[SSS] Strangers

Carp swam through unusually clear air, the weight of the fog lifting. A brief respite in the pale midday sun that she found herself unable to fully enjoy, her fur and muscles stiff with unease. Something was happening, something she couldn’t fully comprehend or understand. She was unused to the discomfort.

She sure as hell didn’t understand Frostfire either, and she wouldn’t pretend she could try. But the cat was an odd comfort, a harsh cliff against stormy waters. Carp needed that right now, so she’d invited the stranger to the forage.

On the other side of the outing, discomfort wasn’t something Frost often experienced or tolerated. It was aware of the difference in Carp’s usual demeanour - cool and welcoming like the lake she frequented - but it didn’t know what had happened to cause this. It was its job to know.

They walked briskly through the dappled light, waiting for the other to begin. It took Carp a while to realise that she was the only one who would break the silence.

“The litter looks okay.” Her voice felt small, feeble. 

Frostfire turned, studying her expression. “Good.”

It was clear Carp was doing a bad job at seeming unbothered.

She was forced to continue. “Tigereye is a strong cat. The nymphs have a good chance at survival - still, can’t be too careful with them. Fragile little creatures.”

Frostfire’s ear flicked, mulling its response over. Carp had learned to anticipate the Clan cats’ pauses and puzzled looks. They were strangers after all - the swamp and its cats were still new territory. Frost had been the more open-minded of the two newcomers, and this was partly why she’d asked for it to accompany her over Duskblaze. 

She wouldn’t be the one to tell Dusk that, though.

Its voice interrupted her thoughts. “The kits are well, so is Tiger - but.”

“I don’t know. He behaved… Strangely.”

“Strange how?” The amount of coaxing it took for basic information was beginning to irritate Frost. It was unlike Carp.

“I left her alone when the kitting was over to snatch some more herbs from our stores. I took my time, to let her have a moment with the nymphs, y’know. And when I came back she was asleep.”

“Deep sleep, I mean. Deeper even.” Deader was the adjective she was avoiding.

“So I was worried, and I tried to wake him - he did, slowly. But then he just… snapped. Like something was behind me. Something awful. I’ve never seen him like that. Nothing was there, obviously. But he was looking at something - and you lot haven’t spent enough time in this fog to see things. Besides… The fog was clearing by the time I’d arrived.”

Carp let the words hang. She wasn’t crazy. She hoped that Frost would treat her as such.

 The grass whispered softly in the space before Frost’s response. “That’s… Normal, for us. Regular enough. Tigereye is safe.”

“He was terrified.”

“And he is safe. What he saw can’t hurt him. She wouldn’t try.”

Carp’s ears began to tilt downward. “You’ve brought something with you to this swamp. I know it. It’s in the air. You’d best tell the cats who come to live here exactly what you’re dragging them into.”

“If we were really dragging them down, you would’ve known by now. It’s not something we force on others.” Frost retained its calm demeanour, but there was a bite to its words. 

“And yet I’ve heard stories of the dreams the cats living here have been having. Whether you like it or not, the land is reacting to you. We all leave prints in the mud. But it’s good manners to take responsibility for them.”

The silence afterwards stretched longer and longer, until they found themselves satisfied with what they had gathered and headed back to dens. Carp was reminded why she kept her distance from these cats in the first place.