The Blood Finally Washes Into Shore (closed)

Rift paced. Outside, inside, she padded determinedly around the edge of the dilapidated barn that had been her home for so long. Every so often, her head would jerk up from concentrating intently on her paws to gaze at the distant bushes and trees where a russet tabby had disappeared almost a quarter-moon ago. When's she coming back?! She said she'd come back. The warm, golden sun beamed gently onto her back, turning her own russet fur nearly flame-red, but she didn't notice. Lost in her own thoughts, she placed one paw in front of another, too agitated to hunt for anything, and too anxious to sit still. Her paws sunk into deeper snow, a little slushy now, and she idly drew a paw through an icy clump, shivering as it went between her toes. The after-sunhigh light kept bouncing off into her eyes, and she squeezed them shut, following by feel the rut she'd practically dug on her path.

Memories filled the space between her lids as she wandered.

Xuexi was not happy. Any cat could see that when they stared into her glaring yellow eyes. First her daughter had left, heading for the Clans, and then Wolf. To all appearances the Regime was collapsing around her, and there was nothing she could do as they all left. It had started gradually, the training becoming tougher, more unforgiving, her usual strict schooling becoming even harder than usual. And brutal. Rift idly twitched her ear, now with a small nick in it from when her mother had lost her temper. It hadn't all been bad, there was the snow, after all. She smiled as she remembered dragging Mao outside to leap in almost every drift she could find, their troubles briefly forgotten in the wonder of leaf-bare.

Unfortunately, that hadn't lasted long. Xuexi's temper got worse, and they learned to stay out of her way when she was particularly out of sorts. They hadn't dared miss a lesson, but sometimes Rift was tempted.... Especially when Xuexi decided the best way to learn was through pain. It had gone on for a while, though there were still times she was the mother Rift remembered, but eventually.... Her tail twitched as she recalled that day, the clouds rolling across the sky, dark-bellied and ominous as a biting wind blew in. Her mother's eyes flashing as she stalked out, saying her farewells as she reassured them that she wouldn't be long, a dark mirth almost hidden beneath her tone at the words.

She had disappeared into the bushes, her tail-tip disappearing from sight with a flick, and that was it.

Rift opened her eyes as she inadvertently paced into the shadow of the barn, the slight crunching of her paws in the snow halting as she stopped. There was an almost blank look in her eyes as she gazed up at it. All she'd ever known. It loomed above her, dwarfing her in its shadow as a cold breeze whistled over the stiff plants poking out of the icy ground. She was so small, so insignificant next to the world around her, barely out of kit-hood, her body grown almost as much as it ever would, but still somehow too young....

She shivered in the darkness, eyes unreadable as she turned them back to her paws. "When's she coming back...?"

Once filled with the liveliness of so many cats, the Abandoned Barn had gradually grown quiet over the moons. On that particular afternoon, the sun's rays, streaming through the cracked, broken wooden beams, found only one young rogue seated a little ways within the entrance. Mao's amber eyes had lost their shine from younger days. Hollow and vacant, they stared off into the distance, focused on some detail that no other cat could seem to see. The Regime had practically fallen to pieces. Just a while ago, the last of Shade's original followers had deserted. The signs had really been there for a while now—their dwindling numbers and fighting force, talk of a faraway future that seemed to be nothing but empty dreams by now, a near-tyrannical leader. To these wanderers whose ultimate concern was for their own wellbeing, the choice had grown increasingly obvious. With Xuexi's prolonged absence, the last straw had broken. Mao was at a loss for what to think. No, rather than simply being at a loss, it would be more accurate to say that she was in shock. Everything was gone. If the Regime disbanded, the ideology that had been instilled into her all her life would lead nowhere. What could two or three cats do on their own? Lengxue had gone, Wuqi had soon followed her, and even Xuexi now... Xuexi, the cat who had raised her and taught her almost everything she knew—without that leading figure, Mao was truly and utterly lost. Pulling her gaze upwards, she spoke with a hint of desperation in her voice, "Look what's happened in your absence. You said you'd be back, but it's too late now!" As expected, no voice to spoke up to respond. Her vision was filled with the sight of iridescent dust specks twirling through the air. A tired sigh slipped from her parted jaws.

