private HOW DO YOU REMAIN WHEN THE EARTH IS EVER CHANGING // robinheart

[Foxpaw!]

As the clamor surrounding him appeared to die down a little, Fox felt himself relax a little. There were more cats here than he'd ever seen, and the reassurance that they'd tell Mama where he was when she came back made him feel a bit better about leaving the safety of his bush. It seemed now that he could explore this place without worry of danger, so he began to trot through the camp, sniffing about the reeds and peeking curiously into dens. He paused briefly in front of the nursery, realizing quickly by scent alone that this was the den that housed other kittens, and therefore hopefully potential new friends.

Padding forward on his wobbly legs, he stumbled as he pushed his way into the den, which sent him sliding sideways across the den floor as he fell. He blinked, looking up to find himself at the paws of a tortoiseshell queen. "Hi!" he chirped, slowly standing up again. "I'm Fox!" He wondered what sort of funny name this stranger had. It seemed everybody here had one.

@robinheart

 

[robinheart]

Robinheart had heard faint talk of an abandoned kit come from outside of sedge and reed walls, her heart aching for the young one who didn’t know the whereabouts of their mother. The newborns at her belly wouldn’t feel that loss - they were much too young to realize their other mother had passed. They would grow up hearing stories of Brookstorm, but there was no hope to be had of her return. She resided in StarClan now; bathed in the very starlight that had turned blue fur an iridescent silver.

The tortoiseshell queen takes to grooming her children, soothing each one that squeaks or cries from the disturbance of barbed tongue through downy pelt. Triangular ears perk at the shuffling of reeds and citrine eyes raise just in time to witness Fox stumble into the nursery and fall, landing at her paws. His demeanor is cheery despite the accident (perhaps he falls often?) and Robinheart finds herself smiling ever so slightly at him. “Hello Fox, I’m Robinheart,” she introduces, lifting a paw and aiming to gently brush a piece of moss out of the young tortie’s fur. “Are you okay?” She had to ask. Something new and maternal within her longed to know this child was in good health.​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[Foxpaw!]

The queen smiled at him, and Fox returned the expression as he straightened up into his usual, precariously balanced stance. Robinheart. Fox blinked, taking a moment to commit this cat's name to memory. This one, he supposed, was a name that made sense, for her chest was as red as any robin he had ever seen. That would make it easier for him to remember her in the sea of faces that seemed to occupy the camp.

"I'm okay!" he answered, completely unbothered by his tumble. Falling down was simply a fact of life for him. It had never occurred to him that it might be so unusual. His littermates almost never fell down, and it seemed the cats living here didn't either. But Fox had never known any different. "I fall down a lot, but that's okay. Mama said it made me too slow to keep up, and to wait underneath the bush for her to come back." He looked back over his shoulder. "The bigger cats said they'd tell her where I am when she comes back." Mama would come back for him, surely. Because she had told him so.

He trotted closer, peeking curiously over the side of her nest. "Hello, little babies," he said, greeting the tiny creatures at her belly. They were the smallest cats he had ever seen. Too little yet to play with him, but that was okay. He could easily smell that others were around, and he supposed that these kits too, would eventually grow big enough for games.

 

[robinheart]

A soft exhale punctuates her once worried expression, relaxed as the kitten claims to be okay. That’s the most important thing - or so she thought until Fox continued. So he fell down often? Pity fills her gaze, intensified upon hearing of his final moments with his mother. Abandoned under a bush… Robinheart doubts she will ever return. The rogues she had encountered in the past proved to be selfish creatures. Survival of the fittest mindset and unfortunately… Fox would not be claimed as a fit child if he fell often and was deemed too slow.

Robinheart considers for a second telling Fox that his mother wouldn’t be returning to get him. But her heart hurts for the child, and seeing him awe over her children breaks it even further. Who could abandon such a sweet kitten? Who could look him in the eyes and tell him to stay separate from his family because he was too slow? She could never - would never. “If you want, you can stay with us,” she decides in the moment, shifting to free up a space beside herself and her kits for Fox, “at least until your mother comes.” He doesn’t need to know yet she’s not coming. Holding onto hope is sometimes the best gift someone can grant - she knows as it had been Brookstorm’s final gift to her.

“I can introduce you to the kits as well. This is Rivuletkit, Redkit, and Algaekit,” she murmurs softly, her tail brushing each kit in sequence, pride and sorrow glimmering in citrine eyes.​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[Foxpaw!]

Robinheart offered to let him stay with her and her kits, and he looked down at the newborns for a few moments as she shifted to make space for him in the nest. He stepped over the lip of the nest carefully, keeping his movements slow so as not to disturb the much smaller and more fragile kittens. "That would be nice," he told her, blinking up at the other tortoiseshell with big orange eyes. His eyes scanned over each of the younger kits as she introduced them with a brush of her tail.

"You look sad," he observed quietly as he noticed the sorrow glinting in her gaze. "Why?" He looked back towards the squirming newborns. "Is it 'cause they look funny? They won't look like that forever. They'll get bigger and then they'll be shaped like every other cat." He paused, thinking about how weird it would be if they just stayed looking like chipmunks forever. Perhaps the chipmunks would mistake them for their own kits, even if they were funny colors.

(casually roasting his new siblings im sorry)

 

[robinheart]

’You look sad… Why?’

Fox’s question is innocent enough as he settles beside them in the nest, peering up at her with bright eyes before glancing back at the fragile kittens. She parts her jaw to reply, though pauses as he continues, thinking her sadness to be due to the appearance of her children. There’s no denying the twinge of discomfort that blossoms in her hollow chest. The littlest spark of anger for insinuating her children didn’t look right - that Brookstorm’s children didn’t look right. But he’s a child. He doesn’t know better so while her ears fall against her head she tries otherwise to let it go. “No, no… I th-think they are beautiful,” she assures with a sad smile, tears misting sunbright eyes.

“My mate, their mother… she walks with StarClan. Brookstorm got sick the day they were born and… she didn’t get better. S-So I am sad that I lost someone I love, and that o-our kits will grow up without their mom,” she explains in a soft warbled voice, watching the squirming kits for a long moment before looking again to Fox. “But I will tell them about her as they get older. I will keep her m-memory alive.”​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[Foxpaw!]

Fox took no notice of Robinheart's briefly pinned ears, having no idea he had said anything wrong, but he picked up on the sadness in the older cat's voice. He frowned at the explanation. These kittens had had two whole moms, which he thought was awfully lucky. He had only ever had one mom, but at least she was still alive and coming back to get him. Lots of cats had dads too, but Fox had never had a dad, at least as far as he knew. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. "But it's good they still have you! You can tell them all about their other mom, and..."

He trailed off, noting the older cat's mention of StarClan. "What's StarClan?" he asked her. "Is it far away?" It must be, for Robinheart to be so sad about it. But the tiny cat had no real concept of death. All he knew was that cats that were dead didn't come back. What exactly happened after was a mystery to him.