Jaci let out small groan of displeasure, rolling to her side. She felt the paw jab her side again, encouraging the young she-cat to awake. Jaci tried her best to ignore the nuisance, curling up into a tight ball, covering her face.
"C'mon, Jaci." a tom mewed, nudging her again. "It's going to be sunhigh soon, and you're still not up." the tabby told her. Instead of nudging her, this time her slowly gripped the ginger cat's scruff. Slowly dragging her to the outside of the old badger den in which the little cat had made her own nest.
"Jenner, stop it! You're going to my pelt all dirty!" Jaci complained, flailing around like a fish out of water.
"Sorry," Jenner mumbled, his voice muffled by Jaci's fur. He slowly set her down just outside of the den, feeling a bit proud of himself. "See? That wasn't so hard!" the lanky tom told her, offering her a sly smile.
Jaci huffed, looking away. "Yes, it was. My popularity was at stake!" She frowned, and her head drooped. It was as if nobody understood her. Except her best friend Shackle, of course. Unfortunately for her, the big lump of a cat was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Shackle?" Jaci finally asked, turning back towards Jenner, who was in turn still gazing at her. "And Maelstrom?" she noticed, glancing around. Even Twister and that plain looking cat that really needed her personal help was gone.
"Oh," Jenner yawned, stretching out in a relaxed manner. "Maelstrom had to head off to do some important business, ya' know." Jenner told her nonchalantly. "Shackle, Twister and Mackerel headed off with him. Jess too. He told me to stay behind."
"What?" Jaci cried, her fur began to spike with disapproval. "He just left without telling me? Why would he do such a thing! Does he know who I am? I'm Jaci! I'm his everything!"
Jenner chuckled, awkwardly resting his tail on the fiery she-cat. "He just thought it'd be best if you'd stay behind," Jenner explained, hoping to get the ginger cat to clam down. "After all, you are his little sister. The only kin he has."
Jaci seemed to drift into a calmer state, taking a deep breath. "So... why did you have to stay behind? Does Maelstrom want to protect you?" Jaci asked. She guessed Shackle wanted him to stay behind, Shackle was the caring one after all.
"Not exactly," Jenner mewed, removing his tail from the she-cat's shoulder and moving away. "Maybe we should try hunting, that way when they return they won't have to do much."
Jaci narrowed her eyes, aware of the sudden subject change. Okay, Jaci. You can do this! Just use your feminine charm to get the answers that you want! Jaci then realized she needed an example. After all, modeling others seems to always work best. Her thoughts began to drift to Twister and Jessie, were they good examples? Nah.
Mackerel? No.
Jaci suddenly had a gleam of inspiration, knowing who had the most feminine charm of them all. She tried to copy the large tom's stiff movements as she went over to Jenner, bowing her head.
"Jaci?" Jenner asked, his voice filled with caution. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, master." Jaci said in the deepest voice she could, stepping backwards. Time to use Shackle's feminine charm! "Master, it is a rather pretty day. Is it not, master? Yes sir, Yes sir." Jaci wasn't completely aware of what she was saying, but Shackle said stuff like that all the time. It must be working.
"What? You're not makin' any sense, ya' goofball." Jenner mewed, prodding her with his paw. "Are you sure you're alright?"
I just can't take this anymore!
Jaci leapt upon Jenner, managing to pin him. "Tell me why Maelstrom made you stay or else I'll do something!" she growled at him, she was proud of how menacing she was.
Jenner easily threw her off, rising back to his own paws. "You're a blockhead sometimes, you know." Jenner told her.
Jaci was fuming, and wasn't going to let Jenner beat her in an insult match. She needed a good comeback, and fast. "Shut up!" she finally settled on, sending him an angry look.
Jenner sighed, wondering where the she-cat got her enthusiasm from. She was nothing like her calculated older brother. "The reason why Maelstrom asked me to stay was to watch over you," he finally told the ginger she-cat. "He wanted me to keep you out of trouble, so you don't get yourself killed."
Without responding, Jaci took off at full speed, heading away from the grassy plain in which their den was. She couldn't stop running, rage boiling inside of her. Maelstrom always treated her like a kit!
Suddenly, the air all but left her small body. She could see Jenner's dusky brown shape atop of her, trying to pin her to the ground. "Jaci, wait!" he called, trying to halt her. "You won't oppress me!" Jaci snapped, kicking out her hind legs, sending the two cats toppling down a hill into a valley below.
"Ugh," Jaci groaned in pain, a small wail escaping her. A few fox-tail's away, Jenner was rising to his paws, angrily stomping towards her. "What was that, Jace? Are you trying to run away again?"
Jaci was trembling, but wasn't going to show how badly she was hurt from the fall. "No," Jaci snapped at the tom, not meeting his gaze. "I was going to find Maelstrom and make him take me along! I d-don't want to be left out in anymore!"
Jenner frowned, nudging her to her paws, noticing that one of her hind leg's was rather shaky. "You're hurt," Jenner mewed, going over to examine her. "We should get you back to the den soon."
