"Hey Pit, you want to come hunt with me and Adderstripe?"
Pit looked up from preening his wings as Millie peeked into the den. She was dripping wet, her tunic clinging to her sides and her hair all matted and thin-looking.
"In the rain?"
Millie shrugged.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to. I can't make you. However, I would really like it if you did."
Pit found himself getting to his feet and following Millie outside. It was pouring rain, and muddy puddles littered the ground. As they walked to the entrance of the camp, Pit noticed the fresh-kill pile was not out in the middle of the camp, but under a shrub near the Highrock.
"It's so the fresh-kill doesn't turn to crowfood being all wet," Adderstripe remarked, as she joined up with the two of them, and they headed out into the forest.
"Were going to go hunt at Snakerocks," Millie said, looking back at Pit. "Might seem dangerous, but the adders won't be active at this time. They will have already hunkered down in their nests for leaf-bare. Just stay out of the old dens and crevices, and you'll be fine."
Walking through the forest, it wasn't much drier under the trees than it was in the open camp, since most of the trees had shed their leaves. By the time they reached the Snakerocks, Pit was as drenched as Millie was, and he kept shaking his head in discomfort, not liking the feeling of his wet hair on his face and the back of his neck.
The cooing of a pigeon distracted him, and he saw a whole flock gathered at a large puddle near the old Highrock. He quickly brushed his hair out of his face, then crouched down, preparing to make his catch. With his wings out for balance, he pounced. The birds took off in panic as Pit brought down two of them. He landed in the puddle, but he didn't care. He was already soaked from the rain.
"Nice catch, Pit," Adderstripe called.
He hid the dead pigeons under a holly bush to keep them out of the rain.
Pit looked around for another thing to hunt, when he saw a mouse hiding from the rain under a fern. He slowly crept towards the mouse, keeping his weight on his hips so he wouldn't make as much impact on the ground. But just when he pounced, he saw Millie go after it too. She collided with him, and they flipped over a couple of times before hitting the wall of the ravine. The mouse scampered away, unharmed.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize you were hunting that mouse too."
Millie got off of Pit, and stepped back to let him get up.
"It's okay, I didn't either," he replied as he rose to his feet. "Although it would've been nicer had we not have hit the wall."
He rubbed the back of his head, still kind of dazed from the impact.
"You know, I never realized you had such a thin figure until now."
"Huh?"
Pit looked down at himself with a start. The fibula brooch that held his chiton in place had come off, and the straps of his undershirt were torn, revealing his torso. Millie was right; he did have a thin figure. But at the same time, he also had a decent amount of muscle in his chest and his back, especially around his shoulder blades, where his wings were attached. It was actually kind of attractive. Rather embarrassed, Pit wrapped his wings around himself, then went to look for his brooch.
Millie kind of chuckled a bit in amusement, then went to help him look for his pin. Strangely, it was nowhere to be found.
"It probably went flying when you hit the wall. We'll find it eventually. And you actually have no need to be embarrassed. A lot of toms only cover their privates until they reach old age, then they start fully covering themselves."
It felt weird, not having anything covering his torso. He was so used to having full clothes on that he felt kind of naked having his upper half exposed.
As the two went to retrieve the pigeons Pit had brought down, Adderstripe came up carrying a raccoon. Her eyes went wide when she saw Pit without his chiton on completely.
"Wow, quite the figure you've got."
Pit blushed as he sheepishly hid his face with his wing.
Millie went to go retrieve the shrew she'd caught when she saw something glittering in the mud near where they had collided. She dug it up, and examined it.
It was a hinged pin attached to a circular plate made of gold. A red gem was embedded in the plate.
After getting her piece of prey, she held up the pin upon approaching Pit and Adderstripe.
"Pit, is this it?"
"Yes, it is! Where was it?"
"It was buried in the mud where we had collided. The force of me hitting you must've knocked it loose."
Millie opened it up and took the two ends of his chiton so they were crossing over each other on his shoulder. She slipped the pin in where the ends overlapped, then went to close it, only to find the little end that the tip of the pin would go in had broken off. No wonder the brooch had come off so easily.
"It will work for the time being. When we get back to camp, I'll make a little makeshift pin for you. I may even be able to fasten it to the base of this one."
"I'd really like it if you did. That gem is very precious to me."
"I bet so. Well, whatever makes you happy."
Cedarstar was rather pleased when he saw the fresh-kill the trio brought back.
"I appreciate you three for completing that task. I know with all the rain we're not very motivated to go out and hunt, but it's for the good of the tribe, and putting your tribe's needs before your own is vital to being a loyal tribe member. I am grateful for you doing so."
The three went and put their fresh-kill in the pile, then headed to the warrior's den to dry off.
"Wow, you're muddy," Millie noted, looking Pit over.
"Hm?" He looked down at himself. Sure enough he was covered in mud. Most of it had washed off in the rain, but his clothes still had brown stains on them.
"It'll wash out eventually. I wouldn't worry about it too much."
Millie went to her nest, and shuffled through the bedding, revealing a small bag tied shut with blue string. She opened it up, revealing numerous animal bones, claws, and teeth, as well as a small knife.
"It's for making pins. I don't mind if you watch."
Millie combed her bangs out her face, and sat down in her nest, where she silently worked. Pit sat down in his own nest, and watched her in fascination.
