100 theme Challenge

Theme 1: Injury

The sun was a pleasant thing in the warmth of the forest. It rained down from the sky in brilliant rays of light, painting the leaves into their own myriad of green lights, creating the most interesting patterns on the forest floor and it overlapped on the blades of grass and soil and the occasional twig. Lazy green eyes blinked sluggishly. Their owner was a cat by the name of Treegaze. The she-cat's brown tabby fur was ruffled from sleep and she was sprawled out in front of a cave that was the medicine den of the clan. Her business in being so lazy was not the fact that she was becoming elderly. No, it was because that she was healing… healing from both physical and mental injury.

Only a few moons ago, there had been a badger attack upon the clan. The young she-cat was a queen, so eager to give kits to the clan, to her loved one. She was very close to the day she would kit and was round with joy until the black and white head ripped into the nursery savagely.

She couldn't protect herself and creature seemed invincible. There were several warriors tearing at its hide, but it could smell an easy meal and was determined for nothing to stop it.

It was so fast… It was so very fast, slashing out at the rounded Treegaze, ripping into the young she-cat's tabby-furred side. She felt like she was on fire, screaming in pain as it lashed out once more, ripping along her belly. Finally the badger died, blood scent filling the air. As it fell, the young queen crumpled, with her eyes wide. Pain, there was so much pain. Lancing up and down her spine like bolts of thunder.

It was a miracle Treegaze survived. Featherfoot was an amazing medicine cat; he worked StarClan's will upon the young thing. However, when she regained consciousness a quarter-moon later, her kits had not the same luck. They came out mangled and broken, thus spearing the poor she-cat's mind. She had failed her mate. She had failed…

But, now as new-leaf cut leaf-bare short and receded to green-leaf, slowly, with a lot of work and help and pain, she was getting better, but not without great, almost godly amounts of effort.

When a cat says a lot of work, they mean it.

The process was long and went with a lot of drama.

She had been mangled beyond belief for the longest time, they tabby would sit outside of the medicine den, just staring blankly. But if anyone watched carefully enough, she was watching the nursery as one of the new queens settled down there. Treegaze's sight was haunted with the sight of the happy queen, the sight of kits playing with their necks broken, their paws too small, a mangled tail… Sometimes she would just suddenly cry and no cat would go near her except Featherfoot and her mate, Crackedpelt. The calico tom had tried over and over to tell her he didn't care, that they didn't need kits to be happy.

But she wanted kits. She wanted to be happy because of kits. And she couldn't let it go.

Eventually he stopped and just was content with sitting outside with her when he wasn't on a patrol or hunting for the clan. He'd sit there and press himself against her, tail twining one-sidedly with her own tabby one. Ringpaw, the main coon medicine cat apprentice, told Crackedpelt that he should probably move on; she wasn't the same anymore and probably would never be. Emotional injuries never healed the same way that physical ones. Flesh can heal and leave scars, but the mind scars with none to see it or sooth it's pain. The calico snapped at him and had to be stopped by more hefty warriors before he could claw the young tom's fur off.

"She'll get better because I'm going to tell her she can! She will get better because I will try to help her get better! You are just a scrap compared to us; you don't understand and you never will just because you aren't allowed to!" he screeched, blue eyes icy, hackles raised as Boulderstripe and Thunder pelt held him back, the grey and gold warriors hissing for him to calm down.

Crackedpelt apologized later for his behavior, but said he wouldn't apologize for what he said.

Despite how everycat just looked at the empty shell of a cat with pity, Crackedpelt sat there everyday, without fail, coaxing her to eat, talking to her quietly. When he caught someone giving him pitied looks, he glared or snarled. Several apprentices were terrified when they accidentally wandered too close and said the wrong thing at the wrong place and at the wrong time. After a long time, she got well enough to speak, but in short, generally nearly incoherent sentences.

