a new meaning |p|

[poppy]

// @Naiad @Quasar @Peril

The moons that had followed her love's death had moved by, every tedious, miserable day she spent without the familiar flash of emerald eyes and murmured "i love yous" in the mornings, every day just blurred into one another, just a nightmare that never ended. There were very few nights that she didn't have to leave the warrior's den, for fear that her sobs would wake up her Clanmates, and those few nights she spent in the warrior's den were restless, full of nightmares as she lay in the nest that her beloved mate and her had shared, sensing with every day that past, Brightpath's scent faded away more and more. The faintest whisp (though she was sure she was only imagining it now) of Brightpath's scent laced the bottom of the nest, where their bodies had lay curled tightly together those nights.

Behind the strong, painful grief that flooded the warrior's body, was fury. Fury at the world for making her suffer, fury at Thrushfur for disrespecting her and her mate, fury at Sparrowstar for giving Thrushfur the job, fury at her parents for leaving and at Rainhound and Bushtuft for disappearing around the same time as Brightpath died. Fury at those in the warrior's den who ignored her sobs and thrashing, harrowed sleep. Fury at Mistheart for not coming to talk to her at all since her mate died. Fury at everyone who saw her sitting hollowly in camp and neglected to even pay her a sliver of attention. Not that she would accept it, but just them trying would have been enough. Most of all, fury at herself for allowing her heart to be bound to someone who would then die in her arms. She was angry, because she has allowed herself to fall so deeply, so irrevocably in love with Brightpath, and now she was a shell. An empty case. Mere ashes that lay in a pile where a smoldering fire had once burned.

Tonight was like many of the aforementioned nights. The second she closed her eyes, she had seen a flash of cloudy emerald eyes, as the scene of her beloved mate's death unfolded once again in her slumber. She had ran out of the den, barely making it past the camp exit before losing the small bit of food that she had been able to keep down that day, sobbing loudly into the night. And now it was dawn, and she felt the chilly wind sweeping through her thin, matted fur as she padded to the border. Maybe she just needed some time outside of the Clan territory. Every scent, every sound, every plant had some kind of memory tacked on to it, and she just needed to breathe without feeling the pain of her shattered heart pierce her chest.

But then.... the soft sound of something caught her attention. Somewhere near the Outskirts border, she heard the soft humming of something that she was only used to hearing in the nursery. The sound of hungry, very young kittens. And before she knew it, Cloudyflight was sprinting towards the sound, as fast as her three shaky legs could take her. There, laying huddled together underneath a bush of sunflowers, were three small kittens.

[beau]

The little feline mewed fiercely, their eyes narrowed with upset. Their body ached with hunger and cold, despite their two siblings huddled close to them. Where is my mother?? Where is my food?! they seemed to demand as they meowed louder still. It was all a blur of confusion - warmth then none. A fully belly one day, and a now empty one the next.

Weariness weighed on them - they were tired. Tired from crying, and from hunger, and from attempts to walk on legs that they were just barely getting used to walking on and were now too shaky from starvation to carry them. The most they could keep doing was mew and squeak and hope their mama came back.

@Quasar @Peril @jupiter

[whatzername]

@jupiter @Naiad @Quasar

The little kitten shifted with a pathetic mewl. She was on the outside, trying to push herself closer to her siblings. Where had the cat with the milk gone? Mama? She could barely stand, her eyes barely peeked open, and her vision was blurry. Her little tail curled around her small body as she wriggled closer once again. Seriously, where was mama? She was really getting sad.

She let out another sad cry and nudged her nearest sibling with her nose. She let out a small purr of sympathy, snuggling closer yet again to keep her family warm. Mama wasn't here. They had to look after each other, didn't they? She took a shaky breath and tried to curl in on herself more.