- 357
- #1
Sprucetail hadn't spoken for many days after the death of her youngest kitten. It had died on the day of her kitting - maybe it had never been born alive at all? She still felt too weak-hearted to ask their medicine cat, Errol, about the state of her little one. She had yet to name her two living kittens and looking her mate, Twisted bark, in the eyes felt so hard right now. In fact, looking directly at her mothers or her siblings felt like an effort too. Looking away from her kits, splitting her attention from them for even a moment was inexcusable. The shame weighed heavy on Sprucetail's shoulders, she blamed herself for the death of her youngest and the idea of looking at her loved ones and finding anger or pity in their gaze to her... it would crush her entirely.
So, she kept her head down, her eyes on her kits and felt herself closing her heart away in her grief. She barely noticed her Nursery den mate, Firedust and her kits until one day when Grasskit let out a cry so loud it had Sprucetail's head snapping over to look at the kitten. A shaky sigh of relief left her mouth when she saw that Grasskit's cry had been a battle cry and she'd pounced on her sister Ashkit. Sprucetail glanced over meekly at Firedust; the she-cat's litter wasn't more than a moon older than her own kits, yet they had names and personalities emerging between the two of them already.
"Your kits are so beautiful, Firedust." She mewed softly, her voice hoarse and out of use. She felt embarrassment wash over her. "You and Spiderbite must be so proud."
Firedust had also suffered a loss. A litter of three turned to a litter of two, much like Sprucetail's own had. The knowledge that the two queens in the nursery were much in the same boat caused tears to well up in Sprucetail's eyes and her whiskers trembled.
"What was the name of your... of your... third?" She asked quietly, her tail pulling her own kits closer to her belly instinctively. @DavyJnah