- Feb 8, 2023
- 23
- 5
- 3
Quiet.
It's very quiet, the camp is hushed and the morning only just peering over the tall grasses in the distance, a warm bisque fog hovering just above the ground and drifting listlessly along. Petalkit's lilac tabby head pokes out of the nursery, blinking groggy blue eyes at the silent moorland and the shining surface of grass bent over from heavy dew. He raises a paw and steps tentatively out of the carefully woven shroud of grass tht makes the nursery den, tiny steps carrying him along to the middle of the camp where he can lift his head up and see the sky open above; finally less gray than it once was. Today he is two moons old. In another moon he'll be apprenticed, though with a heavy heart he realizes he will not have the presence of proud parents watching from afar as he once hoped for; the greencough epidemic that ravaged the clan moons before had taken from them many cats and both parents among them as well, leaving just he and Brackenkit alone with the nursery queens to care for in their mother's stead. Petalkit still dreams of milk scent, of warmth and comfort that will never come back, but he views the wistful memories with fondness rather than any bitter feelings. He is awake today and that's good enough, a step in the right direction no matter how small.
The tiny tom crouches down to peer at a ladybug that had suddenly fluttered into view, landing on a blade of grass that bent heavy from its sudden weight, his eyes wide as he watches it slowly crawl. When he was born it was in silence, silent as the camp was now. His ears worked fine, he heard cats speak to him and he heard them encourage him to return their meows but he never once opened his own maw to try. It's for attention, some cats uttered. He does it to be noticed. Which struck him as silly really given silence was an act meant to go unseen.
A paw raised, he bat at the red-shelled insect once and it made the grass dip and wobble in response, its wings flashed inky black with a buzz and it flit upward and vanished as quickly as it came. Petalkit stood and swift went to follow, chasing after the faint speck above him with no real sense of direction or care, only stopping when he collided with a cat suddenly stepping into his path.
Or perhaps he had stepped into theirs.