On the Limits [Cinder]

[Tiny]

Thymekit

Today had been her oldest brother, Falconclaw, who was to be watching her and her littermates. But her oldest brother had left to go find some fresh food for them, leaving her other brother, Ternwing, in charge. Thymekit liked Ternwing the best. He usually forgot about them and they could go and play what they wanted without being scolded by Falconclaw. It seemed all she had to do was breathe and she would get in trouble by her oldest brother. When Falconclaw had put Ternwing in charge of the three kits, he had nodded, waited until Falconclaw left, then went back in the warriors den to sleep.

It looked so pretty out here, she could just imagine that not too far from here would be a pretty flower she could give to one of her siblings. Usually she wouldn’t take a pawstep out of camp, but since her brother was not watching, she decided to get a flower for Falconclaw when he returned. Her siblings thought of her as the cat who was least likely to succeed at everything, she knew they may not say it to her to her face, but they had to be thinking it. Everyone did. She knew she wasn’t the brightest cat sometimes, she just saw the world in a different perspective. That wasn’t such a bad thing was it? Her innocence had yet to go away, and it was almost like she was fragile in a way. Her brothers were always so unhappy and always complained. But Thymekit usually had a big smile and bright eyes.

Maybe this could qualify as an adventure? Her siblings HAD been telling her to get out more and try things on her own (she tended to stay inside the nursery way too much). Would they be proud of her for this?

The little kit soon found something that stopped her in her tracks. There was a pile of small rocks/stones. Thymekit grinned and began to stack the rocks close to eachother. She then went to find more to add to her little pile. She piled the together and made herself a ‘squirrel’. It was her favorite creature. Unlike other cats, she did not eat the squirrel. She tried to speak to it and carry on a conversation. Light on her paws, the little kit grabbed some moss, and made a little tail with it. She then made another ‘squirrel’ with her remaining rocks.”I’m Thymekit and I call the meeting of the Fluffy Tails to order!” she mewled, sitting down in front of her two creations.

”Since I started the Fluffy Tails, I get to go first.” Thymekit began. ” I think we should try and grow wings so we can fly like the birds.” she announced. Noticing no one responded unhappily, she nodded. Great! That was what their first task could be!

And so the kit began to crouch down and tried with all her might to grow wings. She rolled, jumped, mewled, and whatever else she could think of that would help her grow wings. Well….that was a letdown.


Word Count: 512
Tags: Cinder

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[Cinder]

Brightstar lay in the enterance to her den and watched the clan outside. All was going well, there was no discord between the cats at the monment and all seemed to be quiet and tranquil. The sounds of cats filterd in through the opening in the great rock that served as her den and filled her ears. The sound of her clan getting along well and happy also filled her heard with a warmth. A breze rustled the needles that made up her nest ever so slightly; on it, she could smell the scents of all of her clan and the forest around them.

Slowly she got to her feet and padded out of the den. There were not many cats in the camp as they went about their daily buisness, but there were a few. A group of kits played in the clearing, seemingly unsuperised. Now that seemed odd she thought to herself, there should not be kits out of the nursury with no one to watch over them. Brightstar sat and curled her tail around her paws and watched to see what it was that was going on here.

As she watched the small puffs of fur tussel and joke among themselves, she noticed that one sat slightly apart from the others, not seeming to be as much a part of the group. She was small, a little fluffy thing with longwith long whiskers, Thymekit, that was her name. She was almost never seen as she was always in the nursury, but today she was out in the sunshine with the others.

The small kit sat deep in thought for a long moment, and then began to move toward the enterance to the camp. Slowly so as not to startle the young one, the leader followed, lightly on her paws. Slowly she followed the kit out of the camp and into the surrounding forest. Not long after getting out of the camp, she stopped and began to move a small pile of pebbles that she had found lying on the ground, after a while, they looked roughly like a squirrel, she had even added moss for the fluffy tails. She sat before them and began to speak.

Brightstar had to struggle to keep from laughing at the words that came from the baby's mouth. She had to try even harder not to laugh as the small kitten proceded to try to grow wings. After she had had her fill of watching the innocence of a small kit, she stepped out of the bushes behind her and asked:

"And how is the wing growing going?"

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

The little kit was now slightly disappointed. So maybe she couldn’t grow wings. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t find another way to fly! If anything, the little furball was determined. Her eyes glanced to the nearest tree. Even if she could fly, there was no way she could climb that tree, or any tree. She was still a couple moons from being made an apprentice, her body still had some growing before she was made an apprentice. Sure, her claws were sharp, but she didn’t have much muscle in her body. She didn’t playfight with her siblings.

Since she was no longer able to grow wings, maybe one of her friends could. ”Bushyfur. You will get to try now.” Thymekit looked at the larger of her ‘squirrel’ friends. Oh yes. She had given them names. It was sad that a kit such as herself had to resort to playing alone. But that was the life of Thymekit. Ever since the death of her siblings, Thymekit had been shunned out of the group. Her two littermates tolerated her when they had to, but mostly they made fun of her. They even had others doing it. But Thymekit tried to not let it bother her, she tried to stay in her happy little bubble. Ternwing let her stay in the bubble, he didn’t want her to grow up. Her littermates were outgrowing her both physically and mentally. She still stayed in that kit-like mindset, and she couldn’t shake it. Most kits by now had outgrown it, her brothers being kits that did the moon before. But she was in her own little world most of the time.

Being a kit, and getting caught usually left a guilty conscious. But this was Thymekit. When the leader showed up she just turned around and grinned. ”Hi Brightstar. I made me friends! I’ve never had friends before!” she mewled happily. Such a sad thought yes, but Thymekit said it with such joy and happiness. She wasn’t dwelling on the fact she had zero friends, but on the fact that she made ones to play with. This kit was very creative, that was for sure. She could think of things others only dreamed of. If someone said a silly idea to her, an idea they thought would not work, Thymekit made it her mission to find a way. Her brother told her a few days ago that she could not fit through the hole in the wall of the nursery. Obviously they had forgotten she was smaller than them. The little kit had found a way to squeeze her body through.

