- Dec 16, 2023
- 140
- 37
- 28
Despite an anxious appearance, Eggshellbloom was ecstatic to be a part of Skyclan. Sure, the boy was scared of what the wild had to offer. He worried about falling from trees, or accidentally eating poison berries, but it was all outweighed by the cats he’d met. Hunting, patrolling, It was all more dangerous, but it was also less lonely. The hustle and bustle of camp was a welcome alternative to the silent darkness that so often surrounded the skittish Scottish Fold in his housefolk’s den - even if he wasn’t very sociable.
Still, Eggshellbloom had his limits. The boy had spent the past two days and nights in Skyclan camp thanks to sore pads (and Fireflypaw’s treatment for them), which was far too long. He was grateful to be feeling better, but now just wanted to head home and rest. So much time spent in the forest was fun, but it was definitely draining. How did the non-kittypets do it? There was always something to keep you up, Especially the nests; leaves and moss just weren’t a substitute for wool. The ambience of the forest didn’t help sleeping either, and Eggshell was absolutely exhausted as he dragged himself towards the twolegplace.
“Eggshellbloom, the sleepiest cat in Skyclan…” The Scottish Fold mumbled to himself, a bit loopy from a lack of sleep and urging heavy eyes to stay open as he kept walking. “Eggshellbloom…” The boy repeated his new name, tasting it on the air and enjoying its sound. He would’ve died from embarrassment had anyone heard, but it was barely the crack of dawn and he was in the middle of the territory. The whelp had woken up before anyone else thanks to nests and noise, and opted to leave without rousing Fireflypaw or the others.
It wouldn’t be a problem. The medicine cat had said he was almost healed, and anyone could deduce where Eggshell went. Besides, the boy planned to be back tomorrow anyway, so any questions as to his whereabouts would be answered before anyone could worry. Still, all that would happen after the Scottish Fold slept morning, noon, and night away.
However, a brief flash of energy returned to the boy as he hopped his fence, amber eyes widening along with his grin as he spotted his twolegs through the window. Thoughts of sleep were temporarily pushed away as the boy clambered inside, now just happy to have his housefolk near. They were gone so often, leaving their tomcat trapped in dark and silence, that it was strange to see the den lit by artificial stars and filled with the sound of - sobbing?
A rare grin turned to an anxious frown as Eggshell padded towards his twolegs, noticing how they embraced each other. An egg-battered head tilted in confusion, and the boy spoke. “What’s wrong?”
Eggshell’s housefolk couldn’t understand him, a fact he long lamented, but they could certainly hear their pet’s voice. Instantly two sets of eyes rounded on him, and the spineless whelp stiffened as the pair suddenly heel-turned towards action. Soft crying was replaced with shrieks, and before the boy could act he was being yanked up and towards the cacophony of noise. Eggshell couldn’t understand his housefolk either, but kittypets could make out the emotion in their owners’ garbled speech. Relief, confusion, anger, it all spilled forward as the Scottish Fold was squeezed and hugged and petted everywhere at once.
Rough, they were too rough. The whelp let out a warning hiss, but they paid him no mind, like they knew he’d do nothing. Eggshell’s collar felt tight, his body felt hot, he wanted this to stop, but he also felt guilty for wishing so. Eggshell always craved his twolegs’ attention after they’d started leaving him alone, so why did this not feel good? Why was this even happening?
A sense of regret washed over Eggshellbloom as he realized his mistake. When Fireflypaw had told him he’d be spending two nights in camp, the daylight warrior had said it’d be fine. His housefolk were barely ever home. They wouldn’t notice. It seemed he’d gotten unlucky. “W-Were you this w-worried about me - me being gone?” The indecipherable sentence entered the air, quickly washed away by more twoleg noise. Was him visiting Skyclan really that much of a problem? Eggshell liked it there, he’d made friends there, he’d gotten a new name there. But if this was his housefolks’ reaction after finally catching wind of the coward’s absenteeism, could that continue?
The boy grimaced. He’d just have to work around it.
Eggshellbloom awoke at sun-high the next day, and let out a sigh of disappointment. Light might have been cascading through the windows, but one could be forgiven for thinking it night time. The house was dark. Dark, silent, and empty. His Twolegs had left early once again, leaving him alone. Should he be mad? Eggshell wanted to spend more time with them, but after last night…
Amber eyes glanced outside, towards the forest. Maybe the other daylight warriors could offer advice? “They’re not here, I might as well…” Yolk-stained paws pushed him up and towards his usual exit, pressing against the window only for it to remain still. He pressed again, a little harder, still nothing. Both paws now, and still it stayed shut, amber eyes began to widen with panic, looking towards the broken latch as breath turned short and speedy.
It was fixed, and firmly locked.
Desperation clawed at him, and the coward let out a whimper as he tried to undo it. He wanted to be outside, to jump the fence and race through the woods and see his friends again, but it seemed his twolegs disagreed. Eggshellbloom grit his teeth, hissing at no one as he hopped down from the windowsill and back into the darkness. He was still for a moment, and wailed.
The whelp wailed and wailed, clawing at anything he could. Pillows were ruined, his bowl was strewn across the floor, cups were shattered. Eggshell only stopped as he was about to shred his own collar, unable to go through with it. He still loved his twolegs, so why did they hate him so? Why were they punishing him? “They’re never even here!” He wailed again, wanting someone from Skyclan to come to his rescue. He wanted Orangestar and Twitchbolt to give him sanctuary, Fireflypaw to give him comfort, Silversmoke to steel his soul.
Eggshellbloom wanted what he’d already been given.
It took a long time, but eventually determination came to cover the coward’s misery. He dried his tears, shakily standing as be looked outside once again, towards the forest. This wasn’t the end. Eggshellbloom would see everyone again. He just had to be brave.
