[bakuraas.]

for eltonn!

Bay Dun with Overo and Blaze. Fire magic.

[eltonn]

How does the colony react to the kitten? 2045 words.

Wicke steps heavily into camp, their neck curved under the weight of a small brown kitten carried in their jaws. Azuki's eyebrows furrow for a moment, then he stands at attention. He leaps stiffly down from the branches of the Lotus Tree and heads towards the entrance to the camp, wading through the cool waters at the Tree's base. He doesn't pause to shake his pelt, instead padding towards Wicke with his coat still dripping wet. "What..." He begins to say. Azuki opens and closes his mouth a few times in confusion, attempting to speak but no words will come out. "Moderator?" There's a hitch of anxiety at the end of his voice, high pitched and unnatural sounding.

The Red Moderator pauses, then sighs and places the kitten on the ground in front of Azuki. "Administrator," they greet, their tone even. It did nothing to answer Azuki's questions. Azuki lowered his head and sniffed lightly at the kit. It couldn't be more than a few days old, based on the size. He wasn't sure how he knew that. He couldn't remember ever seeing a kit in his life. Why is it so small? Azuki couldn't help but feel pity for the poor thing. The scent of leaf mold and mud wafts off the kit gently. "Its mewling scared off my quarry," Wicke says, beginning to frown slightly. "It was so caked in soil and dirt that it took me time to find it. Drove me half out of my mind, thinking I was hallucinating it." They sit down and began to absentmindedly lick at their paw pads. After a second, they pause and flick their ear. "I'm going to go speak with the Yellow Moderator, but I wanted your opinion before I did so. For old time's sake," there's a bit of wry humor in their mew. Azuki blinks slowly. It was so, so small. He gently reached out a paw to tap the kitten on the head, his eyes round with wonder. Wicke's mew bubbles into a small, teasing laugh. "Oh, Administrator. Have you never seen a kit before?"

"No," Azuki says quietly, poking the kit again. It mews, a high-pitched and piecing noise that made Azuki's chest ache. Not with pain, but with ... he wasn't sure. A memory that he couldn't quite place. Sometimes the fog over his mind felt like a blessing, but at other times it feels like a curse. This was one of the times that he wasn't sure. If he did remember, the knowledge might hurt more than the empty ache in his heart right now. "...Moderator," Azuki begins, his tone wavering. "Moderator- this...kitten will need..." He trails off. The words won't come again. Why did this hurt so much? His throat felt constricted. "Excuses," Azuki mumbles the botched phrase, his tongue feeling thick. Wicke furrowed their eyebrows in confusion as the Administrator turned on his heel and quickly strode to his den at the roots of The Lotus Tree, disappearing inside. Wicke wrinkled their nose, sniffed, and then picked up the kit again. It made a small noise of protest, but did not struggle as the Red Moderator began the short walk over to Yellow Moderator Agnes.

-

Azuki sat in his den in a puddle of water, facing the wall, his ears alert and his breath coming fast. Why does it hurt? Why do I hurt? What is it about it that makes me hurt so much? The pain in his chest had not left, and he could feel his eyes beginning to water. What does it mean? Azuki swallows, then abruptly stands up and exits his den, not really looking where he was going. He pauses when he feels water lapping at his paws and dunks his head towards the ground, submerging his face into the pond surrounding The Lotus Tree and taking large gulps of the clear water. He drinks until he can't breathe anymore, and straightens up, panting for air. Azuki looked around the camp, not meeting the eyes of any of the constituents. He couldn't have. There were none. Though usually a few cats could be seen lounging near the entrances to their dens at this time, right now it was devoid of even one colony member.

"...hello? Constituents?" He calls out hesitantly after he's caught his breath.

There is no answer. The camp is utterly silent. Not even the wind makes a sound. Azuki squeezes his eyes shut, willing his...family to come back. That was the ache. There was no family here. He opened his eyes again, and the camp had rearranged itself. Dens were in the wrong locations, trees were upside down, the pool was empty. "No- no no, no- no no, no no no," Azuki begins to plead, walking in circles around the camp before beginning to dig furiously at the dusty ground where the pool used to be, his cries becoming more fervent. His coat is completely dry. His skin felt like it was cracking from a lack of water. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. Not again. Where have they gone?

Not again?

Azuki doesn't know what that means. He's suddenly aware of the cold water splashing into his face. The moon is beating down on him, chilly against his back. The camp is empty, but not because no one is there. He looks around, the pool stilling as he stops splashing in it. It was...still night. Crickets were chirping in the distance. Everyone was asleep, curled up in their dens where they were supposed to be at this time of night. Azuki pauses, then laps gently at the water between his paws, taking a second to process what just happened. He steps out of the pool once his throat cools, making sure to stop to shake the droplets off his paws. Azuki sits down at the edge of the water, looking out towards the entrance of the camp. What....happened? How long has it been?

The sound of footsteps catches his attention, and Azuki turns his head to see Wicke approaching him. They look confused. When Azuki opens his mouth and speaks, they become even more so. "What happened to the kit?"

"What kit?" Their answer comes in that blank, level tone that they always have, and they sit next to Azuki. Wicke bats Azuki's nose with their tail playfully and quirks an eyebrow. "Are you going to explain, Administrator, or should I chalk this up to another one of your mad ramblings?"

