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“Raise your forepaws and your haunches, with all that fur you’re going to rattle against the floor wherever you walk!” Chief lightly scolded Wels, shaking his head in disapproval. The trainee in question only heaved a sigh, correcting his stance till Chief nodded slightly.
“Good. Keep that up and you’ll master hunting in no time.” The tom’s earlier chiding had long since vanished from Wels’ mind, his ears twitching. He stared at the ground, hardly blinking as he listened intently to the rustling of a nearby tree. The soft chittering flowed into his ears as if it were whispering, gently calling for him to come closer. The critter skittered about, bouncing around a clearing gracefully.
Ignoring how Chief rambled on, Wels raised his head, facing the tree with blown pupils. He sniffed the air, parting his jaws as he scented the squirrel nearby.
“Ow!” Wels yelped, shying away from Chief’s angered form, staring up with a tinge of fear. Chief’s hardened gaze softened slightly at the sight and he sighed, head tilted to face the other properly.
“You need to pay more attention when I explain these things to you, Wels, you won’t learn if you don’t.” He chastised, tail swishing just barely against the damp soil. Blinking, Wels nodded slowly, head bowed shamefully, though he perked back up at the squeal of the squirrel in the farther distance, snickering as it pranced about.
Chief frowned, following their gaze with narrowed eyes. “What’s got your attention for so long? Seriously, are all trainees like this?” He muttered the last part, tossing his head to the side dramatically.
“There’s a squirrel 6 trees over, scavenging by that big boulder.” Wels pointed his tail in the relative direction, waiting for Chief’s signature hum of approval. The moment it made its way to their ears, warmth bloomed in their stomach, excited to be praised by him.
There was a moment of silence between the two as Chief surveyed the surroundings, nodding slowly as he mumbled things under his breath, squinting to see clearly.
“Alright,” he began, raising his tail to rest it over Wels’ shoulders, “you’ll be hunting that squirrel, got it? Show me what you’ve learned and catch it.” Left stunned, they looked from Chief to the prey and back.
“Go on, it’ll scurry off if you keep waiting around.” Wels nodded with a breathy ‘ alright..’ before dropping low, keeping his fur from scraping against the ground and gliding closer to the small animal. He squinted, glancing around the area, looking for any cover to no avail. He cursed under his breath, worrying his lip.
Wels let out a small breath, waiting for the squirrel to look away before creeping closer. Suddenly, it glanced up, making eye contact with the cat. There was a brief pause while Wels decided what to do before throwing plans to the side, putting all his power into his haunches before springing, reaching for the prey.
As they grew closer, the squirrel fled their spot, leaving him tumbling in the dirt. He quickly sprang back to his feet, chasing it before it dashed up the tree, his forepaws clinging to the bark. He huffed out, glancing over to Chief, waiting for his nod in approval before scrambling after the critter. His claws scraped against the wood, hurling himself upwards while flexing and unflexing his claws over and over as he released the wood to push himself farther.
The squirrel was quick, but its recent feedings had fattened it up, slowing it down just enough for Wels to finally snag its tail in his claws. He craned his neck up, swiftly putting it out of its misery before snagging it as it loosened its grip on the bark, falling backwards. He glanced around, looking for a place to perch and clawing his way to a thick branch.
As the adrenaline fled his body, he heaved a heavy sigh, limbs feeling like jelly as he gripped onto the husk like a lifeline. He honed in on Chief’s voice from below.
“Good!” He called up, eyes gleaming with pride. “The Suncross will be pleased with this, come down and we can show them.” Wels’ chest burst with excitement before he glanced down, finally realizing how high up he was.
“There’s nowhere safe to land!” He yelped back, frowning softly. Though he was concerned, he was not scared, Chief always had a plan that would keep him unharmed. The cat in question did not respond, glancing around the tree for a good pathway. He frowned, looking back up to his trainee.
“You’ll have to crawl back down.” Chief ordered, shoulders slightly tensed. Wels looked apprehensive, keeping his body close to the tree’s limb as he gave the tom a wary look.
“I won’t be able to keep my balance.!” He half yelled, which was slightly true. With his weight leaning with gravity’s pull, he would all but topple over himself, falling ungracefully.
Chief glared up at him. “There’s no other way down, would you rather be stuck up there?” Wels frowned, taking in his words with a concerned look. They weighed their options before betting on a few scrapes and bruises over living in the trees. He stood up, squirrel in mouth before messily turning around, hind paws scraping the thinner edge of the branch.
It creaked under the movement, swaying cautiously. Wels dug his claws into the skin of it, stumbling a bit. He felt unsteady as it groaned, bowing downwards and crackling. Yelping in fear, Wels attempted to scramble closer to the base of the branch. The wood splintered off, rapidly breaking off with a high pitched noise as he clawed for a grip. Wels cried out in pain as his back hit the branch and the prey was ripped from his jaws.
He tumbled backwards, hitting the water below with an upsetting smack against its surface. Wels fought his way up, coughing and sputtering as he churned his paws, fighting the grueling current. Left blinded by water, he was reminded of how he had yet to be taught how to swim. The water felt impossible to move through, the current like thick mud or quicksand.
Wels wailed, paws flailing wildly. He could hear a voice calling his name, but it felt so far away. A harsh hit from the water forced him under, squirming and kicking for the surface. Disoriented, he hardly felt the maw snag his scruff, hauling him to the surface and onto the river bank.
Choking on water, he hacked violently. There was a painful ring in his ears, a muted voice calling for him like he was still under water. He blinked tiredly, squinting as a warm tongue rasped over his cold cheek.
