The Kill wrote:Silverheart nudged at her kit, eyes heavy as the moon began to rise. "Come on, Breamkit. You're going to be an apprentice soon. You need to get some rest, or you'll have a lot of stress on your shoulders," she meowed wearily,
watching the young tom bouncing about the nursery. Her stomach ached as she tried to get the kit to his nest.
"Okay, Silverheart," Breamkit squeaked sheepishly, skidding to a stop and padding up to curl up beside his mother. The queen let out a sigh of relief, her gaze looking down at his figure that was soon sleeping silently.
Quiet. A sound that was rare in RiverClan, for there was usually kits and apprentices bouncing about or warriors preparing for patrol. Silverheart was thankful that she could finally take it in peacefully, listening to the birdsong settling down for the night and the scuttling sounds of the prey in the forest begin to die down. Soon enough, the molly was able to enjoy the soft sounds of leaves rustled by the warming newleaf breeze.
Her moment of peace lasted only a few heartbeats as soft pawsteps could be heard in the den. A cat sat by the entrance with sharp-smelling herbs in their jaws. Setting them down for a moment, they meowed quietly, "I heard you were having a bit of trouble. Do you want some help? Maybe chat for a bit?"
Although her limbs trembled in exhaustion, Silverheart nodded, beckoning the cat over with her tail. "Come on, we can have a nice talk, and perhaps you can tell me about those herbs you brought there."
The cat let out a deep breath and brought their herbs over to an empty nest, their twitchy movements calming as they smiled at Silverheart. "He sure is a pawful, isn't he?" they purred, chuckling under their breath.
The queen took in an exasperated breath and laughed. "Oh, he sure is! I love him, but he can be a little too much to handle-- or sometimes he's just too shy to be handled."
The cat nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I can certainly see that. We're all like that at some point, though, aren't we?" they pondered, digging their claws into the floor in anticipation.
"I guess we are."
A moment of silence passed between the two, the only noise in the room being the whoosh of air as they watched the kit's chest rise and fall.
Silverheart raised her head to look back at the new cat. "So... you said you brought these herbs for me?"
The cat remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. After another heartbeat, they jolted up, stammering, "O-oh! Yes! I did, right.
It's parsley, to help with your stomach pain and to dry up your milk. Since, you know, Breamkit is... and you're... yeah."
Silverheart purred, nodding. "So I just eat them?" she inquired, pawing at the bushy pile curiously.
They nodded silently, eyes flickering back and forth from the pile of herbs to the silver queen.
She leaned down to chew up the herbs, flinching at the taste. "Great StarClan, I forgot how--"
Silverheart could hardly finish her sentence before her eyes widened and foam started bubbling at her mouth. She stared at the cat, who was grinning wildly as they watched her body begin to twitch. The queen whimpered from the pain that flooded through her, writhing from its intensity. Her legs flailed, the queen herself rolling on the floor to try to extinguish the pain that burned like fire.
The other cat just sat through, watching all of this go down. At last, Silverheart lay motionless. "Finally. I thought she was never going to shut up," they meowed, stepping back through the entrance to continue with their night. "Can't believe nobody's ever thought of that before."
A loyal warrior has been lost. Think fast, RiverClan.