The sun had begun to go down, easing the heat by a few octaves. One could hardly tell the difference. Big white paws appeared on the twoleg place fence, the owner pulling themself to sit.
The white pawed owner, a big long furred white tom with ginger spots flicked an ear in annoyance. His regal bearing shown in the tom's plumy swishing tail, the tufted ears and Berry pink nose.
The tom, Hephaestion, seemed to ponder for a moment, gathering his bearings. Perhaps he would hunt? Perhaps he would sight see? What to do, what to do?
Zinnia and Torrent glanced at Briar as she lowered herself to their level, still hiding behind their mother. Silverscreech watched her cautiously as she did so. As the speckled she-cat pointed at Heph, the two kits couldn't help but laugh at her joke. Zinnia's ears perked up, running out in front of her mom joining into the fun. "He might taste better with a side of mouse." she mewed giggling.
Silverscreech smiled as her daughter spoke, but it quickly faded as Briar mentioned her kits. The grey and white striped Maine coon had a feeling there was some similarity shared as she told her brief story. "I'm Silverscreech. I used to be in ShadowClan" she replied seriously. "I'm guessing certain circumstances made you depart from your clan as well. Considering you mentioned you had kits full grown...so do I." Her piercing yellow gaze didn't look away as she spoke to Briar. A hint of sadness flashed behind her gaze as she recalled her mates passing. "Although...I doubt they would care to see me if they are alive. I was around very briefly before I left."
This was the first time Zinnia and Torrent had heard they had half siblings. Much less her mother once being a clan cat. Before Zinnia could open her mouth and probe her mother's past, Torrent quickly shoved his brown and grey striped tail in her mouth. His blue eyes gave her a stern look as he shook his head no. He knew now was not the time to ask their mother questions.
Heph felt his ear twitch an inch at the mother cats warning of her kits. He supposed the she cat didn't trust stranger'seasily, none the less, his mama taught him to look at for the young. Why, he'd even helped his house folks rabbit by keeping an eye on the dog around them. Brutish little mutt.
Shaking his head, he focused his attention on Briar, as she introduced herself. He shrugged in a lazy response. "I can't help where I was born. I dont condem you for being Clan born and eating the bones of my kind, kittypets, now can I? After all, surely not, if you did eat kittypet bones, surely not all of the Foret cats would?" He mused. Then he frowned. "Don't you have vegitarians?"
Hephaestion tensed as Briar greeted the kits. Glancing quickly at the mother cat, who he hadn't gotten the name of yet, he moved to flick Briar's ear. "Hey, look at me! This kittypet wooped your tail at dance battles." He was trying to distract her, until the mother cat could decide what route she wanted to take with this newcomer.
Inwardly he groaned. Why did his mama's lessons have to stick with him? What if this Briar attacked? I suppose I'll just have to shield those kits or try to ramp into her from the side? Oh! What if I try to grab her scruff and reach her around instead? Heph mulled over strategic exits.
Briarfrost blinked, confusion chasing away her sinister smirk, she stared at Heph as if he’d sprouted two heads. She watched him for a moment, before scoffing, “What is this? Some type of mating ritual dance? Sorry, you’re not my type, kittypet.” She spat the ‘kittypet’ with a sharp and jagged edge to her tone before she turned to face Silverscreech and her kits, her entire demeanor changed within the blink of an eye.
Her gaze softened and a sweet and gentle smile stretched itself across her maw, she lowered down towards the ground, to make herself less intimidating to the kits. “Ah, my apologies little ones, don’t worry I only eat kittypets for breakfast. You’re perfectly safe, darlings now him on the other paw,” she flicked her paw out in his direction,” I’m still debating on if I should serve him up with a side of rabbit.” She giggled, bubbly and jovial, steering the atmosphere into something more light and airy.
“I have kits of my own, so I wouldn’t dream of harming a single hair on your heads. Though, my kits are all grown by now. Probably proud Windclan warriors, I would assume... that is if they didn’t fall to battle or sickness. How I miss them every day.” A sigh seeps past her parted maw and she shakes her head.
“Well, with that out of the way, my name is Briarfrost- but you may call me Briar. Forgive me for my eccentric entrance, my social skills are rusty at best. Haven’t talked to or seen another cat in moons.”
