#tanglekit

This was the first big storm since Honeypaw disappeared. Although everyone kept telling him that the river was far away from camp, Darkkit couldn’t help but watch the entrance of the den in case dark flood waters came rushing in. So far, the only thing he could see was a few puddles outside that lit up with each lightning flash. 

Another crack of thunder sounded, and this time Darkkit couldn’t stop the squeak of fright that escaped him as he buried his head into his nest.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice said, just loud enough to be heard above the pouring rain. 

Darkkit peeked over the top of his nest to look at Tanglekit. At first glance, he didn’t look scared, but then Darkkit saw that his ginger fur was just a bit fluffier than usual. “Yeah…” he admitted with some difficulty. He knew he shouldn’t be afraid, that it was only a storm, but his pounding heart wouldn’t listen to his mind.

For a moment, he wished he was alone in the nursery again. It was much easier to hide his fear when no one else was around. 

A flash of lightning blinded Darkkit, and before the inevitable bang could deafen him, he buried his face into his nest and covered his ears with his paws. A few heartbeats later, a muted rumble slowly rolled over the sky instead of the ground-shattering thunder he was expecting. Hoping Tanglekit somehow didn’t see that, he slowly lifted his head, only for his fur to grow hot when he realized Tanglekit had gotten up from his own nest and was heading towards his. 

“I don’t need a kitsitter,” he protested weakly, even as the relief of having a warm body to press against threatened to make him purr.

“Freezekit’s basically living in Twigtooth’s pelt,” Tanglekit whispered as he got comfortable. Darkkit squinted at Twigtooth. Sure enough, if he looked hard, he could see Freezekit’s dark brown fur buried in Twigtooth’s side. “Besides, the wind is cold.”

It wasn’t that cold, but before Darkkit could point that out, another round of lightning illuminated the den, and he felt them both jump when this time the thunder immediately followed, sounding so loud it was like a tree had been struck down. Darkkit laughed breathlessly, but saw that Tanglekit was looking at another nest.

“Sparkkit, quit staring and get over here already.”

Darkkit blinked as Sparkkit got up and scurried over to join them. He hadn’t been aware that she was also awake, but the way her fur stood up and how much he could see her shaking even without the need for a lightning flash had him quickly scooting over to make room for her. It was a tight squeeze, but with a little maneuvering, they were able to find a comfortable position. In fact, pressed equally between Tanglekit, Sparkkit, and the outer edge of his nest, Darkkit felt his heartbeat slowly and finally calming.

More lightning flashed, but when the thunder came crashing down, he found that he was no longer quite so scared.

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