Her smile widened as she blinked up at Brightstar. ”I can’t seem to grow any. Maybe now that I have tried, if I rest a bit and try again tomorrow it will work.” she mewed, and there would be no doubt that Thymekit would try and try again until she grew wings. ”When I’m biggerer, I’m gonna learn how to climb trees, then I can try to fly that way!”she added excited.

Nodding to her two new friends she pointed to each with her tail. ”Brightstar, lemme introduce you to my friends. The biggerer one is Bushyfur, and the other one is Poofypoofpoof.” She turned to her ‘friends’. ”Friends, this is Brightstar.” She blinked up at Brightstar as she asked her question. ”Can my friends come back with us to camp? I need someone to play with.” Thymekit bounced on her paws, just thinking of the idea of having someone to talk to and play with. The little kit normally had zero socialization skills. Yes, she would talk to the leader, and sometimes the deputy, but usually she kept her distance from everyone else, even most of her siblings.

Thymekit began again, this time her brain had switched gears. She couldn’t do one thing for too long without her brain switching to something else. Her attention span was quite limited.”Could I be your special helper? I wanna be leader one day and maybe if I learn from the bestest leader, I can be awesome when I get biggerer. I know I’m not big enough to be an apprentice, but maybe an apprentice in training?” her eyes were wide and hopeful as she spoke.

Word Count: 710
Tags: Cinder

 

[Cinder]

The leader stepped out of the bushes and sat next to the kitten and curled her tail around her paws. Her eyes were filled with pain and pitty as she looked at the ball of fluff before her. She could remember feeling like the odd cat out when she was young, and it was not something that had been easy to deal with. The kitten seemed to be handling it well with the nievety of the very young, but Brightstar felt that that would eventually wear off.

Brightstar looked at the kit and smiled. Then and there she decided that she would do all that was in her power to protect and keep the kitten happy. She had a plan that she was going to put into action as soon as they were back in camp. She wanted to be the mother and guardian that this baby was lacking. To help and guide her along in the path through life and be the friends that she clearly did not have.

"You most certainly can bring your friends home, we would be more than happy to have them. And I would be more than happy to have you as my special assistant, but in order to assist me, you should come and stay with me in my den. That way if I need you to do important things you will be close."

She smiled down at the kitten and waited to see what whe would have to say to such an arrangement.

"Here, why don't you let me try to help you fly?"

Brightstar went about gathering rocks and stones and piling them on on top of another, and then she found a piece of bark that would span across them. She picked up the kit by the scruff and dropped her on the end that was touching the ground, and then told her to stay there. After she had gathered moss, leaves, and pine needles and made them into a cushion, she grinned at the kit.

"Here we go, get ready to fly!"

Brightstar took a ste0p back and jumpped on the end of the bark that was off of the ground opposite the kitten, and launched her into the air. The ball of fluff travelled just above her head and landed right in the center of the cushion that Brightstar had made to keep her safe. She sat and watched to see what Thymekit thought about flying.

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

The look she was receiving from the leader was one that she saw from her big brother, Ternwing, all the time….when she could wake him and he was watching her. She didn’t know exactly what that look meant, but she seemed to get it when others wouldn’t play with her and she was left out or when she spoke to things most other cats ignored. Thymekit wasn’t completely oblivious to what others thought of her, sure she knew deep down what it all was, but she choose to be innocent and carefree and happy instead. Or maybe she really was just like that, maybe she was just completely oblivious and didn’t know what was going on. Either way, she wasn’t going to let anyone else see, she probably didn’t know which best described her herself.

The smile that Brightstar got in return was one of the widest this kit had ever given anyone. She could bring her friends back home! The kit let out a little mewl of excitement. Thymekit couldn’t wait to show her siblings her new friend. Wait! She couldn’t do that. No, her brothers would probably tell her to take it back. But maybe they would listen if Brightstar told them. But Brightstar continued and just made this the best day of her entire life, all four moons of it. She got to be the special assistant for the leader. The kits eyes were so wide with excitement, it was a wonder they weren’t bursting from her head.

Thymekit was sure her entire mouth had dropped to the ground at the next thing out of the leader’s mouth. Seriously, she had to be dreaming right now. She smacked herself several times with her paw to make sure she was seriously in this moment right now. When Thymekit could finally compose herself and she could move her body, she simply nodded, agreeing to everything said so far. ”I don’t think anyone has ever wanted me to stay with them. Of course I would! Me and my friends would love to! Does this mean I get a new nest? I would love a nest that isn’t hogged by my brothers. They take up all the fluffy parts, and they kick my head when we sleep.” Thymekit mewed, not as a complaint but more of a statement, like something that just flew out of her mouth.

Her head tilted to the side as she listened and nodded. Sure, why not. If she could help, she was all for allowing someone to help her. Usually they just ignored her ideas, but here was someone engaging in her idea and wanting to help her. Not help her and make fun of her, but truly want to help her. Thymekit sat and watched, curious as to what Brightstar was doing. She didn’t even blink when she was picked up by the scruff. Her brothers seemed to do this quite often. She was their toy they enjoyed dragging everywhere. She knew exactly how to act. No squirming, no talking, no looking at anything other than the ground, those were the rules that the bigger kits made up.

She was then put down and told to stay still, for most kits that was hard. But this was Thymekit. She just nodded and waited. She nodded once more when she was asked if she was ready to fly. ”I’m ready. Hopefully I won’t need wings.” Thymekit mewed.

