They were just about to head back, watching everyone filter off into the thick of the trees, leaving him, Huck, and Maggie with her buddy sat in the clear.
"Boys." Instead of leaving, Pollen stepped towards them, tone dead serious as she addressed him and Huck. "I'm not getting any younger. Surely it would not be too much of an intrusion for me to stay a while. I hear you're all planning on it, yes?"
"Yes, miss, of course. Could I ask why you'd like to stay?" Huckleberry spoke first, tense as a broody bird. Fir could already tell he was going to get an earful for inviting Maggie at all, now the question was whether Pollen wanting to stay softened that or not.
"I fear I might be unfit to travel by the time we reach a place to rest. If you're staying behind, nobody else has to for me." She practically waved the question off with a paw. "Huckleberry, you can watch the kits, I'm sure."
Fir could hear Maggie and Bunny snicker beside him. And, okay, maybe it was a little amusing how he couldn't escape being volunteered for everything even now.
"Of course. I need to talk to Camomile. Fir, could you please show everyone around." Huckleberry excused himself quickly.
Fir, for his part, didn't much mind his own task in the meantime, showing off the food stores and various sleeping quarters on the way to his and Huck's.
"Pollen, you can stay in this one, to yourself. Me and Huck are staying right over there. Maggie, you and Bunny can go wherever, unless you wanna stay with us. Oh, there's so many cats to introduce you to, actually."
"Thank you, lad." Pollen stepped aside, vanishing off to rest while the younger cats ran off.
Honestly, even if Weaver did agree to join the 'Clan', it didn't stop the fear. Slatenose was nice, Owlgaze was delightful. Yarrowshine was terrifying. So mostly he was just happy to stick around Owlgaze when he had the option to.
Today was not that kind of day. He'd agreed before he could actually. Stop himself.
He thought Owlgaze was also coming. But nope. It was just him. Slatenose. And Yarrowshine.
His tail, his paws, his ears. He just couldn't stop moving, the polite conversation Slatenose and Yarrowshine carried missing him entirely. When they looked to him, he just stared back, lost on what answer they wanted. Was it concern or just confusion that he saw mirrored back? Did it matter?
Either way, Slatenose waded away, digging for leaves preserved under the snow banks. Yarrowshine.
Yarrowshine just. Sat. Beside him. Tail curled over the twinkling surface of snow where her paws had sunk. Silent. Staring out into the distance. The snow seemed to absorb nigh every sound in the world.
"Sorry," he choked out when the claws of anxiety loosened their grip on his throat enough.
She hardly reacted to the apology.
"Do you feel better?" The question left him confused, however, unsure how to proceed without giving a wrong answer.
"Well enough to join Slatenose?"
"Slatenose doesn't bother me."
"But the silence helped, did it not?"
"Well… Yes, but. That's just. I'm just wrong."
"Nothing wrong with liking quiet."
Voices melted back into the silence of winter again. Yarrowshine sat nearby for a time, before leaving to help Slatenose root around.
Weaver, shamefully, stayed off to the side, trampling about in the snow to keep his paws from freezing.
It had been Owlgaze's idea first, to give Carnation a sense of shared responsibility by bringing the teenager along. It wasn't a bad idea. They certainly didn't seem like they'd had that much trouble living on their own, even if they clearly lacked a lot of additional skills.
He'd phrased it as a reward for making progress, as much as the moody young cat seemed to take it as a bit of an insult. Maybe he really ought to focus on the importance of knowing one's own limits.
"We mark by the edge of where the trees start so that cats know they're trespassing if they cross - so they do not upset the spirits and we may show the spirits we respect them as well." Huckleberry explained, after the 3rd time Carnation sat back and watched when he and Owlgaze stopped.
"And so we don't have rogues hunting our prey." Owlgaze added eagerly.
"That makes sense, I guess." The ginger waved it off. But at least they joined in on the next stop.
