Stories of the Kin

[Hazelfang]

This is where I will store short stories of the Kin and their lives.

[Hazelfang]

It was a curse. Surely it had to be? An omen from the Spirits that this... this.. thing should never have been born! Why would the Spirits be so cruel? She had done everything right: she was a loyal and devoted Guardian. She had given the best seasons of her life to her Kin without any protests. So why? Why, when she finally decided to settle down and start a family with her mate, would they curse her only kit?

"Hey! Hey, Morning, are you daydreaming again? Come on, focus! I don't have all day to teach you how to fish!"

The young she-cat shook herself free from her thoughts. She was doing it again, she was listening. "I-I'm so sorry, Volescrape. I promise I was listening." Her ears pinned back as the older tom snorted at her in disbelief.

"Were you? It sure didn't seem like it," with a frustrated sigh, he stood up and walked towards her, his slender tail twitching back and forth. "Whatever, we can practice fishing tomorrow. You can't keep this up though. Do you really want to disappoint your mother any more than you already have?" His words pierced her heart like an icy blade. My mother... Her mother made it abundantly clear that she wanted nothing to do with her. She had always been absent in her life, fleeing from the nursery the moment her daughter tried fresh kill for the first time. Sure, her father loved her and took care of her. But it only felt like over-compensation for her mother's lack of interest. The tom, her mentor, must of noticed how he had hurt the young cat as he spoke in a much softer tone, "I'm sorry. I know it's not fair for you, but you need to grow up some day. Go ahead and take some time before returning to camp, just be sure to help the Doyen with their ticks when you get back before having some prey." The tom brushed his previously flicking tail against her shoulder while turning away, leaving the young cat alone with her cruel thoughts.

Once out of the tom's earshot, she let out a defeated sigh and looked down at the calm brook in front of her. Her reflection rippled before her and her eyes drifted to between her ears where a second pair of ears rest. A constant reminder of the 'curse' she was to her mother and her Kin. Why couldn't she be normal? It wasn't her fault she was born like this. It was hard enough having to deal with the stares from the other Softpaws, but she also sucked at being a Stalker. It was as if she could do nothing right! With a hiss, she swat at her reflection in the water.

"Little one, why so angry?" That darn voice again.

"You know why. And I don't want to talk to you, so leave me alone!" she growled out to what appeared to be no-one.

Her pelt rippled angrily as the voice continued, disregarding her evident animosity, "But I need your help and you know it. You're the only one who can help me."

This again? "I refuse to help you! You're nothing but a curse, now I said leave me alone!" The she-cat stormed off towards the camp, her tail lashing back and forth. She never understood why these voices spoke to her, she figured it must have something to do with her cursed ears, but she didn't want to find out. As far as she cared, they were just an extension of this scourge on her life- of which she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. The voice seemed to get the memo this time and stayed quiet as Morning made her way to the camp.

"Morning! How was training today? I saved you a squirrel, I know it's your favorite," her father rushed towards her purring. He lapped between her double set of ears before nuzzling her cheek lovingly. Morning knew that he only meant well, but it made her skin burn to be so loved by her father. She was certain it was all an act, that deep down he hated her just like her mother did. But she knew better than to bring it up- an argument was the last thing she needed.

"It went fine, father. I can't eat now, I need to do the Doyens' ticks." Her father's tail dropped down in disappointment. Another blade to the heart. "But maybe after," she added half-heartedly.

That seemed to cheer him up as his tail went back to curling up in a pleased manner, "Sounds wonderful, my little dove. I will see you then." She nodded while hurriedly heading towards the Doyen den, yet she could feel a fiery gaze bleeding into her fur. Out of the corner of her eye, her mother lay at the corner of the camp glaring at her. If looks could kill, Morning would burst into a ball of flames instantly. The young daughter folded her ears back and lowered head, avoiding those callous eyes she knew all too well. She knew how especially angry it must have made her mother to see her talking to her father right now. After her disowning of Morning, her father left her. He claimed he couldn't be with a cat so cold-blooded as to abandon her own daughter. Although she understood her father's logic, she wished he had never done that. It only gave her mother another reason to despise her.

With a sigh, she brought herself into the den, her tail dragging through the dirt behind her. Father always says things will get better, but how much longer did she have to wait?

After a grueling five months of training, three longer than usual, Morning would finally become a Stalker. Her father, being as supporting and loving as he was, cried out her name the loudest in the crowd. He would tell her over and over that night how proud he was of her and how he always knew she would do it. But his words would fall on empty ears when she would meet her mother's detached, frosty eyes. Those eyes, she realized soon after, would haunt her forever.

