*Clears throat* Y'all in for Zi's backstory! In a special version! ***************************************************************** Leo stared up at his mother. She was terrified, her paws beating against a window. "Help!" She cried to the kit, cracks in the glass nicking her paws. Roxy wasn't meant for this. She was meant to be safe somewhere, hidden in the cabin under a couch with her son. But the twolegs weren't here to protect them. They'd left a while ago, saying they'd be back later. Leo couldn't help it. He cried, his fur on end. Pressing his head into his mother's soft, white fur, that practically absorbed him. He had to be strong, brave... But he just wasn't. He was scared. That was a decision they'd regret for the rest of his life. Roxy, realizing the five moon old kitten would be of no use, went back to her futile attempts, only managing to stain her pelt red. The river swelled, and the wind howled, trying to tear its way into the house. When she quit, all she could do was try and protect Leo from the terrors. Looking up, his ears flat, the kit's eyes grew wide, his pupils round. A branch, big, stocky, and a rich brown was flying toward them, smashing the glass to smithereens. Screeching, their voices raw, the cats shut their eyes, trying to keep pieces of glass from blinding them. Leo had his mother's tail wrapped around him, shielding him from all harm. But she screamed as one sliced into her shoulder, embedded there. To her credit, she just went on, only thinking of her kit and the safety he needed. Her usual soft and graceful paw steps turned into a hard rhythm, landing exactly to her heartbeats. Snatching Leo, she flew across terrain, trying to leap the now violent, and loud river. But she couldn't. Being a kittypet all her life had softened her muscles, and even the best warrior was a hit or miss to get across. Plummeting toward the river, Leo's eyes snapped open, wind whistling and ringing in his ears, and feeling weightless for once in his life. Then came the boom, and the feeling of smacking the ground. Leo wanted to gasp, but Roxy's paws covered his nose and mouth, stopping him from gaining and losing any air. Spinning out of control, her having no one to do the work for her, she opened her jaw, bubbles streaming out. A violent breath, and she was gone, disappearing from his sight. He knew she didn't make it to the surface that day. In his heart. She would have found him if she did. The kit was thrown into the air, and smashed against the bank. Sand was pushed down his throat, covering his nose. But it was better then the water, which had abandoned him, tired already of it's new toy. Gasping, Leo shook, the air chilling him to the bone. Tiny kitten claws sinking into the ground, he pulled himself up, determined to not be taken again by the rushing torrent. All he could think in that moment was, 'All because of stupid twolegs.' ***************************************************************** Leo took a deep breath. No, not Leo, Zion. ZION took a deep breath. He'd abandoned his kittypet name and family the second he could. What had they done for him? His mother wouldn't care, she was dead. Grooming their spiky pelt, trying to tame the wild tufts of fur, he smiled. Today was a new day. Officially. It had been a whole moon since the storm, and he was ready to start again. Walking forward, he left the twoleg place, heading instead toward the jungle. What could he say? Calling himself a loner was better then being a stray.