The dusky tom looked up at the sky, the shining day was now being replaced with an array of dark clouds. "And fast," he added.
"No," the ginger she-cat replied, her tone adamant. "I want to be the special one for once, I don't want to be the annoying little sister that just tags along with everyone else! I want to show t-that I'm uselful!"
"You are useful, Jace." Jenner tried reasoning with her. "Nobody in the gang thinks you're useless. Heck, we probably couldn't function without and you're crazy antics."
"You guys have Jessie now," she pointed out, her voice low. "And everyone, even Shackle, seems to like her way better than they ever liked me. Especially you." she noted.
Jenner was taken aback by Jaci's words, not knowing how to approach this. "What are you talking about Jaci? Nobody likes the either of you better than other. You're both apart of the group, remember?"
"Whatever," Jaci mewed, carefully taking her first paw steps forward, flinching in pain as she moved her injured leg. "Just go back without me, because I'm not going to let you change my mind."
Jenner didn't reply, the dramatic she-cat sure was a handful, but he guessed that's what kept things interesting for the small group. "Fine, ya' got me there." Jenner admitted.
"What do you mean?" Jaci asked, still limping forward as a flash of lightning illuminated the darkening sky in the distance, echoed very shortly after by a large clap of thunder.
"I'm coming with you, whether you like or not ya' stinker." Jenner grinned at her, pressing to her side. "After all, I couldn't just let a little cat like you go off alone in place like this."
"I don't need your protection," Jaci mewed, moving at a much slower pace as the wind started to blow harder. She soon began to struggle to move against it, and was eventually being thrown backwards.
Jaci let out a small cry as she was thrown back a few fox lengths to the ground, only Jenner to jump under her and brace her fall. "Jenner!" she cried out, as another flash of lightning brightened the dark sky. Thundering roaring shortly afterwards.
"C'mon, over there!" Jenner shouted, flicking his tail to a medium sized-hole in the ground. "It could be badger set or a rabbit hole!" the dusky tom told her, racing towards it as heavy rain began to fall from the sky.
"B-But, my fur! It'll get dirty in there!"
Jenner turned around, giving her the look.
"Oh, fine!" the ginger she-cat called out, moving as fast as she could on three legs, ignoring the stabbing pain she felt. With a sudden leap, she once again landed on Jenner, who let out a moan of pain.
"Sorry!" Jaci, mewed, barely getting off of him. She tried pressing to the wall to avoid the water the was coming in from outside, but it was no use. The small den was too tight, and held very little room move around, leaving her pressed very close to the tom beside her.
"That was close," Jenner breathed, looking over at Jaci. "Are you okay?" he said, concern in his gaze. "I'm sorry if I sounded a bit mean back there, I just wanna ta' keep you safe."
Jaci, looked down in shame. "I'm sorry for being a brat... if I hadn't been so dramatic we wouldn't be stuck in this hole with a storm going on outside!" Jaci apologized, her voice filled with remorse.
"Don't be so down on yourself," Jenner chuckled, licking her ear. The tom didn't appear to be angry or disappointed. She knew Jenner was laidback but she didn't know he would be this passive with her. If anything, she would have expected Jenner to chew her out before trying to make her feel better.
"Why aren't you mad at me?" Jaci asked, awkwardly shifting. "Maelstrom would be furious..."
Jenner took a long pause, and closed his eyes for a minute or so. When they suddenly opened and he turned back to her, he flashed her with his signature cheeky grin. "I guess, you're just special to me." he mewed, confident.
Jaci's ears began to grow hot, and it didn't help that she was pressed close to the lanky tom. "S-Special?" she echoed his words, unsure of how to handle them. "Really?"
"Of course!" Jenner mewed, getting more serious. "If something happened to you, I would never be able to live with myself..." Jenner trailed off, unsure of how to say what he wanted to the ginger she-cat.
Jaci, having nothing to lose, spoke in a low voice. "I like you, Jenner." Oh glob, where's Shackle when you need him? Shackle would know what to do in a situation like this!
"Really?" Jenner asked, his cocky grin returning. He began to start chuckling and closed his eyes in content as clap of thunder roared from outside the den which they were in.
"Well?" Jaci asked, for once feeling nervous. Oh, no! He likes Jessie doesn't he! I'm so stupid! I look like such a complete loser right now! I'd rather be in Mackerel's body than deal with this.
Jenner pressed closer to the ginger she-cat, so that his face was close to her own. "We may be stuck in some random hole in the middle of Griffin Hill while it's storming, but honestly, I couldn't think of anything better ta' do." Jenner mewed, the tom as relaxed as ever. "Wanna know why?" the cheeky tom asked, with his goofy demeanor.
"Why?" Jaci asked, her heart beating faster than it has ever before.
"Well," Jenner started, leaning in closer to the suddenly love-stricken she-cat. "It's because, the feeling is definitely mutual."