On the Limits [Cinder]

[Cinder]

As the kitten woke, she did not look all that well. She acted as if she was uncomfortable, and Brightstar was thron for a moment when she said that her tummy felt funny. Why? Did she really eat so little that the meal that she had eaten lastnight made her ill? Small steps, Brightstar would be more careful with how much she ate from now on.

"Stay here baby, I'll be right back."

She carefully got out of the nest, and trotted to the medicine cat's den. After explaining what had happened, she was given some herbs to have the kit eat and was on her way. She stopped and got her own breakfast on her way back to the den, a large vole that was on the top of the pile.

Brightstar trotted back into the den and murmurred to the kitten, coaxing her to take the herbs that she had brought back. When she grabbed the kitten to give her a bath, she found that she was the same as every other kitten in this respect. She did not want a bath at all, but she was dirty and in desperate need of one. With a paw over the kit to gently keepher still, Brightstar laughed and prceeded to clean the kit.

"Any kit of mine needs to be presentable, your getting a bath, hold still."

After she was done, she released the kit and began to take her own bath. The kitten's question stunned her for a moment and then she laughed out loud.

"You like to swim? Of course we can."

Brightstar put the kitten on her back like she had the night before, and trotted out of the camp. It was not long before they came to the part of the stream that was in their territory. She let the kitten down and sat on the bank. The river was shallow here, but it still made her nervous to have the kit near the water. Her eyes never left her, and she was alert, her stress showing in the way that she sat up straight.

Brightstar herself did not care for the water, but she did lean down and lap the clear cool water before her. The day was unseasonably warm today and the sunlight shone through the clearing in the trees warming all that it touched. It felt good on her coat. She was healthy and strong and it showed in her fur. In the light it looked as if it was frosted in small diamonds, the strands of fur glinting in the rays of the sun.

Her heart fell when she looked at the kit playing in the water before her. Her coat did not look healthy at all. It was fluffy like any kit, but lacked the shine and uniformity that the coats of other kits her age had. Just another evidence of the way that she had been so poorly cared for. A diet of a bite of food every few days and no baths showed clearly in the sun. That would not be the norm and longer, not now that Brightstar was her mother.

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Thymekit was staring up at her mother, trying to hide the uncomfortable feeling that she was feeling. She didn’t like to feel icky, and it was the reason she never told anyone when she was sick. She could never get her siblings to believe her when she was sick, or just feeling a bit weird. This had caused the kit to stop saying that she wasn’t feeling well. The last time that she had been sick, she had been sick for almost a week before the medicine cat had given her anything to help ease her. Her siblings had continued to tell the medicine cat she was fine and just being lazy and only when Ternwing had asked the medicine cat to check her over, did they find that she was one sick little kit. She had been so brave about it and had earned a spot in the medicine cat den for several days. She had been out of the nursery and this was the first time the kit had peace sleeping. Being well fed had quickened her recovery and she was back to normal in a few days. If it would have been caught earlier, she would not have even needed to stay in the medicine cat den, she would just have been given some herbs and told to have a good night’s rest. So to hear that someone actually cared and listened to her when she wasn’t feeling good, was still a shock to the little kit.

She nodded when she was told to stay, it wasn’t like she could do much else. The kit sat down in the exact spot, not daring to move. She had learned that if someone told her to stay she needed to sit down and wait. They could be gone for minutes or hours, but she still needed to wait in the same spot. The little kit had learned patience this way. The moment she saw Brightstar come back, her eyes lit up. ”Hi Mama! I stayed here just like you asked.”she announced happily. When she saw that her mother had something, she stared curiously. What did she bring her? Surely it wasn’t food. Her stomach ached at the thought of that. But when she saw the herbs she knew exactly what those were. ”Juniper for my tummy? Mama, you are the best!” she mewed happily. The kit knew instantly that the herb would make her feel better. It was no trouble to get the kit to eat these herbs, after all they weren’t bitter or icky. The kit had been given these on several occasions, mostly because she ate very little and when she did accidently eat more than usual, it eased her tummy very quickly.

