Someone Said

Thrush was cold, freezing. She didn’t know where her parents were. They left earlier that day, and hadn’t returned. Thrush spent the majority of the day, yowling and pleading, thinking they’d hear and return to her. She was a lonely kitten, and no one else was in their home. She was so cold, it was early spring, and she couldn’t seem to get warm. Howling loudly, she was distraught, unsure of what to do. She was young, and her legs seemed jelly whenever she walked, unable to support her for long. Thrush was sobbing, the worst kind of thoughts swirling in her head. Then, she heard pawsteps coming through, urgent and moving quickly. Thrush somehow managed to stand up again on frozen paws. “Mama? Mama?” Thrush mewled, expectantly, elated. She moved against the cat, purring slightly as she still hiccuped from her yowling.
“Little one?”
The voice mewed out, but it wasn’t her Mother’s at all. Frightened and scared, she darted away tripping, yowling once again. “W-who are you?”
She sobbed out, curling in on herself, shivering partly out of the cold, and fear. “I’m Anera, it’s alright,” This strange, strange, gray tabby curled themselves around Thrush, encircling them in warmth. Thrush slowly warmed up to Anera, their frozen paws becoming warm, and her sobs slowly fading as she was soothed by Anera’s warm presence. “Where are your parent’s little one?”
“I-I don’t know…”
A wail crept out of Thrush once again, but the gray tabby shushed them, soothing them quietly. The two remained curled in one another that night, and as Thrush woke that morning, Anera was still there, with warm food for the kitten, Anera was writing out on parchment, their satchel containing various writing and paperbark utensils. Thrush slowly crept forward, attempting to see what Anera was doing, eyes bright with curiosity. “What are you doing?”
Thrush croaked out, her voice raw from the yowling the day before.
“I’m writing down my adventures, little one,” Anera spoke gently, a low rumbling purr.
“Can I try?” Thrush mewled, excitedly, adventures? Adventures? Thrush wanted adventures, were her parents on adventures? The thought of her parents however brought fresh tears to the kitten’s eyes.
“Of course, little one,” Anera mewed, pulling the kitten into the crook of her tail. Anera set out a piece of paperbark infront of Thrush, giving them a quill as well, and demonstrating how to form the neat script Anera wrote in. Thrush copied messily, making mistakes and dripping the ink all over the paper, giggling all the while. Anera and Thrush remained this way for a few days after. Anera instructed Thrush on how to write, and cared for the youngling over the time. On the fourth morning after Anera found Thrush, Anera carefully broke the news to Thrush. “I’m leaving, today, little one.”
Thrush let out a loud wail instantly. “You can’t leave me! You can’t You can’t!” Thrush broke out into fresh panic, her eyes widening at Anera. “I’m not, you’re coming with me,”
Anera gestured towards the freshly made pocked into their satchel, large enough to easily fit Thrush’s small self in. However, Anera couldn’t bring themselves to reveal the news just yet, as Thrush easily clambered in, cozied in the fresh pocket of the satchel. “Where are we going now?” Thrush chirped.
“On an adventure.”
Thrush grinned, and instantly Anera felt guilt and regret. The two of them, scribe and kitten spent the next several days, traveling into the cities during the day, and breaking camp during the night, writing together before bed every night, the two grew closer and closer. One day, as the sun was beginning to set, Thrush poked her head out of the satchel bag. “Is it time for scribe work again?” She chirped out eagerly.
“Almost, little one.”
However, Anera’s voice seemed sad, and they refused to make eye-contact with Thrush, instead glancing away. The city had recently faded away, and now the two of them were in an empty forest clearing. However, it wasn’t fully empty at all. A large, multi-eyed moose laid, legs splayed out in rest. Thrush’s eyes widened in surprise, this wasn’t anything like the group of not-cats they had seen over the traveling days at all.
“Ah, I’ve been waiting for the two of you,” The strange moose echoed out, and Thrush squeaked, while Anera drew closer, before dipping their head in respect to the moose. “Nestor, I have a request for you,” Anera mewed, moving to grasp Thrush gently to let them out of the satchel. Thrush stood on jelly legs, looking at the large being curiously. “I found this little one alone, sometime ago. I love them as my own, yet, I am a traveling scribe, it isn’t a life for a kitten, let alone one this young. Could you bring them to someone who can raise them properly?”
Anera stood, pleading, as their eyes glistened. Thrush yowled quickly, backing up into Anera. “No! No! I want to stay with you, I don’t want to go with the strange moose!”
Thrush yowled, reminded of their parents' disappearance once again. She couldn’t imagine not being with Anera, she didn’t want this strange moose at all. The strange moose however bent down to Thrush. “I am Nestor, Thrush, your Anera is right. This life is not right for you. Anera brought you here because they knew you could never say, they just want the best with you. Will you please come with me? I know someone perfect for you.”
Thrush glanced back up at Anera, betrayed and upset silently, waiting for Anera to speak, to not do this. But instead, Anera crouched down. “Little one, please, this is for the best,” tears glistened in Anera’s eyes, “we’ll meet again one day, when you’re older, but until then, practice your scribework, little one, for me?”
Thrush nodded, sniffing as she could barely stand this. Thrush pressed against Anera once more before moving slowly towards Nestor, being whisked away with them, to Not-Earth. Someone Said