Chapter 20: We Are Here

2 cats stood by each other, staring at a bunch of dirty kits, that were huddled up in a ditch. The looked at the kits with sad looks on their faces, as they both knew that they were about to have to go through a lot of trials, and torment very soon from now.

What that might be, they had not the slightest clue. It was told through destiny, and the least that they knew, was that their time was near. The cats were worried for the kits, but there was one kit in particular, that they were most worried about.

The kit with the mangled foot, that looked as if it had been torn open by perhaps a dog, or some other mean type of animal. They knew that to not be true however, as the poor kit had been born with that condition. But, that was not where these cats brains were at, at the current moment in time.

The cats looked at one another for a little while longer, as they were not sure what to do, or what to say either. It was just dead silence in the open air that they were in right now. The wind was blowing, making things feel, a lot more cold, so to say, and a lot more scary as well.

One of the cats eventually managed to lift its head up, as he knew that he could not go in to this with a negative mind set. He had learned that before he had made it to the life that he was in right now. He had tried to teach his kin the same thing as well, before he got to this point.

At first he had thought that he had done a fairly good job, as the clans were doing good, and they were safe for a very long time, besides the occasional fights, and skirmishes that went along with the clans. That was normal for them though, as it felt like they had been doing that since the beginning of time.

When was the beginning of time for the clans? The ginger cat stared in front of him, as he was not even quite sure as to when it was. He had tried to speak to the cat that had started the clans up in the first place, but he seemed to get no sort of response from the cat at all. At least, more like a response that helped him at all.

The cat, just liked the rest of the cats that were in star clan, just seemed to feel empty, like he was just fading away, like many of the other cats. They were fading away faster than ever before as well, as the clans were no longer a real thing any more. There were still a few remaining cats, most of them not an actual part of the original clans.

They mostly went off of the stories, but they did not really believe in star clan all that much, as it seemed like more of a myth to them, and like cool stories that they would one day tell to their own kits when the time came. Those stories were the only thing that was still holding on to star clan, as, with out those stories, than they would have just all disappeared.

They knew the time was now, and they had to do it soon, before the last of the cats remaining from the clans, was no longer alive. He was not all that far away from these kits in fact, as he might be, maybe a day or twos walk away from where these kits were, huddled up in a ditch right now, using each other to stay warm.

Firestar looked behind him, in the distance, as if he could almost see where that cat was at right now. He knew that if Squirrelflights part did not work out, than this was the last hope that the clans had. He knew that he had to stay positive though, as he looked at the up side of both of them meeting each other, and bringing the clans back to a new life.

He let out a bit of a sigh at the same time as well though, as he was not even sure if he could ever get to this young kit that was in the small little ditch at the moment. She did not believe in the star clan cats, but the cat that Squirrelflight was talking to, some how managed to believe in them, even though his side of the family never was in the clans.

It was all just confusing to him, and it hurt his head quite a bit, as he turned his focus on the kits that were in front of him, and also to the other cat that was with him as well. It was his grand son, Jayfeather, as he knew that he was a strong, and a very smart cat that could help him a lot.

Jayfeather seemed to notice that Firestar was looking at him, though he had not actually seen Firestar do so. He was used to living a life where he could not see, so he used other parts of his mind, and his body, to see things in cats, that most others could not see.

It had its benefits, but at the same time, it hurt him a lot, as he seemed to know a lot more dark, and evil stuff about cats, that he wished he would have never known about. He was with Firestar though, as he was not worried about this cat, as he had known him for a very long time, even before the days of living with him in Starclan.

He trusted this cat with a lot, and he was glad to know that Firestar felt the same as he did, for him. Jayfeather turned his head over to Firestar, as he looked at him for a few moments, blinking his eyes, to let Firestar know that he was paying attention to him, and that he knew that Firestar had wanted to say some thing to him.

Firestar looked at Jayfeather, still a bit amazed at the fact that he had such great powers still. As he got over that, as he knew that he had more important things that his mind needed to be on at the exact moment. He shook his head, as he then too, blinked a few times, whilst keeping his eyes locked on Jayfeathers.

Jayfeather looked at him for a little while longer, as he wondered what it was, that Firestar was going to say to him, and if he actually was even going to say it or not. Firestar let out a bit of a soft sigh, as he nodded back to Jayfeather, as he then began to speak to him at the same time as well.

"I am worried for the kit... She is not a strong kit, and I do not know if she will ever get to see us... If Moon fails, than what will we do?" He said, putting all of his thoughts, and all of the stuff that he was so worried about, right down on the floor, so that Jayfeather understood what his thought process was.

