Quiet Rain

Quiet Rain is a thin-furred, ragged, speckled gray she-cat with soft blue eyes, white specks around her muzzle, and a thin tail.

The Sun Trail

 * Quiet Rain is the mother of Fluttering Bird and Jagged Peak. She also has two more kits from an older litter, Gray Wing and Clear Sky.


 * After Gray Wing and Clear Sky return from hunting, Jagged Peak complains that he is hungry and wants some food. Quiet Rain pads up and nudges him back toward the sleeping hollows, telling her son that he was too young to hunt, and if the older cats didn't eat, there would be no prey for any cat. She then sits next to Gray Wing, asking him if he had eaten anything. He responds that he will have something before he goes out again. She tells Gray Wing that he did very well to catch the hawk, and when Gray Wing says that Clear Sky helped a lot, she adds that they both did well. She turns to look at Fluttering Bird and Jagged Peak scuffling together nearby, saying she hoped they'd be just as skillful when they were old enough to hunt. Jagged Peak then knocks his sister over, and Quiet Rain pads over to comfort her daughter.


 * While the cats are discussing who will go on the journey to a new home, she informs her youngest kits that they would stay right there when they express a desire to leave. She shakes her head when Jagged Peak says she could come with them, telling him that her place was in the mountains, and that they have survived before. She adds that when the warm season would return, they would have enough to eat. Gray Wing dips his head in agreement, wondering how they could forget what Quiet Rain had told him when he was a kit.


 * She is seen again telling her youngest son that he cannot go with the travelling cats, informing him that he is too little to be outside the cave. Snow Hare soon comes up and distracts the kit, and Quiet Rain thanks her as she won't let him out while there is deep snow. Gray Wing carries over the remains of a hare to her, and she purrs her gratitude, complimenting that it was a fine catch, and tells him she'd give some of it to Fluttering Bird. Her voice quivers as she adds that she couldn't get out of her nest that morning, but she'd be better once she had eaten.


 * She asks Gray Wing whether he is going with Shaded Moss, adding that Clear Sky will be going. It is noted that she is trying to keep her voice light, but her words end with a sorrowful sigh. She rests her head on top of Gray Wing's once he tells her that he is staying, murmuring that she is so proud of him. Quiet Rain then stoops over the sleeping hollow to her sleeping daughter, licking her shoulder and telling her to wake up. When Fluttering Bird doesn't wake, she pokes her shoulder with a forepaw, although she still does not wake up. Quiet Rain tells Gray Wing to fetch Stoneteller, sounding panicked.


 * Gray Wing soon returns with Stoneteller, where Quiet Rain awaits him, flexing her claws in impatience. Gray Wing notices how desperate she is, sick with grief for her daughter. Although Stoneteller attempts to get Fluttering Bird to swallow a pulp, she whispers to Quiet Rain that she is too far away from them, that the hunger inside her too great, and she must prepare herself. Quiet Rain crouches down and says that she should have given her all her food, and didn't know what she was thinking, having kits in the cold season. Gray Wing presses himself close to her, telling her it's not her fault, and she is about to say something when Stoneteller interrupts them. She tells Quiet Rain that Fluttering Bird might be able to hear her mother, and she wouldn't want her to die knowing her mother is scared and angry. Quiet Rain manages to calm herself, sliding into the sleeping hollow and curling around her daughter. She tells her how proud she is of her only daughter and that will never forget her.


 * Gray Wing offers to help her bury Fluttering Bird, but his mother says she won't bury her while her fur is still warm, and to fetch Jagged Peak. When Jagged Peak trots over to his mother she speaks quietly to him. Jagged Peak lets out a wail, and she stretches out her tail and pulls him close to her.


 * Clear Sky returns with Shaded Moss from finding a path to take for the journey. Gray Wing touches his shoulder with his tail, and Clear Sky spots Quiet Rain in the sleeping hollow with her two kits. Once Gray Wings tells him that their younger sister is dead, he bounds over to his mother, saying he was so sorry that this had happened. Although he asks Quiet Rain to come with them, she shakes her head and says she will never leave her daughter there alone. She then rises from the sleeping hollow, allowing the two brothers to pick up their sister's body. Quiet Rain and Jagged Peak follow as they leave the cave to bury her. Once Gray Wing and Clear Sky are done scraping away soil to form a shallow hole, and Quiet Rain lays her kit's body inside. She touches her nose to her daughter's fur for one last time, and then steps back as her sons then cover the hole. All four cats stand beside her grave, their heads bowed.


