Post by hedgie on Mar 13, 2010 23:07:05 GMT -6
((XD I pulled a Spike and wrote a story. Obviously, not all of these cats belong to me. You all know who belongs to who. ))
“Wake up! They’re coming, they’re coming! Oh wait..they’ve already arrived! But anyway…wake up!”
A sharp paw prodded him in the side, and Reedwhisker rolled over. Heronstripe stood over him, the silver tabby tom’s eyes sparking with enthusiasm, contrasting against his ginger brother’s groggy yet annoyed gaze.
“You mousebrain!” He growled. “Who’s coming?! Who came?” Heronstripe prodded his younger sibling’s side, this time with claws unsheathed.
“Ouch!”
“Your kits, silly! Nightshade’s having your kits! Well, she’s had them already. You took so long to wake up that you missed the whole thing.”
Reedwhisker was instantly up on his feet and out of the warriors’ den. Heronstripe chuckled , but was soon stopped by Dreamfur’s dry comment of “You won’t be laughing for long, you know.” Before Heronstripe could ask the ginger tom what he had meant, Dreamfur was sleeping again. Whatever his clanmate had meant by that comment could wait. He himself had kits to visit.
Reedwhisker slipped into the nursery, where not one, not two, but three queens lay amongst the moss-lined nests with kits eagerly nuzzling at their bellies. He saw Honeydapple, who smiled warmly at him, her three kits all safe and sound. He passed Dappleheart also, but her reaction towards his presence was different. Not cold, but distant, her eyes sad as he passed. Her kits were also safe and healthy, all five of them mewling loudly for more milk.
“Feeding time, huh?” He feebly chuckled. Reedwhisker remembered being good friends with Dappleheart, back when they’d all been apprentices, back before all this had happened. She didn’t even respond to his failed attempt at small-talk. Finally, in the far reaches of the den, lay the cat he had been looking for. A large smile broke out across his face and he sped up, nearly tripping over his paws in excitement. Nightshade laughed, and Reedwhisker could detect a faint hint of dryness in the sound, but he pushed it away, beaming as he looked down on the two kits.
A tom and a she-cat.
A little black tom, almost the spitting image of his mother, and a slightly larger tortoiseshell she-kit. They were gorgeous, and they were his, all his. He nuzzled Nightshade, and pulled away, looking down at the kits once more.
“Names?’ He mewed expectantly. Nightshade sighed, obviously still tired from her earlier ordeal. She nudged the tom-kit with her nose and he let out a loud squeak. “This little guy’s name is Dark-kit and the she-kit’s name is Patchkit. She’s pretty big, isn’t she? Nice and strong. Her brother’s smaller, yes..but he makes a lot more noise.” Her voice was warm when she talked about her kits, and it was one of the few times he’d heard her sound that way. His mind drifted off to a darker point in their relationship, when all their words had been sharp and cold, like slivers of ice on the river.
“You’re cheating on me with him, aren’t you?!” His eyes glowed with rage, and Nightshade’s also sparked with the same boiling emotion.
“Of course I have been, you mousebrain! We’ve always had that kind of connection. I couldn’t fight it and neither could he. So of course I’ve been sneaking around with Dreamfur. I’m surprised it took you so long to see it…Wait, I’m not at all! You always were rather dense, never seeming to notice I never really wanted you the way you did me.” Her words stung him and he ran off from her, claws digging small holes in the boggy ground.
He knew what he had to do. Knew that the only way to fix things was to go to Dappleheart, that it was also the only way to get back at her. He’d do what she had done to him. He’d always had those feelings for his other friend, but his now-broken loyalty towards Nightshade had kept him from following them. Apparently her loyalty to him hadn’t been as strong.
“More like non-existent. “ He growled, following the scent-trail that would lead him towards his solution.
Pain hit his heart like daggers, making Reedwhisker gasp, his mind no longer focused on the two wriggling newborns, but on a more frightening place.
“Are you alright, Reedwhisker?’ It was Honeydapple that asked, and all he could do was feebly nod.
