All in Due Time (c)

"Just a little further, Phen." Her mother urged, pushing her forward gently. There was in urgency in Nagi's voice, despite the wound along her side, which surely must've been hurting. "Mother, why won't you rest?" Phen asked, kitten-blue eyes foggy with distress. "Don't fret, love. The Moor Clan cats are nearby, and once we arrive we can rest the entire day if you'd like, it's.. Not much further," Nagi affirmed, wheezing, and coughing. The she-cat had received the wounds last night defending her kits from a mutt who thought they'd be an easy meal. It was horribly mistaken, and twolegs swiftly came to catch their runaway dog, but it was too late for her son, Hora. After burying her son, the mother and daughter duo slept, and walked all morning. Nagi's wounds were infected, she knew. It was sheer willpower keeping her moving at this point, but she knew they were close. Once they made it to the Clans, Phen would be safe. No more hiding. No more fear. "But you're breathing bad!" The diluted kit squeaked, trotting side by side. With how wobbly and slow her mother was walking, even four moon old Phen kept up easily.

Nagi just gave her a loving look and continued walking, determined to see her daughter was safe. Finally, she saw it. The moors. "Phen, we've made it. We'll be there soon." She mewed softly, smiling, though Phen could see the pain in it, and the sluggish way she walked, how she grinded her teeth to stop from wincing. Her wounds had scabbed over, and smell sour. They were blazing hot. "I hope the Moor Cats are nice," Phen chirped, blinking, trying to distract Nagi from the pain. Before her mother could answer, Phen wrinkled her little pink nose, "Yuck! What's that reek?" She exclaimed, causing Nagi to chuckle. Phen looked up at the large tortoishell, pouting. "Moor Cats are nice, little one. Th.. The smell is the border. It means.. It means that we're close." She wheezed, a sadness in her eyes as she realized she wouldn't live to see Phen grow up in a Clan. But, still, she could get her there, at least.

So, they travelled slowly, with Nagi wheezing and stumbling her way across the open moor. When the tortoiseshell's legs gave out, she gasped, struggling to breathe, and barely withholding a yowl of pain. "Mama! Mama, you've got to get up! We're almost there, you.. You can't rest here!" Tears pooled in the eyes of the kit, and she wailed loudly. "Come on, Mother! You can rest the entire day when we get there," Phen pleaded, pressing her nose into her mother's fur. "Darling, my sweet Phen. Be.. Be good, okay? I love you.." She whispered, eyes flickering towards the sound of approaching footsteps.

Daystar had decided that today would be the perfect day for a walk. Interacting with her Clanmates managed to put her mind at rest, but her introverted nature made it so that she needed a break every now and then. What better way to find silence than on the moor before the daily patrols were assigned? Her steps were quiet and gentle as she treaded on the grass underneath her paw pads. If she were to be too loud, then all of the prey would have the opportunity to sprint back to their burrows and shelters, and the incoming patrols would have no chance of finding anything worthwhile.

She enjoyed walking simply because it put her mind at rest. It was simply her, the moor, and the open sky. For a moment, she had no responsibilities or duties, she wasn't a leader, her leg wasn't broken, she had no worries, and she was simply existing in harmony with the foliage. She closed her eyes and lifted her nose to inhale a load of Greenleaf air, but an unfamiliar scent greeted her instead. It caused her to instantly snap out of her trance and glance toward the source.

It wasn't a Clan scent, but it also wasn't a predator scent. It caused the fur on the back of her neck to stand on end as she cautiously padded forward. Could it be a rogue? The last thing that WindClan needed was for ShadowClan's rogues to suddenly grow bored and move on terrorizing the moorland instead. When she arrived at the scene, the sight in front of her was enough to make her quietly gasp in shock. The first cat that she noticed was a tortoiseshell that had no life in her body. Her flank refused to rise and fall with any breath or sign of life, and it was certain that she was dead. The next cat that Daystar noticed was a tiny and saddened kit who was doing everything she could to wake up her deceased mother.

