pafp water under the bridge // intro

[goldenkit.]

The sound of water continued to rush by, lending its hand to the continuous and ever changing formation of the river bed that it flowed through. Leaves fluttered off the trees above and would come to rest near a seemingly lifeless lump of white and tan fur shaded just under the twoleg bridge. Only the slight rise and fall of the fluff ball's flanks, and the occasional whimper, indicated that there might be life still residing in that little, fragile body.

Where did mom go? She told me she would be back. That it would only take a second. The tabby kit pulled his tail closer to his body in an attempt to retain what little body heat he had. Occasional droplets of water splashed onto him and caused him to shiver, sending his whole body into a vicious shake. Memories of his siblings bodies wiggling and tumbling around him began to make its way into his mind. The warmth of their fur, their high pitched giggles. It was all so comforting for the tom. And then one day they were gone. Lifted from the nest while his mother begged and cried and his father shot daggers back down at her. His father. Just at the thought Sandy winced a little, his fathers gruff, angry voice spitting nothing but vile words in his direction from the day he was born. How could someone be so cruel, especially to their own kin.

But the little kit didn't want to think about that anymore. It was getting cold. His mother has been gone for what felt like hours. What was supposed to be a soothing sound of running water, was a deafening scream to the kit, pounding through his sand tipped ears and rushing straight down to his core. The droplets falling on him felt like they were getting bigger, and he was nearly soaked to the bone at this point. His shivers were nonstop now, and all little Sandy could do was curl tighter into a ball and wait. Wait for his mother to return. A wish that, sadly, would never come true. Mom, where did you go?

// ooc : pafp by @Sunnyday ​

[ PENNED BY CHURRO ]​

 

[Sunnyday]

☀ - WHILST MY HEART STILL BEATS
The tom wandered on a trail that was loosely planned, a solitary patrol to help clear his mind. The events involving ShadowClan and the resulting exile of... of Cinderfrost danced heavily on his weary mind. He was still numb to the reality but that didn't stop it from being true. He needed to keep going, if for the sake of maintaining his ability to stay alive rather than succumb to his ailing health.

The sound of rushing water greeted his ears and he found an odd sense of peace with it. Wait... how far had he walked? His paws had found their way to the twoleg bridge and he lingered there in the open with the smooth stonework beneath his paw pads. "Hrm... I really was lost in my thoughts." He murmured to himself before he rolled his tongue against the roof of his mouth to discover that he was quite thirsty. The river beckoned him so he made his way down with care to the shore below so he could quench his thirst.

The tom lapped at the water with slow, precise flicks of his tongue. But soon the fur on the back of his neck prickled as he became aware that he was not alone. The tom stood up straight and he whipped his head round, but the sight before him was not of some sinister rogue, instead it was something quite pitiful and harrowing. A kit?! Sunnyday hurried over without sparing a second thought and he shifted himself into a position that would allow him to shield the kit from the spray of water from the river. "Hey, kit, are you still alive? What are you doing under here?" His concern was evident in his tone and his bright blue eyes offered only kindness and worry. Not wishing to stay by the river for a second longer, he aimed to pick up the kit by the scruff with the intentions of carrying him back up to the path through the woods.​

 

[emberstar]

"AND THOUGH THE EMBERS ARE NEW, WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T LET THE FIRE DIE"​

A voice, laden with concern, caught the leader's ear as she was on the hunt. Her head raised, as she glanced around worriedly. There were worse things to hear. As far as she could tell, there was no outright alarm in the tone, nothing that signaled immediate danger. Still, she was going to check it out. Make sure everything was alright, and offer help if she could.

Abandoning her hunt, Emberstar followed the sound. Weaving her way through the trees until; she spotted one of her warriors. "Sunnyday!" she called out to him as she made her way over. After a moment, she caught sight of the kit he held. Her eyes widened. "What happened?" was her first question, immediately followed by, "What can I do to help?"

Her thoughts drifted to the just banished Cinderfrost and she cursed herself. What poor timing. If she was here she would know what best to do. Without her they'd just have to rely on the most basic knowledge. Berryheart was still barely trained, after all.​

⁎ ✦ ★ ✦ ⁎​

 

[goldenkit.]

"Mom?" The tabby flicked his ears in the direction of the faint voice as it approached. His nose wasn't the best but he could tell that it wasn't his mother, but rather a new, unfamiliar feline. Maybe his mother had found a new friend. Sandy lifted his head and faced this unusual newcomer. Someone who was definitely not his mother. He shied away but as soon as he felt the teeth of this stranger around his scruff he allowed himself to relax, hanging limply in the older cats jaws.

As they moved away from the river, another feline approached carrying the scent of a female. "Mom?" he squeaked again quietly, fussing and squirming a bit more in the older tom's jaws. He swung a bit more violently now, and was turned just enough to see the new female that arrived on the scene. It was indeed, again, not his mother. He let out a quiet whimper, bringing upon a sneeze and shaking himself free from the toms grasp. Upon hitting the ground he backed away from the two adults and pulled himself into a ball. "I want my mom! I don't know where she went..." His voice was soft and another sneeze rattled his little body. His orange eyes finally looked up at the other two cats and actually took them in. "Do you know where my mom went? She said she was coming right back..." His eyes looked hopeful, but from the looks of him one might think otherwise. ​

[ PENNED BY CHURRO ]​

 

[Sunnyday]

☀ - WHILST MY HEART STILL BEATS
The arrival of Emberstar was unexpected and seemed to cause his fur to bristle. It was brief but enough to be unnoticeable if one happened to be looking. However, Sunnyday was in no mood to acknowledge the deeper meaning behind it even though the answer was obviously related to recent events. There wasn't time to deal with it, not when a kit required his attention more.

Sunnyday offered no resistance against the youth slipping from his jaws and he let the kit do as he pleased, instead revelling in the fact that the kit still had some life within him despite his earlier concerns. Though the pain dealt from hearing the sandy tom wanting to see his mother landed like a vicious blow. The reality of the matter sank in like piercing claws and he was left trying to think how to explain the cruel truth to the abandoned child. This was the hardest part and he took no joy in it.

Sunnyday lowered himself down and he took a pace closer to the stranger with a gentle expression. "I... I don't think she's coming back." Mothers abandoned their young for a range of reasons, and countless kits were left to return to the forest soil. But sometimes they got lucky and were found by others and given a second chance to thrive. This was going to be one of those days! Sunnyday wasn't going to leave this kit behind. "But if she does then she can come find you at our camp. You'll be warm and dry there, better than sitting under a bridge getting cold and wet." Maybe his mother would return one day. Just maybe. He didn't want to leave the kit without some slither of hope to cling to, but he didn't want to make hollow promises either.

Light began to filter down from the branches above and it fell upon the trio beneath the canopy. Sunnyday couldn't help but awe at how the light shone against the kit's fur, illuminating him in near-golden hues. "Golden rays of sunlight..." He whispered it to himself before a warm smile returned to his features. "So, my golden child, do you have a name? I'm Sunnyday, and this is Emberstar, leader of ThunderClan."​