Username: K1NGCL3M3NT1N3
Cat Name: sleeping’sky nyx
Gender: male [he/him]
Rank: hunter
Clan: lily meadow allianceAge: 49 moons
Prompt:staring up into the darkening sky that afternoon, nyx knew there would be
something going on. it was the middle of summer, and it was always during this time or around the winter solstice that the humans around became restless this late. he was used to the chatter of the humans, but the dark tom was always kept inside at this time by his owners. never before had he the chance to see what went on outside- all he knew was the loud noise that shook the earth and left him curled up in the youngest child’s bed.
but tonight. tonight, nyx was all on his own. he recognized the unrest of the humans as it goes every year, but his own were missing, had been for moons now and he had accepted his fate as a cat left to wander the city streets. he glanced down at the pavement below his paws and kept walking on, looking for somewhere safe to hide. when the noise started, it wouldn’t stop for
hours. nyx thought himself brave, and he was quite used to the noise, so when asked he would puff up his chest and declare that he wasn’t afraid. in truth, he couldn’t help the fear that ran through him at each heart-racing crackle and explosion of sound.
it became dark and nyx had finally curled up in a pile of blankets left outside in some old, damp alleyway. the night sky was void of stars as always; the only reason he knew stars was because of his kithood spent outdoors in a small village, really, because the sky here in this city was always jet black. the only lights like those of the ones he was born under were filtered through square windows high up.
as time stretched on, he wondered,
maybe there is a different reason for the human’s excitement tonight? the night was as silent as it was most days- which is to say, absent of unusual noise, because the city was never truly quiet. as soon as he could think so, though-
a hiss like the moon was defending herself from the hidden army of stars, and then-
and then that explosion. nyx flinched back and closed his eyes, as he did when that sound filled his ears and took over everything for a few terrifying moments, but when he reopened them and looked up…
there was the most wonderful assortment of stars in the sky, far larger and closer than nyx ever remembered them. they danced in that deep black sky for a few breathtaking seconds that felt like hours and simultaneously like not enough time. then, those bright reds and yellows and whites fell. and his eyes felt glued to them, his head falling as well to watch.
another explosion, further off, and he had to turn his head and look very far off, but there it was again. this time, the lights twirled in a sparkling oceanic blue. and again, in another direction, with a bright rose pink and sunlight gold. with each new burst of color and lights, the black tom flinched less and less.
nyx understood, in those moments, why the humans loved those colossal stars so, with their hues like springtime flowers, spinning to a song drowned out by their noise. that night, the bright explosions in the sky became a friend to him. despite their sound, he found himself falling asleep to the comfort of the lights, wondering if maybe, they were something like the spirits, allowing themselves a moment to dance and yet watching over him all the same.