Post by Ki on Feb 18, 2010 11:44:11 GMT -6
Yeah, once again. Not all of these kitties are mine. They each belong to their respective creators, who hopefully won't maul me for using their kitties in this!
"Good morning, love. How is he doing?"
I raised my head as Mothpelt entered. Our son, Smudgekit, was roused instantly by his father's voice. He tumbled towards him and nuzzled him. I watched with a content smile on my face. Smudgekit resembled me, for the most part. Black and white patches on his fur, which seemed to fade into each other. That was what I'd named him for. His eyes were like mine as well. Golden. There were hints of Mothpelt in him, at least. He was there in the roundness of Smudgekit's eyes. In his smile as well, and they shared similar builds. I answered, "Perfectly. As I'm sure you can see."
Mothpelt nudged Smudgekit and, then padded over and nuzzled against me. I let out a low purr. He seemed to be in a rather good mood today. "Have they seen anymore of that dog Frostwing spotted?"
"No, not yet." Mothpelt sat down. Smudgekit squeezed in between myself and his father. I smiled a bit and licked the top of his head. "But Adderstar sent him, your brother, and a few others up to the Thunderpath to be sure." Mothpelt looked unshakably calm, as always. The dog had been spotted by one of our newest warriors, Frostwing. But no one had seen anything of it for a few suns now. A few cats, like Finchwing for example, were rather upset about it. Mothpelt and I weren't worried. If it hadn't been spotted again yet, it wouldn't be. "I heard Sandcloud speaking with Finchwing, by the way. She thinks that there are two or three kits in her litter."
"Hm...I hope they aren't as energetic as this little one." I looked towards our son, who was now busying himself by playing with my tail. I flicked it away, but he just jumped after it. "Else she might have her paws full." In truth, I didn't like Finchwing. At all. Just as Ravenflight didn't completely approve of Mothpelt. But I was looking forward to seeing the new kits. I had a feeling that the nursery would be full very soon. Two more queens had moved in that day, and I knew of various other cats that were trying for kits. "But I can't wait to meet them. I actually wanted about that number of kits in our litter." I flicked my tail again, this time in the opposite direction. Smudgekit pounced on it again and bit into it. "No, Smudgekit. Don't bite your mother." I moved my tail away again. He recognized my tone instantly and sat down. Smudgekit was energetic, yes. But he was also obedient and friendly.
"Do you want to have more kits, then? When this one is an apprentice?" Mothpelt nudged Smudgekit , who quickly proceded to spot and target his tail. He leapt at it, but Mothpelt raised it at the last moment. "Nice try, little one." He looked back towards me, calm as usual.
I didn't grow up wishing to be a queen. All of my life I'd expected to be a warrior. But once I'd grown close to Mothpelt, Smudgekit simply just happened. Though, despite my want to get back to my warrior duties, I wanted more kits. Perhaps another litter. Hopefully a small one. I said, "Perhaps. It all depends. You know many she-cats will be moving into the nursery soon. The Clan is already big, and it will only grow even larger when the other kits are born."
Mothpelt dipped his head in understanding. "Whatever you decide, Spottedsky. Perhaps, if we do have more kits, one will actually look like me." He chuckled dryly and nudged me again. I smirked a bit and set my head on my paws. "Are you two hungry? One of the hunting patrols-"
Suddenly a devastated yowl ripped through the camp outside. It caused Smudgekit to jump and race to my side. Mothpelt poked his head out of the nursery and mewed, "Oh no..."
"What's going on?" I rose to my paws. Smudgekit was trembling beside me, and I had to lick his head comfortingly to make sure he wouldn't follow me. Mothpelt hesitated at the entrance, as if he was debating between coaxing me back into the nursery or letting me see what was going on. I shouldered past him and looked out at the camp. Finchwing was standing over a cat. There were a few other cats around, like Frostwing, who had their heads bowed. Other cats were coming forward to see what was happening.
I took a step forward, my eyes widening in shock. The cat who was laying on the ground was unmoving. Blood stained his black and white pelt. No. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. I saw Sandcloud race towards them and look him over. She murmured something to Finchwing, who let out another devastated yowl. No. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening! "RAVENFLIGHT!" Never before had I run so fast. I shoved Sandcloud aside and looked at my brother.
