"Is that it? That scrawny thing is the body?"
"Tessa, don't be so rude."
"I'm not being rude!"
"You're disrespecting this poor cat!"
Three kittypets stood side by side, inspecting a battered tortoiseshell body. One- his name was Scout- was black with a white chest, one- Tessa- was a muddy brown tabby, and the last was a pretty she-cat named Flower. They were crowding around each other, pushing to get closer to the body.
"This 'poor cat' is dead," Tessa said loudly, thrashing her tail back and forth.
"Tessa!" exclaimed Flower. "This is Turtle Tail! Don't you remember her?"
"Good riddance to her," Tessa snorted. "She should've watched her step on the Thunderpath. The same thing happened to Daisy because she wasn't careful."
"Turtle Tail was my friend," Scout said, his eyes gleaming with sadness.
Tessa suddenly looked at the body very jealously.
"I hope her kits turn out okay," Flower said, glancing anxiously towards the Thunderpath. "Maybe we should go find them."
"Please!" said Tessa, her tail bristling. "First you dragged me out to look for her body in the middle of my breakfast, and now you want to go find her kits?"
"It was just a suggestion," the she-cat said defensively. "Anyway, we have to bury her. It's the right thing to do."
"I'm sorry, Flower, but I'm with Tessa on this one," Scout said. "There's no place to bury her."
"We can't just leave her!" Flower insisted. "Let's bury her in Luna's front yard. She lives just nearby."
"Luna would freak out," Tessa said. "She hates dead things. She was in hysterics when their other cat died."
"Fine," Flower said. "How about in the greenery by the fountain?"
"We'd have to cross the Thunderpath with her," the black cat said, twitching his ear. "At least Luna's house is only a few fences away." His eyes suddenly lit up, and he tilted his head thoughtfully. "Why don't we dig up the loose soil and bury her right here?"
Tessa gave an indignant snort, but didn't say anything. She clearly couldn't think of an objection.
"That's a good idea, Scout," said Flower. "But is there enough dirt?"
"There's enough for this bush to grow," Scout said. "I say we bury her here, to honor Turtle Tail's memory.'
"Me too," Flower agreed.
They both looked expectantly at Tessa.
"You just don't want to get your paws dirty," Scout purred.
"Fine! I'll do it!" Tessa groaned. "But just know that instead of enjoying my breakfast, I'm spending time with you weirdos!"
Tessa began to furiously dig, shouting everyone dirty looks.
"Alright, let's go quick," said Scout. "My housefolk will start to worry about me."
He started digging too. Flower joined in, grimacing as the dirt clung to her paws. They dug and dug and dug until they hit roots, and then they dug some more, hollowing out as much space as they could without destroying the bush. Finally Tessa flopped out onto her back and moaned that she was too tired to dig, and Flower deemed the grave good enough.
Scout gently nosed the body in. All three kittypets watched the petals flutter around it for a moment.
"Well," Scout said, "Let's bury her, then."
Tessa got up reluctantly and started scoping all of the loose soil back into the hole. Flower and Scout helped her, Scout with his huge white paws and Flower with her dainty little toes. They were finished before the sun reached the highest point in the sky. Then they all gathered around the grave to admire their handiwork.
"Someone should put that rose by the fountain on her grave," Flower said, pointing with her tail to a display of roses.
Scout, who was a full head taller than the other two, bounded across the Thunderpath and stood up shakily on his hind legs. Even with the extra height, he could only barely pluck a single red rose out of the display. He hared back to the grave.
"Scout, you're bleeding!" Tessa exclaimed.
Scout spat out the rose. "Thorns will do that to you," he said, giving his bloody nose a lick.
"Ahem," said Flower. "We're gathered here today to remember Turtle Tail, an old friend of ours. She was struck down by a Thunderpath monster."
"i was the closest to Turtle Tail," Scout said sadly. "if Tom and Bumble weren't around, I could always drop by to say hi, and we would exchange stories. She taught me about the wild."
"I didn't talk to her much," Tessa said," But she seemed to be a strong, capable cat. It's a real shame she died."
"We have buried her to keep her safe from predators, and we left a rose behind to honor her," Flower said. "She was a good cat."
For a few moments, all three cats sat in silence.
"I'm starved!" Tessa announced. "I need to get back to my housefolk!"
Scout's whiskers twitched in amusement. "I should get going too."
"My housefolk will miss me," Flower agreed.
And with that, all three kittypets left the bush, the rose still sitting on top of Turtle Tail's grave.