It's So Violent (OPEN)

Kite had been moving about Raider’s Run, trying his best to avoid being seen. The other Raiders were all anxious and restless. It was as if they could sense something big was going to happen. He could see it. Kite didn’t want to be on the bad side of a claw-happy Raider or older apprentice who was too eager to do something violent. It was hard for Kite to sneak around their territory, what with his limp and almost ever-present wheeze. Regardless, he had been successful so far. The young calico tom pressed on, following a familiar scent—a scent that was probably the only comforting thing he knew.

His mother.

Truthfully, it was a bittersweet comfort. Almond and his sister Red were the only cats who even bothered to notice his existence, who strove to protect him from the violent Raiders. From his own brother. And for those reasons, Kite resented them. Just as strong as the beatings he received, their fawning and worrying over him was nothing but a constant reminder of how weak he was. Except Koschei. Koschei saw his true worth. Kite narrowed his frosty blue eyes as he approached Almond.

She heard his advance and surprised him with her reaction. Instinctually, Kite fell back with a sharp wheeze. It had been long ingrained into him to flinch when a cat reacted hostiley toward him. He could feel the dreaded heaviness rattling around his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Fledgling panted a brief moment until the surprise wore off and his breathing steadied.

“Mother,” Kite greeted neutrally. “What are you doing out here by yourself?”

Kite padded closer, his gaze roving over his mother. As young as he was, his flinty blue eyes missed nothing. He was forever calculating, appraising, watching, waiting. Another fledgling, Ethereal, had once told him that she could tell when his mind was working. She said that his eyes became like two splinters of ice, capturing the world in his gaze. Well, she made the comparison before she pounced at the command of a Raider, adding another scar to the many that were scattered across his calico pelt.

So Kite could tell that something was bothering his mother. He knew that she was a different she-cat than the young, warm, and protective mother he and his siblings were born to. The change was understandable, and Kite hoped that maybe the time had come when Almond would share whatever thoughts she’d been having. The calico Fledgling pointedly evaded her question, as he didn’t want to admit he was sneaking around to avoid a beating. He lay down beside her, eyes never leaving hers, and curled his crooked tail into his body. “What’s on your mind?”

Kite was silent a moment, his mind jumping from thought to the next as he tried to figure out the meaning behind his mother’s vague answer.

‘It's not very much your concern, Kite.’ The tone she used was an achingly familiar one; the same voice she and Red both used whenever they were trying to protect him from something. His eyes narrowed to hard slits and his twisted tail drummed a steady rhythm into the ground beneath them. He hated that he constantly needed protection. Kite knew he was weaker than the other cats—did the two she-cats constantly have to belittle him with their pampering? For all of his intelligence, Kite was blind to the idea that, really, he would have been killed a long time ago without Almond, Kite, and Brodie. But anger would get him nowhere in this situation. The calico tom decided to take an amicable approach to figuring his complicated mother out.

“Well, if it’s bothering my own mother, it should certainly bother me also,” he meowed and cocked his head to one side. Kite glanced around the area to assure that they were alone. “Please, share your burdens with me. You’ll feel better than keeping them to yourself. Tell me what’s troubling you.”