“I…I have to go.” He whispered, still breathless. He scrambled out of the den, barely aware of his brother as Heronstripe slipped in to visit his own kits, unable to hear Dappleheart telling Honeydapple and Nightshade to watch her kits. He took no notice of Dreamfur slipping past him to walk side-by-side with Dappleheart as they followed Reedwhisker out of camp.
What in Starclan’s name was wrong with him? What was going on? This pain was unbearable, horrible, seething. He could barely stand it and he slumped against the burnt tree, feeling as weak as the newborn kits he’d thought were his.
Thought…it had all been a lie. Yes….a horrible, terrible lie.
There was a rustling in the bushes surrounding the Sycamore and Reedwhisker looked up, shock registering on his tabby-striped face. It was Dreamfur, his expression smug but pitying, and Dappleheart. He couldn’t read her expression even as she neared him. It was like he’d been blinded by the breaking, and by the fear and loneliness that closed around him like a Twoleg trap.
“They’re not mine.” That voice couldn’t be his own, but the other two hadn’t yet spoken. It sounded so hollow. But then again, he felt hollow. Hollow and tossed around like a piece of prey.
It was Dreamfur who spoke first. Unlike the other times they’d spoken, his voice wasn’t so dry and resentful. No…now it was sad. Everything was sad.
Sad. Broken. Horrible and terrible.
“No, they’re not. The kits are mine, Reedwhisker. I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but Nighthsade said she didn’t want you to know. Dappleheart and I decided we’d tell you after the kits were born, before she found out she was carrying your kits.” Dreamfur explained, and Reedwhisker looked up, amber eyes wide as they searched for Dappleheart.
“Mine? Those kits I saw are mine?” There was a shimmer there of something, but it wouldn’t be enough just yet. His heart grasped onto that shimmer and he pressed his nose into the tortoiseshell’s shoulder. Her head rested on top of his and she licked his ear, sighing.
“C’mon…I can’t leave our kits for long, and you still need to meet them. Dreamfur will take care of Nightshade and her little fox-hearts.”
“Hey!” Dreamfur chirped. “My kits are not fox-hearts.” It was a small moment of comedy, and the other two laughed as they padded back to camp. Reedwhisker, still a bit wobbly, leaned on Dappleheart for support.
“”What did you name them? The kits?” He croaked. Dappleheart sighed again, saddened by her mate’s hollow-hearted tone.
“Redkit, Specklekit, Firekit, Volekit and Flamekit.” She whispered to him as Dreamfur slipped on ahead of them and into camp. “I was going to name Redkit ‘Reedkit’ but it would’ve given too much away, so I couldn’t.”
He nodded as she led him into camp. Heronstripe was obviously distraut. Apparently, Nightshade had told them all that her kits were Dreamfur’s, but that Reedwhisker did have kits in the nursery.
“Dappleheart?” Heronstripe pressed. “Is he alright? He looks….”
“Broken, hollow, wounded in a way Feathercloud and Tawnypaw can’t fix, if that’s what you mean.” Dappleheart replied, guiding her flame-pelted friend over to his kits. That shimmer lit his face again, if only barely, and he nudged each kit in turn as if seeing them truly for the first time.
“They’re ours? Really ours?’ He whispered, and Dappleheart nodded, her smile brighter than his own.
“Born two days ago, if you can remember back that far. Volekit’s the easiest to tell apart. She’s the brown tabby on the left. Then there’s Specklekit…she’s that little tortoiseshell. The three toms are Redkit, and his pelt’s the darkest of the three. Then Flamekit and finally Firekit. See how busy his tail is? Just like yours, Reedwhisker. He even has little white toes.”
Reedwhisker nodded. “They’re beautiful.” He yawned, and Heronstripe stepped in so his brother had a shoulder to lean on, seeing as Dreamfur was dealing with Nightshade.
“C’mon, little brother. You look like you haven’t slept in days, moons even!” The two padded slowly back to the den as Dappleheart curled around his kits. Reedwhisker’s only thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were of the five little kits and their mother.
“My kits.’ He whispered. “Mine and hers. Ours.”
