the bachelorette — blaze & crow

[DOEBLAZE]

Once again, two of her children are off doing ... whatever they do when they're not in her immediate vicinity. In all likelihood, Drowsykit was probably having a nap in one of the many cozy spots she'd manage to discover (and nearly give Bobbie a heart attack by disappearing into), and Lupinekit likely moderating a kitten-game with surprising fairness elsewhere. One small black-furred shape is tucked near her side as Bobbie takes a moment to relax just outside the new nursery; ah, she faintly recalls the long days of pregnancy when she was tired of doing nothing but lounging about in the sun near the old nursery's holly-bush. Absentmindedly she wishes she'd appreciated those times more; her kittens are her entire world and she loves them, but stars, they could be tiring; this dismally cloudy weather isn't exactly helping either. The lilac queen hopes that the sun will rise past these horrific winds soon, and with it her energy.

Bobbie glances down at the fuzzy dark head by her side; Crowkit, still furred with kitten-fluff like his siblings, soon to be gone no doubt. The thought fills her with wistfulness; in no time at all the kitten fur will be gone, and so will the comfortably exhausting little bundles running about her paws. Off to the apprentices' den, and to puppy-crushes and problems that can't be solved by a snuggle in the nursery that she'll have to let them face on her own. The lilac queen shakes herself—it's pointless to think about that inevitable future and not the lovely present, where the warm shape of her son still wants to while the sleepy afternoons away. With that thought, Bobbie leans down and gives Crowkit a gentle lick to the forehead, smiling at him and glancing back up around the busy camp. Perhaps she's a bit hungry, but not enough to pull her tired self away from this comfortable and rare moment at rest; she mews quietly to her son, "You still awake, lovebug?"
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// @BLAZESTAR @CROWKIT!

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar spots the pale queen from across camp, and he watches her nose the dark scrap of fur between her forepaws with a noticeable smile. Vision blends with memory, if only momentarily, and in her place is a small black she-cat nuzzling a black-faced kitten who squirms at her touch. His heart aches, if only for a moment, and the vision is gone when he blinks. Bobbie is herself, and Blazestar notes the stunted look of exhaustion on her features. He glances at the fresh-kill pile, his blue eyes glowing as if lit from within. He wonders if she’s taken the time to eat today or do anything for herself.

Probably not, he thinks with a touch of fondness. Every queen he’s known forgoes her own needs, doing without so their kits can thrive. He’s sure Bobbie is no exception. Decisively, Blazestar snaps up a plump-looking squirrel, trotting to where Bobbie and Crowkit sprawl near the new nursery.

The flame point drops the bit of prey before her, grinning abashedly. “You looked hungry, even all the way from where I was sitting. Wanna take a minute?” He flops onto his belly, blinking gently at Crowkit. “How about you, little one? Have you tried fresh-kill yet?”
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[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

 

[CROWSIGHT]

Crowkit mewls in surprise when he feels something wet on his forehead. The kitten had been sleeping beforehand, but he lies and looks up towards his mother with bleary eyes and nods. Lovebug. Whenever he is called that, it makes him giddy. Everything in the world is fine. He is not going to have a bad day if she calls him that. Nevertheless, he yawns and starts the process of actually being awake. It seems like he wouldn't be given much of a start up period when Blazestar pads over and greet them (mostly his mother) with a smile and drops something to the ground.

Naturally he would look at what Blazestar has offered his mother. The tom tilts his head and stares back at Blazestar. He recalls that Cherrykit has told him that the cat in front of them is their leader. He doesn't exactly know what being a leader is, but what he knows is that supposedly this is supposed to be someone super strong, the best out of all of them. Hazel eyes linger to the squirrel Blazestar brought. His ears tilt when Blazestar is speaking and he doesn't understand. It simply doesn't make any sense. Anger is begining to bubble because who does Blazestar think he is? What does Blazestar take his mother for?

It doesn't help when he finds himself staring at their leader who decided that he wanted to talk to him personally. Anger flares when he is addressed as little. Not so much because Blazestar is lying, it's more so the fact that he has to bite the fact that the little one in the room would be the pathetic squirrel offered to his mother. However, his leader is good at redirecting his anger. For once he is pleased with one thing Blazestar has done since approaching him. A fresh breath of air it is to be asked a clear question. In response he shakes his head no.