Just when she thought that her day was getting better, she had felt her mother’s tongue. Oh great….it was bath time. She had hoped to avoid this at any cost, but it looked like no matter how cute Thymekit tried to be she would still be getting a bath. The kit frowned at the thought. This was the one time that the little kit squirmed around the entire time. Yes, she had been kept still, but it still did not stop the squirming and mewls of protest. When Brightstar spoke and said she was her kit, Thymekit couldn’t help but have a huge grin on her face. She really was Brightstar’s kit. Maybe her real mommy was suppose to die and leave her, that way Brightstar could be her new mommy. It was too bad she really didn’t really remember her first mommy.
Blinking, the kit realized her bath was finished and she was being asked a question. She nodded eagerly. ”Yeah, me and Cloverkit went there one day. Dovepaw took us.” she mewed, remembering the time when the two cats she treasured the most had taken her on a journey she would never forget. This had been just a few days before the death of Cloverkit. Dovepaw had wanted to take her baby sisters on a little tour. She had gathered the two she-kits to help collect some moss, and the kits had enjoyed every minute of it. That had been so long ago, now both of those sisters were dead. ”Me and Cloverkit had fun.” she added, grinning wide. It was nice to remember this, but also sad. The happy moment quickly faded and she frowned. She sure missed her sisters. They had been her everything, and had kept her safe. It was the death of her sisters that had caused this kit to be so ‘messed up in the head’. Prior to their deaths she had been very sociable and brilliant beyond belief. She had been the kit in the litter to watch. The kit had actually been in the nursery to see Cloverkit torn to shreds, a memory she had not shared with anyone. The kit had also been out with Dovepaw, watching her train, when her other sister was killed. This was known, that she had been with Dovepaw when she was killed, but the bit about Cloverkit, no one had knowledge of. It had been thought that the death of Dovepaw is what set Thymekit into her mental block, of how she was now. But in all reality, it had been seeing both of her siblings killed right before her very eyes. Maybe one day she would share this with someone, but for now the kit kept this all inside.

The journey then began, and Thymekit let out a mewl of surprise when she was put on Brightstar’s back. The kit began to giggle, thinking this was a fun ride. But the moment she saw the stream, Thymekit did her very best to contain her excitement. It had worked well until she was sat down. It was as if her sisters were with her and the kit forgot all about how sick she had been feeling, and forgot everything but the stream. She began to splash and play in the water, mewling and acting as if she had not a care in the world. The kit was letting go of everything. This was the special spot with her sisters, and no one could ruin it. She hadn’t been back since that day, and she had forgotten how much she loved the water. Sure, the water was shallow, but it was still deep enough that if she went in more than a few pawsteps, her paws could not touch the bottom and she had to swim. Her big sister had taught her how to swim. The kit mewled as she swam around, coming back onto the shore and grinning up at Brightstar. The kit had no knowledge of the temperature of the water. If it had been freezing cold, she still would be swimming, but it was just slightly cool.

Thymekit soon became interested in the pebbles underneath the water. She went back to the part where she could stand on her paws without having to swim and began to play with a pebble on the bottom. When it moved and a minnow popped out, the kit mewled with surprise and ran straight to Brightstar, nestling deep in her mother’s fur. ”Mama, the fishy gonna get me!” she exclaimed, trying to calm down her breathing. The kit had truly been frightened.

But she once again, could not stand sitting still while the stream was so close by. She chose to get back in the stream and swim again. ”Can’t catch me, Cloverkit!” Thymekit mewled, completely forgetting that her sister was deceased for a moment. She began running around and around, thinking Cloverkit was chasing her. The little kit’s mind had once again gone back into that special place, the place where everything was just the way it should be and everyone was alive and healthy.

Word Count: 1307
Tags: Cinder

[Cinder]

When Thymekit said that she was the best mama in the world, she couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. Maybe she was cut out to do this after all. All she had done was what she needed to for the well being of her kit. Her kit, yes, that is what Thymekit was to her now, there was no denying it.

When she sat by the river a short time later watching the kit play in the water, she took a moment to take it all in. She tilted her head back and listened to the baby splashing in the crystal clear water. She listened to the shreaks and giggles that came from the kitten and smiled to herself while taking in the heat of the sun. The sunlight danced on her fur, turning it almost iridecent.

