𝚂𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #2

Chapter Five: [Goosedown]

Goosedown sits across from his friend Cindercloud, giving his chest fur a few nervous licks.

The biting cold leaves his fur fluffed up, and the dull pain of hunger burned in his stomach and chest.

"You're sure I'll be good at this?" the speckled black tom mews softly, pressing his paws into the cold, hardened ground.

The news Elmshade had given him days earlier managed to excite and terrify him at the same time- it was a strange feeling.

Cindercloud chuckles, flicking the tip of his feathered tail.

"..'Course I'm sure. Ya've got a good heart, Goosedown."

Goosedown lets out a quiet breathy laugh, still not feeling as if all his fears have been assuaged.

Now that the initial wonder of it all had given way to a pit of worries, the black tom was finding it hard not to be consumed by hypotheticals.

What if the prey dwindled even lower and he couldn't keep Elmshade and the kits fed? What if they got sick?

What if there was a skirmish with SkyClan? Where would that leave them?

Cindercloud frowns, glancing over at his four kits tussling in the clearing.

Luckily, they and Leafspeckle had received most of the prey, so they were as healthy and strong as they could be; since their birth was at the end of greenleaf, they were due to become apprentices in the next few moons.

"Is it that ya think you're unprepared? Or is it somethin' else?" he mews, tipping his head thoughtfully; hard-won wisdom flickers in the depths of the senior warrior's yellow eyes.

"...I guess I'm just- kind of insecure about it.." Goosedown mutters, shuffling his paws.

"I didn't have a father growing up, so...what do I do? How do I know if I'm doing it right?"

Cindercloud softens, twitching an ear.

"..That's what I thought was buggin' ya."

Goosedown sighs, beginning to knead the ground with more intensity.

"I'll tell you what my father told me a long time ago," Cindercloud muses, seemling liable to drift off into some pensive realm.

"You'll make mistakes, and you'll learn a lot about who ya really are. It'll be hard- 'specially in this day and age, but..when ya lay eyes upon those kits for the first time...it's the most profound thing you'll ever see. The joy and pride and love ya feel for 'em- you'll know what to do. I'm sure of it."

Goosedown nods slowly, feeling some of his stress dissipate.

He hadn't known Cindercloud could say something so profound, but it helped to comfort him a little.

Jaykit, one of Cindercloud's kits, comes running up to his father with a series of squeaky purrs.

A round, smooth blue pebble was clamped in his jaws, and the little kit wore an expression so joyful it warmed Goosedown's weary heart.

"Papa! Look what I found!" the little dark gray tom squeaks, placing the pebble down in front of his father.

Cindercloud lets out a hearty chuckle, examining the pebble with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Very nice pebble, son."

"Thanks! I want you to keep it," the little kit mews, grinning widely; his blue eyes twinkle with joy.

Goosedown watches the exchange, feeling a bit excited at the idea of that kind of thing happening to him one day.

"Thanks," Cindercloud purrs, smoothing down the fur on his son's head; with one paw, he scoops the pebble close to him and tucks it under his tail.