[Strelles] Strike the Match

Chapter 3: Cats of the Storm (Edited)

Soŕi watched as his sister paced back and forth a few tails from the clawed trees that marked the end of the Neutral Stretch and where solid faction territory began - Stormborn territory. Isaria, Asha and Hreto all had tasks to attend to this morning, things to handle that couldn't be shirked if they wanted to retain the respect of the common cats. For once however, the constant babying of his youngest sibling resulted in Ahasra having the time to hang around him while they waited for the forest cats to return. He glanced up again at the sky, noting the blue color touching everything he could see.

He gave a single, impatient flick of his ear before glancing back at his sister.

"Calm down," he chided lightly. "You're going to wear a ditch into the ground."

Ahasra huffed, her cornflower blue eyes flashing with agitation.

"They made a deal under Vashara's Flame and they're pushing their oath," she grumbled.

Soŕi shook his head, "Vraysushu ignited his flame barely a sun-quarter ago. Be patient."

"It's just impolite," she sighed, flopping down next to him with an agitated swing of her folded tail. Soŕi almost made a comment on how she of all cats could be commenting on others' politeness but he held his tongue. His sister was furiously licking her flank, ears and pinna flat against her head though she pulled them straight every so often. She was worried about him - anxious too.

Well when I leave, that'll be one less cat on her side, he thought to himself uneasily.

"...you're going to visit me right?"

Soŕi glanced at Ahasra who was refusing to meet his face.

"You'll come to the stretch and we can talk? You're not just... leaving?"

Soŕi pressed his cheek into his sister's, purring to her gently; "Of course not Nipiyu, I promised I'd always support you right?"

"But you won't be here anymore," Ahasra whispered, curling in on herself a bit. "How will you support me when you're out there in the woods?"

"Don't you support Adi?"

"...yeah," Ahasra admitted with a sigh. "Even if I don't like that he went so far away without saying anything."

"That's how," Soŕi told her firmly, giving her a lick over the ears. "I'll love you. I'll care about you and try to keep up with everything happening. I'm not breaching the Sky ilinesina, I'll come to the Stretch to talk and we can speak through messengers if we must. I'm not abandoning you."

Ahasra flexed her claws, "...promise?"

"It will be a strong wind over a flickering flame before I leave you," Soŕi murmured.

A tension he wasn't even aware she was carrying lessened from her body, falling away with the dawn dew. She fluttered her pinna at him kindly, blinking slowly through gentle eyes; touching her nose to his cheek. Soŕi immediately felt terrible - she'd supported him this entire time but he'd forgotten how she'd likely take him leaving her after Adihikko had already left them. He purred a little bit harder, leaning onto his sister in silent support.

The two of them fell into silence, twisting around to groom each other. He dragged his tongue over her shoulder and back, occasionally moving back up to lick between her ears. Her whiskers tickled him lightly as she dragged her tongue across his cheek fondly, flicking her ears.

His sister always had better hearing than he did, so when her ears stopped flicking and instead, twisted towards the forest, he stopped and looked up.

Soŕi watched the tree-line and spotted the flash of a brilliant red tail as it wove through the bushes. He sat back again as the scent of chamomile danced through the bushes, touching his tongue and throat. Ahasra raised her head in time to watch Mottledstrike step through the bushes, head held high as his tail with Wrenpaw creeping out behind him. He scanned the two toms, the brown cadet seemed to be more or less on the mend with only a couple sleek, glossy spots that told the ruddy tom that herbs had been used.