She started with taking a cougar's fang, and whittling it down to a thin strip of bone that tapered to a point. On the thicker end, she hollowed out a small hole, then set the piece aside. Taking a piece of a bird's wing bone, she carved out two holes equal in distance from the end of the bone, one of which didn't go through all the way. She pulled out a piece of thin leather strapping, and cut a small piece off. This was then strung through the hole that went all the way through. The cougar's tooth was strung onto the leather, and the end was smoothed out. She strung the other end through the hole, and tied both ends together on the side of the bone opposite of the cougar tooth.
With a small piece of rib, she carved it down to half its thickness, flat on one side, except for near the end. A small, curved notch was cut here, just a little bit bigger than the cougar tooth's tip. She thinned out a tiny bit of the end, then cut a tiny hole in the thinner part. Taking care not to force it into place, she inserted the rib into the other hole. Once it was in place, she took one of the scrap pieces of bone, cut down to the length of her nail, and stuck it into the hole she'd made in the rib. This kept the rib piece from coming out of the hole it was wedged in.
The result was a simple pin with a base that could easily have things added to it for decoration. The leather strap acted as a hinge, and the end of the cougar tooth fit snugly into the notch on the rib when closed.
She made another one identical to the first, but this one she took a piece of leather and wove it around the base. With a flat piece of white wood, she carved out what looked like a wing, and made a hole in the bottom. In the side, where the main shaft of the wing ended, she made two slits, just slightly wider than the leather was thick. She went out and fetched a few berries from a holly bush, then came back inside. With her fist, she crushed the berries, and used the flesh to color the wing a light shade of red. She then strung it onto the leather, threading one end through the slights, and the other through the hole. She tied the ends off, and trimmed off the excess length.
"Here Pit, give me your brooch."
Although a bit reluctantly, he removed the one he was wearing, and handed it to Millie. She set it with the rest of her things, then took the pin she'd just finished, and slipped it onto his chiton.
"This is just until I figure out how I can potentially attach the pin to the base of your other one."
Pit looked over at his shoulder, and found himself admiring how much effort Millie had put into making that little pin. He smiled gratefully at her, then arched his back up and vigorously beat his wings, shaking out all the water that was in them.
Millie put her things away, and returned them to their place under her nest. She then headed outside to talk with Cedarstar.
Moments after she left, Swiftwind came into the den.
"Hey, Pit. I just got back from hunting. I actually managed to kill my prey the way Millie does."
"Good for you."
"It was easy, though. I was hunting an old robin that struggled taking off. So not too exciting."
Swiftwind eyed the pin on Pit's shoulder.
"Millie sure has become rather fond of you."
"I guess, I haven't really been paying attention."
"You like her, don't you?"
That put him on the edge of being extremely embarrassed for some reason.
"Wha-?!"
Swiftwind giggled.
"I can see it on your face. You like her."
"I do not! Maybe as a friend, but how you're putting it, great Startribe, no!"
But as he said that, his brain started to question whether that was true. Ever since he'd met her, just her presence seemed to have a strange affect on him, and he would get this odd feeling of attraction towards Millie. He was never fully aware of it until now, and as he thought about it now, he realized that he'd never felt the way he did with anyone before he came to the forest, and he didn't know what it was, or why he felt that way.
Do I like her?...Not just as a friend, but something else?...I don't know...I've been real close to other people before, but not like this...Maybe it's because I've been the only one of my kind for the last several years, and have just been longing for close companionship...
"I know you're trying to deny it. I'm not surprised. You should say something to her next chance you get."
Pit sharply glared at him.
"Would you just stop? I can't think about that right now."
The tom just nodded and went to curl up in his nest. Pit rested his head down in his arms, as he subconsciously tried to comprehend what it was that made him so attracted to Millie.
It continued to rain as night fell. Millie came in soaked, and she shook herself off the moment she came inside.
"It's probably going to be raining like this for the next few moons. Then it will go from rain to snow as leaf-bare comes."
"Not much fun, huh?"
"Nope, not really. What's more, it gets colder around this time, and being cold and wet is not fun at all. It gets to be quite miserable real fast."
Millie reached around and undid her belt, and set it aside. Then, much to Pit's shock, she took off her tunic.
Underneath, she wore a thin undershirt that was cut off in the middle, so it only covered her chest, and a loose skirt uneven in length, that was tied around her waist.
But the thing that got him the most was just how slender of a figure she had. It almost seemed unreal. Her back curved in and out beautifully, and her muscular shoulders flowed perfectly into her chest. She had a gorgeous skin tone; real light, like the color of cream that gave rise to a lovely shade of tan on her arms and legs, where she'd gotten tan from living in the wild.
Millie abruptly looked over at him.
"Would you not...stare at me like that? It's scaring me."
Pit snapped out of his thoughts, and shook his head, slightly confused.
"Ah! Sorry. I just-"
"I know. I get that a lot."
Millie looked down and scratched the back of her head. She seemed to be wanting to tell him something, but was having a hard time thinking how she wanted to say it.
But she was quickly distracted when Sandfeather came in limping.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"I was climbing up a tree to catch a finch, when my feet suddenly slipped out from under me, and I fell. I landed funny, and twisted my ankle."
"Has Whitefeather seen it?"