That brings us to the current date, with Treegaze's green eyes looking at the patterns made form the leaf's emerald, dancing, filtered light. Crackedpelt padded up to her side, nuzzling her as he sat down next to his mate. "Good sun-high, my love." He said in the tenderest voice imaginable. She responded with a blink, no words. He sat there quiet and tried to not choke on air at her lack of life. Where was she, that vibrant she-cat, whose eyes sparkled when she laughed, whose pelt turned into silver when hit by the blue moonlight? It had been almost 4 moons since she had received those crushing blows. Treegaze was not a strong she-cat, everycat knew that. But Crackedpelt had loved her anyways; he didn't mind taking care of her, but like this? The calico tom had never thought he'd have to do something like this. If this didn't work, if this one plan didn't wake her up, he didn't know what will. Hopefully, though, with this, she'd realize that not everything ended that night when the badger came. Not everything ended at all.

"I brought somecat with me, today, Treegaze." He said softly, husky voice rippling through the air that competed with bird song. "She's been very eager to meet you."

She didn't move but only whispered, like a kit would. "Featherfoot? Time for treatment?"

Crackedpelt shook his head. "No, love, no… She's a lot like you. And me." He waved his tail and out came a stumbling figure. It was a tabby-patched calico, eyes bright blue with small hints of green. She was like the dust motes in the light, floating in a jolly way, anxiously stumbling along to greet Treegaze. A smile was on her muzzle and she was the perfect picture of youth and joy.

She mewled in an excited voice. "Papa, is this mommy? I she mommy?" the kit didn't wait she just stood there, trotting in place with excitement.

Treegaze's eyes shot open like she woke up from a bad dream. She looked at the kit, blinking over and over again. "How?" she croaked, the tabby's body trembling. Crackedpelt smile slowly. "We never said all of the kits died, love… You just couldn't see her, she was very, very sick and was kept in a special place. You weren't… stable. And," he looked down at his paws. "They didn't think she'd survive."

Treegaze slowly rose to her paws, voice choked as the kit, now a little unsure of herself as her excitement faded, just as sluggishly took a few steps towards her. "H-hello, little one," tears made her emerald eyes bright, and the fog that used to shroud her from looking over the clan, like they weren't there. Suddenly, she could see again. She saw trees, and light- the most beautiful thing of all, light. The sun made her new-found daughter glow in the sun, white, tabby and black pelt glistening.

"Are… are you my mommy?" the little she-kit meowed. She looked worried that maybe she had gotten mixed up and clung close to Crackedpelt. Gently, her father pushed her towards her mother. Treegaze looked at the kit and slowly found her nodding. She was the perfect replica of a combination of Treegaze and Crackedpelt, everything from her father's eyes to the varied pelt. "Yes… yes. Yes, I am your mother, but I'm not sure if I am your," she hesitated, "your 'mommy.'"

The kit's blue eyes showed nothing but the deepest disappointment, but the tabby she-cat added something with a smile of hope on her muzzle. "But I would love the chance to be."

The kit cried out happily and buried herself into her fur. Treegaze nuzzled her daughter, trying not to let all of her love out at once. She noticed that her tail was crooked and some of it was just limply hanging there, as well as some strange lumps on her ear. They looked like perfectly healed scars of the badger attack; her claws had raked her ears while she was in the womb. Despite this, Treegaze found that she didn't care. She had a kit. She never failed to begin with, no, no, she took that back. She had failed in being stronger. But right now she didn't care. The she-cat looked up at her mate with a look of utter joy. "Does she have a name?"

"Of course I have a name, Mommy!" the she-kit giggled into her fur.

"Well then, what is it?"

"Hopekit."

AN: Well, I know that is probably a little confusing, with all that is going on. I might edit it later, but now I don't have time… I know cats can't cry, but for the purpose of my stories, they do, so suck it. xD I know that Hopekit isn't a very good warrior name, but given the circumstances for this story, I think that it was perfect for the kit. I mean, she is all bubbly and stuff, and, well, I think it brought the story to a good close. Tell me what you guys think, what I can improve for the next story and for when I edit this later.

As for this series of one-shots, it is apart of Prin Pardus' 100 themes Challenge! I hope to use this as an exercise for my writing, and if you guys review, I can get better and write the awesome stuff for you guys. If you read Path in Mist (another warriors fanfic of mine) you should know that I am putting it on hold for the time being.

Oh, DISCLAIMER! I don't own warriors, it'd be awesome if I did, though, right? xD

The characters in this story are used for the purpose of this story, and I take credit for all of them… *stops self from ranting further*

ANYWAYS Read, review, and follow if you want to read more. ^ ^