Never before had Xuexi left them alone for this long a period of time. With each day that slipped by, the hope that she would return was further reduced. At any rate, Mao was done waiting. She could not bear to sit around any longer. Perhaps she was being impatient, but there was also the fear that something had happened to their mother. She and Rift had little left to lose. Rising to her paws, Mao trotted out into the snow. The mysterious white substance crunched beneath her paws, chilling her toes thoroughly. The future was both cold and uncertain.

When Mao found her sister, Rift was standing alone in the shadow of the barn. For a second, the russet-furred tabby who had always been so strong, spontaneous, and dependable seemed to appear exactly as Mao felt—lost and confused. A sharp ache stung at her chest. The two of them were together in this. "Ma—Xuexi's not coming back anytime soon, is she?" She spoke in a low voice tinged with despondency. For a second, she had been about to refer to Xuexi the way she had in the past. She corrected the mistake just in time. "Mama" was gone, a thing of the past. She had to gather all her courage to suggest what she was about to. "Say, Rift." Wavering for a second, she swallowed heavily. "Shouldn't we go looking for her?" The words felt leaden on her tongue. "Something... something bad might have happened."

Lost in her own thoughts, Rift barely noticed as her sister approached, until the sound of paws crunching into snow tickled her ear fur. Pricking her ears, she looked up Mao, a slight pang filling her chest as she saw the dull look in the other molly's eyes. We've changed a lot since we were kits, haven't we? She gave the other a slightly wavering smile, attempting to lift her spirits just a little as Mao opened her mouth to speak.

"Ma- Xuexi's not coming back anytime soon, is she?"

Rift sat down, blinking as her sister stated almost exactly what she herself had been trying and failing to think her way around. I... guess she's not. Maybe the Clans found her and captured her? And now they're holding her captive...? She thought briefly about voicing the thoughts aloud, but decided against it, instead just nodding, her gaze falling back to her paws as she shuffled them around slightly in the cold snow.

Her head jerked up as Mao said her name, her ears pricking at the tone in her sister's voice. It almost sounded like she was considering some kind of idea that terrified her as she paused for a moment to swallow. Rift leaned forward, searching her face curiously as she wavered a moment before continuing.

"Shouldn't we go looking for her? Something... something bad might have happened."

"Wait, you want us to leave the barn?" She sat up, tail twitching behind her as her eyes lit up for a moment before her mind registered the rest of what Mao had said. Instantly, she deflated slightly, her fur prickling slightly as she considered what they would find if something bad really had happened. She swallowed as her mind buzzed through dozens of different scenarios, most of them involving finding their mother with her throat torn out or a terrible injury that meant she couldn't move anywhere. "Yes, we should go. We've got to know, even if it's bad. Maybe she'll even let us visit Lengxue if we find her Clan...."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Mao knew that there was no taking them back. She saw the glint in Rift's eyes, and she could almost see the gears turning within her sister's head. It came as no surprise when her proposition was met with agreement. In a way, Mao might have already known what the answer would be. Between the two of them, Rift had always been the bolder, more adventurous one. If she were capable of making such a suggestion, then there was little possibility Rift that would be the voice of objection. The pale ginger tabby scuffed at the snow with one forepaw. For a moment, her amber gaze seem particularly fixated on her toes. When she lifted her head, however, a wan smile had planted itself on her features. "Let's get going, then!" She declared, in a tone more forceful than she had expected herself to use. "Let's go right now. There's no one to stop us." Her voice choked in her throat, and she had to pause before she was capable of continuing. "We'll finally get to see the forest!" Could Rift tell that she was faking the cheer in her voice? She had no doubts that her sister could. What shimmered within the depths of her amber eyes? Even as she attempted to smile, there was a shadow in her gaze.

Their world was so small. The decrepit barn—a ruin of former twoleg aspirations—was where they had been born and where they had grown up. But now it could no longer contain them. What would they see? What would they find? All they needed was that one step out of their haven.

Rift watched as her sister seemed to almost instantly regret having spoken, the shadows behind her eyes turning to a momentary fear. But as for herself, a faint buzzing seemed to travel down her spine as the wind picked up, and she turned to gaze over into the distance for a moment before turning back to see Mao give a wavering, wan smile. She reflected it with a brighter one of her own, standing firmly again as her sister forced out a cheerful tone.