His flanks weren't rising and falling at all. His jaws were parted, and dark splotches of blood stained his fur. One of his legs had been crushed completely. Had he lived he would have had to move into the elders den. Ravenflight would have never been able to walk on that leg again. The sun was setting, and the golden light was obliviously happy. The Clan gathered around, and Ravenflight's closest friends joined us. Frostwing, his first and last apprentice, was there. Our parents, Dapplednose and Firefoot, joined us. Sandcloud probably said a few words, but I didn't hear them. I just sat beside Finchwing and shared tongues with my brother for the last time. I could taste the blood on his pelt. It began to make me sick to my stomach.
Night came and went. When the first rays of the sun began to peak over the horizon, we took him and buried him. Our father didn't linger over the grave for very long. Firefoot had never been very interested in us to begin with. I felt like clawing his ear off for even bothering to come at all. Our mother and Frostwing left next. I lingered with Finchwing at the sight of his final resting place. At sunhigh I heard someone approach. From the scent, it was Mothpelt.
"There you two are! Smudgekit was worried for you, Spottedsky." Mothpelt padded to my side. "Come. Your son needs you."
"Just leave me be. I'll go back soon." I growled. Finchwing didn't even seem to notice he was here. She'd been sitting where we'd buried him, her head down. "Just...just leave me alone."
"Our son needs you, Spottedsky." Mothpelt persisted.
"He's five moons old! Have another queen look after him for a bit!" I was growing irritated. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? It was not as if I'd abandoned Smudgekit. There were plenty of queens that could watch after him, at least for a little bit. Sorrow ripped at my heart, as if someone was digging their claws into it. "I'll go back to camp when I'm ready."
"Spottedsky, I know you're upset...but you can't just drop all of your responsibilities because your brother is dead." Mothpelt was being the voice of reason. But, for the first time in my life, I wasn't in control. My brother had been my best friend. Now Ravenflight was dead. I didn't know what to do with myself. I knew that I still had Mothpelt and my son. I could have leaned on Finchwing for support as well, and been her voice of comfort. But I wasn't thinking rationally. I was angry, shocked, and sadder than I ever thought possible. "He wouldn't want you to do that."
A growl rose in my throat. "What do you know?! You never even liked him! How can you stand there and tell me what he feels?"
"At least I tried to be friendly towards him!" Mothpelt shot back. "You're being ridiculous, Spottedsky!"
His words made my anger flare. Like someone was feeding my rage as if it were a fire. "Ridiculous?! Well excuse me for being upset! My only kin that ever really cared for me is dead! You couldn't possibly understand what its like!" Firefoot, as stated before, was rather disinterested with us. Our mother wasn't a bad mother. But she quickly detached herself from us as soon as we left the nursery. It had been just us since then. "How about a little support, Mothpelt? That's what mates are supposed to do!" I glared at him. "Unless you're not the right mate for me!
Mothpelt was silent for a few moments. His calm nature returned to him, and I hated him for it. I hated everything about him, about Finchwing...actually it would have been easier to say I hated everything. He said quietly, "Perhaps...perhaps I'm not, Spottedsky."
It felt like someone stabbed something through my heart. The pain was brief, however, because anger still flowed through my veins. "Then leave me alone! If you're not my mate, you're just another warrior! Just another Clanmate!" I turned away from him again. I heard him sigh and walk away.
Pride did not allow me to go back until sunset. I left Finchwing where she was. When I walked back into camp I saw Mothpelt leave the nursery. Our eyes met, and I looked away. My burst of anger had turned to shame. Yet something stopped me from apologizing or asking for forgiveness. Pride probably kept him from asking if I was alright. Instead we passed each other without a word. Without a hint of previous affection. Smudgekit ran to me as soon as I entered, and he told me how scared he'd been for me. He rambled, listing all of the terrible things that he thought had happened to me. I mustered a small smile and assured him I was fine.
"Why didn't Father stay when he saw you?" Smudgekit asked.