When she was launched, Thymekit let out a squeak at first, and then began to flap her tail trying to get herself higher, but then it was over and she had landed into the safety of the nest made. The grin could not be wiped off of Thymekit’s face. She was laughing now, yes she would smile, but laughing was something not heard much of. ”I just flewed! I’m not just a cat, I’m part bird! I knew it! Thank you for helping me prove it.” Thymekit mewed, running to Brightstar and purring around her in thanks.

Word Count: 668
Tags: Cinder

 

[Cinder]

Brightstar put her head down on the same level as the kitten, and rubbed her face down her side. Her heart was warmed by the reception that she had gotten from this idea, and she was happy to have the ball of fluff with her. She smiled down at Thymepaw and then got up and began to move into the forest.

"Why don't you leave your friends here to play for a moment, while we go and find some food. I have not eaten, and my belly is starting to grumble. What about you? Are you hungry?"

She padded out of the clearing and into the forest. As she did so, a squirrel was playing at the roots of a tree and burrying nuts for the winter that was to come. Brightstar walked out of the undergrowth and straight past the creature, theses were not food for her, not now. When they got to a place that was somewhat closed in, she stopped and waite for Thymekit to stand next to her. She leaned down so that her voice was just a whisper in the kits ear.

"Stop and use your senses. What do you see, what do you smell, what do you hear?"

Brightstar did not expect much from the kit, after all she was just a kit. But she was sure going to give her the oppertunity. Brightstar knew that she was a smart kit, and she was going to give her all of the opportunities that she had not had before. This kit would not suffer or want for the things that she did now. She would always have a friend, and somone that she could come to with any problems that she had. She would never again be alone in the way that she was now. She knew that there was a mouse that was skittering around in the leaves just ahead of them. Brightstar could smell it in the glands on the roof of her mouth, and she could hear its tiny heart beat, and its small paws skittering in the dirt.

"Watch."

Brightstar crouched low to the ground and padded in the direction of the creature. She crept up closer and closer, and then sprang on top of it. It only took a second for her to kill her prey and send a thank you to Starclan. She brought it back and laid it infront of the kitten offering the first bite to her. When she had taken some, Brightstar took a bite and sat chewing. When they were done, she burried the bones and led the baby back to where they had left her 'friends'.

Brightstar gathered up Thymekit's friends and helped her carry them back to camp. She took them right to her den, here she could play with her friends in peace without cats making fun of her and looking on with prying eyes. After she had done so, she looked at the fluffy once again.

]font color="045a04"]"Why don't we go and get some things for a new nest? You can put it anywhere in my den you like, but I think you need something fluffier than the one in the nursury, what do you say?"

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Every smile she received from the leader was returned, and Thymekit was staring up. ”You have really pretty eyes.” she mewed randomly.

Thymekit nodded at the leader’s suggestion. Now that she thought about it, she had not eaten anything yet. Her brothers had pushed her out of the way of food this morning. That wasn’t something unusual, it happened quite often. She didn’t complain because she didn’t want them to get into trouble. She could go without a meal or two, she had done it often because of her siblings. They told her they always got first dibs because they were bigger and older. She just went along with it, how could she argue with that? She usually only received food when they were either finished, or not hungry. Usually it was only the scraps of a meal, but it was something.

Looking at her two friends she sighed. She hated leaving them here all by themselves. They might cause way too much trouble. Getting onto her paws and sitting between her friends she sighed. ”You two stay here. I will be right back. I promise. Oh..and don’t try and fight with eachother. I will know when I get back if you two behaved.” She glared at each of them before getting back on her paws to follow Brightstar.

As they padded into the forest, Thymekit was overwhelmed by all the sites. She felt so small in the forest, now that she was able to see it all. She giggled as she made her way behind the leader, attacking every leaf she found on the way. She had made a game of try and catch a leaf without it touching the ground. Thymekit had found this task to be difficult, especially since she didn’t have much coordination. She still had that kit-like body and without too many muscles it was hard for her to balance.

When they stopped at Brightstar asked the question, Thymekit blinked at the leader. ”I smell flowers! I bet they are pretty too!” As a kit, she could distinguish the scents of cats in her clan, along with a few others, but she didn’t have a mother to teach her these things. All she had was Falconclaw who seemed to want to hunt and fight more than take the time to teach her things. No one seemed to have the patience. ”I hear my tail swishing from being so happy. And I see pretty leaves. They look so battiful. Like they just want me to bat them with my paws.” she mewed.

Before she could open her mouth to say anything else, Thymekit was told to watch. What she was going to watch, she had no clue. But she might as well, its not like she knew what to do anyway. So this is what it was like to hunt! ”That was awesomeness! I wanna try!” she exclaimed, trying to mock exactly what she had just seen. The only exception is that Thymekit’s lack of muscles in her legs made it difficult for her to jump up too high in the air. She ended up falling and landing on her nose. When she got up she twitched a little and shook it off. Well…that was awkward.

And it was then she was offered something she had never had before, the first bite of a meal. She gasped at the thought and a huge grin appeared. ”I can have first bite, really? I usually just get whatever is left!” she mewed, clearly excited that she was getting new experiences. She took a tentative bite at first and grinned. This was so much better than scraps! It was warmer and juicier and made her tummy feel better. She could only eat another bite before she was full, her stomach was not accustomed to so much food.

Once again, the kit followed after Brightstar as the leader went back to where her friends had been left. She enjoyed following the leader, it was like she was part of her shadow. It soon turned into a game for the little kit, she stepped in the pawsteps of the leader. Each of her little paws were stepping in one of the pawsteps, and the kit was mewling with delight. She had never felt so carefree than at this moment. She was spending time with the leader of the clan. How many kits could say this? But as the entered camp, she could feel her siblings watching her. Her brothers were staring at her curiously. They looked like they were waiting for someone to yell at her for going out of camp. Knowing them, they would probably enjoy seeing her get in trouble. Now she was in the leaders den and she could look at her friends again, she sighed in happiness, this just felt right. There were no brothers, no one to make fun of her (even though she would never admit that this upsets her), and she was free just to be herself.

