Summary

Elijah was already well into his late teens when his parents had decided to have another mothkitten. He was excited for his little sibling. He wasn't sure what to expect though; he had never dealt with other mothkittens during his growth, so he never had to worry about how to deal with them. He wondered what it would be like to have a little sibling--he hoped it would be a boy like him.

And Elijah got his wish. He spent his days beside the cocoon in eager wait, his eyes never leaving the cocoon. He probably spent more time with the cocoon than his own parents did! And when the cocoon hatched, Elijah was the first one to greet his baby brother into the world.

Regime was close with all three of his family members, though he was always following Elijah around. He did everything with his big brother, from playing in the snow to sleeping together at night. They were never separated, and their parents were perfectly okay with that. At least they knew that the two could always rely on. And so when they disappeared in an avalanche, those two were all they had left of their family.

The day that the avalanche occurred, the little cabin that their family lived in was snowed in, to where Elijah couldn't get out to find their parents. Their parents had gone out that morning to get food, and when the snow from the avalanche finally melted, they never came home. The days stretched on, and two brothers got more and more worried until finally, Elijah decided that they weren't coming home. They were on their own.

It was around this time that Elijah had begun to develop his paranoia. He took care of everything that their parents did, from the grocery shopping to the cooking and the cleaning. His and Regime's relationship began to break a bit because of this though, as Regime was lost on everything that was going on. Why weren't their parents coming home? Couldn't he and Elijah keep playing? Why couldn't Regime come with him to the market? None of it was making sense, and any time he asked these questions, Elijah would give him one-word answers, all-the-while running around to get something done. It made Regime sad.

As time went on, Regime grew up. He lost his kitten fur quite fast, as he felt older than he really was. He felt he had to grow up faster. Elijah didn't like how fast his little brother was growing, but it's not like he could stop it. Because on top of growing up, Regime also wanted to be involved in the work around the house more. Thinking about Regime going outside and potentially getting caught in an avalanche like their parents terrified Elijah, and he forbad Regime from going outside. This caused their relationship to go sour for a time. Regime didn't like this rule. It was to the point that the teenage mothcat, who was once so well-behaved and never crossed his brother, began to sneak out.

The first time that Regime sneaked out was stressful. Regime had been outside before, of course, but this was the first time he had been out without Elijah. He didn't venture very far because of this, but it was thrilling to be on his own for the first time. And without his brother breathing down his neck. This caused Regime to sneak out many more times, each time coming home to Elijah never finding out.

That is until one night where Regime strayed too far. He had decided to venture into the woods behind their little cabin, curious about what was in the depths of those trees. He got caught up in all of his fascinations with the different types of trees, birds, foliage, everything he had never seen previously in his adventures. However, he was so caught up in it all that he didn't realize how far he had gone. When he had turned to go back, he realized something; everything looked the same. Regime suddenly realized his mistake, While he was thankful he brought a pouch of food and his book to read, he knew it wouldn't last him for very long. So, frantically, he began to walk in the direction he thought would lead to home.

The day ended up turning into three as Regime couldn't find his way home. He would find himself sleeping in the snow, using his pouch for a pillow, and ran out of food after the second day. He thought that maybe he would never find his way home, so when the cabin suddenly came into view through the trees, he was sprinting towards the door. He wasn't expecting the door to be open, though, with his brother slumped on the couch and a florabun sitting beside him. Elijah had clearly lost sleep, and the florabun was not afraid to glare at Regime when he came in. Regime didn't care. He pushed through his exhaustion to go hug his brother, thankful for being home.

After that, Elijah lifted the rule that Regime was not allowed to leave. He clearly saw that his little brother couldn't be held back, so if he couldn't protect his brother that way, the best to do would be to let Regime have the freedom he wanted. The florabun, who Elijah introduced as Sparrow, also decided to stay. The cabin felt just a little smaller with the new addition to the family, but it was welcoming.

And their family only kept getting bigger. Months passed after the lost incident, and suddenly another mothcat was at their door. Well, it was more like the mothcat invited themselves in and made the cabin their home. Though they were quick to apologize when they realized it was occupied. They introduced themselves as Fletcher, a mothcat that was traveling the world of Falena for knowledge. Fascinated with this, Elijah and Regime offered him a place to say so that they could hear more about his adventures. However, his stories took so long, that he ended up staying for far longer than the few days, becoming an honorary family member, much to Sparrow's disappointment.

During this time, Regime had become more confident going outside. He had learned the forest like the back of his paw, and he could often be found out in the wild reading his books. Of course, he had gone into the market more now, too. He was so familiar with what he was doing outside that Elijah even gave him the job of getting groceries, despite how reluctant he was to do so. But Regime loved his new job. He was finally contributing to taking care of the family, which definitely needed it, given the sudden additions. And all went smoothly with his travels to the market. At least, until he bumped into someone else.

One of his trips led him to come home soaked in ink, but a big smile on his face. The market was extra busy that day, and it took everything in Regime to avoid running into anyone. Just when he thought he was in luck, his paws tripped over a smaller mothcat, who just happened to be carrying multiple bottles of ink. The stoppers on the bottles happened to open and tip all over him, all while the poor mothcat he had tripped over was sprawled out on the ground. Regime was quick to apologize to her, who in turn apologized to him, as his fur was basically doused with black ink. The two ended up laughing off the situation.

The mothcat introduced herself as Mabel, an up-and-coming author. This piqued Regime's interest; as an avid reader, he was interested to know what she was writing about. But Mabel, realizing they probably looked strange out in the middle of the market with one of them dripping ink, said she'd be happy to tell him more about her first book another time. Regime agreed, and he told her to meet him up on the mountain the next day. He knew the perfect place for them to talk.

And so she did. Mabel met him just outside the cabin, where Regime proceeded to lead her up a bit higher, through the woods. Though concerned about where he was taken her, Mabel was suddenly speechless when he led her out of the woods to a cliff covered in soft-looking snow. The cliff overlooked the valley where the market sat, and although the sun was still high in the sky, it could be seen that it would procure a beautiful sunset.

And they stayed talking about books until they saw that sunset. Regime had never been happier being with another cat, even more so than he would be with Elijah or Fletcher. These meetings continued between the two for many months, and the conversations were always something about reading or nature, as Regime loved to talk about the forest. The two hit it off very well, and it was clear there was something more between the young mothcats than just friendship. But Regime was too embarrassed to ever say anything about it, so it was Mabel that had to bring it up.

After she did, of course, Regime introduced her to his family. Elijah, who also had just made a revelation about his feelings towards Fletcher, was both happy and worried for the young couple. Were they going too fast? Regime only rolled his eyes at Elijah. He told Mabel not to worry, and that Elijah was always like this. Fletcher, on the other paw, was excited about the announcement and insisted that Mabel stay for dinner. She got to know Regime's family better. He only hoped one day he would get to meet hers.

Regime is still quite young, and he's only just beginning to become an adult himself. His life has already had many ups and downs, with the loss of his parents, his brother's paranoia, and his newfound love. He is excited, though, to see what the future brings him as he becomes more independent and finds himself.