle his voice was. She was confused by how his face remained terrifying and intimidating, despite the tender tone of his voice. After a moment, she gave a small nod. "Everyone was only allowed to hunt once a day," she murmured, "and all of the food was so thin and lifeless that it was hard to ever get a full stomach. And, if you didn't catch prey during your time that day, you'd go hungry until you could hunt again the next day." She sighed shakily. "I lost count as to how many mothers, kits, elders...h-how many died because they never got enough food..."
The cave was silent after her words, the only sound coming from the soft crackling of the fire. "...I can see why you left, then," Zero murmured. "That doesn't sound like a life anyone would want to bring kits into...Have others left before you?"
"A lot tried. But none of them got far before Shard's special guards, the Elites, caught them and killed them."
"So how did you get all the way here?"
"Wolves. Shard...was going to give this kit to them to keep them from attacking the caves...so I saved it and, in the chaos of the wolves attacking the Tribe...I ran..." Rain looked down at the kit sadly. "I feel bad for this kit being separated from its mother...but I couldn't leave it for its mother to find it later. The wolves would have snatched it up the moment I left it."
"I don't blame you for taking it, then," Zero looked at the kit for a moment before standing, licking his chest. "Get some rest. You can stay here until you've regained some energy. Then you can be on your way to wherever you're going."
"...T-thank you," Rain meowed quietly, eyes following him as he went to another hole in the wall. He scooped out some dark green leaves and, holding them in his mouth, returned to Rain's side. He chewed up the leaves before putting their remains on his paw. He began to spread them onto the fresh, deep wounds on her body.
Rain winced, the substance stinging the scratches severely. "This'll keep them from getting infected," Zero assured her. "Just relax and they'll start to feel better." He finished applying the medicine before leaving her be.
She watched him walk to the mouth of the cave before she sighed and laid her head down beside the sleeping kit. She closed her eyes and, only moments later, was fast asleep.
"Rain, wake up."
The she-cat opened her eyes sleepily to see a fat rabbit in front of her. She lifted her head, seeing Zero sitting nearby, his scarred tail wrapped around his large paws. The fire had gone out and Rain could tell it was almost sunrise, due to the pale purple and pink hues of the sky. "...T-thank you," she mewed softly, eating the rabbit gratefully and, once again, leaving only bones and some fur.
"The kit is awake," Zero informed her, motioning to Rain's tail with his own.
She looked over her shoulder to see the small kitten walking about, wobbling with every step. Its eyes had opened a bit more and it looked excited and perky as it shakily padded after Rain's bushy tail. Now that she wasn't so exhausted and panicked, Rain could tell with a small sniff that the kitten was a female. Her coat was a diluted tortoiseshell color, some white splashed on her chest, muzzle and paws.
Rain watched the kit for a moment before she looked back at Zero, who was staring at the kitten as well. "Um...Z...Zero?" His eyes turned to her and she flinched a bit at the furious glare he seemed to give her. "Where...do you find such healthy food...? A-and how do you hunt it?"
"You just need to look in the right places...places that are hidden from predators such as wolves and eagles and places that have both water and food sources. And don't you know how to hunt?"
"The meadow where we hunted in back at the cave...was very small. And the prey was always too weak to fight back or run..." She shuffled her paws a bit. "I-I want to know how to hunt properly...so when I leave, I can provide for her," she glanced at the kit, "and my own kits..."
Zero blinked and nodded. "Wait until that little one is asleep. Then I'll take you out and teach you."
She stared at him in shock. "Y-you'd really do that?"
"I can't just let you leave knowing you can't hunt for your kits." Zero lifted his paw and began to groom, Rain just staring at him.
"Y...you know, Zero...you seem...really nice for-"
"For someone with this kind of face?" huffed the tom. He turned his head away from her, sighing. "I look like I'm going to kill you, right? Like I'm furious at you for no reason and want to rip you to shreds."
She flinched a little, remaining silent.
Zero accompanied her silence for a few minutes, watching the kit as it slowed down, more and more, until it finally laid down and curled up, falling fast asleep. Zero then stood, stretching a bit. "Come on, then. I'll teach you some hunting." He left the cave, Rain hesitating before standing and following him. He led her out of the cave, Rain able to hear the distant roaring of the river she had nearly drowned in. Zero seemed to be making sure that he was taking an easy path for the she-cat, stopping every time she fell a bit behind and waiting for her until she caught up with him.