He tilts his head to his mother, finally blinking. If they were to guess he may be silently asking to try a nibble of the squirrel Blazestar brought. Mommy like? Then he tilts his head back to Blazestar. Not a single word has escaped his tiny lips, a little unsettling to be sure. It doesn't help that he's staring down Blazestar. Not daddy. The conclusion is easy to make. Blazestar looks nothing like him. If Blazestar was his father, then they wouldn't look the way they did. Unless... There was some genes he didn't know of that could make it possible. As it stands, he believes that Blazestar is not his father. Like mommy?

The tom fails to realize that love is such a complicated thing and that his mother and Blazestar might have never thought of such a thing. He glances at the squirrel again before looking at Blazestar, "You bad hunter." Get with the program! If this leader guy wanted to woo his mother thinking a squirrel was satisfactory, he was sorely mistaken. He doesn't even give Blazestar a break when he adds, "Buhlayzestaher loves mommy?" Forgive him for butchering the name.

Unaware he may have said the most embarrassing thing, he returns his attention to his mother and begins to paw at her. "Mommy love Buhlayze?" He doesn't even wait for an answer as he rises onto his little paws and waddles closer to the squirrel. Whiskers twitch, "Dis bad mommy. Mommy will hunger. If love mommy get bigger food." Please someone stop this kit from talking anymore. Unfortunately for the adults in the room he would waddle over to Blazestar, getting as close to the leader as possible. He does leave a good paw worth of distance between them. Oh, how Bobbie was worried for the child. Would it please her that her son was protective of her, or would she be praying that this could've been shown another way.

The kit scrunches up his face. He's seen some of the other kits say this. It seems weird to do it, but he figured this would be the only time he would ever get to say it. "Daddies strong. He get big food next time." Once it's out in the open, it doesn't make him feel happy. His hazel eyes bore into Blazestar's and he doesn't feel connected to him. He's seen some of the other kittens light up when they address their fathers or when their fathers return. He's seen fathers give their mates food and they all snuggle up sometimes. It stings to look at. Not only because he would never have that, but because he can sense his mother's anguish.

Blazestar wasn't his father. He knew that. Blazestar could never love him the way he would've wanted his father to.​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

The sound of footsteps alerts Bobbie quickly to the approaching presence of another, and she glances up from the sleepy kitten to see a large flame-point shape, one slowly growing more familiar, approaching her. Blazestar sets down a plump squirrel and she returns his grin with a tired smile of thanks—her three tend to run more temperamental than some kits, more clingy perhaps, and it's rare she finds the time to go fetch herself fresh-kill these days. She mews brightly, "That obvious, is it? Thank you." The queen paws the squirrel closer to herself and Crowkit, listening with a careful ear as he speaks to her son—like many queens, how someone treats her kits has become a good standard of character. Bobbie's happy to see he speaks to Crowkit kindly, reminding herself Blazestar is a father himself, if one less involved than she may be due to the duties of leading a clan.

"You want to try some—" The lilac queen begins with a glance to her son, given that her kits are around the age to start properly having fresh-kill, now that the delicate process of integrating it with them is coming to a close. The kit's next words seem to wipe the words from her mouth as Bobbie gapes at Crowkit, momentarily unable to stop the unfolding of this embarassing series of events. She can only watch as her son actually shames their Clan's leader for his perceived poor hunting skills, continuing to deepen the shame as he questions whether she and Blazestar are in love! Bobbie's head dips, her ears and face burning furiously with embarassment, now too flustered rather than shocked to stop the continuing actions she sees through her hanging mane of hair. Crowkit toddles further over to the leader, continuing to speak, but mostly the queen's focused on trying to quell the embarassed warmth in her face and her nervous thoughts.

Bobbie almost wishes the earth would open up a pit beneath her and swallow her whole—her single chance at having a real friend in the Clan, one who could understand, may well have been unknowingly spoiled by her son's words. It's a painful reminder of exactly how hard she was to love, given that her kits' father was long gone to the point he behaved this way towards the next tom she got close with; perhaps Blazestar had been merely taking pity on her, perhaps it had been stupid to hope the Clan leader would want to be friends with her and this unfortunate conversation was merely a materialization of that. Mostly, though, she's simply ashamed and flustered; Crowkit appears mostly unaware of the implications of his words, but Bobbie can feel them all too well in the furious burning of her ears. She doesn't even want to delve into her thoughts about what exactly Crowkit had implied about her and Blazestar.

