"Why do I have to go on patrol?"
Phoenix rolled her eyes. Her head hung low as she trekked through the snow. It was getting colder to the point where she didn't know if she'd survive the winter. Her body trembled, throwing itself into a massive convulsion as it screamed for some sort of warmth. Her entire body felt numb, too numb to think. The two bickering toms who screamed at each other non-stop didn't help with her mood either. In fact, if it hadn't been so cold, she would have lashed out at them at any moment.
Sol batted his paw at Silver's head with his claws unsheathed. Silver dodged only by a hair but didn't avoid Sol's glare. Sol's jaw was clenched as he drew his lips back in a snarl, "because Honey said so." He spat, "now stop whining and pay attention!"
Silver raised an eyebrow, a smirk rising onto his face, "to what, you're girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend, she's not my mate, she's just a-"
"A potential mate?"
The words made Phoenix cringe. She unsheathed her claws, ready to fight but as soon as she whipped her head around, she began to feel light headed. For a second, she stopped walking and began to stumble all over the place. She wanted to turn around and scream at them but. . . What made her want to do that in the first place?
--
She blinked a few times, suddenly being in a different location. She didn't recognize it at all. Thankfully, it wasn't the darkness that she met Sin. She raised a paw and prodded at the area around her, feeling the jagged walls. Definitely a tree. Phoenix felt warmth and soft licks against her ear. She found the strength to shuffle towards it, the heavy, alluring scent of vanilla and honey overstimulating her mind.
"Are you okay?" Sol's deep voice rumbled through her ears, and she gave him a small nod. "Good. You wouldn't stop stumbling, and you tried to speak but your words were too slurred. You ended up collapsing straight after that."
Silver, who had been there listening in, spoke up. "If it wasn't for Sol, you would have died. I'd suggest you thank him."
Sol chuckled before Phoenix could respond, "there's no need. We found few dead squirrels here so Silver took a bite to ensure of no disease. Eat up."
Phoenix saw it drop in front of them. She made an attempt to bite into it, but its meat was way too tough and frozen. She looked up at Sol for help, and he gave her a small nod in understanding. He leaned down to grab it in between his jaws. Phoenix flinched when she head it crack. He pulled away, and Phoenix was able to take a bite out of it.
Silver snorted. "Fox-lovers."
Sol shot a glare at him. He turned back to Phoenix, watching her chew on the prey. It looked like she was disgusted by it and Sol didn't blame her. It sounded slightly crunchy, and Sol knew that she wasn't the type of molly to like bitter things since it was his sickly sweet scent that pulled her in.
Phoenix stood up, and headed out. "Let's go," she said. She knew they were going to object and ran out before they could.
The two toms followed behind her as fast as they could, watching as the snowflakes fell from the cloudy sky. Thankfully, the pond wasn't far and they would hopefully be able to reach it in time. It was too cold, and now Sol was able to feel it under his thick fur.
Silver stopped, his ears noticing something in the snow. He looked back at the two cats, who continued to travel before heading towards it. His blue eyes gazed down on the thing and he nudged it lightly. He gasped.
"Uh, guys?" He called, "you might wanna look at this. . ."
Phoenix's heart lurched, what could it possibly be? She rolled her eyes as she padded towards him. She glanced at him, ready to claw his eyes out if it was anything stupid. Judging by his shocked expression, it wasn't and she followed his gaze to the thing that surprised him most. She couldn't say it didn't surprise her. Even Sol looked surprised.
The snow covered a small, tortoiseshell kitten, it was missing an ear and the other one was long. Her face looked as if it was missing fur, and the skin around her teeth had been torn off. Her tongue stuck out at the uninjured side. Furthermore, the place where her ear should have been was torn off and all you could see was the bone. Her tail had been almost ripped off too. If she didn't have all these injuries, she would have probably been the most beautiful molly to exist.
Sol growled lowly, "I bet the humans did this."
