𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺

[KittyandCat]

Username: KittyandCat
Cat Name: Whitewolf
Gender: Tom
Rank: Deputy
Clan: HollowClan
Age: 25 moons
Myth Edit Chosen: Albinism

credit for all pixels | art at bottom of posts is by me

[KittyandCat]

Wake Up

Eyes, rimmed pink, flicked open to reveal starling red against blue.
Ragged breathing broke the silence of a perfect night.
A cat leapt up from his place among the soil, his thick tail fluffed up and startled.

Where am I?

He looked frantically from side to side, the red of his pupils seeming to leave glowing streaks in the air every time he whipped his head around.

Oh.

His breathing slowed, heart still beating in his ears, lungs still burning.

Why Are You Afraid?

He flexed his claws, letting them sink into the cool soil.
He let the night-air ruffle his fur, easing into its coolness.
He untensed his shoulders, he flattened his fur.

He was safe. He was home. He was surrounded by allies,
no; he told himself,
friends.

He was surrounded by friends.

- - -

“Rough night?”

He nodded blearily.

“That’s the third time in… well, the past three nights!”

He could hear the concern in his leader’s voice.
He could feel it oozing over his pelt like honey, sticky and uncomfortable.

“I’m fine.”
“Are you?”
“I’m just getting used to the place.”

A moment of silence passed between them.
For a moment he wondered if the conversation was over.
That thought didn’t have long to linger.

“Is it your nest? The moss here is different from our old territory- if you’d like we could go searching together to-”
“Hollowstar,”

Hollowstar’s features went soft.
His eyes were large, round, his muzzle almost relaxed and yet tense with worry.
He wasn’t angry at the interruption. He never was, when it came to Whitewolf.

“Hollowstar, really, I’m fine.”

Again, silence filled the air.

“Fine,”
Hollowstar finally forced out.
“I’m glad you’re well. And since you are, I expect you to finish your morning duties promptly.”
With that the tom fwipped around, his tail swishing in an almost-irritable manner, heading back to his den.

His morning duties.

Whitewolf likely would have purred to himself if he weren’t so tired.
As deputy of the newly formed HollowClan, his morning duties consisted of setting up the morning patrols.
A simple task, maybe, if there were more than a mere pawful of members in the clan.

- - -

Shredded moss littered the den.
Sweat clotted thin, short fur, emphasizing taut muscles beneath.
Whitewolf thrashed in his nest.

What’s Wrong?

His eyes flickered open.
For a moment he forgot to breath,
before he loudly, frantically, gasped for air.

What Are You Afraid Of?

He got up, his body casting a shadow over his sleeping clanmates.
He was a large, stocky cat, with a few soft pink scars already lining his snow-white pelt.

Do You Think This Isn’t Where You’re Meant To Be?

It is,

He thought definitively.
He was with his best friend.
They were fulfilling the dream they’d whispered under the stars since childhood.
This had to be right.

Are You Scared Of Messing This Up?
...
Of The Losing This?

He stiffened at the thought.
This was all he’d ever wanted.
He shook his head sourly.

Get out of my head,

He thought, and after a moment of no rebuttal, was satisfied enough to think among himself.
He would not mess HollowClan up.
It would thrive.
He would make sure of it.

- - -

“You look… exhausted.”

Hollowstar lounged in his nest, relaxed and unbothered.
Whitewolf didn’t wait to be invited in. Instead, he stepped further into the den.

“Hollowstar, I have something I need to talk with you about.”

He was surprised at the urgency in his voice.
Despite having slept poorly for the past few nights, he felt more energized than ever.

“Woah, woah, what’s-”
“I know how we can help HollowClan to grow.”

For the second time in the mere span of 2 days, Whitewolf interrupted his leader.
Hollowstar stared silently, expectantly at his deputy.
A moment passed, and Whitewolf took a deep breath.

“Okay. You and I both know that the train tracks across the territory are always busy, and we both know there are cats who like to ride the trains from place to place-”
It was Hollowstar’s turn to interrupt.
“Yes, and we’ve already asked the train cats to join our clan. They’re travelers; free spirits. They have no interest.”
“It isn’t them we should be asking into HollowClan. Like you said, they’re travelers. Surely they meet other cats in their travels, surely they could mention us to the cats they might meet, in exchange for our ally-ship and prey.”

