A blanket of grey mist cradled the bottoms of wide tree trunks. Their long, high branches sung through the night as leaves swayed with each gentle breath. Slight chirps grew as crickets gathered. The rustle of fallen leaves shivered around the forest floor.
A small nest of leaves lay between two protruding tree roots, both risen from the ground; cradled inside, a bundle of fur shivered as the winds blew along the foliage. Two fuzzy, pointed ears perked up from this lump with a head not far behind, shaking away at dull yellow leaves.
A pale, golden kitten with dark streaks above each eye arched her neck, yawning with a wiggle and glancing at the mist over the murky ground. It hid the ground, emitting a luminous shine. She lifted one paw at a time, seeing each descend into the leaves as she made her way below.
“Wow…” She sighed, gazing up at the dancing leaves above her. “Hey, psst, hey.” Her paw shook beneath the leaves, reaching in through the debris. Suddenly, a leg burst forth from the pile. It slid across her cheek, pressing it against her face.
“Watch it!” She hissed. Her pointed ears fell and a snarl etched upon her mouth, baring small teeth. A second head arose, eyes fluttering with heavy lids. Its wide maw opened for a yawn as the second caracal kitten slowly awoke.
“What?”
“You almost kicked me, bug breath.”
“Almost?”
“Ugh, just look here. Isn’t it nice? Come on. And keep your voice down, she’s still sleeping.” The two slim yet shortly legged kittens glanced around their surroundings, their puffy fur bright with the moon’s shine. They could only lay eyes on the tree tops and the fresh grass at their pile’s end.
They squirmed free of their shelter, one landing with a plucky stride and the other with a sluggish limp, tripping over hidden mounds of dirt beneath a layer of bright grey. The two touched the ground, seeing the hazy air clear with their presence, slow in retreat. The golden one wandered outside the roots’ edges, into the clearing…
“Nia, wait up! Mom said not to go too far.” The second kitten whispered in a rasp. He lowered his shoulders and turned to his surroundings, assuring nothing had noticed their hiding spot.
“Don’t worry Kali, I know. Hey, do you think it’s snow?” Nia turned back, reaching to swat at the hazy ground. Kali lifted his paw, oozing with dark mud under each pad.
“Uh… no.” Kali replied, a sullen pout and narrowed brow on his face. He shook his paw and flung away at the muck as leaves swirled onto the ground, nestling under the blanket of mist below.
“Oh.” Nia stopped in her tracks, her ears turning as chirps and twig rustles echoed throughout. She pressed onto cold mud and leapt back, bumping into Kali. The two kittens squirmed as Kali fell onto his back, the mist dispersing around their bodies.
“Argh, I’m going back.” Kali pushed the golden kitten above to his side and rolled into leaves, fur tangled with twigs and coarse bark.
“Fine, you go then. I think I hear something.” Nia replied. Kali flipped over and approached from behind. His ears twitched, scanning the horizons.
“Something b-big?” Kali asked, cowering by Nia’s shoulder. She stepped forth sniffing at the air, exhaling carefully. She fidgeted with crossed forelegs before nudging her companion.
“No, it’s close though. Come on.” Nia bounded into the forest’s maze of trees. Stunned, Kali then picked up in sprint to catch up. He tripped onto the ground for a moment, shaking away the splatter of muck as he followed behind.
“Where are you even going? We’ll get lost!” Kali shouted, the trees appearing enormous as their branches covered most of the night sky.
“Almost!” Nia leapt above a moss-covered log, scanning for danger before slipping below. Kali halted in his tracks, lowering himself before walking around to spot his guide.
There atop orange leaves lay a shaking bird, barely sprouting its first feathers. Its cries were abrupt, almost like squeaks of the morning shrews.
“Whoa, you heard that from back there?” Kali asked. Nia nodded, smiling with a fierce pride in her gaze. She turned back to the small bird by her paws, flailing in a panic as the mist swept around the two kittens, circling their discovery.