"Let's get going, then! Let's go right now. There's no one to stop us."

She had to forcefully stop a gleam from coming into her eyes at the thought. After so long, after being stuck here for all of her life, being forced to stay here, stifled; she was finally free. For her sister's sake though, she rested her tail lightly on the other cat's shoulder as her voice briefly choked before continuing. "We'll finally get to see the forest!" Rift searched those shadowed eyes, seeking the light that used to fill them. I have to bring us back somehow.... There's got to be a way to make this better.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. And then she'll find a way to build up the Regime again." She turned towards the bushes their mother had disappeared into, giving as comforting a smile as she knew how to her sister over her tail. Excitement overrode the dread almost hidden at the back of her mind, and she couldn't help digging her claws into the damp ground just once as she led the way towards their new future. Free, she would finally be free.

The waning afternoon light played gently on snow-clad fields. Ever since the two young rogues had first set out from the Abandoned Barn, a short span of time had passed. During that time, Mao had done nothing but pad after Rift. Where were they going? What did they hope to find? Questions niggled at the back of her mind—questions that she did not know the answer to. Scent trails did not last a week. At this point, traces of their mother had all but faded away. Apart from the direction they had watched her head out in days ago, they had next to no other clues. Mao had a half-hope that Rift knew what she was doing. However, the more realistic side within her whispered that her sister was simply striking out into the unknown. Whatever the truth was, however, perhaps it did not really matter. Mao would simply follow Rift, just as she had always done. A wordless silence hung thickly over the two of them—no inquiries, no small talk. Her sister might have made an attempt at conversation, or she might not have; she was not quite sure. The pale ears seemed to be stuffed with a cotton-like substance that muffled out most sound.

Every now and then, Mao would lift her gaze for a brief glance at the sky. As the day wore on, the sun had sunk lower and lower from its kingly seat at high-noon. Before long, the day would enter the evening stage. For some unknown reason, a chill traveled down Mao's spine. She fluffed out her pale-ginger pelt almost immediately. The sensation of slushy cold seeping between her toes was certainly not a pleasant one. An icy breeze was in the air, twirling her whiskers with its intangible paws. As uncomfortable as it could be, however, she realized that the natural chill was not what had caused the reaction. Could this have been called instinct? Her amber gaze darted from side to side. By that time, they had wandered far from the barn. Never had they been so far from home. The scenery was nothing of note—simply snow, and more snow. For the most part, they had walked beneath an open sky. But there was no familiarity encompassing them. As the hour wore on, so did anxiety. Surely they were approaching the clan border Xuexi had always told them about? Uncertainty, fueled by how little they truly knew, wore on Mao's nerves. How much further?

Then it hit her. The scent was one drifting on the breeze—sharp and pungent, with a sickening tang. Even from such a distance, Mao felt her stomach churn slightly. It was reminiscent to something the tabby she-cat had scented once before, when she had stumbled upon the half-eaten carcass of a crow. Back then, had she sneaked out to play without Xuexi's permission? Distant memories stirred within her, and her paws stumbled to a halt.

"R—Rift." Mao stammered, her ears flattening, "Do you smell that?" It was the scent of death.

They had wandered in silence almost the whole way, Rift somehow sure that the direction she was going in would lead them to their mother. A single-minded focus had filled her after the first few attempts at conversation, Mao clearly too occupied to carry a conversation. Her sister's malaise just filled the russet-furred tabby with more determination, her paw steps purposeful as they crunched across the icy, melting snow. I'll make it better. We'll find Xuexi and then everything will be better. She glanced sideways at her sister, observing the shadows in her distant eyes as she plodded along. The sun was just above the distant treetops, its beams of light coasting above a small line of billowing clouds and throwing their shadows away from them in oddly stretched shapes.

It was at that moment the breeze picked up, blowing from a new direction and rustling the reeds around them in a moaning, whistling whisper. She stopped in her tracks, the fur along her spine lifting as a foul smell caressed her nose, a mixture of old blood and decay. Suddenly, her heart was pounding, and her lips drew back from her teeth in an instinctual snarl of fear. Mao's suddenly fearful voice broke through the rattle of dead reeds, and she nearly jumped as she turned to face where the smell had come from.