"In the mountains," he began to speak as they walked, "it's best to look for prey where there are a lot of overhanging stones, like these. Prey like them, because they're good to hide under to avoid predators. This is an ideal area, with these stones, this grass and a creek that runs nearby." Zero sat down quietly in the short grass. "The wind is blowing towards us, so sniff the air and see what you can smell."
Rain nodded and tipped her head back some, sniffing. "...I smell...rabbit?" she guessed quietly, not too familiar with the smell.
"Young ones, but yes. Now, the important thing to remember about rabbits is that their hearing is amazing. Before they see you, they'll hear you. So you need to be completely silent when stalking a rabbit." He stood and lowered his body to the grass, his tail down but not touching the grass. He slowly stalked forward hardly making a single sound. The faint rustling of the grass under his paws could easily be passed off as a soft breeze. He stopped and straightened up. "Try it."
Nodding, Rain lowered herself close to the grass, swallowing some as she tried to creep forward silently, like him. "Not that low," he corrected her, walking to her side and watching her. "The grass is brushing your belly. Raise up a bit."
She did as he said.
"Keep your rear down more. Tail straight out...yes, like that. Step one paw at a time, like counting to two. One, two, one, two...close your mouth. A rabbit will hear your breathing too easily." He examined her for a moment before nodding. "Good job...you're a fast learner."
Rain paused and sat up, looking at him. "W-what other prey can you teach me to hunt?"
He taught her different hunting positions and methods for the entire day, not making her return to the cave until the sun began to set. Rain was proudly carrying in a large rabbit that she had managed to catch all on her own after several tries. "So...how long have you lived here?" Rain asked Zero quietly as they entered the cave, Rain setting down the rabbit while Zero made another fire. The kit was still fast asleep.
"My whole life," he answered simply.
"A...always by yourself?"
"Not always."
"Why...are you alone now?"
He sat up and looked at her with his constantly glaring face, making her flinch. "I-I'm sorry," she mewed, ducking her head in apology, wrapping her tail around the kitten. "I-I didn't mean to be nosy..."
A soft sigh came from Zero as he finished off the fire. He then sat down, staring into the flames. "I lived here with my mother and my father," he told her, making her look up. "They raised me to be an expert hunter of the mountains, just like they both were. My mother taught me everything she knew gently, but firmly. My father, however, seemed to prefer using more violent methods to teach me. If I made a mistake, he'd add a scar to my body: a permanent reminder that failure wasn't tolerated." He lowered his eyes, frowning. "One day, my mother and I were out hunting. I left her side for a moment to get a mouse off to the side...the next thing I knew, I heard an eagle screeching and my mother screaming. I ran back to find blood and some of her fur..." His voice caught for a moment, but he continued after swallowing. "I returned to my father and told him what had happened...he said it was the ultimate failure...and attacked me. He left so many scars...more and more and more...I thought he would kill me...so I did what I had to."
Rain stared at him, her green eyes wide. "...You-"
"I killed him," Zero said with a soft sigh, looking down at his paws. "I did what I needed to do in order to survive. And to this day, I don't regret killing him. It made me stronger..." he gave a small shake of his body. "From then on, I lived here alone," he finished. "Always fighting for survival in the mountains...but surviving all the same."
"...It must be lonely," Rain sympathized quietly, making Zero looked at her. "Having to stay here, all by yourself, for so long...it's sad that you've had to live your life that way."
"...Let's just say it's my way of atoning for killing my father and letting my mother die," Zero murmured. "I'm not ashamed of it, nor am I proud of it...but at least I can say I'm still alive."
"That's an accomplishment on its own." Rain looked at Zero, who gave a sour chuckle at her words. "...Thank you for all of your help, Zero," she said suddenly, making him fall silent. "I think I'll leave tomorrow morning."
He frowned slightly. "Leave? Already?"
"I...don't want to stay in one place for too long...especially not in the mountains," Rain dragged her paw on the ground some, watching it as though it was fascinating. "I'm...extremely thankful for you helping me... but I left...so that I could find a place where my kits can be born and grow happily, with all of the freedom I've never had. They...that life doesn't lie in the mountains."
"...You're right," Zero sounded a bit upset, but he nodded. "Kits...don't belong in the mountains. I should know that better than anyone." He sighed and nudged a loose stick into the fire. "Go ahead and eat then get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow."
"Thank you, Zero."