"Yeah. She applied nettle leaves to help with the swelling, then gave me some poppy seeds for the pain. She told me to stay in camp for a few days, if not a little longer."
"Oh. Well, at least that gives you an excuse to not have to go out and hunt in the rain."
They both burst out laughing.
"Yes, there is that. Although I do enjoy hunting, never mind the rain. In fact, I probably like it more. You don't have to worry about competing with other animals for prey."
As the two continued to talk, Pit curled up in his nest and started grooming himself. But he couldn't stop thinking about how he felt towards Millie. He wished he knew why he felt the way he did, when he never had before. It was something he struggled to understand.
I'll figure it out eventually, he thought, as he flopped down onto his side and drifted off into a light sleep.
The days went by, and Pit found himself starting to become rather restless. He wanted to somehow tell someone how he felt, but he couldn't think how he wanted to express himself, and how he could describe his feelings. It left him kind of frustrated and unsettled.
It continued to rain in a torrential downpour, without ceasing or even letting up in the least, and as Millie had said, it was miserable. The ground couldn't hold all the water, and some of the dens, including the warrior's den, started leaking. It was getting increasingly difficult to find dry bedding, and the elders and queens often complained about it.
Pit found he was being asked to go hunt more, and once, as they were heading out to hunt, Millie explained to him why.
"Like us, our prey doesn't like the cold and wet either, and they go into hiding. It's harder to find prey out in the open, where you can catch them. So we have to hunt more often to provide enough food for the tribe."
"Oh. Makes sense."
"Like I said when we met, we hunt to survive. You really get an idea now for just how precious every piece of prey is to us..."
She trailed off as her ears twitched at the chattering of a squirrel. At the foot of the Great Sycamore, the bushy-tailed critter stood beneath a bare shrub, collecting seeds.
Millie thought for a moment whether or not it was worth going after that squirrel. The great Sycamore was so close it was all too easy for the critter to scamper up the tree, and out of danger. But if done right, it could be caught. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Pit preparing to go catch it.
"That might not be worth going after. Notice how close to the tree it is."
But Pit didn't seem to hear her, and he continued to creep up on the squirrel. The instant the squirrel put its back to him, he pounced. Just as Millie had thought, the critter sensed him coming, and it stuffed another seed in its mouth before climbing up the tree. But instead of just giving up the chase, Pit crouched down with his wings out, as though he were preparing to take off.
"Oh no, you don't-!"
He sharply jumped straight up, flapping his wings to gain more altitude, and landing neatly on a thick limb. The squirrel continued its way higher and higher up into the tree, and Pit continued to follow it. Millie became increasingly anxious as he got further and further away from the ground. By the time he slowed his rate of ascent, he was high enough up that if he fell, he could easily end up killing himself by landing the right way, breaking his neck.
"Pit, get down from there! You're going to get yourself killed!"
Pit ignored her, and kept climbing. He was determined to catch that squirrel. The critter finally stopped climbing and perched itself on a long branch to nibble on its seed. Seeing his chance, he silently crept over onto the branch the squirrel was on, and just when the squirrel could've sensed him, he grabbed it by its neck, strangling it. It was soon dead. But before he could start climbing down, the branch groaned under the angel's weight before it snapped, causing Pit to cry out as he began to fall, helplessly beating his wings.
Millie watched in shock as Pit plummeted towards the ground. She could see he was using his wings, but it didn't seemed to be doing anything. A few moments later, the angel came down and painfully hit the ground, head-first. He tumbled over a couple of times, and ended up on his side.
"Pit!"
Millie ran up to him, fearing for the worst. He was completely unresponsive and limp. However, much to Millie's shock, his chest was still slowly and steadily expanding and retracting as he breathed. She figured his wings had slowed his fall to some degree, and he was just knocked unconscious from the force of the impact.
Suddenly, Cedarstar and three other warriors came charging through the brush, alarmed by Pit's cries. Cedarstar's eyes was almost immediately drawn to Pit's unconscious form.
"Millie, what happened?"
"He went after a squirrel that we saw, and it went up in the tree. He climbed up the tree after it, and just after he caught it, the branch he was standing on broke, and he fell. I saw him using his wings, but it didn't seem to do anything, except maybe slow his fall."
"How high up was he?"
"He was a little more than halfway up, maybe higher. You can actually see the branch he was on at the time he fell."
She pointed up into the leafy canopy. A long branch about three quarters of the way up the tree was broken in the middle, and was hanging by a sliver of the inner flesh. There were numerous other broken branches and sticks from Pit colliding with them as he fell.
"Wow, that's a long fall. Is he still alive?"
"Yeah, which surprises me. He's just unconscious."
"I see. Thanks, Millie."
Cedarstar bent down and carefully positioned his hands under the angel, gently picking him up. He was surprisingly light, and easy to carry.
When they got to the camp, much of the tribe was shocked when they saw Pit. Daisyleaf and Thornfang explained to them what happened while Millie followed Cedarstar to the medicine den. Whitefeather was tending to Sandfeather's ankle when he came in. She was shocked when she saw he was carrying Pit.
"Great Startribe, what happened to him?"
"He chased a squirrel up the Great Sycamore, and he fell. He's not dead, but it is probably for the best he was with you, since there is probably some damage done that we can't see."
Whitefeather nodded at him.
"Put him near the back of the den there. I will tend to him in a moment."