Jayfeather looked at him for a little bit of time, as he felt like Firestar might have a fair point. He did not want to admit to it though, as he was a bit of a rough cat, that was always against what other cats had said to him, even in the life that he had begun, when he had gotten to Starclan.

Jayfeather stared at Firestar for a little bit longer, as it kind of hurt him, what he had just said, as he took in all of it, that Firestar had told him. He squinted his eyes at Firestar, and he let out a bit of a loud grumble at the same time too, as he began to speak right back to Firestar.

"Well... I trust Squirrelflight, so do not need to worry about that. She is your daughter, and she is a very strong cat as well... You do know that I was not a normal cat either right? Look what I turned in to... I believe that all of this will work out just fine." He said right back over to Firestar.

Firestar stared at the kit that was in front of him, in the ditch, as he was not quite sure if he believed what it was that Jayfeather had just said to him. He blinked a few times, as he then began to think through, what it was that Jayfeather had said to him in the first place.

He believed in his daughter, and he knew that he needed to trust in her. A lot of this was up to her, and this prophecy was mainly about her as well. He knew that things were going to end up being okay. Firestar closed his eyes for just a couple of moments, as he once again let out a bit of a soft sigh.

He also knew that Jayfeather was right with the 2nd part of what he had said, as he felt a bit upset, and a bit embarrassed by what it was that he had said to him, as he often seemed to forget that the life before now, Jayfeather was a blind cat, that could not see where he walked.

But he also knew that, Jayfeather was one of the most strong cats to ever live in the clans, just as he was, and on most days as well, Jayfeather could walk around just fine. He shook his head, as he then looked right back over to Jayfeather, as he nodded to him, as he began to apologize to him as well.

"I am sorry... I just..." He began to say to Jayfeather. Jayfeather turned his head over to Firestar, as he then squinted his eyes at him, at the same time too. It got Firestar a bit nervous, and a bit on edge, but he knew that he too, was a very strong cat, as he then continued to speak to Jayfeather. "You are right, and I know that things will go right... A prophecy has never failed me."

Jayfeather turned his head over to him, as he was a bit shocked by what it was that he had said to him, as he once again blinked a few times. He also knew that he was right as well, as Firestar was the cat that was the prophecy, and so was he. He then nodded in agreement to Firestar, as he smiled at him as well.

Firestar smiled right back at him, as well, as they both now knew that they were going to be alright. They both held relieved looks on their faces, as they continued to stare at the young kits that were huddled up close to one another, in a small little ditch that was in a big two leg place.

I shivered a little bit, as the wind blew on our faces once again. It was a very long day, once again, and I could see that the sun was starting to dip low to the ground again. Our mother had thought that we would be able to get there in one day, but we were now nearing the end of day 2, and I had not seen a soul in sight.

Well, besides the fact that I had heard an occasional yap from a dog, as we went by its two leg place. That always scared me whenever I heard that, as I remembered all of the scary stories that I had been told about dogs, when I had been much younger.

I was not sure if it were true or not, as a lot of the dogs that I had seen so far, were not all that much bigger than my mother, and all they did was yap over and over again, as they had big smiles on their faces, almost as if they were excited for some thing, for some odd reason or another.

Maybe they were excited at the thought that they could catch us, and eat us for dinner. I shivered at those thoughts, as I heard another yap from a dog, as we went by its two leg place. I felt a bit sick, as well as a bit scared too. I blinked a few times, as I then looked back ahead of me, trying to shake off all of those thoughts.

I saw that my mother was now a fair bit ahead of me now, as I saw that my brother, Pike, and my sister, Gift, were a fair bit behind her. I could tell, that just as I was, both of them were worn out, and they wanted to lay down, and sleep for a few days.

The thought of that, absolutely soothed me, as I imagined being back at our old two leg place, and sleeping in our nest that we used to sleep in. Those were a lot more comfortable than the place that we had slept at last night. That place made my body ache, when I woke up in the morning, and it was one of the most nasty smells, that I had smelt in my life.

It had just gotten me to sleep so fast last night, due to the fact that we were all so worn out, as we had never quite had a hard, and busy day, like the one that we had yesterday, and today, ever before in our entire life. I could see that Pike and Gift were lagging a bit behind Nifty as well.

I was the furthest back too, as I had just been so lost in my head, for quite a bit of some time. I blinked a few times, as I could tell that my mother was a fair distance ahead of me, and unlike she was yesterday, she did not seem to care about us being far behind us.

