Forest's Fate

Epilogue

        Rain is lying beneath a tree with her eyes closed. It's the warm season, which means that the sun is slightly more out than before. The branches and leaves of the tree and the grass around her shield her from heating up too much. Until a couple of seasons ago, she had been fighting to free herself and others from Superior rule. Although it still feels strange to not be in charge of everyone and constantly come up with battle plans, she thinks it's nice.

        Just as she begins to doze, a rustling sound nearby startles her. In one swift movement, she sits up and peers at the source of the sound. To her surprise, a white cat is standing a few cat tails away from her paws. She automatically recognizes the cat as Mirage by the scar over her left eye, but she looks more cleaned-up than during the war. Her fur is now smooth and free of dirt.

        "Sorry," Mirage mutters, her gaze falling down to the grass.

        Assuming that the apology was for waking her up, Rain brushes it off with a friendly swish of her tail. "Oh, it's nothing. I appreciate the distraction. I don't know why I'm so-"

        Mirage shakes her head. "No. Not that. I meant that I'm sorry for the war."

        Rain falls silent for a moment as she tilts her head at her, trying to process what Mirage just said to her. "You're sorry for the war? Oh . . . But shouldn't I be more sorry?"

        "What do you mean?"

        "I mean, I'm sorry for killing Tornado."

        Did Rain just apologize about his death? Mirage tries not to show it, but on the inside she is overcome with shock, and to be honest, she has no idea what to say. Should Mirage forgive her? Should she even believe that Rain feels guilty about killing him?

        "Be honest," Mirage growls as her fur rises up in defense. She attempts to sound intimidating, but her voice is cracked and hoarse. "Are you actually sorry?"

        Rain bows her head down, closing her eyes as she considers the question. Then, she looks up and gives a firm nod. In a quiet, gentle voice, she says, "Yes. Honestly, I didn't like hurting anybody during the war. And I still wonder why I did that. You know, before Tornado switched sides, I liked him. He was such a great cat and really funny. But of course, when he abandoned us for the Superiors, I felt so betrayed and angry. I guess that was part of it."

Mirage stares at her, not saying a word. Maybe she's starting to believe Rain's apology, but she doesn't want to show it just yet, so she shows not even a hint of emotion in her face.

        Rain stares ahead into the distance, trying to find a way to distract herself. After a while, Mirage finds it safe enough to walk closer and sit down next to her. They watch as Forest and North stand in the distance arguing about something again, as usual. Rain sighs and slightly shakes her head at them. She doesn't understand why they are together so often when all they do is fight.

        Mirage squints her eyes and stiffens when she notices Forest. "Is that Forest? Didn't all of the Earth cats leave several seasons ago?"

        Rain glances at her, tilting back her ears in surprise. "What? Of course Forest is still here. He decided to stay. You didn't know that?"

        The white she-cat shakes her head. Surprisingly, the rebels haven't tried to punish any of the Superiors after they surrendered. Many of the Superiors decided to integrate with everyone else, but some, like Mirage, still keep to themselves. Lately though, Mirage has been rethinking her entire mindset, mostly from guilt of what she did during the war.