Demon's Genesis

Chapter 7

A small stack of berries lay next to the base of my paws. We had only picked the best ones out of the bush, allowing the smaller ones to grow for the next berry gathering.

I felt a gentle woosh of air as my mother came and planted herself next to me, gazing at the pile of berries with pride swirling in her deep purple eyes.

Wow.. genuine pride.

"Well done Lloyd. I'm impressed." The lilac-furred she-cat raised her gaze to make eye contact with me, and I grinned so widely it almost made my cheeks hurt.

"Thank you, mother," I purred, the gratitude and warmth obvious in my tone. She chuckled softly, rolling her eyes before standing and reaching out her front paws as far as they could go in a giant stretch.

"Ah, that's better." her tail flicked a few times before she leaned over to me and gave me a quick lick on my forehead, a gesture of affection.

My heart almost burst out of my chest.

So this is what it's like to have a proper mother, I gazed up at her face, all her affection and love for me was bundled into a small smile and soft expression. I blinked slowly at her. Thank you.

We stayed like that for a while, sitting close to each other. The gentle breeze tugged our fur in different directions. Somewhere in the distance, the evening song of a bird called out, ringing through the forest and enrapturing any creature lucky enough to hear it.

I looked around, taking in all of my surroundings. The berry bushes that were once bright green with splotches of purple and crimson hue added into the mix, were now bathed in a warm orange glow, paralleling the rest of the forest.

A peaceful sigh escaped my muzzle, and I closed my eyes in complete and utter tranquillity.

"I love this time of day."

My mother hummed in response, and turning my gaze towards her I realised she had closed her eyes.
Joy tugged on my heartstrings.

Today has been okay.

Raising my gaze to the sky, streaks of orange and pink reflected back through my eyes, clear as a mirror. I just hope mother stays like this. It's nice.

Then we could all be one big happy family, just like I've always wanted.

I heard a scuffling movement to my side and glancing in that direction I saw that my mother had risen to her paws and was holding a strangely blank expression; nothing like the soft smile of pride she was giving me moments ago.

"Come on, Lloyd. It's time to go home."

I couldn't help the shrivelling feeling of disappointment that had suddenly buried itself in my gut. It was so peaceful, mother. Why do we have to go?

I dipped my head in hesitant agreement. "I'm sure Pa and Kai will be waiting for us." She nodded, her gaze rekindling into a warm lavender flame.

"Look over here, Son, this is how you pack the berries—" she plucked a good-sized leaf from a nearby plant. "—first, you lay the leaf on the ground, and then you just fold it over like this." Demonstrating how to do it, her muzzle was scrunched up ever so slightly in concentration; I watched as she folded the leaf four times before quickly sifting through the leaf litter on the forest ground to find what she was looking for. A small, sharp stick to hold everything in place.

"Aaaaand-" she stabbed the stick through the very centre of the bundle- "there. That will keep everything nice and fresh."

I awed at the small wrapped bundle for a few moments and she wore a smug smile on her face, obviously proud of herself. "That's amazing, Mother," I whispered. With her expression as soft as her gaze, she blinked a thanks.

"Now let's get moving before it gets dark... Well, darker than it already is." She added, glaring at the orangey-indigo sky as if silently cursing the sinking sun.

We.. well it was more her than me, packed up the rest of the berries, and laid them gently into a homemade satchel I had brought. Deciding to carry it back, I took the lead.

The forest was unusually quiet for this time of the evening, the only sound easy enough to hear was the sticky squelching of spring petals under and my mother's and I's paws as we walked. The woodland animals were quiet, the insects were quiet, there was no breeze to disturb the trees, so they were deemed motionless; even the usual happy chattering of birds was more quiet than usual.

Well... that's not ominous at all.

Dismissing the thought as just another pointless anxiety, I continued trodding through the soggy mess of petals.

"Argh!"

I whipped around to see my mother crouched down, tail trembling and ears pinned to her skull. "Mother? Are.. are you alright?"

She didn't reply, so I dropped the satchel on the ground and warily padded over to her, carefully crouching down by her side. Observing her closely, I noticed that her hackles were raised, and her claws were digging into the earth with such force her paws were trembling. Her eyes were scrunched shut and she had the makings of a snarl painted on her muzzle.

...It's as if she's in great pain, but I don't see anything wrong with her! She's been fine all day!

"Mother," I nudged her shoulder with my muzzle and her pelt suddenly rippled as her muscles tensed. "Are you alright?"

She was silent for a few seconds and my ears flattened instinctively as panic starts to coil in my gut like an angry snake. Can she even hear me?

"Yes. I'm fine." My ears shot up as the barely audible rasp of my mother grabbed my attention. She opened her eyes slowly as if there was a bright light beaming into her eyes. Standing up, and giving her chest fur a quick lick to flatten it down, she rested her gaze on me. "I just stood on a thorn, see?" She turned over her front paw to show a small thorn sticking out of her paw, blood slowly oozing out around the wound.

"Oh." I wasn't buying it. There's no way in the name of Urigi that a thorn that size caused the amount of pain she looked like she was in.

With a quick, precise nip, she plucked the thorn from her paw and spat it out on the ground, flinging it into the foliage with a skilful flick.

"Let's go. Jupe and Kai will be worried about us."

She turned around, walking with a notable stiffness in her limbs. My eyebrows furrowed.

I'm not a stupid little kit anymore, Mother. There's more to this you're just not telling me. I snorted, staring at the ground. I'll find out eventually...it's only a matter of time.

"Lloyd, you coming?"

I raised my gaze to see her waiting next to my satchel. "Oh, right." I bounded over to where she stood, giving her a short smile before quickly slipped the satchel over my head and clipped it around my waist. Quickly, I scanned my surroundings until I found the path again and continued the walk back home.

We walked in silence until a few seconds later, she spoke.

"Hey, Lloyd?"

"Yea?"

"Do you ever wonder what it's like to be lonely?"

BIGGEST OOF AM I RIGHT GUYS
HM
HMMMMM
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I WONDER WHATS GONNA HAPPEN NEXT

NOT ME
NOPE.

Word count: 1242