#df styrofoam

Bella-May paced back and forth, her tail lashing and her fur spiked. “I can’t believe this! Outdone by a kittypet!”

Her great-grandson, Myrtlewing, watched her with a passive gaze as he groomed Alderstar’s fur, who’s eyes were half-closed. “Are you sure you’re not being dramatic?” 

Bella-May glared at him, her eyes narrowing further when she noticed the teasing glint on his face. She had come here hoping that Myrtlewing might share her feelings, unlike Houndtooth, but so far it didn’t seem as though her kin cared a whisker. “You know it’s frustrating!”

Myrtlewing shrugged. “How much did she kill?”

Bella-may bristled. “More than me!” 

“I don’t see the importance,” Myrtlewing replied. He paused from his grooming to do so, and Alderstar lifted his sleepy head to grunt in displeasure. Myrtlewing reasumed licking the back of his neck. Alderstar began to purr, resting his head back on his front paws. Meanwhile, Bella-May was holding back a hiss of frustration.

Myrtlewing dipped his head. “I get it, Bella-Ma. You had one of the best kill counts of all the residences, and now someone new comes along–”

“Named Styrofoam!”

“--Named Styrofoam, and takes that achievement from you. You can’t do much about it, because you’re dead. Well, you can lure living cats or kill the dead here, no difference to me, but I guess the distinction might matter to you.”

“You know what matters to me?” Alderstar murmured, eyes still shut. “Getting a good cleaning.”

Myrtlewing cuffed him playfully around the ears, then bent to groom them anyway. 

Bella-May bit the inside of her lip. Her kin was right, logically, but emotionally, she wanted to smack him for not agreeing with her. “No, it’s not the same to me. Does it not bother you?”

Myrtlewing shrugged again. “I don’t see why it should. It never mattered to me how many cats I killed, that was only a bonus. What mattered was how much fun I had.” Myrtlewing grinned. “And if her methods differed from mine, then I guess I got new things to learn and try.” It began to make more sense why Myrtlewing was so nonchalant about the situation–his favourite part of killing was when he got to try something new. Of course the prospect of meeting someone that could introduce him to more methods would excite him.

Myrtlewing leaned closer to his great-ma. “They’re almost as mean as us. They’ll earn a reputation. You know what I think? I think there’s more cats to blame when someone goes missing or turns up bones. That’s useful, isn’t it?”

“Someone’s not being useful,” Alderstar complained.

Myrtlewing responded by tugging on Alderstar’s ear, and the two began to wrestle, rolling around in a golden-brown whirl of fur.

Bella-May frowned as she padded away. Myrtlewing’s idea wasn’t very useful if she wanted to take credit. But she saw his point nonetheless. Still, she wanted to find at least one kin that shared her feelings, so that she didn’t feel so silly for having them. Maybe Dullahan. Maybe one of her kits.

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--The ending is sudden and weird, but I just wanted to put in what Myrtlewing would think about the whole Styrofoam thing--in short, he couldn't give less of a shit. But he is amused and likes poking fun at his great-ma, while also helping her out.