LeopardTail Backstory

Leopard Tail, The Beginning

A soft breeze let out on the warm day and a pretty queen wandered through the forest and found a cave, hmm if I add some bedding and maybe if I catch some prey it'll be a perfect place to nurse my kits, she thought and nodding her head as it came together in her head. "But first some sleep would be nice," as she yawned and crept to a corner and let her eyes drop and drifted to sleep.

*****

"Haha! You can't catch me!" Leo said to his brother Winston, "Yes I can! I'm gonna get you!" The two kits tumbled around laughing as Lucy, their sister sat in the corner watching her brothers tumble around. Her mother Luna came up to her and looked into her eyes as she heard her voice say softley, "She must be lonely as she doesn't really play with her brothers , I wonder why she won't play with them." I don't play with them because they never want me to join, they think I'm weird, I can't understand why though..." She mumbled to herself. She turned herself around as she put her head down to rest as the voices of her family drifted away. She dreamt of being in the forest away from her brothers, catching prey and seeing the most wondrous things, she could almost smell the forest scent, but her dream had been interrupted with a faint and foul scent that she didn't recognize, she looked around the cave and found her mother and siblings still asleep and no signs of where the smell was coming from so she shrugged it off and went to sleep.

*****

Later that day Luna came up to her and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out then Luna smiled at her. Lucy tilted her head in confusion and shrugged it off as she started to chase a loose moss ball she saw rolling around. She looked up to her siblings and they had weird faces and they were looking at her then suddenly when she looked into their eyes their voices filled up her head, "I can't believe she just ignored momma! Such a weirdo and not even looking at momma when she's talking to you!" Lucy stopped chasing the moss ball and looked at her paws. Did I really just ignore momma when she was talking to me? B-but how? I didn't hear her say anything...She turned around to Luna and she had a worried expression as she looked into her eyes as her mom's voice rang in her head, "...I think s-she's deaf," Lucy's eyes shot opened with confusion and shock. She opened her mouth to ask her mom, "What's deaf?" instead she could hear nothing come out, she looked once again into her momma's eyes as her eyes were even more worried and scared as she heard her voice again, "How did she know about deafness? I never taught her that...then what?" Lucy didn't know what to say anymore she just kept thinking she was deaf...but what is deaf? Right now she didn't want to know just another reason why I'm weird, she thought. She sat in her usual spot in the corner as she looked at her mother who was looking at her too, her head filled with her "voice" again, "I can't believe it she can't hear, she's deaf! On top of that there are badgers nearby..." Badgers Lucy thought, what are badgers? She looked at her mother again picking up on her mothers voice so she thought it was a few seconds ago, "...I must train the kits everything I know so they can protect themselves...tomorrow morning we start..." Lucy looked away as she put her head down and thought about what her mother had said, Badgers? Training? Tomorrow morning? Sometimes she thought about how many things she didn't know, but one thing Lucy knew for sure is that she was scared for what tomorrow will bring.

*****

The next morning Lucy and her brothers were woken up by their mother, Lucy yawned as she thought why did her mother wake them up so early? Then she remembered, oh yeah. The training. She looked around nervously as her mother came to her and tried to tell her something with her paws and tail. Lucy looked at her mother with confusion as she heard the voice again, "We must leave now, I have to begin their training before the badgers come," "What Badgers?" Lucy tried to say, but her mother and her siblings flattened their ears, "So loud and noisy! Momma just said to be quiet!" Her brother's voices said as she looked at them. Oh yeah...I can't hear myself because I'm deaf. She looked at her mother again, but this time she had a look of confusion as she said, "How does she- wait she can read my thoughts?! Wait hold on I'm getting ahead of myself, but she wouldn't understand me until I looked into her eyes and also she seems to know things she shouldn't know that I was just thinking of... it seems like she can read my mind..." Her mother looked away, I can hear thoughts?! Lucy thought, but why can't I hear their actual voices? I don't want to be deaf! I want to be normal! But she couldn't, this is how she is, the weirdo, as her brothers would say, but her mother was pushing her and her brothers out as she wanted to stay but when they were out of the water the covered their home, they whole world she never seen before came before her, she gazed at the sky,the trees, and prey! "I want to catch prey!" She said hoping she wasn't loud, she looked at her momma as she looked like she was thinking, then suddenly she took her paw out as she and her brothers were watching her with confusing and she made lines in the dirt after about a few seconds the lines came together she realized it was a picture of a bird and one of which was supposed to be her momma, "hmm odd, what is she trying to say?" She looked at her siblings for help, "The first one is prey! I think the other one is supposed to be momma pouncing?" They both opened their mouth which she thought they were trying to guess what it was, her mother shook her head, they both dropped their heads disappointed they didn't guess it, Lucy stared at the picture, based on what Leo and Winston said...It was suppose to be prey and momma pouncing hmmm, it could only mean- Lucy gasped. It's supposed to be momma catching the prey! Lucy yowled out, "Momma catch prey!" She looked at her momma hopeful and smiled when she nodded her head. Yes! The kits followed their mother into the forest as they took in all the things they've never felt, seen, or smelt before. Lucy thought this is the most amazing thing she seen in her life! It was just like in her dreams. For the next few days their mother taught them which herbs are good and bad and what they could do, hunting, and so on. Each kit worked hard and listened to their mother. After about a moon later their mother had decided they were ready and tested them to make sure they could fend for themselves. Once she made sure they were she finally told them about the danger lurking in the forest. Lucy saw as her mother said something to her siblings as they both had shocked faces, she wondered what momma had told them. Once she looked like she was done she turned to face Lucy as she stared into her eyes long enough for Lucy to hear, "Badgers". Oh no, Lucy thought. This is the second time she heard her momma say that. "Momma? Why are you worried about badgers?" Her mother eyes shot opened, but then calmed down a bit knowing she could read thoughts, her mother continued on thinking, "Yes, I'm worried about badgers because they, umm, attacked your father and I've scented them for the past moon following us, that's why I've started to teach you everything I know, We're nearing the river, and my plan is to wait there for when they come we can trick them into the river, but that's not the least of our worries...there are also forest cats, they are strong territorial cats and for them only the strong survive so we must not make contact with them..." Lucy sat back taking in all the information she just learned in shock. "Momma..." Lucy started, "W-Wh-hat I-If...ummm...we...die..?" Luna fidgeted with her paws and looked around nervously looking for an answer then finally looked at her again, "Lucy...as scary as this seems...no matter what we will stick together! Even if we do pass on, we will still be together in our hearts and soul. So remember what I taught you, and don't worry I will protect you and your brothers with my life..." Luna finished. Lucy looked at her momma with a forced smile. Lucy couldn't help but worried what might happen the day the badgers finally catch up...