He wrinkles his nose. "Ew, don' eat me. You can 'ave my sister 'nstead, Bravekit's gunna be better tasting for sure." He really only half believed what his leader said, though he had breezed right past that comment. Why was she being so snippy?? It's not like Hollow had said anything wrong. Unless... oh, no! Had she figured out his plans to usurp her power and take control of all four Clans??? Oh stars, he had to back track now, throw her off his trail... where was Bravekit to bail him out when he needed her!?!
"How did ThunderClan get founded, though? You're our leader, you've gotta know everythin', right?" Yes... yes, flattery would do wonders! No one would suspect they're going to be overthrown by a cat who speaks of them favorably... and Hollowkit doesn't really have to pretend to dislike his leader, either. He's had little reason to look down on her and so far she still hasn't given him any.
"Great, I'll go find her later, then." Bumblestar's tail tapped against the ground in barely concealed irritation. "Look, I haven't a damn clue. Go ask one of the elders or somethin'. I'm barely forty moons old, 'n if you keep asking me stuff about this, I'm gonna make up random crap about cats with wings and fire-breathing lizards 'n feed that to you instead of giving you a serious answer. Okay? Elder's den is wide open." She reached out to prod him with a forepaw. "Get goin'."
Oh, was Bumblestar sleeping? Oopsies! Berrykit bent down, ready to pick up the mouse and the flowers she had dropped. She'd come back again later, no problem! But they were hard to pick up, and her mouth hurt...
A grunt and the sound of shifting moss made her mismatched ears prick. Lifting her head, the torbie-and-white she-kit saw that Bumblestar had woken up... and was now staring at her. Jeepers! Those green eyes were, like, super scary! Bumblestar didn't have a nice face like Mama and Papa. It was a scary face. Yes, a very scary face. Was that why she was the leader? Because she scared people with her scary face? Personally, Berrykit wouldn't want someone with a scary face, but hey, she wasn't the Clan leader.
Huh? Berrykit glanced down at the mouse and the flowers. The flowers were a very pretty yellow, quite bright against the den floor. The mouse smelled really good. The flowers also smelled good. Were they edible? Wait, what was she just thinking? Oh, right! Bumblestar had said something that she'd found weird.
Keep them? But... but they were for her! Berrykit stared at her gifts, then at Bumblestar in astonishment. How would someone else "find more use for them"? They were for her! Did Bumblestar not eat mice? Or flowers? Now Berrykit felt sad. Maybe she didn't like the gifts. Maybe she shouldn't have come here at all...
Oh! Her question! Berrykit had a question! She'd almost forgotten. She listened as Bumblestar explained, her blue-and-gold eyes growing wide. "Ohhhh. Cool! That makes sense!" she squeaked. Mystery #1 solved! What were the other mysteries?
Right. #2: Why doesn't Bumblestar like my gifts? #3: Where did Mama and Hornetkit go, and when will they be back, if at all?
Well, now she felt extra sad. Berrykit didn't like feeling extra sad. Mild sad was easy to push away, but not extra sad. Her eyes began to well with tears.
"B-but I got these for you!" She prepared to nudge them toward Bumblestar, then remembered that she didn't like them. What now? "Do you not eat mice? I'll get you a..." This word always threw her off. "A skirrel! Or a jumper-" she did not care that they were called rabbits "-or do you eat plants? I'll get you plants! Even if they're stinky! I..."
Berrykit collapsed onto the ground and began to sob. When she spoke, her voice was choked and blubbery.
"I dunno! I dunno anything! I wanna know where Mama and Hornetkit went! Why did they disappear? You're the leader! You're smart! Where are they? Why did they leave me?"
oh for the love of everything that enabled her to keep the last remaining scraps of her sanity
Bumblestar's ears flattened against her skull as Berrykit broke down into incredibly noisy sobs. One paw reached out, wavered, and then pulled back a split second later. "Okay- great stars, just- quit that. Hush." Pat. Pat. Two very uncertain, very light taps on the top of Berrykit's head, meant to be comforting but probably coming off as the exact opposite.
Bumblestar pushed a breath through her nose. "I don't know where your mom went, or your sibling," she managed awkwardly. "Lot of cats go missing every moon 'n I can't keep track of 'em all. But I- you know, I'm sure they had a good reason for leaving 'n maybe they'll be back soon."
Utter dung and she knew it, but hopefully Berrykit would buy it, because this blubbering was starting to get mildly aggravating.
Not hearing the approaching footsteps, Swanpaw nearly jumped out of their skin when they felt a touch at their shoulder and subsequently a brush past them into the den. ”I’M SORRRYYY DON’T EAT MEEE!” She wailed, jumping back.
Oh, false alarm. It was Bumblestar. There was just one thing…
That was worse.
