Romans 12:7
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
Chapter 2 - Vengeance
Talons Take Their Grasp
Bright orange flames crackled under the beaming sun, gracefully dancing as they lapped against the faintly colored sky. The blaze of heat seemed to burn as water seems to lightly trickle through jagged rocks. Soft waves of heat were as sharp as talons while they sparked across the once sturdy structure.
Slowly destroying the thing called 'home,' the fire turned this once safe haven into something now known as an entrapment.
The building held frightened creatures inside, trying to find any sort of small hole or opening that they could possibly find. As the blaze was growing quicker, it spread as a contagion until it reached the pinnacle of the bright red barn and left nothing but the remnants of a tragic event. The fire would take every thing it could catch hold of and leave no evidence of the life it had taken but ashes.
Yowls of fear rose from within the containment, calling for help as their world crumbled around them. Though, unfortunately, the sound was consumed by the depth of the colossally ignited light.
...
Desperately trying to escape, a young she-cat searched for an exit. Her calico fur was stained with residue, yet it was cleverly hidden on the dark patches of her ragged coat.
Inside, wails engulfed the vicinity, but the origination was unclear because the illusion of the fire could create a disruptive noise.
The she-cat's ears perked as she discovered a beam of light shining through a small opening; it was distinguished by the pale blue of the sky that she took advantage of for far too long.
Immediately, the little hope that kindled within her vanished as a small noise arose. This splitting noise had sounded again, this time louder. The cat instinctively sprang back right before a huge beam covered the passageway. It landed where she was moments before; it could have fallen right on top of her, yet she had no time to worry about what could have been.
That way won't suffice any longer.
Everything, her whole life, was going by right before her eyes, reflecting the flames consuming the place she had once come to for shelter.
She had to find her family and lead them to safety; it was her duty.
The calico faintly coughed, her lungs straining for oxygen. Feeling as if she were lasting on a single breath, she kept going on that one hope or the consequence would be suffocation. But every moment she breathed, it got more and more difficult; every time she inhaled, her aspirate became more shallow until there was nothing left to continue living on.
It consumed her and she could no longer fight it.
...
The calico she-cat awoke. She shook her head in complete bewilderment. Has everything been a dream?
Searching for answers as her blurry vision became more clear, the calico looked down to steady her gaze. Only then did she realize that ash clung to her fuzzy white paws.
The loner looked up, her amber eyes filled with complete horror of what she might find.
While smoke rose from the bright red building, her home was burning to the ground along with everyone she had ever known, easily as a bird fluttered its wings. It had seemed so natural, did it not realize that it was destroying all she ever cared about? Did it not understand the intolerable grief and realization she was now going through?
"No!" the calico screeched in dismal, standing on her unstable legs. Wobbling from the reality she was witnessing, her legs gave out and collapsed beneath her. She bowed her head and squinted her eyes in pain. Make it go away.
Many noises flooded her ears, that of twoleg shouting and the spraying of water, but if she opened her eyes, just once, this reality would hit her like a cold, hard rock.
Just then, appearing out of the trees themselves, a sleek, black creature stood above her. The she-cat opened her eyes, seeing the thing look down with ice cold orbs as if daring her to speak. The calico cat seemed nothing but a cowering creature that was succumbing to the strange being. She looked up with grieving eyes screaming for help, but the other cat would give nothing to the vulnerable loner.
"You have survived," the lithe cat stated, emotionless, "Not what I expected." Sounding more intrigued, the creature nodded its head as if thinking up a solution to the unnecessary problem, "But you managed well." The satisfaction in the smirk this cat held was not hidden.
The calico did not like being treated as an unstable cat, which she was now. She growled in agitation, baring her sharp teeth and unsheathing her piercing claws as she stood up in a stable fighting position. Attempting to appear menacing, the loner couldn't help but shake the feeling of admiration towards this cat. Yet, her anger gave her strength to resist at that moment; but overall anger would just make her even weaker.
Hind legs placed carefully on the ground and muscles tensing ready for a fight, the she-cat questioned, "Are you implying something?" A harsh tone rang in her voice while her soot-covered muzzle twisted in a snarl. All curiosity had left due to the need of protecting what little pride she had.
