05-11-2020, 03:29 PM
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Where had he been when the rumbling began? A distance from home as always, paws patting the clingy sand walls of a lumpy castle, heedless of the tragedy to viciously strike the earth he knew in mere moments.
Finalizing the last details of his creation, tufted ears pricked at a strange woosh above. Casting olive eyes to the dawn pink atmosphere above, Simon found his gaze meeting a soaring light, fiery white trail streaking the sky behind it. A shooting star! The kitten once heard of the rare sight through his bedtime stories. His feathery tail wagged as the star continued its dazzling path. He should make a wish! That's what he was supposed to do after all. Bowing his head and scrunching his eyes tight, he thought hard of what to wish. This could possibly be the last shooting star he ever saw -- nothing mattered more to him than his wish at that very moment. So Simon twitched his ears in careful consideration, humming faintly to himself as the tide steadily sounded.
He wished for the chance to see another star.
Then the star came falling down, down, down...
And it crashed upon the land across the sea.
The world trembled from the landing, maybe even shattered. Simon jolted, ticked hackles rising in a gutwrenching fear. A primal fear, a fear screaming at him that something was very, very wrong. His sandcastle vibrated with the fallen star's demise as cracks wove up the mushed-together walls and crumbled his creation. A distraught gasp left opened mouth and cream-tipped paws pressed against the shapeless sand once more, seeking to brace what was already destined to be destroyed.
A flash of his home, of his family, of his own life -- everything more precious to him than his small collection of shells or his crayon scribblings -- crumbled before his eyes, just like the sandcastle removed from existence in one sweep.
It was frightening to imagine. Yet here he loitered on an empty beach, nowhere near his family to see they were safe.
Scrambling to flee, the kitten was halted by another sight. A wave on the burning horizon, swelling to giant heights, and roaring across the dark water. Clambering, churning, charging. Right at him. With a terrified squeal, Simon forced himself to sprint, retreating to the shelter of the quaking treeline. He didn't look back as the wave slammed onto the shore, smearing the remnants of his sandcastle with ease.
He didn't stop running.
"MOM! DAD!" the boy called, panic turning his thoughts to the two who could save him, the two who could calm the earth and stop its shaking. Nearly tripping over his oversized paws, Simon rushed homeward through the ferns, tiny heart pounding in his chest. Only one thought slipped into his mind amid the frantic dread -- he needed to help his siblings, to warn them of the danger he witnessed. "IVAN! ATTI!" His home was in sight, he was so close -- "WIN! ALICE!"
Skidding to a clumsy stop, the kitten arrived just in time to see the form of his brother flung from the doorway, his mother about to follow suit. Momentary relief did little to soothe the drum within his ribcage, adrenaline rushing through his senses as he broke into a run toward Moth, desperate for her comforting embrace.
Then the house collapsed.
Halted in his tracks, Simon could only stare in pure shock for what felt like an eternity. "...Mom?" came his shaking voice, awaiting a response to no avail. Cautiously he crept forward, belly fur brushing the quaking ground, yet the tremors were all but forgotten. She would get up, right? She was going to get up any moment now, shaking rubble from her back. He waited, but as nothing happened, large ears faltered from their perked position and thin lips quivered. Mom?" he pressed again, sniffing the heap of broken drywall and concrete and wood. With still no response, a hot sensation rose to his cheeks, his eyes wet with emotions too complex for him to explain. He needed to -- he needed to get the rocks off her! Then she could get up again, just like she did before.
Determination forced onto his features, the kitten began to furiously scrabble at the wreckage in an almost crazed fashion, all of the growing muscles he had set to the task. She would get up; she had to get up. His breath quickened as his efforts did little to uncover his mother until a shuddering sob broke from his throat. Yet Simon persisted, claws catching and tearing in his frenzy and jutting edges slicing and splintering his paws.
If only he had wished for something else.
Finalizing the last details of his creation, tufted ears pricked at a strange woosh above. Casting olive eyes to the dawn pink atmosphere above, Simon found his gaze meeting a soaring light, fiery white trail streaking the sky behind it. A shooting star! The kitten once heard of the rare sight through his bedtime stories. His feathery tail wagged as the star continued its dazzling path. He should make a wish! That's what he was supposed to do after all. Bowing his head and scrunching his eyes tight, he thought hard of what to wish. This could possibly be the last shooting star he ever saw -- nothing mattered more to him than his wish at that very moment. So Simon twitched his ears in careful consideration, humming faintly to himself as the tide steadily sounded.
He wished for the chance to see another star.
Then the star came falling down, down, down...
And it crashed upon the land across the sea.
The world trembled from the landing, maybe even shattered. Simon jolted, ticked hackles rising in a gutwrenching fear. A primal fear, a fear screaming at him that something was very, very wrong. His sandcastle vibrated with the fallen star's demise as cracks wove up the mushed-together walls and crumbled his creation. A distraught gasp left opened mouth and cream-tipped paws pressed against the shapeless sand once more, seeking to brace what was already destined to be destroyed.
A flash of his home, of his family, of his own life -- everything more precious to him than his small collection of shells or his crayon scribblings -- crumbled before his eyes, just like the sandcastle removed from existence in one sweep.
It was frightening to imagine. Yet here he loitered on an empty beach, nowhere near his family to see they were safe.
Scrambling to flee, the kitten was halted by another sight. A wave on the burning horizon, swelling to giant heights, and roaring across the dark water. Clambering, churning, charging. Right at him. With a terrified squeal, Simon forced himself to sprint, retreating to the shelter of the quaking treeline. He didn't look back as the wave slammed onto the shore, smearing the remnants of his sandcastle with ease.
He didn't stop running.
"MOM! DAD!" the boy called, panic turning his thoughts to the two who could save him, the two who could calm the earth and stop its shaking. Nearly tripping over his oversized paws, Simon rushed homeward through the ferns, tiny heart pounding in his chest. Only one thought slipped into his mind amid the frantic dread -- he needed to help his siblings, to warn them of the danger he witnessed. "IVAN! ATTI!" His home was in sight, he was so close -- "WIN! ALICE!"
Skidding to a clumsy stop, the kitten arrived just in time to see the form of his brother flung from the doorway, his mother about to follow suit. Momentary relief did little to soothe the drum within his ribcage, adrenaline rushing through his senses as he broke into a run toward Moth, desperate for her comforting embrace.
Then the house collapsed.
Halted in his tracks, Simon could only stare in pure shock for what felt like an eternity. "...Mom?" came his shaking voice, awaiting a response to no avail. Cautiously he crept forward, belly fur brushing the quaking ground, yet the tremors were all but forgotten. She would get up, right? She was going to get up any moment now, shaking rubble from her back. He waited, but as nothing happened, large ears faltered from their perked position and thin lips quivered. Mom?" he pressed again, sniffing the heap of broken drywall and concrete and wood. With still no response, a hot sensation rose to his cheeks, his eyes wet with emotions too complex for him to explain. He needed to -- he needed to get the rocks off her! Then she could get up again, just like she did before.
Determination forced onto his features, the kitten began to furiously scrabble at the wreckage in an almost crazed fashion, all of the growing muscles he had set to the task. She would get up; she had to get up. His breath quickened as his efforts did little to uncover his mother until a shuddering sob broke from his throat. Yet Simon persisted, claws catching and tearing in his frenzy and jutting edges slicing and splintering his paws.
If only he had wished for something else.