#dewfall

Batlight spread his paws to steady himself, trembling as he fought against the tears pricking at his eyes. He couldn’t cry right now. He had to comfort his kit.

The day had been long. Despite trying to stay awake, Rainkit and Rosekit fell asleep on their paws–much like their adoptive parent–and were currently being placed into their nest by Dewfall.

But Lionkit remained above.

The little tom had gotten a speck of mud on his shoulder, and instinctively Batlight had reached over to lick it. It was not a split second later before Lionkit screeched with the agony of a cat being torn in two by coyotes. The little kit now crouched in the shelter of an overhanging fern, his breath rapid, and his eyes wide and terrified.

Dewfall poked his head out of the den, alarmed by the cry. Batlight looked at him and gestured for him to return to the other kits. Dewfall hesitated, eyes narrowed, then disappeared below.

Batlight wanted nothing more than to curl around his son and hold him close and tell him everything was going to be okay.

Batlight  took a step forward–

Lionkit flinched.

Batlight steadied his breathing, fighting against the sob that was threatening to tear its way through his throat. He took a step back, then crouched so that his belly was to the ground, and his paws tucked beneath it–out of sight. 

He opened his jaws to speak, then closed it again, unsure what to say. “I know you’re scared,” he spoke at last, his chin as close to the ground as it could be and his ears flat against his head so that he appeared as small as possible. “And I wish I could take that away from you. I wish I could take away all the pain and all the bad thoughts and memories and everything that makes you feel sad and scared. You met a bad cat–” Lionkit whimpered at the mention of Woodstar– “and I’m so sorry about that. All I can do is promise you that I am not like her, I will never be like her. I promise you you are safe with me. Okay? That means I’ll never, ever, ever hurt you, or Rainkit or Rosekit. I’m here for you.” 

Batlight swallowed, heart pounding. Lionkit remained where he was.

Batlight went on, taking a deep breath. “In fact, I’ll protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you, in the rare and unlikely chance that that’ll happen,” he put in quickly in case Lionkit got scared again. “I will take care of you. I love you. Night-night,” he finished dumbly, and wasn’t all too sure why he said that.

That is, not until a faint, almost inaudible voice whispered back, “night-night.” And it was all worth it.

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@ambitiousauthor

@starfalcon555

--Batlight tries to be strong for the kits but he's also very sensitive so he often tries not to cry while also trying not to make them cry.

--Hope it makes sense I am so tired

Aliases / Nicknames: Sleepyfall, Snooze-A-Lot, Laziest Cat Around 

Gender: demi-tom (he/they) 

Sexuality: asexual, aromantic

Family: Dovestripe (mother), Snaketuft (father), Breezetalon, Toadthroat (brothers), Duckstorm (sister) 

Other Relations: Flowertooth (mentor) 

Clan: Oceanclan 

Rank: warrior 

Characteristics: cranky, always tired, has severe narcolepsy 

Number of Victims: 6 

Number of Murders: 6 

Murder Method: shaking necks 

Known Victims: Dovestripe, Snaketuft, Breezetalon, Toadthroat, Duckstorm, Flowertooth 

Victim Profile: his parents, his siblings, his mentor, cats who tormented him over his narcolepsy 

Cause of Death: brain aneurysm 

Cautionary Tale: never be rude to your Clanmates, you never know what they may be going through

Story:

Dewfall had always been a strange kit. He was always quieter and more snappy than his brothers and sister, which annoyed his siblings and parents to no end. However, the real problem only started showing itself once he became an apprentice. 

No matter how much sleep he got, he always felt tired. Sometimes, he would just fall asleep in the middle of training or while on a patrol, with no warning whatsoever. They went to the medicine cat several times, but they could never figure out what was wrong with them.

Dewpaw's mentor, Flowertooth, was an irritable molly who had no patience for him, shaking him awake and yelling at him to stop being so lazy. Dovestripe and Snaketuft backed her up, accusing Dewpaw of faking it to get out of training.

Breezepaw, Toadpaw, and Duckpaw made fun of him constantly, even dragging him out of camp to random places after he fell asleep as a prank. It drove him insane. He didn't do anything about it until after he received his warrior name.

Dewfall had been on a hunting patrol, and it had split off, forcing him to go with his former mentor. She complained about him constantly, and Dewfall snapped back as best as they could. The final straw, however, was when Flowertooth incredulously asked Dewfall why Vixenstar had ever let him out of the nursery, let alone become a warrior. 

Dewfall snapped. 

He leaped at Flowertooth, grabbing her by the neck and shaking her intensely, spraying her blood everywhere. The only thing that got him to stop, long after her eyes went dull, was his own tiredness overtaking him. But that was also his saving grace, as when the patrol found them, they assumed that a larger animal had attacked them both, and he was let off scot-free. 

The weeks and moons after Flowertooth's murder were already some of the most peaceful moons Dewfall had ever experienced. But it wasn't all peaceful just yet. 

Their parents and siblings were still on their tail. But this time, they knew they could do something about it. Dewfall killed his parents first, asking them to come to the beach, saying he wanted to talk to them privately. They were so astounded that their son was actually opening up to them, they never saw it coming. 

As the light faded from Dovestripe's and Snaketuft's eyes, they looked at them with pure betrayal, and Dewfall relished in it. For his siblings, he instead waited for them to come to him. Breezetalon, Toadthroat, and Duckstorm were as immature as ever, still playing the same so-called '"game" they played as apprentices. This time, he pretended to fall asleep, and they fell for it like a fish falling for the Twoleg fish-stick trick, dragging him out of camp to the most secluded area they could think of.

He was prepared for them this time, however, and he pounced on them and shook them so hard his head began to hurt a little. When they were done, Dewfall looked at their handiwork with pride and satisfaction. 

He was finally free! He could live the rest of his life in peace and quiet! 

Dewfall smirked and started heading back to camp. But as he walked, the headache that had started soon after he killed his siblings started to become worse. He tried his best to ignore it, kept pushing himself to find his way back to camp, but the pain got stronger and stronger, to the point where he was struggling to stand. 

His stomach swirled with nausea, and his vision blurred heavily. Eventually, something popped within Dewfall's head, and he collapsed, never to wake again. His body was found by the dawn patrol the next day, just a few hare-lengths from the camp entrance.

Additional Information:

--Submission by @starfalcon555​

--He has so many scars because of his narcolepsy - he fell over a lot and got scratched and banged up in the processs.

Funny story. I redid this one after making a mistake which didn’t allow me to save it but I think the second version turned out better