A long time ago, a former softpaw led a faction of abandoned strays to a land he called sacred and promising. He promised them a fulfilling life as long as they stayed together and protected their land. The group grew to be strong and healthy under...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❖
Water dripped from the cavern ceiling due to the recent rainfall, falling onto the black and white pelt of the AsterClan Prince. His pink nose twitched and his ears swiveled at the cold touch, but he kept his amber eyes locked onto the cats scurrying throughout the camp. Knights carried in their prey from the recent hunts and feasted immediatedly, some even bickering over which prey they wanted. The irritating commotion made Hollybristle's eyes narrow, but his gaze softened at the sight of a mottled molly approaching him.
Her name was Iristuft, the daughter of AsterClan's general. She had just dismissed herself from a conversation with Wolfbite, who watched his daughter approach Hollybristle with satisfaction lining his gaze. The Prince avoided the General's lingering gaze and instead casted Iristuft a welcoming smile, the molly settling next to him.
The two remained silent until Wolfbite padded away, dispersing to converse with a few Knights. Hollybristle's ears twitched as he heard Iristuft breathe out in relief. "Finally he's off my tail," Iristuft scoffed, laying her head on her paws. "He bugs me every time I'm not around you. 'You need to constantly be with your Prince or he will find a more suitable molly' he says."
Hollybristle felt a shiver roll down his spine at her words. A few moons ago, his father and the general discussed how Hollybristle taking on Wolfbite's daughter as a mate would be an extravagant idea. Their fathers constantly spilled the idea through their ears and kept it locked in their minds, but neither of them had viewed one another romantically. Whenever they attempted to, it was uncomfortably awkward for the two of them.
Since then, the two tried their best to present themselves to AsterClan as mates. They shared the same nest, prey, and often hunted and shared tongues with one another. Thicketcrown constantly nagged the two about when their first litter of kits would arrive but they merely made excuses, imposing that they both needed more time before having kits. Neither of them were euphoric about the topic of kits, especially when they were expected to be mates and parent them together.
"There's no she-cat better than you," Hollybristle purred, a grin slipping onto his muzzle.
Iristuft huffed at her friend, lightly shoving him with a paw. "You can drop the act, fish-brain."
"I'm just being honest," Hollybristle cackled.
"What about me?"
They averted their gazes to a russet tabby approaching them. A smug grin was molded across her face and she plopped down in front of them. Her amber eyes flicked to and fro between them. "You didn't forget about me, did you?"
"No, Redfawn," Hollybristle retorted, rolling his eyes at the russet molly. "You are obviously the best molly in all of AsterClan."
"Is that sarcasm, Prince?" Redfawn snorted, her and Iristuft's gazes fixed on the black and white tom. "Perhaps if you feeble-minded toms allowed me to fight more, you would see more potential. Stars, last time I saw Oakfeather fight he just used the same tactics over and over again! You toms are something else."
