Forever Free [open]

[Leogrim]

The air was thick enough to drown someone walking through it. In the distance, the quiet rumble of thunder announced the coming of a storm. A wind picked up, managing to stir the moggy air and allowed a breath of coolness to disperse the humid cloud over the camp temporarily. Even though they were in the caves, the heat was overbearing.

"IT'S JUST TOO HOT!" Starlingpaw wailed with annoyance, her ears twitching. Fanning herself frenziedly with her paw, she opened her mouth and attempted to cool herself by panting.

It did little to help her, but inspired her to go to more lengths to solve the problem. She shot out of the den like a runaway cannon ball, looking feverishly for a stream.

[Smith]

[bg=gray][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300,true]Silencefall - The normally slender, long she-cat stood in the shadow of the queens' den. Her belly was plump, heavy with kits she did not want, and did not ask for. The hideous scar on her throat seemed almost more visible than usual. Her fur would not cover it like she hoped it would. She lowered her head, staring at the ground through solemn gray eyes. She watched as one of the lively young apprentices darted out of a den like a madcat. So young and full of life, she thought to herself. I recall when I was that young. Acacia... Acaciapaw... it's nothing like Silencefall. I curse my own name. She looked up, the heated wind ruffling her fur. I never asked to be silent. I never asked for this scar on my throat. I never asked to never utter another word again. I am Acacia... Acacia... A sad look spread across her face; her eyes wet with sorrow.

[Leogrim]

Finally achieving her quest of coolness, a slow grin appeared across her dappled face. The young tortoiseshell turned around the camp, letting the breeze whoosh through her soft triangular ears and through her short, but thick, fur.

Her green eyes fell upon the figure of Silencefall, the she-cat's form barely visible in the shadows of the queens' den. Curious, Starlingpaw padded closer and was about to greet her, when she remembered that Silencefall did not have the gift of speech.

At that thought, her eyes grew large and round. It would be worse than going to Dark Forest than live without the gift of speech...

[Toadie]

A dark black apprentice sat in the middle of the camp, staring up at the sky through green eyes. His name was Poisonpaw. He was muscular for a young cat, had a stubby tail, and very puffy fur. He hadn't yet been assigned anything to do that day, and his mentor Sunstripe wasn't around. He heard Starlingpaw yelling and he turned around.

He bounded over to the other apprentice, purring. "Hey Starlingpaw! What are you doing?" he asked her. Usually he was kind of mean to the other apprentices, as he was considered to be a bully. However he liked the she-cat apprentices, and didn't treat them as badly.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Silencefall. He felt kind of bad for her. She'd been through a lot, he'd heard, and she was very young. Still, it was honorable for warriors to be injured in battle, and she must have been very brave even though she lost her voice.

[Smith]

[bg=gray][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300,true]Silencefall - It was so wonderful to watch the apprentices play. Silencefall missed the days where she would frolic with the others. What she wouldn't give to go back to those beautiful, innocent days, when she was still Acaciapaw. She touched a paw to her throat for a moment, shutting her eyes. She could almost see in her mind the warrior who had torn her throat out. That bloody day had claimed several lives, though not as much as the battle of East and South. Only two moons ago she had been struck with yet another tragedy, the tragedy that left her to bare the kits of a tom she did not know. She slunk quietly over to the fresh kill pile.

[Leogrim]

As the sound of Poisonpaw reached her, Starlingpaw looked around, a bit shocked. When she realized who it was, a breath of relief escaped her mouth. "Oh, hey, Poisonpaw. I'm doing fine."

She offered a smile at the apprentice, grinning. It soon drooped back into a neutral expression as she remembered her previous thoughts. Adopting quite a serious tone, she whispered to the dark black apprentice and asked, "Do you remember what happened to Silencefall, 'cuz I don't."

Starlingpaw's green eyes darted towards Silencefall again as the she-cat moved towards the fresh-kill, noting her expression before. Gossip wasn't usually her thing, but hey, there were always things you could talk more about, right?

[Toadie]

Poisonpaw tilted his head. He knew what Silencefall had been through, if only because he'd heard the grown-up cats talking about it. He wasn't completely sure about all the details, but he knew that it had happened in battle. He lowered his voice, and also lowered his head to whisper to Starlingpaw. "Raiders got to her," he murmured. "I heard she fought them bravely, but one of them ripped her throat. She never spoke again." He gazed quietly at Silencefall for a moment, following Starlingpaw's gaze.

"Hey, do you know who Silencefall's mate is? I never saw her close to anyone, and whenever I try to ask the older warriors they tell me that it's not my business. Still, she's heavy with kits. I don't get it," Poisonpaw said, somewhat naively.

[Smith]

[bg=gray][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300,true]Silencefall - Her ears drooped as she heard herself being talked about. Apprentices gossiping was nothing new, and cats in general gossiping about her was also not new. Nevertheless, it was still hurtful. She wasn't some kind of freak that should be chattered about between elders or young cats. She had feelings, longings, and problems all her own. It wasn't her fault that her life had gone all wrong. She gasped as her belly suddenly began to cramp, sending her sprawling onto the ground as her knees weakened. The kits are coming, she gasped. I wouldn't care if they were all stillborn, though. They'll have a miserable life when that tom comes back for them, if he ever does. She didn't see the medicine cat in the camp, and she wondered if she should perhaps go out of the camp to have her kits. She was too weak to manage to get back to the queens' den, so she was also too weak to make such a journey.

