by mystoxxiide » Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:20 am
FEATURED STORKIES; woe, mars, blitz, ember, murk, unnamed kit
PROMPT: "Tell me something about this kitten's life. How has it been so far? Eventful or not? Why or why not? Do they like it or not? Why or why not? Interpret however you'd like!"
WC; 1311
POV; woe, kit, blitz
---
“You lost a kit?!” The outrage and panic in Woe’s voice was clear. His tail was stiff and his claws dug into the ground. Mars blinked back at him absently. “Yep.” Xe popped the ‘p,’ shrugging.
Blitz touched his tail to the red brindle’s coat. “Don’t worry,” The grullo assured him with a soft smile, “I’m sure they haven’t gone far.”
Vines burst from the dirt, wrapping around Mars’ paws. The faunal storkie looked slightly more alarmed now, but mostly stayed still, ripping them out of the ground. Woe’s breathing was shaky, and he seemed to be living up to his name as he curled up on the ground and put his paws over his ears as vines rose to cover him like a quilt. Blitz let out a nervous cry. “H-hey! Let’s not shut down, sweetheart,” He started to anxiously cut away the plants with his claws, but more formed to take their place. Woe was disappearing under the tangle of undergrowth as Blitz and others watched with panic, and Mars with mild interest.
“Love, please,” Blitz refused to stop tearing away the plants, the arcane storkie’s claws flashing as he did his best to cut through the thick plants without scratching his mate. “Woe! Come on, you know this isn’t healthy, the kit is going to be fine!” The words felt like lies to himself as well, but he refused to cease.
Inside the tight tangle of vines, Woe breathed in deeply, ignoring Blitz’ far away cries. He glared at his paws. Stupid Mars. He didn’t even know why Pyrite let xim join the colony; he was lazy, unmotivated and selfish. The very thought of the face he had made as xe had damn shrugged at him, like this lost kit’s life meant nothing - Woe dug his claws once again into the dirt underneath him. As the plants curled thicker around him, he snuggled into them, Blitz and other familiar voices falling away as he put his head on his paws. He would rather stay here forever than go outside again. Becoming a piece of topiary forever was a… different, but not rejected thought.
The plants were safe, and that was what mattered.
---
The small kit tottered along the ground, letting out a sneeze as they sniffed flowers and dug their tiny, clawless paws in the grass. A bronze glint caught their eye, and they turned with a quiet mew, curiosity taking over. A skinny tail slid through the grass slowly.
The kitten blinked their tiny eyes, still so young that they hurt when they looked at the sun still, and got into an unsteady, unpracticed crouch, letting instinct take over. Their triangle tail stuck up in the air, barely long enough to wiggle, yet wiggling all the same. The kit’s eyes narrowed into slits, and without a second thought, they pounced.
The rattlesnake, who had just been trying to enjoy the sun, started to attention as it felt tiny teeth dig into its tail, which it thrashed until the kitten fell off. The snake turned with a hiss, the tailtip of its namesake rattling sinisterly. Venom dripped from its fangs slowly as it took in the sight before it; it’d just been trying to enjoy the sun, but it might as well enjoy dinner as well if it was free. It crept closer, nosing through the grass before the helpless child, before rising and baring its fangs in anticipation.
A sharp hiss cut it off; the snake looked around in confusion, but instead of another one of its kind, the only other creature to be found was a gray lynx point storkie with an identifiable scar on his shoulder. Cutting the snake’s confusion short, the storkie opened his mouth and hissed low again in warning. Due to his faunal magic, the snake understood perfectly what he was threatening, and made the wise decision to cheese it out of there.
Murk let out a huff of victory, before looking down to inspect the kit, who was now gratefully chirping as it bumped haphazardly into one of his paws. It mewed softly when he picked it up by the scruff, sighing and turning to head back to camp.
---
“Woe! You can’t do this!” Blitz had refused to stop clawing away at the plants, no matter how fruitless his efforts were. Mars had slipped away sometime ago, having grown bored. Many other bystanders had chosen to move on as well, but a few others had stayed and attempted to try and help him. Eventually, though, each had grown tired and had to stop. Blitz wasn’t quite sure of how he was still going, but he had always had a lot of energy. So he refused to stop, clawing through layer after layer of vine and watching bitterly as five grew back. Woe’s shame cocoon had taken up a decently large amount of space in the clearing, though they’d been lucky to have been away from the main areas from camp.
“Hello?” A soft, familiar voice rang out. Blitz paused for the slightest moment to praise the Creators, then continued as he meowed back to the light storkie to alert him of his location. “We’re here!”
Ember appeared around the corner, ears flattening in alarm as he took in the sight before him. “Again?” He sounded upset, of course, but the worried kind instead of the angry kind. Ember approached the circular wall, signalling for Blitz to fall back with a flick of his tail. The grullo hesitantly did as told.
The seal bay touched his nose to the vines, which seemed to shudder at the contact. “Woe? Come out, please, love. We can fix whatever’s bothering you.” Ember began nervously.
“No!” Woe’s voice returned, angry and far away. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just stupid and soft. Go away.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Ember sounded saddened to hear their mate’s words. Blitz’ heart panged with sympathy, and he moved to sit by the light storkie, still making sure to not interrupt his reasoning. “Blitz and I love you very much. We don’t think you’re stupid or soft in any way.”
“Stop trying to say anything you think might make me feel better! Because it won’t!”
“I know,” He sighed. “But look. You can tell me all about it, and we can try to make it right; or you can hide in your hole forever. We want to choose the healthy option, sweetheart.”
A pause, and no response. Blitz and Ember waited patiently -- well, Ember waited patiently. Blitz was almost vibrating with excitement. Finally, the wall dissipated; Woe stepped out, eyes averted as he walked straight into their mates’ chests, burying his face in their fur. Both of his husbands draped a paw over his body.
“We love you,” Ember mewed, and Blitz nodded in excited agreement. Woe’s eyes filled with tears. “Don’t ever forget that.” They all touched noses, smiling each other gently, until a cough was heard.
Murk set down the little kitten, who whined and clung to his leg before giving the three a long stare. “I believe this is your ward.” They all stiffened as his stare turned into a glare, keeping them rooted in place with his brown eyes.
Then it turned soft. “I’ve heard all about Mars and his mishaps. I’ll be sure to give him a good chewing out about responsibility.” Without another word, the faunal storkie left, likely to go find his own husband.
Blitz rushed to scoop up the kit, which mewed and tried to grab his nose. He huffed a little, and Ember chuckled too. Woe watched anxiously from behind the latter’s back, before both his mates turned to him. The red brindle blinked as the kit was placed in his paws, before looking up with another soft smile. “Sorry,” He whispered sheepishly, and only received two pelts pressed against his in return.
