Username: Canary22
Cat Name: Cloudwhisper
Gender: Tom
Rank: Furcatcher
Age: 34 moons
Clan: DawnclanPrompt:“Daddy! Daddy!”
The shrill voice of a young kit rang out over the frozen snow. Four small kits darted between half-hidden bushes, followed by their father, Birchstar. “Thornkit, Emberkit, Smokekit and Honeykit! Get back here!” He was smiling, and all five of the cats knew he didn’t mean anything. Thornkit tested the snow beneath his paws, his thick, dark grey pelt standing out against the shining blanket. He mewled excitedly when one paw fell through. After digging a small hole, he curled up inside it and waited for his sister to come past. Watching Smokekit with beady eyes, he shifted himself and readied to pounce. When Smokekit was near enough, Thornkit leapt from his hiding place, squeaking and pawing her with sheathed claws.
“Thornkit!” Smokekit wailed. “That’s not fair, I didn't see you!” Thornkit laughed and darted away, leaving a set of miniature paw prints in his wake.
Feeling the cold wind in his fur was a relief for Thornkit. Although he was young, the feel of being too hot due to long fur was not uncommon in the stuffy dens back at camp. Out here, the air was fresh and helped to keep him cool. Unbeknownst to him, Smokekit hadn’t stayed back where he’d surprised her. She’d followed silently, and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to scare him. She gradually closed in on him and launched herself through the air, landing squarely on his back and sending them both tumbling through the snow. In front of them was a huge pile of snow. They crashed into it, mewling indignantly at each other. But instead of finding themselves stuck in a cold, snowy embrace, they lay in a small cavern. And there was another cat in there.
The unfamiliar tom hissed, baring his teeth at the kits, before realising what they were and relaxing. “What are you two doing here?” The strange cat growled. Thornkit sat up, a little dizzy, before responding.
“Hello cat! I’m Thornkit and I was playing with my sisters then I fell in here.”
“Yeah,” Smokekit added. “Cinderkit and Honeykit got left behind when we ran off, and Daddy didn’t even try to follow us.”
At the mention of other cats, the tom shrank into the corner of the snowy hollow. “Other cats?” He hissed, laying his ears back. “I can’t have other cats see me!”
“But why not?” Thornkit replied.
“Because I look horrible! Haven’t you seen the state of my fur?” Smokekit looked closely at the tom.
“You look nice,” she mumbled. The calls of her family met her ears, which flicked in recognition of the sound. “It sounds like our family are looking for us,” She mewed to Thornkit. “We’d better go.” With that, they erupted from the snow, surprising the nearby Emberkit.
“Thornkit! Smokekit! Where’ve you been? Daddy’s been worried,” Emberkit mewed.
“There was such a handsome tom in the snow,” Thornkit replied. “I need to show Daddy!”
“Show me what?” Birchstar’s slender form had materialised behind them.
“Oh, there you are,” Thornkit sighed. “I saw a beautiful cat beneath the snow, but he didn’t want to come out. He said his fur was messy, but I think it was perfect just the way it was.”
The tentative white paw of the cat emerged from the hole, followed by the rest of him. His grey and white fur gleamed in the weak leaf-bare sun. “Hello,” the cat said. “So you are these kits’ father. I didn’t want to come out, but I never could refuse the magic of a kit.”
(589)
