SkunkyArt | OneLifeRemaining — PARADISE RISING || Kio

Dad fell in love with a River Colony cat and convinced her to join the Plains Colony. She lived there for a few years, rather uncomfortably.

Kio was born on the border of the colonies when her mother was escaping the Plains Colony and her ex-mate.

Forest Colony came to their aid, fought off angry dad, and took tired mom and newborns back to their home.

Fearing for the Forest Colony’s safety in case father came back with the Plains Corps, Mother took her kittens away as soon as they were strong enough, and they grew up on the outskirts of the forest.

Kio was about a year old when she happened upon some cats from the Forest Colony, and she began to meet with some of them. They taught her skills they learned in the Colony and invited her to join them. Kio talked to her mother about it, but mother shunned the idea, being too afraid of what might happen if they joined another colony.

Kio stayed with her mother but kept seeing her Forest Colony friends, even secretly falling for one of them, who eventually felt the same back.

Kio became pregnant when she was about 2-2.5 years old, much to her mother’s dismay. It was agreed that once the kits were born and old enough, that they would be allowed to spend time with their dad in the Forest colony as well.

Then one day when Kio returned from hunting, she found that her mother had been killed by a predator. Distraught and alone, Kio went to the Forest Colony where her mate had their kits, and she joined them.

Things were fine for a while, until Kio became sick. She was diagnosed with a common cold, and was treated for such.

Three of her kits became sick as well, and Kio moved them away from the colony to avoid contaminating anyone else.

But the others had much more severe symptoms that went beyond a cold, and no healer knew what to do. As suddenly as they had become sick, the three kids died, leaving their parents in mourning.

Kio’s mate became irritable and closed off.

A few days after the kit’s deaths, the parents went to visit their burial site near the river, hoping for closure and some peace to talk. But instead they started to argue, and Kio’s mate exploded in anger that she was the one to get the kits sick. She was the one at fault for this.

Then the bushes rustled. And out from the grass tumbled three familiar kits, with dirt and soil clinging to their pelts, and their eyes glowing red.

The parents stood aghast, not knowing if this was a curse or a blessing. Kio’s mate rushed to them to examine them, but they made no sound or reaction. Claiming they were unholy abominations, Kio’s mate pinned one down to kill it permanently.

The three kits sprung to life and attacked him ferociously, and before Kio could help, she was pushed into the river and swept away.

The sounds of angry kitten mews and her mate’s horrified screams died away in the crashing water, until finally her tired body was stopped by a boulder in the river and she climbed to shore where she collapsed.

Kio woke up in a den among the River Colony, her mother's birthplace.

Reluctantly, Kio began living with them to gain her strength back and learn new skills.

Kio hoped to find her mate again, but he never turned up and she was too afraid to go back and find out what had happened.

She steeled herself and focused on becoming stronger, until one day she heard about a call to Paradise Valley for a new set of trials.

With nothing left to lose, Kio set out to find the Valley.