- Creekkit's POV
Creekkit forced himself to not collapse in exhaustion. He shivered from the fear inside and the cold outside. Night still clung to the world, but the snow had ceased falling and the moon shone, glinting the white ground and letting little light travel through the entrance. He sat in a nest of moss, carefully lined with bracken and dove-gray feathers. Coiled up like a rattlesnake just behind him was Talonkit, her fluffy tail curled protectively over her nose, with her owl-like pale eyes glinting above the fuzz. Her smokey flank pressed against his back, reassuring him everything was okay.
Around them were thick leaves, woven tightly together so no wind could pierce through. And in front of them, sat two cats. A white she-cat sat in front of them, her tail curled neatly over her paws. She was slender, with strong muscles beneath her short pelt. She squinted down her long muzzle, eyes creased with concern.
Beside her sat a large, black tom, his muzzle specked with gray. His yellow eyes glared at them, more hostile than the molly's.
"What happened to your parents?" asked the she-cat in an older voice. Creekkit's blood ran cold with nervousness and he glanced at Talonkit, hoping she'd answer the stangers question. But his sister did nothing but return the toms hostile glare. Creekkit's heart dropped and he knew he'd be doing all the talking. He didn't like talking. And he didn't like these cats. I thought me and my family were the only cats ever.
"Um," he began, "I don't know."
Creekkit really had no idea, and suddenly, he just now realized his mother wasn't there. He looked around the den in confusion, expecting to see his mother's mottled face somewhere in the shadows.
"You don't know?" asked the she-cat. "A queen would never leave her kits. And not to mention, in a horrible snowstorm."
Creekkit gave her a helpless shrug. "I don't know."
"How about your father?"
Creekkit's pelt prickled curiously. "What's a father?"
The white she-cat exchanged a look with the big tom, frowning. "...nevermind that. Why were you wandering around all by yourselves during a snowstorm?"
"What's snow?"
"Just answer my question."
Creekkit remained silent for several moments, concentrating hard. But nothing popped in his head. All he remembered was being snatched up by mean cats. He shrugged once more. "I don't know."
The she-cat let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay... " her attention shifted to Talonkit, still huddled behind Creekkit. "What about you? Do you know anything?"
Talonkit glared in reply. After a few heartbeats of this, the she-cat murmured, "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. We just want to know what is going on, that's all."
Talonkit seemed to consider this then finally pulled her tail, slowly away from her long muzzle, her eyes fierce. "Our mother is dead."
Creekkit barely heard her voice. The world seemed to swirl beneath his paws and he felt he my stagger over at any moment. His chest tightened and his breath came out raspy, but the world went back into focus as he heard the white cats voice speaking. "...to her?" he caught the last bit of what she said.
Talonkit was wrong! Mother wasn't dead, she couldn't be! Mothers never die. Talonkit must be tired, she must be thinking things, things that were fake. Creekkit was sure mother was just outside. He could smell her warm, comforting scent.
"Something killed her," Talonkit said. Her small body was stiff, and her face looked troubled. Creekkit knew she was hiding something, but wasn't sure what. All he knew was that she was wrong.
The white she-cat gave the tom an alarmed look. "Something killed her?" she forced her voice to remain gentle, but an urgency was hidden in it. "Did you see what it was?"
Talonkit's expression became guarded and she curled her plumy tail more tightly around her, fixing her eyes on a lone stone. The older cats exchanged a glance once again.
"What are your names?" Creekkit asked, realizing he had no idea who these cats were. His mother always told him to beware of strangers. The memory made him wonder remember his other siblings, and he glanced around, searching for their familiar pelts. "Where are my brothers and sisters?"
The white she-cat leaned close to give Creekkit's forehead a lick, her whiskers tickling his face, but he pulled away, his little heart thundering in his chest. She pulled away, returning to her former position, eyes glittering with sympathy. "I am so sorry, kits. You were the only ones we found. There were no other scents on our territory."
Creekkit's heart sank. Where were their siblings? We'll find them, they're okay. I know they're okay. The thought made him brighten a little.
"My name is Frostshine," the aging she-cat mewed, then beckoned her tail to the big tom beside her. "This is Sharptalon. Your mother is no where to be found... we will continue our search," she said, glancing at Talonkit, her eyes probing. She shook our her short fur and cleared her throat. "In the meantime... you have no parents. Kits living alone in the wild is dangerous. You two would have died if we hadn't found you."
