Owner: ivyy.
Storage Link: the abandoned orderName: Esper --> Ashenstar
DGAB: AFAB
Origin: previously a city stray --> unofficial group leader --> official leader
Prompt: Darting between trash cans, the yowls of her group mates collided with the screeches of the other street cats, more being silenced as the humans stormed their alleyway. They had never been exactly kind to her and her fellow stray cats but the humans had never blatantly killed them before. Her heart lurched as a familiar voice echoed beyond the dimly lit alleyway, smoke muffling his familiar voice. Her throat constricted from the smoke and emotions that swirled around her, cats streaming past her to the outer borders of the complicated city alleyways, the place she had called home. "I'm coming, Jasper!" Leaping over a burning pile of human rubbish, she tore down the alleyway, her claws scraping against the slick, oiled cement. Tucking her front feet under her, she cleared one last fallen dumpster, adrenaline granting her fast and tall leaps, her heart hammering in her chest.
A loud gasp escaped her maw as her green-blue eyes devoured the scene in front of her. The bodies of cats who had attempted to flee the towering humans were scattered along the entrance to the alleyway, at least seven different cats- none of which she had been able to put a name to. Except one. "Jasper..." She croaked, a fire still raging next to her in an apartment building. The shrieks of people and crackling of the fires being set by the men in hazmat suits barely were noticeable she gazed at the body of one of the most important cats in her life. Esper walked towards the corpse of her son, legs shaking and paws numb against the heated flooring of the glorified street, dumpsters surrounding them still ablaze, black, sickening smoke swirling above her head and the horrifying scene that would forever etch her memory.
Reaching with a loving paw, she touched Jasper's flank, smoothing fur over a hideous burn that etched his flank. Not caring about the loud, unfamiliar noises or the hungry fires surrounding her... she grieved, tears streaming down her face as she crouched and tucked her face into her son's severely burned body, ash from his dirty pelt caking her muzzle as she did so. She had endured much heartache in her life but nothing-
nothing could compare to the way she felt as though she had died headfirst into a fire. A squeak escaped her maw as she cried, heart aching for the son she would never seen smile or crack a joke ever again.
Another small sound escaped but this time it wasn't Esper. Lifting her head weakly, she was close to conceding and dying alongside her first born son when she saw her. A pair of still-closed eyes were peaking out from under the tom's fluffy neck fur, weak squealing escaping it's bright pink maw. With a shaking paw, she reached forward and brought the kit closer to her paws from where she sat next to Jasper's lifeless corpse. "Hey, kid." She mumbled, completely surprised by the strange kitten. Eyes firmly closed, she assumed the young cat was only a week or two old, it's teeny pink paw pads covered in ashes and a few tiny burns here and there.
A loud crack echoed above all the chaotic noises, forcing her fur on end and reminding her of the insanity that had been occurring during her grieving. The fires in the buildings alongside her licked the edges of the structure, a sickening crack booming through the alley. The apartment was nearly collapsing. Grabbing the seemingly orphaned kit gently by the scruff, she took one last look at her son before determination sparked in her eyes, the fire catching the blue-green hues. Before she could even process the events that had occurred, she leaped out of the outskirts of the alley, escaping the city before the apartment were to collapse and kill the both of them.
After they had reached a safe place, the moon being their only guide through the dark night, the pair settled in an abandoned fox den within a massive oak forest, Esper vowing to find their way out of the confusing forest in the morning. Esper's eyes grew heavy from severe exhaustion, building a quick nest in the den and pulling the young kit closely to her side, her tiny voice mewling hungrily until Esper found an easy catch nearby, chewing the bits up and feeding them ever so carefully to her new ward. Her gaze hardened now as she whispered gentle, motherly promises to the tiny furball.
"My son saved you. He died saving you, kid." She whispered, softly running her tail rhythmically down the kitten's spine, lulling the cute little scrap into a much-needed sleep. "Which means..." Laying her head next to her, she wrapped her splotched tail around the little one, savoring the comfort the kitten brought her despite the way her heart felt as though it was splitting in two.
"I will do my best to keep you safe. You are special to have survived, and I am one lucky cat to have found you." Her voice cracking, she allowed the calming waves of sleep take her.