Nia’s cheek fuzz nestled onto her chest as she stared, her eyes darting from Kali to the ground. Kali looked to her, tapping at the leaves around the sight.
“Well, what are you gonna…?” Kali began.
“I don’t know. I…I think we should put it back.” Nia replied, her head tilted up to the tree’s top, its trunk stretched into the forest’s high blanket of branches, almost as tall as the one both kittens had slept beneath. The rays of moonlight poured through the huddled tree limbs above, where Nia’s gaze lay fixed upon.
“What? But it’s food. Mom brings them all the time.” Kali said, his voice bringing Nia to face him again. Her brow grew heavy as she slowly lowered her head to the small bird.
“Not this small, it’s like us. You know… mom keeps us safe. What if it’s got a mom too?” Nia whispered, studying the brown feathers of the shivering avian. The small bird kept its head perched against a frantic chest as both eyes remained closed.
“I guess so.” Kali said, his eyes following Nia as she picked the bird into her maw.
“Hey I thought...?” Kali felt a paw at his muzzle. Nia nodded to the sepia-furred kitten with vigor and darted onto the tree’s bark; her belly fur embracing the surface as she grasped it in a stretched hug. She pulled herself up, claws protracted, inching closer to the high branches.
“Be careful sis!” Kali shouted. Nia felt the harsher quivers of the hatchling within her maw as she pushed on. Her claws etched clear marks with each pull. She glanced ahead for bundled twigs, any remnants of a bird’s home.
The forest leaves continued to dance around the kitten, onto the far surface below.
Nia sighed, closing her eyes and breathing through both nostrils, soon facing the tree tops again. Near the gathered leaves under the tree’s crown, Nia finally spotted a nest between jagged tree limbs. With a swift reach, she clutched a branch a top her ears to pull herself closer.
Her hind legs braced onto the trunk as she grasped the branch, ripping away a large piece of brittle bark beneath. Her claws lashed onto the smoother surface beneath, slipping from her place.
“Nia!” Kali gasped, placing his forepaws onto the base of the trunk right below his sister. Nia held onto the higher branch, both hindlegs dangling in the air as she stretched one paw to the nest’s perch. Her forepaw still clutching the branch above slid further, wincing as she braced for the last slip.
Nia’s claws dug around the top branch, her body sliding down the trunk into a drop. She held the bird with caution still, even as she felt the sudden flow of cold air overwhelm her fur. A firm jolt nudged her rump...
The wind stopped.
She opened her eyes.
Below her, a larger head with lowered ears pressed against her hind legs, allowing her to clutch the tree’s trunk once more.
“Mom!” Kali shouted. The larger caracal lowered her stance, climbing back towards the forest grounds until Nia landed onto grass with a soft leap.
Nia shook away chips of bark, her head sunken between the ground’s mist, ears up. Crickets continued their melody of chirps as the kitten glanced at her onlooker. The golden kitten looked above with an arching tilt. There stood her mother, beige fur glowing before the frigid blue hue of the night.
Nia whimpered, eyes sunken as she opened her mouth and placed the young bird at her mother’s paws. The tall caracal frowned.
“We… I wanted to put it back.” Nia uttered, her eyes facing the ground, hunched over her forepaws. Nia flinched as she felt the warm breath of her mother near her own muzzle.
She braced her shoulders into a hunch until a breeze swept across her face. Nia glanced back and saw the beige caracal climb back onto the trunk, rising up in firm strides.
She reached the tree’s collar, latching onto the thickest branch. With a quick lunge, she released the small lark nestling from her maw onto its bed of twigs, caressing its feathers by a gentle shove by nose before leaping down.
The caracal landed before her two kittens, their mouths agape. She shook away the twigs nestled in her fur, sighing with a smile.
“Come, you two still need to sleep.” The mother caracal nudged at her two kittens’ tails, urging them forward. Stepping beside her daughter, she lowered her muzzle to lick Nia’s golden cheek.
“Proud of you.” She whispered, the three prancing further into the forest. The nest above grew silent in slumber...