Feeling the sudden heat, the tom was made aware of how cold he was, the water had soaked him to the skin almost immediately, leaving them shivering. Wels sat up slightly, pawing at his ears with a whine. Chief hushed them, grooming his fur dry hurriedly. The feeling was oddly comforting and his eyes fluttered closed, the strength having drained from his body. He let out one more shudder before the world went dark.
When Wels woke back up, light poured into the Herbalist’s den, blinding him briefly as he adjusted to the new lighting. He let out a quiet groan, spotting as Andromeda’s head shot up immediately. The she-cat rushed over to his side, nosing his cheek.
“You’re awake!” She mewed–her voice was oddly quiet, hard to hear like he was trapped underwater again–happily, licking his forehead gently like he was a fragile kit. Though Wels was always insecure about being treated like a weakling–his breathing would get heavier and it was hard to see clearly, legs aching and trembling–this was oddly comforting. He felt warm; he felt safe, and his body relaxed gradually, leaning into her kind touch.
He wished the moment would never end.
Chief pushed past the bramble entrance, a look of relief crossing his face as he glanced at the awake tom. “I’m glad to see you up.” He hummed, voice muffled slightly, his tail curling over Wels’ shoulders. The cat in question released a huff, pawing the two away.
“Relax, it’s not like I’m dying, no more water left in my system.” He chirped, shaking out his fur as he was helped by his mother into a sitting position. He murmured his thanks, training his gaze on Chief, who chuckled lightly at his retort.
“Aiday sure thought you did.” Wels stiffened at the reference to his sister, clenching his jaw. “Practically had to drag her off of you so Andromeda could tend to you.” He let out an airy laugh, though his muscles were slightly tense when he laid his eyes on Wels’ reaction. They avoided eye contact, glaring at the floor.
Chief sighed softly, not pressing him to speak to her–he had in the past, it did not end well–as he stood up, nodding his “farewell”s and “get well soon”s before his figure disappeared into the clearing. Wels supposed he was going to tell The Suncross he was awake. They let out a small breath, slouching over before pawing at his ears.
“How long was I out?” He muttered to Andromeda, looking up from his itching. She raised her head in thoughts, frowning.
“Just over a day, I believe.” Andromeda hummed out, looking down with concern. “Atlas was not pleased to hear about it.” Wels made a face, looking away.
“Of course he isn’t.” He hissed out, ears pinned back. “My safety was put at risk and he only cares for my performance.” His words fell flat, a feeling of shame settling in his stomach. He was speaking poorly not only about the leader, but to his mate of all cats. He laid back down, curling up and resting his head on his paws.
There was an annoying thrum in his ears, buzzing loudly. His ears flicked and Wels looked around for the source of the noise.
“Don’t you hear that?” He muttered, raising his paws to cover his ears; it did not stifle the noise. Andromeda gave him a concerned look, lowering herself to meet his gaze.
“Hear what?” She mewed in confusion, head tilted slightly towards the left. Wels narrowed his eyes, pain shooting down the base of his ears to his jaw and neck. He whined in pain, shaking his head violently.
“Make it stop!” He managed to squeak out, pawing at his ears. There was a small commotion outside, the others must’ve heard his cries. Andromeda’s face flashed with worry, turning to her herb pile anxiously. Atlas now waltzed in, glancing at Wels briefly before his eyes flicked back to his mate.
“What’s wrong with him?” He hissed out, tail flicking in annoyance. “He’s absurdly loud.”
“I don’t know!” Andromeda yelped, racing to her herb stock. “There’s something in his ears, but I don’t know what.” She rummaged through her piles, snagging some sweet sedge from its place and hurrying back to Wels’ side.
“Hold him still for me, dear?” She smiled up at the tom, who sighed but trudged over, placing a paw between his shoulder blades and the other at the base of his neck, applying enough pressure to still the smaller cat. Andromeda extracted the sap and placed half to the side, urging the other half to the trainee’s lips.
“Eat this,” she coaxed it closer with one paw, “it’ll make the noise go away.” He obediently lapped it up, reeling back slightly at the taste. She mused at his reaction, but did not delay as she hurried the other half to the side of the den, splashing some water on it and mixing the two together with a claw until it became watery in consistency.
Andromeda quickly soaked it into moss, splashing some water on the moss one last time before hurrying back over. “Help him onto his side.” She mewed to her mate, giving him a grateful look when he did as told without any hesitance this time. Wels twitched as she placed the wet moss into his large ears but did nothing to stop her, only flinching in discomfort.
“This will stay in your ears for the time being, you are not to move, got it?” He nodded quietly, lips pressed into a thin line. Atlas carefully got off of him, licking a paw tentatively as he stared down at Wels almost curiously. For once, the smaller cat did not feel excitement at his attention.
It took almost dying to get a glance from Atlas, the thought sent a shiver down their spine, eyes flicking between places in the den, avoiding having to look at the leader.
Andromeda finally scampered back up to Wels, testing the moss before slowly plucking the dried object out of his ear. They sat up, shaking their head hurriedly, pawing in it to scrape out any leftover moss that clung to his skin. He blinked tiredly, the second round of watered down sap was easily worse than the first, the solution much colder the second time around. He shook his head again, heaving out a sigh of relief. The noise was gone, and so was Atlas.
The sun had dipped below the horizon, hiding away from the camp as darkness crept up in its absence. Wels turned to his mother, smiling softly.
“Thank you, mo- Andromeda. For everything.” His smile morphed into a frown, and he ducked his head closer to his chest. The she-cat smiled bitterly, padding up to his side before pressing her head to his neck.
“Of course, Wels. You don’t need to thank me for being a decent cat. Don’t be afraid to want more.” She cooed, licking his ear gently. Wels let out a small sigh, curling up next to her as he fell back asleep, a warmth embracing him as he watched the colors fade away from the sky and stars take the spotlight in the sky, dazzling brightly.