Momma Kat's Daycare Parade

Squeals of laughter and joy filled the air as Katherine tried to round up the kittens she was watching. She couldn’t help but smile, seeing the excitement that filled them all. Some of them had never seen a parade before and had no idea what they were waiting for but the eagerness of all the other kittens infected them. In short, it was a rather rowdy bunch that Katherine was trying to corral, with minimal success.

A sudden rough tugging on her tail made her yelp in surprise. She looked back to see the crimson kitten determinedly climbing up her tail and onto her back. “Just where do you think you’re going there?” She asked with a chuckle.

“To th’ top!” Kidd yelled eagerly. “Gonna get best view!” They continued to climb upwards, ignoring Katherine’s small flinches whenever they pulled too had on her long fur.

Before they could get higher than her shoulders though, a small and dark mothkitten zipped past them to perch on Katherine’s head. “Best spot!” Caelum declared proudly from his perch, making Kidd growl.

“No stealing!” Kidd yelled at the dark mothkitten, making Katherine arch an eyebrow. Well. Wasn’t that the kettle calling the pot black, she thought in amusement. Wisely though, given the fight about to break out, she kept that thought to herself.

Katherine had to move suddenly to catch Caelum as he was shoved off her head. “Whoa! Careful there! Abygale, there’s no need for that.” She scolded the pink kitten.

“Yes there is. He was in my spot.” Abygale said primly, taking Caelum’s perch on the tall mothcat’s head.

“Abygale, he was there first. You can’t just be pushing others out of the way.” Katherine tried to tell her gently but the kitten had stuck her nose up in the air and clearly wasn’t listening. The mom cat sighed, knowing it was useless. Nothing got through to the manipulative little kitten unless she wanted it to.

Kidd growled at having their spot stolen not once but twice! How rude! They crouched, wiggling a little in preparation to jump at Abygale. Before they could though, another pink blur tackled him.

“Don’t you hurt my sister!” Xavier yelled as he rolled in the dirt with Kidd, wrestling together. Only one person was ever allowed to pick on Abygale and that was Xavier himself. Anyone else, had better be prepared to get a beating. He bit Kidd’s ear, tugging at it, making the kitten squeal angrily.

Zesty pressed himself against Katherine, whimpering quietly at all the fighting going on. This was not what he’d expected when he agreed to come along! A large fluffy paw ran down his back, soothing him gently. “It’ll be okay Zesty. They’re just a little too eager for everything.” Katherine murmured softly.

She reached out, catching the two kittens and pulling them apart. “Xavier! Kidd! That’s enough. We’re supposed to be having fun, not fighting.” She told them with a frown.

Xavier put on his most innocent expression, blinking as fake tears filled his eyes. “He was gonna hurt Gale! Dad said I should always protect my sister. I just wanted to keep her safe…”

Kidd on the other hand, was totally unrepentant. “He started it.” They grumbled, crossing their tiny paws.

Katherine rolled her eyes at their excuses. “Neither of those is a good excuse. Now sit nicely and pay attention. The parade is starting!” She told them, her sharp ears catching the music floating down the street. She tucked the two kittens against her, one on either side, keeping them firmly separated.

Thankfully, the parade was enough to distract the kittens once more. At least, Katherine thought it was, until she felt someone pulling on her fur once more. She glanced down to find Olicé grinning up at her. “Up!” The kitten demanded, lifting her paws in the universal gesture of wanting to be picked up.

Katherine sighed and chuckled, boosting the kitten up to sit on her shoulder. The move was a mistake though as suddenly she had half a dozen kittens all clamoring to be lifted up. Internally Katherine groaned. She really did know better than to give in to one kitten. She knew this. Really, she did. And yet here was she, giving in to one which meant she had to give in to them all.

Before she could start lifting kittens up, she felt a movement at her neck. Glancing down curiously, she found the green bumblebun Bean burrowing into her thick mane. He tucked himself in and turned around, grinning up at Katherine in satisfaction. She rolled her eyes and smiled at his happiness. She couldn’t bring herself to evict him from her mane, not when he looked so comfortable and happy.

Of course, Bean rarely traveled alone, something Katherine had forgotten in the scramble of getting kittens sorted out. Bali screamed happily, divebombing the fluffy mothcat and landing squarely in her mane beside Bean. Talia draped himself around the back of Katherine’s neck, hanging his head down next to Bean. “Parade time!!” He squealed happily.

Xavier, never one to stay where he was put, flew up from his spot beside Katherine. “Move over!” He demanded of Abygale with a glare.

