duet [Closed]

Rookkit

Rookkit was quiet where they lay against Larkkit’s side. The nursery was dim now, lit only by the fading sun. Many of the other kits were already asleep, or were close to it. They were tired, too, and normally would have been well asleep by this point, save for the occasional restless night. Tonight, they were sleepless because they felt too unwell to actually rest, chills dampening the skin under their fur. It seemed the worst of this fleeting sickness came when they thought about their father– as they had been, just a few moments before turning into their brother’s side.

They were hesitant to bother him. His response to seeing their father missing among the return party bothered them, for a reason Rookkit wasn’t quite sure of. The end of their tail flickered restlessly until they gave in and stiffly pressed their nose into the fur around his neck. It was a silly thing to be so troubled over, but they could not help the unrest they felt. Larkkit, even if he did not seem to share the troubles, would help just by being there. Even if he stayed quiet, he would be awake if Rookkit needed him.

Larkkit

And aware he was. Larkkit stirred as he felt a slight pressure against the back of his neck. He blinked a couple of times. He kept his voice low so as to not wake Sunkit in the next nest and murmured, “Rook? Is something the matter?” He rolled over to instead face his sibling, even if it meant that they could not hide. He could not see very well in the dark, but he pressed closer to his sibling’s figure. “I have been worried about you. Especially when you do not speak.”

Rookkit

Rookkit made a soft sound when their brother started to stir, repeated when he spoke, and repeated again with a more apparent note of displeasure when he shifted away to face them. Their hum when Larkkit moved close again was quiet, but grateful.

“I know. I am sorry.” Rookkit murmured after a bit of silence, pushing his cheek against Larkkit’s. Feeling ill more hours than not was upsetting and tiring and inconvenient… but he was most upset over causing concern. It wouldn’t feel right, if he suddenly got well again, but a part of him wished deeply that he would wake in the morning feeling healthy and aware.

Rookkit was quiet again for a while. He was debating how to answer if something was wrong. Yes, there was– but it was hard to determine whether it was his thoughts or the routine ailing that troubled him most. Harder still was actually putting words to it. A few times as he sat in quiet deliberation, he whispered I am sorry again. Eventually, he settled on sharing both and said, “I… feel. Unwell. And I am… thinking about Father again.” There was hesitance to it. He did not need to be worrying about Turtlesnap anymore, he knew, and yet he could not let it go. Larkkit understood; he had to.

Larkkit

Larkkit watched his sibling and listened to their soft voice. When they trailed off, Larkkit sighed. “I know it hurts for Father to be gone, but there is nothing that can be done to change the outcome,” Larkkit explained. “Is that why you have been feeling so ill? Because you have been worrying so much about Father?” Larkkit could understand it to an extent. If it had been Rookkit taken instead of their father, Larkkit was certain he would have been sick too. But not like this. Larkkit imagined he would have gotten so sick he would have died if he had lost his sibling as they had their father. This…depressive sickness was different, and Larkkit could not quite comprehend it. Thus, similarly, he also did not know how to fix it.

“I’m sorry that Father is not coming back. But there is no point in worrying over what cannot be changed, see? And while it hurts to lose him, you have not lost everything. I am still here. I will always be here, just as I promised you when Father was first taken.” Larkkit turned his head to be able to look at Rookkit more directly. “And no matter how long this sickness lingers, I will be here too.”

Rookkit

A frown twitched at the corner of Rookkit’s mouth. They appreciated Larkkit’s rationality, just as they appreciated everything from him, but sometimes it stung. They were not ready to accept that there was simply nothing that could be done for their father. It made frustration stir in their chest, wholly at themself. Lark was right. Their shoulders tensed slightly as they tried to rationalize being so stubborn about moving on. Lark was still here, and they had even found a friend in Sunkit. Their Father hadn’t come home, and there was nothing they could do to change that.

Rookkit blinked. Slowly, he refocused on Larkkit, meeting his brother’s eyes. Rookkit’s head bobbed a few times in a gradual nod. “Yes. You are still here.” He murmured after a quiet moment. Larkkit had always been, and would always be, by his side. Even when he fretted so much, or grew suddenly ill, Lark was with him.

Rookkit worried still, even knowing those things.

“I do not want to hold you back.” They said, unthinking. Immediately, their eyes drifted downward, ears folding too. “I know you will stay with me. And I am glad. I do not want you to leave. But…” Their voice trailed off, and Rookkit eventually just shook their head. It wasn’t worth entertaining; Lark would go nowhere without them. “No… You are here. And you will not go anywhere. I am pleased with that.”

Larkkit

Larkkit’s fur started to bristle when Rookkit veered towards what he was certain was going to be them telling him to move forward and not let himself be held back for Rookkit’s sake. He was already prepared to tell Rookkit that that would not happen. As annoyed as he was that they were still in the nursery even when their bodies had grown too big and they were well within the age to be apprentices, he cared about Rookkit more than that. His brother meant the world to him. Rookkit was all he had left, and he refused to leave Rookkit behind for something as selfish as wanting to be an apprentice. They had time.

Of course, Rookkit relented before Larkkit had to say a word, an so his fur flattened again. He shuffled closer to them and rested their head on top of Rookkit’s. “That is correct. I am here, and I will be going nowhere. I would not dream of becoming an apprentice unless you are there by my side.”

RiverClan • Kit • He/Him • 10 | 30 • #787878

Credits: code inspiration - 1 2 | image 1 | image 2 | image 3

Rookkit

At the gentle weight of his chin, Rookkit pressed their head up slightly, leaning into Larkkit. The faintest purr started in their throat. They were quiet for a while, content enough just to be with him. Nauseous guilt still gnawed at them, but content enough. They shouldn’t be worrying anymore. They did not have to worry. Rookkit would get over the absence of their father… soon, they were sure of it, even if it was bitterly forced. And even if they couldn’t, they still had Lark.

“I know,” they repeated, leaning slowly away. “I know you will not leave my side. And I will not leave yours. We will be apprentices together. …when the day comes. We will always be together.” Rookkit nodded, even if they couldn't shake their general reluctance toward the future. When the day comes. That would make it easier. They would just have to think about that.