Lost:
Leafkit narrowed her eyes as her mother fell asleep. Petalwhisper's flank rose and fell gently. Up, and down. Up, and down. Sighing softly, she wondered if what she was about to do was worth it, for if she failed... Her mother would be driven apart with worry and fear for her. The little she-kit glanced outside of the nursery, up at the moon the shone bright in the night sky. Watch over me, she begged. Let me return safely.
Taking a deep breath, she placed one paw outside of the den. The cold night air struck her like a thousand claws raking down her pelt, and she shivered, fluffing her fur in a desperate attempt to keep herself warm. Cloudwing was on guard, and Leafkit could see the white tom's pelt clearly. His visibility made her glad for her dark tortoiseshell coat, for it gave her more cover.
Slinking through the shadows, she glanced back at the bramble nursery; it was not too late to turn back, to act as if nothing had ever happened. She could curl up in her warm nest now, knowing she would be greeted warmly tomorrow with licks and prey. Would she even have a single meal tomorrow, if she didn't make it back to camp before she fell asleep on her paws, who knows where?
She was taking a risk. She knew it. Leafkit quietly made her way over to the dirt place tunnel, and after rubbing again a fern to disguise her scent, she ducked into the tunnel. Holding her breath, she leapt silently out of it, landing lightly, the dark tortoiseshell she-kit amazed at her graceful, successful, escape. Leafkit twitched her tail, glancing side to side. Which way should she go?
Tilting her head, Leafkit finally chose a direction at random. She padded straight forwards, then took a trail to the left at thorn bush. She could smell a strange, bird like scent, but she continued, unafraid, until an eerie sound stopped her in her tracks.
Freezing, Leafkit glanced side to side. Nothing. Was it hiding in the shadows, whatever it was? The bird like scent was stronger, and she could hear strong wings beating hard. Looking up, a she trembled as a great owl dove down, down, down towards her. "Hoot!" It cried, and suddenly strength flowed into Leafkit's limbs. She ducked to the side, out of the way of the flashing talons, and in that heart beat, she made a decision.
She would attack. Then she would run. Adrenaline kicked in, pushing her on, and as her mind cleared, a battle plan crossed her mind. Duck, shrink back. Act weak and tired, and back away slowly. Crouching, she let her fear lead her a moment, and she shivered in fright. Leafkit began to back away, whimpering. Don't let me die! A flash of moonlight blinded her temporarily as the owl swooped upwards, then dove again.
Leafkit leapt into the air, claws first, raking the owl's face and making it cry out in surprise. Landing lightly, she spun and rolled to the side, knowing the owl would attack her. She was right. Where she had been a moment before, the owl's talons where slashing. Jumping back to her feet, she clawed some feathers off the great bird, and it fell onto the ground.
At once, she turned tail and ran. She ran deep into the bushes, not caring where she went or how she got there. She just ran, paws pounding the ground, eyes fixed straight ahead of her, glancing back up at the sky every so often. The moon was shadowed by a cloud. Leafkit glanced back one more time; then suddenly she was standing on ground no more and she fell, fell, fell, shrieking, begging for help.
Then she hit the ground and everything went black.
"We found Leafkit! She fell off the cliff; I can see her at the bottom!" Voices woke Leafkit. Her thoughts were fuzzy, yet she could still see the bright sunlight through her closed eyes.
"No, Tawnypaw! Be careful; don't fall off!" Another voice sounded. She twitched, but then pain fired over her and she screamed, but nothing came out. Her throat hurt worst of all.
It felt like she was bruised all over, and she only listened as her clanmates climbed down the cliff and dashed over to her. One voice shrieked with relief as soon as they reached her. "She's alive!" It was Petalwhisper! Leafkit jerked, then immediately regretted it as the pain overwhelmed her. It wouldn't stop, not for many moments. It felt like the pain would never stop, not now, not ever.
A tongue licked her gently, and she opened her mouth for another silent scream. Just the gentle caress of her mother's tongue was too much to handle, the pain too sharp, too strong. "My baby," Petalwhisper murmured, and then Leafkit felt no more.
"Her foreleg is broken..."
"Her scratches are bad..."
"Her vocal cords are damaged..."
Those three sentences echoed in Leafkit's head, over and over and over until she wanted to scream. But she couldn't; though her scratches had healed, she had cut her throat on a sharp rock during her fall, and now she couldn't speak. She would be mute forever.
"How are you doing?" Petalwhisper asked softly, padding into the medicine den. Leafkit blinked once, the established word for 'yes/good'. Her mother sighed. "I'm so proud of you. Can you tell me what happened?" Leafkit tilted her head, then struggled to pull herself closer to the sandy floor. She didn't dare stand on her leg. Using her good foreleg, she trace the shape of a bird, then added long talons and beady eyes.
Petalwhisper tilted her head. "You were following a bird?" Two blinks. "You were trying to hunt a bird?" A shake of her head. "You saw an owl?" Three blinks. A kind of. Leafkit watched as it finally dawned on her mother. "An owl was trying to hunt you, and you ran, and then you ran off the cliff!" Leafkit nodded, eyes widening in excitement. Forgetting her wound, she jumped to her feet, then collapsed. For the third time, it all went black.