Whistling up a tune [c]

“Hoping for a day... Where it will start to rain...” The kitten quietly whispered melodies to herself while taking in the cool evening breeze. Recently the days were rising too hot for her fluff to bear. And although she appreciated the warm sun and the joy it brought her siblings, it was windy, dark blue days like this that made her purr. Ploverkit watched the clouds slowly cover the bright sky, setting its hue soft and cool. Beneath her paws were clumps of moss which she gnawed at in between humming tunes. “Hoping for a day... Where it will start to rain... The day might not come soon... So let's wait and sing a tune...” Eventually, she realized the bits of moss had formed a small ball. She then remembered what her sister once told her about playing mossball. So Ploverkit tried to practice, batting it toward the closest set of paws she saw.

A warrior received it, one with the same fluffy white fur and grey face as herself, but owning eyes like Cypresskit’s. She smiled, sensing this was family she’d yet to meet. “Rainfrost,” she echoed quietly while her eyes glimmered. “What a beautiful name.” It really was beautiful, especially since rain was one of her favorite words. “Hello Rainfrost,” she purred, savoring the name. “I’m Ploverkit, one of Juniperheart’s kittens.” Her tongue was half-tempted to ask the mystery tom if he knew her mother, but it didn’t really matter to her. She wanted to know about him. “Do you like the rain, Rainfrost?” she began curiously.

“Aw,” she chuckled with him sympathetically, “That’s too bad.” Ploverkit felt that maybe rain reminded him of something sad, just like how it reminded her of something nice. She tried to imagine rain as he experienced it. Cold, shivering, doused, drenched. A certain feeling of loss in your stomach, grieving for the sun. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure she wanted it to rain.

It turned out to be true, he was her family. What was the word her mother had said- Uncle? Uncle Rainfrost. Ploverkit smiled brightly, glad to be connected to the tom. “It’s very nice to meet you too. Oh- My sisters would love to talk to you, especially Bubblekit. She adores asking questions.” She thought about the bright, sunny way her sister would hop from question to question. It was dizzying, but always seemed to engage her littermates and make older cats laugh. Maybe (hopefully) Bubblekit would make Rainfrost laugh too.

Rainfrost said he wanted to get to know her. But the thing was, she didn’t know what she could tell. Ploverkit took a mental deep breath, falling back to the simple things she “knew” about herself. His earlier question was near perfect, a simple query about something she knew she already liked. Slight hesitancy pulled at her tongue, realizing her opinion would heavily differ from the tom’s. She would hate to cause discourse. Yet thankfully, it seemed he genuinely wished to hear a different perspective. She settled, and hoped that perhaps her feelings about rain could help him feel more positive about it.

Ploverkit’s gaze drifted up to the oncoming clouds again. Softly and slowly she said, “Yes, I do like rain, quite a lot. It’s like a special treat after days of sun and sweat and scorched paw pads. It cools me off, and then I feel fresher- like grass.” She closed her eyes and imagined the pitter-patter, echoing through her ears and bones. Water seeping into her fur and then washing out. “It also reminds me of nice things,” she said, thinking about the days she lived while it rained. The moments she shared with her family watching pools form. It was all very nice.

Oh. Swept out of her memories, Ploverkit realized she’d been kneading the moss ball Rainfrost had sent back to her. She kept at it, comforted by the feeling.

Her shining blue eyes fluttered opened and focused back on Rainfrost. She quietly purred. He reminded her of Bearkit with his polite, slightly icy demeanor. It made her feel cool like the wind. Ploverkit silently wondered what he did enjoy, if not rain. Maybe (hopefully) he would share more about himself if she offered another question as he did. “Uhm, what do you like to do, Rainfrost? Do you enjoy sunbathing like most cats?”