Mange & Pigeon
canon"Smokey, you worry too much. Always in that head of yours." Silk meowed flatly and batted at Smokey's face with a paw. The she-cat had jumped over her fence and pawed at the little door until Silk came out to meet her. It was so late, too! The moon was nearly right above them. With a yawn, she groomed her fur, taking care to ring the little bell on her collar. "You aren't dying, I'm sure."
Smokey shushed her quickly and looked around. "No! I'm certain! I could just... I don't know... I just feel like it'll be soon. That litter was my last, I'm certain." Smokey's eyes shut tightly. "They sold Steele! They obviously know I can't have any litters. I'll be put down. I've felt awful lately anyways, it has to be connected, right?"
Silk groaned and rolled her eyes. "No, I don't think so. Listen, why don't you go blabber to somebody else about your crazy theory? I've been chased by twoleg kits all day and they're very grabby."
The other she-cat glared at her. "This is serious! Flynn's still here! They didn't sell him! I don't trust that.''
Stretching, Silk watched a snowflake fall. "Well, I'm going inside. What do you plan on doing now?'' She saw the pleading look Smokey gave her and recoiled. "No, absolutely not. I'm not watching him. I've already got my own fair share of older, rowdier kits."
"Fine! I'll send him out into the twolegplace then. It's safer out there than locked in my den with those twolegs."
The other sighed, "Think about this! Maybe it's nothing, okay?"
Three days later.
"Oh no. Ohnoohnoohnoohno...." Smokey raced up the stairs of the nest and saw her son batting a a string hanging from a twoleg pelt. "Flynn, you're going somewhere, okay?"
"Hmm, what? Going somewhere? But it's so cold outside!" The tom ran over, tripping on his big paws.
The she-cat silently shook her head and lead him to the garden. Pushing a loose board with her paws she pushed him through. "I promise this is for the best, okay?" She grew teary-eyed. "Goodbye." With that, she let the board fall again and pushed packed snow against it just in case he tried to return.
Flynn sat wide-eyed in the snow for a moment. "...Mom?" He shivered and stood, trying to move the board. "Mom?! What's going on? Did I do something wrong?" Her scent grew stale and he grew colder. Shivering, he curled up, jerking with sobs.
"I'm sorry! Please let me go in..."
he whimpered. Eventually, the cold grew to great and he had to move. Finding a box in an alley, he curled up there and groomed the freezing tears from his fur.
The next day.
"Ugh, what's wrong with you?"
He didn't know who that voice belonged to. Peering up, he saw a grizzled looking tom.
"Well? What is it? You look like you've had mange for ages!"
Flynn backed up in the box. "I-I don't know what that is..."
The tom laughed. It sounded more like he was wheezing. "Oh, I'm sure you'll know soon. You're as mangey as all getout, kid." He shook his head and left when he got bored of Flynn's presence.
Flynn heard dogs coming and he was getting too hungry to stay in the box. He made it to a scary looking alleyway, hearing mutterings of that same strange word again. Cats made wide paths around him and others curled tighter to them self when he tried to ask for help. An old blind cat chased him around for a bit and then gave him some carrion afterward as a reward for not giving up.
"I just need somewhere to stay! I won't bother you," he watched another cat dismiss him with a disgusted look. He found something to eat in the rubbish after his stomach burned from the hunger. Then, he just stayed in the bin. It was warmer than being in the alley again.
A day later.
"...k...lk...ilk!... SILK!" Silk jolted awake from the lawn table she was napping on to see the face of a frantic Smokey.
"OH, Silk! I've messed up bad!" Smokey began to pace in the snow, her thin pelt soaked in snowflakes. "They were taking me to the vet and I thought this was it. I made Flynn leave but, it wasn't anything but a checkup! You have to help me find him."
"You idiot! Ugh..." Silk rolled her eyes and groomed her face. Looking around, she spotted Penny sitting on the fence. Her strangest kit... Penny hated everything pet-related until it got cold or she was hungry. She'd even taken the name Pigeon to copy a street-cat she met! Silk didn't get it in the slightest but... it proved useful now. "Pigeon, come here."
"Yeah?" Pigeon mewed as she ran over, spraying snow with her large paws.
"Don't 'yeah' me! I- Nevermind. I need you to help Smokey find her son, okay? You get to go explore or whatever."
Pigeon grinned. "Okay, find a kit. Easy! You can count on me."
Smokey dipped her head. "I-i'd better go. Maybe he'll come back." With that, the queen left the two ragdolls.
Pigeon caught Flynn's scent and was about to leave when her tail was pinned.
"Pigeon, don't return without him. Furthermore, ensure he'll stay, for Smokey's sake. You won't be welcomed back without him." Silk meowed in a stern tone.
Pigeon stared. "I can't come back? Not even at night or anything!?"
Silk shook her head, this was the only way to make her daughter hurry and not waste time.
With a growl, Pigeon pulled her tail away. "Fine." Then, she left.
Meanwhile..
Flynn grew frustrated. "I don't want any trouble, okay? I'm just trying to find a place to stay!"
"Sure thing, mange-pelt. I'm doing the same. I've been watching this twoleg for moons now, I'm not loosing him to a little sewer rat like you."
Flynn's shoulders sagged. "Please! I can't stand the cold."
"Deal with it, street rat." The black she-cat kicked him away with her hind leg, not wanting to touch him. "Besides, they aren't gonna want a cat with mange, anyway. Not even a little kit like you. It's just part of being you, I guess. Something I don't want to deal with so..." She stood and climbed the fence, dropping to the other side.
Dragging his tail, the tom moved on, trying desperately to have hope in this situation. He'd managed to snatch a chicken bone later that day, hiding in a garden to eat it when he met a tom named Night. Figuring it would be best if he already mentioned 'mange' it would be better. Maybe he could do it first from now on! Everyone else was going to do it anyway. He gave a grin.
"Well don't be a stranger- uh... stranger... I'm Mange."