She seemed to get more and more excited about her new mate, each step that she took, as it felt like, the more and more that she thought about her mate, the more and more that she seemed to care less about the rest of us. It kind of hurt me, but I was used to thinking that she did not care about me, so it was not all that bad.

I shook my head, as I ran over to catch up to the rest of them, as I wondered if they too were worried about the fact that our mother might not love us any more, now that she had found a new cat to love. I shook my head though, as it seemed like they were more worried about the fact that they felt like they were about to fall over.

I did not blame them for it either, as it was a bit hard for me to catch up to them, a lot of that having to do with the fact that my body felt dead at the exact moment, but a lot of it, also had to do with the fact that I had a messed up foot, and it was always hard for me to walk like the rest of my kin.

I looked over at my brother, as if I expected him to help me as well, but he looked out of it, just like my sister, as I just saw them with their heads dipped low, as they some how managed to follow Nifty, even though they did not have their eyes on her at all.

Gift was like this all of yesterday, but Pike had his head held up high the day before, as he was excited about the fact that we were going to have a new home. Today was the opposite of that, which I did not blame him for either, as I could tell that even though him being the strongest of the litter, he felt dead right now.

To my surprise actually, I seemed to be the one that was the most awake, and the most able to know what our surroundings were at the current moment. I felt a bit excited about it, as for once, it seemed like I was now the strongest out of the litter. It felt great as well, too.

I now felt how Pike felt every day, and I could not help but get a little bit jealous of it as well. I smiled, as I kept my head held up, as I steered my brother and my sister over to where it was that Nifty was going. I saw her turn to the left, as she then disappeared around the corner.

I then began to get a little bit scared, as I kept on walking, but I waited for her to turn her head around the corner, and look back over, to make sure that we were all okay. I stared ahead of me, as I continued to walk with my brother and my sister, as time passed as we got closer to the corner, and I still saw no sign of her.

I got worried if she had perhaps got attacked by some thing, or if she had just forgotten about us, and she was going to leave without us. I began to breath in heavily, over and over again, as I knew that I was starting to have a panic attack. My brother was not here to help me this time clearly, as he just kept on walking.

I did my best to try to control my breathing, just as Brokenfoot had told me to do. My mother always reminded me about how I had the worst of both of her parents. I freaked out, like Pintclaw did a lot, and I had a messed up foot, just like Brokenfoot.

It kind of hurt me, when she said things like that, but at the same time too, I could not help but agree with what it was that she had said as well.

I continued to get my kin mates to follow my lead, which still felt a bit strange for me to even think that way, as I kept walking to where I had lost our mother at. I then stopped when I was near the corner, which led to the two leg path, that I was told to never go on, unless I had no other choice, and there were no monsters near by it.

I understood why as well, as the first time that we had seen one of those, all of us freaked out, begging to go back to our home. It was so loud, and it was so scary as well. I thought that it was going to come after us, like a dog, but it just kept on going across the path, like I had been told they would.

I also had been told that they would not stop either, so I also had to take that in to consideration as well. I gulped a little bit, as I turned my head away from the path, and over to the direction that I had seen Nifty head off to. I blinked a few times as well, as I had expected to see her waiting for us, but that was not the case at all.

If she was not waiting for us, I would have at least thought that she would have been a ways ahead of us, but I could see straight down the path, and I did not see her on it at all. I began to start to freak out again, but I held my breath in, so that I did not have another panic attack.

I stared for a few moments, as I blinked a couple of times, thinking that I might have just missed her for some odd reason or another, but that was not the case at all, either. I saw from the corner of my eye, that my brother lifted his head up, as he was a bit confused as to where Nifty was at as well.

He turned his head over to both Gift and I, as if he thought that perhaps Gift, might have seen where it was that Nifty has gone off to. Gift had her head to the ground though, just like she had this entire last couple of days. Pike then turned his head over to me, as he too began to look to me for answers.

I was not sure what to say to him though, as I was just as confused as he was. I was doing my best to not freak out again, but I could not help it, as I began to think that our mother might have just left us on purpose, as we might be taking too long, or if she had not wanted us in the first place.

Maybe that was the reason that Nut had not gone to say goodbye to us, because he might have known about it as well, and he might have felt guilty for it. I began to start to have another panic attack, but I heard the voice of Pike begin to speak, and it stopped me.