Pelt burning hot with embarrassment, Swanpaw looked at the ground and dragged her feet as she followed after the clan’s leader. She was cooked. She had messed up so badly and now she was about to be exiled. She wouldn’t see Mommy, Daddy, Sunpaw, or even Elkpaw again! This was terrible, so very terrible…
”B-bumblyst-star.” She cringed inwardly as she once again made that mistake. Ears pinned against her head, she closed her eyes tightly and crouched down to make herself look smaller. ”M-may I a-a-ask you s-something?” She braced herself for the no, for the yelling she was sure to come. She deserved it after all, how could she mess up so much?
If one more cat shrieked or sobbed in her general direction, Bumblestar was going to tie their muzzle shut. With a self-controlling exhale, she dropped what she had been carrying onto the den floor and turned to stare down at Swanpaw, looking very unamused. "Go ahead."
Berrykit was so caught up in her distress that it took a moment for her to process Bumblestar's words. She expected some kind of response that answered her desperate cries, her agony, her longing for her lost family. Because surely the great leader who spoke to StarryClan knew these things. Surely she was wise even though she had a scary face. She raised her head, tears and snot streaming down her face like rain, vibrant gold-and-blue eyes huge and swimming with salty water. She was so caught up in the moment that she forgot to wonder why her eyes could produce flavor.
So, she was being told to... stop? Stop what? Crying? Talking? Flavoring her food with her eyes? What would Miss Old and Wise One Who Didn't Eat Mice say? Surely she'd produce some answer from that huge bank of wisdom, reaching into the depths of the stars and the sky.
Bonk.
Berrykit blinked, staring at Bumblestar's paw in immense confusion. Why-
It hit her on the head again.
Bonk.
The torbie-and-white she-kit jumped back, rubbing her head with one paw. Why had Bumblystar hit her? Granted, it wasn't very hard, but still. Is she giving me some kind of special leader powers? Excitement briefly replaced Berrykit's confusion and sadness. Is that why I had to stop crying? So Bumblystar could give me ultra cool powers?! Maybe that was her ultimate wisdom! Her starry sky sun wisdom!
...oh. Bumblystar didn't know where they went.
Berrykit deflated, becoming a sad ball of fluff and tears. Her lower lip trembled. She doesn't know? But - but a leader was supposed to know everything! They talked to StarryClan and all that!
"Lots... of cats... go missing...?" Berrykit kept her wide-eyed, curious expression, though her inner gears were working overtime. She can't keep track of them all..."Oh," was all she could manage, still stunned and confused. Why would so many cats leave the bestest Clan ever?
However, she quickly perked up as Bumblystar said they'd be back soon. "Really? Yay!" She hopped into the air and ran up to the brown-and-cream she-cat, attempting to give her a hug. Then she remembered that this was the leader, so she backed up. "Thank you! I hope they come back soon! I've got loads to talk about! Like... like... I caught a biggie moss ball! Yeah! A biggie one! And I got to do the awesomest thingie ever! Talk to you! The leader of... of... Tun... ThunderClan! You!" Berrykit began to move in a circle. They were gonna be home soon! McScaryface told her so!
"But..." A sudden wave of emotion brought Berrykit to a halt. She knew they were coming back soon, so why did she feel sad? "I wish I knew why they left. It's been so lonely without them. I..." She didn't know why she felt the need to confess this, but it came bursting out. "It's getting hard to remember what Mama sounded like. I - I love her! I really do! Same with Hornetkit! But... why wasn't... why?"
Berrykit shook her head in confusion. Then, without giving Bumblystar a chance to respond, she sprang up with a very high-pitched, loud, painful squeal. "IDEA I'VE GOT THE BEST IDEA EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Something flowed through her veins - something fiery, something motivating, something exciting. "If I des... des... tell you about Mama and Hornetkit, you'll be able to help me find them!"
Berrykit began to pace. She frowned really hard, doing her best to drag them up from the dredges of her early memories, fighting off pangs of sadness that it was so hard to remember them. It's okay! I'll find them soon, I know I will!"Mama... her name was... really long! Fire... fly... splash! She had orange and black and brown fur with stripes! Little fur bits on her ears! Her eyes were super cool, too. They were odd colors, and one had a scar! Hornetkit... gold! With stripes! Yellow eyes, too! They sounded like... like this!" Because Berrykit didn't want to admit that she had forgotten their voices.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Conjured up memories of Mama and Hornetkit. Then she spoke in Mama's voice.
[Lyrebird's Lullaby: ACTIVE]
"Come now, Berrykit. It's time to go to sleep now."
The voice that came out of Berrykit wasn't Berrykit. It was a she-cat's voice, slightly deep and very soothing. The voice of an adult.
Berrykit gasped, then giggled with excitement. Wow! I didn't know I could do that!
"And Hornetkit sounded like..." She focused hard on her brother's memory.
"For the love of StarClan, Berrykit, be quiet!" The voice that came out of her was of a younger kit's, a tom-kit's.
"Wow! I didn't know cats could do that!" Berrykit grinned and looked at Bumblystar hopefully. "Now you know them! Surely you know where they went now?"
__________________
Some of my characters think or act in ways I disagree with. Please understand that I do not support or condone these thoughts or actions.
Re: ThunderClan Leader's Den
