uneven odds [c]

It was another routine scouting mission that saw Leopardsun venture into the deepest parts of ShadowClan's marsh, carefully considering her every step. Though things had more or less returned to normal by now, the Deep Marsh was dangerous even at the best of times. Thalia's report of a raccoon attack (and the scratches to prove it) led her to investigate further, wanting to ensure that no other threats were currently nesting there. It was a dangerous place, but that was only more reason to minimize the danger where they could.

A tiny bundle of curiosity had been bumbling around the dark bit of forest that teemed with all sorts of prickly plant life since sundown, chasing frogs and the occasional toad that she hoped to make a meal of. In the end, her meal of choice was what appeared to be a rat sitting right on top of the earth, begging her to take a bite.
"Got you..." Taking a leap of faith, she pounced on the rat... only to realize too late that this wasn't normal earth. The muddy waters sucked her tiny body in, only getting worse the more she thrashed about.
Fully thinking she was the only living thing besides toads in this forest, she let out the biggest yowl she could between mouthfuls of black water. "HELP!!"

The sound of a small voice caught Leopardsun's attention, and for one brief moment she had the thoroughly ridiculous thought that a mouse had learned to speak. That was so absurd that it only lasted a second, fading away entirely as she saw the actual source of the sound- just in time for it to begin sinking into the marsh with a yowl. "I've got you-!"

She dove without a thought to the kit's rescue, as familiar with the terrain as any ShadowClan cat could hope to be. Once she had the kit in her jaws, she swiftly made her way back to the submerged stone path. What was a kit even doing in the Deep Marshes? She wanted to ask, but couldn't very well risk putting it down here; so she started back to the nearest solid ground before gently setting the kit down. "Don't move, okay? It's okay, you're safe as long as you're with me- I know this place, and where it's safe to walk. What were you doing? Why are you here? It's dangerous."

Where, she thought (but very pointedly did not ask), is your mother?

She wasn't entirely sure that the kit could answer her questions, at least not the way she wanted, but she had to try something; and she certainly had to convey how dangerous the area was, even if the kit had already experienced that first-paw.

Catching her breath and spitting the mud from her mouth, the black and brown she-kit breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "I was just-" Meeting the eyes of her rescuer, the she-kit immediately burst into tears. "Mom's tummy is hurting so I wanted to bring her food like she does when my tummy hurts..." There was no way for a kit who had never seen anything die before begin to comprehend what death even was or what it looked like, nor could she explain it to the worried She-Cat. All she knew was that she was sad and lonely, tired and cold.

But the sun had risen and set twice since a roaring monster had attacked her mother. During that time, the kit would lay plants and frogs next to the body in desperate hope that everything would be fine. But it wasn't going to be fine. She was cold, hungry, exhausted and feeling something she had never felt before: the bitter and aching sting of loneliness. Her tiny body shuttered as she cried and cried her little eyes out, leaning into the tall she-cat who saved her. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble, I swear!"

"No, no- you didn't cause any trouble," Leopardsun assured the kit, wrapping her tail around it. It wasn't true, but honesty wouldn't be much comfort to a kit, and the truth in this case could only hurt. "But you could have been hurt. It's alright, you're safe now. Stay with me, I'll help you."

She could already feel herself growing attached to the small bundle of fur, and briefly thanked the moon that Nightstar wouldn't be able to turn away a kit. He might not be happy about taking in something so small and helpless; but he would search for her parents- though Leopardsun had a guess as to what the patrol would find, as she doubted any mother in good shape would allow her kits to wander quite so far- and he would, if and when that search failed, allow her to stay.

"I'm from ShadowClan," she spoke softly. "It's not far from here. We'll find your mother, and you won't be alone while we're looking- I'll stay with you. But we can't wait out here. It's not safe."

The kit sniffled before her body relaxed completely at Leopardsun's reassuring voice that... somehow reminded her of her mother. "I want to go with you. Thank you for saving me and being so kind to me..." She mewed, straightening her self and looking up at the tall she-cat through exhausted eyes, ready to follow her lead.

Whatever ShadowClan was, she was more than willing to get somewhere to dry off and maybe even have something to eat and a place to finally get some sleep. It also helped that her fear had died down thanks to the comforting presence of Leopardsun. "Um... Mom calls me Darling. So you can call me that, too, if you want. I don't mind!"

With the promise of going back to see her mother again and get her some help, the kit waited for Leopardsun to take the lead.

Leopardsun nodded once, then paused. It was troubling that she would have to navigate through the rest of the marsh to return to ShadowClan's camp- kits weren't permitted in the territory for good reason- and so she thought it over for a moment. In one swift movement, she lifted the kit up (though it would be difficult to carry her back all the way like this) and onto her back, which would be much more manageable.

"There we go. Now you won't get wet again, Darling," she assured the kit. What an odd name, if a sweet one. It wouldn't suit a Clan cat, but- until she could investigate the kit's mother herself, it would be perfectly fine. There was no need to get so far ahead of herself, really. "For now, let's get you somewhere warm and safe, and then I'll get us something to eat."