Though his heart was starting to heal, there was so much more to come.
But that, my friends, is another story.
“Wake up! They’re coming, they’re coming! Oh wait..they’ve already arrived! But anyway…wake up!”
A sharp paw prodded him in the side, and Reedwhisker rolled over. Heronstripe stood over him, the silver tabby tom’s eyes sparking with enthusiasm, contrasting against his ginger brother’s groggy yet annoyed gaze.
“You mousebrain!” He growled. “Who’s coming?! Who came?” Heronstripe prodded his younger sibling’s side, this time with claws unsheathed.
“Ouch!”
“Your kits, silly! Nightshade’s having your kits! Well, she’s had them already. You took so long to wake up that you missed the whole thing.”
Reedwhisker was instantly up on his feet and out of the warriors’ den. Heronstripe chuckled , but was soon stopped by Dreamfur’s dry comment of “You won’t be laughing for long, you know.” Before Heronstripe could ask the ginger tom what he had meant, Dreamfur was sleeping again. Whatever his clanmate had meant by that comment could wait. He himself had kits to visit.
Reedwhisker slipped into the nursery, where not one, not two, but three queens lay amongst the moss-lined nests with kits eagerly nuzzling at their bellies. He saw Honeydapple, who smiled warmly at him, her three kits all safe and sound. He passed Dappleheart also, but her reaction towards his presence was different. Not cold, but distant, her eyes sad as he passed. Her kits were also safe and healthy, all five of them mewling loudly for more milk.
“Feeding time, huh?” He feebly chuckled. Reedwhisker remembered being good friends with Dappleheart, back when they’d all been apprentices, back before all this had happened. She didn’t even respond to his failed attempt at small-talk. Finally, in the far reaches of the den, lay the cat he had been looking for. A large smile broke out across his face and he sped up, nearly tripping over his paws in excitement. Nightshade laughed, and Reedwhisker could detect a faint hint of dryness in the sound, but he pushed it away, beaming as he looked down on the two kits.
A tom and a she-cat.
A little black tom, almost the spitting image of his mother, and a slightly larger tortoiseshell she-kit. They were gorgeous, and they were his, all his. He nuzzled Nightshade, and pulled away, looking down at the kits once more.
“Names?’ He mewed expectantly. Nightshade sighed, obviously still tired from her earlier ordeal. She nudged the tom-kit with her nose and he let out a loud squeak. “This little guy’s name is Dark-kit and the she-kit’s name is Patchkit. She’s pretty big, isn’t she? Nice and strong. Her brother’s smaller, yes..but he makes a lot more noise.” Her voice was warm when she talked about her kits, and it was one of the few times he’d heard her sound that way. His mind drifted off to a darker point in their relationship, when all their words had been sharp and cold, like slivers of ice on the river.
“You’re cheating on me with him, aren’t you?!” His eyes glowed with rage, and Nightshade’s also sparked with the same boiling emotion.
“Of course I have been, you mousebrain! We’ve always had that kind of connection. I couldn’t fight it and neither could he. So of course I’ve been sneaking around with Dreamfur. I’m surprised it took you so long to see it…Wait, I’m not at all! You always were rather dense, never seeming to notice I never really wanted you the way you did me.” Her words stung him and he ran off from her, claws digging small holes in the boggy ground.
He knew what he had to do. Knew that the only way to fix things was to go to Dappleheart, that it was also the only way to get back at her. He’d do what she had done to him. He’d always had those feelings for his other friend, but his now-broken loyalty towards Nightshade had kept him from following them. Apparently her loyalty to him hadn’t been as strong.
“More like non-existent. “ He growled, following the scent-trail that would lead him towards his solution.
Pain hit his heart like daggers, making Reedwhisker gasp, his mind no longer focused on the two wriggling newborns, but on a more frightening place.
“Are you alright, Reedwhisker?’ It was Honeydapple that asked, and all he could do was feebly nod.