The conversation flowed largely the same, with Owlgaze adding her own two whiskers to whatever he'd already said, him politely accepting it, and Carnation either going along with or arguing based on their own limited experience. Typical teenager. At some point they'd just stormed off ahead, offended by a question about practice.
They didn't bother to chase. Not until Carnation themselves had stopped, staring down a snow-covered shrub with their back arched.
"What is it?!" Owlgaze called, pelting their way while Huckleberry lagged only a whisker behind, each now staring tensely into the tangled branches.
Where a cat lay curled up, ears back and tail twitching anxiously at the sight of the guards. The scent of fear mixed with the faint scent of milk, but no trace of kits nearby. The trio eased down one by one, even if the queen in front of them did not.
"We're sorry for scaring you." Owlgaze began gently, dipping her body lower. "This is our territory, but we would be happy to help you with getting where you need to be."
"Sorry, no. I don't need to be anywhere… Not anymore, " the queen mumbled, eyes downturned.
"If you and your kits need shelter from the snow, I'm sure it would be little trouble," Owlgaze pressed on first, while Huckleberry was still thinking over his phrasing, or how best to make an example for Carnation.
"It's alright, my kits are gone anyway. Nothing to be done now, " the light brown tabby's voice cracked. Grief choking the fear out.
"Woah. What happened to them?" Carnation piped up, voice hushed, as if their own attempt to be sensitive to the situation. Yet their ears were held forward in pure morbid interest.
"I think it was a fox. I didn't stay with them. It's all my fault. I didn't have to hunt," she teetered on the verge of crying while Huckleberry tried to silently reprimand Carnation with a nudge and a sharp look.
Owlgaze instead shifted slowly closer until she could sit close enough to rest her fluffy tail across the queen's shuddering shoulders.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I am sure they're safe and warm in the Stars now."
"They wouldn't want you to blame yourself. You'll catch your death out here like this," he said with a nod. She looked half-starved as it is.
"Yeah, there's a lot of food here. No snow can stop us, so we'll share," Carnation chirped smugly. Teenage pride really was something else.
Travelling was taking a lot longer this time. 5 cats, 2 of which could barely hunt for themselves in the snow, and the rising snowdrifts… Well, it made for rather a chaotic mess on the trail.
It did make for warm nights, at the least.
"So, like I said. They have these nicknames tacked on to their names. Something about earning your place in the Clan. I was thinking of asking around if anyone wants one of those when we get there, " Kristopher mused, once again huddled in the rough center of the pile. He didn't bother complaining about it.
"That sounds splendid. New life, new name, right?" Romeo was quick to agree. As opposed to Mars, who had grimaced at the suggestion of being assigned a name he hadn't chosen himself.
He felt the noncomittal hum where Cody had tucked his nose into his shoulder earlier. Tough crowd.
"Okay, well, s'long as we're talking about it, as my siblings, you are welcome to advise how the kingdom should be run. Mars?" Kris leaned more towards him, placing more weight onto mottled golden fur.
"Huh… The royal knights can only be the best of the best, obviously. So I think we need a designated sparring arena and mandatory scheduled matches." Mars had taken a moment to think, but clearly the idea hadn't been that hard to pull anyway. A good start - fun, practical.
"Yuh-huh. So does Az get a say in it?"
"I don't mind." The dark tom spoke up from across without raising his head.
"Alright, then. Personally, I think we need a court musician or bard. And Romeo can be the jester." Kristopher continued from there, since no-one else had much enthusiasm for a late night brainstorm. But that certainly caught Romeo's attention, much to his own amusement.
"Cody? Want to share what's in that big smart head of yours?" Kris turned his head the other way entirely, looking down at the huddled giant teddy bear of a cat, ignoring Romeo's confusion.
"If you say so." Oh, Kris could see there was something there left unspoken, some spark behind those eyes.
"What's a jester?" The cream tabby repeated.
"Aww. Not particularly my intent, but thank you." He was so easy to please, wasn't he?