At this moment, Thymekit didn’t believe that her life could get any better. But yet more words from Brightstar quickly shoved that thought aside. She gasped at the suggestion. She could have a brand new nest, one that wasn’t filled with thorns. ”A nest without thorns? You have got to be kidding me!” the little kit was close to just falling to the floor and seeing how real this was. She seriously had to be dreaming right now. Looking at the leader, Thymekit whispered, “Can my nest be close to yours? I get cold easy. I didn’t tell my brothers cause they would make fun of me.” She was almost scared to ask the question. ”You have the bestest ideas ever. Can we get some feathers for my nest?” Thymekit had not yet realized her life was about to be changed for good. In her mind, she thought this was something that was just for a few days. No one had ever offered her this amount of kindness before. Why should it last? The kit couldn’t help but stare up at Brightstar with wonder and amazement. Was this what it felt like to have a mother?

Word Count: 1,029
Tags: Cinder

 

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[Cinder]

Brightstar watched Thymekit practically jump in joy at the thought of having a nest of her own. When she asked if it could be close to her own, and told her why, a flash of anger shot through her. Not at the kit, but at those that had been around her, there wass no reason that the kit should have to be afraid to admit to anthing. Brightstar was careful not to let it show on her face, but she was not happy about that. Instead she smiled and nodded to the question. After thinking for a moment, she walked to her nest and began to spread the old bedding out into a ring of sorts, one that would be big enough for the both of them. After the nest was nothing more than a hollow ring on the ground, she turned back to the kit.

"Thank you, no one has ever told me that before. We can put anything that you like in the nest, but we need a layer of pine needles on the bottom to keep us warm. Come on."

Brightstar led the way out of the den and back into the forest. Gathering a pile of soft needles, she pilled them onto a large leaf for taking them back to camp. Next she found some soft spongy moss that she knew would be comfortable and help to insulate as well and added that to the pile. After a while of searching, she was able to find a spot where there had once been baby birds, as they had gotten older they had shed the soft down of youth. Brightstar gathered a all that there was to be had of that and added it all to the pile that she had made. After dragging it back to camp, she filled the ring with all of the materials. She laid down the needles first, and then the moss on top of that, last of all was the fluff of feathers. There were enough of these that it made a thick layer on top. Perfect for a kit that had had nothing. Dropping her into the nest that she had made, she looked expectantly at the kitten.

"What do you think? Think it will be warm enough for us?"

It grieved her to know that the kit had missed out on so much, the poor thing did not even get enough to eat. She was small for her age, but the way that she had eaten the mouse, Brightstar knew that she did not get nearly enough to eat while she was with the others. There was no reason for this at all.

Now it was time to do some work with the kitten, she knew that she was smart. Today she would learn to use her senses. She batted at the kit lightly with a front paw and then padded to the entrance, knowing that Thymekit would follow her. Brightstar liked her little shadow. It had not been long at all since she had taken her in, but she could not imagine not having her. She padded just outside of the camp and into a small grove of trees that stood some way apart from eachother, here would be perfect for her plan.

Brightstar sat before the kitten and began.

"Close your eyes. Open your mouth and breathe in. Tell me what you smell, not flowers this time, what living things do you smell? Listen with your ears, what do you hear? What sounds do you hear? This is how we start to learn to hunt."

Brightstar watched and waited.

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Thymekit was doing her best to be patient and sit still, but she was a kit, and it was a difficult thing to do. She had remembered when she was younger how her brother had gotten on to her because her paws were usually twitching with excitement at just seeing a leaf fall down. She had been the only she-kit of the litter to survive, so she was expected to act respectful and kind to others. But Thymekit had always been a little….different. Expectations were high for the kit, but her mind was elsewhere. Ever since the death of her siblings, the kit just seemed off. It was like her brain just was some unique place that no one but her understood. Her sister had understood her, and so had her other brother. Unfortunately both of them died quickly and Thymekit never had the chance to say goodbye. Thymekit grieved differently than others, her process was still ongoing. She was using the things that she created (the friends from rocks, and other creations) as a replacement for her siblings. It was why she was so torn apart if and when her ‘creations’ were destroyed.

She watched curiously as Brightstar was making changes to her nest. What was the leader doing? The little kit’s eyes were full of questions, ones that she probably would not asked. She had learned not to ask questions with her brothers, they never answered them. Habits she had learned were going to be hard to break, especially for this innocent kit. For example her eating more than one bite of food, or taking food other than scraps was going to take quite some time to get her to do. She had been taught one way for this long, and changing her ways completely was not only scary but hard to retrain her brain to do (her brain was already a confusing place to begin with).

The tiny kit was eager to follow after the leader, she took every pawstep Brightstar did. Now that Thymekit had found someone who actually showed her attention, it was going to be hard for her to not be near the leader. She hoped this was not some big prank, Thymekit was all in with this and she couldn’t be more excited. She had gotten the one thing she had always wanted, a mother-like figure. She just nodded at Brightstar’s words. She didn’t know what it was like to make a nest warm, she just usually laid down and curled up into the tightest ball possible and hoped she could get warm. She looked at the big leaf that Brightstar had found and mewled with delight, at first the kit thought it was something for her to jump on, and she did for a few moments. But something had caught her eye while Brightstar was collecting other items. The kit grabbed it and placed it on the leaf gently. Looking at Brightstar she grinned. “I founded this for you. It is pretty and makes me think of you.”Thymekit mewed, pointing with her tail to the shell of a bird egg she had found hidden away.