The kits jumped as the newcomers voice intervened between their mother and the kittypet. Zinnia went hiding behind her mother, while Torrent stuck closer near his moms front paws. Zinnia's ginger ears flattened against her head as the speckled she-cat played with the kittypet like a mouse in the brambles. "Mama..." she whispered.
Silverscreech knew her kits were nervous about the new she-cat as her claws stopped just in front of the Tom's face.
"Come on now...your scaring my kits..." Silverscreech hissed lowly. Her eyes narrowed, ears flat against her head as Zinnia and Torrent hugged against her.
Fortunately, the kittypets attitude towards the speckled she-cat helped ease the tension as he winked and began doing a funny dance in front of the newcomer. Zinnia giggled as his head bobbed, body wiggling and swaying from side to side like a drunk bird. Torrent who usually was quite serious himself but calm, even managed to laugh at the kittypets antics.
Silverscreech lifted a brow as he casually danced. "Mousebrain." She meowed jokingly. The gray and white striped she-cat was happy to see her kits at least were no longer worried. Surely if she had stayed in Shadowclan, the kits wouldn't have been so afraid of those passing by. But now that she had to protect her kits on her own, even the once strong warrior was now nervous with whom she passed by. There were no clanmates to look after them in her stead.
Heph blinked blankly, listening to the mother she cat. “Five Clans huh? That must be the Forest cats I hear so much about.” As if he wasn't intrigued, he tried to hide it, sitting back on his hind paws, licking a paw and running it over his ears. Watching the kits question their mother through a slitted eye, he continued his process.
The fourth voice joined them and he turned to its owner. Upon seeing the she cat, he shivered. These weren't like the other house cats he knew. How exhilarating! He tilted his head, stopping to think. When the newcomer jolted towards him, he stiffened, muscles bearing and held her gaze. The dreamy look fled his face and instead it was replace by icy steel.
With a wink at Silverscreechand the two kits, he leaned ever so slightly into her Claw as if she were attempting to caress his cheek. He brought his own tail up to poke her nose. “You wanna dance? We can dance.”
Without warning, Heph began to do the strangest thing most had ever seen. He began to move side to side, bobbing his head and flicking his tail. A hum like purr came from his throat. He paused, hips still moving, and raised an eyebrow as if in challenge.
“Mouse-brained kittypets shouldn’t wander beyond their own fences, least they are fully prepared to accept the fact that they could meet a grave and gruesome end.” A sickeningly syrupy voice sounded off from just beyond the bend of a large tree, it was sweet but somehow sharp and spine-chilling all at once.
The owner of the voice rounded the tree, it was a pale brown she-cat that with darker brown markings in the form of stripes. White speckles were scattered all throughout her coat. Her eyes were a golden hue of orange and yellow not unlike that of crackling embers. “The molly with these kits is right, kittypet.” She stalked over and stood before Silvercreech, her kits and Hephaestion.
“You might think it’s an exaggeration, but I’m a former clan cat- I lived that life and have the scars to prove it.” She whirled on her paws and turned her side to the kittypet, allowing him to take in a brutally deep scar across her pelt.
“Why, this very scar was given to me by my own littermate. Clan life is harsh and cruel, sometimes the monsters turn out to be those who stood there by your side. The ones you thought you could trust the most can turn on you. Either due to differing views, or they’re simply born hollow and rotting.”
Her maw twisted up into a devious smile, her amber eyes sparkling with something sinister, “If you wish, I could give you a paws-on demonstration on how ruthless life out here is.” She stepped forward with purpose her claws unsheathing and dragging against the ground. Delight danced up and down her spine as she drew closer and closer to the kittypet, she swore she saw the faintest flicker of fear flash within his eyes.
She bolted forward without warning, straight towards him, and drew up her paw and stuck out towards his face. However, she stopped just shy of his forehead and merely raked her claws across fur, instead of skin.
A burst of manic laughter erupted from deep within the molly as she stepped back, “Oh great Starclan! You should see the look upon your face, house cat!” It took her a moment to gather herself, and she cleared her throat.
“Now now, I won’t hurt you- but the next feline you come across might not be as forgiving. That was just a show of how quickly things can go wrong out here. One moment you could be stalking along, thinking about just how juicy that mouse will taste in your mouth and then suddenly-” She slammed her paw down onto a stick lying on the ground, it made a sickening splintering crack, “BAM- you’re as dead as the mouse you aimed to kill.”