Storm was no fool either. The den of strangers may as well be a pit of serpents, no telling which were adders masquerading as grass snakes. But it was at least not a responsibility held on one cat's shoulders alone.
Regrettably, he'd found rather few of the cats seemed particularly willing to communicate with him rather than his sister. Save for largely Owlgaze and Slatenose, who seemed happy enough to try to bridge the gap of understanding whenever they crossed paths.
But they were not the ones that needed monitoring the most. No, the firestarter was, fittingly, Fire herself. With the kit growing towards a semblance of independence, it felt more imperative to keep track of that one, should the change embolden more theft. Or worse.
"What are you staring at, rat?" The ginger growled at him before moving back onto her hunt. She'd learned by now not to expect a verbal response just as much as he'd learned there was little use in offering a signed one.
He'd offer to help. But she certainly hadn't responded to that well last time, so he just stayed sat at his post instead, yawning in the dawn light. At least she seemed to be doing well enough for herself, so, frankly, he arguably needn't bother in the first place. Less likely to cause trouble if adhering to the deal didn't lead to an empty belly yet.
He could only hope the area could support this many cats. Lest if Cam's new friend did indeed return they need to talk him into slimming the numbers by force. Wouldn't do to starve out one's neighbours.
As much as she missed the fox hole, cleaning up the stone structure had made for a fun project to keep herself and Storm busy over the moons. Their den just didn't really have quite as much sheer space.
Of course, now that the snow had truly covered the world outside, there wasn't much to be decorating with. And the many openings in the walls meant there was much more space where the cold seeped in easily. The den had felt much safer in that regard, deep in the earth where the winter couldn't quite reach.
But, well, a promise was a promise. For now. She was not convinced just yet that it had not been a lie - just some tom trying to shove his responsibilities onto her before vanishing.
"Excuse me." Cam announced herself, waiting for a few seconds before crawling into the dark crevice the little family had opted to den within. The mangy queen had made less and less of an effort to wander far as the weather got colder. So she'd heard at least. But at least she was polite enough to back off when Cam delivered the requested extra down and feathers to pad their nest in.
"It's not infectious, you know." The brown tabby spoke up hesitantly from the corner, paws tucked underneath her in a loaf to conserve the warmth.
"I've seen the coyotes. Nasty sight." She countered, almost conversationally, not one to be swayed.
"I started losing fur before I was even weaned. I lived with many cats and none other was inflicted in such a way." Confident. "… It's okay if you do not believe me," Then apologetic. "I just thought it would be easier if you knew."
"Mmm… I do suppose your mate and kit did not seem afflicted either."
"Oh… Well, Fire is simply a friend. Fox, too, was found without a family. But I can see how it could seem that way." The tone grew amused as the assumption was dispelled. She certainly would not have guessed. Plenty of cats did not want to raise their own kits, much less some lost foundling.
"That is quite sweet of you then- would this be enough, or should I see if I can find more?"
Cam moved aside, showing the rough beginnings of the expanded nest, waiting for a nod before she started to construct it proper. Her pawpads itched, part of her still convinced the existing material was crawling with whatever infection would eat away her own fur.
"Thank you again. I apologise that I cannot offer anything in return."
"The down needed to go somewhere. Nobody else claimed it, so it may as well go here." Cam's ears twitched. She probably couldn't think of anything to ask for even if she were offered the option. This at least gave her something to do while Storm was off, and it wasn't unpleasant work per se. Asides from the apparently-not-mange.
The den was starting to feel like the camp of a small Clan now, with not only more new cats setting up nests across the stone warren, but new spirits taking up residence alongside them.
None had so far proven to be especially friendly, for the most part ignoring her at worst or trying to politely shake her off at best. Perhaps, if these were the types of spirits Huckleberry and his family were used to, it was no wonder he had expected others to operate under rather similar attitudes.
