The Cats of the Nest

“Get away from me, you drowned weasel!” Dryad snapped, catching Siren completely by surprise. Her sister had been bossing her around and tackling her again. By now she had more than enough of it. Even though she had only meant to run away, the insult flew out of her mouth without her even trying. A small bit of regret came to mind as she saw the horrified and offended look on the other she-kit’s face, but was too angry to linger on it. Pouting, she turned and ran as fast as she could towards Tiger. Right now, her mother was the only thing in the world that could make her feel any better. Tiny claws scraped against the wooden floor, then over the soft bedding, until she reached her mother, burying into her fur.
“What’s going on?” Tiger asked gently, changing position a bit so that Dryad could speak without swallowing her fur. Looking up at her mother, the small she-kit managed a small smile. Just being here made her calm down a bit. But now she was going to have to talk about her idiot of a sister. Just the thought took her smile away.
“Siren was bossing me around and tackling me. I didn’t like it,” Dryad explained, an almost whiny tone to her voice. She didn’t care if she sounded like a crying newborn, she wanted Tiger to know how awful Siren was being. It wasn’t tattling, it was justice. Sighing, her mother looked up, searching the room full of cats for her other daughter.
“I’ll tell her to be nicer and apologize,” Tiger stated quickly, not even looking at Dryad as she said it. Soon her gaze found Siren, who was batting the ground angrily. “Siren, come over her please.” The yellow she-kit looked up, expression twisted in a scowl. Rolling her eyes, she trotted over towards her mother, letting out a loud huff.
“What is it? Is Dryad whining about something again?” Siren asked, making a face at Dryad, who shrank even further into Tiger’s fur. She didn’t want to speak with her sister. All she wanted was to be here with her mother, knowing that there would be justice. But this was close to torture. If only she had kept her mouth shut.
“Dryad said that you were bossing her around and tackling her when she didn’t want you to. I want you to apologize,” Tiger commanded, both firm and gentle. Siren’s mouth opened and her eyes burned with such anger that Dryad couldn’t help but laugh. After a moment she clamped her mouth shut, seeing her sister’s tiny claws unsheathe. Once again, she tried her best to be buried completely in her mother’s fur.
“That little tattle-tale!” Siren spat with such hatred that it seemed like she was talking about her sworn enemy, rather than her sister. But in this case, those were the same cat. Dryad was terrified, knowing that her sister was angry enough to attack her. She wasn’t good enough at fighting to even put up a fight. Thankfully, she used her words rather than her claws. “Dryad literally called me a drowned weasel and you want me to apologize! Favoritism much?” Now she gulped, having forgotten the insult she had mindlessly snapped. Now she could feel Tiger’s stern gaze on her, and looked right at her paws.
“Dryad, is that true?” At her mother’s words, Dryad nodded weakly, barely even able to move her head. Why did Siren always have to be so mean to her? It was unfair. Though she wasn’t looking, she knew that her sister must be smirking right then. Oh, what she would do to ensure this would never happen again. Tiger’s next words just made everything worse. “I want you both to apologize to each other.”
“If I apologize, can I go play with Marley?” Siren asked sweetly, grinning when Tiger nodded in response. Dryad growled under her breath. Marley was like a worse version of her sister, always making fun of her. Satyr seemed to spend every moment with her, and it seemed like now her sister was going to follow her brother. Tiger’s encouragement made everything worse. “Well in that case, I’m sorry Dryad. Bye!” Before the yellow she-kit could run away, she was grabbed by her scruff and dragged back into their bed.
“Good job. Now Dryad has to apologize to you before you leave.” Now it was Dryad’s turn to open her mouth in shock. Tiger accepted that as an apology? Mouth closing into a frown, she looked stubbornly down at her paws. There was no way she going to apologize. In case her message wasn’t clear, she shook her head firmly.
“No. I won’t apologize to that fox-heart,” Dryad proclaimed, not looking up from her paws. She could hear Siren’s impatient sigh, and her mother’s stern gaze on the top of her head. But she held to her decision. She would never apologize to her sister. Never. She felt a large paws nudge her head upward, and her different colored eyes met Tiger’s identical ones. Once again she tried to look at her paws, but her head was just nudged up again. All she could do was set her jaw stubbornly and continue staring.
“If you apologize, I’ll tell you a story about your father,” Tiger whispered. It was at that moment that Dryad knew she had been beaten. Stories about Greek were her favorite thing in the world, and there was nothing she wouldn’t do just to hear another one. For a moment she weighed the options in her mind. It was like an unstoppable force against a just barely movable wall. Soon, she decided that it was worth apologizing to Siren if it meant that she got to hear a story about her father. Turning to face her sister, she narrowed her eyes.
“I’m sorry Siren,” Dryad stated flatly, lacking any emotion or sincerity. This was the best that she was giving, so everyone better except it. Siren scoffed and rolled her eyes, but then bolted in the direction of Marley. Good riddance. Tiger smiled at her daughter, and for a moment neither said anything. But patience wasn’t a strong trait in kits. “Tell me about father now.”
“Okay,” Tiger purred, and Dryad snuggled up closer. “How about the first time we met? I was trying to find a way out of the nest because Bubbles told me not to. I always did things cats said not to do when I was younger, and it got me into a lot of trouble. But this time it didn’t. Greek was on the other side of the fence, and we began talking. He was charming, and liked to make me laugh. He taught me how to climb a tree, so that we didn’t have to speak with a fence between us. We met every few days, and we always had fun. It wasn’t long before we fell in love. We started having more of an impact of each other, like how he started liking flowers as much as I do, and how I started getting his love for telling stories. Oh, he used to tell so many stories.”
“What kind of stories?” Dryad murmured, almost completely hidden by Tiger’s soft fur. Her eyelids were drooping, and she let out a small yawn. Anyone could tell that she was about to fall asleep. Her mother purred, wrapping her tail around the she-kit.
“Mostly about how he got to me. Your father would travel through the woods the meet me, speaking of the savage wetland cats who lived on the other side of the river. He spoke of how hard it was to get to me, and I always laughed at how much he exaggerated. I told him stories about the nest, he told me about the farm. If you are ever lost in the world, my little Dryad, find Greek, and he will protect you." In just a few more moments, Dryad was fast asleep.


I hope you enjoyed reading this! There will be more Dryad stories soon to come. Feel free to comment, and offer constructive criticism if you have any. That does not include pointing out typos.