The return to camp was very similar to the trek out of it. Thymekit followed close behind Brightstar, practically on her paws, not even minding about personal space. Thymekit was just trying to stick to Brightstar and be as close as possible. She looked at the once bare ring and now it looked like the most beautiful nest ever! When she was picked up, the kit went limp. She was so used to having her siblings pick her up and complain that she was too squirmy that she stayed completely still. When she was placed in the nest of fluff, the first sound out of her mouth was a gasp. It was so soft and it was so nice. Her eyes were full of disbelief as she looked at Brightstar. Her claws were flexing in the softness and a grin was on her face. She was having so much fun until she heard one of her brothers across camp and their voice triggered something in her.

She quickly got out of the nest and began breathing hard. She couldn’t take it. She really couldn’t. ”I can’t do it. I can’t sleep there. I don’t deserve it. I just can’t.” Thymekit’s mind was going back to the words she had been told over and over. She didn’t deserve the first bite of food, she didn’t deserve anything. She had loved the thought of it but now that it was a reality she just couldn’t. ”Please don’t be mad. I’ll try to be good.” Thymekit was quick to add.

When Brightstar pawed at her, the kit mewled and took a step back. How was she suppose to respond to that? No one had ever tried to play with her, well ever since her sister had died. She couldn’t remember what it was like to play with someone that was alive. Sometimes her brain would trick her and she would think her ‘friends’ were actually alive. The kit had pretty much zero social skills. She just didn’t understand how to interact with living things, much less another cat. In her family she was shunned, and the most interaction she received was when Ternwing would let her play with his tail. She liked it when that big brother watched her. He made things fun and had once let her sleep in the warriors den with him when the night had turned cold. Her oldest brother had found out and had frowned, saying that Thymekit needed to toughen up and was not to be taken out of the nursery again.

And now the leader was taking off again. Where were they going this time? It really didn’t matter to Thymekit, she was as close to Brightstar as possible, doing her best to keep up, but she was starting to become tired. The kit’s short legs were starting to hurt, she had never walked so much in her short life before. She let a sigh of relief when Brightstar stopped and the kit sat down.

She listened and nodded. Okay, step one close her eyes. She could do that. Doing this made the little kit yawn. Maybe not getting much sleep lately was starting to affect her. Wait…no…she couldn’t let Brighstar see it. She wanted to spend as much time with the leader as she could. She didn’t know how long this would last and she wanted to remember every moment. She opened her mouth and breathed in but became confused. There were so many different scents around. She almost felt overwhelmed. Brightstar mentioned living things and not flowers. What classified as a living thing? Thymekit thought everything was living. Her brain registered her friends as real, but her brothers said they were fake. How was she able to distinguish between real and not real? ”I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I’m too stupid. I don’t know what a living thing is. I can’t find anything.” she mewed sadly. The kit lacked confidence, she always had. The stupid word was something she heard more often than any other. She wasn’t dumb, she knew what the word meant. She acted like it didn’t bother her but now that she was seeing just how much she couldn’t do, it was really starting to settle in. ”You might need a new helper. I’m not very good at this. My brothers are good at this and they fight good. They said the best way for me to help the clan is to go straight to the elders den and skip being an apprentice. They said I won’t be good enough and any mentor will not want me.” Thymekit was getting upset and frustrated. She couldn’t do anything. The sounds were overwhelming her and she couldn’t separate them. True, she was still two moons from being an apprentice and most did not learn this until they were a bit into their apprenticeship, but Thymekit saw every opportunity she was given as a moment that she needed to know how to do then and there. ”I don’t want to disappoint you or give you hope that I’m going to be a good helper. I know I’m not like the others. I’m not as strong or smart, or anything.” her head was hung sadly as she tried not to look at Brightstar. She was just wasting the leader’s time.


Word Count: 1,410
Tags: Cinder

 

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[Cinder]

[blckquote]

As she placed the kit in the nest, she could hear the voices of the other kits filter in through the opening in the rock. Thymekit heard them too, and she knew it by the way that she reacted. As she hopped out of the nest and started to becktrack. She knew that the kit truly wanted all that she was given, but she did not think that it was for real, and if it was, she did not deserve it. Brightstar also knew why she felt this way and intended to deal with it later.

"Thymekit, you are going to sleep in this nest with me. There is no reason that you should feel that you do not deserve this, I say you do, and I am the leader so it must be true right?"

As Brightstar reached out and touched the kit, she knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her. The kitten stiffened and looked back with a look of almost terror on her face. She did not know how to play, or joke around, that was deffinately something that was going to have to change. She was a kit, and should have all of the fun in the world, and the people that surrounded her were doing nothing but holding her back. Brightstar was going to make her fly, not hold her to the ground like they did.

She padded out of the den. On the way out, she stopped and called the other kittends over to them. The brothers of Thymekit wobbled over on small legs and sat before them. Brightstar also sat and curled her tail around Thymekit as of to protect her. Looking the other kits straight in the eye, she made her speech.

"Thymekit is my special helper now. She will be staying with me in my den and helping me during the day. If I find that any of you so much as give her a dirty look you will be picking ticks off of the elders behinds for months! You are not to pick on her at all, if you do, she will tell me. You will not be mean to her any longer. Now scoot!"

All of the kittens scattered in different directions and Brightstar nodded to herself. She padded out of the entrance and into the forest beyond. As she sat the kit down, she could see that this was not going to go well eather. More evidence of what her 'family' had done to her. The kitten was very upset with herself, and Brightstar was deeply sorry for asking this of her now. She did not know how it was going to affect her. Her heart ripped in half as she saw the reaction. Softly she pulled the kit to her side and lifted her face with a paw untill they locked eyes.