"Mothpelt...Mothpelt and I had a fight." I confessed. Smudgekit seemed to notice that I called him 'Mothpelt' instead of 'your father.' That was the most affectionate term I had for him. I think the kit saw in my eyes that I was tired and still upset. He didn't ask anything more about it.
Mothpelt didn't come to visit for a few suns. When he started to visit again, we regarded each other with stiff politeness. I wouldn't deny Mothpelt the right to see his son. But I didn't speak to him unless I was forced to. Besides, there were more pressing issues. Finchwing had stopped eating. The herbs Sandcloud gave her to produce more milk were cast aside. The she-cat was in a state of severe depression. I didn't care about Finchwing. If she wanted to be a fool and throw her life away, let her do so. But I wouldn't let her do that to Ravenflight's kits. They were his legacy, my kin. I wouldn't let her murder them like she was murdering herself. So I was the one who would try to coax her to eat. When I succeeded, she only ate a little. Not enough. As the suns passed, she grew thin. The bulge in her belly grew more prominant. But I knew it was because Finchwing was growing thinner. Not because her kits were flourishing inside of her.
A moon later, my son became Smudgepaw. I couldn't have been any prouder. But I did not leave the nursery. Finchwing had given birth to three kits the day before his apprentice ceremony, and died during the night. I'd volunteered to play mother for them. One of the kits, Snowkit died along with her mother. The other two, Crowkit and Smallkit, were disturbingly tiny. Smallkit, naturally, was the smallest. In fact, they were the tiniest kits that anyone could remember. That disturbed me greatly, but Sandcloud assured me they could easily grow to be healthy. Frostwing visited soon after their birth. He had been very upset about his former mentor's death, and he wished to see how Ravenflight's kits were doing.
"Is Sandcloud hopeful?" Frostwing asked, looking at the kits. He looked thoughtful, for some reason.
I dipped my head. "Yes...but I think Smallkit is getting a cough." I licked his head worriedly, and the kit let out a shrill mew.
"Crowkit looks healthy, at least." Frostwing said brightly. Crowkit was probably the most healthy of the two. He was small, but he was a good deal bigger than his brother. "I have to go, Spottedsky. I'm supposed to be going on a hunting patrol." With that he hurried out.
Yeah...might do more later. Not right now. XD
"Good morning, love. How is he doing?"
I raised my head as Mothpelt entered. Our son, Smudgekit, was roused instantly by his father's voice. He tumbled towards him and nuzzled him. I watched with a content smile on my face. Smudgekit resembled me, for the most part. Black and white patches on his fur, which seemed to fade into each other. That was what I'd named him for. His eyes were like mine as well. Golden. There were hints of Mothpelt in him, at least. He was there in the roundness of Smudgekit's eyes. In his smile as well, and they shared similar builds. I answered, "Perfectly. As I'm sure you can see."
Mothpelt nudged Smudgekit and, then padded over and nuzzled against me. I let out a low purr. He seemed to be in a rather good mood today. "Have they seen anymore of that dog Frostwing spotted?"
"No, not yet." Mothpelt sat down. Smudgekit squeezed in between myself and his father. I smiled a bit and licked the top of his head. "But Adderstar sent him, your brother, and a few others up to the Thunderpath to be sure." Mothpelt looked unshakably calm, as always. The dog had been spotted by one of our newest warriors, Frostwing. But no one had seen anything of it for a few suns now. A few cats, like Finchwing for example, were rather upset about it. Mothpelt and I weren't worried. If it hadn't been spotted again yet, it wouldn't be. "I heard Sandcloud speaking with Finchwing, by the way. She thinks that there are two or three kits in her litter."
"Hm...I hope they aren't as energetic as this little one." I looked towards our son, who was now busying himself by playing with my tail. I flicked it away, but he just jumped after it. "Else she might have her paws full." In truth, I didn't like Finchwing. At all. Just as Ravenflight didn't completely approve of Mothpelt. But I was looking forward to seeing the new kits. I had a feeling that the nursery would be full very soon. Two more queens had moved in that day, and I knew of various other cats that were trying for kits. "But I can't wait to meet them. I actually wanted about that number of kits in our litter." I flicked my tail again, this time in the opposite direction. Smudgekit pounced on it again and bit into it. "No, Smudgekit. Don't bite your mother." I moved my tail away again. He recognized my tone instantly and sat down. Smudgekit was energetic, yes. But he was also obedient and friendly.