She was pulled from her thoughts by a small body cannoning into her chest. She laughed when she heard that it was all over a fish. She licked the kitten on the top of the head to calm her and pulled her close as she laid her cheek on the small head intront of her.

"Lets go find that mean old fish."

Brightstar waded into the water and found the little minnow. Carefully she coralled it in between her paws and called the kitten to her side.

"Look, it's just a little fishy, he wont get you."

She took a paw and splashed water at the small kit, coating her in water. She looked back to see what she was going to do about it.

[Tiny]

Thymekit

Thymekit definitely wasn’t like other cats. That could be figured out not only by the way she spoke or created things in her mind, but by her actions. The way she spoke, it sometimes became cryptic and she just said whatever was on her mind. The way she created things in her mind, or just her mind in general kept plenty of cats away from her. But the biggest thing was her actions. Give this moment for an example. She was splashing around in the water without a care in the world. Sure, most kits have no care in the world all the time, but it was something about this place that kept the kit…be well normal. The kit absolutely loved water. This was a rare find, indeed. Most cats strayed away from water, choosing not to get their fur wet, unless they were in RiverClan, but that was a completely different story. There was zero RiverClan blood in this kit. She was pure ThunderClan. The way she splashed and played around in the water was effortless. This is something that clicked in her brain.

This was a kit that was good at entertaining herself. She had learned over the past few moons that if she didn’t play with herself, no one else would play with her. So she had taken the opportunity to swim and play around. Who knew if she would be able to come back here again. She was definitely not going to waste this opportunity. At one point she had forgotten her mother was there, listening and watching. But then that fishy just had to come along and ruin her fun.

Just having Brightstar near her calmed the little kit down. Having her mother’s warm tongue and just the warmth of her mother in general kept the kit from mewling in fright. It was nice to feel this way, to have someone be there for her when she got scared. Maybe if she burrowed deeper in Brightstar’s fur it would make all the scary things go away. But the kit did not have a chance to see if this idea was correct. Brightstar had already gotten up to go investigate. This caused Thymekit to swallow quickly. She had wanted to investigate the fish? Really? That didn’t sound like fun to this kit. But still, the kit followed.

Sure the kit may love the water, but the fish that go in it? Not so much. Blinking up at her mother, the kit began to ask a serious question. ”It may not want to hurt you, but how do you know that it isn’t a kit eating fishy? It may want to eat me. And how do you know it’s a he? Can’t it be a girl fishy? And why are they called fishy? Why not swimmy?” The sad thing is this kit was entirely serious when asking her questions. She had not been able to ask questions in her lifetime so actually having someone to talk and ask questions to was nice.

Thymekit couldn’t believe her mother’s next move. The kit sat still for a moment and blinked. ”Mama, that not nice. I’m not dirty.” she mewed, confused. Yes, it had been quite some time since she had played with someone real. The kit didn’t even know how to respond or what to do when someone splashed at you. She just blinked her eyes and stared. ”I thought you already gave me a bath.” was quickly added to the kit’s prior statement.

Word Count: 585
Tags: Cinder

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[Cinder]

Brightstar looked down and grinned at her, she was happy that the kitten was asking questions.

"Yes, it can be a she. Why don't we give it a name? Come here and see I think it is a play fishy! Come and say hello."

When she splashed Thymekit, she thought that maybe she had made a mistake. The kitten looked like she was going to cry, and that was certainly not the intention.

"You did already get a bath, but don't you want to play with mama? Come and splash me."

Mama? She had called herself mama, and it had come out of her mouth so easily. Rolled off of her tongue in a way that felt natural. This was the best thing that had ever happened to her, the fluff ball that sat before her was truly the best thing that had happened to her, ever. She wanted to love her for the rest of her life, and she fully planned to.

[Tiny]

Thymekit

Little Thymekit’s questions just continue to pour out of her mouth. It was like every question she ever had was now surfacing. After two moons of being unable to ask any questions, they were all coming out in one quick swoop. Half of the words Thymekit was saying was just nonsense. Thymekit had never been a kit that had trouble with speech, from an early age the kit was quite good at speaking. But now that she was speaking faster than normal, she began speaking much more like a kit. Her words were jumbled, her speech sounded much more normal as opposed to an adult cat. It was like her adult filter had left and she was slowly becoming more of a kit.