"I never want you to say or think any of those things again. You deserve all that you are getting. This is not some short term thing my love, I want you to be with me always. I want you to stay with me, and share all of your thoughts with me. I want to meet all of your friends like the bushytails, and you can tell me anything. The egg that you gave me is so pretty, I will keep it in my den always. You are not stupid, at all. You are very smart, smarter than most other kits your age, you are just a little different and they don't know how special that is; but I do. Do not be upset because you can not do it right now, you are still young, but I am going to help you. We will learn all of the scents together, I just wanted to see where we need to start. When I was a kit I couldn't tell what any of them were either, so we are the same. But never think that you are stupid, never ever."

The leader licked the top of the kits head in affection. She knew that she must be getting tired. She leapt into a nearby bush and in a moment returned with not one, but two fat mice. She gave one to the kit and ate the other herself. When she had watched the kitten eat all of her meal, and was satisfied, she started to make her way home. After a few paw steps, she tirned and picked the kit upagain, but this time she placed her on her back, right between her shoulders where she would not fall off. Brightstar knew that this was a lot of walking and the kitten myst be worn out.

Moving carefully, she carried them both into her den and slid Thymekit off into the nest. Carefully, she got in and curled herself around the ball of fluff, her tail laying over Thymekit like a blanket. She pulled the kitten close to her body and laid her head down.

[/b][/b][/b][/div]

[Tiny]

Thymekit

Living in the world Thymekit had grown up in was one that few could survive. If it hadn’t been for the kit’s innocent ways, there was no way she could have survived. She had been forced to do so much and she had hardly understood anything. Before her littermates had died (well the ones that she trusted) she had been one of those kits that was thought to have a bright future. She was active, played with the other kits, and was very social with cats. But once her sister and brother died, it was as if Thymekit’s sane side left her body. She couldn’t understand simple commands or things anymore, it was almost as if her body had shut down on her. It had taken her nearly three days to eat a piece of food, and ever since that day she became very twitchy yet very spacy. Without a mother to raise her, it was almost as if the kit thought she was a tom. All she had was older brothers (her older sister seemed to pull away from her), and all Thymekit wanted to do was follow them around. But they would always pick her up and put her back in the nursery, which is why she never really went outside the nursery.

All of these nice things Brightstar was doing could not last. Nothing lasted for more than a day in her world. Everything usually came crashing down and she just pushed all the feelings aside. As Brightstar began to speak again, she heard nothing other than the first sentence. She hung onto those words tightly. She was going to get to sleep in a nest with the leader? She wasn’t going to be alone at night. She wouldn’t be cold. Her mouth was hanging wide open as she stared. ”I…uhh…thank you!”Thymekit mewed. Her eyes were showing that she wanted to go to Brightstar and just hide in her fur, but her body wouldn’t move. She had been hurt way too much to be able to get that close.

Having fun to Thymekit was sitting all alone and playing with whatever her mind created. It was true, she didn’t know how to play. Her memories of play were far in the back of her mind. She had been too little to remember. She had been isolated for far too long. It was like she was a newborn kit again, starting her life over. The second Brighstar was up and going toward the exit of the den, Thymekit was once again right on her paws. Only when she had done what the little kit had never thought she would do. She cowered in fear behind Brightstar, actually allowing the leader to pull her close. She thought Brightstar was handing her back over to her brothers, and all this kindness was some big joke. But what happened next left the already speechless kit completely confused. Someone was standing up for her.

Thymekit was highly upset and it was hard to breathe. But Brightstar brought her back from her scared place with just some soothing words. Not saying or thinking those things would be hard. She had it like that for so long. Someone actually wanted her? She gasped in surprise. ”I’ll try to think it, but I can’t promise anything. Falconclaw always says my mind is a scary place to be.” But what struck the little kit the most is that Brightstar had said they were the same. Thymekit found this hard to believe. Looking to the ground she sighed. ”My big brother said I’m suppose to know how to do all this stuff by now. He said I’m too slow to understand the different scents and ignored me and spent time with my littermates and taught them how to.” But Thymekit had not known what slow had meant. She just thought it meant that she needed to speed up learning, not that she was mentally slow.

There it was again, another showing of affection, this time a lick on her head. Thymekit shrinked closer to the ground. How was one to react in this type of situation? Shaking her head in confusion she then watched as Brightstar went away for a few moments. The little kit was scared. She was out of camp, without her friends or anyone and Brightstar had left her. Thymekit started to breathe heavily, no this couldn’t be happening. It was too good to be true, and she knew it. This moment proved it. She was just going to be left here and nothing else mattered. But Brightstar held true to her promise, she came back and had food with her. The kit stared at the food for quite the longest time. It was a whole mouse. She had never had an entire mouse before. She dove in quickly, eating until it was all gone. She felt as if that she had to eat it all, so nothing would go to waste. But her stomach was starting to hurt now. Thymekit wasn’t used to more than a couple bites of food, much less an entire mouse. She let out a pitiful mewl and was thankful the moment her paws left the ground. The leader had picked her up. She was on the leader’s back and definitely made sure to be still this time, she didn’t want to fall off.

”Bye squirrel and bird.” she mewed, looking toward a nearby tree. And that was Thymekit. She couldn’t tell you the scent of something if she had to, but in her brain she really knew how, she just couldn’t say it out loud. For example, she had known that bird and squirrel were there the entire time. But it had just now registered in her mind.

Thymekit had almost passed out from exhaustion on Brightstar’s back. But she managed to keep herself awake. After so much walking and then that huge meal, the kit was barely awake. The moment she was placed in the nest and her paws were on the ground, she plopped down. She didn’t even care if she was comfortable right now, she had slept in far worse. She curled herself into a ball, her tailtip touching her nose. It was how the kit had grown used to sleeping so she wouldn’t freeze. The kit was almost asleep when Brightstar joined her in the nest. She let out a yawn and didn’t even shy away when she realized she was very close to the leader. She slightly uncurled herself when the warmth of the leader’s tail soon filled her small body.