Silver nodded in agreement but his face cringed, "why does she look like that?" He asked in disgust. "I'm not surprised she was thrown out here to die, if my kitten looked like that-"
"Watch your mouth, Silver." Phoenix spat, her fur bristling. "Come on, let's take this to my cave. Pick her up, Silver." Silver was about to protest when she glared at him, "that's an order."
He rolled his eyes and picked the kitten up by the scruff. To everyone's relief, it squirmed and cried out. Silver lowered his ears, a hiss escaping his jaws to silence it and it almost did. He could sense its discomfort and fear. He narrowed his eyes at the two cat's and gestured for them to start walking. They did exactly as they were told, with the two cats following along.
--
Phoenix watched as Silver placed the kitten in front of her. He glared at the kitten in disgust while snot dripped out of her nose. Phoenix stared at the dark tortoiseshell. She looked at it with great interest, unlike Silver. Its white paws, muzzle and chest was stained with something pink. Phoenix was sure it was blood. She dragged the kitten towards her and licked the unharmed side of its forehead. A smile rose on her face, and her eyes softened. Sol sat beside her, pressing his nose against Phoenix's ear.
"I'll help you keep it," he mumbled, "that's if you are keeping it, of course. I'll act as its father."
Phoenix glanced at him, uncertainty in her eyes. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? You hated me before, so why?"
"I want to make it up to you, my mother told me to. She said that you'd help save the world and I didn't want to torment a cat that has never done anything to hurt me."
"Or he's just desperate for a mate," Silver grumbled.
Phoenix ignored Silver and gave Sol a small nod in understanding. She wasn't sure if he was planning something. In fact, she didn't even know if she could trust him. Her eyes narrowed down to the kitten and she sighed, "alright then." She grumbled.
A smile rose upon her face when she examined the sleeping kitten. It hadn't been that long, and she was already attached. Phoenix leaned down to lick the kitten's forehead once more. A purr rumbled deep in her throat. After that, excitement hit her but she wouldn't let it show. The kitten began to blink its eye open. The other eye wouldn't blink. Phoenix saw that the colour was fading into the good eye, the other one didn't look like it would have changed at birth. Especially since the pupil look damaged. Phoenix heard of this before. They called it polycoria.
"Definitely not a forest cat. If it was, its eyes would have faded into colour. She has to be a city cat." Sol whispered in her ear.
Phoenix watched as the kitten smiled at her, it's working eye brightening up. She looked adorable, even with her gruesome side ruining her looks. The kitten pawed at her face, a purr rumbling deep in its throat.
"Mama," the kitten purred and Phoenix felt her heart burst with joy.
She pressed her nose against the kitten's, a small chuckle escaping her lips. Phoenix made sure her voice was soft when she responded, "Yes, Sasha?"
"Sasha," Silver echoed, "that's a cute name."
Hearing the voice, Sasha rolled over to look at Silver. "Papa?"
Silver's eyes widened and he turned around quickly to look at the kitten. He frantically shook his head and ran over, his eyes wide in shock. "No! I'm not your dad!" He told Sasha, making Sol laugh. He pointed to the laughing tom, "that's papa, don't call me papa again! Call me, Silver!"
She nodded slowly, her lisp becoming evident. "Yes, Silver." She rolled out of Phoenix's paws and ran over to Sol. She pawed at his arms, a giggle escaping her lips.
"Cute, little thing." He praised, patting her head delicately. "It's winter time now, so you can't explore. Not when its cold, but you can meet our clowder. The sun clowder!"
"Sun? But the Sun is is the sky!"
He purred in amusement. "No, Sasha. It's a clowder, we all live together."
He picked the kitten up by the scruff, glancing at Phoenix and silently telling her to follow by the flick of his tail. They both ran out the cave and down the snow-covered rocky slope, heading to the cave. Phoenix feared that Honey would force her to give up the kitten. The fear sliced her heart in two. The kitten thought that Phoenix was her mother and so giving her up would just be unfair. Honey no longer trusted her.
So now, Phoenix feared for the worst