 * After the burial, Jagged Peak comments that he wishes to travel out of the mountains, and Quiet Rain informs him not to talk nonsense, padding up to him, and lays her tail across her son's back. She adds that he has been out long enough for his first time, and tells him to go back into the cave. Clear Sky then takes Jagged Peak back home, and as Gray Wing thinks how he should not have let Fluttering Bird starve, he becomes aware that Quiet Rain had came to stand beside him. She sighs that although the mountains to her were a cruel place, it was her home, for better or worse. Grays Wing tells her that he would not let it happen again, but Quiet Rain interrupts to inform him that he has to leave. She states that Jagged Peak was too small for the journey, but adds that he must go with Clear Sky to find a better place to live, as she did not want watch their kits die. Gray Wing exclaims that he thought she wanted him to stay, and she gazes back at him steadily, and informs him that she loved him too much for that, and that for her sake, he should go.


 * When Stoneteller informs Gray Wing and Bright Stream to collect as many stones as there were cats in the cave, Jagged Peak asks if the kits could vote too, and Quiet Rain stretches out her tail to caress his ear. She tells him that the kits couldn't have a word in the debate, but Stoneteller gently interrupts her, stating that even the kits could have their say on the matter. Gray Wing soon tells Bright Stream that Quiet Rain wants him to leave, and she is surprised, answering that she had thought Quiet Rain would have wanted he and Clear Sky to stay in the cave. However, he shakes his head, and replies that she believed they stood a better chance of the survival in the place Stoneteller had saw.


 * During the voting, Jagged Peak votes to leave the mountains, placing his stone beside Clear Sky's, and Quiet Rain shakes her head, informing him that although she could not allow him to leave, the older cats should have the chance to go, and then takes her stone to lay it beside the waterfall with her kits. As the cats leave the cave to scout their route, Gray Wing realizes that Quiet Rain has padded up to him. She murmurs that she had told him to leave, telling him to consider his future, and he stretches out his neck to touch noses with her, stating that his future was in the cave. While deciding what side to vote for, Gray Wing looks around the cave, until he meets his mother's gaze, which is full of pleading. He knows that she believed that his future safety lied in leaving the cave. He wonders about the safety of her and the others, thinking that they needed strong hunters.


 * When Shaded Moss and his group begin to get ready to depart from the cave, Gray Wing says farewell to his brother. Clear Sky says that he may come back to the cave, but Gray Wing exchanges a glance with Quiet Rain, noticing that she knew perfectly well that such an event could never occur. Neither of them speak their thoughts, and Quiet Rain tells Clear Sky to travel safely. Jagged Peak asks why he couldn't come, and Quiet Rain silences him with a glance, which makes him scrabble at pebble near the river. Gray Wing afterwards informs Clear Sky that he was sorry he was to travel without him, but his place was with Quiet Rain and Jagged Peak, and Clear Sky tells him that he was glad they had him to care for them. As the travelling cats leave the cave, Gray Wing stands beside Quiet Rain as they watch the cats wind their way down the mountainside until they are out of sight.


 * As the cats share the prey the hunters had recently caught, Quiet Rain promises that she would hunt the following day, and Hollow Tree agrees. The next day, Gray Wing is awoken by Stone Song, who states that he would be arranging his new plan, mentioning that he, Quiet Rain, and his mate, Hollow Tree were going out to hunt. When Jagged Peak protests that he should be able to hunt, she asks what was the matter, padding up to them. She then questions if Jagged Peak was making a fool out of himself, and Gray Wing explains to her that he wanted to learn how to hunt. He catches a swift flash of fear in her eyes, as if she were thinking of all the possible dangers outside for a cat as small as Jagged Peak, and she states that he was young.