Cedarstar went to the back of the den, and carefully set Pit down. The floor of the den was blanketed in bedding here, to be used by people who needed to stay in the medicine den for whatever reason. Millie arranged some of the bedding into a little nest, where she sat down, and smoothed out the feathers on Pit's wings. She was about to get up when Cedarstar looked back at her, but Whitefeather shook her head.
"I'm okay with her being there. In fact, it's probably better she's here when Pit wakes up."
Cedarstar nodded once at her, then left the den.
"Why did you say that?"
"Pit's gotten rather close to you, from what I've observed. It would very much comfort him to see you rather than me when he woke up. Given how old I am, my presence would probably scare him."
"You're not that old. Cedarstar and Darkfang are older than you."
"Not by much. I don't know what I'm going to do. Cherryleaf is dead, Heatherfur is now a nursery queen...I need an apprentice, but none of the kits seem right for the job. And the longer I wait, the harder things get on me."
The crying of a hurt kit made Whitefeather look up. She peeked outside, to see a ginger-haired kit with a thistle thorn stuck in its hand, trying to get it out.
"We really need to fix that briar wall. Anyway, you know what to do when he wakes up, right?"
"Yep."
Whitefeather left the den.
Millie reached into her bag of supplies which she had fetched from the warrior's den, and took out Pit's fibula brooch, along with the pin she'd made. She'd been trying to figure out how to attach the two for a while, and she now had a possible solution.
She took a flat piece of bone and carved out a small hole the same diameter as the pin on the brooch, as well as two slits near the ends. A piece of leather was then strung through one end, and then set aside.
With the pin she'd made, she smoothed down the surface of the bird bone, and made several slits in it. She set this aside as well, and then took a small rib and cut a thin notch in the thicker end. She cut out two holes, and then did the same with another. These she fit onto the base of the brooch's hinge, and stuck a piece of thin bone through the holes so they couldn't come off.
Taking the flat piece of bone, she slipped it onto the needle, sliding it all the way down to the hinge. She then slipped on the pin. She loosely looped the leather strap twice around each end of the hinge base, tied individually in a knot, and then threaded through the bird bone. One end of the leather was woven through the slits she'd cut. Both she had emerge from a hole next the notched rib, and then looped around the ribs and tied together.
The result was the bone pin was tied onto the needle of the brooch. The flat bone piece and the leather attached to it kept the needle from moving around on its hinge. When put on a piece of clothing, the bone pin wouldn't be visible.
Suddenly, Millie heard a soft whimper, and she turned to see Pit's hand twitch. With a soft grunt, he shifted his limbs, his face contorted in pain. Millie put the brooch down, and gently rested her arm on him, stroking his head.
"Pit...You're going to be alright..."
At the sound of her voice, Pit let out a small moan, and relaxed a bit. After a long moment, he opened his eyes, and wearily looked up.
"...huh?...M-Millie..."
He slowly raised his head and looked around.
"...M-Millie...wh-what...what am I doing here..?"
"You fell out of the Great Sycamore, chasing a squirrel. You've been out since Sunhigh."
It took him a moment to remember.
"...Oh, yeah that...And...I-I realize now...I shouldn't...h-have done that..."
"Yeah, you need to be careful when chasing prey up trees. Often times, it's just not worth it. Anyway, is there anything you need, Pit?"
At first, he couldn't think of anything, but then his stomach growled loudly. He nodded slightly.
"...D-Do you think you could...get me a piece of fresh-kill? I'm...I'm really hungry..."
Millie nodded, and she headed to the fresh-kill pile. She chose a robin from the pile, and took it back to the medicine den, where Pit had managed to prop himself up a bit. The moment she set the bird down in front of him, he bent forward and started tearing away at it.
"Th-Thanks..."
Pit scarfed down that robin pretty quickly. Millie then brought him a vole, and a sparrow for herself.
"Hey Pit, I need to ask you something."
He looked up from his vole.
"What?"
"When you fell, I saw you were using your wings, but it wasn't doing anything. What was that about?"
Pit looked down at the ground, his face hot with embarrassment. He'd never told Millie about the unique disability he had, and he hadn't expected her to find out about it so soon.
"I...I knew you would find out eventually. And...it's really embarrassing..."
He gazed back at his wings, and fluttered them.
"I can't fly."
At that, Millie was utterly shocked.
"You're...You're an angel, and you can't fly?"
Pit closed his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah...I'm a flightless angel."
"How come?"
"I don't know. Really, I don't. I was never given an explanation why. My wings are fine, it's not an injury or something like that that's keeping me from flying. It's just...I don't know. All I know is that I was told, when I was six years old, that even though I have wings, I can't fly with them. And I've just left it at that for the last several years."
"Oh. Almost makes you question why even have wings if they're of no use."
"Well...my wings aren't entirely useless. I can glide for a short time with them, but if I try to flap them to try and fly, I fall. They still provide some lift, just not enough to achieve flight, I guess. I don't know, I don't really think much of it now."
"Oh. I was just curious."
"I wish I could fly, though."
Pit licked his lips as he finished his vole. He started to sit up, but was unable to when his left shoulder was seized by excruciating pain, causing his arm to give way from underneath him. Millie rushed to his side, and bent down so she was level with him.
"Pit, what's wrong?"
"It's...It's my shoulder...it really hurts..."
