Escaping the Storm

 Escaping the Storm



by Firey and Eevee

One ~ Eevee
I shift in my nest, feeling a small paw poke my side. "Go away, Rain..." I mumble. I was still tired. I had gone hunting last night, since my father Hail was testing me. As he said, hunting at night is the most important skill of all. Pfft. Why hunt when you can't see anything, anyway?

The paw pokes my shoulder. "All right, all right." I murmur, rolling onto my belly. "I'm up." I open my eyes, expecting to see Rain, my moon-old little sister. But instead, I see sleek white fur, and when I look up, pale blue eyes. "Mother!" I squeak, my voice cracking.

My mother, Snow, lets out a purr of laughter.

As I attempt to get over my embarrassment, Snow mews, "Your father wants to talk to you."

''Don't let this be another lesson. ''I push myself to my paws, stifling a yawn, then pad over to the other side of the den, where Father was sitting. I glance back and see Rain, who was only a tiny ball of grey fluff in her nest. I blink, then look back at Father. I sit down in front of him and dip my head. "Good morning, Father." I greet.

He nods. His dark grey - or light black? - fur is tangled with twigs and leaves, like he just had a fight with three foxes, one bear, and a badger combined into one creature. Beagerox? No... oh, a-

"Sleet!"

Father's voice snaps me out of my daydream. "Focus." he growls. Then he flicks his ear and sits down. "As you know, you are the eldest out of you and Rain."

Yeah. Six moons old.

"And, when I go hunting, you will be the one to protect your sister and mother." he continues.

Again, six moons old.

"So, you must remember all of the defense moves I taught you."

As he goes on and on, I zone out. Then he stands up and says, "Now, I'm going to go catch something for breakfast. I'll be right back." He turns and pads through the den exit, leaving me with Snow and Rain.

It's always so boring when I'm left with Mother. She doesn't really do much. Neither does Rain. She's always sleeping or eating, and never does anything interesting.

I flop down into my nest, heaving a sigh. Beside me, Rain rolls over to where her head is laying on my left foreleg. I am, unfortunately, used to this, and I lay my head over my other leg. I close my eyes.

~*~*~*~

I awake to coughing. I think it's Rain. No. She's still here, her head still hanging over my leg. Carefully, I slide my leg out from under her tiny head and stand. Mother's in her nest, looking down at her paws. Her fur is ruffled, and she lets out a choking cough. She doesn't notice me as I take a step toward her.

I call out her name. "S-Snow?"

She turns her head toward me, her icy-blue eyes tired. She tries to say something, but she turns away as she lets out another weak cough.

"You're sick." I meow. Yeah, she hadn't noticed. I'm so sure of that.

"N-no, Sleet. I'm okay-" She cuts herself off with a cough. "Just a cold." she assures me.

Doesn't look like just a cold to me. I want to growl. But no. Instead, I walk over to her and meow, "You're sick, Mother. Let me go get Father-"

"No!" Snow cries, eyes flashing desperately. "He'll worry about me for days! I'll be okay, Sleet." She curls her tail over her face, closing her eyes. She's quiet, except for a few coughs now and then.

I step away, then sit in my nest, looking down at Rain. She's rolling around her nest, probably dreaming about catching butterflies or something. Then she looks up at me, her blue eyes wide. I swear, her eyes are swirling with different emotions. Worry, fright, dread? Then she says, in her tiny, high-pitched voice, "Mama's sick, Sleet."

My breath catches in my throat, and I look away.