private build some trust ] algaekit

[eelkit]

Eelkit lies in the medicine den, the scent of the den's herbs and mossy nests mingling in the air around her. She's curled tightly in her nest, her small body nestled deep within the soft moss, still recovering from the aftermath of the flood. Her chest rises and falls unevenly, a soft wheeze escaping every few breaths. Her throat feels scratchy, raw from coughing, and her limbs are heavy, the weight of fatigue pressing down on her. The world outside the den feels distant, muffled by the den's walls. The bustle of the camp barely reaches her ears, but it doesn't matter. Eelkit's focus remains inward, caught between moments of hazy sleep and brief moments of wakefulness. Her lungs ache with every breath, a reminder of the water she inhaled during the flood. The memory of it still lingers, the cold rush of the current, the panic as she struggled to breathe—she pushes it away, too tired to dwell on it.

Her nest shifts slightly as she tries to get comfortable, but no position seems to help. Every small movement sends a sharp jolt of discomfort through her body. Her paws twitch restlessly, but she's too weak to get up. Eelkit closes her eyes, hoping for sleep to take her again, but it eludes her. A soft cough shakes her frame, and she shivers as the cool air of the den brushes against her fur. She misses the warmth of her mother, the safety of her siblings by her side. But for now, she's alone, surrounded by the scent of herbs and the distant murmur of voices outside the den. She blinks her faintly blurry eyes at the entrance of the den, too tired to bring herself out but wishing she could go out and spend time with anyone nonetheless.

@ALGAEKIT​

 

[ALGAEPAW]

The river that Algaekit had once revered had swallowed her whole, too. Although she did not truly drown, Algaekit still had to spend a few days in Moonbeam's den, which felt like eternity and a half to a kitten. After the initial scare, she had been left to sun-dry, and perhaps baking in the herb-laced air of the medicine cat den was a little worse than the ever-encompassing embrace of the waters. "I feel fine!" He insisted, though his mother and the medicine cat insisted. The freckled kit leapt from her moss-woven nest, like a fluvial shadow that danced along the ends of melancholy, meandering where the gloom and the sunrays kissed. Only small waves of fatigue wracked her limbs, but for the most part, she was still the same restless spirit that bound her ribs and cavities together. Boredom rustled through his tousled pelt, like a debacle that he couldn't quite scratch, an itch that pestered him no matter how he positioned himself. Daffodil-hued eyes rested upon the shoulders and haunches of the other inhabitants, sides rising with the tide of the cooled autumn winds. As if fate herself laded out her golden strings by his expectant feet, a familiar hunched body lie in a nest quite near him, so he had no choice but to follow what had been given to him. He practically waddled up to Eelkit, golden gaze glittering.

"Hey, Eelkit! Are you trapped in here, too? Do you wanna sneak out with me? Or play? Or talk? Or do something else?" Algaekit prodded at Eelkit's flank with one rounded paw. Did the river try to eat you, too?​

 

[eelkit]

Eelkit's bleary eyes flutter open at the soft but insistent sound of Algaekit's voice, the familiar warmth of his tone managing to break through the thick fog of her exhaustion. For a fleeting moment, she almost forgets the ache in her chest, the heavy, unyielding weight that's kept her bound to the medicine den. Her chest rises, then falls in a shallow, uneven rhythm, a raspy breath slipping past her cracked lips as she fights to muster some energy. "Yeah…" she breathes, her voice barely more than a whisper, hoarse and frail. "I'm trapped here, too." A flicker of pain crosses her face as memories of the flood rush back—the icy grip of the water as it closed over her, the way her limbs flailed against the current despite the grip in her scruff, struggling for the surface. She can still feel the cold seeping into her bones, the panicked rush of trying to breathe when her lungs were full of nothing but water. A glimmer of fear flashes in her pink eyes, quickly replaced by a look of weary acceptance. "I thought… I'd be safe. But I guess we're never really safe from it, huh?"

She shifts slightly in her nest, her side brushing up against Algaekit's paw, and the warmth of his touch sends a surprising ripple of comfort through her. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed feeling connected, feeling like she wasn't completely alone in this nest. "I don't think I can sneak out," she murmurs, casting a wistful glance toward the den's entrance where the faint light of day spills in, tantalizing but just out of reach. "But… I'd like to talk, if you'll stay nearby?" Her voice drops to a softer murmur, the vulnerability plain in her tone. "It's kinda… lonely." A shaky, tentative smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she meets Algaekit's bright, eager gaze, his energy feeling like a lifeline. "D'you know what's been going on out there?" she manages to ask, her voice barely above a whisper but tinged with curiosity. "How… how's everything?"​