#trigger warning for animal abuse

[itsonlypolite]

This comic is word for word based off of @pareidolla's post about broken so go check it out!!! One particular paragraph was written so poetically I couldn't get it out of my head so here's a comic inspired from it:

Transcript: A dog will fight you, naturally, but you are stronger, and if it is wise, it will realize resistance is pointless. You can harm a dog as much as you'd like until it learns to do whatever it takes to satisfy and stay your hand. Only then will you reward it, and only then will the dog merely flinch between caresses.

[woaheyeradioboy]

I genuinely don't fucking care what you like in fiction. I don't care how disgusting, heinous, or "illegal" (not actually) it is, as long as you aren't agreeing with it or acting out things you read in a non-roleplay/fiction setting.

TW: Rape, Child Abuse, Pedophilia, Age gaps, Abuse, Bestiality, Grooming, Incest, and similar content

You can read about someone being raped. You can read about a child being raped. You can read about incest. You can read about pedophilic incest. You can read about someone fucking a dog. You can read about someone being raped by an animal. You can read about someone grooming someone else. You can read about horrible power imbalances. You can read about Victim x Abuser. You can read about gang rape. You can read all of that and more, whether the content is "romanticizing" or "sexualizing" it or putting it in a "positive light", because I do believe if you're reading these things you are capable enough to not have your morals and "respect" of laws immediately broken because you didn't get told 100 different times during the story how bad the content was.

You can read WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT, however you want, forever and ever. Don't act out the fiction in real life unless roleplaying with another consent adult (or teenager within your age range if you're not 18+) and it DOESN'T MATTER.

Fiction can affect reality, but usually only if you're allowing it to. Children oftentimes shouldn't be online but even if they are, it is never an authors fault or the people who enjoy the fiction the author writes that the child ends up exposed to bad things. If someone who is mentally unwell and cannot separate fiction and reality due to this is online and is affected by these things, it is not the authors fault or the fault of the people who enjoy the authors fiction.

If something that someone else wrote affects someone else in a bad way, it is not the authors fault.

Censorship of fiction is bad no matter what, and if you want to censor any form of fiction you are automatically already getting closer to people like transphobes and racists and ableists, because being pro-censorship ALWAYS leads down the same exact rabbit hole of puritan beliefs and controlling others.

[slushyseals]

All videos showing people removing barnacles from sea turtles are not rescue videos, they're animal abuse- even if the video is "real".

Please report these videos as abuse and stop letting these people profit off rescue videos

There are many videos where the "rescuer" is actually the one who attached the barnacles in the first place (some you can even see the hot glue underneath as they pull off the pieces). Unless you see the animal in a rescue center with a vet tech treating it, that animal is being abused. How so?

The reason those growths are there is likely something far more dangerous that needs to be addressed. Healthy turtles do not get this level of growth on their shells. So if you see something like this, it’s a sign that this turtle is unwell and has been sick for a while. Scraping off the growths doesn’t solve the underlying issue. Also, doing so without any tools or pain medication can be extremely painful and stressful for the turtle. Often with this level of growth, barnacles will have borrowed through the turtle’s shell into live tissue. And just ripping them off like this without the expertise of a medical professional can do more harm than good. Not to mention that it is WAY stressful and not what the turtle needs most. Imagine if you had a the stomach flu or food poisoning and someone decided to “help” you by first detangling your hair, popping pimples, and exfoliating you when what you really need is fluids and someone to handle you very gently. It’s focusing on the wrong problem first and can worsen the underlying condition.

If you see an animal "rescue" video, always think- how did they find this animal? (Is it likely they just found an animal- or did they put an animal in danger to play hero for clout and ad profits? How did this animal get into this terrible situation in the first place? (The number of giant snakes found wrapped around a dog is pretty unbelievable- usually it's a person abusing two animals they own.) How is this person running into so many animals in dangerous situations? (Especially when you look at their other videos and they reuse the same animals to "save".) I am outside daily and I don't come across anywhere near as many animals needing help like these content farm channels.

Even when videos are real, if they are not a trained rescue worker they are often doing more harm than good! The people kidnapping tortoises and "saving" them by throwing them out into lakes and rivers might have just killed that animal. Many tortoises are land animals and aren't built for swimming like sea turtles, they can easily drown! A surprising number of people don't understand seals need to rest on shore, and end up killing babies and harassing adults by chasing them into the water. Baby seals can't swim for long distances, and chasing them into the water means their mom won't be able to find the baby after she's done hunting fish- the baby will slowly starve to death if actual rescue workers do not intervene!