 * Jagged Peak then retorts that he was the oldest, but Gray Wing slaps his tail over his mouth, and informs his mother that he was nearly old enough. Although she is doubtful, he adds that it was better for him to come than to sneak out the cave, and she hesitates for a moment. Quiet Rain then replies with a reluctant nod that he could, and turns to Jagged Peak, informing him to stay with his brother, and do exactly as he is told. As Jagged Peak follows Gray Wing, Quiet Rain brings up the rear, and catches up to her younger son, hesitated, wishing him good hunting, before she heads up the rocks toward the cliff's top


 * When Jagged Peak draws back from eating the hare he had caught, Quiet Rain returns with a hawk dangling from her jaws. She remarks that they indeed had good hunting, dropping her catch beside the remains of the hare. Gray Wing notes that Jagged Peak had caught it, and her eyes glow as she gazes at her younger son, complimenting him, and thanks Gray Wing for teaching him well. Jagged Peak asks if they could go out hunting once more, and before Gray Wing could speak, Quiet Rain replies that it was time for him to go to his nest, and that he could hunt the next day. Jagged Peak protests that he was not tired, but then lets out a yawn, and Quiet Rain briskly states that there was to be no more arguing, nudging him to the sleeping hollows.


 * Another day passes, and Gray Wing wakes up to see his mother pacing nervously beside him, realizing that her growls were what awoke him. He asks her what was the matter, and she replies that Jagged Peak's nest was empty, suggesting that he may have gone out by himself - which he knew he was not supposed to. Gray Wing lets his tail-tip rest on his mother's back comfortingly, meowing that he could not have gone far, and offers to bring him back. After he fails to find him by calling, he returns to see his mother waiting anxiously near the waterfall, with a few other cats around her. He apologizes, stating that he couldn't find him beside the pool or on the plateau. Quiet Rain then begins to pace once more, and wails that a hawk must had taken him, or he had been smothered in a snowdrift. Silver Frost brushes her tail along Quiet Rain's side, telling her that Jagged Peak was a strong, young cat. Lion's Roar agrees, stating that he would probably soon return with a prey twice of his size, and Quiet Rain murmurs that she wished she could believe them.


 * After he looks for Jagged Peak with Misty Water, Gray Wing returns to see Quiet Rain anxiously inform Stoneteller what had occurred. She whips around as he approaches, and asks him if he had found his younger brother. He shakes his head, stating that Misty Water had only picked up Jagged Peak's scent. In response, Quiet Rain gasps in horror, eyes filled with dismay, trying to refuse to believe that he was right. Her voice quivers with anguish as she states that he would be killed, and Gray Wing presses his muzzle against her shoulder, and tells her that Jagged Peak could look after himself. However, Quiet Rain interrupts him by disagreeing with him, her voice rising up to a wail. As she straightens herself up, she states that he was too young. After taking a deep breath to fight for her self-control, she reminds Gray Wing that he would not leave when she told him to before, but this time he must, to find his brother and making sure he reached their new residence safely. After looking around the cave, Gray Wing turns back to meet his mother's gaze, and agrees to go after Jagged Peak.


 * Upon hearing Twisted Branch's and Dewy Leaf's troubles with the ongoing blizzard, Quiet Rain pads to Gray Wing's side, and tells him that he could not leave in such weather, voice sharp with anxiety. He understands how worried she is about Jagged Peak, especially since the snow had recently set in, and is about to say something before being interrupted by Quiet Rain. She tells him he couldn't, questioning him if she wanted all of her kits to freeze to death. Stoneteller agrees with her, and touches her nose to Quiet Rain's ear, stating that Jagged Peak, like Shaded Moss' group, would find shelter. It is noted that Quiet Rain bares the waiting with quiet dignity, but her eyes as if they were dark pools of pain. Gray Wing sits next to her, and murmurs that it wasn't fair she would have to lose all of her kits, and she sighs that she had no choice, noting that she still had Fluttering Bird underneath her pelt of stones. Gray Wing, in response, leans closer to her so that his fur brushes hers, and sits with her.


 * Before he leaves, Quiet Rain is the last cat in the cave to step forward to Gray Wing, offering to travel with him for part of the way, and gives her son a lick to the ear. After he says a final farewell, Gray Wing leads the way open, and she pads softly behind him. The two climb the rocks toward the plateau, and after speaking with the stone pile that covered Fluttering Bird, Gray Wing turns away and clambers back to his mother. Side by side, they skirt the boulders, and make their way across the ledge where Shaded Moss was last seen with his companions. Quiet Rain notes that Jagged Peak did come that way, sounding a little encouraged. His faint scent leads them around the flank of the mountain, until they are led into a river in a valley.


