- Mar 30, 2023
- 34
- 5
- 8
Sweetybee was observant. She could tell when one of her clanmates were acting strange, if they were sad, if something bothered them. In her idle sweeping gaze of the camp as she left a mouse in the fresh kill pile from her hunt, she spotted Mountainheart staring off into the distance in the middle of camp. This wouldn't worry her normally, but there was something off about it.
The glazed look in his eyes, the way he looked like nobody was home in his head.
She approached him cautiously, hoping not to startle him if he truly wasn't paying attention. To her relief, and ear slowly flicked in her direction, and he looked over to her with light returning to his eyes.
"Dad...? Are you feeling okay?" She asked him, settling beside him.
"I'm fine." He replied with a reassuring smile. "I suppose I'm just tired, I think my age is starting to show." He explained. The gray hairs popping up on his face felt particularly obvious, then.
"Then you should go rest!"
"You of all cats should know how pointless it is to tell me to rest." Mountainheart chuckled. Sweetybee noticed him wince slightly.
"And I know how stubborn you are to admit something is wrong...." She said, frowning. She was only growing more worried. "If you start feeling any worse, you should go to Dawnglare immediately." She added, almost as if giving an order.
"Yes, Sweetybee. You have my word." Mountainheart answered. He looks at her, realizing just how much she's grown since they first met.
She was just a little kitten, barely old enough to walk or talk and yet life had forced her to learn words quickly. He remembers the blood draining from her mother, her and Rabbit huddled in a burrow and the bloody paw prints leading away from the scene.
He had wandered upon them by chance that afternoon, his own pelt having remnants of dried blood on it from a hit he was asked to do. He remembers Sweetybee, small and fragile, desperately trying to get the words out of her mouth. She had wailed to get his attention as she toddled to him, staining an innocent white pelt with her mother's blood as she pressed against her.
H...Help...!
Help was very likely her first word. He found himself rooted to the scene as she babbled frantically trying to explain what happened. What she alone bore witness to. Her father, killed her mother and took her sister with him as he left her and Rabbit to die.
Mountainheart knew there was only one thing to do that day, so he told Sweetybee to stay with her brother and that he'd be right back.
He remembers catching her father, still gripping Badger in his mouth. He remembers how the wretched tom spat at him, hissing about how his mate cheated on him and mated with another cat. He was only taking the kit that was his, the one he bore resemblance to.
Mountainheart remembers crushing the toms throat and reuniting Badger with her siblings. He remembers how he took it upon himself to take them in, and how that started his new quest to find milk for them. He remembers meeting Pine....
"Dad...?"
He remembers finding Fish in a bundle of garbage one day, and taking him in as well....
"Dad.....?"
He cherishes each memory of his makeshift family. They are all safe now, he knows. But he wouldn't lie to himself and say he didn't miss them all.
He feels a nudge at his side, bringing him out of his thoughts and his sight back to reality. He blinks, looking at Sweetybee, who he's only worried further. "....I was lost in thought." He explained.
"Okay....." Sweetybee replied. She doesn't believe him. She knows he hasn't been eating as much, either. She knows something is wrong, but she knows it's pointless to try and convince him of it. "I'm going to go check on Fish, back in Twolegplace." She said, getting up and giving him one last look.
"Say hello to him for me."
"I will!"
Mountainheart watches her go. He is no fool, he knows he's been off lately. He supposes he will go to Dawnglare soon... Even if it's what he expects is just a passing bug.
The glazed look in his eyes, the way he looked like nobody was home in his head.
She approached him cautiously, hoping not to startle him if he truly wasn't paying attention. To her relief, and ear slowly flicked in her direction, and he looked over to her with light returning to his eyes.
"Dad...? Are you feeling okay?" She asked him, settling beside him.
"I'm fine." He replied with a reassuring smile. "I suppose I'm just tired, I think my age is starting to show." He explained. The gray hairs popping up on his face felt particularly obvious, then.
"Then you should go rest!"
"You of all cats should know how pointless it is to tell me to rest." Mountainheart chuckled. Sweetybee noticed him wince slightly.
"And I know how stubborn you are to admit something is wrong...." She said, frowning. She was only growing more worried. "If you start feeling any worse, you should go to Dawnglare immediately." She added, almost as if giving an order.
"Yes, Sweetybee. You have my word." Mountainheart answered. He looks at her, realizing just how much she's grown since they first met.
She was just a little kitten, barely old enough to walk or talk and yet life had forced her to learn words quickly. He remembers the blood draining from her mother, her and Rabbit huddled in a burrow and the bloody paw prints leading away from the scene.
He had wandered upon them by chance that afternoon, his own pelt having remnants of dried blood on it from a hit he was asked to do. He remembers Sweetybee, small and fragile, desperately trying to get the words out of her mouth. She had wailed to get his attention as she toddled to him, staining an innocent white pelt with her mother's blood as she pressed against her.
H...Help...!
Help was very likely her first word. He found himself rooted to the scene as she babbled frantically trying to explain what happened. What she alone bore witness to. Her father, killed her mother and took her sister with him as he left her and Rabbit to die.
Mountainheart knew there was only one thing to do that day, so he told Sweetybee to stay with her brother and that he'd be right back.
He remembers catching her father, still gripping Badger in his mouth. He remembers how the wretched tom spat at him, hissing about how his mate cheated on him and mated with another cat. He was only taking the kit that was his, the one he bore resemblance to.
Mountainheart remembers crushing the toms throat and reuniting Badger with her siblings. He remembers how he took it upon himself to take them in, and how that started his new quest to find milk for them. He remembers meeting Pine....
"Dad...?"
He remembers finding Fish in a bundle of garbage one day, and taking him in as well....
"Dad.....?"
He cherishes each memory of his makeshift family. They are all safe now, he knows. But he wouldn't lie to himself and say he didn't miss them all.
He feels a nudge at his side, bringing him out of his thoughts and his sight back to reality. He blinks, looking at Sweetybee, who he's only worried further. "....I was lost in thought." He explained.
"Okay....." Sweetybee replied. She doesn't believe him. She knows he hasn't been eating as much, either. She knows something is wrong, but she knows it's pointless to try and convince him of it. "I'm going to go check on Fish, back in Twolegplace." She said, getting up and giving him one last look.
"Say hello to him for me."
"I will!"
Mountainheart watches her go. He is no fool, he knows he's been off lately. He supposes he will go to Dawnglare soon... Even if it's what he expects is just a passing bug.