In any case, with the loners clustered together in a shared area, it meant the spirits were too. Yarrowshine, frankly, grew to rather prefer the more quiet tunnels, as much as Slatenose and Owlgaze had seemed to thrive within the center of activity.
It lead her to become mildly acquainted with the more out of the way residents, if one could call it such. Fire had done a lot of posturing at first, wary of whatever threat she imagined Yarrowshine posed. But with time, and herself keeping a level head, the ginger had calmed significantly. Considering the treatment she'd heard Fire had been given upon intrusion, the distrust seemed understandable enough, perhaps the lack of judgement had been all that had been needed.
Most of their interactions were in the mornings, when Yarrowshine had wandered off on her own way and Fire was just returning from gathering breakfast for her own little family.
"Mornin," Fire chuffed over a mouthful of voles, passing by her.
"The prey is still running well, I see," she answered back politely.
Fire postured - puffing out her chest, tail and head held high. "Not well enough to outrun me."
Yarrowshine found the gesture amusing, especially with how often it seemed to occur the last few days. Though, perhaps unnerved by her stare, Fire shifted to padding along quickly on her way instead. Shame.
Fox was getting bigger. In fact, Fox was already big. That only got harder and harder to really ignore as the days went by. Like it or not, she wasn't a little kitten anymore, and barring her access to the outside, snow covered as it was, was just cruel.
But Wolf couldn't keep up out there with her bare paws, and neither of them was all that eager to entrust their daughter to the first stranger to volunteer, as much as Fox seemed more than happy to play with that Carnation fellow the grey fleabag had taken to training.
"You know, if you keep getting bigger, fluffball, you'll turn into a real fox."
Fox giggled in response to the comment, dodging Fire's attempts at pulling loose a tangle of fur behind her ear despite the distraction.
"But seriously. You like tussling with Carnation, right? Well what if I told you I could start teaching you how to really beat him anytime, yeah?"
Fox gasped, pure wonder twinkling in her eyes before Fire finally got ahold of her, playfully wrestling her down to finish grooming, ignoring the squeals and kicks.
"That's not fair! I thought you were serious!"
"Oh, I am." Fire sat back, satisfied, still as stone as Fox dived at her in revenge, teeth chewing gently at Fire's ear with a growl. "But first, you must pass my trials three, young soldier"
"Knocking me over is not one of them."
"You're too heavy! What am I supposed to do then?" Fire could feel Fox's hind paw occasionally trying to find purchase against her flank as she hopped in her desperate attempt to push her over.
"Well first of all we need to teach you how to hunt. Being able to fight ain't gonna keep your stomach full." Fire jabbed her paw out at the exposed fuzzy belly at her side, timed just right to throw off Fox's balance. It didn't throw the 'opponent' off, so much as cause her to cling on and stop moving for a moment. And hopefully show how vulnerable the belly is.
"Do you think Carnation is gonna think I'm super cool if I know how to hunt?" she responded with a delay, almost sheepish against Fire's neck fur, then finally detangled properly.
"Sure, fluffball, let's go with that. You in, or what?"
"No, we aren't bringing Carnation. Just us two." Fire teased. Because, honestly, the kitten crush was funny.
"Aaand there is it!" Kristopher waved his paw out in the direction of the hill, and the fort perched atop it, watching the reactions (or lack thereof) of his companions as they saw one for the first time ever. It certain didn't look much like the houses in town. So that was at least something.
"Follow me, I'll introduce you so nobody decides to jump you for showing up."
The introductions were the actual difficult part. He ended up running about herding whatever cats he found into one place. And by the time he found Cam and Storm, he found out there were even more cats he hadn't found on the way.
The grand hall they were all now gathered in felt laughably large all the same. Clusters of cats scattered loosely below one edge of an old table, with himself and his travelling companions perched on its edge.
