Stag

Stag and her sister Bee were born in a sunlit forest. Their mother and father, Dove and Storm, were a close couple who hadn’t expected kittens. But here they were, and Dove and Storm loved them. Their type of lifestyle wasn’t easy— providing for themselves, always on the move, and often fending off predators, but Dove and Storm swore to help each other protect their kittens. And as Stag and Bee grew, they’d learn how to do everything their parents could.

Stag and Bee’s births put a rift in Dove and Storm’s relationship, as the two had split ideas on how to keep the kittens safe. Then there was Stag and Bee themselves, very close friends. Stag was quiet and reserved, sort of lonely seeming, so Bee’s energetic and friendly personality made it easy for the two to get along. Bee always knew how to get Stag out of her shell with stories and playtime. Meanwhile, Stag was able to calm Bee down when she needed it and could get her sister thinking further about things.

Nothing had changed in Stag’s life for a few months until one fateful day where the family needed to cross a river. There was a fallen tree that’d let them pass safely, but when Dove got on, she lost her balance and fell into the rushing waters. Stag turned around and ran along the shore, looking for anything to help her mother, as did Bee and Storm. Dove managed to grab onto a branch, allowing Storm to help her up. Her mother coughed up water to no avail. Dove passed away shortly after, with Stag, Bee, and Storm by her side.

The family didn’t know how to respond to Dove’s death, their grief just cut out all emotions at first. Then came the sadness and anger. Storm often snapped at Bee and Stag, perhaps fearing they’d somehow meet the same fate as Dove, but Stag hated the way he talked down to her, sternly calling her missy and whatnot. Bee always argued back, and eventually, it was too much drama for the sisters. They decided to say goodbye to Storm.

Storm insisted that Stag and Bee wouldn’t make it by themselves with how young and inexperienced they were. But the sisters stood their ground and explained themselves. Unable to convince Stag and Bee, Storm wished the sisters goodbye. Walking away from Storm felt so odd for Stag. It was like she was leaving an important part of her life behind… At least she was with Bee.

Stag and Bee came across a few other wanderers on their adventures. Learning more about others led Stag to question herself. Calling herself Bee’s sister felt weird, and she never liked it when her dad referred to her as “missy.” After thinking about it for a while, Stag figured out the problem. He was Bee’s brother.

When Stag told Bee about how he felt, she showered him in support. He hadn’t figured it out completely— maybe he wasn’t completely male? Some more questioning and he settled on demiboy. But Stag felt a lot better and was happy to know Bee was fully accepting. He didn’t expect any less of her though.

While traveling, Stag and Bee encountered a dog. They tried to sneak away from it but those things had a knack for scenting things. The dog went for Stag first and bit his tail. In a panic, Stag pushed himself away from the dog with his tail still locked in its’ mouth, giving him a broken tail. That was when Bee leaped in and protected Stag, driving the dog away.

Stag was terrified over his injury but Bee was reassuring, saying it’d heal in no time. Stag suddenly felt so grateful for his sister. She’d stuck with him forever, through their early life, through their mother’s death, through leaving their father, and now that he was hurt. The one way he could repay her for her loyalty was with his own. So Stag promised to stay by Bee’s side no matter what.

Stag and Bee were back to traveling now that Stag’s tail wound had healed. His tail was limp, but he was fine, at least. They came across a molly named Blossom and immediately Stag could tell his sister had a crush on her. Happy to see her happy, he asked if Blossom could accompany them. Bee obviously accepted, and so did Blossom.

Blossom and Bee were already very close. It was sweet and Stag loved to see his sister get extra company but… she didn’t make time for him anymore. It was kind of pathetic to be hurt over his sister spending more time with Blossom, Stag thought, so he pushed those feelings down. But everything became worse when he learned Blossom really didn’t like him. While Stag’s reserved personality was only ever complimented by Bee’s outgoing one, he didn’t jibe well with Blossom.

Stag could tell whenever he made things worse between him and Blossom. After he accidentally “stole” Blossom’s kill, the two argued. Why was Blossom so upset over it? They were on the same team, who cared who got the mouse! Yet Bee took Blossom’s side.