“I…I have to go.” He whispered, still breathless. He scrambled out of the den, barely aware of his brother as Heronstripe slipped in to visit his own kits, unable to hear Dappleheart telling Honeydapple and Nightshade to watch her kits. He took no notice of Dreamfur slipping past him to walk side-by-side with Dappleheart as they followed Reedwhisker out of camp.
What in Starclan’s name was wrong with him? What was going on? This pain was unbearable, horrible, seething. He could barely stand it and he slumped against the burnt tree, feeling as weak as the newborn kits he’d thought were his.
Thought…it had all been a lie. Yes….a horrible, terrible lie.
There was a rustling in the bushes surrounding the Sycamore and Reedwhisker looked up, shock registering on his tabby-striped face. It was Dreamfur, his expression smug but pitying, and Dappleheart. He couldn’t read her expression even as she neared him. It was like he’d been blinded by the breaking, and by the fear and loneliness that closed around him like a Twoleg trap.
“They’re not mine.” That voice couldn’t be his own, but the other two hadn’t yet spoken. It sounded so hollow. But then again, he felt hollow. Hollow and tossed around like a piece of prey.
It was Dreamfur who spoke first. Unlike the other times they’d spoken, his voice wasn’t so dry and resentful. No…now it was sad. Everything was sad.
Sad. Broken. Horrible and terrible.
“No, they’re not. The kits are mine, Reedwhisker. I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but Nighthsade said she didn’t want you to know. Dappleheart and I decided we’d tell you after the kits were born, before she found out she was carrying your kits.” Dreamfur explained, and Reedwhisker looked up, amber eyes wide as they searched for Dappleheart.
“Mine? Those kits I saw are mine?” There was a shimmer there of something, but it wouldn’t be enough just yet. His heart grasped onto that shimmer and he pressed his nose into the tortoiseshell’s shoulder. Her head rested on top of his and she licked his ear, sighing.
“C’mon…I can’t leave our kits for long, and you still need to meet them. Dreamfur will take care of Nightshade and her little fox-hearts.”
“Hey!” Dreamfur chirped. “My kits are not fox-hearts.” It was a small moment of comedy, and the other two laughed as they padded back to camp. Reedwhisker, still a bit wobbly, leaned on Dappleheart for support.
“”What did you name them? The kits?” He croaked. Dappleheart sighed again, saddened by her mate’s hollow-hearted tone.
“Redkit, Specklekit, Firekit, Volekit and Flamekit.” She whispered to him as Dreamfur slipped on ahead of them and into camp. “I was going to name Redkit ‘Reedkit’ but it would’ve given too much away, so I couldn’t.”
He nodded as she led him into camp. Heronstripe was obviously distraut. Apparently, Nightshade had told them all that her kits were Dreamfur’s, but that Reedwhisker did have kits in the nursery.
“Dappleheart?” Heronstripe pressed. “Is he alright? He looks….”
“Broken, hollow, wounded in a way Feathercloud and Tawnypaw can’t fix, if that’s what you mean.” Dappleheart replied, guiding her flame-pelted friend over to his kits. That shimmer lit his face again, if only barely, and he nudged each kit in turn as if seeing them truly for the first time.
“They’re ours? Really ours?’ He whispered, and Dappleheart nodded, her smile brighter than his own.
“Born two days ago, if you can remember back that far. Volekit’s the easiest to tell apart. She’s the brown tabby on the left. Then there’s Specklekit…she’s that little tortoiseshell. The three toms are Redkit, and his pelt’s the darkest of the three. Then Flamekit and finally Firekit. See how busy his tail is? Just like yours, Reedwhisker. He even has little white toes.”
Reedwhisker nodded. “They’re beautiful.” He yawned, and Heronstripe stepped in so his brother had a shoulder to lean on, seeing as Dreamfur was dealing with Nightshade.
“C’mon, little brother. You look like you haven’t slept in days, moons even!” The two padded slowly back to the den as Dappleheart curled around his kits. Reedwhisker’s only thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were of the five little kits and their mother.
“My kits.’ He whispered. “Mine and hers. Ours.”
Though his heart was starting to heal, there was so much more to come.
But that, my friends, is another story.