It instantly broke the she-cat's heart. Although she was more than cautious about outsiders, she still had a heart, and she had no desire to see a kit in distress.
"Hello?" She began, delicately padding toward the kit.
She paused for a moment before speaking again.
"Hi... I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. That's your mother, right? Do you know what happened to her?"

Phen shook her little head, desperately denying what she knew to be the truth. "No! Mama! Mama, no!" She wailed pitifully, paws pressed against her mother's muzzle, head rubbing up against the head of the one oh so dear to her. "Mama.." The dilute tortoiseshell kit whispered. Gray. It was all so gray. The grass, the sky. It was all gray. Without.. Without Mama, what would she do? How could she go on?

Then, quite suddenly, amidst the darkness, there was color, and a voice. Phen gasped softly, head jerking up. Shakily, she turned to stare at Daystar, an unknown cat, and the urge to protect her mother bubbled up and consumed her. "S-stay away! Stay back! I.. I won't let anyone harm her!" The she-kit hissed, trying to sound as fierce as her breaking heart could. Save me, she thought desperately, please, be one of the moor cats that Mama had so much faith in.

Her silent plea, which would be heard by nobody except herself. Reserved for her mind only.

The attempted snarl wavered when the pretty molly told her, promised her, that she wouldn't hurt her. "Papa promised too... He promised he wouldn't leave, but he still did! Mama... Mama..! She's.." The tears bubbled and spilled over, "She was all I had." The kit's body wracked with sobs as she shook, droplets spilling onto the grass below. "Mama was all I had. But she's gone. I have nothing left. I told her to rest, really, I did! I tried!"

Her tone was begging, pleading, desperate for the stranger before her to tell her she believed her, that it wasn't her fault. "Mama fought a dog to protect me and Hora. But Hora's gone too. Mama buried him yesterday. She kept walking all morning. I told her to rest, she was hot, and she made funny noises when she breathed! But she wouldn't stop. She had to find the Moor Cats." Phen's eyes were petrified as she finally met Daystar's gaze, her whole body trembling. "Are you one of the Moor Cats?"

Daystar's eyes glittered with sadness as she peered down at the trembling she-kit before her. No kit deserved to suffer this much, no one deserved to watch their mother die right in front of their very eyes. Sympathy bubbled in the leader's chest as she took another careful step forward and crouched down to match the kit's height and continued to listen. Phen truly was a survivor, and hadn't been lying when she mentioned that her mother was all that she had. Daystar couldn't imagine the amount of pain that she was going through, but the least she could do was attempt to help.

The moor cats... was that supposed to be WindClan? She immediately nodded her head, her expression remaining gentle and welcoming.
"Yes, I am one of the moor cats. My name is Daystar, and I'm their leader. Why don't you come with me? You must be starving. We have lots of food back where I live." Daystar spoke with reassurance and kindness in her tone.
It was clear that this kit was terrified, and she wasn't about to scare her even more.

She gingerly rose back up to her full height and glanced down at the she-kit with a warm smile.
"Come on. You can tell me your name along the way."

When Daystar nodded, the fleeting feeling of hope returned,and instantly Phen perked up. She.. She'd made it! She actually made it! "Phen!" She chirped, "Mama named me Phen." The she-kit watched as Daystar stood up,tilting her head to the side. "Are you sure you wanna share your prey? Mama says it's not nice to just take things from other cats. And, uhm, w-what do we do with Mama..?" The dilute tortoiseshell turned her head back to her mother, batting away a fly. "I don't wanna l-leave her to the bugs! Mama hates bugs, and I don't want her to be sad..." Phen mumbled, looking up at Daystar pleadingly. "Please... Don't leave her here! S-she travelled real far to meet you, miss Daystar!"

Phen was desperate. Mama was dead, but they couldn't just leave her! "Once Mama is resting away from the nasty bugs we can leave and go.. uhm, w-wherever Moor Cats live."