𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴: 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 (𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒 2) (ROS)

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 1

(TW: mention of cat birth!)

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏: 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐬

There lived a twoleg nest on the cliff above the forests. Ran by an elderly twoleg mates who housed cats. They only did that to fill in the void of their son, who had died at a young age. To honor his memory, they named one cat after his favorite song that he liked. Sunflower. 

The young tom lived in the Softpaw nest ever since he was born. He lived with his two parents, Jeffrey and Carmen, and his friend, Lee.

At a bright, sunny morning. Where the sun shined through the open blinds into the living room where the couch was set under the ledge of the window. Sunflower is woken up by painful yowls from upstairs. He could recognize it as his mother since she had been pregnant for a while. Lee pawed Sunflower by the arm.

"Come upstairs!" He begged, tugging his friend's tail.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Just wait a second!" He spoke in his upbeat, energetic voice.

The black tom leaped from the window and scurried upstairs, his small legs speeding to the bathroom. He could see the female two-leg's shadow from the bathroom lights. The yowling of his mother continued, Sunflower thought she may be in trouble. Lee trailed behind, and the two cats were met with Jeffrey leaning against the yellow striped walls of the hallway, watching his mate carefully.

Jeffrey heard the jingling of the collar and turned around to see his son worried. "Don't enter just yet. Let your mother have some space." Said Jeffrey, his tail swaying slowly. The tom frowned. He understood that this was a very prominent time for his mother. He had no choice but to watch.

To ease tension, the tom turned to his father. "Did you get any sleep, dad?" He asked, noticing the eye bags on his face. "If only I could. Your mother's been bugging me all night. She was worried if this could be a repeat of last time."

Sunflower gazed at his father. "Last time?" He questioned. What could this mean?

Jeffrey saw the look at his son. "You'll learn when you get older." He said, turning his face away to watch Carmen. He didn't feel as if this would fix his curiosity, but he had to shake that off for now. 

The yowling stopped, there were only one mew coming behind the door. Jeffrey entered; Sunflower stayed. "Is she okay?" Lee asked. He peeked his head curiously. "Maybe give Mama some privacy, would you?" Sunflower gently batted his friend's fuzzy face. Lee scoffed. "Fine, fine." The ginger tom turned his head away. Sunflower purred in satisfaction. "Good, we can turn our heads together." He joins his friend by turning his own head. "You're treating this like a prison." Lee joked. The black tom bumped his shoulder. "Quit being dramatic, that's called basic decency. You little dirt." 

"I know, I know. I'm not stupid like the outsiders. They seem to be high off the catnip." Lee said, which puzzled the tom. "Catnip? Psshhh.." He rolled his yellow eyes. That sounded silly, although he was admittedly interested since he had seen some outsiders' days ago. "I do wonder if there's more to the outside than... here." His tone went quiet and subtle.

"What?" Lee stared in disbelief. "You want to be with the catnip cats?"

"Nooo!" Sunflower turned his head, denying what he said. "You're missing the point here. I didn't say I wanted to go. Who knows what's out there?"

Lee shook his head. "You say that every time and then turn around just to go out again. You almost got killed last time when that happened."

"Hush!" The black tom growled. "You'll get me in trouble if dad finds out!"

The door opened. It was the female twoleg who noticed them. She had a dark brow. skin and worn a striped, orange blouse shirt. Her hair was curly, and she wore dark, orange jeans. Her grayish hair was wrapped in a bun. "My, my, the kitties are curious." The twoleg spoke, her eye bags showed how exhausted she was.

Sunflower and Lee purred at her, begging to see the newborn kits. A frown was seen from the twoleg who felt guilt. They were excited, so she opened the door and let the cats in. The black tom eagerly entered only to see his mother sleeping on top of the pale orange blanket, Jeffrey didn't seem all upset, though the other kits just didn't make it.

Their expressions changed when two of the kits from their litter had come out stillborn. Only one had lived, and that outweighed the disappointment. Sunflower noticed the small kit, smelling the scent of his new kin. Carmen had birthed his younger sister. The kit mewed. She could smell the honey scent of her brother, who was inspecting her. The two of them touched noses for the first time.

"Oh my, mama. She's beautiful, isn't she?" Sunflower mewed, his nose rubbing against her fur. Carmen ran her muzzle against her son's forehead. "She's lucky." Said the she-cat. "I think Dandelion is a good name." She chirped at her son. Sunflower looked closely at his new sister, and he nodded in agreement. He turned to his father, who was looking at the two. "It's a perfect name." Jeffrey purred. He was proud of his mate. "She's going to be our priority, Sunny."

"I'll snap a tail at anyone who puts a paw on my sister!" He jumped up, baring his teeth playfully. "Just you wait..."

Jeffrey huffed. He was humored by his son's determination. "Don't go too far. I want you to be in one piece." He said, licking his son's head. "I worry too much for you sometimes. Especially with you interacting with the outsiders."

"I won't!" He hopped from the floor excitedly. "Mark my words! I'm not with all of that exploring stuff anymore."

His father led out a hum. "Good. I don't want you to be outside alone. It's dangerous out there. Now go on." He ordered. "Your mother needs a break." 

What his father said made him somewhat annoyed. However, it wasn't really a big deal, right?

He leaned his head towards his sister and nudged her by the muzzle. "I'll see you later, little one." He promised, and then backed away from the bathroom and ran downstairs with Lee. She's precious, I hope I can see her out and about soon. He thought.

As he walked back into the living room, he noticed something staring directly at him outside the window. A gray tabby with a long muzzle had his white, gleaming eyes on him. Sunflower had a feeling of similarity. But he ignored it for now.

He continued on to play with his toys with Lee.