She looked up to Brightstar and grinned. ”Thank you for the bestest day ever and for standing up to my brothers. You are the bestest mama ever.” Thymekit froze after a few moments and thought back to what she had said. ”I’m sorry I didn’t mean to call you that, I don’t know why I did it. I promise I won’t do it again. I’ll even leave if you need me to.” Thymekit mewled quickly, getting onto her paws, shakily and starting to leave.



Word Count: 1,183
Tags: Cinder

 

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[Cinder]

"Goodbye squirrel and bird."

So she knew that they were there, she just didn't know that she knew. Brightstar would have to work with her on that, the skills were there and she knew more than she gave herself credit for. She was sad that Thymekit had been told such lies. She had a defferent learning style yes, but slow, no. She was far from slow, just a little different. There was no reason that she should feel the way that she did.

Brightstar was careful to jostle the kit as little as possible on the way back to camp. She knew that she was falling asleep perched there and was careful not to let her fall. The feelings that she felt towards this kit was like no other, there was nothing that could compare to the love that she felt for the little ball of fur. She wanted nothing to ever happen to her baby, and she would protect her untill death. Her baby? Where did that thought come from? That was a dangerous thought, maybe she didn't want a mama. Maybe she didn't want Brightstar as a mama.

The world came to a stop at the words that came from the kittens mouth. She had called her mama. It had come out so natural, without a question to it in the slightest. It was a title that she knew she wanted, but thought that she would never have. Brightstar gathered the kitten against her as she tried to get out of the nest, and simply held her for a moment, purring softly to her to let her know that it was alright.

"Where do you think you are going Fluffy? I do not want you to leave. This is not something that is going to go away or change, you are going to stay with me from now on. Not just tomorrow, not just for the next moon, forever. There is nothing that you can do that will make me want to send you away. You can call me what you like, if you want me to be your mama, i will be your mama. Never appoligize for saying something that you are thiniing to me. You can always tell me anything and say anything. Never be afraid to be yourself."


Brightstar curled herself around the kitten and laid her tail over her like a blanket once again. She was comfortable here, and happier than she had been in a long long time.

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

The more that she had thought about it, the more she wished she could have spent a few more moments saying goodbye to the squirrel and bird properly. Knowing Thymekit, that would have probably meant she would want to go and try to speak to the creatures. It was actually something else different about this kit. She could go up to live animals and they wouldn’t run, like their instincts would tell them. They knew there was something different about this kit. She didn’t want to hurt them, just play or talk. She once was able to watch a bird for quite some time. Her time had been interrupted by one of her brothers coming to get her and scaring the bird away. What saddened her the most was not being able to find that bird ever again.

If the trip to camp would have been just a few moments longer, there was no doubt that little Thymekit would have been fast asleep. The kit was so tired and exhausted that she would most likely have quite a long sleep. It wasn’t unusual for this kit to sleep more than a few hours at a time. Usually, she would sleep a couple hours and wake up, and just look at the sky. It was a rare night for her to sleep the entire time. But it seemed like tonight this little furball would be out the entire night and well into the morning.

The sleep was gone from her body in just the few moments Thymekit had realized her mistake. She had thought for sure she was going to chase off Brightstar with her words. But Brightstar had only brought her closer and purred. That could be taken as a good sign, right? But the words the leader was continuing to say over and over was starting to somewhat register in her mind. The leader actually wanted her, not just in the clan, but like Thymekit was her own kit. Brightstar had said forever. The kit gasped at this. Forever was super serious. It would still take some convincing each day for her to truly believe this, but in this moment the kit was starting to think she wasn’t completely useless.

”I’ve never had a mama before.”Thymekit whispered. Maybe this is exactly what the little kit needed. She looked up at Brighstar for a moment and thought about it. She had never called anyone mama before. She didn’t see what it could hurt, after all Brightstar was currently doing things her real mother probably would have done. ”I call you mama from now on.” she decided with a nod. She curled herself back up again, and it was a rare thing, but it soon happened. Thymekit was purring, something she had not done since her siblings had died. It would take the kit some time to be able to fully accept everything that had happened today, but she was on the road to it.

The last thought on the kit’s mind before she fell asleep was that she could get used to this life. Pretty soon the little kit was out like a light, still in her little ball, but up next to Brightstar.




Word Count: 535
Tags: Cinder

[Cinder]

The look on the kit's face could only be described as one of pure astonishement. With eaach word that came from the leader's mouth, Thymekit's eyes grew rounder and larger in disbelief. There was no reason that this kit had to sit in wonder of the fact that somone wanted her, and yet here they were. Brightstar's heart gave a painful clench at the thought. When she was finished, there was a moment of silence, and then the kit gave a nod, and relaxed.

Now it was Brightstar's turn to be amazed. The words that came from the kitten's mouth left her in a state of wonder, and amazement. She had never thought that she would hear those words come from somones mouth. She never thought that she wauld get to bear the title of mama. She thought that it was something that was beyond her grasp. And now here it was, blinking up at her.

A warmth spread through her chest and filled her whole being. It was the most wonderful thing that she had ever felt, and she knew that it was because of her little fur ball. As she looked at the kit, it grew. This must be what a true mother felt when she looked at her kit. Pure, unrestrained, unfiltered love. Nothing that the kit could ever do would dim the feeling and she knew it. It was the strongest feeling that Brightstar had ever felt in her life.

As the kitten curled back up in the nest, her heart got even fuller. The warmth and weight of the kitten laying against her, was nothing but pure comfort. Brightstar settled further into the nest and laid her tail back over the kitten. She would lay here all night and keep her baby warm and happy. Nothing would ever happen to Thymekit as long as Brightstar was around. She ould give all of her nine lives to save the life of this one kit without so much as a second thought.

