autumnlifegen

[autumnlifegen]

Autumn Lifegen: Moon 2

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Autumnkit pounced on Jadekit. “Hey!” Both kits tumbled to the ground, wrestling.

Element of surprise lost, Autumnkit got pushed down and stayed there. Remembering how Slightpaw and Primpelt wriggled around when training, he tried to do the same, but his sister held him firmly. “I win!” she said.

He wasn’t willing to admit defeat yet. “I’ll win!” He prodded her on the nose with his forepaw, which made her squeak, but he never got to find out if his strategy would let him win.

“Good evening!” Autumnkit craned his neck to see Bigfalcon standing beside them.

“Come and play with us!” he cried. Bigfalcon knew all the good games; yesterday he’d even brought them up the Meeting Boulder!

Bigfalcon purred and shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid it’ll have to be later; I have something to check at the borders.”

Disappointment clawed his heart. “Will you be gone long?” Autumnkit asked.

“It won’t be long at all.” Bigfalcon touched noses with them both.

“Come back soon!” Jadekit said.

“Yeah!”

“I promise! Have fun!” Bigfalcon leapt along the stone trail out of camp, his bright pelt soon concealed by the tentative fresh leaves of newleaf.

I wish we could go out... But Redleaf said they were both too young, even though Cloudykit was allowed out with Needleclaw. So unfair.

Jadekit collided with him. “Gotcha!”

Autumnkit mouthed her shoulder. “No! I’ve got you!” The two kits continued playing, Bigfalcon forgotten.

“Ew! It’s all wet outside!” Jadekit howled, flopping back into their nest. Her paws were all soggy.

Autumnkit crinkled his nose. “Ewwwwww.” His paws thumped on the nursery’s floor. It had started raining what felt like forever ago, Bigfalcon still wasn’t back, and morning was here. Soon it’d be bedtime, but more sleep sounded awful.

Anything had to be better than the stifling warmth of the nursery, surely? He hopped into the morning, front paw slipping on a chunk of slush. The rain had pierced holes through it like teeth in prey’s flesh. Although it’d stopped raining, the wetness lingered in the air, gathering on his fur as dew. He was about to return to the nursery when he saw something glisten two strides ahead. Where a small pit in the ground once lay, a pool of water glittered, stirred into tiny ripples by a breeze.

Wow! Autumnkit crouched down beside it and stuck his nose in. Yep, it was water. And cold. After he’d sneezed the water away, he saw another cat looking back at him. “Who are you?” he asked. The cat made the same mouth movements he did. His ears burned. Was this the ‘reflection’ Cloudypaw spoke of? Was this really what he looked like?

He prodded the puddle with his paw. Mud and water flew through the air. He squeaked in delight and stomped around in the puddle, until there was only a tiny bit of mucky water left. He rushed around camp; the same magic had come to all the tiny dips and divots created by Wolfclan’s cats over the ages, and soon he’d charged into all of them. He needed to tell Jadekit all about this!

He was scampering to the nursery when the noise split open the world. A terrible, high-pitched yowl froze him in place- all he could do was listen. His eyes roved around, seeing Daisyfeather jump down from the Watching Tree, and a massive blur of pale and orange fur rushing towards her. Fox! Dog! All the monstrous beasts of nursery tales filled his imagination. Until the shape came to a stop.

It was Howljump. She was holding Bigfalcon like a kit. She laid him down and let out that awful yowl again, collapsing beside Daisyfeather and staring at the deputy, already round eyes bulging. Autumnkit’s stomach clenched. He had the most terrible, unblinking snarl on his face. The white along his belly and neck had been stained deep red. He had an enormous wound on his throat.

“I heard him fighting, but he was already...” Howljump’s voice broke down into another cry. Crestmoor, Wolfclan’s medicine cat, rubbed against her before focusing her attentions on Bigfalcon. Her spotted brown paws went towards his neck, then she grasped at his legs. Bigfalcon didn’t move, didn’t let his snarl relax. He’s fainted, he’s fainted.