He tried to sit up again, but the pain of his shoulder made him falter. Millie had him turn over onto his other side, and she examined his shoulder. She found that part of his shoulder, around where his collar bone connected to his arm, was swollen, and Pit winced when she touched it.
"Pit, can you move your shoulder at all?"
As though to answer her, he tried to move his shoulder around, but it only took a second before it became too painful to do so. As he let his shoulder go limp, Millie heard a faint cracking noise, like the ends of a snapped stick being rubbed together. She didn't have to guess to know his collar bone was broken. Not too surprising, since he'd landed on his shoulder when he fell.
"I expected to find that. You've broken your collar bone. It doesn't look that bad, but you'll need to take it easy for the next half-moon or so."
Millie had him take off his scarf and slip off the strap of his undershirt so she could tend to his shoulder. She then started with taking nettle leaves, and chewing them up into a pulp, which she gently applied to his shoulder, where it was swollen. After a moment, she set the chewed up leaves aside, and took comfrey roots and chewed them up. This, she applied to his shoulder, then wrapped a piece of cloth over it.
"It's to help the bone heal. The nettle was for the swelling. It's not something you want to keep on your skin for a long period of time, since it's nettle."
It was then that Whitefeather came in. She was surprised to see Millie tending to Pit.
"I'm impressed. I never educated you on medicine herbs, and neither did Tawny Leaf, yet you know what the different herbs do, and how to use them, almost as though you were a tribe healer."
Millie looked back at her.
"I learned from watching you and Tawny Leaf. I remember you used comfrey and nettle leaves on Thistleheart when he broke his ankle trying to get free from a fox trap."
"That's true, I did use comfrey and nettle on him. Tawny Leaf had also used them on Dovepool when she broke her hand in the process of rescuing Adderstripe from a landslide."
Pit seemed to kind of perk up a bit at the mentioning of Dovepool. Whitefeather noticed this, but didn't think much of it, and she sat down at the other end of the den, and started sorting through a pile of herbs left for her by one of the apprentices.
"Wait, you were never taught anything about medicine herbs?"
"Nope," Millie replied, as she finished tending to Pit's shoulder. "Most of my training consisted of learning how to hunt and fight, the rules of the warrior code, and stuff like that. I just happen to be rather intrigued by how different herbs were used for different things when I was growing up. I would watch what Whitefeather did whenever someone came to her for something, making note of the herbs she used. I did that with the tribe healer before her, which was Tawny Leaf. That's how I know so much about medicine herbs."
"Oh."
Pit tried to get up again, but when he faltered because of his shoulder, Millie offered her hand to him, which he gratefully accepted, and she helped pull him up. He staggered upon getting to his feet, still dazed from being knocked out.
"You'll need to stay in camp for a few days to let your shoulder heal. Try not to lay down on your left side too much, as that can put strain on your shoulder."
Pit just nodded at her as he slipped on his undershirt and put his scarf back on.
"I may come and check on you every now and then," Whitefeather called, looking back. "If your shoulder starts to really hurt, let me know."
"Thanks, I will."
Pit immediately went to the warrior's den, and curled up in his nest. Adderstripe was there, carving necklace beads out of wood.
"Oh. Hey, Pit. I heard what happened earlier. You okay?"
He turned to look at her.
"Yeah. Although I hurt my shoulder when I fell."
"You're lucky it's your shoulder you damaged, and not your neck. You would've been dead for sure."
"I came close to injuring my neck. Had I not have come down at an angle, I would have."
"Oh. Anyway, I'm glad to see you're okay."
Pit smiled a bit, then turned back around so his back was to the wall of the den, and started preening his wings, ignoring the slight throbbing in his shoulder as he put a little bit of weight on it.
It was hard enough on Pit trying to cope with being confined in the camp due to his injury, but something else that he was trying to deal with in his heart was really getting to him.
He still had no idea why he felt the way he did towards Millie, and had given up trying to figure it out. After all this time of holding onto his feelings towards Millie, he'd made up his mind to talk to her, really talk to her, about how he felt. But he'd never done something like this before, and didn't know what to do, or how to express his feelings.
Multiple times, other warriors pointed it out to him that he liked her, and it didn't help. Especially Swiftwind. He was a close friend to Millie, so he almost always had to bring up the subject of Pit liking her whenever he was around, and telling Pit he should say something to her about it. Luckily, the tom wasn't around Pit all that much, so it wasn't too irritating. It was what he said and how he said it that made his comments very much a hindrance.
"I know I've said this to you before, but it's now or never."
Pit looked up as the black-and-white haired tom came into the den. The white streaks in his hair looked gray from the rain.
"The sooner you tell her, the better."
"Swiftwind, just stop. I don't need you ranting on about that again. I get enough from most of the tribe telling me about it."
Swiftwind seemed oblivious to the irritated tone of Pit's voice.
"You know, it's rather strange. You seem very attracted to her, but not interested in trying further develop a relationship with her. Why is that?"
"I don't know, okay? I've never known. Now leave me alone."
Pit turned around so his back was to the tom.
That made Swiftwind pick up on Pit's irritation, and he was silent for a moment.
"Pit..."
"Leave me alone!"