"Hello to anyone I have yet to meet!" Kristopher spoke loud, unbothered by the eyes fixed upon him as the sound echoed off dusty walls. "I've returned from a visit to my family, and some have chosen to return with me. This is my sibling Mars, and their mate Azazel," he gestured with his head to the two cats sat to his right - Mars puffed up proudly, as if challenging everyone in the hall, while Azazel stared down with his same passively annoyed expression. "And this is my baby brother Cody," He turned to the left with an encouraging nudge to the short-faced tabby, who certainly looked quite a bit spooked by this point.
"All three of them are to be treated with the utmost respect. Their word is law just as mine is, and all those who disagree are welcome to leave on their way at any time. Finally, this is Rosespark, a cat from my homeland who has chosen to take on a new name. If anyone planning to stay after the thaw would also like one, I will speak with you later. Any questions?"
"Yeah! Why should we listen to you?" yowled a ginger tabby in the back. The horn-like ears looked fitting.
"Because the land wills it and the spirits will not be kind to you if you don't," he echoed back with practiced bravado, gravely serious in a way he could see bristled the tails of a few. "I'm sure you'll find none of us are that unreasonable anyhow. Next question."
"Have the requirements changed for staying temporarily?" Slatenose was next to speak up properly, well, enough to be heard.
"So long as you respect the crown and cause no trouble, stay as long as you need. There will be changes to how things are run - I can see quite a few new faces joined us since my departure - but those will require more discussion with my compatriots."
When no new questions came up for a short time, he signalled to Mars with a flick of his ear, allowing her the center stage.
"It's also come to my attention this slovenly young kingdom hath no knights! If any of you reckons they have what it takes to be a knight within the king's guard, I and Azazel will be running battle practice here every Saturday!"
"They don't know what a Saturday is, Mars." Kristopher leaned in to whisper.
"Oh, for heaven's sake. Tomorrow! It's tomorrow! You'd best be ready to impress me!"
When Jaguarcrown came to her in private, it was low to the ground and yet with a grin. A show of repentance without any guilt to be seen.
"Did you miss me, Canary?" he chirped.
"I was beginning to doubt you would show."
"Well…I expected to come alone, but one thing lead to another. Thank you for staying," he'd added with a purr. "Did I miss anything interesting?"
"Some cats showed up to steal food and picked a fight. I let them stay if they feed themselves. Huckleberry, Fir, and Owlgaze are responsible for everyone else," she explained calmly, still unsure if his demeanour meant another lofty request was coming.
"I see. More action than I'd see, I'll give it that. Now that I'm back… You can leave if you want. Or stay if you want. I'm not keeping you."
A bit of the tension released. Right. 'Respect the crown or else' or not, he really hadn't given the impression to be big on orders, did he?
"So what if I stay, then? What's your demands, mr crown."
"I'd call it more of an offer, really." His whiskers twitched, hushed laughter under his breath. "See, I'd like to consider you a friend. No king rules alone, Cam, and you're invited. Whatever laws, or whatever, we make, you have equal say in what happens. That's if you want to stay."
A moment of silence took hold between them, both considering the other.
"Oh, and your brother, was it?" Kris said, if a bit hesitantly.
"Yeah. He can stay too. I'd like to get to know him."
"You know where to find me!"
She could see the twinkle of victory in his eyes as he sat back. Why did he have to be cute?
Leafbare was cruel. Any burrow they found met Tigerblaze and Appletea with teeth or claws from whichever current occupant dened there. They were able to force a fox or badger out with combined effort. But it was always a risk without a medicine cat to rely on. And the nights spent there were rather sleepless, wearing them down further, just to keep watch in case the evicted residents decided to take the burrow back.
But what else could they do? Ripplepaw had grown a short coat, sure, but it did hardly anything against the mounting snow and windchill. It was a blessing from StarClan that Tigerblaze's young daughter had not yet caught her death. Even with three warm bodies to shelter between.
"Over here!" Appletea had called, voice cutting through the harsh wind of the snowstorm. StarClan had smiled upon them again - an old fox den, half-buried in snow, had met them amidst the trees. A true opportunity to rest.