More instances of Blossom being unfair to him came up, and those times he let it slide. Stag wasn’t one for arguing, especially with the cat Bee liked, but now it was weighing on him. He tried to get Bee to say something about what kept happening. She grew uncomfortable though, seeming to believe Blossom was always in the right. Couldn’t she see Blossom was splitting them apart?

Stag’s heart felt like it dropped when Bee told him she didn’t want to be friends with him anymore. Stag pleaded for her to see that Blossom was being unfair to him and that they wouldn’t work together. Stag and Bee were inseparable, weren’t they? They’d always be together? Bee told him to get out and growled, and that was enough to make Stag leave. Stag couldn’t believe it. He was all alone. What was he going to do? He wasn’t the best at surviving on his own. He was weaker compared to Bee, and not great at hunting like Blossom. And the energy to help himself disappeared after Bee told him to leave.

That was when Stag met wanderers named Ripple and Robin. They had other cats with them too, Swan and Flame. Ripple offered Stag some prey, and of course, Stag accepted it. Robin and Ripple didn’t seem too curious about Stag, which he was almost relieved about that. The whole Bee thing was a fresh wound.

Stag found Robin and Ripple funny, they made a lot of jokes but acted relaxed, too. They were a huge comfort to Stag’s messy thoughts. The pressure on his chest really left when Robin asked Stag to stay with them. Maybe she could tell Stag wasn’t cut out for being alone. Stag agreed, and the wanderers set up a den for him.

Stag could’ve thanked Robin and Ripple ‘til the end of time if not for tiredness catching up to him. When he woke up in the morning, he realized just how standoffish Flame and Swan were to him. Ripple told him to give them some time. But this was beginning to remind him of what happened with Bee. Was he going to be told he was unwanted for the third time?

Time passed with Stag becoming a friend to Robin and Ripple. Still, Flame and Swan hadn’t warmed up to him. Stag woke up one night hearing Robin arguing with Flame about Stag staying. Robin, Flame, and Swan were obviously divided, with Ripple trying to mediate both sides. Robin gave up and eventually went to Stag and told him he wouldn’t be able to stay there forever. It was happening again.

Stag couldn’t sleep after he was told that. Did she mean he’d have to leave soon? Oh, he was completely unwanted. The morning after, Flame angrily came into his den and told him he had to leave. Already?

Stag couldn’t believe he was being forced out of his den. He was trying to get support once again, asking Ripple to take his side here. They were friends! He just wanted to be with them. Couldn’t they at least have a proper, calm goodbye?

Ripple and Robin turned their heads away from Stag, looking guilty. It was unusual for the quiet cat but Stag shouted, saying he wanted to talk it out. He shouldn’t be kicked out despite being so close to them! He walked closer, pleading until Swan blocked his path and scratched him.

Stag sat frozen in shock, having to muster the strength to leave. He couldn’t trust anyone. They’d only hurt him. Yet he was so dependent on others. Alone, he couldn’t do anything for himself.

Stag lived on his own for a bit, not doing well at all. It didn’t help that prey wasn’t too common in the area. He tried traveling further, hoping to get better resources. After a few days, he dropped from exhaustion. He was only energized by a group of cats finding him.

On edge from all that’d happened, he wasn’t very nice to the strangers. But they were kind to him, all of them. They offered food, something he needed badly. Reluctantly, Stag shared prey with them and learned about the group. A smart white molly named Lune, accompanied by Mac and his grandson Dusty, and Aurora.

Aurora was the one to tell Stag about everything. The group, and herself. The way she spoke to him, she seemed so genuine and passionate. When he finished eating, he walked away, but Aurora stopped him from leaving. That… never happened to him before.

Stag ended up agreeing to stay with the group, just for a little. He was better off on his own, wasn’t he? He just needed to take care of himself and find an area sustainable enough to live in on his own. He especially got the signal to leave when Lune introduced a weird tom named Spider to the group, saying he’d be helping her lead them and merging the group with his own future colony. Aurora asked him to give Spider and Lune a chance though, and suddenly Stag really wanted to stay, at least for Aurora.