Without thinking, and before he realized what he was doing, Pit whipped around and lashed out at the tom, sending him reeling backwards. For a minute, Swiftwind stood crouched down where he was, his eyes wide with shock as he gazed at Pit. There were two long scratches on his cheek, both of which were bleeding.
"Wh-why...What was that for?"
The tom sounded almost frightened.
Pit guiltily looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry...I wasn't thinking when I did that. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's not that bad," Swiftwind replied, although the blood from the scratches was starting to trickle down his face.
"Well, anyway, I just would like it if you didn't talk about my feelings toward Millie. I'm already struggling with it, and it doesn't help with you constantly bringing it up."
"Okay. I just want to say one thing to you, and then I'll stop."
"What is it?"
"There's a reason why I keep telling you to talk to Millie about your feelings. And that's because she likes you too."
Pit did not see that one coming at all.
"How do you know?"
"Why else would she be so generous to you, and be so willing to try and make you happy, by doing all these nice things for you? First, she brings you fresh-kill, then she makes that pin for you, and now she's taking care of your injuries. She's never done that with anyone before. Sure, she's done nice favors for others, but what she's doing for you goes way beyond that. What other reason could there be for her being so compassionate to you other than her liking you?"
Swiftwind did have a point. Millie was really generous to him. He remembered how Millie had brought him fresh-kill before he started his visit with the tribe, and that she was almost always waiting for him by the crooked oak trees. As he thought about it now, he realized it did seem off how she was so willing to do things for him if it made him happy.
"Anyway, that's why I keep urging you to tell Millie how you feel, because she likes you too, and will more than likely accept you as a mate. All you need to do is tell her."
The tom went to the medicine den to have Whitefeather look at the scratches on his cheek.
Swiftwind's argument that Millie liked him just as he did made him start to see their bond in a whole different light. When he first met Millie, he thought her generosity was part of her personality. And it probably was, to an extent. But thinking about how she treated him now, it was a bit excessive for a friendship, even a very close one. What's more, it seemed like she was spending more of her time with him than with friends that she'd had longer than him.
A sudden shadow cast over him made him look up, and he saw Millie enter the den, dripping wet. Her entire underside, and her arms and legs were caked with thick mud. She had mud all over her face too.
"What's with all the mud?"
Millie looked down at herself.
"It was really muddy where we were hunting. I kept slipping and falling in the mud whenever I went to pounce."
"Oh."
"I was lucky to catch anything. All I was able to bring back was a pitiful-looking mouse."
She took off her tunic, and lay down in her nest. After a moment, she grabbed her bag of supplies.
"I forgot to give this to you. I would've given it to you sooner, but I was too busy with doing things for the tribe I didn't."
For a second, she turned so her back was to him, and she briefly rummaged through the bag. As she turned to face him, she held up his fibula brooch.
"I was able to attach the pin I'd made to your brooch."
She handed it to him so he could look at how she had attached the two. It was rather fascinating how she had done it, and so intricately.
Millie moved closer to him, and took off the other decorated pin that she'd made. In its place, she slipped on his fibula brooch. Thanks to how she had flattened the surface of the bird bone, the bone pin couldn't be seen, and it didn't look any different than it had before it broke.
"Thanks, Millie. Really, thanks a lot. I like how you did this."
"No problem."
Millie put away her bag, and started cleaning the mud off her arms.
"How's your shoulder?"
Pit glanced down at his bandaged shoulder. He flexed his arm.
"It still hurts to use it. Not as much as before, but still hurts."
"That's good, it means the bone is healing. You'll still want to stay in camp for a few days, until it doesn't hurt to simply move your arm."
"Okay."
As Millie resumed cleaning herself off, Pit looked around, and saw that he and Millie were alone in the den. He started to say something to her, when Liontail came in, combing clumps of debris out of his hair.
"This is why I don't like how long my hair is. Things get tangled in it easily. I'm surprised you don't have the same problem."
"My hair isn't coarse, like yours. It's easy to comb stuff out of mine because it's straight. Plus, your hair is thicker than mine."
"That's true."
He winced as he pulled on a knot in his hair.
"And that's why I'm called Liontail. Because my hair is like a lion's mane. It's just hard to maintain with it like it is."
"I bet so. Maybe you need to comb it out more often."
Pit only half-listened. He was kind of ticked off with the timing of Liontail's appearance. The tom went and sat down in his nest, where he continued combing out his hair.
"Hey Pit, you okay?"
Millie's question caught him by surprise.
"Huh? Y-Yeah. I'm...I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."
Millie didn't really believe him, but she said nothing more.
"Hey Millie, Cedarstar wants you to help gather new bedding."
Adderstripe's voice made her look up, and she headed outside to where the red-haired female was waiting by the camp entrance, along with Darkpool and Daisyleaf. Pit rested his head down as he watched Millie leave, feeling frustrated and set back.
Many times throughout his life, Pit had felt, and been, lost. He'd been lost when his mother died. He'd felt lost when he was captured. He'd felt lost trying to push aside his past emotions. But never had he felt more lost than this.
He'd tried many times to tell Millie about he felt, but she was hardly around in camp now, outside of sharing tongues in the evening, and coming back from doing something. It was hard to find the chance to talk to her, and every opportunity he got, either someone else was around, or she was acting like a tribe healer, and telling him to rest. He had no idea how many days go by like this, but he didn't like it.
