.: A shaded sketching :. [Open]

[Streampaw]

Streamkit awoke, and she knew her eyes had opened. At first she saw nothing, and then gradually her eyes adjusted. She could see the kits, and the other queens all in a heap. She was in the back corner, as usual. Trying to stay as far from everyone as she could. Briefly it tickled her mind that she hadn't eaten in a long time. . . but then it blew away before she could grasp it.

She shivered, and tried to press herself against the barrier of the nursery. Pain exploded around her, and she gasped in quietly. She shivered. It dulled a little bit, and she was able to know where it was coming from.
It's from the stomach, her mind whispered. She knew very well that it was, and she also knew she couldn't tell anyone. She had been running around the edge of the camp when she had slipped and fell, cutting a long line in her stomach. Still it was sore, yet she told no one. She didn't want cats to worry about her. . . she hated the attention. She liked being ignored.

She was going to try and snuggle up again, when something hit her. A realization. It was cold. Oh, so cold. She was freezing in her own skin, and she felt that she was trembling. It was such a cold thing. . . she didn't understand it. All of the other cats were breathing peacefully, a gentle snoring coming from one of the queens. Streamkit could see the rise and fall of their chests. She was going to stand again, when another wave of pain hit her as she tried to stand. She gasped, this time audible. She couldn't help her, and it wasn't dulling. She stared at the cats like a dear caught in headlights. She hoped no one would notice her, question her.

If they did, all hope was lost. What would her mother say when she learned that she'd been hiding a wound? She hoped she hadn't re-opened it or something, because she'd spent such a long time to get it to stop bleeding in the first place. She bent down to sniff it, but she couldn't tell. It was too dark. And too cold.

She ignored the pain, and shuffled around the edge. She was going to need warmth. She was so very cold. . . she shuffled her way around the cats, and towards her mother. Shuffling up against her.

She didn't yet know how much her mother paid attention, but she hoped that she wouldn't notice how rare of an occasion this really was. She never slept close to her mother, yet here she was, by choice, snuggling up close.

[Okay. She has a fever, so she feels cold. But she'd feel hot against any cat. Read This if you want to know what she has.]