- Username;; dewly_noted
Cat Name;; MothKit [MothScreech]
Gender;; Female
Age;; 5 moons
Clan;; BeachClan
Rank;; Kit
Prompt;;
The sun fell behind the horizon, strings or orange fading into a thick purple, the first start of the night flickering into view. With the fading of that warm comforting sun came the chilling breeze that slipped through the undergrowth like a predator, climbing up the spines and shaking each creature left out in the dark to the core.
A small shake ran up the shoulder of Moth, not because of this chill, but because of the resting fear the darkness always brought. Bad things happened in the dark, people went missing in the dark, the pines and passages all would shift conspiring against the traveller to get them lost.
Her mother was silent in front of her, leading her across the forest floor never turning back to check to make sure Moth hadn't become lost. If she went to slow, or tripped her mother wouldn't stop to help her. Some silent part of her imagined that her mother would take such an opportunity to speed up. Moth hadn't always felt like a burden to her mother, but ever since her brother died she had never felt like her paws carried such a heavy weight.
So she struggled to keep up with her mother's pace, eyes straining as the last of the twilight left leaving only the thing claw-like sliver of the moon to light their way. As her eyes strained she pinched her nose in annoyance changing her focus from following her mothers form to letting her ears peak.
The pine needles, moss and twigs crunched under her mothers paws, leaving an echo for her to follow even when her vision failed her. An echo of natural instincts kicked in and she let her eyelids drop until they were almost closed and lowered her head. If she followed the sound of her mother's steps and used her whiskers to map the ground in front of her she could maybe just maybe avoid becoming lost in the night.
Memories formed in the space where her vision once was, of a time when her mother's heart wasn't cold and her family was a warmth that surrounded her like a blanket.
- Her brother, Bumble, was the sweetest soul, gentle kind and so fragile. He was always smaller than her and it wasn't long before she learnt that sometimes fun required a softer paw than she was used to giving. It wasn't long before she learnt how to throw play fights to keep Bumble's hopes high and spirit's strong.
He had this outlook on life that burned passion into everything and everyone one, an energy that couldn't be surpassed. He kept their mother smiling and kept Moth's optimism burning. He shouldn't have been called bumble really; firefly would have suited him much better. So that's what she'd call her brother, firefly.
She got the cough first, so it only made sense that her mother blamed her. She shook the fever in a couple days but Bumble got worse and worse. They sought out help, they sought out healers but before a week could pass Bumble fell into the arms of eternal sleep.
In front of her, the sound of her mother's footsteps stalled and Moth found herself bumping into the hind legs of her dam. She looked upwards tentatively, ready to flinch if the steely glare of her mother had found her. It hadn't. Instead the dark silhouette of her mother looked onward, gently scenting the air. Moth attempted the copy her mother's actions but all she picked up was the strong mist of pine and- something else? It was heavy on the nose and tasted strange in the mouth, it was like humidity but strange and she found her curiosity peaked.
In the distance a stranger stepped out of the shadows, a low noise making their presence known. A nod was exchanged between her mother and the stranger, an understanding between them, this understanding seemed to be built around her.
This new cat moved closer, their pelt becoming slightly more visible. A dark tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes that reflected a long life filled with hardships. She knew that tired look, her mother wore it whenever the world started to give it's worst and she felt her chest pull towards this new cat, wanting to put a smile on her face just like her brother would for her mother.
"My name is Amber that traps spider,"
This cat said, voice gentle, a kind and soft smile forming on her face.
"This is BeachClan and I promise, we will keep you safe."
Amber leaned downwards and began nudging Moth to follow her, behind her the forest floor crunched as her mother began walking away.
"Mum!"
Moth called once. Her mother paused not turning to look. This was it, this was good bye and she could feel her chest aching with distress. Amber gave her a few more nudges and Moth turned. They parted without another word spoken, beside her Amber began carefully telling her about the nursery BeachClan had, about the other kits her age and how she had a place here. [972/1000]