When morning came, Rain woke to a freshly caught mouse that Zero had gone out and hunted for her. The wobbly footed kit was bumbling around the cave, squeaking as she tried to chase Zero's tail while he prepared some strange smelling herbs. "Here," he mewed to Rain, setting the herbs in front of her. "These herbs will give you strength. They'll also give some nutrients to the kits, to help them along."
She looked at it before looking up at him and smiling. "Thank you."
He nodded and looked at the tortoiseshell kit as Rain continued to eat. "She doesn't have a name, right?" He asked.
Rain paused and looked at her. "...I suppose she doesn't. She's so young; I doubt her mother had named her yet. Or if she had, I doubt the kit remembers it."
Zero hesitated before glancing at Rain, his golden eyes as sharp as ever. "How about Angel?"
Rain swallowed her mouthful of mouse and looked at him curiously. "What's an Angel?"
"My mother used to tell me about them. There are these creatures, called Twolegs...Angels are Twolegs, but they have wings. Apparently they're known for protecting Twolegs and are sometimes called 'Guardian Angels'...Your protected her, like they said Guardian Angels do...so why not Angel?"
The she-cat looked at the squeaking kit for a moment before smiling gently. "Angel is beautiful," Rain agreed, sitting up and gently grabbing the kit's scruff. She pulled her close and licked her cheek tenderly. "Angel it is, then."
Zero looked pleased and ended up grooming Angel as Rain finished off her meal. When she was done, she stood and looked at Zero. "We need to be going now," she told him, making him stop playing with the little kit. He hesitated before sighing and nodding, pushing himself to his paws. "I'll show you to the safest path in the area...then you can be on your way."
Nodding, Rain bent down and picked up Angel, then followed Zero as he left the cave. She looked up at the sky as they went, admiring the colors of the encroaching sunrise. They walked along in silence, the darkness of the mountains gradually being lifted as the sun peeked over them and dropped gently rays of light onto Rain and Zero as they walked.
They soon reached a peak that gently sloped downwards into an open meadow. Further on, past the meadow, a few more mountains sat, but the bulk seemed to be behind her, back towards the Tribe. "Just follow this path and you'll get to the meadow," Zero informed her. "Go through the meadow and you'll reach a Twoleg town. I don't know what's past it, but maybe it's somewhere that you can raise your kits in peace."
Rain sat Angel down and turned to Zero, smiling. "I can't say thank you enough to show I really mean it, Zero," Rain mewed softly. "We both would have drowned in the river if you hadn't of saved us."
"...Just be more careful in the future," Zero mumbled, not looking at her. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
"So do I..." Rain bent down to pick up Angel, but hesitated. She looked uncertain for a moment before she looked back up at Zero, averting her eyes a bit nervously. "You're...very kind, Zero," she said gently. "You're the exact opposite of what your face says you are...I'm sorry for judging you before I knew you..." She saw the confused look on his face and just shrugged. "...G-goodbye, then." She picked up Angel and turned, glancing back at him before hurrying off down the path.
She felt him watching her for a long time, though she didn't look back. She felt bad for leaving the obviously lonely cat...but she needed to find a place that would give a good life for her kits. She wished Zero the best in his life and could only hope that she would someday see him again.
The path she was traveling on was oddly silent. Her paw steps hardly made a single sound. Even the wind was silent, giving the air a thick, desolate feeling. She walked for a long time, eyes focused on the meadow in the distance. Occasionally, she stopped to hunt. She wasn't nearly as good as Zero, but after several failed attempts, she managed to get a mouse. She split it with Angel, having to chew up the mouse to get the kit to eat it. She knew the tiny kitten needed to drink milk, but she wasn't producing any yet, so she couldn't provide her with it.
Two days passed of Rain just trekking along the path, finding an outcrop of stone like the ones Zero had shown her to sleep under at night. It was at the end of the second day that Rain stopped, sitting down on the path and letting out an exhausted breath. She set Angel between her paws, grimacing as she saw how much further she had to go. "The path didn't look this long when I started..." she mumbled. She looked over her shoulder, back at where she had left Zero, and was shocked at how far away it was. Huffing, Rain laid down, her tail curled around Angel, who had began to cry pathetically.
"I know you're hungry," Rain murmured, licking the kit to try and calm her. "I'm sorry I can't give you milk...and I doubt there's anymore prey hanging around until we get to the meadow..."