That very night, while the young she-cat was on her vigil hunt, a sharp shriek tore through the peaceful night. The pierce sunk deep into the newly named Morningecho's fur, terror flowing through her veins asa result. "That sounded like Riversmoke, he was guarding tonight!" She dropped the squirrel she had caught and ran towards the camp as fast as her legs could carry her. What could be happening? I haven't heard anything that could be a threat. As she reached the camp entrance, she found herself landing face-first into the back of a large she-cat. The she-cat turned and hissed at her after being startled, but calmed down once realizing who it was. "What's going on?!" the young she-cat asked, hardly able to hide the fright in her squeaky voice.

"Coyotes got in! The Guardians are fighting now, but you need to help the kits in the nursery. Go now!" the she-cat ordered while turning in the opposite direction in a hurry.

Without a second thought, she rushed to the nursery as fast as she could. Perhaps this would be her moment to prove herself as a useful member of the Kin! Yet once she made it into the nursery, her heart clenched as she made eye contact with her Mother. Her eyes, usually filled with hatred, were now brimming with determination. This was a side of her mother she had never seen, a protective side that she craved more than anything to have directed at her. She quickly shook her head, ashamed at herself for thinking such a thought in a moment like now. But the older she-cat stared back at her, as if the threat and fear of death was making her realize the mistakes she had made, "Morningec-" she started before her eyes widened. Within the blink of an eye, her mother was soaring above her, aiming at the coyote Morningecho didn't notice was approaching from behind.

Mother!" she shrieked in fear, watching as her mother grappled with the coyote three times her size. In a desperate attempt to help, the younger she-cat threw herself into the fight only to be kicked away against the wall. She collapsed down, her shoulder aching from the impact against the stone walls of the nursery. The coyote had his jaws clamped around her mother's neck. At that moment, time seemed to become torturously slow. How could this possibly happen? Her mother finally looked at her with something, anything other than hatred, but here she was. Dying right before her eyes with nothing she could do but cry out in agony for help.

Their eyes met for a brief moment. In that fleeting moment, so many intense emotions were shining from her eyes. Agony from the fangs sinking through her throat, grief from the time she had lost with her daughter, a flicker of joy for finally being able to do something for Morningecho, and last of all, love. So much love that Morningecho felt her own eyes flood with tears. The Spirits were truly cruel to make her only see that expression from her mother during her final moments.

As the light slowly left from her mother's eyes, more cats flooded into the den. She saw her father, an absolute flurry of pure rage, slashing at the coyote's neck. Two other cats had their claws in the hindquarters of the coyote, causing it to yelp out in pain and drop the limp she-cat. The large creature thrashed around in frustration and struggled to squeeze itself out of the den. Once free of the den, it ran out into the night yelping angrily, but Morningecho hardly heard it. Her gaze was glued onto the body of her mother. A pool of blood seeped around the body, lapping at her paws like the tongue of a venomous snake.

"Lunardusk!" her father's agonizing voice rang out as he rushed to his former mate's body. He buried his nose into her fur, crying out in anguish. She continued to watch, frozen and feeling so cold. Time was returning to normal but she didn't want it to, she wanted to see that look in her mother's eyes once more. To feel the love expressed from her eyes one last time.

She remained unmoving, even as the camp settled down and the body of dead cats began to be carried to the center of the camp. Morningecho felt like an empty log, filled with nothing but pure grief. Yet she followed the mass of cats, supporting her father's body as he cried into her fur. Her own tears flowed but she continued to stare off, unable to say a word.

A few days had passed after the vigil for the lives lost on that nightmare of a night. Morningecho found herself wandering outside of the camp alone, returning to the creek she would spend her days training to fish. She found the sound of the water gently running over the smooth rocks comforting. And such comfort was precisely what she needed at that moment as the death of her mother still had not quite sunk in. Of course, she knew her mother was dead and she would never see her again, but it didn't feel real. She had begun to believe that the love she saw in her mother's eyes was nothing but a trick. That it was her mind attempting to convince her that her mother truly didn't hate her. She wasn't allowing herself to enjoy this figment of her mind, she was a curse after all and knew that even now her mother must hate her more than ever. Her life had been taken trying to save the daughter she despised, how could she not hate her?

With a sad sigh, the she-cat lay down in front of the brook. She let her paw rest in the water, feeling the gentle current tug at her fur. Life continued even without her, that much was clear while watching the moving water. If only she could continue too. She yearned to be as free as the water. To travel where she pleased without the guilt of her mother's passing or the burning stares of her Kinmates. Tears began to stream down her face, landing like droplets of rain in the flowing current. Her tears became one with the water, flowing freely as the rest of the water did. She was even more jealous.