Creekkit blinked as she spoke, not feeling remotely struck by the news.
"You need someone to take care of you," Frostshine gave Sharptalon a hopeful look, then returned her eyes to the kits. "Me and Sharptalon have offered to foster you. You will -"
"No!" Frostshine never finished her sentence, as Talonkit let out a little shriek and leaped to her paws. Her pelt was bristling and her pale eyes tough as river stone, but something beyond that looked wild and afraid. "We'll be fine alone. I can hunt," Talonkit meowed, sitting back down and curling her tail neatly over her paws, sounding much calmer.
Sharptalon gave her a skeptical look. "You can barely walk and you've been alone for how long? A few hours? and you've already nearly died once."
Talonkit searched for something the argue with, but clearly found nothing to say. She wrinkled her nose in resentment. "You don't know how long we were alone for."
"But aren't I right?"
"Enough," Frostshine's voice was gentle, but held an undertone of force into it, making both cats go silent. The queen turned her gaze onto Talonkit. "I understand this is difficult for you. But if what you say about your mother is true, you need a new caretaker. No questions asked. We will not send kits out to the wild, alone in a blizzard. We will look for your mother and siblings, perhaps we will find them. We can't be sure."
Frostshine's shadowy face lightened. "You will become members of our Clan, PebbleClan."
Creekkit scowled every time they spoke as if his mother was dead, but got distracted at the word Clan. "What's a Clan?"
Sharptalon appeared amused by the question and held his head high and proud as he spoke. "A Clan is a group of organized cats, who live to protect each other and live by the laws of the warrior code."
"What's the warrior code?"
Frostshine lightly tapped his small shoulder with her tail tip. "With time all of your questions will be answered."
"What are your names?" Sharptalon pressed. Creekkit looked around the den thoughtfully for a moment. "My name is... Creek... kit. Creekkit."
He pointed to Talonkit with his tail. "My sister is Talonkit."
Both Sharptalon and Frostshine's eyes widen in surprise. "They have Clan kit names!" Sharptalon exclaimed. "That can't be," Frostshine shook her head, troubled. "They don't have Clan scent... if anything they have a faint tang of PebbleClan in their fur, but that could be from hanging around in our territory," she meowed, but even Frostshine didn't look convinced.
Sharptalon narrowed his eyes, catching his mates eye in a swift glance. "I wonder...?"
Frostshine's pelt ruffled, and even she looked a little frightened. "Could it be...?" She smoothed her fur with her tongue, shaking her head. "No. Impossible."
Sharptalon stood up, beckoning Frostshine to follow. "I need to speak to you privately for a moment," he said, voice low, before her padding past the nest and squeezed out through the nursery entrance into the deep cold white blanket outside. "I will be back in a moment," she mewed, giving them a sweet grin, though her eyes looked troubled still. She disappeared outside of the den with her mate.
Creekkit blinked after them, confusion fogging his head. He shook it and turned to his sister, who hadn't moved. She gazed blankly into nothingness, apparently lost in space.
He didn't try speaking to her. Maybe she needed time to think. Since all of this has happened, he noticed she seemed much more subdued. Talonkit was always pretty optimistic and laid-back, but now she seemed more on edge. She never got lost in thought. She never gave others accusing looks, as if silently wondering if they were the cause of her problems. Creekkit let out a sigh. She probably just misses mother. But she'll find us eventually.
He still couldn't understand why acted as if she was dead. I know you're here. Please come back.
For the first time, Creekkit noticed that in the shadows of the den, multiple pairs of eyes glinted out at him, like yellow moons in the darkness. He made out the faint curve of ears and fur. Hostility mixed with curiosity sparked like lightning in the cold air. Creekkit shivered, uncomfortable with the eyes on him.
Then he overheard voices coming from outside. "...what if it's a sign?"
Interest burned inside of Creekkit and he ducked low, hoping the preying eyes didn't notice him behind the bracken of the nest. He crawled across the den floor, stopping once the voices became clearer.
"I suppose they could be..." Frostshine's voice echoed doubtfully in Creekkit's ears.
"She was expecting kits before he left and turned into that... monster." Sharptalon's voice said, a hint of scorn in it.
"And she disappeared," Frostshine said sadly.
"All the Clans have been losing cats on the half-moon. These kits could be a sign of great danger to the Clan."
"No," Frostshine's mew was more confident. "They're not those kits. I refuse to believe it. I will take care of them and raise them to be astounding warriors."