The kit grinned wide. Mama had said it could be a she! Did she really just get her way? Never had she been able to ask a question, get it answered, and have it work in her favor. She blinked up at Brightstar. Play? This word was something that had not been in her vocabulary for two moons. She didn’t know how to play. She walked a little closer to the fish, making sure that she was as close to Brightstar as possible. ”Mama, I not suppose to play. I suppose to be good girl and sit still and let brothers play.” she mewed. And once again, just as the kit was moving forward she took a step back. Getting this little kit out of the mindset that it was alright to have fun, would be hard.

Thymekit was so confused right now. She felt herself getting sad and tears would soon fall, yes. But she had to be brave and couldn’t cry. Her big brother said crying was never an option. If she cried she was a weak kit. So she kept it inside, staring at her paws and trying to will the tears away. And Mama still wanted to play with her?

”Mama, what splash mean? Does it mean no more bath?” Thymekit was excited at this thought, to never have a bath again. She sure hoped that she wouldn’t have to have one again for a long time. She stood right by Brightstar, still careful not to get near the fish. Now that she knew it was there, it still frightened her a little. ”Look! Mama, we in water!” the little kit exclaimed. And once again her brain was just now catching up to everything around her.


Word Count: 413
Tags: Cinder

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[Cinder]

"Yes my little one, we are in water. And no, you still get a bath every morning, you can't be the leaders daughter if your all dirty now can you? But you are done with your bath for today so you don't have to have another one untill tomorrow. Now what are you going to name your fishy? She has to have a name. You need to see what it is like to play. The way that your brothers made you act was wrong, you don't have to sit still and watch, I want you to do what you want to do, and not what your brothers told you to do. For now the warriors and I are the only ones that make the rules, not your brothers."

Brightstar looked into the kit's eyes and helt her attention. She did not like that her brothers had treated her that way, it was nothing but abuse, pure mental abuse, and she was not so sure that they had not physically abused the kitten too. She planned to have a talk with them later and tell them how wrong it was to treat somone the way that they had treated their sister. She would not have bullies in her clan, and that is all they were.

She coralled the fish between her paws, it had been simming around her paws in the water, and did not seem at all afraid to be near the two cats, in a way it reminded her of Thymekit. So innocent and unsure of how the world worked. She pulled the kitten between her front legs and waited for the fish to swim back to them. When it did, she used her paws and kept it swimming right before the ktten, she knew that Thymekit was still a little frightened by it and she wanted to dispell the fear. Brightstar swished a paw in the water and made the fish swim around the kitten's tiny paws, not quite touching her but close enough for her to know that it would not hurt her.

"See my love, she won't hurt you. She wants to meet you and be friends. She is just a baby like you are, she wants to be your friend."

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Thymekit’s eyes lit up as her statement was acknowledged. She liked the water, and she just had to tell her mommy that she was in it. She wanted to be sure that mommy knew. The thought of being someone’s daughter really made the kit smile. She probably didn’t quite understand what being the leader’s daughter meant, she just saw Brightstar as mommy, not as the leader. The smile quickly turned to a frown when she heard the news…she was going to have to take a bath tomorrow. That meant she wouldn’t get to have a no bath day anymore. ”Mama, I have bath not in morning?” she mewed. Maybe if she could postpone it and not have her bath first thing, mommy would forget.

The little kit was thinking hard. Just what could she name the fishy. She looked from the fish to her mother, then back to the fish. The kit kept looking from mother to fish, until she grinned. ”I name you Fishy.” it was her smile that showed how proud of herself she was. She had thought of a name all by herself, and she thought it was the best name ever. She looked up at Brightstar for approval.

