A Pigeon Chick Lost on the Moor

Pigeon blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the sun-light, and realized she had slept until almost sun-high. The small kit's stomach growled and she opened her mouth to call for her mother, before remembering it had been almost two days since she had last seen her mother, and since she had eaten.

The kitten sadly remembered waking up next to her mother's empty nest, and not knowing where she had gone. After spending a whole day searching for her mother the kit had given up and cried herself to sleep, alone for the first time in her short life. She was barely two moons old, too naïve to know that her mother had abandoned her to fend for herself.

She stood up, telling herself to be brave and that she had to look for food. She wandered through the heather, trying to find something to eat but hopelessly lost and with no clue how to hunt for herself. Her nose twitched as she smelled something new and strange, the scent of unfamiliar cats. Other cats? Her mind flashed to the terrifying stories her mother had told her of dangerous forest cats that ate bones, and she ducked into  the long grass, hoping to hide in case the strangers were dangerous. But she also smelled something else, the delicious scent of rabbit. Pigeon's mouth watered and her hunger won out as she slowly crept out of the grass, wondering where the smells were coming from.

Softbreeze flicked her ears back as she chased the rabbit. Finally, with a flying leap, she overtook the rabbit and ended the creature quickly, not wishing to inflict more pain than necessary. Looking up from where she crouched, her eyes locked onto a pair of kitten-blue eyes, her own blue ones popping in surprise before softening in sympathy. "Are you lost?" She called out before noticing her scrawny form.Picking the rabbit up, the lithe, short she-cat made her way gracefully over, her fluffy tail waved in greeting. The poor scrap as half-starved.

"Don't be scared," She assured the kit, placing the rabbit down and nudging it close, "You can eat it, see, it's yummy." As if to demonstrate her point, she took a small bite out of the juicy hare, licking her jaws, before nodding to the she-kit. "You can have the rest, I'm not hungry. I'm Softbreeze. Eat first, then you can answer questions."

Waiting until she was certain the kit had ate adequately, she nodded. "Now, tell me, little one, do you have a name? Is your momma close by?" She stuck with just those two, not wanting to overwhelm the poor mite just yet.

As the seasons had changed, Olivestar had spent lots of time out of camp just observing the way the world was changing around her. The way the wind was cooling down as leaf-fall took hold reminded the leader of the leafbare to come, and she resolved to hunt more as the prey got scarcer. Her train of thought was interrupted, and her paws came to a stop as she heard Softbreeze's voice, along with the scent of kit and stale milk-scent. Her curiosity piqued, she turned in the direction of the scents, and pushed her way through the grass to see Softbreeze talking to a kit, the source of the milk-scent. The scent was several days old, Olivestar gathered, and she'd walked in at the right moment to hear the medicine cat ask the kit if she knew where her mother was.

The leader sat down nearby and gave the kit a reassuring smile, one to assure her that she wasn't a threat.
Speaking softly, she spoke to the kit,
"I'm Olivestar, leader of the cats that run these moors. This is Softbreeze, our medicine cat, she heals the sick and hurt. We're not going to hurt you."

Pigeon crept forward cautiously to sniff the rabbit. She took a small bite and chewed carefully, glancing at Softbreeze several times in case the larger cat changed her mind and decided to attack. Her bobbed tail twitched happily as she continued eating and slowly became less wary of the stranger. “Th- thank you.” She mewed when she finished eating. The kit looked up at Olivestar, not knowing what a medicine cat was, but glad neither of the cats wanted to hurt her. “I’m Pigeon. I- I don’t know where my momma went.” Her eyes welled up with tears again and she blinked quickly, trying not to cry. “I- I woke up and she was gone.”

Softbreeze felt so heartbroken that the poor little kit had been so afraid to eat around her that she felt her head might break. She gave a nod to Olivestar, knowing she'd never need to ask her leader before bringing home a stray kit. "Don't thank me, Pidgeon, I only did what any cat should do upon finding a poor hungry kitten such as yourself." She mewed, padding forward slightly to curl her tail around the kit. So her mother had left?

Licking her head fiercely in a motherly way, a gentle yet fiery look filled her eyes, her voice soft as a feather. "From now on, Olivestar and I will take care of you. All of WindClan will. That's our home -- WindClan. You'll be well-cared for and loved there, I promise." The pale molly assured the fluffy scrap of fur wrapped under her tail, blue eyes gentle as she looked at Pidgeon and then Olivestar.

Pigeon blinked in surprise at the older cat’s kindness. “Really? You’ll take care of me?” Her mother always said other cats were selfish and only cared for themselves, but these cats were kind and had already offered to take her in. Maybe her mother was wrong then.

(OOC: Sorry, this is my last reply for the night I have to go to bed)

The kit's uncertainty and fear, and the news that the kit's mother had just left without a word almost broke Olivestar's heart. With a glance and a nod at Softbreeze, she too settled down beside the kit, and spoke, her voice full of warmth and love.
"Of course we will, Pigeon. WindClan won't- I won't turn away any kit in need. There's a warm nest, fresh-kill, and new friends and family waiting back at camp."

---

ooc: it's all good!

The kit didn't understand all of the words the clan cats used, but it seemed like they were telling the truth and were really going to take care of her. Olivestar was promising a warm bed every night, plenty of prey, and cats who would care about her. Pigeon wasn't sure what WindClan was, but it sounded like a home, and a family.

Her tears dried up and she smiled weakly, comforted by the the she-cats' kindness. Something nagged at the back of her mind though. "But what about my mother? Won't she wonder where I am? I thought she would take care of me." Pigeon realized the truth as she met Olivestar's pity filled gaze. Her mother wasn't coming back.

"When your momma returns, she'll know where to look. She left you on the moors; the first place to search would then be the moors and WindClan turns no Queen away without hearing her story. When she comes for you, we'll know, and you can go home with her if that's what you wish." Softbreeze assured Pidgeon, though in the back of her mind, she knew this kit's mother wouldn't return, and Pidgeon's eyes seemed to reflect this.

"You'll be one of us for as long as your heart wishes, little one. A member of WindClan, and even if you depart from us, I hope you remember the kindness our Warriors show. The rabbit will stave away most of your hunger, but a little kitten like you will need much more care; thankfully you look rather healthy." As she began assessing Pidgeon's physical health, she nodded to herself, grateful th young molly was in good conditions. "Even so, however, I don't think you should walk back to camp."