Book 1 - Memory Loss - The Taken
The red tinted black dotted she cat swept through the forest, trying to find anything, ANYTHING to eat. It didn’t matter what it was, she had left her sick sister, Jove back at their small setting unguarded, she needed to be quick but she didn’t know how.
Tacenda was being careful not to stumble on any sticks, brambles, thickets, oddly stuck out pine needles, or anything that might stop her in the night. At the same time, though, she was still being quick, her eyes growing more and more eager as they adjusted to the tenebrefic darkness that consumed Tacenda along with the landscape that surrounded her.
Tacenda’s pelt swooped through the air, leaping to catch the scent she had just caught, seeing thankfully ahead that there was a plump rabbit being distracted by finding a place to build it’s safe tunnel for the fall that was yet to come. It would pad around, nibbling at the dirt with its paws, making the slightest of holes in the ground.
She slowed down her pace, her belly brushing the dirt ground, where leaves had fallen in gentle movements and where grass sprouted everywhere in little patches. Some of the grass had already almost turned into an unhealthy yellowish brown. The tall pine trees loomed over her, they looked dark and scary at night, they were black silhouettes reaching up into the sky, blocking most of the stars. When Tacenda noticed that she fastened her pace our of the slightest bit of fear and apprehension.
She got a foot away from the rabbit that still did not notice her, and she leapt into the air. She was so hungry she assumed anyone could see her rib cage from the other side of the forest. She awkwardly fumbled onto the rabbit, but as soon as she placed her unsheathed claws on it it ran away. Tacenda left painful scratch marks at the very end of its white, black engulfed figure.
She wailed in defeat as she was standing with her head bowed, watching in the corner of her eye the rabbit disappearing into the dark shaded night, ”I can catch and kill my enemies, but I can’t even kill a rabbit.” She ran herself lightly into a tree, being wary that if she hurt herself she could not heal properly, but at the same time wanting to punish herself.
She padded back into Tacenda and Jove’s small setting that was outlined with strong, pointy thickets their parents had made for their camp, that is when their parents were still there. They had ran away from them when they were five. That was two years ago. Neither Jove or Tacenda found out.
Their setting was nothing special, at least not to Tacenda. There was no grass, just dirt. Tacenda remembered her mother trying to decorate the place and make it pretty but it never really .. worked. It was very small, Tacenda had always assumed that it would fit about seven cats. She assumed it because she had never in her life seen anyone except her parents and her sister. Only a few times did they see cats that were strolling through the forest or trying to pick a fight or steal some prey or anything on that subject of matter, and even then, their parents would scare them off.
Tacenda stood in front of Jove that did not dare move, if she did it would effect all of her. Jove whispered softly, her eyes dull and faded, but still showing a slither of hope that there would be prey, something to eat, “Did you ... Did you get anything.” While noticing that her sister didn’t have enough energy to simply add question in her voice, a single tear fell town one of Tacenda’s cheeks and she felt more to come. They were making her vision blurry at the bottom where they started to water, but she continuously blinked them away, looking in the opposite direction of Jove. She needed to be strong in front of and for her sister.
“It’s okay Jove.. we’ll be okay..” Tacenda paused, Jove had always worried about their parents so for no reason Tacenda felt the need to refine what she had just spoke, “We’ll all be okay ... I ..I promise I’ll find food for you in the morning.” Jove groaned with effort then turned herself on her side to fall asleep, her dark gray that had a tint of reddish-magenta pelt with freckled white dots slowly darkening in the night that turned into pitch black. The only light they saw was the lighting from the moon and the silent glow from the stars.
Tacenda lay down on the ground next to Jove, feeling the breeze that welcomed fall and decided to curl up next to her sister, who let out a coarse purr of affection and appreciation for the warmth then fell asleep.
She woke up to a loud noise, a noise that came from an overly dramatic cat that was petty enough to wake them up at the BREAK OF DAWN. (But seriously, IT WAS STILL DARK OUT.)
“GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE DOESNT WANT YOU! YOU’RE MAKING HER LIFE WORSE.” She stood up, her hackles raised, her tired eyes being forced to stay awake and alert even though it was hard keeping them open when it was still dark out. Her fur fluffed up even more than it already was, (Which really wasn’t much of a different, Tacenda isn’t as fluffy as CInder.) Tacenda didn’t know who these cats were, her eyes took a moment to render her surroundings, and when she did she only saw silhouettes that were rustling behind the bushes, trees, and any nature they could find. “WHAT IN THE WORLD. How am I making HER life WORSE. JUST LEAVE. You just HAD to be extra and add the part about me making her life worse, didn’t you? Along with waking up so early where you could only see the SLIGHTEST smidgen of the sun.”
Tacenda tried her best to save time by talking, planning out scenarios in her mind on how she should take them on, but she just thought in her mind after every quickly put together plan she thought of,
I’m outnumbered. They’re going to take me and my sister and there is nothing i will be able to do about it.