Wait, what her brothers did was wrong? But they said they were always right. Thymekit had the most confused expression on her face. She couldn’t understand this. The trouble was that she didn’t know what she wanted to do, she had never had that option before. It had always been that she had to do this, and had no choice. So now only mommy and the bigger cats made the rules. It then hit Thymekit. ”I have brothers that are warriors, so they still make rules?” she mewed. It was going to be hard for the kit to let go and do what she wanted. For so long she had been told ‘no’ to everything. Obviously all the mental things that went through her mind about her not being good enough would take time to fix. ”Mama, I good at staying still and quiet.” Thymekit said, and to her that was fun. To experience true fun, would take a while for her to get out of the cloud that lived in her brain.

Thymekit wondered what her mother was doing when she was brought in between her mother’s paws. She did what she thought was fun and sat still and patiently. Most kits would be squirming and at least moving, but not Thymekit. She had learned the hard way not to squirm. She was really frightened the closer the fish came to her, and it was getting harder and harder to stay still. Thymekit was breathing deeply, and trying not to freak out. And then the fish swam by her paws. That made her mewl just a little, and Thymekit stopped right away. ”I sorry for mewing and squirming Mama, I be still now.” And even though she was still terrified, she stood still.

She saw how the fish really wasn’t going to hurt her, and the fear became a little less. The fear was still there, but it wasn’t as bad. Wait, a fish wanted to be her friend? She could have a new friend? ”Hi Fishy. I Thymekit. We be good friends now. I visit you everyday. Right Mama, we come back and visit every day?” Thymekit looked to Brightstar for confirmation. She blinked…”Mama, I a baby?” she asked curiously.

Word Count: 574
Tags: Cinder

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[Cinder]

"Yes, you are my baby."

Brightstar rubbed her nose against the kit's as she looked up at her. It was hard for her to see how afraid of the fish she was, but Brightstar wanted her to learn all that she could; what fear was, how to handle it, and that it was up to her what happened. And then the mew had come from her mouth, and things had changed. The words that came from the kit following this stopped Brightstar in her tracks.

"Don't appoligize for moving and mewing. There is nothing wrong with that. If you want to move... you move. Don't be sorry."

When she took to the fish, a smile spread across both of their faces, Brightstar nodded to her as she looked to her for comfirmation on the name that she had given it. Brightstar knew that she was not like other kits, and she was fine with that, but she also knew that they had a lot to work on as far as what was acceptable and what was not. The kitten had a warped sense of right and wrong, and that needed to change.

"Yes, we can come back and see her. I know that you don't want to go, but we have to go and do some important leader stuff today, mama needs your help."

Brightstar waded out of the water and shook herself off and then waited for the kitten to do the same. There were tons of thungs that needed to be done before the snows came, and she knew that it was not far off, leaf-bare was half gone already. Tonight she had a meeting to call and she had to inspect the camp for all that needed to be done before now and snow season.

"Your gonna help mama get ready for the snow. We have to go home and make sure that the camp is ready for the snow when it comes."

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Thymekit never thought of herself of being someone’s baby. She had always been treated like she was a full-grown cat, spoken to like she always knew what the other cat was saying. But not with mama. Mama made it easier for her to understand. She didn’t use the big words that left her confused and guessing. She treated her like a kit, not a warrior. She liked that, it made her feel more special.
Mama had said that it was okay to move? But that was a forbidden thing in her world…her old world. She was so confused and her head was so full of everything. Everything she knew was wrong ,and was now okay to do? She was told that if she did something wrong, the first thing out of her mouth had to be sorry. If not, she would face the consequences. She shuddered at that word. She remembered what had happened last time. She didn’t want it to happen again.

The next mewl of delight that left the kit was turning into a purr. Mama had agreed with her, she liked the name! She got to do something on her own and it was okay! And she could see her friend again. Now she had a whole bunch of friends! Thymekit’s eyes turned back to Brightstar. It was time to go already? The little kit frowned a little, but knew better. When someone said come, she better move. The kit splashed through the water, tripping a few times, but finally making it out. She shook the water off her head, but the rest of her fur was still clung to her body. Her usual fluffy fur was plastered to her body, and the kit looked as if she were just skin and bones without her fur. Thymekit’s normally fluffy and soft fur hid all of the physical treatment she endured, including the scratches. But now it was flat on her and the little kit couldn’t figure out how to make it fluffy again.