I was grateful for it as well, as I turned my head over to him, and then I nodded to him, as I then listened to what it was that he had to say to me, at the exact same time as well. Which I was sure he was not even sure what it was that I was thanking him for.

"Where did she head off to? I have not been paying attention... I am sorry..." He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, as I saw that he too was quite a bit afraid as well, as he had a bit of a guilty look on his face, for the fact that he had not been watching as to where it was that Nifty had headed of to.

I did not blame him for it though, as I knew that he, much like I was right now, was worn out, and he was not on his A game. I also did not blame him for it either, as I was beginning to get more and more worried by each passing moment, that our mother might have actually left us.

I had thought that she was cruel more than once, but I did not think that she would be as cruel as this, to just leave us out to die. She could have at least told us, or even let us grow up, to make our own decision. Or, she could have even made the easy choice, and let us get taken in to that place with crazy animals, to have two legs of our own.

As I came to a bit of a sense of reality, I began to realize that she would not have done something as terrible as that, as I let out a bit of a sigh of relief at the same time too, and then I continued to look at Pike, as I then nodded to him at the same time as well, as I then began to speak to him.

"She is just excited to get to go to her new home... She will turn around and find us, once she knows that we are no longer with her." I said to him. He looked at me for a little while, as I could tell, that he did not look if he was too sure that he believed what it was that I had just said to him.

He nodded anyways, as he then sat down, and he nodded for me to do the same as well, so that we could have some time to get some rest. I thought about telling Gift to do it too, but I did not want her to hiss at me, and attack me like I felt like she had been waiting to do, at any moment today.

We continued to sit there for a bit of some time, as I stared ahead of me, waiting to see our mother running back in the far distance, realizing that she had left her kits with her. It still did not seem to happen though, as I then began to wonder if something had actually snatched her.

I listened to the roars of the monsters drive by us, as I sat, and I just waited for her, but it did not seem like it was going to be the case. That was when, suddenly, Gift fell down on to the ground beside me, as she then began to have moans and groans of what sounded like pain, which began to scare me as well.

I looked at my sister for a bit of some time, as I thought about getting close to her, and trying to find out what it was that it could be, but at the same time, I was also worried that she might scratch at me, and attack me, if I was to do such a thing like that.

I stood there for a bit of time, as I saw her breathing in, over and over again, as it looked like she might be about to pass out. I looked for a source of water, but it had not rained for days, and there was nothing nearby us at the moment.

I thought about asking Pike to look for some, but we were not in the wild, so there was no way that there was going to be a pile of moss anywhere near us, much less a thing of water. It was not worth risking my brother, to go out and look for some, for her, even if she did need it.

I got a bit close to my sister, as I wanted to find out what was wrong with her, but at the same time, I did not want her to attack me either. I looked at her for a little bit of time, as I tried to see what it was. She did not seem to have any sort of physical damage, as far as the eyes that I could see.

I began to draw a little bit closer to her, just to make sure, but then suddenly I saw her eyes flicked open, and she did not seem to have a very happy look on her face, seeing me, either. She then lifted herself up, as if she was now perfectly fine, and she began to speak in quite the angry tone of voice.

"She took us here to die!" She began to say to us. I looked at her for a few moments, as I was sure that it was not the case at all, but at the same time too, I was also not sure if it might perhaps be true, as it came back in to my head. I blinked a few times, as I then heard her begin to yell louder than before. "Nifty! Where are you?! Don't leave us, please!"

I let out a bit of a sigh of relief, at the same time, as it then took away the thoughts of our mother leaving us from my head, thankfully enough. I looked at my sister for a bit of time, as I felt like I should say some thing to calm her down, but at the same time, I also knew that she did not want to hear my voice.

I stayed silent, as I dipped my head a bit low to the ground, feeling a bit scared, and a bit helpless, as I was not sure as to what it was that we should try to do. We had gone too far to go back to Nut, as I was not sure if we some how even did find the way back, that he would even let us back in, anyways.

I am sure that Gift was thinking the same thing as I, as well, as she once again began to cry, which was a very rare thing for her, but it seemed to be happening a lot as of late. I did not dare go near her to sooth her, as we all just sat still, hoping against hope, that she would come back for us.

We sat there for a bit longer, and just as I was about to lose hope, I suddenly heard a loud voice of a cat, begin to speak, from a very long ways away from us. I lifted my head up, as I looked over to see that it was the voice of our mother, as she stood on top of a fence. I blinked a few times, as I listened to what it was that she had to say as well.

"Come on you all! We are here!"