It didn't help that he still had to stay in camp most of the time. He could go on short walks around the territory now, but he wasn't allowed to hunt, as that put strain on his injured shoulder. For Pit, he was just grateful to be able to go outside, and be away from everyone for a while, as it gave him time to think.
Coo coo, coo. The soft cooing of a dove snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the bird perched in a beech tree, its dark eyes glittering. Its feathers were light silver in color, with a metallic sheen which became visible when the bird spread its wings to preen them. Pit spread out his own wings as he watched the bird, a feeling of loneliness and sorrow filling him.
After a moment, the dove stopped preening its wings, and gazed down at Pit, tilting its head in curiosity. Pit realized then that the bird's eyes weren't dark brown as he'd thought, but a brilliant blue, taken up mostly by the bird's pupil, so they looked dark brown from a distance. It reminded him a lot of his mother, Dovepool.
He stood there for a long time, just gazing at the dove, which did the same, sitting on the tree branch looking down at him. The rustling of foliage alarmed the bird, and it quickly took off into the trees, just as Millie came charging along the branch. Her eyes glittered with frustration as she watched the bird vanish.
"Darn it! I thought I had that one."
"Hey, Millie."
"Hm?" She looked around, slightly confused, then noticed Pit. "Oh, it's you. I assume you're just out for a little walk."
"Yep, I am. What about you? Hunting?"
"Yeah, and so far, I've only managed to catch a chaffinch. I tried going after a magpie earlier, but it got away."
"You seem to have a preference for hunting birds. Is there a reason for that?"
Millie just shrugged.
"I don't know. I don't think I do. But then I don't really pay attention. Prey is prey to me."
She jumped down out of the tree, and started tagging alongside Pit.
"I've been out hunting for a while. I could use a break."
Pit didn't know what to think, but said nothing.
The two were silent for a long while. The rain had let up a bit, and it was only just lightly drizzling. Finally, Millie broke the silence.
"Hey Pit, who's Keto?"
"Huh?"
"Keto. I uh...I heard you mumble that name while you were napping."
At first, Pit didn't know whether to be embarrassed or amused, but as his memories of the angel started running through his head, he found himself being more morose than anything.
"Keto...was a close friend. He was one of the other angels living in Skyworld. Other than my mentor, Chiron, Keto was the only true friend I had. The others, I may have formed a small relationship with them, but I was never as close to them as I was to Keto. We practically viewed each other more as brothers than friends."
Pit reached down into the front of his chiton, and pulled out Keto's necklace.
"He...died. A long time ago, when Medusa launched an attack on Skyworld. He was fatally wounded, and he bled to death right at my feet. He was only ten years old when he died."
"Couldn't you have done something to help him?"
Pit shook his head.
"No. I was eight when it happened, so I was too taken by horror to do anything immediately, and by the time I was able to bring myself to do anything, he was beyond help. There was nothing that could've been done to save him. And as much I wish he were still around, I realize...if it weren't for him, I...I wouldn't be here."
"Oh. Is that necklace his?"
Millie gestured to the necklace Pit was holding. He looked at it.
"Yes, it was. He told me it was given to him when he was little. And then when I returned to Skyworld a year after he died, my mentor, Chiron, retrieved it from Keto's body, and gave it to me."
"It looks a lot like some of the necklaces Watertribe warriors wear. Wonder where he got it."
"Who knows..."
The two were silent again. After a few moments, Pit realized that he was in a good position to try telling Millie how he felt.
"Hey, Millie...?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you...have you ever tried to tell someone something...but didn't really know how to say it?"
"Yes, actually I–"
"because I've been–"
"Oh, I'm sorry! I just ran right over you there."
Pit nervously looked off to the side, and rubbed the back of his neck.
"No...no. Go ahead."
"Okay, well I was just going to say that I'm going to the moonstone tonight, along with Whitefeather."
"The moonstone?"
That sounded familiar. Sparrow's Song had mentioned something like that. He'd described it as a huge, sparkling stone underground that shone with moonlight at night, hence its name.
"Yep, the moonstone. Have you ever heard of it?"
"Yes. Sparrow's Song told me once about it. He said it was this huge, sparkling stone in a cavern underground where people can communicate with Startribe."
Millie nodded.
"That's it. I'm going there tonight, along with Whitefeather. It's half-moon, and it's a custom that tribe healers travel to the moonstone at half-moon, to speak with Startribe. It is there that healer apprentices earn their full names. I'm not a tribe healer, yes, but it was decided the other day that if something were to happen to Whitefeather, and she doesn't have an apprentice, I'll temporarily take her place, until someone else comes along that can officially succeed her. That's why I'm going."
"Oh."
"I probably won't be back until dawn. You'll most likely be asleep then."
The sky had turned violet-red with the setting sun when the two returned to camp. Whitefeather was standing at the foot of the Highrock, seemingly waiting for Millie. Upon seeing the old tribe healer, Millie broke off from Pit, and went to talk with her. Pit headed to the warrior's den, and was about to go in when Thistleheart came out. He glared at Pit as he shouldered his way past, his aqua green eyes glittering with hatred.
Pit watched over his shoulder in confusion as the tom headed to the camp entrance. Thistleheart had never liked him right from the start, and seemed form a deep hatred towards him when he started developing a close relationship with Millie. It was like Thistleheart didn't want him around Millie at all, and he couldn't think why. He'd never done anything that would give the tom a reason to hate him. But after a while, he shrugged it off, and entered the den.