"The kit....ahh..." Azuki thumbs his own tail against the ground in frustration. "You found a kit while hunting, and brought it here..."

"I have found no kits, Administrator." Now Wicke was starting to look concerned for Azuki. Azuki blinked slowly, processing this. What had he been doing when that happened? Sleeping...in the branches of the Lotus Tree. He looks up curiously at the tree. It stood innocently, framed by the silver moonlight.

Azuki's mouth dries, and he stands. "I'll come back to discuss this with you in a moment, Moderator."

-

Azuki's tail curls over his back as he walks to the entrance to the caverns at the end of the camp. He wasn't allowed inside, of course, but he could sit near the entrance and wait for the Cavebound to greet him. After a few moments, the dark storkie appeared, an amused smile on his face twisting his abnormal eyes into odd shapes. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Administrator?" he purrs and loafs just inside the cave, curling his tail neatly around himself.

The Administrator shuffles his paws awkwardly. "I believe...no, I know- I've received...a message, from..." Azuki flicks his tail. "...I do not know their name. The Deity."

"Oho? A message? Let me just get comfortable here-" The Cavebound wiggles for a second, as if getting more comfortable in his spot (despite it likely being hard to do so, as he looked incredibly relaxed). "Do go on, dearest, Administrator."

"Well," Azuki takes a breath before speaking. "I was sleeping in the branches of the Lotus Tree, and the Red Moderator entered camp carrying a kit in their jaws. It was small- so, so small, Cavebound. I didn't know that storkatten could be that small," Azuki hunches his shoulders in distress. "And I sniffed it, and it smelled of the earth. And then the world fell in on itself." Azuki could see that the Cavebound wasn't going to speak until he clarified what that meant. "My chest felt like it was going to explode, so I left, and it got worse, so I drank, drank and drank - and drank some more. And suddenly, the camp was empty. All the Constituents were gone. The dens were in disarray- wrong places, wrong builds. It was all wrong. Unlivable. Disturbing." Azuki's pelt spikes, the anxiety from the experience returning.

The Cavebound places their tail on Azuki's shoulder reassuringly and nods for him to continue.

"The pool was empty. Everything was dry. And then, suddenly...it was...I was in the water, again, outside my den. All of this happened during the day, but now it is night. The camp is fine, and- and the Red Moderator says that they found no kit today. But...I couldn't help...during the entire vision, I had a horrible feeling of familiarity. Like if I do nothing about this kit, then I will be...repeating something that I should not know of. That I don't know. I can't- I can't remember. It should be bliss. But I don't know what I'm being warned of."

The Cavebound twitches his whisker as Azuki finishes relaying his story. "It sounds to me," he speaks slowly. "That the Deity is trying to warn you of something that your memory cannot. You said there was a pain in your chest. When did that start?"

"When..." Azuki takes a moment to think through the vision again. "After I poked it and it cried out."

"After you poked it and it cried out," The Cavebound repeats. He stands slowly and then stretches out, popping his spine. "It sounds to me, Administrator, that the Deity is telling you that kits should be cherished and not treated like toys or prey that you can bat around as you please. Kits should be nurtured and loved. We need to accept them with emotion and tender hearts, not an unfeeling and detached view. Kittens are the livelihood of a colony. Without them, we will die. Just like the spring, they bring warmth and growth - for our hearts, not our lands."

Azuki is confused by that answer. It sounded more like what the Cavebound wanted to interpret it as rather than what it actually meant, but Azuki wasn't going to question the sage old cat. He gave the Cavebound this position because of his wisdom, and he trusted what he had to say. Even if it wasn't what the vision meant, his words rang true. "Springs..." Azuki says quietly. "I see. Thank you, Cavebound." He stands and dips his head in salutations. The Cavebound chuckles and waves his tail as Azuki walks away.

-

Azuki ducks his head into the Moderator's den, his ears pushed forward. "Moderators," He begins. "We have a mission, if you are available."

Yellow Moderator Agnes stirs, furrowing her eyebrows in frustration and opening a single eye. "Can it wait until the sun has joined the rest of the living world?"

"No, it cannot."

Agnes yawns, sits up, and gives Wicke a light kick in the back. Wicke hisses at her, but straightens up and begins to smooth their unruly pelt. "What could you possible want us for at this hour, Administrator?" Wicke complains.

Azuki twitches his whiskers in amusement at his two moderators. He knew that although they complained, they would listen. "I've received a message from the Deity that there is an abandoned kitten on our territory. We need to organize a patrol and find it. It needs a home." Warmth grew in Azuki's chest as he finished the sentence. That was what he couldn't say in the vision. He had to say it. As the Moderators begin to leave the den with him, he can't help but feel a twinge of triumph. I'm listening, Deity. I'm doing what you want me to do.

[eltonn]

Username; eltonn
Storkie Name; Midas
Coat Description: Bay Dun with Overo and Blaze
Gender: genderfluid
Born Magic Type; fire
Additional Magic #1 leave blank
Additional Magic #2 #2; leave blank

Parents:
Founder | Founder

Children:
-- [url]Partner[/url]
-- [url]Child1[/url]
-- [url]Child2[/url]
-- [url]Child3[/url]