smoke & mirrors (hiatus)

.: chapter two :.

.: ♚ :.

LOOKING up, Heronskip saw that his attacker was a dark calico molly with thick fur and tiny whiskers. She flicked her tail at him.

"Hey, Oakstripe," he meowed in greeting. "Umm.. can you maybe get off of me?"

"Guess WHAT I did today?" his best friend responded without moving. "Guess what guess what guess what?" She pushed her muzzle into his and rolled off of him. Heronskip wheezed as her weight pressed down on his chest.

Heronskip sat down and flattened the fur on top of his head. "What did you do?" he meowed, shaking out his fur.

"I finished my bird!" she squealed, running out of sight. Heronskip sighed and walked over to her area where she built her things.

On her tree stump that acted like a desk was a tiny bird sculpture. Wings made of tiny leaves spread out from the tiny bird's back, and it's talons were crafted out of thin birch wood. Heronskip looked at it, breathless. Last time he had seen the bird, it had no wings or face, and now, it looked beautiful.

"Oh my gosh," he whispered. "It's gorgeous. I love it."

"Thank you! I think it's one of the best things I've ever made!" Oakstripe meowed, tilting her head to look at it. She unsheathed a claw and nudged the bird's beak to make it face another direction.

"It's so amazing." Heronskip couldn't get over how detailed and perfect the bird was. "How long did this take?"

"A few months. But it was SO worth it. Should I keep it or give it to the queen?" his friend wondered. Oakstripe liked giving her crafts to Queen Amberfish for an unspoken reason. Maybe she wanted to impress the queen, maybe she just wanted to get on the moody molly's good side.

"Do you like have a crush on Queen Amberfish or something?" Heronskip asked out of curiosity.

To his surprise, Oakstripe started laughing. "No, Heronskip, of course I don't! She's beautiful, but have you ever heard her say anything nice in your entire life? And besides, she's married, AND relationships like that are forbidden, AND I'm not trying to get myself killed."

"No, you're right," Heronskip meowed, looking down at his paws.

"Anyways, do you want to feed Theodore?" Oakstripe asked, ducking behind her tree stump.

"NO!" Heronskip yowled, backing and turning away from his friend immediately. "NO NO NO NO NO PLEASE NO."

"I know, I'm just kidding."

Heronskip turned behind his shoulder to look at Oakstripe, and he was unsurprised to see Theodore, a massive spider, crawling along his friend's paw. Eight creepy crawly legs scampered around, and eight creepy eyes seemed to be looking at Heronskip. Then, Oakstripe's green eyes met his, and the gray and white tom felt his stomach churn. Theodore was beginning to crawl up her arm.

"Oak-oakstripe, it's T-t-t-theo-theodore, he's-he's go-going up your arm!" Heronskip exclaimed, flattening his ears. A few cats looked over after his exclamation.

"It's just a spider," someone called from afar, but Heronskip was not listening. After what seemed like forever, Oakstripe finally put her pet away.

And then Heronskip threw up. The sight of the spider had been too much for him. "Why did you bring him out..?" he asked weakly.

"Sorry, Heronskip. He really needed to eat."