There's a Stormcloud Overhead

Stormykit can’t fight off the sour expression that overcomes his face as Toadpool runs their tongue against his pelt, their paws keeping the kitten contained and huddled close to his parent’s chest. Not even the warm sound of their familiar purring, or the welcoming scent of their pelt will allow Stormykit to relax and actually enjoy his bath — how can he, when he’s surrounded by a bunch of other kits that he’s not allowed to play with because his Abba is busy giving him a bath, of all things? Stormykit finds himself worrying that the others kittens will think down on him, although his parents both instilled the idea in his mind that if someone is going to judge you on something out of your control, say, being forced to take a lame bath because your pelt still reeks of soot and ash, they’re likely not worth your time. 

That doesn’t take away from Stormykit’s need to be with his remaining siblings, however. Oh, no. It only makes it all the worse — watching his brothers from a distance as they go about playing and mingling with the other kits in Ravenclan’s nursery. Shrewkit and Seedkit look to be having a blast — with Shrewkit standing tall and declaring something to their brother that doesn’t quite reach Stormykit’s ears, a paw placed on his chest. Stormykit watches as his brother’s big eyebrows furrowed together, and then he grins. Seedkit looks… Well, a little clueless, but just as eager, nodding his head before cheering something back at their littermate. 

Oh. And Stemkit’s also there — kind of. Stormykit can just barely make out the kit in a corner of Ravenclan’s nursery, his eyes shut and chest heaving up and down in a slow manner to indicate that he’s sleeping. The sight of his light-furred brother makes Stormykit squint his eyes, distrusting of the idea that Stemkit is actually sleeping. Stemkit somehow managed to sleep constantly, but managed to know more than Stormykit did about their surroundings… And Stormykit was always awake! OH, oh! His tail just moved, he has to be awake! 

The kit glances back toward Shrewkit and Seedkit, who seem to have begun moss ball together. Envy comes gnawing at the kitten, although the sight of his brothers playing without him feels strange — especially since Sturgeonkit, who was constantly running around Lynxclan’s camp and Nursery, was nowhere in sight… Sturgeonkit. Sturgeon. Dad. Fire. Their home… Stormykit feels himself frown as Toadpool directs their focus to his cheek, brushing the fur upward as the young tom blinks in contemplation. 

Leaving Lynxclan’s camp had been … Strange. All of the adults seemed to be in a rush, some panicking while others — like Otterspark, were talking about playing games. Crookedfire hadn’t said such things; but rather offered Stormykit the option of which parent he wanted to walk alongside while his father carried Foxkit and Stemkit. While a badger ride had sounded tempting at the time, Sturgeonkit had just been… Well, Stormykit isn’t really certain of what happened, his brother just kinda disappeared — which meant their Abba looked upset. Which meant that Stormykit wanted to stay by their side. 

On the way to wherever they were headed, wherever they were now — birdclan or something like that,  Stormykit had decided that Otterspark’s idea of games was strange. He didn’t like leaving camp, even if he could hear assured whispers about how their leaving should be exciting. Most kits don’t get to leave camp this early… And maybe Stormykit would have found this an exciting fact, had the smell of smoke and soot not invaded his lungs in a way that made walking alongside his Abba hard, his little body occasionally shaking from the strength of his coughing. 

Stormykit hadn’t really noticed Sturgeonkit’s absence until after the smoke cloud had taken his brother. In fact, he only really knew about what happened because Bugkit started to cry — Petalkit was gone, too. Taken by the same scary monster. Stormykit can’t help but wonder if his brother is truly alright — because the memory of the smoke invading his senses, and still, to some extent, taking over his airways, was scary. He can’t imagine being taken by a big cloud of the stuff if just a little bit of it left him coughing so bad. 

“Abba,” Stormykit suddenly mews, interrupting the warrior as they work on the top of his head. From his spot in front of their chest, he feels Toadpool tense for a moment, before their paws curl around the front of him in a protective, comforting manner. It makes him feel safe, to be cocooned by his parent like this… Even if he is still upset that he can’t play. “Hm?” They hum in response. 

