TW: Sensitive Content Private Medicine Cat's Den the color never stays | cicada

[oleanderkit]

TW: Mentions of blood, injury and implied trauma.

Leaf-bare had proven to be a difficult endeavor for the birth of six kittens. Wisteriastrike grows restless yet lethargic from the toll of childbirth and the emptiness of scrawny frogs. Goldenrodkit had been weak for all of its measly existence, its body proving to be merely a vessel for illness and to only last as long as fate would let them. The rest of the siblings, though physically healthy, will inevitably crumble under the dire atmosphere of their home in due time - a home wherein insubordinate warriors bite and bark under the stern eye of a leader whose patience grows thin.

'Cruel' is not a word that has made itself into Oleanderkit's vocabulary yet - but he can feel its meaning. He can see its sharp, waiting eyes and bloody paws grasping at the thin threads of peace. He can sense its doom, impending upon his bristling fur with every step he takes out of the warm nursery and into the cold, unforgiving world.

'Cruel' was a constant presence, subtle and eerie - but it made itself glaringly apparent days ago, tickling his sensitive nose with the taste of ichor. Curiosity kills the cat - this is the lesson that the boy had learned long ago, rumor-sounding on the surface but bearing a serious warning underneath. A warning that he should have heeded that day, as he let his prying eyes get the better of him between the pale legs of his mother. The sight of blood was nothing new to him, having sliced his paw consequentially of his careless, childish behavior some weeks ago. But, seeping out of the pink of his tiny paws had been more than enough to frighten. Until he saw Cicadabuzz that day, dragged into camp with a lolling head, he never thought that blood could ever mean more than a little scrape bearing a lesson. He never quite grasped the concept of death.



It took a couple days to recover from the sight, during which the dully colored kitten spent his time in a state of mourning. Between small meals and hefty naps, the only pleasures he took in life so far, Oleanderkit had buried himself from reality, remaining huddled up and still in the depths of the nest or hidden away against his mother's fur. There was no real explanation for these feelings inside his inexperienced mind, no real word to be put to the sensation of 'grief' and 'trauma'. He only recognized the missing of a presence - not soft and nurturing like Timberfrost, nor lifegiving and sustaining like Wisteriastrike, but one that was steady and wise. One that he didn't know he would miss until it wasn't there.

The day of the recent meeting marked the day of Oleanderkit's emergence from the den, at long last. There was something solemn in Sablestar's voice as he mentioned the healer's name, drained of hope despite preaching it. It didn't quite reach the kitten as intended, for all he was hearing was that his sire was still here. This was enough.

A thin veil of snow crunches underpaw as Oleanderkit makes his way along a route he had grown well-accustomed to, between his couple of visits with Magpiepaw and his moments of learning with Cicadabuzz. The cold seeps into his tiny limbs, but resilience keeps the drive to find that missing presence over-strong. When the kitten enters the den, he sees not the blood and weightlessness that plagued the healer some days ago - the lack of the worst fills him with hope and relief.

"Cicada,"

the boy mews, perhaps a bit too loud and excitable to the resting feline. He places his paws upon bug, propping himself up against its shoulder to peer at the injury melded with herbs and cobweb.

"Are you better now?"

After all, Oleanderkit had healed in half the time the smaller healer predicted. If he could, then why shouldn't Cicada?

​

OLEANDERKIT he/him, shadowclan kit 02 moons old.
a short, well-groomed pale feline with a lilac overcoat and grey stripes
mentored by none // mentoring none
littermate to elderkit, deathberrykit, goldenrodkit, maggotkit, and centipedekit
half-sibling to cloudberrypaw, mistletoepaw, and hemlockpaw
CICADABUZZ x WISTERIASTRIKE // father/mother to none // mated to none
"speech"
penned by IXORA ↛ .ixora on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

@CICADA :')