Appearing as if the strange cat wanted to aggravate the situation further, it replied tauntingly, "Nothing." Pausing for a few moments, it proceeded, "but that I took a few.. precautions."
Hurt flooded the ragged loner as she relaxed most of the tension in her body, taking in the realization of what this cat was insinuating. After her moment of sensitivity, she tightened her muscles once again. "So, you killed them?" The calico asked with an exasperated hiss, feelings of pain and hostility mingling as one.
"They knew something no cat could possibly know; I was actually doing your little family a favor, because the secret they held would tear them up inside in the end," the cat provoked with a stony expression.
The calico she-cat knew this stranger was trying to push her off the edge, to drive her of the cliff of sanity, but she wasn't one to control her temper.
She lashed out with complete hate and rage, the lust for revenge of what this cat did burning in her eyes.
The strange creature had succeeded; it pushed her past the point of healing. She was the last remnant of her whole world and even that was falling apart. It only took a moment.
The loner lunged forward, claws ready to cringe whatever fell between their hold, yet all she felt was air, nothing but air as she leaped a fox-length away. Her face held complete befuddlement; the strange creature had practically vanished out of thin-air.
Turning around in a desperate manner, she held a low, rumbling growl at the base of her throat.
The black cat swiftly made its way towards the temperamental she-cat, "Perhaps you could be of some use to me."
The calico's feathery, white-tipped tail waved back and forth with impatience, waiting for this cat to finish what it started. As if a dozen fire ants were crawling in her pelt, she asked through gritted teeth, "What could you possibly want from me?"
An emotionless expression still lingered as the cat strode flawlessly towards the she-cat, circling her as if examining for mistakes. "I simply want you to join my alliance," it said in such a way like it was obvious, hanging there in the still evening air. An alliance against what?
Angrily, the loner was about to speak, but she stopped as her mouth hung open in an odd form, seizing the moment at paw. This would be her moment. This would be the moment that decided what path lay ahead. This was the moment she could take in her claw-hold and squeeze until it gave her the desired results she wanted, revenge. Revenge for her family, revenge for her home.
"I will join you," the calico said gruffly, with an empty tone. She felt nothing now, quick as it was; she felt nothing but the need for revenge. It became her world now.
It would be all that she thought about, it would consume her until there was nothing left to intoxicate.
"What is your name?" the cat question, satisfied that its task was so easily completed.
"Ash." It was only fair to represent her new-found meaning in life; her name had not been Ash, but it was who she was now. She was the last remnant of all she knew, once.
She would find what she so vainly longed for, she was determined.
...
One kindling flame can slowly grow, until it corrodes it's host with a burning fire. As the desire for vengeance ignites inside the heart of a cat and forms into a growing hatred, a small blaze can spread and consume most anything until it leaves nothing but ashes.
But men often mistake killing and revenge for justice. They seldom have the stomach for justice.
Robert Jordan
A/N: Alright, well, as noted in my note of the prologue to this story, here is a side-character whose story and existence is much more important than you may first think. Silent Whispers is not only to be revolved around the two main characters but others, as well - to show how every person, no matter how small, is not insignificant (especially in this story). I am having fun with this, because in the end everything will fit together as puzzle pieces.
Lesson:
Not only as the author but as a person who cares for the state of others, I honestly hope you realize how harmful it is to be bitter and hold on to the bad things committed against us. There are many horrible things going on all around, but it the most damaging - emotionally and physically - to seek to "get even." Our lives are too precious to be spent filling our hearts with such hate and a vengeful spirit; it is hard, I know. Yet, all it will do is chain you down if you don't let it go.
Ash wanted to make this murderer pay for what he did, receive justice. But how is the desire to harm one in return for what they did anything close to justice? Isn't it done with the same intentions that this evil character had? We must face that we have not the purest idea of it - let alone a right mind to be able to judge such.
The calico she-cat may have believed that the death of her family scarred her, ruined her. But really, the desire for revenge did.
I am sad to say that I may not have expressed this at my best through the storyline - but why live like this? May your hearts be heavy, just as mine is.
...
Characters and Plot © myself
Warriors Concept © Erin Hunter