𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐍𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬

꧁ 2. Farewells ~ Princess ꧂

   Mother? Do you miss our old clanmates?

   Every day, Honeykit. I loved each cat as if they were my own family.

   I miss ThunderClan, too. Daisykit and Dockkit were fun playmates.

   Do you have any stories about how to say goodbye, Fawnpoppy?

   Yes, Honeykit. I know a particular tale about a young kittypet--

   Kittypet? What do those Twoleg toys have to do with nursery tales?

   She wasn't just any kittypet, dear. She was the sister of the great Firestar.

   Firestar has a sister? Who's a kittypet? Wow!

   Of course he had a kittypet sister! Don't forget, Firestar was once a house cat named Rusty.

   Well? Who is she?

   Patience, Robinkit. This cat was the one who may have had to bear the hardest goodbye ever.

   Who? Who?

   And her name was Princess.

__________

꧁꧂

   Princess stared out into the deep forest. The other house cats often questioned her for it, and she always had the same response:

   "I'm waiting for my kin."

   Somewhere, within the depths of the forest and beyond, her own brother and kit was out there. It made the tall oaks and towering pines seem almost intimidating, knowing that at any point, her kin could be slaughtered by the dangers of battle.

   Was it really worth it to give up my kit? What if Cloudtail has died?

   The pretty brown she-cat flicked her tail, brushing the tip of it on a vine tendril growing on the fence. She knew she would never be cut out to be a warrior, but she knew her son would protect his clan until his last breath.

   But...what if that day has already come?

   Princess still remembered the last time she had seen Firestar and Cloudtail. They had snuck off to say their goodbyes. Princess would never forget how scrawny and thin they looked, their eyelids heavy from countless sleepless nights.

꧁꧂

   "Princess! Princess! Mother, are you here?"

   Princess snapped up, recognizing the voice of her son. "Cloudtail? What are you doing here! It's moonhigh, and you should be resting," she reprimanded him, though she was glad for the rare visits where he would tell her all about ThunderClan.

   A flame-colored tabby stepped out from the shadows, sweeping his tail through the mossy grass. It looked like her brother, Firestar, but it couldn't be... This cat was much too skinny.

   "Yes, it really is us, Princess," Firestar mewed, guessing her thought. "Prey has been...not so well these past moons."

   Princess choked back a sob at the sight of her kin, their ribs sticking out of their pitifully scrawny frames. Yet, Cloudtail and Firestar's eyes still held the determined gleam she saw every time she met them.