Post by ginger on Oct 27, 2019 17:34:19 GMT
Stoatpaw slowly awoke, her mind groggy. She could remember bits and pieces of what had happened, but it was still all a blur. She was going...somewhere...there was a bird? Stoatpaw could remember falling, and cold...And another cat… Stoatpaw tried to get to her paws, and her mind swam. Owww…
“Hey, easy there princess,” a voice near her laughed.
She snapped her focus towards him, instantly regretting the quick movement. She stumbled, and the other cat quickly came to her side, steadying her. Had she not felt as if she would collapse otherwise, Stoatpaw would never have accepted the assistance. As it was, however, she was too out of it to protest.
“What in the name of StarClan happened?” she asked, this time moving her head slowly.
“Well, lets see, you dropped out of the sky. My guess is that you must have been caught by some sort of eagle, based on those.” The tomcat nodded to a trio of long, talon-shaped wounds on her flank. Slowly, things were beginning to come back to her. She had been on her way to the ancient keeper to make her claw marks when an eagle swooped her, and started to carry her off. She had bitten and clawed, and managed to wriggle her way free, her flank being deeply gauged in the process.
“Luckily for you, you happened to land in a snow drift, where I found you,” the tomcat explained, arrogant sense of pride in his voice. He flicked one ear, marked with a deep, v-shaped scar. “Imagine my surprise when the crowfood I found came to life and tried to fight me.”
Stoatpaw could barely remember, but she did know that it was true. When the tomcat found her, she had instinctively thought he was some sort of wild animal, and the two of them had fought. She could feel the pair of claw marks across her muzzle. Clearly, both of them had taken some chunks out of one another.
“I must say you were pretty fierce for some half-starved clanner.”
At this, Stoatpaw’s interest was piqued. He knew about the clans? But...how? Clearly seeing her newfound interest, the arrogant tomcat preened, straightening up. Even with his talk, she could see that he was no more of a wise and mature adult than she was.
“I know quite a bit, you know. I even know all about you.”
Stoatpaw was growing uncomfortable. Why did he know about her? What did he know? Did he know where she really came from? For the first time, the tomcat faced her head on, and her vision had cleared enough to pick out a unique quirk of his. While one eye was a pale, icy blue, the other was a vibrant gold, almost like a lighter shade of her own.
“Who are you?” she asked, “And what is this place?”
The odd-eyed cat laughed, tossing back his head. “It's the ski-lodge, don’t you know anything? And I’m Raptor, your br-”
“That's enough, Raptor.” Another voice cut him off before he could finish his statement. This voice belonged to yet another white tomcat, this one much larger and fluffier than Raptor. “Let me talk to her.”
By this point, Stoatpaw had gone from dazed and confused to just plain confused and annoyed. Who did this ‘Raptor’ think he was? She knew plenty of things, certainly more than some...whatever he was.
“I still don’t understand why you brought me here,” she muttered, her black-tipped tail flicking with impatience.
Raptor opened his mouth, ready to offer some sort of know-it-all retort, but the older tomcat silenced him, swishing his furry tail across the young cat’s mouth.
“My dear, let me explain,” he said, taking a seat across from her. “I have reason to believe that you and I may be connected more than you know. But forgive me, I never introduced myself properly. My name is Marshmellow, and you’ve already met my son, Raptor.” The fluffy tomcat shot a look back at Raptor, who had elected to lay down beside him and paw at a tassel on the pillows. “After he and you had your little tiff, he thought it would be best to bring you back here, where I could keep an eye on the both of you.”
Stoatpaw listened, choosing to trust the older tom, at least for the moment. He certainly seemed to know something about her, so she felt she needed to listen.
“Stoatpaw. My name is Stoatpaw.”
Marshmallow nodded graciously, thankful that she had offered her name.
“Well Stoatpaw, I’m afraid my story is not exactly a short one, so you may as well get comfortable.” Taking a deep breath, the tomcat bagan.
“As long as I can remember, twolegs have been visiting the lodge in leaf-bare. It's always just been a fact of my life that I would meet new twolegs, or have to deal with their pets. I always questioned why my twoleg let people bring their yappy dogs, or even some of their less good-natured cats around here, but I am certainly glad that he did, because otherwise I never would have met her.”
The white furred tom got a wistful look in his eye, remembering the good times that had passed him by.
“There were actually two she-cats that came with that family; Marigold and Chrysanthemum. Now, both of them were real pretty ladies, don't get me wrong, but Chrysanthemum was just something else. Her fur was always groomed perfectly, and she smelled like lavender. Her eyes, they were this pretty green color, like fresh leaves. Let me tell you, its a wonder that no tom had already claimed her for his own. When she was around, I could barely tell which way was my tail or my ears. I found myself looking forwards to the next time her two-legs would visit, even if it meant i had to deal with other annoying twolegs and their loud kits.”
Raptor interuppted, rolling his mismatched eyes. “Come on Dad, she doesn’t care about what her mother smelled like.”
Stoatpaw’s eyes went wide. Her mother?
“Wh-what are you talking about? I don’t have a mother. I was just...found.”
