Twiggy

Chapter 14

       I collapsed onto the nest. Comet was looking at me worriedly. My leg throbbed with the worst physical pain I had ever felt and I wondered what I had ever done to deserve this.
       Oh right. I didn't do anything. My great-great-great grand dad had done this. I just love my family. My leg was obviously broken, and I didn't know how it would heal. "Silver Sky," I said, gasping in pain. "Do you have any clue at all on how my leg will heal?"
      Silver Sky looked a bit worried. "Uh, not exactly, but I do have an idea."
      "Spit it out."
      "Well, we can get some thick plants or sticks to put on both sides of your leg and tie it with bindweed. . . . I've heard that comfrey works as well go heal broken bones. Comet and I will go look for it after you get settled."
      Comet looked at my mate. "What about the snow?"
      Silver Sky meowed. "I don't know exactly, but it hasn't been cold for too long. There's a chance that we may be able to salvage some comfrey from under bushes, though."
      I squinted my eyes in pain. My leg was still steadily bleeding, making our brand new blanket wet and red.
      Silver Sky settled beside me and started to lick my head. Her tongue felt so soft in the pain I was going through and it lulled me. I looked up at her pretty face and started to purr. Despite being hurt and in pain, Silver Sky was still good at making me happy.
      My family gave me farewells and I watched as they left on the quest to heal me.
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
      If it wasn't for the incredible agony I was going through I would have been bored. The kind of bored that made you want to rip off your whiskers. My leg was aching, but I had stopped the bleeding after I stuffed some moss into the cut.
      Silver Sky and Comet had been gone for only a little while, but it was getting dark. The grey clouds outside were turned into a starry sky as the clouds vanished. A moon hung far up, sending beams of light down. It lit the den up.
      The night passed by and I couldn't sleep. My leg hurt too much. I would be almost asleep, when I turned a certain way and my leg woke me again. I wondered what was taking them so long. They should have been back by now. . . .
      By the time the sun was far overhead they came back, both carrying stuff. Comet had a bundle of large leaves in her mouth, while Silver Sky carried two flat sticks and some bindweed. I wondered where they found all of that stuff.
      Silver Sky raced up, sticks dragging on the ground and meowed. "How are you, Twiggy? Oh you look so tired! Did you even get any sleep?"
      "No." I said. How could she expect me too when I was so hurt? It hurt to twist a whisker! Actually that may have been a bit of an exaggeration.
      "I am super glad you're ok." Comet meowed as she rubbed her head against mine.
      "I'm glad I'm ok too." I agreed. Comet glared at me. "What? You can't expect me to give a long and dramatic speech. I'm injured, remember?"
      Silver Sky immediately got to work. She ripped a few leaves from the pile and wrapped them around my leg. I yelped a lot throughout this process.
      After she finished with the leaves, she picked up my leg and Comet placed the stick under it. It was flat, yet slightly rounded. "How did you find this?" I asked.
      I, of course, was ignored. Silver Sky grabbed the other stick and placed it on top of my leg. Then she clawed the bindweed into thick strings, wrapped it around my leg several times and tied it. It was very tight. I didn't think I would be able to move in it.
      "There." Silver Sky sat back to admire her beautiful work.
      "How am I supposed to walk?"
      "That's the thing." She glared at me. "You don't."
      Comet meowed. "I feel really bad for you. I definitely wouldn't want to be stuck in a nest for two moons-"
      I gasped. "Two moons?"
      Silver Sky purred. "Well, you'll be able to take short walks. But yes, it will be two moons."
      I growled. Why did this stuff always happen to me? I shook my head and rested it back on the blanket. It throbbed with a terrible feeling, making me squint even more and I groaned. Silver Sky licked my head before padding out the den to see Comet, who was currently out in the field. Her pretty blue eyes were glinting in the sundown glow. The fluffy blanket caressed my aching sides and it made me feel better than I would without it. It's cushioning self was very good for dying legs, apparently.
Comet kept on squealing from outside the den. I heard Silver Sky making comments. "You're a very good hunter," she said, and it was partly muffled by the rock wall. "Now why don't we take it back to Twiggy later, I'm sure he'll enjoy that." I could imagine the pretty tabby looking down at my young sister, a look of pure pride in her eyes. I frowned glaring down at my stupidly injured leg. I should be out there, I should be helping Comet and I should be the one there for her first catch.
I guess the part that stuck out the most was that I wasn't.
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
The grey clouds were mostly dim, besides the part the sun peered through in a ray of light. My Mother was beside me and my littermates, joyfully explaining how she had met my Father, who had currently been hunting. She laughed again as she explained.
"One day I was hunting," she started. "It was a nice and sunny day, with plenty of prey scents drifting to and fro. I couldn't wait to catch some. I left my small bracken den and clambered out into the forest. It didn't take long for me to find a nice and juicy vole. It was sitting atop a mossy stone and I licked my jaws, eager for a nice meal.
I leapt at it, my claws piercing into its hide and I snapped its neck. It soon died. That's when your Father came in. He was standing there in all his glory, annoying me with his perfect fur and his shining eyes. And he said; "What are you doing with my vole, sweetheart?" I of course shook it off and growled quickly.
"Go away. Nobody wants you around," I spoke, quick to judge. He replied with an; "Actually, quite a lot of cats do." My jaw dropped with his bluntness and he rushed forward, taking the vole.
He had been so rude, but I just couldn't get him out of my head. I thought about him all night and when we saw each other again, we talked. We learned more about each other. And now look where we are. A litter of kits already!"
She leaned forward and licked my nose. I purred in response and decided to settle down for sleep. I heard my sister meow sleepily. "Thank you for telling us that, mama." And I fell asleep.
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
I woke with memories brewing in my head. My Mother was so close to me, yet way out of reach. I savoured the memories to the very last bit, but it was still hard that she was gone. A story of my dad, huh? So much he did for us. I don't think that Mother should have fallen for him. He was greedy and selfish. Nobody you'd want to have a litter of kits for. Mother had fallen for the wrong tom. But I'm still happy. Of she hadn't, I wouldn't have met her and we never would've been Mother and son.
A pang of grief rang through my body. I felt a lump form in my throat. Out of all the pain I've ever experienced this is the worst. It was terrible, eating me inside out. I bit at my tail, trying to dull the pain with something else, but it didn't work. This grief was overwhelming me, threatening to engulf all happiness. Isn't it just my luck, stuck with some stupid curse and grief. What next?