𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑨 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒕 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄

Chapter 9

Maplepaw groggily stood up the next morning. Last night, she barely slept, thinking about what her mother had said. 

"You're shivering," Speckledpatch mewed, looking at Maplepaw. "Are you cold?"

Maplepaw forced a breath out of her nose as she looked away and forcibly smoothed her pelt down.

"No, I'm fine..." she replied, trailing off.

"Bad dream?" Speckledpatch asked, tilting her head to the side.

Maplepaw nodded. How else could she explain it? It's not every day that you find out your mother was banished to the Starless Forest, suddenly appears in front of you without a warning, gives you an offer then vanishes into thin air.

Speckledpatch stretched in her nest, giving a wide yawn before flicking an ear and asking,

"Maplepaw, since you have such a long time away from returning home, would you like to...learn how to sing and weave?"

Maplepaw stared at Speckledpatch, not sure how to reply, the silence forming between them was deafening.

Speckledpatch's tail twitched and she repeated herself,

"Maplepaw, would you like to learn how to sing and weave as it will be a very long time before you return home?"

Maplepaw, after much internal groping, finally recovered her voice and managed to get out,

"Sure, why not? I mean, I'd rather actually do something productive than die of boredom before returning."

Speckledpatch nodded calmly, but her eyes said otherwise. They were entire worlds of happiness and excitement, so full and wholesome that one would forget their troubles for however long they stared into them.

Maplepaw couldn't help but the corners of her mouth twitched up slightly to form what could pass as a smile.

Speckledpatch shifted closed to Maplepaw and she shivered slightly. She was not use to the warmth and closeness of others, apart from Silentpaw's constant nagging and trailing after her, but that didn't count. It wasn't a voluntary act of kindness from someone who didn't even know her.

"Calm down," Speckledpatch meowed, giving a quick lick on Maplepaw's ear.

Speckledpatch passed Maplepaw a few flowers and said,

"Look, to begin the crown, you must weave the stem through here..."

[TIMESKIP]

Maplepaw stretched, her claws unsheathing before sheathing again. She curled up closer to Speckledpatch, who nuzzled her briefly, before resting her chin on Maplepaw's head.

As she opened her eyes to look at the setting sun, she inhaled slightly, marveling its grandeur which would not last long. When the tendrils of sleep gently began to caress Maplepaw, her eyes fluttered shut and she reached out to embrace the incoming rest.

Meanwhile, the last of the sun's feeble rays were desperately trying to hold onto the land, to prevent itself from sinking and letting the darkness take over, as the moon had risen over the horizon.