Post by Lakecloud The Great on Jan 31, 2014 20:58:35 GMT
A Burnt Spirit
Lichenkit ran as fast as she could through the burning forest,the flames engulfing everything around her. Her parents disappeared,along with her brother,Smokekit. The last time she saw him was in camp,before this chaos even began. She shook her head; she needed to focus! She kept running,jumping over fallen logs and branches,and dodging the hot flames as they spread like a virus across the whole forest.
She yelped as she tripped over a rock,smashing her body against the ground as she landed. She struggled to get up,her eyes closed tight in agonizing pain. Her back leg felt numb,barely able to feel it anymore. She heard a large,crackling 'snap',then looked up. The branch above her broke free,and fell on top of her back leg and hips. She yowled,digging her small claws into the ash covered ground in pain. She gritted her teeth,trying to bare the pain. When she tried to pull her back leg from under the branch,it hurt even more.
Her leg went limp,and was even broken. Lichenkit struggled to get free,but gave up and laid her head down. This is it,isn't it? I can't escape...My leg's broken,I'm tired,and my own home is burning...There's nothing left to come back to! Not my mother,my father,or...Smokeykit... She thought to herself,peeking up at the sky as it was clouded by dark grey clouds and smoke.
She gasped as rain droplets began to fall,soaking her hot,burnt pelt and skin. She smiled brightly as the flames died out,patches of steam rising for the ground. She was given more self-motivation, so she tried to pull out her back leg again from under the branch. She growled,bearing the pain and finally got her leg free. She took a deep breath,and limped forward. Her broken back leg dragged with her,blood trailing with it. She managed to get to the moor at the edge of forest,not too far from where the fire started. She looked up to see the clouds clear,showing the full moon and the bright stars of the night sky. Now,she had to live on her own,in the wide open moor.
Lichenkit steadily breathed,dragging herself along the moor's dry grass. Luckily for her,it wasn't too cold out. It was still Green-leaf,so the night felt comfortingly warm. Her smokey grey tortoise-shell pelt was scorched with burns from the past fire, making her pink skin now almost black with ash. She continued to limp across the wide open moor,hoping to find a place safe enough to fall asleep.
Lichenkit took a whiff of air,then noticed the scents of cats ahead of her. The crunching of dry grass was heard as four shapes appeared from the side of the hill in front of her. She stood still as they approached her,her eyes wide with fear. A large grey tom stood in front of her,his bright orange gaze looking into her honey colored eyes. He growled lowly,his tail swinging with anger. "What are you doing here? This is Scorchedclan territory!" Lichenkit shrunk back,her ears against her head. "I-I'm sorry,sir,but my home was engulfed by flames...I have nowhere to go. My parents and my brother are dead as far as I know,a-and the forest where I lived is lifeless." She shook, tears slowly streaming form her eyes as she remembered the chaos of the fire. The tom looked at her with interest,seeming more calm than before. "Fine,then. We can take you back to our leader and see if she can let you stay." He smiled,and picked her up by the scruff.
As the patrol lead Lichenkit into their camp,cats began staring at her. She could hear whispers among some of the apprentices,and worried looks of the other kits and queens. Most importantly,the leader looked disapprovingly at her as she noticed her disabled leg. The black furred she-cat perched among the high-rock swung her tail back and forth,her piercing green gaze locking with Lichenkit's. She flicked her ear,then began to talk. "So, a disabled kit,is it? It seems worthless! Why did you bring this thing to me?" She asked the grey tom beside her. He bowed,his ears still pointed up. "We brought the kit here because she has no home. We wondered if she could stay here in Scorchedclan,at least until her back leg is fixed." He looked up at the leader,waiting for a response. The black she-cat grunted, "As long as she gets out of here at some point,it'll be fine. Welcome to Scorchedclan..." Lichenkit meowed proudly, "Lichenkit. My name is Lichenkit." She informed the leader with a smile across her face.
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Chapter 1 - A New Beginning
As Lichenkit entered the nursery, she could see queens look at her with disgust and disappointment. She limped over to a cold,empty nest and curled into a ball to sleep. She then was approached by a brown kitten, about her age. "H-Hi..." He mewed nervously, his bright green eyes focused on the ground as he kneaded anxiously.
Lichenkit gave a faint smile, and meowed back, "Hi... My name is Lichenkit. And you are?" She asked, waiting for a response patiently.
The tom opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated. Then he spoke out, "I'm Robinkit. N-nice to meet you. They say you have a broken back leg...Is that true?" He questioned, curious to see it.
Lichenkit nodded, "Yes... A branch fell on my leg and paralyzed it." She delicately got up from her nest and turned to her side, showing him her left back leg.
Robinkit's ears lowered, "Ow... that must have hurt...You're so lucky to be alive,having a leg like that and all."