As her eyes followed a flower riding the soft current, a soft and worried voice spoke nearby, disrupting the distraught she-cat's thoughts'. "Morningecho? Is that you?"

That voice.

"Please tell me if you can hear me." the voice continued, sounding more desperate this time.

"Mother?," Morningecho called out, swinging her head around to find the source of the voice. That was her, she was sure of it, but how? Her Mother was dead. Surely this wasn't that accursed voice torturing her, not even they would be so despicable.

"Morningecho? You can hear me, right?" the voice spoke once more, sending chills down the she-cat's spine. As certain as she was her mother was dead, she knew this was her actual mother's voice. The voice seemed to notice the she-cat's ears flicking in response and continued hurriedly, "So the Spirits were telling the truth, you can hear me! Oh, daughter of mine, please I need your help. I need to tell you something so I can reunite with the Spirits."

The voice sounded concerned and even more desperate. The daughter hesitated, now wondering whether she was going crazy and imagining things. Yet, somewhere deep inside her believed the voice, believed that it was her mother, and most importantly, believed she truly wanted her help. "Mother, what can I help you with? Where are you?" she asked, glancing around once more, as if the voice was hiding somewhere in the bushes, waiting to jump out.

"I am afraid you can't see me, at least that is what the Spirits have told me. But I can see you, daughter. I truly see you now," her chest ached hearing those words. The words she always wanted more than anything to hear from her mother. The tears that had halted previously began streaming down once more. She tried to open her mouth to respond, to say anything, but it was as if her voice was broken. Shattered into pieces from such few, simple words. "Oh, sweet child. I am so sorry. I have been blinded." As if her mother was there she felt a cold presence envelope her. The voice continued, allowing the young cat a moment to sink further into the icy yet soothing air, "Your father was right. You were never a curse, only a blessing. I was foolish to not see that for myself and I wish I could have lived long enough to tell you all this face to face. But the Spirits, using your blessing, have given me one final opportunity to speak with you. To make up for the time we lost by my own selfish stupidity."

A blessing? Her ears never once felt like a blessing and she couldn't comprehend how they could be considered a blessing now. "Wh-what do you m-mean, Mother? They a-are a curse..." she squeaked out through miserable sniffles.

"No, little one. They have never once been a curse. You have been blessed by the Spirits themselves with the ability to hear and speak with those long gone. That's how we are speaking now, Morningecho."

In that moment it felt as if Morningecho's entire universe had been flipped upside down. "The-the dead?" she echoed, staring off in confusion and dismay. With a hiss, she buried her head beneath her paws, her mind pounding in agony as she tried desperately to comprehend what her mother was saying. Then that means.. all those voices... but why?

As if hearing her thoughts, her mother responded, "Because you of pure heart, mind and soul have been given the opportunity to help the souls of those who are lost reunite with the Spirits. You are their guide, Morningecho, and their last hope." A shiver passed through her once more as she tried to comprehend her mother's words. The voice continued, giving her little time to process, "I am one of those lost souls. My final task before being allowed to live free in the Realm of Spirits is to speak with you and give you a prophecy."

"A pr-prophecy?" she echoed once more.

"Yes, my lovely daughter. A prophecy that once shared, will free me and I will have to say good bye to you once more," the voice sounded solemn and bittersweet. "I am so glad I had this opportunity to speak with you once more..."

Morningecho's ears pressed back against her head, "No! I don't want to hear the prophecy, then you'll have to leave me again! You can't!" she cried out, her voice returning.

Cold air blew down her back, as if a tail was brushing against her in an attempt to sooth the grieving daughter, "As the Sun sets and its final rays illuminate the sky..." Morningecho tried to cover her ears with her paws in stubborn defiance, unable to accept that she'd lose her mother once more. However, her mother continued on, "Those living between Life and Death will seek you. Listen to them, as you have I, and guide them to the ascending Moon." With those final words, the voice slowly trailed off. As if uniting with the breeze, flying into the night sky.

Her voice cracked as she tried to call out again, "No , Mother, please. You can't leave me!" Leaves rustled around her, carrying her words along their backs into the wind.

"I will never leave you, dear daughter. Never again,.." With those last words, the breeze traveled away towards the moon, never to be heard again. Left behind was a grief-stricken Morningecho. Yet, despite the anguish settling heavily on her heart, she felt a newfound sense of purpose. She was not a curse. No, she was a blessing and she would live her life as such.

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