Twiggy

Chapter 15

      Silver Sky was poking my eye open. She peered down at me, her eyes sprinkled with anxiety. Comet paced by the entrance. I noticed that I seemed to be the centre of attention. "What is it?" I managed to grumble.
      "Oh, nothing, just the fact that you fainted." Comet hissed bluntly. "And also, you were meowing about our Mother. Are you ok?"
No. I thought. Absolutely not. I'm broken. I feel like falling apart every time I think of Mother. My mind is turning against me. What's next? An evil badger breaking my leg? Oh wait. That already happened. I looked up into my sisters blue eyes. "Yeah, I was probably just tired," I lied. "You know what? I feel better already!" The lies hurt to say, but I didn't want them to worry even more. And I would be fine. Maybe. If the evil comets didn't destroy me.
      Even through my lie the grief ached. My stomach ached for the loss of the brilliant she-cat who had been my Mom, and my younger siblings. I know I feel grief a lot, but I can't stop it. It's just the kind of thing that's unpreventable.
      Silver Sky whisked her tail in front of me. She pulled the blanket off my body and looked at my leg. I didn't think she could see much. It was mostly just a mass of sticks and bindweed. Suddenly she asked; "Does it feel better at all?"
      I was aiming for an honest answer. "Well not really. It doesn't bother me if I stay still, but it hurts like crazy if I move even the slightest bit."
      Silver Sky nodded. "It's only been two days. I'm sure it will get better with a little more time." She seemed like she was trying to convince herself just as much as I.
      The comets will be here soon. How can I face them if I'm wrapped in a giant stick? If I can't even move a leg? I hope they can wait. I stared outside at the blowing trees. They twisted with the wind's strength and I whimpered. For the first time in a very long time I was hurt. It reminded me of a time when I was just a young kit. . . .
Three small bundles wiggled and squirmed snugly against me. They battered with their paws at the soft hides beside them. They latched onto Mother, suckling strongly and hungrily, as of today was the last day ever. I couldn't see yet, but I often heard things next described by Mother. Even though it is quite hard to explain something to one who has never seen. I wondered what everything looked like. I thought that a tree might look very tall- but what is tall? And maybe it's short- but I don't know what that is either.
      Mother licked all of our heads and I wondered what her tongue looked like. Soft, maybe roughly pink. But I didn't know what pink was either. I just knew that it could be either mild or strong- and that strong was being able to fight. Mild was calm, like a rippling pond. A pond with shining water. I purred with amusement as I tried to imagine everything.
Suddenly, a claw poked into my side, one from my littermates. It needled into my side with a great pain. I thought that this must be the worst feeling ever, and that I would never hurt more.
Well, I was wrong about that, now, wasn't I? I pulled myself to my paws, testing my leg. It was not any better, but I decided I would go for a short walk to loose the tough muscles. I walked from the den, roughly greeted by a young white coloured rogue who was carrying a pigeon. He hissed, fluffing his pelt up.
I growled. "Now what do you think you're doing on my turf?" I asked.
The tom sniffed, dropping the pigeon huffily. "I was just passing through. No fuss. Can I please get through and do my thing?"
"What is your thing?"
"Crossing your territory," he picked the pigeon back up and tried to cross in front of me. I blocked him with a quick step forward and was welcomed by a sharp shock of stinging pain. The fluffy pelted tom turned. "Look, you don't look like you're in any condition to fight. I would like to pass without hurting you, but if that's not possible, I will."
I looked at him, anguished. He was right. I couldn't fight without hurting my leg more. I stepped back and the tom passed, taking the bird with him. When he was long gone I continued my walk. Clouds were blanketed across the sky and snow was falling heavily. Trees trunks scattered the paths. I looked up at the sky, seeing the white snowflakes that still fell. Suddenly, I saw a bright light glaring down at me. The comets. And seriously? Right now? We'd waited moons, and they decided to come when we were least prepared.
I scrabbled back to where the tom had been, and called out. "Hello? If you're there you can find me at the big rock. Be careful, though, and fast. The comets are coming and there's no way to avoid them!"
I started to walk even faster and neared the den. Silver Sky and Comet were there, looking up at the sky. Comet turned to me as I neared and murmured. "Whoopee! Comets."
The first light I had seen was getting bigger, and there were many more behind it. The sky had darkened to a thick black, but brightness pierces through the clouds. Th flashed an evil red, just like the others, and sped faster and faster. I thought back to the white tom. I didn't know if he would come, but if he did, I hoped it was soon.
Just then he appeared, taking in the looks of our den and growling. "I thought your den would look like this." He mewed. "Untidy and ugly. Just like you."
Silver Sky took a step forward. "And what exactly are you doing here, Mister Puffball?" She must've hit a nerve, because he winced. "I don't recall inviting you."
"I did. . . . " I said. "I met him earlier, and thought maybe he could come with us. But he's not exactly very grateful. Maybe he should leave?"
Silver Sky seemed wistful, sniffed the air and snorted. "But then the little baby would die."
Comet was the one to break it up. "We should go. I mean, there's only fifty thousand comets racing to kill us. It's not exactly the time to argue. . . . "
Everyone seemed to agree. We all walked out of the den to see the rocks flying swiftly to the ground. They had started to shatter the earth, and crevices were left in places. We jumped over the cracks and walked around the black pits. We were halfway across the clearing when a shard of ice hit our old den, exploding it into a fiery mess. Comet twitched an ear but kept moving.
The forest was loud. Animals were running everywhere, and an old brown moose almost trampled me. It's hooves plunged into the ground right next to my paw. My leg gave a tremble of pain as a small pebble hit it. The white tom was still being a stuck-up brat. When we came across a marsh, he decided to explain it. "This is a marsh," he mewed matter-of-factly. "Many types of animals live here, such as beavers, frogs and a wide assortment of birds. The water is rich with soil and plant material, which means that the mosquitoes and water bugs are abundant. It is also a good habitat for cats, and is a stereotype of a grungy, dirty place, although I don't thi-"
Silver Sky was finding it hard to control her nerve. "Look, Snowball, I know you think you know everything, but cane you please listen to my simple two words?"
"Sure."
"Shut. Up."
There was silence for a while. We got to a grassy plain, where comets were still raining, but were lesser. "You know that grass has many types." The snobby voice broke out. "But did you know what they're called?"
I sighed. "No."
"Well, there's timothy, alfalfa,"
"That didn't mean I wanted to hear them."
Oh, I hope this doesn't last all night.