Heck, some people have found perfectly healthy and happy baby seals waiting for their moms on the beach, but because the person doesn't understand that the mom isn't there 100% of the time think the baby has been abandoned; a man kidnapped a pup when the rescue wouldn't send someone out to get the animal which not only hurt that pup whom he caused to be an orphan, but now that pup is taking up resources that could have been given to babies that actually needed it. Rescues don't have infinite resources and I don't want to put to words what can happen when they reach maximum capacity. (The guy was also very lucky he didn't get bit- seal bite infections are much worse than regular bites!) So many others people mistreat because they don't know better, like the baby seal that had people dumping water and ice on it like it was Free Willy. Or trying to feed them sandwiches. Both of these actions make life worse for the animal.

That video of a dog as a service animal rehabilitating a baby seal? That was made by a couple idiots who likely scared the mother off and caused the baby to starve to death just so they could make their intentionally misinformative video knowing full well they were lieing! Dogs should be leashed and kept far away from any seal as they are a reason many seals are horrifically mauled to death each year! Videos like this are absolutely vile as they misinform the public who own dogs and may see a seal on the beach and think, "Oh! My dog is a good boy and can go play with the water puppy! They enjoy that!" Please do not do this! Seals shouldn't be encouraged to associate with or like dogs, that puts puts in danger not only of cross contamination with things that can make them very sick, but you don't know the temperament of any and every dog that seal will see in its lifetime. All it takes is one- and there are plenty of dogs who act fine around human children and vicious around a random seal they find. The babies don't even have a chance against a full grown dog! Their ONLY chance is that situation never happens; keep your dog leashed, because it will see that seal and shoot off before you can stop it. As well behaved as your dog is on the best day, it has free will and at the end of the day is a dog and will be an animal.

Let's face it, most of us don't know the proper care of any and every wild animal we could run into and can only guess when faced with a genuinely unexpected situation. Any legitimate rescue video should start with the person contacting the local rescue to ask the experienced and knowledgeable staff what should be done if they themselves are not a trained rescuer. Often times the animal is perfectly fine, humans just see something they don't expect and misread what's going on causing a situation that didn't previously exist. Other times if there is an issue, the rescue will instruct the person what to do- which may be to keep an eye on the animal until trained rescuers can arrive. And lastly, please be aware of fake animal rescue channels and report any videos you see and inform others about this so these channels stop being praised and profiting from animal abuse.

[deadrayg2mf]

Wed to the Lich (Arranged Monster Mates #8) by Layla Fae

Okay, I went into this knowing this was not the first book in the series but it didn't seem that the series may be required to be read in order as it is a collab series between Layla Fae, Eden Ember, and Cara Wylde and it wasn't recommended to be read in order - however, now having finished this I realize I may need to start from book 1 to assuage some issues I had regarding world building info. Also... that lich is just so hot... I needed to know more about him when he was what drew me to this. Which brings me to the covers!! The entire series has amazing cover art, it ranks right up there with SJ Sander's cover art that I love.

This is currently a series of 16 novellas between the above-mentioned authors, Wed to the Lich being dead in the middle at #8. It was a total of 208 pages and I read it within a quick day at work. It was a simple story which does involve triggers involving anorexia nervosa, past abuse, and animal death.

Basically, this is a world in which an event called The Shift has occurred, and from what was explained in this book alone it sounds like that was basically the... dimensional overlap of the human world and monster world where parts of the monster world ended up being transplanted into the world we know? Hopefully that is some semblance of correct as it's how I understood it. In this world, monsters rule over humans in most areas and if a human is wanting to get some cash for their family or, if you're our FL May, trying to get out of a bad situation you can sign up at the Temple and get married off to a monster.

This is exactly what May commits to as she decides to escape the abusive orphanage director who haunts her thoughts when it comes to beauty and its relation to her size and food consumption. How well this goes about depicting the troubles that come with experiencing an eating disorder I could not say, so I will leave that up to your interpretation if you choose to read. May gets married to Virgil, the all fearing Lich who can suck out your life force with just a look.

The following story revolves around May's struggle with food, her inner demons, and being beautiful for Virgil who is also struggling with how May views him and fearing that one day she may come to fear him and try to leave. In the end, they end up working out their troubles with each other's help and are a lovely couple, no matter what those town villagers think. I liked both May and Virgil's characters, he was really checking the marks for me as both loving and caring but strict and forceful when he felt necessary. By the end, May had come into who she was as a person when she wasn't tormented by her past.

My main issue comes from how I felt finishing the book. I had read 208 pages of what essentially felt like it had amounted to nothing. Unfortunately, for all that happened, there wasn't enough deep diving into characters, relationships, or true plot that it felt worthwhile. It was one of those where I was shocked it was so long for how much I got from it. I think it's a really cool story, I love a Lich, and I love a FL battling her inner demons and unafraid to seek help from another in order to do so. The way May was willing to just be blunt about what was going on versus other characters who might hide things that lead to a (beloved but sometimes overdone) miscommunication was rather refreshing.

