Braving the Storm
The rain was pelting outside of a decrepit hotel, along with the wind making it seem as if the old building was shaking as the woodwork creaked and bits of loose planks swayed about. However, the hotel wasn't desolate as it was occupied by a group of cats, more specifically a group of cats that were talented in music. The main room they were gathered in consisted of eight members in total; four single cats with a tan English cat with wavy hair, sunglasses and a slim figure named Hip Cat, an orange Italian cat with a cap and slightly round figure named Peppo, a slender Siamese cat with an almost Cheshire grin named Shun Gon, and a fluffy Russian cat that was presumably the tallest of the lot named Billy Boss. The former two felines were sleeping on a cushion with Hip snuggled in Peppo's chest, and the latter two were sleeping on the piano with Shun's face nestled on Billy's stomach.
In another part of the room were the four other felines; a family consisting of two orange toms, one large named Thomas O'Malley and one small named Toulouse, and two black toms, also one large named Scat Cat and one small Berlioz. The two elder toms were sound asleep laying next to one another, but the two kittens were another story. Toulouse was trying to get the best view of the story as he possibly could, he always loved to be at the forefront for anything exciting that was happening, but Berlioz was the complete opposite of that. He was more subdued than his brother who always tried to be a "tough alley cat" and was a bit more sheepish when it came to excitement, and it was safe to say that thunderstorms were not at all what Berlioz had in mind when it came to "fun."
"C'mon, Berlioz, stop being such a scaredy-cat", Toulouse teased as he looked up through the ceiling window atop a stack of crates, taking in the adrenaline of watching the lightning flash and thunder crash, "you're not gonna get a good view with that blanket."
"I'm fine," Berlioz huffed from underneath a ragged blanket, he never understood why his brother had to drag him into things like this, and why he had to always make fun of him for being "a scaredy-cat" or "a wuss", it wasn't his fault that he wasn't as brave as him. Of course, Berlioz would never admit it to his brother's face for Toulouse would never let him hear the end of it, not like he didn't already, "Besides, I like my blankie, it makes me feel...safe."
Toulouse rolled his eyes. "You're so soft, ya' know that?" He said unamused.
Berlioz pulled up the blanket to glare at his brother. "Hey, why do you have to be such a...such a…meanie?" It was unfortunate for Berlioz that he wasn't as confident with his insults as Toulouse was and the orange kitten could see it plain as day.
"You know, you could do a lot better with the-" Toulous was cut off as a FLASH of lightning cracked from outside, followed by a booming ROAR of thunder, causing Toulouse to jump in alarm and Berlioz to shriek out in fear and rush forward, right into his brother and causing the two of them to fall off the crate and onto the floor, the sound of two hitting the wood and several crates falling over echoing across the room, which caught the attention of two sleepy elder tom cats.
"I...what the…" Scat yawned as he sleepily opened his eyes and stretched out.
"Where are...the boys…?" Thomas yawned as well as he looked across the room when the sound of mewling caught his attention. "Toulose? Berlioz?" The orange feline made his way off the cushion as his black-furred partner followed him from behind. The noise, however, has caught the attention of the other members of the band who were all groggily mewling and meowing.
"It's not morning already, is it…?" Shun Gon yawned as he briefly looked over Billy's stomach.
"Is too early for this...go back to sleep, moy dorogoy…" Billy murmured as he closed his eyes ready to return to bed as the Siamese cat purred in sleepy agreement.
"Is somethin' wrong, mio caro…?" Peppo purred groggily, still feeling buzzed out from their earlier activities.
"Whatever it is...I'm just gonna…" Hip replied, barely able to keep his eyes open as he nuzzled back into Peppo's chest fluff, the Italian cat following suit to going back to sleep.
Thomas and Scat looked to one another at their sleepy companions and then back towards where the sound had come from, underneath a crate was their two offspring; Toulouse shivering and Berlioz whimpering, sounding as if close to tears as his paws were covering his eyes.
"I say, what happened here, you two gave us a fright goin' off like that." Thomas asked, not sounding angry, but concerned as he saw his black-furred son in his current state, Toulouse having lost his proud demeanor and instead putting his muzzle to his brother's cheek with a look of genuine concern.
"Hey, lil boo, what's wrong", Scat said as he went down to caress the back of Berlioz's head, "Shhhh...don't worry, daddy's here...tell me, what's got you all scared?"
"I...I...It's the storm...Toulouse and I went up the crate to watch and I got scared and knocked us down here and I just, I don't like thunderstorms…" Berlioz admitted, sounding both hurt and remorseful, nuzzling into his father's chest.
"Shhhhh, it's okay…" Scat ushered as he rubbed Berlioz's head to ease him, feeling the smaller black cat start to settle down a little. "Now then, let's get the two a' you off ta' bed...come along now, follow me…"
"You too, Toulouse...and, you were being a lil naughty scamp to your brother again, weren't ya'?" Thomas quizzed as he directed the smaller orange cat to their crib.
"What, nah, I wasn't, I was just…" Toulouse began when he saw the knowing look on his father's face. "Well...maybe a little…"
"Oh, you kittens, ya've got a lot of growin' up to do…" Thomas said as the four cats returned to their respective beds, Berlioz being patted down by Scat as he whispered him to sleep, Toulouse coming on the other side and softly nuzzling his brother as his father patted his head to soothe him to sleep as well before joining Scat on his side on the bed.
"Kittens...nature's joy to the world...our lil bundles a' joy…~" Scat purred as he gave his partner a peck on his lips, causing his ears to flutter.
"Hehe, along with MY bundle a' joy…~" Thomas cooed back as he returned the peck with his own, before both toms settled down to sleep next to their sons as the storm continued outside, but the inside felt all the more peaceful.