Marshmellow sighed, clearly wishing he had made this a private meeting between him and Stoatpaw. “I had wanted to break it to you another way, but yes, we have reason to believe that Crysanthemum was indeed your mother, and I your father.”
Stoatpaw was silent, trying to process everything. Things were not all adding up... not yet at least.
“Tell me the rest,” she insisted, staring at Marshmellow with a steely gaze. “Tell me everything.”
Marshmellow nodded, continuing his story.
“As I am sure you guessed, thanks to that unwelcome intteruption, Crysanthemum and I had a litter of two kits; a tom with mismatched eyes, and a she-kit with a black tail and ears. We were so happy, but we didnt know how our family was going to last. She had to go back to her twolegs, and I could not leave the lodge. As for you and Raptor, you were still so young that we did not think you could be without her, and we did not want you having to be without your mum. So, we agreed that you would both go with her, and that when you all returned in a few moons, and you could be away from her more, we could figure out what to do. And for moons, thats what I thought happened. I thought that both of you had gone with your mother, and been taken back to her home with her and Marigold. But I was wrong…”
Sorrow and regret tinged Marshmellow’s mew. It was obvious that he had dwelled on this part of the story for a long time, and it was still fresh in his heart.
“The next time they came back, only two cats returned; Marigold and Raptor. Marigold told me that only one of the kits had been brought home, and that the she-cat had gone missing only a moment before they left. The twolegs had not realized, and they eventually assumed that some sort of wild animal had taken you. All this time, I believed that you were dead, but now here you are, my daughter.”
Marshmellow moved forwards, trying to embrace his daughter. But Stoatpaw shrunk away from him. Things did match up, the times, the details...If she had somehow gotten lost, and waddled into the forest, and eventually fell asleep having found no shelter or prey, then it made sense that seh was then found by a PeakClan patrol. But there were still things that she did not understand. Why had nobody come looking for her? Where was her mother now?
Marshmellow sat back with a sigh. “You want to know what happened to her, dont you?” He asked.
Stoatpaw nodded hesitantly.
“Thats what I thought...I wanted to know the same thing when Marigold and Raptor showed up without her. I kept waiting for her to just walk in through the cat-flap, or tell me that she had just wanted to play in the snow before she came in. But she never did. She couldn’t. It had only been a few sunrises after they had gotten home when she felt it. One day she had a horrible pain that neither Marigold or her two-legs could understand. They took her to the vet, but they couldn’t fix it. Marigold told me that Crysanthemum had some kind of lump inside her brain, and that it had been growing bigger without anyone knowing. They tried, but nothing worked…”
Stoatpaw could feel a hot tear rolling down her cheek. “She’s...gone, isn’t she?”
Marshmellow nodded, staring at his paws. “Yes, she’s...gone.”
“Hey, easy there princess,” a voice near her laughed.
She snapped her focus towards him, instantly regretting the quick movement. She stumbled, and the other cat quickly came to her side, steadying her. Had she not felt as if she would collapse otherwise, Stoatpaw would never have accepted the assistance. As it was, however, she was too out of it to protest.
“What in the name of StarClan happened?” she asked, this time moving her head slowly.
“Well, lets see, you dropped out of the sky. My guess is that you must have been caught by some sort of eagle, based on those.” The tomcat nodded to a trio of long, talon-shaped wounds on her flank. Slowly, things were beginning to come back to her. She had been on her way to the ancient keeper to make her claw marks when an eagle swooped her, and started to carry her off. She had bitten and clawed, and managed to wriggle her way free, her flank being deeply gauged in the process.
“Luckily for you, you happened to land in a snow drift, where I found you,” the tomcat explained, arrogant sense of pride in his voice. He flicked one ear, marked with a deep, v-shaped scar. “Imagine my surprise when the crowfood I found came to life and tried to fight me.”
Stoatpaw could barely remember, but she did know that it was true. When the tomcat found her, she had instinctively thought he was some sort of wild animal, and the two of them had fought. She could feel the pair of claw marks across her muzzle. Clearly, both of them had taken some chunks out of one another.
“I must say you were pretty fierce for some half-starved clanner.”
At this, Stoatpaw’s interest was piqued. He knew about the clans? But...how? Clearly seeing her newfound interest, the arrogant tomcat preened, straightening up. Even with his talk, she could see that he was no more of a wise and mature adult than she was.
“I know quite a bit, you know. I even know all about you.”
Stoatpaw was growing uncomfortable. Why did he know about her? What did he know? Did he know where she really came from? For the first time, the tomcat faced her head on, and her vision had cleared enough to pick out a unique quirk of his. While one eye was a pale, icy blue, the other was a vibrant gold, almost like a lighter shade of her own.
“Who are you?” she asked, “And what is this place?”
The odd-eyed cat laughed, tossing back his head. “It's the ski-lodge, don’t you know anything? And I’m Raptor, your br-”
“That's enough, Raptor.” Another voice cut him off before he could finish his statement. This voice belonged to yet another white tomcat, this one much larger and fluffier than Raptor. “Let me talk to her.”