“I…” Stormykit’s throat feels tight as he glances around the Nursery, at faces both familiar and unfamiliar. It’s quiet today, but still loud in comparison to Lynxclan’s quietest days and nights. It makes him feel strange, like his stomach hurts real bad because he ate something real bad. Is this going to be their new normal? Because he doesn’t want it to be. He just wants to go home, with Dad and Sturgeon and the rest of his siblings all in one place, together, as they should be. “I miss Dad. And Sturgeon.” 

The spotted kit doesn’t know what to make of the shift in his voice, his throat feeling alarmingly tight. There’s a hot sting at his eyes, and his muzzle begins to wobble in accompaniment to the tears wanting to come down his face. Stormykit blinks, and tries to brace himself. Toadpool is quiet, but he can hear them draw out a shaky exhale. “I miss them too, Stormy. We’ll be back together soon.” They mumble, their voice soft with promise.

“But I want them back now.” is Stormykit’s elegant reply, his desperate plea as he turns his head to look up at his parent with big, sad eyes.  It’s been easy to ignore everything happening because that was the adults' jobs, to take care of the smoke and flames that they fussed over so much — but now his dad and brother are gone, and while they know where his dad is… “I — I think ‘m scared, Abba. For them. For… For all of us.” Stormykit explains to Toadpool, the upset wobble in his voice only growing worse with each word. It’s hard to focus on what he’s saying properly, and he finds himself stuttering. 

“And I — I wanna go home. When… When can we go home?” He questions finally, and the dam of his exceptional emotional control ( for his age ) finally crumbles and breaks. The hot tears start rolling down his furry cheeks, and his wobbling muzzle parts to let out a quiet sob. Stormykit suddenly can’t bring himself to care about his siblings playing without him, or Stemkit being freakishly knowledgeable of everything when he shouldn’t be, and heck! He doesn’t even care if the other kits make fun of him for crying! 

The large paws of his parent pull him close, and he can hear a soft shushing noise come from Toadpool as they allow him to bury himself into their chest fur, tiny claws digging hard into his parent as his fear takes control. There’s this terrible ache in his heart that he’s never felt before, and while Stormykit can’t really grasp the full situation at hand — he knows that he wants it to stop. Toadpool rests their head on his own, inhaling another shaky breath that Stormykit doesn’t hear. He’s too busy weeping into their fur, his little body shaking hard with the force of his sobs. 

“I… I don’t think we can go home,” Toadpool finally croaks out, their voice strained. “And I’m sad about that. Really sad. It’s okay for you to be sad, too.” The tan warrior assures, their paw running carefully over Stormykit’s back in a comforting manner. Their touch makes him feel just a bit more at ease, but he keeps pressed close against the tan warrior as he whimpers.

“But I want to,” He whines sadly, earning a silent nod from Toadpool. “I know you do, Stormy. I know.” They rumble, and Stormykit sniffles as he rubs his face against their chest fur, unintentionally as he tilts his head to rest his cheek and ear against them. “It’s not fair.” 

“It’s not, you’re right.” Toadpool validates, earning another sniffle from Stormykit. “Are we ever gonna see Dad and Sturgeon again? I want to see them again.” 

“We will.” Toadpool continues to affirm, their head not moving from its spot against his own. Stormykit furrowed his eyebrows as his Abba drew out a soft breath. “It may not be… For a little while, but eventually we’ll see them again. I promise.” Stormykit is far too young to question his Abba, to believe in the idea that they don’t have all the correct answers and solutions in the world. In his eyes, they do know everything, and if they know they’ll see their family members again, then that’s good enough for him. 

The tears come to a slow trickle down Stormykit’s now snotty face as he nods a little, resting his head lazily against his parent with a shaky inhale. “... But I wanna see them now, Abba.” Stormykit tries to weakly protest, as though his parent can spur their family member’s into appearing in the Nursery, right this instant. Toadpool hums, another soft sigh leaving their mouth. “I know, Stormy. But we’ll just have to settle for waiting a little while longer.”