 * Gray Wing halts on the bank with Quiet Rain at his side while looking at a torrent, and Quiet Rain notes that the ice could only carry one cat across, and this would be where her journey ended. Although her face is calm, grief wells up in her eyes, and Gray Wing knows how hard it is for her to say farewell to her last kit. He then presses against her side, twines his tail with her own, and opens his jaws to reel in her scent, and promises to find Jagged Peak. Quiet Rain then lets out a long sigh, and nudges him way, informing him to traverse across the river before the sun rises higher and melts the ice.


 * Gray Wing begins to cross the frozen river, but then the ice begins to break. He just makes it, and he looks back, saying goodbye, but he can't tell if Quiet Rain heard him or not. Gray Wing finds Jagged Peak, and Jagged Peak tells his brother that Quiet Rain has absolutely no right to stop him from going with the other cats away from the mountains. Gray Wind replies by telling the tom that Quiet Rain was his mother and she knows what is best for Jagged Peak.


 * As Gray Wing wakes up after falling into a mountain stream, he sees that Jagged Peak is licking him with strong tongue-strokes, just as Quiet Rain had done when he was a kit. Gray Wing and Jagged Peak meet up with the journeying cats and Clear Sky almost immediately asks if Quiet Rain was alright, Gray Wing reassures him that she was fine.


 * Hawk Swoop injures her leg and Cloud Spots says that he once watch Quiet Rain treat one of the elders for the same injury when they were still in the mountains. After he treats it Shaded Moss tells Cloud Spots that he did a good job, and Cloud Spots just shrugs and says that he was just lucky to have seen Quiet Rain do it.

Thunder Rising

 * When noting of their new life on the moor, Gray Wing thinks that he misses his mother, but the moor life was easier. In a dream, Gray Wing spots Quiet Rain alone in her nest. When arguing with Clear Sky, Quick Water tells him to think of Quiet Rain, and if she wanted to see it. Clear Sky tells her to leave his mother out, but Quick Water ignores him, and asks if it was why she wished him good luck in the mountains.

The First Battle

 * When Gray Wing visits the mountain cats in his dreams, he spots Quiet Rain in her sleeping hollow. Gray Wing notes her eyes look clouded as she stares at the rippling light that flickers throughout the cave, on its many walls. Concerned, Gray Wing asks Stoneteller if Quiet Rain is okay, and the elder she-cat replies that she is. Gray Wing expresses concern for his mother, and wishes that he could tell her that he and his brothers are okay, despite her worrying. Stoneteller promises to tell Quiet Rain of Gray Wing, Jagged Peak, and Clear Sky.


 * Gray Wing thinks of his mother often, and the life he left behind. He often wonders if Quiet Rain would recognize Clear Sky, her firstborn son, due to his brutal attitude and nature, which had changed drastically since leaving. Although Gray Wing thinks he's failed his mother, Stoneteller reassures him that he has not, and tells the gray cat that it is not his fault things turned out how they have.


 * Clear Sky also thinks of his mother, wondering what she and Bright Stream would say to events that have happened. Uneasy, Clear Sky wonders if his mother would agree, that no cat is too young to fight.

The Blazing Star

 * Quiet Rain is mentioned in the prologue, and Gray Wing sees her in his dream. She is curled up, sleeping, like the rest her tribemates. Gray Wing was thinking about her and suddenly missing her when the Stoneteller and he discuss the dream. When he leaves, he sees Quiet Rain sleeping and thinks that it was too long since he had saw her.


 * In the Bonus Scene, Sun Shadow sees Quiet Rain nibbling on a mouse hen he returns to the main cave after checking on Stoneteller. She spots him and picks up her prey, bringing it over to the tom and sharing half of it with him, commenting sympathetically on his facial injury. He thanks her for her kindness, tearing into the fresh-kill eagerly. Quiet Rain murmurs that he looks so much like his father with the same slender body and black pelt, and it was a pity that he never saw his son. Swallowing his last mouthful, Su Shadow says that his father was a hero, risking his life to follow the Sun Trail on a dangerous journey away from his former home to save the cats who stayed in the mountains. Quiet Rain points out however that he left Dewy Leaf behind when she was expecting kits, but Sun Shadow angrily points out that it was a sacrifice that he had to make before he meets the she-cat's gaze and remembers that she had been left behind too.