“No!” She glared right back, baring her teeth at him. “Mom said I didn’t have to share if I didn’t want to!”

“Oh yeah? Well dad said to just take what I want!” Xavier shoved at his sister though Abygale clung to Katherine’s thick fur, refusing to be budged more than a couple inches. Still, it was enough room for Xavier to plunk himself down beside her, the two mothkittens glaring at each other and reluctantly sharing the space.

Olicé bounced on Katherine’s shoulder, squealing excitedly. “Parade!!” She pointed eagerly as the first of the floats rounded the corner.

“PARADE!!” The chant was taken up by Maddie as she bounced eagerly on the ground, ignoring all the fighting behind her. “Parade, parade, parade, parade!”

“Here it comes!” Savon yelled, floating beside Katherine. She winced at the exceedingly loud voice right beside her ear.

“Look at all the colors!!” Faye hovered on the other side of Katherine, grinning widely as she saw the parade coming closer. “It’s so pretty!”

Muddy looked up from where he was shaping mud into pie form. “Parade? Finally!” He zipped up eagerly to perch on Katherine’s shoulder, ignoring how the mud on his paws coated her white fur. “It’s coming!”

A shifting at her belly made Katherine look down in surprise. She hadn’t thought anyone would want to be that low to the ground for the parade, not after so many kittens had claimed higher up spots. Seeing who it was though, she smiled. The little Potato flowerbun was nestled in her fur, peeking out at Katherine. Cy popped their head out next to Potato, ginning widely. “Snuggled!” They declared proudly, making Katherine chuckle. “Yes, you are snuggled in there.” She agreed, leaving them where they were, simply moving her front paws a little wider apart so they could see better.

The parade was quickly drawing closer, the fighting among the kittens calming down as they stared in awe at all the bright colors. Music filled the air as it moved along, the songs changing with each float. Katherine breathed a small sigh of relief as the kittens settled, completely entranced by the parade.

Muddy bounced eagerly on Katherine’s left shoulder while Olicé tugged on the fur of her right shoulder. “Look at them all!!” Olicé squealed at all the shining bits, eyes wide and locked on the parade.

Kidd even managed to stop grumbling long enough to stare in awe, their mind working over time as they thought of all the things they could steal from the floats. They started inching forwards slightly but Katherine’s large paw rested on their shoulder suddenly. “Don’t even try it.” She said softly, giving him a stern look. “I saw that look.” Kidd glared at her but settled down again, watching the parade.

Despite their odd position, Cy and Potato seemed to be having a blast, singing along to the music at the top of their lungs. It didn’t matter to them that they were on the ground. They were snuggled into Katherine’s warm fur and totally content where they were.

They weren’t the only ones either. Bean and Bali were tucked into Katherine’s mane and waved eagerly at the passing floats, making no moves to get out. Bali didn’t so much sing along as just scream in tune with the music. Talia, draped around Katherine’s neck, kicked his paws in time with the music, grinning widely as he “danced” from his odd position.

Savon alternated between standing on the ground and flying next to Katherine, zipping around eagerly. He danced in the air, enjoying himself immensely.

Maddie bounced along the ground, dancing happily, uncaring of the dirt getting into her fur. She kicked up her heels, laughing joyfully.

Faye stayed hovering next to Katherine, occasionally yelling out comments on how pretty this or that was. She was obsessed with the word ‘pretty’ it seemed.

Abygale and Xavier actually settled down to comfortable share the small perch of Katherine’s head. They were pleased to have gotten the best seats possible, watching the parade from what might as well have been a throne for them.

Zesty cheered up now that the fighting had stopped. He leaned against Katherine’s side, cheerfully humming to the music.

Caelum settled against Katherine’s other side, watching the parade eagerly. He nodded along to the music, enjoying that more than anything else.

All too soon for the kittens and yet not soon enough for Katherine, the parade was over. One by one, parents and guardians came to claim their little ones and take them home. They all thanked Katherine for the chance to watch the parade in peace. Katherine just smiled and waved off all the thanks. As exhausting as it was, she loved having all the kittens around.

Eventually though, it was just Katherine and Faye left, much to the dark kitten’s disappointment. “Friends all gone….” She said with a small sigh. Katherine drew the kitten closer, nuzzling her. “You’ll see them all again later, I promise.” She told Faye with a smile.

“Promise?” Faye asked, brightening up.

“I promise.” Katherine repeated with a purr. “Now let’s go home.” The two tuned and headed towards their cozy home.