There was the sound of skittering feet as the quoll scampered away just as Rosellaflutter leapt towards it, the tom's paws outstretched and claws unsheathed. He tried to change direction in mid-air, whirling around, then fell, slipping on the leaves and rolling onto his back.
He panted, then got to his paws. That was his fourth failed catch on this patrol. He was glad he was the only cat in said patrol.
He watched the quoll scurry away and disappear from sight. What would Magpiefreckle say if she saw that? She'd probably be so disappointed in her utterly disappointing son.
He recalled the days when he was a young kit, when Magpiefreckle would look down at him, eyes full of love and happiness, and say, so sincerely, that she loved him. Ever since she accidentally became the medicine cat, she'd been sullen and grumpy, and Rosellaflutter could say for certain that she hated him.
He looked down, noticing a cut on his paw. No sense in going to Magpiefreckle. She'd just be angry that he was so careless to trip and fall while hunting something as easy as a quoll. Then he remembered his old friend Petalwing who died from an infected cut and decided that his mother's disapproval was better than dying.
He turned, heading towards camp with a sigh. He walked by Kestrelspring, Rabbitleap, Wallabypaw and Larkstep, who were on border patrol, and nodded politely in their direction then continued.
For some reason he had gotten so bad at hunting ever since his Clan moved into their new home after the old canyon they lived in was flooded. It was a miracle that he had even passed his warrior assessment. Everything was just so... Stressful. The canyon walls didn't feel like the safe haven they had felt like back in the old canyon. They felt like walls pressing in on him, trapping him here.
He looked up, seeing a small flock of galahs fly across the sky. Oh, birds. How he envied them.
He padded down the slope into camp, which was a little dip in the ground with tunnels dug into the walls that acted as dens. Grebekit and Loriinikit scampered in front of him, chasing a mossball. He paused, looking to the left and the right to make sure no other kits were zooming around, then continued.
He saw Turtlestride ahead. She and Thornberry had always been like his big sisters, ever since he had been apprenticed to Beespeckle, Turtlestride's mother. "Morning, Turtlestride." He greeted.
"Good morning," Turtlestride replied, pawing at some rocks on the ground absent-mindedly.
"Still trying to figure out how to tell Beansprout you don't love her?" Rosellaflutter asked.
"Ugh..." Turtlestride groaned, burying her face in her paws. "It's so hard. I mean, I love her, but it's... I love her as a friend. I don't know how I got myself into this. She's so nice, I don't want to make her sad..."
"Well, I'll leave you to your thoughts, then." Rosellaflutter said, then continued towards the medicine den.
He hesitated, standing at the entrance. He took a deep breath then padded inside.
"Mother?" He addressed as he walked through the tunnel-entrance.
"What is it now, Rosellaflutter?" Magpiefreckle grumbled, sitting at the herb store and sorting herbs with an irritated look on her face.
Rosellaflutter paused a moment, staring at her, thinking of what to say. Magpiefreckle continued to stare at the herb store, not bothering to look at him.
"Speak up, will you?!" Magpiefreckle shouted, flinging multiple herbs onto the ground with an angry swish of her paw.
Rosellaflutter flinched. He glanced down at the herbs that had fallen. "Um. The herbs-..."
"Who cares about the herbs? Just tell me what's wrong!" Magpiefreckle ordered.
He had clearly caught her at a bad time. "I- um. I cut my paw. While hunting." He answered.
"What are you, a kit? Coming to me because of your wittle boo boo?" Magpiefreckle mocked, tail lashing.
Whenever his mother started to make fun of him, he usually took it as a warning to leave. So he quickly turned around and left, ears flattened.
Magpiefreckle was so different from the Magpiefreckle he knew when he was a kit. It wasn't just him. She regularly lashed out at Ducksplash- who she used to be in love with before she became medicine cat- often for no reason at all.
Rosellaflutter sighed, sitting down. He licked the blood off of his paw. It wasn't a deep cut, anyway. At least there were some cats who liked him. Like Turtlestride and Thornberry. And Beespeckle. And Ducksplash and Kestrelspring and Featherfall.
But what if they didn't? Maybe they were just pretending. Maybe everyone was out to get him. Out to trick him.
Sometimes he just felt so... Insecure. Like he could never be safe, anywhere.
Well, let's rephrase that- he felt like that a lot more often than 'sometimes'.
YOU ARE READING
. Veiled Dawn .
Fanfiction. Rosellaflutter's mother, Magpiefreckle, has always been irritable, angry and disappointed in him ever since she unwillingly became medicine cat- not that it was his fault, or anything. She just hates everyone. All he wants is to get away from her...