A strange sound made it to her ears and she looked down, once again astonished. They had thought that maybe the kit was not capable of purring. No one could remember hearing the sound come from the kitten, let alone in the volume that it eminated from her now. Slowly it quieted, and then dropped off all together. Brightstar regretted that such a beautiful sound was gone, and vowed that the kitten would be this hapy all the time now that she was her own.

Brightstar put a paw out over the kitten and pulled her closer, then lay her own head down and closed her eyes. Thoughts of how things could have been so different had Thymekt been born to her. The kit would never have wanted the things that she longed for now. She would not yern for friends the way that she did now, and she would not lack the mother that she so despirately. She stoped the thoughts there. Brightstar was glad that it had all happened the way that it had. If it had not, Thymekit would be much different than she was now, and she loved her as she was. And if she had had kits of her own, she felt that it would not be as meaningful as having this kit was. Of course she would love her own, but she would not have known what it was like to lack them either, and that could make a big difference. That was the last thought that she had before she fell asleep.

...........

The light streamed through the opening in the den. As Brightstar opened her eyes, she blinked at the brightness, and lifted her head. She knew that it was long past the time that the leader should be awake, and was thrown for a moment. She was so used to no sleep at all, and now here she was sleeping in late? That was an odd occurance. Remembering all that has happened yesterday, she looked down to the ball of fluff that lay within the curve of her body. A tiny foot stuck out, and the other covered the eyes of a still sleeping Thymekit.

After watching her sleep for a moment, Brightstar nudged the kitten gently with her nose and spoke soft loving words.

"Good morning my love. It is long past the time that we should be awake."

Gently, she began to wash the top of the kitten's head and prepare her for the day. All the while purring softly.

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[Tiny]

Thymekit

Time is what she needed to get used to the entire situation. Time is what she needed to come to terms with everything that had happened in just one day. Time is what she needed to process it all. And now she had it. She had all the time she needed, after all she had been promised forever. She was grateful that she now had all the time that she could ever want or need. All of this was quite the adjustment. Love was not something she had really been shown, or even compassion. It wasn’t like the little kit herself was dead inside, she just was confused. For a little over two moons she had been taught to just stay out of everyone’s way. It was better if she just found a spot and stuck to it…or else she would get yelled at.

But the best feeling in the world was having someone who actually wanted her, who didn’t mind that she wasn’t like the others. It was someone who didn’t eat the whole meal and then just give her the leftovers, she was offered first bite. She wasn’t made fun of for having made up friends and not real ones. No, this is what love was. It would take some time for this kit to understand this, but it was a small step in the right direction. Calling Brightstar ‘mama’ for the first time just felt right. Even after she said it again, she could feel herself saying that more and more. No longer would the kit think of Brightstar as the leader, she would think of her as her mother.

Thymekit had forgotten what it felt like to be able to curl up next to someone and share their warmth. It was such a nice feeling, and to not feel so cold…this was the life. The simple things that most cats took for granted was what Thymekit was now experiencing. She had a warm bed, something she couldn’t remember having, a completely full tummy (which she still felt a little nauseous about), and someone who cared about her. That was three things she did not have just a day ago. And she was sure those three things would grow into more the longer she was around Brightstar.

It had been thought that this was a kit who just was unable to purr. After the death of her siblings, it was feared that the kit just had lost the ability to purr. It wasn’t something rare, some cats just did not have the vocal cords to be able to purr. They thought that somehow Thymekit’s had been injured in the death of the siblings. Thymekit just didn’t know how to anymore. She didn’t have a reason to. Her life had turned into rough times. It was hard to figure out how to purr. But now that she had a reason to actually live, and to have someone who cared about her again, it seemed as it had been fixed. The sensation actually felt different in her throat and it wouldn’t a surprise if it started to happen more often now that she knew she was capable.

The kit loved that Brightstar had pulled her closer. She could feel it subconsciously and the kit snuggled into the warmth. At somepoint during the night, the kit had turned to face Brightstar and had her face buried deep into her fur.
As morning came, for the first time Thymekit was not up before the sun. Normally the kit was up and watching the rest of the nursery wake up. The experience from yesterday really had taken a toll on the kit and she had clearly been exhausted. When she had felt herself being awoken, the little kit blinked her eyes open slowly, her head lifting slightly to look at Brighstar. She had almost forgotten about yesterday, in fact she had thought it was all just a dream. But she was asleep in the leader’s den. In the exact same nest, and the leader was looking at her with those same eyes. No, she was finally where she needed to be. It had not been some dream, and the forever promise was still real.

Blinking to Brightstar she grinned. ”Mama, I not hungry. My tummy feels funny.” the little kit mewled softly. Her stomach was turning in circles it seemed. The kit had too much to eat last night and it was catching up with her now. It would take the little body some time to get used to eating, and eating as much as she had last night had made the little kit sick. It was too much too soon. The amount she ate in just that one meal was what she normally had for about four meals. It would be surprising to see this kit eat again before tomorrow. It would just take baby steps for her to be able to eat more. But the way she had said ‘mama’ was like she had been saying it for moons. It was like something had finally clicked in the kit’s brain. And as of this moment, Thymekit thought of Brightstar as nothing more than her mother.

She let out a mewl of surprise when she was licked and tried to back away. ”No bath Mama!” she mewled. The little kit was dirty, yes, but the one thing that made her just like any other kit is she hated baths. Instead of receiving one every day like her brothers, Thymekit usually received one once every few weeks. Her elder siblings had given up on it because she was so squirmy as a little kit, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to bathe herself just yet. She sat down on her back paws so she could look up at Brightstar. ”Mama, can we go act like fishies and swim?” she asked.



Word Count: 978
Tags: Cinder