"R-Rift. Do you smell that?"

The odd feeling swirling through her gut prevented her from speaking, but she somehow managed to nod. I need to see.... She made a decision, scrambling forwards and flattening the reeds in her haste, a strangely loud sound of crackling and crunching filling the wake behind her. The cold wind wailed in her ears in a freezing gust as the sun's golden light shone across her pelt. As she bounded across a line of snow where there were no reeds, the light dimmed, giving a final weak glimmer before succumbing to the oncoming clouds. She ignored it as her paws scattered bits of icy snow, the stench now so powerful she could barely smell the odd fishy tang around her.What is it? It can't... nothing would... nothing could.... Thoughts half formed spun away from her as she spotted through the sudden deep shadows a shape ahead, oddly still and somehow familiar. The strangest thing was that she knew almost immediately what it was as soon as her eyes locked on it. A cat, its fur ruffled by the whispering, icy wind.

She slowed to a stop, her paws growing heavier until they were planted, frozen, in the snow. Unblinking, she stared at that form, barely noticing her sister as she came up. It didn't move. Slowly, hesitantly, her paws almost moving by themselves, she padded up to it, half crouching as every hair on her pelt urged her to leave. The foul smell was over-powering, the faint fishy scent smothered by it. Even in the dull light, Rift could still see it was a russet pelt much like her own - darker markings faintly evident along the back turned to her. Her mind numb, she crept right up to it, more of the body becoming evident until she was standing right over her, hardly remembering the last steps she'd taken to get there.

There were no eyes. That was the first thing she noticed, distantly, as she stared down. Birds had probably pecked them out a few days prior, and now there were only empty eye sockets set above a snarling muzzle that was more bone than flesh. Below, dried blood caked her chest and neck, the small white spot on her pelt dyed a rusty brown that simply looked black in the waning light. It was evident that some creatures had come by and nibbled on parts of her, a sparse pelt giving way to stiff flesh wherever they had sunk their teeth. She registered everything in a distant part of her mind, some part of her whispering that this was just a cat that looked like Xuexi, not their mother. But she knew otherwise, she felt in her bones that this was her, and that she had been murdered somehow by the Clans.

They had found their mother. What was left of her, anyway.

A long time ago, Mao had sneaked out of the barn without Xuexi's permission. She had barely been more than a few moons old at the time, and Lengxue had not yet left for the clans. Back then, their family had been more or less a happy one. How distant those memories seemed in the present. Yet, now that she pondered over them, it also felt as if they could have occurred just a few days ago. What had the weather been like that day? The bite of leaf bare's wind reminded her. It had been a surprisingly warm day for its season—cloudy and relatively breezy.

Without a word, Rift was bounding off in the direction of the foul scent. Mao called after her, but the russet-furred tabby did not so much as look back. It was likely that the young rogue had not even heard her sister's voice. There was nothing Mao could do but scramble after her. All attempt at stealth was abandoned. Forcefully flattened reeds crackled underpaw. Their pounding steps crunched upon the snow, leaving deep prints. With every tail length of distance they gained, the pale ginger she-cat grew more uneasy. Tendrils of foreboding wound up her spine. She was afraid; even before she had seen what they would find, she was already afraid. Intuition, if that was what the sensation could be called, warned for her to head in the other direction. But there was no way she could leave Rift alone. Whatever her sister saw, she would see too. A strange sort of adrenaline was filling her veins, overpowering the fear.

On that day moons ago, it had only taken Xuexi looking away from the kits for one moment. In that brief span of time, Mao had slipped out through a hole in the barn wall. Perhaps she had been in an adventurous mood, perhaps she had wanted to see for herself the clans Xuexi had told them so many stories about. Whatever her reason was, Mao could no longer remember it in detail. If one thing was for certain, it was sure to have been due to the naive reasoning of a kit. She had not ended up getting very far from the barn in the end. But while wandering through a thicket, a certain odor had caught her attention.

It seemed almost strange to Mao that she would be remembering this incident now. Was it an omen of sorts? Overhead, the sky turned dreary and gray. Shadows danced across the snow. If it were possible, the air grew even colder than it already was. The scent was stronger now, too. In fact, the fluffy she-cat quickly realized that its source was close. It permeated the air, and every inhale was revolting. Sometime during her run, her throat had gone uncomfortably dry. In front of her, Rift slowed to a stop.

