[Fae Magic]

The large hare thudded to the ground in front of the Nursery entrance. Hesitantly he stood there. He did not know why; usually he'd be on his way just as swiftly as he had come. He didn't like standing here for too long in case others caught onto him. He was not known for having a soft spot for anyone and it would have been even odder if someone caught the large tom standing in front of the Nursery looking awkward and hesitant as if he was debating on stepping paw into the Nursery or not. Dark orange eyes peered down at the hare that he had caught particularly for the queens inside and then back at the Nursery itself. Should he announce himself and see if someone was in or should he just back away and leave as silently as he had come and gone many times before? Russet-Tail grimaced and turned away from the den but then stopped again. He wasn't the type to hang around in the sight of the rest of the clan. Even if he would have willingly gone to see the kits and queens inside in a heart beat if no one else was watching. 

That was solely because long ago...he himself had been in the milk scent den with his little sister...the sister that died from health complications when they were apprentices. He hated that he never got over his sister's death...her death had changed him and made him keep away from those cats and areas that brought back the happy memories of his gentle sister that had warmed his heart like the sun. She was his world and it broke more then just his heart when she died. He knew she had been tired; he could see her strength and determination to live burn out slowly like a candle little by little each day he saw her. His soul broke; not just his heart. 

The Nursery was the place that held the most memories...when they were younger and carefree. The times he would be so glad to sit in the quiet nest with her and groom her because she was to weak to get up on the worst days to play with the other kits; he'd be there for her to make sure she never felt forgotten. And now that she was gone he was afraid to step into the Nursery in case all those memories that he had with her as kits would come flooding back and break him even more. He had been strong enough and because of it he'd become hostile; temperamental on the best days. But he was only mortal and his heart of stone kept chipping down; pretty soon he'd drive himself mad and people would get hurt if help didn't find his soul soon in a form of some miracle; or a guardian angel.

Shaking his head the large white and ginger top turned from the entrance and sighed softly as he told himself it was time to let go and leave. There was nothing left there for him and he didn't know why he kept coming back to the Nursery every day as if he'd see the white fur ball come bouncing out to greet him with big blue eyes. Littlekit...Russet-Tail's eyes shut tightly and he didn't realize that there was a burning behind his closed eyelids until he heard the shuffling of paws behind him and he stiffened like a rock and stared straight ahead; through clouded vision with those darn tears he refused to let fall. No one could see his weakness. No one.

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

Ravenpaw and Cloudpaw had left the nursery behind, but Birchspots still found his paws leading him there day by day. Whenever he wasn't out on the moors with Skypaw, he found some excuse to poke his head into this small, familiar space and breathe in the smell of milk and fluff. The nursery nowadays was so crowded, Rosefire was incredibly grateful for his presence. He didn't think Windspirit minded much, either. Ever since he had discovered that Thrushwhisker was his secret father, a tom who had come and gone, lived and died without Birchspots even batting an eye, he had felt the tug of longing to get to know his family. Harestrike hadn't been too shocked to find that he had not one, but two surprise nephews. And not long after that revelation, his mate Dovecloud had died delivering his kits. Ravenkit and Cloudkit. Birchspots had watched in pity and frustration as Harestrike withdrew from his daughters, refusing to so much as acknowledge their existence. And so, Birchspots had stepped in to spend time with his little cousins, acting as a big brother for the first time in his life. That newfound role may have been the only real thing that kept him away from the borders for a while. That, and his responsibility to Skypaw. But now, as he glanced behind him towards where both young she-cats sat, laughing and snickering among themselves, he knew that they no longer really needed him. They had their mentors to look up to now. He'd done his part. He felt strangely hollow, like someone had scooped out everything in his chest and left a gaping cavity behind. Swallowing, he pushed into the nursery. "Why, hello Birchspots." Rosefire purred, rolling over in her nest. Her ginger fur was muted in the shade. "How are you feeling today?" Birchspots offered a wonky, nervous smile and sat himself down in a corner of the nursery. "Quiet in here." He remarked. The red-furred queen noticed he avoided the question, and she frowned in perplexed concern, but did not push the issue. "The kits are playing outside." Rosefire mused. "Hopefully being watched by Cloudyfeather. I'm supposed to be having a rest." She yawned. "You hungry?" He asked, amber eyes flicking towards the entrance. Rosefire simply gave him a sleepy nod, with the smile of a tired mother. The silver tabby tom eased himself to his feet and went to trot outside. When his head poked out through the entrance, he was surprised to see a massive hare slumped in the walkway, dead staring eyes bulging up at him. He looked up just in time to catch the striped red tail of a particularly brusque young warrior walking away from him. Birchspots's ears flattened slightly. He hadn't been around when Russet-tail's young sister had passed away, but he'd heard the story whispered in hushed, shocked and sympathetic voices between queens and particularly gossipy warriors. "Hey, Russet-tail!" He called, planting a grey paw on the dead animal. "Th-Thanks, this was very kind of you."

"Run, run lost boy" they say to me, run away from all of reality. Fae Magic 505 words notes

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

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[Fae Magic]

Beauty is a joy that forever increases
It will never pass into nothingness

He was planning on making a good and silent get away expecting the queens to be sleeping; the kits too busy playing to pay him any mind. So he'd dropped the hare, took a second, and then went to leave. But he had waited too soon and as he was walking away he heard his name be called that made him freeze. Fox-dung! he'd been spotted. No one really ever noticed him before today dropping off fresh kill he'd spent time waking early in the morning to catch for the nursery, elders, and apprentices. Blinking a moment to compose himself and to make sure his eyes once again were dry he turned to face the young warrior who was halfway poking out of the entrance of the nursery.

