dandelion on the moors

Afraid and hungry, the little white kitten mewled desperately. Though she couldn’t hear her own voice, she had learned thus far in life that it brought milk. But her mother’s scent in the foliage at the edge of the moor was stale, she wasn’t coming back.

The death of Aspenheart hung fresh in the moor-dwellers’ mind. Any cat dead was a loss in Wildflower’s mind, but their senior medicine cat was something to be mourned more. The blind she-cat was matching Softbreeze’s pace during their trek through the moors. Herb hunting. Something blindness helped with for once, instead of hindering her ability. Scenting was sharper, easier, more accurate. Though in the open mores, herbs could probably be found easily with sight. Everything she did these days was a distraction. She still had yet to think about Smallbean. One way or another, somehow, guilt would creep in. It always did.

The speckled molly’s fur blew in the wind. Her ears pricked as she scented the air out of habit - not that hearing would be helpful when scenting for herbs. But they picked up a sound - one that was too familiar for the reality of it. A kit mewling. Was she delusional? Hallucinating? Wildflower wouldn’t have been surprised. Maybe her imaginative mind was too imaginative. Maybe she was going insane. Pausing, she turned her head towards Softbreeze. “Softbreeze, d-do you hear that? Th-the kit noise. Whimpering.”

Softbreeze had stated to sense a pattern here. This was the third kit, and Softbreeze though she was going crazy. Haypaw, Amberkit, and now this one. If there was one thing the gentle she-cat wasn't, it was a hesitant. Noting, Wildflower's blindness, Softbreeze charged ahead, calling out directions to help the impaired she-cat. "Straight for three fox-lengths, Wildflower! Then turn to your left a mouse-length and keep straight until you feel sandy ground!"

Softbreeze had developed specific ways of communicating with impairments. Grousefrost needed gestures, obvious ones, words would not help him at all. Morningdove could not move or talk, but required specific care and love; she wouldn't want to get better if everyone ignored her. Wildflower was blind and direction eluded her unless it could be heard or scented. Along the moor, the smell of herbs and WindClan were too strong to directly identify one scent, no matter how strong a nose, so verbal commands were a necessity for guiding her.

Breaking into a sprint, Softbreeze, as always, it seemed, reached the kit first. "Don't worry, little one. Everything will be alright." She assured the kit, leaning down and making eye contact to assure her.

The little white kitten saw the pair of cats approaching across and moor and fell silent, not daring to trust anyone, and startling when one of the cats broke into a sprint, quickly reaching her. The kitten watched the silent movements of the she-cat’s mouth with wide, nervous eyes, but a feeling warmer than the green-leaf sun crept over her when the she-cat bent down to meet her eyes with a soft, kind gaze that seemed to say, Everything will be alright. The kitten gave a small, shy mew in greeting and sniffed the stranger tentatively. The she-cat did not have the same milk scent as the kitten’s mother, but smelled of so many plants which the kitten could pick out the scents of but could not guess at the names of or the reasons for a cat to carry those scents. The kitten’s curiosity had brought her onto her tip-toes and her nose bumped the stranger’s clumsily when she realised how close she was and teetered back on her tiny stumpy legs, afraid she had been rude.

Wildflower followed Softbreeze's directions with complete trust. The kitten still seemed to be upset until Softbreeze started to reassure it. Wildflower paused and inhaled the kitten's scent. "Loner or kittypet kit. Abandoned. I can't tell age, or anything else, because..." Her voice trailed off in a frustrated sigh. "If you can help the kit, I can probably nurse her when we get back to camp with the help of herbs or something. Until then I can keep watch - or scent for predators, anyway. A miracle she's survived so far." A warm smile graced her face as she gently stroked the kitten with her tail before turning around. Wildflower kept her back to the pair and scented the air, curved ears absorbing everything. No unusual movement. The she-cat stayed alert, occasionally moving directions as Softbreeze did her magic.

As the small white she-kit sniffed her, she blinked kindly towards her, purring in amusement. "Kittypet, by the softness of her coat. Young, it doesn't seem she knows how to speak. She's not hurt too bad, she'll be okay. Oh!" Softbreeze exclaimed, stifling a laugh as she removed a pesky burr from the kit's rump.

Rasping her tongue over the she-kit's ears, Softbreeze noticed she was sitting on a patch of dandelions. "Dandelionkit," she mused, "That's her name." The medicine cat decided. Yes, that suits her. Checking over the kitten again, checking everything from teeth to pawpads, the pale molly nodded. "Her pawspads aren't grazed from walking, and her eyes aren't bleary with exhaustion. I'd say her mother carried her here after hearing tales of friendly wildcats who lived on the moor." The more she thought of it, the more certain she became. All warriors heard tales of twolegs taking kittypet queens' kits from them.

"I won't be able to do anything for her until she gets back to my den. Can you carry her, Wildflower? I'll keep an eye out for danger."

As the soft white tabby blinked back at her in amusement the second she-cat of the pair with a beautiful speckled pelt had quickly followed and sniffed the white kitten carefully, saying something she couldn’t hear.
The little kitten felt a happy rumble rise in her throat when the speckled she-cat stroked her tail over the kitten’s fur with a warm smile. It reminded the kitten of her mother, though when she grew up she wouldn’t remember any mother but the cat smiling at her now. She smiled back before realising that the she-cat’s eyes couldn’t see, and instead shyly twined her little tail with the larger one as best she could before the she-cat turned away.
This had distracted the kitten while the white-and-brown she-cat dappled with tabby markings had noticed the burr in the kitten’s rump, and the kitten squeaked in surprise as she tugged it lose. Some of her soft white fur came out with it and she might have cried, but the she-cat gently rasped her tongue over the kitten’s ears. She sat still and quiet and patient as the she-cat checked her over, amusing herself with the feel of the fluffy golden dandelions under her paws.

ooc: i love these interactions, you both write so well! thank u so much

"Yes," she murmured. Wildflower bent down as Softbreeze finished checking over the kitten and gently grasped Dandelionkit's scruff with her teeth. Hopefully it wouldn't hurt too much. She fought the urge to say something on the trek back. It was a similar feeling to carrying prey back, but it would also be much worse to drop Dandelionkit's delicate body.

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Soon enough, they reached the camp. Wildflower made a beeline towards the medicine den and nodded at Softbreeze. She carefully set Dandelionkit on the ground. "You did some sort of preliminary checking, but she might need to stay here for a little while. I'm not the expert on this." She attempted a smile.

The delicate little white kitten fell asleep on the trek, swinging gently from the speckled she-cat's teeth. She awoke when the rhythm stopped and she was placed down, a wisp of white fur against the earth. She lifted her head and looked around blearily.

She was shaded by overhanging gorse, nestled into a small dirt cliff. She let out a tiny breath of relief when she saw her two rescuers were still with her. Soft, she thought looking at the striped white she-cat, who had a downy pelt and a gentle gaze, and looking at the speckled brown she-cat with the warmth in her smile and her touch, and distinctive ears curved like pink petals she thought, Flower.

She wanted a name for herself too, and narrowed her sky-blue eyes in thought. She thought of the windblown dandelion patch where her mother had left her and her new family had found her. 

She had blown here like soft white dandelion seeds in the wind. Dandelion. My name will be Dandelion, she thought.