As the tom leapt down, the gray and white striped she-cat chuckled slightly as he staggered from his landing. “Well then, you must either be brave…or incredibly stupid to go venturing out in the wilderness.” Silverscreech replied amusingly. She hadn't seen many kittypets leave their homes, to which this had made the tom interesting in her eyes.
The Tom's question made Silverscreech smile mischievously. “What's it like out there?” Now was the moment she had to decide, mess with the tom, or tell him the truth. Either way, he was bound to be disappointed.
As he teased Zinnia, she puffed out her cheeks in reply. Silverscreech flicked her tail slightly as she watched her daughter clam up for once.
“Look, for some reason I find you amusing and like you to some degree. So I'll be honest. It's not easy living in the forest.” She replied seriously. Her piercing yellow gaze narrowed at the newcomer. “There are 5 clans out there in the forest, each with their own territory and quite protective of it. They could kill you if they wanted too. Or seriously leave you injured if you cross their boundaries. However, some may welcome you with open arms despite you being a kittypet. I know one in particular who would no doubt accept you into their clan if you're interested in getting to know clan life.” She paused for a moment in thought, her left ear twitching as she did so. “But know if you ever think of joining a clan, you shouldn't expect going back to the comfort of your home with your twolegs. You have to learn to fight, hunt, and how to survive harsh climates. You could die out of illness. So just know…think seriously on your decision to venture out there.”
Zinnia and Torrent ran in front of their mom, tails high in curiosity. “You never told us you know the clan’s mama!” Zinnia said bluntly. She cocked her ginger head slightly in wonder. Torrent just quietly listened and observed the kittypet and her mom.
Silverscreech sighed and gently swept her kit to the side of her. She closed her eyes and tried to avoid the questions soon to be coming from her daughter's mouth. Zinnia squeaked as she was set aside, but quickly ran back in front of her mom. “Were you in a clan mama!?”
Hephaestion had been caught up in his own thoughts when he heard a voice. He glanced around, startled. “God is that you?” He murmured, looking around sharply. Then his gaze settled on the family of three. The lemon orbs blinked rapidly, before shifting into a dreamy look.
Closing his eyes, he leapt down, staggering a bit on the landing. Shaking out his long fur in embarrassment and giving his chest fur a few awkward licks, he grunted a response. “I was thinking. I've never ventured farther then the fence. Until now. You made my decision.”
Heph tilted his head, eyeing them each in turn. “What's it like out there?” Then he jumped as if he had been startled again and bent down to be on eye level with the kits. “I almost forgot.” He closed an eye and stuck his tongue out. “Someday with any luck, perhaps you will be to, little one.” Then the strange tom turned his attention back to the mama cat, inclined his head to show he had meant no disrespect.
“I'm gonna win!!!” A tiny 3 moon old kit squeaked. Her fluffy ginger pelt shone in the sun as it began setting in the distance. The fresh air of new leaf filled the kit with energy as she ran ahead of her family. Turning her yellow-green gaze back, she stood and waited for her brother to catch up a bit before touching a rock nearby the fence. “I WIN!!”
Panting, a fluffy brown and gray tabby tom caught up to his sister, tail dragging behind him tiredly. “Zinnia…I can't keep up with you! It's not fair!!” He whined irritably. His blue eyes bore into her like two hot blue flames.
“Nothing in life is fair.” Another voice chimed in seriously.
Stepping out of a nearby Bush, a fluffy gray and white striped maine coon walked over near the fence. Meeting up with her two kits, she sat and wrapped her fluffy gray tail around her paws. “Life can be unfair, and sometimes cruel. But with determination you can overcome anything.” Silverscreech added calmly.
The two kits looked at their mom, then each other in thought.
Glancing upwards, Silverscreech piercing yellow gaze eyed the white and ginger Tom hanging about. “You going to the forest?...or hanging about in the yard with your twolegs?”
The question was half asked in curiosity, the other half in a mocking tone. Silverscreech did not expect any kittypet to be leaving really the comforts of their home. They grew up with full bellies and soft beds. Very few kittypets knew how to handle life outside the forest.
Torrent and Zinnia glanced up at the Kittypet in curiosity. The kits had met loners and rouges wandering the area. To which they usually hid away with their mom to remain safe. But they had never seen a kittypet before. “You're plump!” Zinnia said happily. Meanwhile, Torrent kept his mouth shut, knowing his sister was very blunt.