But wait, her mother had said she would get to help with something. She was good at helping. Ternwing let her help him all the time. All her other siblings said she was too little, though. Her blue eyes blinked up at Brightstar excitedly. ”Mama, what snow?” Thymekit asked curiously, after a few moments of thinking about it. Of course the kit wouldn’t know what snow was, the last time it had snowed had been so many moons before her birth. She was barely four moons old, and this would be her first time to see snow. ”I help Mama. I like helping you. Maybe Fishy wants to help. I’ll go ask her!” And before there was a second thought about it, the kit was back in the water. ”Fishy, you help with snow?” she asked, looking around for her friend.



Word Count: 477
Tags: Cinder

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[Cinder]

Brightstar let out a laugh of delight at the words that came from the kitten's mouth. She forgot that this was her first winter, and she had never seen the snow before.

"Snow is cold. Its white, and it falls from the sky like frozen rain. Every flake is different, no two are the same. They float down light and delicate, and they make the world a blanket of white."

She let the kitten ask the fish her question, and when there was no responce, she filled in for it.

"Fishy has to get her home ready for the snow, just like we do. We will see her later. Look, she is waving bye to you."

The fish was swimming before them and its fin realy did lok like it was waving at them. She waved back at it, and then turned to go, making sure that Thymekit was following her. Slowly she made her way back to the camp and began her inspections. There were holes in the wall around the camp that needed to be patched. She took the kitten up to one of them, and looked down at her smiling.

"What do you see that is wrong here?"

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Thymekit was excited, this snow stuff sounded really neat. She wondered if it was something that she could play in. Mama did say that it was cold, but that didn’t bother Thymekit. She liked cold more than hot. Her fur was better suited to the cold weather. Was that why her fur was getting longer because it was going to be cold soon? Then as Brightstar began explaining about the snow she blinked. None of the flakes were alike? ”Do they have a clan that they come from? Like rain comes from the big clan of rain. So does snow come from the clan of snow?”Clearly half of this had been made up in the kit’s head. It was something that she had made up with Cloverkit, a backstory as to what rain was.

The little kit was definitely curious about this snow stuff. She liked water, so if it was like the water in the stream, surely she would love this stuff. But she wouldn’t be Thymekit without a question or two. The kit looked as if she were in deep thought before she finally spoke up. ”Mama, is snow like cloud dung?”The question was asked with such a serious face, Thymekit clearly expecting an answer.

Thymekit was sad that she had to leave her fishy friend and that fishy did not want to come with her. It seemed as if Brightstar understood fishy, though. Mama speaks fishy talk! She grinned as she saw fishy waving at her, and waved back with her tail. ”Bye fishy! Don’t let RiverClan eat you!” The little kit mewled happily.

The second Brightstar left, Thymekit was once again right in behind her. The little kit liked being able to follow someone around and not get in trouble for it. She bounced on her paws the entire way back to camp and was completely distracted by everything, so distracted she almost didn’t hear Brightstar’s question. The kit looked at the wall very hard, as if trying to come up with an answer that pleases her mother and didn’t make her sound stupid, like her brothers said. ”It look like it is hurting. It needs the medicine cat to fix it! I know where the medicine cat den is, I’ve been there lots of times!”Thymekit stared up at her mother, eyes were wide and showed excitement.

Word Count: 394
Tags: Cinder

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[Cinder]

"We can call it the snowflake clan if you want."

Thymekit had such interesting ideas of how the world worked, it was constantly suprising to Brightstar. Her views of the world were changing just like Thymekit's were. The kit was enriching her life, just like she was making the kitten's better. The answer that she got when she asked about the wall made her world shift just a little bit further.

"Today my love, you are going to be the medicine cat for the wall. Watch mama, I'll show you how to help it."

Brightstar took all of the materials that had been gathered and began to weave them into the wall. One piece at a time, she began to 'heal' the wall. After a few of pieces, she stepped aside and gave the kitten a chance.

"You weave the bottom, I'll weave the top where you can't reach. We will work together and get it done."

OOC: Sorry, I know it's short, trying to get a reply to you before work...