enjoy~ :3
Chapter 5
Claws reached towards her, but she was trapped, unable to move as thick black water grasped at her paws, holding her in place.
"No!"
She struggled harder, but the water crawled slowly up her legs and towards her head.
"Let me go!"
Yellow eyes gleamed brightly in the dark, filling her vision as the claws drew closer and closer…
.
"Coal!"
She woke with a start, gasping for breath as she caught sight of her litter-mate standing over her, having shaken her awake. Her body was wracked with tremors and she swallowed, fear slipping away as the yellow eyes and suffocating black water started to fade into nothing more than a bad dream.
"You were crying out in your sleep, and I didn't know what else to do."
Winterkit's voice has trembling, and she noticed then just how much she had scared him with her nightmare. Her heart twinged guiltily and she leaned forward, licking his cheek.
"I'm okay now, thanks Winter." Coal tried to smile at him, but it came out more like a grimace with the yellow eyes glowing faintly in her mind.
Her litter-mate didn't look very convinced, though his features relaxed a little bit and his fur flattened out.
"Could you two be any louder?" A sharp voiced hissed from the back of the den and the two kits jumped, staring over at the queen.
"Sorry," Winterkit apologized, lowering his head, "Coal had a nightmare and-"
"I don't care, get out before you wake up Whitekit!"
Coal glared back at the queen, Winter shouldn't have to apologize! But Winterkit merely nodded and nudged her to her paws, leading her outside with a comforting brush of his pelt.
The sky was just beginning to lighten, and a light fog was rolling across the frosted ground that crunched quietly under their paws. The camp was mostly silent, with the faint sound of snoring cats behind the den walls. The clearing was empty, and the two kits huddled together against a clump of reeds, seeking each others heat in the chilly morning.
They said nothing, content with the comfortable silence that surrounded them, and Coal took this chance just to be near her litter-mate without the harsh glares being sent towards them.
.
It wasn't long before cats started to wake and pad across the clearing to a little pile of dirt, and as she watched she realized they had buried prey under the ground to keep it from freezing.
Her stomach growled in complaint, and she drew closer to Winterkit as accusing stares were sent their way. She glared back at them, and the cats turned their back on the kits.
"Do you want to see if there's anything to eat?" Winterkit asked, flicking his tail towards the pile of dirt.
Coal looked warily at the warriors before she nodded, and the two got to their paws, padding swiftly, but carefully towards the pile.
It wasn't very full, just a couple fish and a scrawny vole, but at the sight of food her stomach let loose another rumble.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Coal whipped around at the voice, looking up into the narrowed eyes of a thin brown and white tom.
"We were just looking for some food is all." Winterkit meowed beside her, and despite his calm demeanor, his voice shook the tiniest bit.
"That food is for hardworking RiverClan cats only, not for kittypet scum like you two."
Coal bristled at the tom's words, though before she could say anything, another cat jumped in.
"Oh come on Frogleap, they're just kits, stop being so stingy and let them eat." A mottled black and white she-cat meowed lightly, her pale green eyes twinkling as she stepped up to them.
Coal felt Winterkit stiffen beside her and she glanced at him curiously, but his eyes were fixated on the she-cat.
"But Pebbleskip they-"
"Winterkit and Coal, right?" Pebbleskip cut him off with a flick of her tail, ignoring the older tom as she turned her attention on them.
Frogleap hissed angrily before whirling around and stalking off towards a small group a cats several tail-lengths away.
"Uh...yeah, Winterkit and Coal, that's us, yup." Winterkit stumbled awkwardly over his words, and Coal sent him a sharp look. Why was he acting so squirrel-brained? This wasn't the litter-mate she knew.
"Don't mind the furrball over there, he's just upset Goldenstar let you two kittypets into the clan." Pebbleskip meowed lightly, not seeming to know or care that her words could be taken the wrong way.
Coal watched her with hard silver eyes, but the older she-cat didn't appear to have any malice in her gaze, and Winterkit didn't seem affected by her words at all.
"Isn't everyone?" Coal muttered sourly, turning back to the prey pile and snagging the vole in her maw. "Lets go Winter, we can share this."
Her litter-mate didn't seem to hear her, still watching the she-cat with starry eyes as she pranced away towards another group of cats. Coal rolled her eyes, poking him hard in the ribs and making him jump. "W-what?"
"Let's eat, I'm starving." Coal said again, but this time Winterkit nodded, following Coal back to the little cluster of reeds.