Sighing, Rain stood back up, picking up Angel as she prepared to continue on her way. She paused, however, when she heard a distant yowl. Her head jerked up, eyes wide. She was terrified that Shard's Elites had found her. Panicking, the young cat made sure she had a solid grip on Angel before racing off down the path, running as fast as her thin legs would allow her. Another yowl sounded from somewhere behind her and she pushed herself to run faster, fear flooding through her as she thought of what would happen if she was caught.
She would be dragged back to the Tribe and her kits would be killed indefinitely. And, even if Shard decided to spare her, he would make sure her life would become a literal hell.
I don't care about that! She screamed to herself as she ran, her lungs cold due to how much of the icy air she was gulping in. My kits...I can't get caught! For the sake of my kits!
She was so caught up in her thoughts and her panic to keep her kits safe that she didn't notice a pair of stones, tied together by a thick vine, flying through the air towards her. A strangled cry escaped the she-cat as device came to her legs and flung around them, twisting around her paws and throwing her to the ground. She landed painfully on her side, Angel flying a bit away from her with a terrified squeal.
Rain laid there for a moment, stunned, before she viciously began to kick her legs until she broke free. She scrambled up and tried to rush to Angel only for a large, dark golden tom to leap in front of her, cutting her off from the crying kit. Rain stumbled backwards, eyes wide in horror. Her heart stopped for a moment when she backed right into a broad chest. Whipping around, Rain found herself corned by both the golden tom and a thin, dark red she-cat.
Thinking they were Elites, Rain unsheathed her claws and hissed viciously at them. "I'm not going back!" She screeched, flinging herself at the she-cat. She bowled her over and scratched at her furiously, though it wasn't long before she was pinned to the ground, a paw on her throat. The red she-cat glared down at her mercilessly, her dark green eyes flashing at the look of terror in Rain's gaze.
"Rosemary," The golden tom gathered the she-cat's attention, "Rosemary, Basil told us to just capture the stranger traveling nearby. Not kill her. You can tell she's pregnant...let's just take her back, like we're supposed to." He turned to pick up Angel.
"Don't touch her!" cried Rain, struggling to get up, but the cat called Rosemary held her down like she was nothing but a butterfly.
The tom looked at her calmly. "I am not going to harm her." He bent his head and picked up Angel by her scruff. He gave Rosemary a hard look, making her huff in annoyance before she stepped off of Rain.
The blue cat leaped to her paws and tried to run at the tom, growing frustrated when Rosemary stopped her. "Stop it," The tom meowed, passing Angel to Rosemary. "We've been watching you since you left that rogue. We don't want to hurt you. Our leader wants to help you, actually."
Rain flattened her ears nervously, her eyes darting between both of the cats. "...L-let me carry the kit!" She demanded.
They both stared at her for a moment before the tom dipped his head. Rosemary huffed in annoyance but handed Angel over to Rain. "Now, come with us," the tom said quietly, turning and walking in the direction Rain had come from. She considered running only to be flanked by Rosemary, who was watching her so intensely that Rain knew she'd be caught if she tried to run.
So, however reluctantly it was, she followed them, back up the winding trail she had taken towards the meadow. She thought they were going to Zero's cave...until the tom turned down a much more rocky, ragged path that Rain had not noticed before. She hesitated to follow him but had no choice, Rosemary growling threateningly at her to move on.
The rocks of the path were sharp and painful and, within minutes, Rain could feel blood seeping from her pads onto the harsh stones below. "It's not much further," the golden tom called over his shoulder to her. "...My name is Ervan, by the way. Yours?"
She glared at him with a mix of fear and fury, hesitating before giving a cautious answer. "Rain..."
"So you are called Rain?"
She froze at the new, unfamiliar voice. Looking up, the young she-cat was shocked to see a huge, slightly rounded mountain sitting before her. Its color was very different from the rest of the shades of gray of the mountains around her. The stones it was made of were a dark, dark brown...almost red. Stones that stretched up, almost like walls, hugged the sides of the mountain, several cats standing in rows on their tops. The walls parted at one point, leaving an opening that led to the large, yawning entrance of a mountain cave. Standing in front of said entrance was a slender, beautiful she-cat.
Her short, dazzling coat looked like it was made out of the purest honey, black stripes and darker shades of brown ticking through it. Her almond-shaped blue eyes pierced right through Rain, leaving her in a state of frozen silence.
The she-cat smiled and dipped her head slightly. "Welcome, Rain, to The Orphanage."
Yaaaay, finished chapter three and brought in two of my favorite characters! -face of glee- Now...I go to bed. -dies-