small drabbles for ShallowClan

Snailhop sighed loudly and obnoxiously as he wandered up behind his sister, Mothsight, who was sitting at the top of the cliff and looking out over the sea. It was sundown, and he had recently learned that some cats called it sunset, which was strange and confusing to him, and there was an orange glow outlining the body of his sister, catching on her fur.

"Why did you bring me out here?" he asked, already complaining, laying down next to her. He let a front paw hang off over the edge and closed his eyes. If she was going to bother him when he should be getting ready to go to sleep, then he might as well relax now.

"I have news, Snailhop. I'm going to be expecting kits. With a rogue. You're going to be an uncle."

His eyes shot open and he stared at her, pulling his paw back from over the edge. Her features were slightly contorted, and he couldn't tell whether or not she was pleased about the news. Her eyes were half closed and her tail was still, wrapped around her body and sitting neatly on her paws. Her fur was recently cleaned and laying neat across her back, across her spine. It was no surprise to him that she would have everything neat and organized at this time. She was probably in shock, and was reverting to her old coping methods. Even as kits, when she was stressed because the older cats were fighting, she would spend ages organizing every rock and leaf in their nest with their mother.

"I'm going to be an uncle, to your kits, who are also a rogue's kits." His voice was flat, free of any sort of tone that may give away how he was feeling. Really, though, he didn't know how he was feeling at the moment. "Kits. With a rogue. Your kits. Meaning that I'm an uncle."

"Yes, Snailhop, you're an utter beetle-brain. I'm having kits with a rogue and you'll be an uncle."

There was another clue that she was stressed, right there. She hadn't called him friendly insults since they had been kits. When he eventually met up with her again, she said that friendly insults were no way to show affection, and that they only served to confuse and trip up the cat that you were speaking to.

"How many?" he blurted out. She sighed and looked away, clearly annoyed with him, as he pushed himself up from his laying position.

"I don't know how many. I'm no psychic."

"Oh man, remember that cat, Petal or Bud or something related to flowers? When we were kits living in that group? Remember how she always went around telling everyone that they were pregnant, just how many kittens they were going to have, and exactly when? You should name a kit after her. Petalkit, or Budkit, or Stemkit. Those are cute names."

Mothsight stifled a laugh.

"I haven't thought about her in ages. She was also rude, though, really rude. She stole the mouse that I was eating right out from under me once, and said that I, a kit of four moons, was disrespecting my elders since I didn't offer her a bite."

Snailhop refused to stifle his own laugh, and he laughed loudly, and he laughed heartily. When his whiskers stopped twitching and he was finally able to breathe again, he asked her, "why tell me first?"

"I'm no longer in contact with the rogue," she explained. "Besides, you're my brother. I know it's been a while since we were kits and I know that we don't talk as much as we should, but we're both here now, and we need to start talking more. You're important to me, Snailhop. I want you to know."

He considered her words for a moment, pausing, before smiling and nodding.

"I'll be the best uncle that you could want."

"You'd better."

And they laughed once more.