Summary

Two star-crossed mothcats were fated to have their first-born under the stars. They were met with a supposed prophet, who told them to keep their child's cocoon under the brightest parts of the forest. If they did this, they were guaranteed a happy, healthy child. A child that would shape a future, unlike any others. So they did; day and night, they kept the cocoon in an open field amongst the forest in which they lived. And, when the moon was high and its light was shining down on the cocoon, it cracked open with an elegance. Out revealed a dark-colored mothkitten, their antennae long and swirly, with the only supposed splash of color in their bright, glittering wings. Overjoyed, the mothcats named their new child Amalthea, after the moon that so graciously granted their child such a perfect life.

Amalthea was a quiet and observative little mothkitten. They were unsettling, even to their parents sometimes, as it seemed like they looked through their eyelids into the world, despite being the blind kitten they were. They asked questions that no one would think a mothkitten would think about, and their curiosity extended to further heights of the average imagination. What bothered their parents most, however, was how unreadable their child was. They loved Amalthea, they really do, but their child's lack of emotions was difficult to work with. They wanted to make them happy, but they didn't know how to do so. What they never knew was that Amalthea was always happy. As long as their questions were answered--even if the answer wasn't correct--they were pleased. They were an easy mothkitten.

Time passed, and Amalthea seemed to grow out of their kitten fur faster than the average mothkitten. Their eyes opened to reveal piercing violet and purple eyes--their parents thought it suddenly made sense why their blind gaze bothered them so much--and their tail looked as if it could curl over their body twice. They grew into a lanky, skinny teenage mothcat. And it was around this time that their parents decided on having another mothkitten. They felt they were well-prepared for their second child after taking care of Amalthea. They wondered if there would be a prophecy about their second child, but they were never met with the prophet again. Despite this, they did the same as they did with Amalthea; they left the cocoon out in the brightest spot of the forest, where both the sun and the moon could shine down on the cocoon through the arrangement of trees. Amalthea was curious about this. They watched the cocoon from a distance, perched in a tree, as it would move and wiggle about every day. They watched it with such an intense gaze that they didn't notice the lack of their parents' presence, which had suddenly disappeared over the development of the cocoon.

When the cocoon hatched, under the same moon that Amalthea did, the intensity of the light and heat from the cocoon almost sent Amalthea over their branch. There was fire coming out of the mothkitten's back where there should've been wings. It fascinated Amalthea as its blue flames stretched to touch the horizons. Finally, they looked down to see the actual mothkitten. She was small and dainty, her kitten fur almost engulfing her. It was then that Amalthea realized their parents should be here to witness this. They left the mothkitten there in her broken cocoon to look for their parents. Amalthea searched the entirety of the forest, from one corner to another, for their parents. They were nowhere. Alarmed, out of their comfort zone, Amalthea nearly panicked. Their fur ruffled up and their tail lashed in emotions they have never felt. What could they do? They've never been without their parents. They paced back and forth, and as the sun slowly began to peek over the distant mountains, they realized there was only one thing they could do: go back to their sister.

Amalthea approached their sister with hesitance, unsure of what to do. The mothkitten was dry from her emergence by now, the flames of her wings bigger than before. She had felt Amalthea's presence and stared up at them, her mouth agape in wonder. It was then that Amalthea realized she didn't have a name. What would their parents have called her? They had never mentioned a name. Their eyes darted back and forth, from the mothkitten to the depths of the forest, urging his parents to return. Instead, the wind howled, and on its breeze, it whispered something. Amalthea didn't think they caught it, yet it seemed to come out naturally. They named their sister Myra.

With that, Amalthea ended up becoming Myra's reluctant guardian. They had no clue what they were doing, though. With their parents, they never had a permanent home, so Amalthea carried the mothkitten anywhere they went. They had to learn through their own experiences what was edible and what was not for Myra; where was safe for them; how to survive in the deep forest that they knew so well as their home, yet Myra had only known for a few days. They quickly became stressed, and they wondered if they were doing everything wrong. Myra seemed happy... but was she really? Maybe she was acting so that she didn't worry her older sibling. Amalthea couldn't put their paw on it.

This went on for as long as Myra needed them. She grew slower than Amalthea. It took her time to lose her kitten fur, and even as her eyes open, they didn't seem to adjust as quickly. Her tail began to light on fire just like her wings, and her eyes brightened into a beautiful green. They reminded Amalthea of their mother. But that scared them even more. Before Myra could remember what her sibling looked like, Amalthea vanished, hoping that Myra would be okay on her own.

Alone in the large forest for the first time in their life, Amalthea was surprised at all of the sounds they had forgotten. Back when it was just them and their parents, they were accustomed to the birds and the rustling of leaves. It was reality setting in that they were truly on their own, now. They didn't mind it though and, pushing back their concern for Myra, found a new home. They took shelter in a cave after walking aimlessly for days. This cave would come to be their home, comforted by its cold and dark atmosphere.

It wouldn't be for a long time coming until Amalthea would run into their sister again. Now fully grown and looking well, Myra was clearly thriving without Amalthea. And they were glad that their sister didn't seem to remember them as they stood in front of her. It took all of their self-restraint not to talk. They made quick haste to get away, but it set something new off in Amalthea. Despite not knowing their sister more personally, they still felt a need to protect her. So, they resolved to begin watching her again, only... from a distance. They wouldn't let Myra down again, not after their failed attempt of caring for her as a mothkitten. They enjoyed watching her grow up as they watched her. They watched her make new friends, build a home of her own, pick up talents like baking. It was all the things Amalthea couldn't bring themselves to do. At least one of the two was succeeding in life.

Life passed by like a flash for Amalthea. Their life seemed to also twist fate around. As if their fate couldn't push them any closer to mothkittens, it was as if the Mothlions placed one right in his paws. A little mothkitten by the name of Demetrius was found by Amalthea, lost in their domain that was the forest. Seeing their sister in the kitten, Amalthea took them in and cared for them for a few weeks. They grew close with the mothkitten, but as always, it was never their destiny to stay with a mothkitten. They returned Demetrius home, promising to meet the mothkitten again when he got older.

And then Amalthea made mistakes. Out in the town in search of their sister, they stumbled across an unfamiliar mothcat. They introduced themselves as Aster, a cat simply looking for some company. Amalthea, having never experienced romance or anything other than isolation, was curious. They spent the next two days with the mothcat, unsuspecting of what was to come. They weren't expecting Aster to come back to them, wild with worry, saying that they were expecting a mothkitten. Amalthea wouldn't show it, but they were also terrified. When would Falena learn that they were not good with mothkittens? And it didn't seem Aster was prepared either. Amalthea felt bad for the starstruck mothcat so, in an attempt to help, Amalthea agreed to take the cocoon off of his paws once created.

However, the cocoon didn't stay with Amalthea for long either. Terrified of their past mistakes coming back to haunt them, Amalthea took the cocoon to the one place they thought the mothkitten in it would be safe; Myra's. They left the cocoon on the step and ran, just as they did the day Myra opened her eyes. Thankfully, their sister didn't seem opposed to watching the mothkitten. She took it in as her own, leaving Amalthea relieved.

Nowadays, Amalthea continues their watches on Myra, alongside their own mothkitten, Andromeda. They're thankful for their family's happiness, even if they weren't involved in it. They remain an enigma, though, to the rest of the world, hiding in their cave, waiting for the next mothkitten to come falling into their paws for help and company. Although they aren't looking forward to it, Amalthea expects it. Perhaps this is their fate.

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There are rumors of the piercing violet and purple eyes staring out from the branches of the trees, but no one has ever seen the dark shape that owns those eyes.