 * The tom then continues that her kits were heroes too and asks if she ever wonders about them. Quiet Rain does not reply as her gaze mists over, and Sun Shadow wonders if she is lonely, because her kits are all gone and she had never taken another mate. The tom then asks her if she ever wonders what lies at the end of the Sun Trail, beyond the mountains. Quiet Rain is silent again, and responds after a few heartbeats that she does often wonder how her kits are faring and she would like to see them once more before she dies, but her place is on the mountain. She pauses while running her tail along Sun Shadow's back, continuing that maybe every cat wonders what life is like beyond the mountain but he must find his place among the Tribe, where he belongs, and then pads off without waiting for a reply.


 * When Sun Shadow decides that it is time for him to leave to find the group who left the mountains, Quiet Rain asks him where he is going. He whirls around to see her on top of a rock, her eyes wide with alarm, and stammers that he was just going out for some air. Quiet Rain blinks and then responds that she isn't stupid and knows that he was saying good bye to his family. Sun Shadow begs her not to tell them and he needs to do this. The she-cat jumps down from the rock she is standing on and pads up to the young tom, not speaking but with a glint of determination in her gaze. Thinking that she is going to tell Sharp Hail he is about to beg her to not, but they are both interrupted by Stoneteller's cry; they realise that she is finally dying. Taking advantage of Quiet Rain's distraction Sun Shadow flees, and doesn't realise that Quiet Rain is running after him, yowling at him to wait for her. Sun Shadow tells her that he is not going back and she replies that she knows he isn't, and tells him that they had to hurry as Stoneteller is dead, and Sharp Hail is waking all the cats. Sun Shadow then remembers that Quiet Rain had said we, and she says that she's coming with him.

A Forest Divided

 * Gray Wing calls out for Quiet Rain and Snow Hare when he dreams of he tribe. He feels guilty when the realizes that the cave is empty, but then Stoneteller emerges and tells Gray Wing that there is nothing to apologize for.


 * Later, it is mentioned that Milkweed held the same haunted look that used to darken Quiet Rain's eyes, as Milkweed's kits are as skinny as Fluttering Bird.


 * While Thunder is out hunting, he finds a ragged, thin speckled grey she cat with a lean black tom in their territory. Thunder confronts them and the black tom says he means no harm, only that he is passing through to find the tribe cats. Thunder sees a blackened wound on Quiet Rain's hind leg. Quiet Rain tells Thunder that there is nothing to worry about. When Thunder tells Quiet Rain about Cloud Spots, Quiet Rain dismisses the offer.


 * Thunder offers Quiet Rain a sparrow, telling her that it would give her strength to recover. She is surprised, and tells him that it is the first kindness they've met since their journey began. When Thunder mentions the sickness, Quiet Rain becomes anxious and questions Thunder, who reassures Quiet Rain that it passed.


 * Quiet Rain finishes the sparrow and asks Thunder if he met a cat named Gray Wing, or Clear Sky, or Jagged Peak. Thunder then realizes that Quiet Rain is from the tribe, and tells her that he knew who Tall Shadow was. Quiet Rain becomes excited and asks Thunder about Gray Wing, Clear Sky and Jagged Peak, she also tells him that she is their mother. The tom tells Quiet Rain about her sons' whereabouts, he offers to take her to see them. Quiet Rain insists to Sun Shadow to leave now, as she wants to see them. However, Thunder insists her to finish her sparrow first.



The Ultimate Guide

 * Quiet Rain is given a very brief mention on Gray Wing's page. She is said to be Gray Wing's mother, and that he felt that he belonged in the Cave of Rushing Water, both with Quiet Rain, and his younger brother, Jagged Peak. It is mentioned on Jagged Peak's page that he was frustrated that his mother said he was too young to leave the mountains to a better home.

Members
Mate:
 * Unnamed Tom:

Sons:
 * Jagged Peak:
 * Clear Sky:
 * Graywing:

Daughter:
 * Fluttering Bird:

Grandchildren:
 * Two unnamed kits: Deceased, Suspected Tribe of Endless Hunting members
 * Unnamed kits:

Granddaughter:
 * Dew Nose:

Grandsons:
 * Thunder:
 * Eagle Feather:
 * Storm Pelt:

References and Citations
Pluie Silencieuse