She finally gets ahold of herself, yelping, "Crowkit! That's, that's, that's not polite to suh-say," The lilac queen can feel her nervous stutter, out of her control, exacerbated by embarassment, fixing her gaze firmly on the dark-furred shape of her son. Bobbie sighs and clarifies, "Crowkit, me and Bl-Blazestar are just fuh-fuh-friends. He's brought us a perfectly nice s-s-squirrel." Perhaps the words are directed more at the two adults present than the kit himself, Bobbie shuffling her paws nervously and gathering the courage to glance over at the flame point, mewing apologetically, "I'm sorry, Blazestar. You kn-know how kits are, no f-filter."
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[BLAZESTAR]

“Just a little obvious,” he replies to Bobbie’s tease with a smile. “But raising kits is hard work. You have to remember to look after yourself, too, you know.” He looks to the little black kit at her forepaws, waiting for him to take their offer to try the squirrel.

Perhaps he’d been foolish to think Crowkit would take his prey delivery any other way. The kit scrutinizes him, not smiling, and asks him if he loves his mother. Blazestar’s jaw falls open, and he can’t quite figure out how to close it. “I—I—” He blinks, stunned into silence. The skin beneath his plush cream coat begins to burn a fiery red. Instead of denying any of it, he decides to say, “I actually didn’t hunt the squirrel. Um… it was… someone on a patrol this morning…” He forces his jaws to snap shut, looking at Bobbie awkwardly.

The poor queen looks about as embarrassed as he feels. He takes some small comfort in that. “That’s—that’s right, Crowkit. I’m your mother’s friend. And the Clan leader always comes to visit queens with kits.” He blinks, unwilling to consider that he had other motives for bringing Bobbie the squirrel. “Maybe he just doesn’t like squirrel,” he jokes, swinging his blue eyes back her way.

Her apology brings the smile back to his face, but he can’t deny the sting Crowkit’s little remarks had done to his ego. “Don’t worry, I know how kits are. Mine used to say the craziest things…”
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[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

 

[CROWSIGHT]

The audacity of Blazestar to bring food another cat hunted. He is highly offended more so by the fact that Blazestar deemed someone else's pitiful catch was what his mother deserved. The information is enough to make him scowl and twitch from frustration. However, their leader wasn't looking at him, they would be spared from his judging hazel eyes. His mother's yelp is enough for him to wince. Crowkit has never liked making his mother upset and it appears that what he thought was good was not. His ears droop and he slowly turns to face his mother. "B-b-but! Cherry says Blahyzestah super strong. If strong, why not get big thing? Cherry liar?" Oof, he didn't mean to throw the other kit under the bus like this. Completely untentional it is. All Crowkit desires is to know what's true. If Blazestar was a bad hunter, then he would forgive them for bringing someone else's catch.

Ears flick at the sound of Blazestar's voice joining in and adding that they were friends. His mother se.ems to want to change the topic to the squirrel, which he spares a glance at when mention. What bothers him is the fact that Blazestar says the clan leader always visits the queens. It's not that Blazestar said anything offensive in his eyes, it's more so the fact he's befuddled. The kit would return his attention to Blazestar and tilt his head, scrunching his little face in thought. "Yesterday... Not here? Cherry not say Bluhayze see her mommy." Cherrykit had told him in great detail about her mother specifically, so it was a bit strange for her not to mention Blazestar and her mom being friendly. He knew Cherrykit's mom was second strongest, but he can't say he'd remember seeing Blazestar in the nursery with other queens. Or maybe he was asleep during those times. Lupe know. I talk him later.

He gives up. Something is weird about Blazestar though and his mom, but maybe he's overthinking it. Once again the squirrel is brought up and for some reason everyone wants to decide how he feels. The kitten mews, "MMMnot say that!" Not once did he say he didn't like squirrels. What he didn't like about them was this was not fit for his mother. However, once again the adults aren't listening to him and he is not having it. His own mother apologizes to Blazestar which stings, but Blazestar smiling along and saying he knows how kits are... Who Crowkit is maddening. The tom is well aware he is a handful but it stings to be deemed crazy.

Fine. If they thought he was crazy, then so be it. Kits have no filter right? He struts over to the squirrel Blazestar had brought them. Its presence alone mocks him. He's never tried fresh-kill before so he's nervous about it. Hazel eyes glance at the two adults. He wants to cry, yet he doesn't. It's clear that whatever his mom and Blazestar have is good and he was just crazy. Sadness is quickly replaced with anger, the kitten bites the squirrel and the taste is overwhelming. If this was a proper introduction he would've taken a small bite. However, he would appear feral to both adults. Unsheathing his claws and messily devouring the squirrel. Grunts and gasps would be heard. If anything it might seem that he liked it​