"If you say so... I still don't trust them, but I'll try to help you along the way. They need parents."
Creekkit didn't know what they were talking about. He lost interet and let his attention drift elsewhere. He looked past the two adult cats to the snow blanketed camp. A few soft flakes still drifted to the ground, glimmering in what little moonlight there was.
A cold breeze blew into the nursery, making Creekkit shiver, but with it, the breeze carried an achingly familiar scent. Excitement tickled his pelt and he became instantly more alert, searching for her mottled tabby pelt.
A quiet rustling came from outside, near the back of the den. Far beyond his sight. She was there, outside behind the den. I knew she was here.
Without another thought, Creekkit climbed out of the nursery entrance, stepping into the deep snow which reached to his neck. He gritted his teeth from the cold shock but had a surge of determination.
He had witnessed snow before, but never any so deep. How do you walk in it? Shouldn't your paws be on the surface? What would happen if he tried making a tunnel? He wasn't sure he wanted to find out, so he attempted to walk on the top layer of the glittering white snow, reaching each paw high up in turn.
But this was very tiring for such a small kitten. He soon forgot what he was doing and just rammed through it, making a path as he went. He passed Sharptalon and Frostshine, whose backs were turned to him. He kept his ears pricked, sensing small movements and sounds coming from behind the den. He could smell her sweet, comforting scent.
He turned a the corner, fighting against the cold and felt a wave of happiness crash over him as he spotted her elegant figure seated in the snow. Her amber eyes glowed with love, but something else were in their depths, something Creekkit couldn't pin, but all he knew was something was... wrong.
"Mama!" he squeaked, forgetting the biting cold and hopping over to her, ready to give her a good head bump and tell her about his and Talonkit's adventure, and how there were more cats in the world.
But to his dismay, Clearpool got to her paws and took a step back as he approached. Creekkit halted, staring at her. Why was she pulling away?
"Hello, little bean," she purred, her voice deep and comforting. "Where have you been?" Creekkit asked, iching closer until he sat beside her, looking up into her beautiful, narrow face. Clearpool wrapped her tail on the ground around him, not touching his pelt.
"Talonkit says you're dead. What does she mean? All I know is that it means you're not coming back. But it's not true! You're here, and I knew she was wrong. You'd never leave us!" he purred.
Clearpool gazed down at him and he tried to read that other emotion in her eyes, but he couldn't place it. He had never seen it before.
She let out a soft sigh, and Creekkit noticed her pelt looked strange. It looked as if she had swallowed a star and now she had the glow of it inside her.
"I can't return to you, little bean," she managed to say.
Creekkit didn't process what she was saying. "What?"
"I need you to help Talonkit. She needs all the love she can get. She needs to trust. You must protect her, for I cannot. She will protect you in turn. Will you do that for me, love?"
Creekkit stared up at her with his large icy eyes. "I mean, I'm not super strong and stuff, but okay. I will do my best."
Clearpool let a soft grin appear on her face. "I know you will."
"Why can't you protect us anymore?"
"I must walk another path now, my Creek."
"Another path?" Creekkit didn't understand. Was she going on an adventure? Why couldn't he and Talonki go?
"Yes."
Clearpool stood up and Creekkit stood with her, still gazing up at her. She met his eyes once again and finally, she leaned over to him, touching her nose to his forehead. No warmth met his fur. There was nothing there.
"I love you and your sister more than I loved my life, Creekkit. Even though you cannot see me, know I am always and forever by your side." Her purr rumbled in his ears.
Creekkit felt a lump in his throat. He had never had that happened before. When he tried to speak, nothing came out. He closed his eyes and pretended to feel the fur of her chest pressed against his cheek.
"Where is Creekkit?" came Frostshine's voice from the nursery. "Creekkit!"
He heard pawsteps following his snow trail and felt the presence of the the tom and she-cat. "Creekkit! What are you doing back here?"
He turned away from Clearpool to face the two cats. "I told you mother wasn't dead," he mewed, turning back to point out his mother, but when he did, no one was there. Only cold, dark air. No pawprints had even broken the snow.
"Awe.." Frostshine murmured, sympathy sparking in her green eyes. "Let's get you back to the den. You need rest," she meowed softly, curling her tail around Creekkit and pressing him to her side.
As Creekkit walked back to the nursery with her, he realized what the emotion he couldn't place at the time was as he felt he would collaspe and he wanted to wail out in his grief.