"Do you want to have more kits, then? When this one is an apprentice?" Mothpelt nudged Smudgekit , who quickly proceded to spot and target his tail. He leapt at it, but Mothpelt raised it at the last moment. "Nice try, little one." He looked back towards me, calm as usual.
I didn't grow up wishing to be a queen. All of my life I'd expected to be a warrior. But once I'd grown close to Mothpelt, Smudgekit simply just happened. Though, despite my want to get back to my warrior duties, I wanted more kits. Perhaps another litter. Hopefully a small one. I said, "Perhaps. It all depends. You know many she-cats will be moving into the nursery soon. The Clan is already big, and it will only grow even larger when the other kits are born."
Mothpelt dipped his head in understanding. "Whatever you decide, Spottedsky. Perhaps, if we do have more kits, one will actually look like me." He chuckled dryly and nudged me again. I smirked a bit and set my head on my paws. "Are you two hungry? One of the hunting patrols-"
Suddenly a devastated yowl ripped through the camp outside. It caused Smudgekit to jump and race to my side. Mothpelt poked his head out of the nursery and mewed, "Oh no..."
"What's going on?" I rose to my paws. Smudgekit was trembling beside me, and I had to lick his head comfortingly to make sure he wouldn't follow me. Mothpelt hesitated at the entrance, as if he was debating between coaxing me back into the nursery or letting me see what was going on. I shouldered past him and looked out at the camp. Finchwing was standing over a cat. There were a few other cats around, like Frostwing, who had their heads bowed. Other cats were coming forward to see what was happening.
I took a step forward, my eyes widening in shock. The cat who was laying on the ground was unmoving. Blood stained his black and white pelt. No. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. I saw Sandcloud race towards them and look him over. She murmured something to Finchwing, who let out another devastated yowl. No. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening! "RAVENFLIGHT!" Never before had I run so fast. I shoved Sandcloud aside and looked at my brother.
His flanks weren't rising and falling at all. His jaws were parted, and dark splotches of blood stained his fur. One of his legs had been crushed completely. Had he lived he would have had to move into the elders den. Ravenflight would have never been able to walk on that leg again. The sun was setting, and the golden light was obliviously happy. The Clan gathered around, and Ravenflight's closest friends joined us. Frostwing, his first and last apprentice, was there. Our parents, Dapplednose and Firefoot, joined us. Sandcloud probably said a few words, but I didn't hear them. I just sat beside Finchwing and shared tongues with my brother for the last time. I could taste the blood on his pelt. It began to make me sick to my stomach.
Night came and went. When the first rays of the sun began to peak over the horizon, we took him and buried him. Our father didn't linger over the grave for very long. Firefoot had never been very interested in us to begin with. I felt like clawing his ear off for even bothering to come at all. Our mother and Frostwing left next. I lingered with Finchwing at the sight of his final resting place. At sunhigh I heard someone approach. From the scent, it was Mothpelt.
"There you two are! Smudgekit was worried for you, Spottedsky." Mothpelt padded to my side. "Come. Your son needs you."
"Just leave me be. I'll go back soon." I growled. Finchwing didn't even seem to notice he was here. She'd been sitting where we'd buried him, her head down. "Just...just leave me alone."
"Our son needs you, Spottedsky." Mothpelt persisted.
"He's five moons old! Have another queen look after him for a bit!" I was growing irritated. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? It was not as if I'd abandoned Smudgekit. There were plenty of queens that could watch after him, at least for a little bit. Sorrow ripped at my heart, as if someone was digging their claws into it. "I'll go back to camp when I'm ready."
"Spottedsky, I know you're upset...but you can't just drop all of your responsibilities because your brother is dead." Mothpelt was being the voice of reason. But, for the first time in my life, I wasn't in control. My brother had been my best friend. Now Ravenflight was dead. I didn't know what to do with myself. I knew that I still had Mothpelt and my son. I could have leaned on Finchwing for support as well, and been her voice of comfort. But I wasn't thinking rationally. I was angry, shocked, and sadder than I ever thought possible. "He wouldn't want you to do that."
