Identity

Prologue
You open your eyes. You blink once, twice, three times.

A voice above you says, "Hello, Rio!"

You look up into the face of a creature so large that you yelp, but find that it is the thing you have been suckling from.

"It's okay, Rio," the creature mews. "I'm your mother, Creek."

You attempt to repeat the word but find that you can't.

Another creature identical to the one above you stirs beside you. You yelp again.

"Rio, this is Aryo," Creek tells you. "He is your brother and you love him."

You look at Aryo. He looks like you- but you can't explain why. Aryo looks at you and recognition flashes in his eyes.

There is something beside you. It doesn't move. You blink at it, push at it with a paw.

"Kuri." Creek speaks the word with sadness.

You look at her sadly.

Creek nudges you. "Go to sleep, little one."

Your eyes close sleepily. Now that you think of it, sleep is a good idea...

You wake up. The first thing you notice is that Creek and Kuri are gone. You look around wildly, but they are not to be seen.

Nudging Aryo, you struggle to stand.

Aryo grunts. He is not going to wake. This mission is yours. Your goal: find Creek and Kuri.

You struggle to pad out of the den like you've seen Creek do, but putting one paw in front of the other is hard enough when you have no idea where you are.

Emerging from the den, you look around at the huge towers around you. A wind blows your fur a little bit, you shiver not from cold but from fear of the hugeness of this new world.

For the first time, you catch your mother's scent: Creek has gone behind the den.

You follow her scent, pausing to sniff again. Scents of Creek's breath catch your nose. You remember they have names, like mouse and vole and fish.

You take careful steps, eventually coming to a stop behind a green bushy thing with little things growing off of it. You peer around it, and to your surprise, see Creek and Kuri talking to another creature.

"She died, Joji!" Creek was spitting. "Kuri died during birth."

"You couldn't save her?" the other creature shot back. "You stupid she-cat!" He raised his paw to Creek's face and Creek's face began to drip with red.

"I'm sorry," Creek pleaded. "There's still Rio and Aryo!"

Joji paused. "Toms?"

"Yes. Both of them are strong and healthy."

Joji looked nervous all of a sudden. "I promised somebody I'd give them one of my kits-"

"No you didn't," Creek gasped. "Give away your kit? Give away my kit? No, Joji, I refuse!"

Creek's face dripped more red. She whimpered.

"Give me Rio," Joji snapped. "Or I'll kill you and give them both away."

You can't help but whimper. Rio is your name, why would you be given away?

Creek's ears perk and she stands as still as one of the towers.

"What?" Joji snaps.

"Give me a moment," Creek mews, and she runs towards you.

You start and fall, and by then she is standing above you. "Rio!" she hisses. "Get back to the den!"

"I don't know how!" you say, surprising yourself.

Joji is slowly padding towards Creek. You whimper, "Why are you giving me and Aryo away?"

"Trust me. I don't want to, Rio," Creek sighs.

Joji has seen you. "This is Rio!" he says, feigning kindness. "Well, hello, little one, I'm Joji, your father!"

You bare your teeth. You don't trust this particular creature, not at all.

"Rio, be nice to your father," Creek says sternly. Turning to Joji, she draws in a breath. "Take him. He won't remember anything by the time he's grown up. The Clan will do good to him."

You let out a cry, but Joji's paw covers your mouth.

"Come with me," he growls.

Everything is black.

Chapter 1
You wake up, looking around at your now-familiar surroundings. You have been a warrior for a moon, now called Riverclaw. You live in ForestClan, a group of cats that live deep inside a forest.

You are in love, too. Your back is pressed against Flowertail's, and you can feel her every breath. She was made a warrior only two days ago.

The snow has been on the ground for two moons now. The lake is frozen. You consider taking Flowertail down there, asking her to be your mate, but the possibility is shut out of your head instantly as the deputy, Stoneheart, pokes his head into the warrior's den.

"You awake?" Stoneheart asks you quietly. "Come on out, I want to ask you something."

You stand, looking at Flowertail one more time before retreating from the den. You sit in front of the deputy.

"Flowertail," Stoneheart says. "You're in love with her, right?"

You nod happily. "Of course!"

"Right." Stoneheart pauses. "Well, as her father..."

You remember insantly that Flowertail is Stoneheart's daughter. You prepare to fight. She loves you, too, you know it!

Stoneheart looks you over. "You'll be a strong mate for my daughter, Riverclaw."

Elation swells through your heart. You are allowed to love his daughter! You resist the urge to wake the rest of the Clan.

"You, by the way, are on the morning hunting patrol. And go ahead, lead it. Treetooth and Emberpelt can come with you."

With that, the deputy walks away, leaving you to lead the Clan's latest hunt for food.

You are in the forest with Treetooth and Emberpelt, padding quietly through the forest. You smell the various familiar scents of rogues, but three are always alarming to you: the scents of two toms and the one of a she-cat.

They are all very near, prowling their den, just off of ForestClan territory.

"Let's try and find something around here," you decide, speaking to your patrol. "Meet back here when you catch something."

You watch them go. Then you turn, scenting the air, opening your mouth slightly like your mother, Petalfoot, taught you.

You smell a mouse, but you also scent the hauntingly familiar scents of the three rogues.

"I'll sacrafice my mouse," you decide out loud, whispering it to yourself. You take a step forward, and another, and find yourself padding towards rogues.

"Hello?" you call hesitatingly into the trees. You push through a bush, and a memory as strong as the strongest enemy cat seems to hit you in the face.

You were watching two cats argue, a dominant, scared tom, and a fierce but willing she-cat. You remember your fear and your astonishment, when... what?

Something had happened, you know that.

You absentmindedly pad forward across the soft, well-treaded soil, and find yourself face-to-face with a tom that looks just like you.

"Hello," you say quietly. "I'm sorry for trespassing, I was only looking for a mouse-"

"You're a Clan cat, right?" the tom snaps. "You have most of the forest to yourself, leave us alone!" His fur bristles, but you can't blame him.

Another voice, a she-cat's, sounds from inside a den. "Aryo! What's going on out there?"

"It's a Clan cat, Creek," the tom calls back.

"Aryo?" you repeat quizically. The name is strange. Not a Clan name at all.

"Yes, my name is Aryo," the tom snaps irritably, whirling to face you. "And you're trespassing on my territory."

A she-cat emerges from the den.

You realize she is the exact same she-cat from your strange memory.

"Hello," you say.

She stops short and stares at you. "Rio," she whispers. "You're home."