I think I would have really enjoyed this story had it been more fleshed out. The writing was good, but the content felt unsubstantial. For all of that, I'll give it a 5/10. Mid but enjoyable and full of potential.

Would I read again? No, but not because it was bad. Just because there wouldn't feel like a point.

Would I recommend? Yeah, I am gonna go and try out the series from the first book - Wed to the Ice Giant also by Layla Fae - and then pry check out at least on book by each of the other authors. If I don't like it - you'll hear about it :)

[gorentaya]

いただきます Itadakimasu ( Thank you for the food / I humbly receive )

[antiendovents]

Atlas duo's creator here, got called a dog rapist and told to slit due to believing in reality shifting so that's fun. (I'm debating on following through tonight.)

please don't do it. I know it's hard, harassment is the worst, it's horrible and you don't deserve it. Take a break, turn of anon on your blog and step away. It might seem hard but it can help to take breaks and just get away from it all. Don't follow through, don't listen to them, they don't know anything. You are not a dog rapist, it was not your fault and you should not hurt yourself, especially not because people don't like what you believe in. Your beliefs are your beliefs, you aren't hurting anyone and you don't deserve hate for them. Please go take care of yourself, take a break. We love you (platonically) and we love what you're doing, you don't deserve this.

I know I've said it a lot, but please step away and take care of yourself, especially if it's affecting you this much. If needed turn off the ask box entirely, block anyone who says bad things, if you have other mods on the blog maybe they can help you with blocking people? Either way please know we are here for you, you are loved and cared about. Don't listen to the people telling you these things, they're stupid and unreliable. You're an amazing person and you don't deserve this. No one deserves this.

[sidetongue]

My newest foster, Trickle. 

[kindsoulbuddy]

Caitlin Doughty (Ask a Mortician) does such important work with her youtube channel and her nonprofit Order of the Good Death, as well as the books she’s written (I’ve read them all).

She is also bringing awareness to how cruelly animals are treated in this video she just posted. Animals continue to perform for people to this day.

Please keep in mind it’s heartbreaking and hard to watch but I think it important.

Also, youtube is treating her and her channel like a pariah and she depends on her patrons.

YouTube has taken her videos down before.

Even if you don’t watch this particular video I think she’s doing such vital work and changing the way we confront death. So check her channel out!

And check out:

[ninadove]

Someone take my phone away from me

[meret118]

So many of them!

[a34trgv2]

The Problem With Toxic Relationships

TRIGGER WARNING: This post will talk about and use images that involve abuse, depression and anxiety. Viewer discretion is advised. You've been warned.

Recently I've noticed shows and movies casually display toxic relationships either for comedic purposes or as innocent child's play. It has disgusted and angered me to the point that I have to ask "Are you people sick or something?!" This post will highlight some egregious examples of toxic relationships and why they're harmful to not just storytelling, but to the oblivious audience members.

What is a toxic relationship? Well, if it was literal, it would mean being in a relationship with a vat of radioactive chemicals. In reality, it's when you're in a relationship (be it romantic or platonic) with someone who's just an awful person. One infamous example of a toxic relationship is with Brian and Stewie from Family Guy. You'd think a talking dog and a talking baby would be the best of friends. Oh, how wrong you are! Brian is an inconvenience to Stewie at best as the former has bullied, humilated, lied and even hurt him. Stewie's not much better as he beats the living snot out of Brian for $50, tortured his siblings to get tickets to Hannah Montana and thrashed his car with a baseball bat. It may be played for laughs, but it still paints a clear picture that these 2 might as well be mortal enemies. Whatever good moments they have between them is outweighed by the moments where they're at each others throats.

This is a good time to talk about one of the worst tropes in media. The "loving bully" trope is a story telling device that just casually normalizes bullying as a means of expressing romantic feelings as opposed to being a stupid and harmful act cause by stupid and harful kids because they're stupid and harmful. The most recent and worst example of thus trope is in The Loud House, where Ronnie Anne picks on and humiliates Lincoln because she has a crush on him. And rather than do something about it when his sisters find out, they squel with joy and see it as love as first sight. Pardon my French but WHAT THE FLOP??!!! Not only is this a very forced way to develop sympathy for the bully, but it also lies to the audience, who in this case are children. A bully picking on you is NOT your childhood sweet heart. They're your worst enemy and they need to be dealt with post haste.

I'd be remissing myself if I didn't talk about the infamous Seddie arc from iCarly. In my personal opinion, THIS was the worst case scenario for a show that started out really good. Sam was nothing short of a bully to Freddie, with multiple instances of her insulting him, hurting him, humilating him and even stealing from him. It was always because she thought it was funny, not because she had feeling for him. By having them be in a relationship, they did EXACTLY what you think they would play out if a bully and their victim got together. They constantly argued, they made everyone feel uncomfortable, they showed next to no chemistry with each other and made Carly the mediator between the two. If they were adults and this wasn't a kids show, Freddie would be getting abused hard.