"They got to eat too." was his reply to the thanks of the younger male. Russet-Tail was known for being a rather short tempered and mean warrior; in truth he was just sort of awkward. He wasn't used to interacting with others so he came off as rude. Of course his short temper wasn't always a misunderstanding. He could be a snake sometimes.

dark amber gaze examined the younger warrior before looking down at the hare he'd dropped there seconds before and tipped his head before looking towards the kits. He wouldn't start anything of course because he didn't want to put a bad light to the kits so he decided to act civil...for the moment anyways.

"You're not a queen, obviously....so, why you here. I don't remember any kits here that are yours...you got some expecting that I don't know about?" he asked. He sort of gave his little habit away at that point but he didn't really care, not like this little thing would do anything against him. Russet-Tail knew his secret was safe with the younger warrior; so what if he knew that the brute liked going to the dens to make sure they were fed and taken care of even if others saw Russet-Tail as a brutal and angry lump of fur?

Birchspots was younger than Russet-Tail by a good several moons but as far as the older male knew, the tom didn't have very good social skills. Being rather skittish in nature it seemed but he also looked like a good guy with a kind heart. It made the ginger and white tom wonder why the spotted male was here at the nursery to begin with.

Looking away from the other Russet-Tail gave a mutter "I wake up early to make sure they get some breakfast. They are the future of our clan, someone got to make sure they are being taken care of the proper way." he said it in a way that made it seem he was actually embarrassed to have another one of his clan know that he actually had a heart inside his chest instead of a cold stone like he wanted others to think

 501 word count ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 sorry it's a bit short!
Silverburr Russet-Tail Ivoryrose poppypaw Tigerpaw Smudgenose PRIMROSEPETAL mousepaw rock pendulum

template by punki of adoxography

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

Boys are raised to be men.

BIRCHSPOTS

[attr="class","birch"]

<sup>The moment the words left the silvery-white tabby tom’s mouth, he knew that Russet-tail hadn’t wanted to be seen here, outside the nursery. That distinctive ginger tail stiffened behind him, like an apprentice that had been caught with his paw in the fresh-kill pile. He couldn’t help but wonder why the older warrior was so afraid of being acknowledged for an act of kindness like it was something shameful to be hidden away and repressed. Birchspots respected kindness far more than unkindness, which was what Russet-tail so often doled out to others. But seeing such a notoriously harsh and testy tom leave a gift for the kits had given Birchspots the courage to approach him. Ordinarily, he would have been too afraid of conflict, of bearing the brunt of Russet-tail’s resentment, to say so much as a word to him. But good deeds needed to be thanked, no matter who the cat that happened to be. Russet-tail turned slowly to face him, blinking a few times, and Birchspots nervously awaited the scathing response he expected from the short-fused ginger tom.

The ginger-tailed warrior practically grunted out a response. It sounded like he was embarrassed by the fact that he’d brought food for the kits, and wanted to pretend that it wasn’t just a gesture of kindness. That it was an obligation. But from Russet-tail’s reaction, Birchspots couldn’t help but wonder if this was perhaps Russet-tail’s way of revealing his soft side. Nearby, Noblekit had just been bowled over by Valiantkit, their youthful shrieks travelling across camp and giving life to an otherwise ordinary day. The shortness to Russet-tail’s voice and his notoriety for picking fights within the Clan made Birchspots anxious that perhaps his thanks would be taken in a negative way and the tom would lose his temper with him. Golden eyes travelled over ginger and white fur, waiting for something more to be said. But Russet-tail’s eyes drifted over to the kits and the tom seemed to relax a little. Birchspots was relieved; Russet-tail wasn’t going to start a fight in front of the kits.

Whatever he expected, it definitely wasn’t this. Birchspots’s eyes lit up with a mixture of alarm and surprise. He opened his mouth to speak, but only breath came out as a sharp whisping sound, unable to find the words in his mind to explain away the reasons he strayed so far from his “place”... at least that’s the way one cat in particular would have put it. “I… I don’t have kits, no.” He murmured, a deep flush racing up from his throat behind his fur. “I just… well…” He faltered, avoiding meeting Russet-tail’s eyes. “Cloudpaw and Ravenpaw, when they were born, they... well see, Harestrike is my kin. And they’re his children, s-so they’re my kin. I wanted to be there for them. But… it turns out, I like helping out at the nursery. Rosefire’s good company.” He shrugged. “And it can’t hurt to have extra paws to make sure the kits don’t get up to mischief, especially with so many of them.” He smiled slightly, though still avoided Russet-tail’s gaze. He was uncertain what the other tom would make of this, if he would find Birchspots offensive or admirable.

With a flare of realisation, Birchspots stole a glance at the other tom. “Y-You’re not a queen, either. Nor a father.” He paused. “What are you doing here?” It was an uncharacteristically brave question for the small tom, and he almost instantly regretted blurting it out. His frown faded slightly as Russet-tail explained that he was actually the mysterious cat who had been leaving food outside the nursery for awhile now. And, his reasons for caring for the kits, that they were the future and incredibly important. His eyes softened. “You know,” He said quietly, his voice less terse. “You don’t need to sneak around outside the nursery. Y-you’re welcome to come by anytime. I’m sure the queens would like it. And the kits, too.” He dipped his head, shuffling his paws uncomfortably.</sup>

Warrior
_{of LightningClan}

Fae Magic 652

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