The younger Mao had investigated the origin of the unpleasant odor. Clambering over a root almost as thick as she was wide, she had come face to face with a crow—at least, what was left of it. Empty eye sockets had stared back at her.

It took Mao a few extra seconds to notice what Rift already had. When she did, however, her mind went blank. That dark ginger pelt so similar to Rift's—she would know it anywhere. Even if it had half-rotted away, even if a light dusting of snow coated it—she recognized it. Yet... yet... This body could not be their mother's.

It was impossible—absolutely impossible.

Xuexi could not have been killed by the clan cats. She was savage and powerful, and both Mao and Rift had tasted of that strength. In addition to being strong, she was crafty. Of her siblings, she was the only one Shade had seen as worthy of being trained. He had passed real clan battle techniques down to her. Was she not supposed to be invincible? She had sworn to drive out the clan cats that plagued the forest. She had promised to create a better future for the Regime. Xuexi had— Their mother had—

Xuexi was dead.

"Ahhh... ahhhhhh!" Sinking to the ground, Mao let out an inarticulate, disconsolate cry. Her mouth gaped; words were lost to her. Even as she trembled, her wide amber eyes never left the corpse. It was not their mother's. It could not be their mother's. But even she vehemently tried to deny the reality before her, she knew the truth. Hot tears, welling from her eyes, fell to the snow.

It was cold now. Howling wind drove icy knives through her pelt and blocked out sound as she gazed down at the stiff body before her. Rift barely noticed as Mao approached - her paws were one with the snow. Distantly, she heard the inarticulate cry of her sister through the rushing of the wind in her ears, but didn't turn as Mao collapsed in the snow, tears leaking from her eyes. The form in front of her took all her attention as she stared at it, barely feeling the icy wind ruffle her fur as it picked up again.

What did I do?

A pit opened in her stomach as she stared blankly at the russet pelt stretched over what had once been her mother. It was strange, it looked nothing like she had in life. It didn't even smell like she had, but she somehow knew it was Xuexi. She blinked as something hit her paw, staring down at a wet spot on her fur with a strange sense of detachment. It's raining. But water wasn't coming from the clouds above. Another dripped down, this time hitting the dessicated pelt, and she watched it soak in, another and another joining it.

Why did you leave us? A sudden spike of anger cut through the cold numbness in her heart, and she ground her teeth together, feeling her tail lash uncontrollably behind her. The cat in front of her didn't move, and suddenly she was hit with the reality. Xuexi - their mother - was dead. She would no longer move again, the mother who had kept her safe and provided comfort and shelter just by her sheer presence and strength was gone. Her mind struggled to comprehend it, she couldn't believe it, that this silent unmoving body in the snow was her mother. It's got to be a mistake! Xuexi's still out there somewhere...! Suddenly she felt the cold, ice aching in her bones as a foreign feeling she didn't recognize welled up inside her.

Her vision blurred strangely as her lips peeled back from her teeth, claws unsheathing to tear restlessly at the snow. A low moan rose from the back of her throat, rising into an incoherent wail as something inside her broke beneath the deluge of emotions raging beneath her pelt. Her throat constricted and closed, breaking the wail off into a gasping sob as her legs shook beneath her and she butted her head into the foul-smelling pelt as they collapsed, heedless of the overwhelming smell. Underneath the stench, she could just catch a hint of the familiar scent that had followed her throughout her life, and she clung to it desperately.

How long she and Mao stayed there like that, Rift didn't know. Her thoughts were blank as the cold seeped into her pelt, turning her almost as stiff as the body beneath her. But eventually, as she finally started to shiver beneath the billowing grey sky, she lifted her head. Blinking away the blurriness in her vision, she turned to Mao, her hoarse voice rasping as she spoke, "What do we do now? We can't leave her like this, not - not like the... Clan... cats left her." A fierce spike of anger drove through her at the word 'Clan', and she spat it out with as much vehemence as her tired body could muster. I hate them. All Clan cats should die! What kind of monster murders a couple of kits' mother just because she's a rogue and then leaves her to rot?! They'll pay for this.... Every murderer....

Especially the one who killed Xuexi.