Lichenkit sighed, "Yeah... It hurts to move it, but I can at least try to pick it up to keep it from dragging on the grass. The leader said she'll have the medicine cat look at it tomorrow at sun-high." She told him, keeping herself positive.
Robinkit nodded, "That's good. Also, our leader's name is Crowstar. She's really mean... I even heard her say that once your leg is back to health, she'll kick you out!" He whispered in her ear, his voice dwindled into a concerned, quiet wail.
Lichenkit's ears flattened against her head, and her honey colored eyes were wide open in surprise. "R-really? Why would she do that?" She meowed uneasily, scared to think of how cruel Crowstar could be.
Robinkit shrugged, "I don't know! She must not like you or something... maybe it's because of your leg. Being disabled like that won't make a successful hunter or fighter, at least that's what I think she thinks."
Lichenkit sighed, letting her ears straighten. "True... If I tried to run, my leg would feel like it's about to snap off." She looked solemnly at her broken leg, thinking of all the things a normal, healthy cat can do that she won't be able to do in all of her life. If only that fire didn't happen... I could live a normal, happy life with my brother... She thought to herself, almost about to cry.
Robinkit carefully set his tail by her paw, trying to comfort her. He looked into her eyes, "Lichenkit, it will be alright. You are useful to the clan, I know that. Even with a leg like yours, you can do something, trust me." He smiled, doing his best to stay positive and help her out.
Lichenkit nodded, and took a breath. "You're right, Robinkit. Thanks..." She smiled brightly at him, then yawned. "It's pretty late out now. I guess it's time to go to sleep. Goodnight, Robin..." She sighed, then settled down in her nest and curled up in a ball.
"Goodnight, Lichenkit. I'll see you tomorrow." He purred,then bounded back towards his mother, Beetleflower, who was already asleep.
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Chapter 1 (Part 2) - A New Beginning
The morning sunlight poured into the den as queens and kits woke up. Lichenkit yawned, stretching her front legs outwards and delicately sitting up to clean her fur. Once she finished, she noticed Robinkit pad towards her.
"Hi, Lichenkit!" He meowed happily, his eyes shining with glee.
Lichenkit smiled and stood up, "Hi Robinkit." She noticed a bit of moss on her tail and shook it off.
"My sisters want to meet you! They're sharing tongues with Beetleflower,my mother." He pointed his tail towards a large black she-cat cleaning her kits' fur. One kit was a light-brown tabby with yellow eyes, and the other was pure black with green eyes like her mother.
Ravenkit, the black kitten, noticed Lichenkit and bounded up to her. "Hi Lichenkit! It's nice to meet you." She purred, a small but bright smile spread across her face.
"This is Ravenkit. She's the youngest." Robinkit informed Lichenkit.
Lichenkit nodded, "Hi, Ravenkit."
Once the light brown tabby was done cleaning her fur, she gallantly padded over to Lichenkit with a sly, almost evil smirk. "Well well, you're Lichenkit, right? Pfft, that leg of yours won't get you anywhere!" She taunted, her yellow eyes gleaming as she snickered.
Ravenkit rolled here eyes, "Really Hornetkit? She's new, give her a break! Besides, it's not her fault her leg is broken!" She exclaimed, trying to protect Lichenkit from her older sister's hurtful comments.
Robinkit added in, "Yeah! Blaming it on her is rude, and not necessary. Maybe for once you can think with your acorn of a brain before saying anything!" He hissed, his tail flicking from side to side in anger.
Lichenkit stood back behind Robinkit and Ravenkit, fearful of Hornetkit. Her eyes were filled with fear.
Hornetkit snorted,and turned her head, "Fine, if you wanna be that way, then go ahead! I don't care about your worthless life anyway!" She growled, then she trotted away towards the front of the den, and sat with a small group of kits.
Robinkit sighed, then turned back to Lichenkit, "Sorry about that, Lichen... She's my older sister. She's a rotten rat, and forever will be!" He licked his paw and swiped it over his ear to clean it. His fur flattened, feeling more calm now that Hornetkit was gone.
Ravenkit nodded, "Yeah, she's really mean. She's gonna become an apprentice in about a week, so at least she'll be gone from the nursery and then she'll leave us alone! If only time went faster..." She groaned, the tip of her tail flicking from side to side.
Lichenkit's ears straightened up again, feeling calmer beside her friends. "Well, I hope she gets a nice mentor..."
Robinkit meowed, "I have a feeling she'll get Cloudwhisker as a mentor. She's a really nice cat, and a good hunter too!"
Ravenkit nodded, "Yeah. Beetleflower said Hornetkit might turn out to be a good hunter when she gets older."
Lichenkit thought to herself, I hope in the future me and Hornetkit can be friends... Maybe she's more friendly than others might think.
(More to come!)
