🕯️Torin’s Tale

   A warm light flashed in the corner of Torin’s eye, it was blurry, but he knew what it was. Firefly! He raced towards it, and as he neared it lit up a second time, accompanied by another, then another. As the sky grew dark, the fireflies light‘s glowed on and off like twinkling stars.

   The little bugs intrigued Torin. Then again, most bugs did. Standing on his hind legs, he reached up and with gentle paws he scooped a Firefly from the sky. Sitting back, he turned over his paw to admire it. “Hi little Firefly,” he purred. In reply, the little bug lit up once more, then it flew off. He narrowed his eyes to focus his vision, but before he could spot the firefly again he heard his father call him.

   “Torin! How many times must I tell you? Don’t stray so far from the den,“ He warned. He sounds angry. Angrier than usual. Frowning, Torin watched as his father stalked away, now a blurry shape in the distance. He seemed to grow more bitter each day, It must be because mother is sick. Torin thought. His parents assured him everything was alright, but he wasn’t a little kit anymore, he knew something was wrong.

   Hurrying back to the den, Torin stepped inside, greeted by his mother’s warm purr, which had gradually grown weaker as the days passed. Padding forward, Torin snuggled up against her, closing her eyes and breathing in her sweet scent. “Mum?” He mumbled, opening his eyes once more and lookup up at her.

   “Yes, dear?” Came the reply.

   “Are you gonna be okay?” Torin looked into her eyes searchingly, was that regret? His mother smiled at him. “Now that’s a silly question, why wouldn’t I be?” She tilted her head.

   Torin hesitated a moment, he didn’t like talking about the way his father treated him. It made him feel angry at himself, though he was sure why. “Father’s upset,” he told her at last.

   “He’s only worried about the kits, that’s all.” She soothed him. “When your siblings arrive things will get better, we‘ll all be a happy family again.” Her words offered little comfort to Torin. He didn’t feel like they’d been a happy family for a long time, he knew his father was ashamed of him, as much as he tried not to show it. He didn’t see how more mouths to feed would make his father any happier with him. All I’m good at catching is bugs.

   “Torin,” His mother’s voice woke him from his wandering thoughts, “have I ever told you the story of the stars?” Torin shook his head, and his mother looked off into the distance, quiet for a moment, then she began.

   “I was once told that these stars were cats, long ago. The bravest, and kindest, and most honorable. When they passed they were granted a place in the stars to be honored forever, to give us light, to guide us,” his mother told him. “If you are ever lost, or afraid, don’t forget the stars are there. Call out to them and they will answer.” 

   Torin‘s eyes were wide with awe as he listened. He thought of what heroic things they must have done to get a place in the stars, what stories did they have to tell? I wonder if I’ll ever meet one? He thought of what the Star-Cats must be like, he imagined them gentle and kind, yet fierce and powerful.

   His mother’s soft tail brushed against his fur as she wrapped it around him. “Goodnight, my little tadpole,” she murmured. “Goodnight,” Torin whispered back.

***

   Torin followed his father down the slope and to the river, there was a heavy silence in the air. His paws were covered in dirt, it stuck between his claws. It was a feeling he usually hated, but he seemed numb to the discomfort now. His mind was on one thought, and one thought alone. His mother was gone.

   Father dipped his own muddy paws in the river, and Torin did the same, he longed for his father to comfort him the way Mother did, but they sat in silence for a long time. Torin thought his father must be turning to stone, he was so still and silent. And then, finally, he spoke.

   “We must leave at once,” he informed Torin, who bristled at the thought of leaving the only home he had ever known, the place which held all his memories. The only thing familiar to him. “But-“ he began, only to be interrupted by his father. “Don’t act so selfishly, Torin, if your sisters aren’t cared for they will die. They need a queen who can give them milk.”

   Torin bowed his head, giving a small, understanding nod. At the sound of pawsteps, he looked up again to see his father standing in front of him. Torin hesitated, unsure, then his father leaned forward and gave his face a few gentle licks, just as Mother had always done. He closed his eyes tightly to prevent tears from forming, his ears pinned back.

   “Come on, son.” His father padded away, beckoning Torin to follow with a flick of his tail.

   In the den, hidden away in a soft nest of moss and feathers, were two little kits. Torin’s sisters. He crouched by the kits, smiling down at them. I promise I’ll keep you safe, whatever happens.

  “You carry one and I’ll carry the other,” his father told him. Torin gently grabbed one kit, purring soothingly to it as it mewled. He looked to his father questioningly, and his father understood, “The Twoleg place, that’s where we’ll be going.”