Freefall

freefall

short story by stork

enjoy, flower nerds <3

chapter one
hello, friend! at least, i hope you're a friend of mine.

my name's patchbreeze - i'm just your typical tom. i'm helpful. i'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to what i do. i've always tried to be kind to others. and i have parents who love me, and friends who care for me.

except that i'm not so typical, friend.

i get sad at random times for no reason. other cats hurt me for no reason, sometimes on accident and sometimes on purpose. all of my kindness goes to waste. i'm not usually like this, not speaking with proper grammar, but it's been a side effect of me being sad, i guess.

and i get things like... well, let's call them attacks. i think about everything that has happened and everything that goes wrong there. usually someone has to come and shake me back - that's what russetfang and thrushfeather are there for.

anyway. today's unusual.

it's what's called the voting day.

every six moons, the cats select members for what's been called the stardusting. nobody knows why it's called that, but it's similar to the medicine cat gatherings in the clans years and years before us. anyway, the cats - they're divided into tribes based on the areas where they live - select members to visit that gathering, and one cat from each tribe is selected and one returns. at a maximum, there's about eight cats - two from each tribe. they serve for a year and then return.

if you're selected, you're at least honored. you may not have the best reputation, but as long as it's the majority, you'll get it. once you return, the general idea is that you'll have a better idea of how things work.

it's a little odd to me, to be honest.