By this point, Stoatpaw had gone from dazed and confused to just plain confused and annoyed. Who did this ‘Raptor’ think he was? She knew plenty of things, certainly more than some...whatever he was.
“I still don’t understand why you brought me here,” she muttered, her black-tipped tail flicking with impatience.
Raptor opened his mouth, ready to offer some sort of know-it-all retort, but the older tomcat silenced him, swishing his furry tail across the young cat’s mouth.
“My dear, let me explain,” he said, taking a seat across from her. “I have reason to believe that you and I may be connected more than you know. But forgive me, I never introduced myself properly. My name is Marshmellow, and you’ve already met my son, Raptor.” The fluffy tomcat shot a look back at Raptor, who had elected to lay down beside him and paw at a tassel on the pillows. “After he and you had your little tiff, he thought it would be best to bring you back here, where I could keep an eye on the both of you.”
Stoatpaw listened, choosing to trust the older tom, at least for the moment. He certainly seemed to know something about her, so she felt she needed to listen.
“Stoatpaw. My name is Stoatpaw.”
Marshmallow nodded graciously, thankful that she had offered her name.
“Well Stoatpaw, I’m afraid my story is not exactly a short one, so you may as well get comfortable.” Taking a deep breath, the tomcat bagan.
“As long as I can remember, twolegs have been visiting the lodge in leaf-bare. It's always just been a fact of my life that I would meet new twolegs, or have to deal with their pets. I always questioned why my twoleg let people bring their yappy dogs, or even some of their less good-natured cats around here, but I am certainly glad that he did, because otherwise I never would have met her.”
The white furred tom got a wistful look in his eye, remembering the good times that had passed him by.
“There were actually two she-cats that came with that family; Marigold and Chrysanthemum. Now, both of them were real pretty ladies, don't get me wrong, but Chrysanthemum was just something else. Her fur was always groomed perfectly, and she smelled like lavender. Her eyes, they were this pretty green color, like fresh leaves. Let me tell you, its a wonder that no tom had already claimed her for his own. When she was around, I could barely tell which way was my tail or my ears. I found myself looking forwards to the next time her two-legs would visit, even if it meant i had to deal with other annoying twolegs and their loud kits.”
Raptor interuppted, rolling his mismatched eyes. “Come on Dad, she doesn’t care about what her mother smelled like.”
Stoatpaw’s eyes went wide. Her mother?
“Wh-what are you talking about? I don’t have a mother. I was just...found.”
Marshmellow sighed, clearly wishing he had made this a private meeting between him and Stoatpaw. “I had wanted to break it to you another way, but yes, we have reason to believe that Crysanthemum was indeed your mother, and I your father.”
Stoatpaw was silent, trying to process everything. Things were not all adding up... not yet at least.
“Tell me the rest,” she insisted, staring at Marshmellow with a steely gaze. “Tell me everything.”
Marshmellow nodded, continuing his story.
“As I am sure you guessed, thanks to that unwelcome intteruption, Crysanthemum and I had a litter of two kits; a tom with mismatched eyes, and a she-kit with a black tail and ears. We were so happy, but we didnt know how our family was going to last. She had to go back to her twolegs, and I could not leave the lodge. As for you and Raptor, you were still so young that we did not think you could be without her, and we did not want you having to be without your mum. So, we agreed that you would both go with her, and that when you all returned in a few moons, and you could be away from her more, we could figure out what to do. And for moons, thats what I thought happened. I thought that both of you had gone with your mother, and been taken back to her home with her and Marigold. But I was wrong…”
Sorrow and regret tinged Marshmellow’s mew. It was obvious that he had dwelled on this part of the story for a long time, and it was still fresh in his heart.
“The next time they came back, only two cats returned; Marigold and Raptor. Marigold told me that only one of the kits had been brought home, and that the she-cat had gone missing only a moment before they left. The twolegs had not realized, and they eventually assumed that some sort of wild animal had taken you. All this time, I believed that you were dead, but now here you are, my daughter.”
Marshmellow moved forwards, trying to embrace his daughter. But Stoatpaw shrunk away from him. Things did match up, the times, the details...If she had somehow gotten lost, and waddled into the forest, and eventually fell asleep having found no shelter or prey, then it made sense that seh was then found by a PeakClan patrol. But there were still things that she did not understand. Why had nobody come looking for her? Where was her mother now?
Marshmellow sat back with a sigh. “You want to know what happened to her, dont you?” He asked.
Stoatpaw nodded hesitantly.
“Thats what I thought...I wanted to know the same thing when Marigold and Raptor showed up without her. I kept waiting for her to just walk in through the cat-flap, or tell me that she had just wanted to play in the snow before she came in. But she never did. She couldn’t. It had only been a few sunrises after they had gotten home when she felt it. One day she had a horrible pain that neither Marigold or her two-legs could understand. They took her to the vet, but they couldn’t fix it. Marigold told me that Crysanthemum had some kind of lump inside her brain, and that it had been growing bigger without anyone knowing. They tried, but nothing worked…”
Stoatpaw could feel a hot tear rolling down her cheek. “She’s...gone, isn’t she?”
Marshmellow nodded, staring at his paws. “Yes, she’s...gone.”