A growl rose in my throat. "What do you know?! You never even liked him! How can you stand there and tell me what he feels?"
"At least I tried to be friendly towards him!" Mothpelt shot back. "You're being ridiculous, Spottedsky!"
His words made my anger flare. Like someone was feeding my rage as if it were a fire. "Ridiculous?! Well excuse me for being upset! My only kin that ever really cared for me is dead! You couldn't possibly understand what its like!" Firefoot, as stated before, was rather disinterested with us. Our mother wasn't a bad mother. But she quickly detached herself from us as soon as we left the nursery. It had been just us since then. "How about a little support, Mothpelt? That's what mates are supposed to do!" I glared at him. "Unless you're not the right mate for me!
Mothpelt was silent for a few moments. His calm nature returned to him, and I hated him for it. I hated everything about him, about Finchwing...actually it would have been easier to say I hated everything. He said quietly, "Perhaps...perhaps I'm not, Spottedsky."
It felt like someone stabbed something through my heart. The pain was brief, however, because anger still flowed through my veins. "Then leave me alone! If you're not my mate, you're just another warrior! Just another Clanmate!" I turned away from him again. I heard him sigh and walk away.
Pride did not allow me to go back until sunset. I left Finchwing where she was. When I walked back into camp I saw Mothpelt leave the nursery. Our eyes met, and I looked away. My burst of anger had turned to shame. Yet something stopped me from apologizing or asking for forgiveness. Pride probably kept him from asking if I was alright. Instead we passed each other without a word. Without a hint of previous affection. Smudgekit ran to me as soon as I entered, and he told me how scared he'd been for me. He rambled, listing all of the terrible things that he thought had happened to me. I mustered a small smile and assured him I was fine.
"Why didn't Father stay when he saw you?" Smudgekit asked.
"Mothpelt...Mothpelt and I had a fight." I confessed. Smudgekit seemed to notice that I called him 'Mothpelt' instead of 'your father.' That was the most affectionate term I had for him. I think the kit saw in my eyes that I was tired and still upset. He didn't ask anything more about it.
Mothpelt didn't come to visit for a few suns. When he started to visit again, we regarded each other with stiff politeness. I wouldn't deny Mothpelt the right to see his son. But I didn't speak to him unless I was forced to. Besides, there were more pressing issues. Finchwing had stopped eating. The herbs Sandcloud gave her to produce more milk were cast aside. The she-cat was in a state of severe depression. I didn't care about Finchwing. If she wanted to be a fool and throw her life away, let her do so. But I wouldn't let her do that to Ravenflight's kits. They were his legacy, my kin. I wouldn't let her murder them like she was murdering herself. So I was the one who would try to coax her to eat. When I succeeded, she only ate a little. Not enough. As the suns passed, she grew thin. The bulge in her belly grew more prominant. But I knew it was because Finchwing was growing thinner. Not because her kits were flourishing inside of her.
A moon later, my son became Smudgepaw. I couldn't have been any prouder. But I did not leave the nursery. Finchwing had given birth to three kits the day before his apprentice ceremony, and died during the night. I'd volunteered to play mother for them. One of the kits, Snowkit died along with her mother. The other two, Crowkit and Smallkit, were disturbingly tiny. Smallkit, naturally, was the smallest. In fact, they were the tiniest kits that anyone could remember. That disturbed me greatly, but Sandcloud assured me they could easily grow to be healthy. Frostwing visited soon after their birth. He had been very upset about his former mentor's death, and he wished to see how Ravenflight's kits were doing.
"Is Sandcloud hopeful?" Frostwing asked, looking at the kits. He looked thoughtful, for some reason.
I dipped my head. "Yes...but I think Smallkit is getting a cough." I licked his head worriedly, and the kit let out a shrill mew.
"Crowkit looks healthy, at least." Frostwing said brightly. Crowkit was probably the most healthy of the two. He was small, but he was a good deal bigger than his brother. "I have to go, Spottedsky. I'm supposed to be going on a hunting patrol." With that he hurried out.
Yeah...might do more later. Not right now. XD