The Before
Aetherstar's life. Take your time with it. Become attached.
Years ago in land that was not yet named, there was a young tom cat. He was afraid, having left his clowder in the city moons ago. But the fear never left. Without others to protect him, he felt vulnerable. Scared. He was alone, not having been allowed to take any friends or family with him. His loneliness hurt, but what hurt worse was the pang of hunger in his stomach. He had to hunt, and soon. The scent of squirrel caught his attention and his mouth watered. The tom spotted it, and he entered a hunting crouch. The taste of blood flooded his mouth and bloodlust overtook his senses. He devoured his kill with zeal and relished the warmth in his stomach. However, he was startled out of this moment of bliss by a voice!
"Aether? Aether! Bro!!!!!" The voice called out. The tom, Aether, whipped around and growled before he saw who it was. "Kestrel!!!!!" Aether replied. The two sprinted into each other, ending up as a pile on the forest floor. Aether and Kestrel laughed until their ribs hurt, before Aether looked over at Kestrel with a fondness in his eyes. "I can't believe it's really you," he said with a sigh. Kestrel flopped onto his said and looked Aether in the eyes, "I told you I'd always find you Aether. You're my brother. I would never leave you behind," Kestrel stated with much intensity. Aether laughed loudly, but he was thankful for Kestrel.
The two had grown up together in the city, close as could be. Kestrel's mother had died during kitting around the time Aether was being weaned, so Aether's mother took Kestrel in. When it was time for Aether to leave to start his own clowder, Kestrel didn't cry, didn't beg him to stay, didn't pull him in for a final goodbye. All he said was, "This isn't 'goodbye', this is 'I'll see you later." At the time, Aether hadnt believed him. He thought that it was the stupidest goodbye ever said in the history of his clowder. Now he knew why Kestrel had said that. Aether wasn't the only one losing a friend that, Kestrel was too.