Hollowstar seemed to ponder this idea.
“How would these new recruits get here?”
“The same way their recruiters got to them- the trains.”
“Hm.”

Hollowstar flicked his tail.
“Hm.”
He repeated.

Finally,
“That isn’t a bad idea. Let’s go and visit the station today, and see if any of the train cats are willing to help.”

- - -

“Your warrior names shall be Foxrunner and Crocuspurr. Welcome to HollowClan.”

A quiet cheer went around the clearing.
Whitewolf purred proudly at his new clanmates.



Once the meeting was over, Hollowstar beckoned him to his den.
“Already, HollowClan is expanding, thanks to you.”
Whitewolf smirked.
“Oh, it’s nothing really, you know I-”

His leader swatted at him playfully.
“Don’t pretend to be humble now!”
The two laughed for a few moments.
The air was warm and light. A tension seemed to come off of Whitewolf’s shoulders.
He didn’t feel so tired.

“Crocuspurr?”
He asked once they’d quieted their laughs.
“Where’d you get that one from?”

“Hey!”
Hollowstar objected.
“Don’t act like you’re any better at names. Remind me again what made you call me ‘Hollowkit’ when we were young?”
“The fact your stomach was always growling, of course! I thought you must be hollow!”
Whitewolf began laughing again, while Hollowstar swatted at the taller tom.

“Oh, come on, it’s loads better than your old kittypet name, don’t you think? Nester?”
Hollowstar looked unimpressed.
“Don’t pretend ‘Finn’ was that much better.”
“Finn was loads cooler than Nester!”

The two continued to bicker playfully.
As the sun crept across the sky, casting shadows across the clearing, a lull fell over the still young HollowClan.
It seemed the stars would sparkle favorably upon them going forward.

[KittyandCat]

Warm light speckled the clearing, leaving it a patchwork of gold and pink.
White fur shuffled among fresh green moss, claws snagging it as the tom stretched in his nest.
He couldn’t help but groan;
it was such a perfect morning, and yet he had to get up.

What Are You Waiting For?

Whitewolf paused.
What was that?
He did not linger on the thought; instead rising and bounding out of the den.

It had been several moons since HollowClan had begun benefitting from the train cat’s word of mouth.
The amount of warriors now numbered somewhere around 10, and that didn’t account for the younger cats.
HollowClan was thriving.

The white tom’s fur seemed to glow in the early dawn light.
He headed towards his leader’s den briskly; fetching a rabbit from the prey pile on the way.
Last night, Hollowstar had visited the Wisteria Tree on the territory, after he claimed a dream from StarClan told him to.

Whitewolf poked his head into the leader’s den.
“Wakey wakey HollowStar, the sun is halfway up the sky already!”

His leader groaned, but smiled.
He looked tired, but not weary. A youthful, excited gleam seemed to peek from his eyes.
“Good morning, Whitewolf.”

Whitewolf purred.
“Good morning, Hollowstar. Glad to see you made it back in one piece.”
The leader snorted.
“You said you’d be waiting for my return at the camp’s entrance.”
“Aw, don’t tell me you’re upset about that? What can I say, StarClan was calling me from my nest!”

Hollowstar rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
When he feel into silence, Whitewolf prompted,
“Aren’t you going to tell me about it?”
“Hm. I don’t know if I should,”
“Aw, come on, I’ve been your best friend since kithood!”
“Well… they told me not to tell anyone, but I suppose, just for you, I could make an exception.”

The two settled themselves more comfortably, before Hollowstar began explaining the night’s events.
“I went to the tree, and found there is a cave intertwined in its roots. Down there, I settled, and I closed my eyes, and I found myself among our ancestors,”
“Sure you did!”
“Whitewolf! Please, suspend your disbelief until the end of the story. Anyway, meeting with them, they told me that as a leader, I was missing something. They said they’d give it to me.”
“What, a little more muscle? Some height, maybe?”
“Whitewolf! What they gave me was nine lives.”

“What?”