The vole was stringy and tough, but it tasted wonderful as she and Winterkit scarfed it down. She was reminded when Rowanheart brought them a few mice when he visited during green-leaf. Those were the first pieces of fresh-kill she and her siblings had ever eaten, and she could recall just how delicious it tasted.
"Psst!"
Coal jumped, nearly falling over as she whipped her head around to stare at the clump of reeds behind them. Her wide eyes were met with pale green as the small white muzzle of a kit pushed through the reeds, and she remembered the scrawny kit from the night before.
"It's you!" Winterkit exclaimed beside her, blinking in surprise at the young tom's appearance.
Whitekit grinned, "Follow me, I don't want Cinderfrost to see me talking with you guys."
Coal glanced at her litter-mate, who shrugged and followed the white kit into the reeds. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed and padded after them.
The gurgle of water grew louder until she popped out of the other side and laid her eyes on the river that flowed lazily by a few pawsteps in front of her. Ice clung to the riverbank, but the middle was untouched and freely flowing.
Coal glanced around until she found the two toms and headed over. "Won't you get in trouble for talking to us?" She asked guardedly, looking over her shoulder back towards the reeds that hid them from the camp. She could just imagine the spouting silver queen bursting out of the reeds and yowling at them.
"Not if we're found out."
Coal blinked at him, and now that she could see the kit fully, she could make out the pale grey stripes that ran up his legs before fading into his white coat. Streak's red-brown tabby pelt flashed in her eyes and she shook her head with gritted teeth. Streak was gone. He wasn't coming back. So why was she torturing herself like this?
Whitekit stared at her curiously before a smile grew on his face. "You guys wanna play a game?"
"A game?" Winterkit asked, but from his bright eyes she could tell he was hooked.
The tom nodded, grinning. "Have you guys played pebble pounce before?"
Coal and Winterkit looked at each other, then at Whitekit with a shake of their heads.
"It's pretty simple," he started, padding over to where a pebble stuck up out of the dirt and pried it out before returning and dropping it at his paws, "All you have to do, is pounce on the cat holding the pebble."
Coal tilted her head to the side. "What about the one holding the pebble?"
"They try to evade the others at all costs." Whitekit meowed, bending down to pick up the pebble in his jaws.
It did seem simple, like he said, and for the first time in a long while, she felt excitement prickle at her paws and she kneaded the ground in anticipation. The white tom wasn't very big, both she and Winterkit were larger than him, so she assumed it wouldn't be too hard to pounce on the smaller kit.
All of a sudden, Whitekit shot off, his small frame sprinting down the reedy bank.
Coal gawked in surprise before bounding after him, Winterkit not far behind. Though despite the fact they were much stronger and faster than the other kit, Whitekit managed to outsmart them by twisting around their paws and darting cleverly around the reeds.
An amused purr rumbled in her chest as Winterkit tried to pounce on the other tom, only to get a mouth-full of dirt as Whitekit flitted to the side with deft paws. Though the kit slipped on a loose pebble and she saw her chance.
In a split second she pounced, crashing into the smaller kit and making them tumble into Winterkit as he tried to get to his paws, sending all three of them into a tangled furry pile.
They looked at each other with wide eyes, and laughter burst out of them.
"That was-" Coal started, but was cut off as another bout of giggles bubbled out of her, sending her into another fit. She couldn't remember having this much fun since that night, but she refused to dwell on those thoughts when she was finally feeling light-hearted after so much sulking.
"Yeah!" Winterkit agreed breathlessly, icy-blue eyes sparkling.
The scrawny tom grinned, but there was something sad behind his eyes. "I used to play with Duskpaw, but he became an apprentice around a moon ago and he doesn't have to time for me anymore. At least, that's what he says anyways."
"Well, you have us now." Coal said, flicking her tail across his flank with a light smile, and Winterkit nodded firmly at her side.
"Let's play that game again, but this time I get to have the pebble."
"Sure!" Whitekit purred, about to push the pebble towards the larger tom before a loud cry echoed across the camp.
"WHITEKIT?! WHITEKIT WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Coal felt her good mood start to sour as the young tom sent them an apologetic look.
"I better go," he sighed, then stood with a small smile. "we can play again next time."
Coal and Winterkit nodded, watching sadly as their new friend disappeared into the reeds, leaving them alone with the gurgling sound of the river at their backs.
it seems they've finally found a cat or two that doesn't despise their existence! yay!
and was that a crushing Winter i just saw? ;3
i wonder just how many more cats they'll encounter in the future...
thanks for reading~! ^-^