[Leogrim]

She ingested the words, the tip of her tail flicking. What a horrible fate! The young apprentice let vent to her thoughts.

"Oh...wow," Starlingpaw muttered, her green eyes surreptitiously looking at the direction of the she-cat. "That sucks for anyone...Imagine never talking again! I know I wouldn't be able to bear it."

Poisonpaw's next question came to her, and Starlingpaw's black triangular ears flicked atop her head. "I've wondered too. The warriors say it's really rude to question on stuff like that. Maybe Silencefall's mate is outside the Clan? Or maybe...even a loner! Someone that she's not proud of talking about, of course."

A sound of gasping from Silencefall's direction alerted Starlingpaw's sensitive ears, and her head cocked toward the she-cat. "Hey, Poisonpaw...what's happening with her?"

[Toadie]

"I know what you mean," replied Poisonpaw. He couldn't imagine never speaking again either. Being completely silent for the rest of ones life with no real way of communication would be terrible in his opinion. He didn't know how Silencefall could stand it. He turned to Starlingpaw as they discussed the issue of Silencefall's mate.

"It might be that," he meowed. "I wouldn't be proud if I had a mate from outside the Clan. I'll bet Pebblestar knows something about it. I'm surprised that Silencefall got off so lightly if she does have an out of Clan mate. Of course, she is a brave warrior..."

He heard a faint wheezing gasp come from Silencefall and he turned his head. That was about the only sound she could even make. Something was wrong with her, though, and she had fallen onto the ground. "I don't know! It doesn't look good. We should tell a warrior!"

[Smith]

[bg=gray][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300,true]Silencefall - She saw the apprentices staring in her direction, and she wished she could tell them to get the medicine cat. She frantically gazed at her belly as she laid on her side. The pain was intense to the point where she felt as though she were going to die. She clawed at the ground, still making raspy gasping noises. She wanted to cry out so desperately. If those apprentices aren't complete mousebrains, I should hope they'll get me some help. The camp seemed to be almost completely vacant outside of the small lot of them standing around. No one else seemed to be recognizing her peril, though.

[ℳoon 浤]

Crowbone had just returned from a hunting trip. The dusty brown tom had a plump rabbit in his mouth. With all the grace of a proud hunting warrior, he dropped it off at the fresh kill pile. It had been a long day out hunting, and it was so hot outside. His stomach was rumbling so he took a small mouse from the prey pile. He took it over to the side and began to eat it. He bit off a chunk of it and swallowed, licking the blood off of his mouth. He continued to eat, watching the apprentices chat to each other. He saw Silencefall out of the corner of his eye. She was a pretty cat even though she had that terrible scar on her neck. He knew she could never talk, and he felt awfully sorry for her because of it. He wondered if he should say something to her someday. She suddenly gasped and fell over and he walked over to her speedily.

"Is something wrong Silencefall?" He didn't expect her to answer but maybe just to give an indication of what was going wrong. She was very heavily pregnant, and the word was that the kits were from an encounter that she had had with an outsider. He had even heard that it hadn't been a proper romantic encounter, and that the tom had even possibly forced himself on her. He turned to the apprentices. "We need help over here. Help make Silencefall comfortably." He wondered if she was about to have her kits.

[Leogrim]

“She must be a real good warrior if the head honcho let her go that easily,” Starlingpaw agreed, her voice lowered to something barely above a whisper, as she padded closer to the she-cat. Her next sentence was cut off as Silencefall’s predicament became evident. Eyes widening even further, she took a few tentative steps closer to the ailing she-cat. “Oh, no! We have to get the medicine cat!” she whispered urgently, her green eyes on Poisonpaw.

She spotted the form of Crowbone, a warrior, and her voice rose drastically in pitch as she related their tale. Is StarClan punishing her for her gossip of Silencefall? She dearly hoped not. “We were just talking, and then Silencefall began making sounds! I don’t know what happened!” she blubbered.

[Toadie]

"The medicine cat isn't in the camp right now," Poisonpaw meowed breathlessly and with urgency. "What are we going to do?" He could see that Silencefall was visibly in pain, and he felt desperately bad for her. He didn't know what he was going to do. He now felt bad for talking about her behind her back. He looked over to Crowbone, his mentor. He was asked to make Silencefall comfortable.

"Let's help her get into a nest," he meowed urgently.

[Smith]

[bg=gray][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300,true]Silencefall - With her kits coming, all she could do was sit on her side and pant. She didn't know where the medicine cat of the Clan was. She didn't know what she was going to do. Crowbone had rushed to her aide, but he wasn't trained in medicine, and probably wouldn't be able to know what to do. It looked like she was in this completely alone. She didn't ever even want to have these kits. She didn't know why she was being punished when she hadn't done anything wrong. Please help me, she thought, pleading with her eyes.