Quote:
Originally Posted by Fio
Falconkit nearly leaped out of his fur when Bumblestar’s voice sliced through the air like a hawk’s cry.
Woah.
He froze, every hair on his pelt standing stiff. His wide eyes trailed down to Bumblestar’s paws, too terrified to meet the leader’s piercing gaze. He stood there, a kit turned to stone, feeling heat rise inside him like embers catching fire. Food? For kits like him? He’d never had anything but milk—not once had anyone brought him a mouse! So why was he the one getting yelled at?
His two-moon-old mind wrestled with the words, barely able to grasp what she was saying, stuck instead on the fact that she yelled at him.
Then, the sting started in his eyes. Oh no, not now! Not in front of Bumblestar! He blinked hard, but it was too late. Big, round tears spilled down his cheeks without warning, flooding him with emotions he couldn’t name. Was he angry? Sad? Both? His ears plastered themselves flat against his skull as the world closed in around him.
All he could manage was a shaky, wet sniff and a choked, "S-sorry..."
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"You should be." Bumblestar almost couldn't believe he was the one crying about this. What was with kits and the crocodile tears, seriously? It's not like she'd hit him or even threatened to.
"That food you've been intentionally ripping up is our livelihood. With leaf-fall creeping up, it'll be even harder to come by soon. Keep screwing around with it 'n cats could starve. It could cost lives! Do you understand what I'm saying to you, Falconkit? How would you like to be the one to tell a father and a mother that their kit died because you tore up the mouse that could've saved their life?"
Was this... maybe a little harsh? Yes. But something so important as shredding their food just for fun needed an equally serious reality-check to ensure it never happened again.