Most of the other cats stayed at camp’s borders with their ears pulled back, but one grizzled, short-snouted molly padded to Bigfalcon’s side. Pigeonstar sat by him and nuzzled his ears. “Do we know if...”

Autumnkit backed into a tuft of damp ferns. He was too young for Clan meetings, and would be pulled back to his nest if seen.

“He was at that scent marker near Trickleclan,” Howljump said. The cats around her hissed in rage; a growl rumbled in Autumnkit’s own throat. Trickleclan were the cats of the cliffs and waterfalls, and even Needleclaw said they were brutal.

Crestmoor stood up. “Look here. That fur in his claws is Trickleclan.”

“May he rest easy in Starclan!” Primpelt said.

Autumnkit jumped. The blood rushed to his head. Starclan? Only dead cats went to Starclan.

The faint breeze kicked up again. What remained of Bigfalcon’s scent over the stench of blood was all wrong. Stale and sour, like fresh-kill left on the pile for too long.

He didn’t know what to do. He ran. “Autumnkit!” Redleaf curled himself around him, warm and strong. He was back in the nursery. He could hear the other cats whispering over the sound of his own ragged breathing.

“Bigfalcon.” His voice trembled. “Bigfalcon smells wrong.” We were going to play later. I don’t understand.

Redleaf drew Jadekit and him close together, giving both a massive lick over the head. “He’s dead,” Redleaf said. He sounded scared, which made Autumnkit quiver like a leaf in the wind.

“Is he coming back, Pa?” Autumnkit asked. Bigfalcon couldn’t just be a stiff, snarling body forever. He couldn’t.

“I’m afraid he won’t be, Autumnkit.” The family huddled together for a long time, a bleak feeling rising as the sun shone down on a bright newleaf day.

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[autumnlifegen]

Autumn Lifegen: Moon 1

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Autumnkit ran. The soft moss of the nest gave way underpaw to hard earth, but that only let him go faster, his legs stretching as far as they could.

The hot breath of his pursuer tingled on his neck, and his throat ached from the gasping breaths he took, but his heart soared when he saw the cold light of the nursery entrance right in front of him. Just a little bit more! His paws scrabbled on the frosty bark; he slipped. Before he got more than a glimpse of the snow-covered camp outside, his pursuer mercilessly sank his fangs into the soft skin around his neck.

Autumnkit howled, thrashing desperately as he was pulled up into the air and away from the freedom he’d been so close to getting.

“It’s nap time!” Redleaf, his father and captor said, voice muffled by his grasp on Autumnkit’s neck. In two long strides, they were back at the nest.

“No!” Autumnkit cried. This wasn’t fair! He’d been so close! “I don’t wanna! I wanna play!” He thrashed around for emphasis.

From the other side of the nursery, he heard Cloudykit groan and Slightkit mutter something under his breath. Somehow, his sister Jadekit remained fast asleep.

Redleaf set him down gently beside her. “We can go out and play later,” he said softly.

“I wanna play NOW!”

His father’s expression became thoughtful, his eyes darting around the nursery. “You know, I heard that Needleclaw has a mission for you.”

Autumnkit’s ears pricked up. “Really?”

Redleaf nodded. “Really.” Autumnkit stuck his head out of the nest to stare at the nursery-keeper, who was fast asleep in his own nest. A mission before I’m even an apprentice!

“He needs you to be ready first; you’ll need to be well-rested!”

Autumnkit hissed. “Do I haveeeee to?”

Redleaf purred. “Even Bigfalcon naps before he goes on a big mission! He always says it’s very important.”

“Okay.” Autumnkit scrunched his nose up. If Wolfclan’s deputy could nap, then he could too. He reluctantly flopped over and closed his eyes. The warm moss was comfortable, and soon he had drifted off.

Redleaf breathed a sigh of relief once both of his kittens were finally asleep. Once Needleclaw was awake, he’d ask him to find something for Autumnkit to do- or else he’d probably never willingly take a nap ever again.

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[autumnlifegen]

Moon 0 - Autumnkit and Jadekit

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babbies,,,