Adderstripe was there, eating a magpie. She looked up the moment he came in.
"Hey, Pit."
"Hi. I just got back from taking a little walk."
I figured. You've been making use of that privilege a lot."
"I've been stuck in camp for the last few moons. It's hard to cope with being confined for so long."
"I know. I had to stay in camp when I had three of my teeth knocked out. And great Startribe, that was tough."
" I bet so."
Pit rearranged his bedding into a nest, and sat down in it, where he started shaking out all the water in his wings. He started taking off his chiton when a soft thump startled him. Millie stood before him, with a dead squirrel at her feet.
"I thought I get you something to eat before I left. See you later, Pit."
She left the den, and disappeared out of the camp, tagging behind Whitefeather.
Moments later, Thistleheart peeked into the den. He just glared at Pit, and bared his teeth in a small snarl before leaving again.
"That was...odd," Adderstripe remarked.
"I know, it's weird. It's like he hates me or something, when I've never given him a reason to. He's never liked me, and I don't know why."
"Thistleheart's not the friendliest person you could ever meet. But I've never seen him do that."
"What's really weird about it is he began to really not like me when I started forming a relationship with Millie. It's like he doesn't want me around her."
"Well, you are the first person who's ever tried to forming a relationship with her."
"But why would he hate me for that? I don't know, it's just strange."
Pit spent the rest of the evening in silence. But he couldn't take his mind off of Thistleheart. He got the feeling the tom wanted to hurt him somehow and the thought sent chills up his spine. As night fell, warriors began filing into the den to sleep. Pit curled up in his own nest and closed his eyes, but found himself too troubled by the thought of Thistleheart to sleep. After several moments, he got up and left the camp to go on a little night walk.
There were no clouds in the sky now, and it was clear as could be. A moon with only one side shining hovered at the peak of its course across the sky, bathing the land in silver light. At this point, Millie was probably underground in a cavern now, lying asleep beside a huge shining stone, speaking with Startribe in her dreams.
That thought suddenly made him realize how tired he was, and he looked for someplace to sleep. A part of him thought to go back to camp, but when the thought of Thistleheart came back, he decided against it. He eventually chose to sleep at Fourtrees.
At the base of one of the great oaks, he gathered a bunch of leaves and moss, and clumped it up into a nest. He turned around twice, then laid down on his side, and curled up, the soothing tune of a nightingale lulling him to sleep.
He hadn't slept for very long when the rustling of grass woke him up. He peeked around the Great Rock, and saw Millie and Whitefeather heading his way. He sat up and quickly scattered the bedding, before he showed himself. Millie was rather surprised.
"You know, you didn't have to wait for me."
"I-I wasn't. I just...I was having a hard time falling asleep, so I decided to take a little night walk."
"I see. Care if I join you?" She turned to Whitefeather. "I won't be out long."
Whitefeather nodded, and headed to the camp.
"You know, I never really noticed how pretty the forest was at night."
Pit looked around, and realized she was right. The light of the moon gave everything a silver tint, shadows a hint of blue. Dew drops glittered on the wet foliage like frost. Fireflies darted through the trees, their starry abdomens twinkling as they flew.
"Yeah, it really is pretty."
"I used to love chasing fireflies when I was little. It's funny how their back ends glow."
"Oh...I've never actually seen fireflies before until now."
"I see. Well, should we head back to camp?"
"Actually, there's something I need to tell you first."
Millie stopped and looked directly at him. She could tell this was something serious.
For a moment, Pit looked down, unsure of himself, but then he found himself knowing what to do.
"I've been trying to think of how...and when...to say this...for days now."
He looked up at her.
"It never did occur to me...but I wouldn't be where I am without you. Up until I met you, I'd forgotten that I was born here, in the forest. I'd forgotten who I really was. You helped me remember that I'm a forest warrior at heart, and that this is where my roots lie.
I know I've already formed a friendship with you, Millie, but I wanted you to really know how I feel...and I hope you feel the same way. Millie...I want you to stand by my side...as my mate."
Millie just smiled.
"Pit...to be with you...that's what I've wanted since I first laid eyes on you."
She affectionately nuzzled her head up under his chin. Pit put his arm around her, and nuzzled her back, rubbing against her cheek.
The two stood there for a long time, their hands joined, nuzzling each other. A nightingale duet perched in a nearby oak tree started to whistle a heartwarming tune, serenading the love in the air.
After a while, Millie broke away from him, still holding his hand.
"We need to go back. It's almost dawn, and the tribe will be wondering where I am."
Pit just nodded, and rested his arm on her shoulder as they headed back to camp.
Luckily, the tribe had only just begun to stir, and thus there weren't too many people out when they entered the camp. Taking care not to awaken anyone, they slipped into the warrior's den, and went to their nests, where they continued to embrace in each other's feelings.
"Millie..."
Swiftwind calling Millie's name alarmed both of them, but before they could do anything, the black-and-white haired tom came into the den. He was shocked when he saw the two.
"Swiftwind..."
Millie looked at Pit and briefly nuzzled him, before she got up and went over to the tom, who headed outside.
Pit watched Millie leave, then laid down in his nest, his heart beating with a feeling of affection and accomplishment.