Speaking of abuse, that's exactly what Joker did to Harley Quinn across several different incarnations. Time and again, Joker abused, humilated, belittled and verbally assaulted her because to him, she's just a means to an end. While this is normal taken very seriously, this toxic relationship between her and Joker was downplayed in Suicide Squad as well as in her appearance in DC Superhero Girls. I understand wanting to do something new with Harley Quinn, downplaying or flat out ignoring her backstory as an abuse victim is the equivalent to saying Bruce Waynes parents were seriously hurt but not shot by Joe Cool. Abuse should not be downplayed or ignored, because that makes victims of actual abuse feel more depressed than they actually are.

Victims of toxic relationships are often depressed, anxious, suicidal, and even bitter towards people who want to help. In Lilo & Stitch, after being bullied by Mertle and her friends, Lilo is depressed and choose to lie on the floor listening to Elvis "to die" she says. See, a lesser movie or show (looking at you, Family Guy) would portray the fallout of toxic relationships as comedic or no big deal. As someone who was lied to by former friends way too many times to count, I can assure you that it's NOT funny or anything less than a big deal living with the fact that I was in a toxic relationship. Some people straight up refuse to trust anyone after the last person they trust was a toxic disgrace to humanity. Other victims of toxic relationships, such as Helga from Hey Arnold or Valiente from Ferdinand, become toxic themselves after experiencing a toxic relationship with their loved ones. The toxicity of someone's personality can even drive the victim to suicide, such as Neil from the Dead Poet's Society. The fallout of a toxic relationship is often more difficult to deal with than the actual relationship.

Ultimately, what I want aspiring writers to take away from this post is to NOT make light or glorify toxic relationships. Whether it's with terrible friends, abusive love ones or your run of the mill bully, audiences shouldn't see toxic relationships as anything more or less than dangerous and stupid. To conclude, I'll be sharing abuse and suicidal hotlines to victims of toxic relationships. If you are a victim, you're not alone. You're not worthless, you're not stupid and you're not unworthy of love.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or Text START to 88788

Suicide And Crisis Hotline: 988

National Institute of Mental Health: 1-800-273-8255 or send a text to 838255 to speak to a VA responder.

Stop Bullying:

[zehecatl]

YOMAWARI FRANCHISE IS ON SALE, PLEASE CHECK OUT YOMAWARI!

spooky game where you are Tiny Girl in the most haunted ass japanese town, and you have to go outside at night and explore it. it's not overly spooky, though it also does love to spook you, and it's very reminiscent of the rpgmaker horror games

each entry is standalone! Night Alone is the first one, Midnight Shadows is the second one (and my favourite, don't worry about the fact i haven't played the others yet, shhh) and Lost In The Dark is the third one

i would definitely advise checking out some trigger warnings first (and i'll put some in the tags, so i'm also avoiding spoilers), since this is horror, and no one is safe, but also, if you like this type of stuff.. check it out!! they're good games!! and look at how cheap the first two are!!!! how can you say no!!!

[lilylovesfoxs]

Interview with the chosen one

Solar:"I've always wanted to do this"

Chosen:"I'm not going to answer any of your questions"

*-solar pulled out Nora's soul*-

Solar:"you don't want your niece's wife to die now do you?"

Chosen:

*-solar put it back down gently*-

Solar:"now.. how come you and dark have not been fighting lately"

Chosen:"because Alan told us to stop because his entire computer cannot take anymore"

Solar:"but I want to see you to fight it's boring"

Chosen:"you literally have a dragon with star in it you're lucky darko hasn't seen that yet"

Solar:"now now now he knows he can't do anything without hurting his child at least"

*-chosen stands up from his seat and slams his hands against the desk*-

Chosen:"YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO BE THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTIONS WHY ARE YOU EVEN DOING THIS ANYWAY?!"

Solar:"it's simple really to watch this world burn it's beyond saving anyway"

Chosen:" it's not though we can still save it if we stop the infection from spreading that's why we're trying to find a cure in the first place!"

Solar:"you mean I'm the one the machine I'm making will permanently fuse everyone making the infection stop completely"

Chosen:".. listen that's not going to work we can fuse but only for a few moments before we immediately unfused because our soul cannot handle that much magic the main reason why star and echo stay that way for the longest time it's because Stars infection they were melting and they still are because you forced echo and star to unfuse"

Solar:"oh that's why I took echos soul in the first place I connected their soul magic to Stars using a machine I made that way star will keep their physical form listen I may be evil to you but I'm not a monster"

Chosen:"YOU'RE LITERALLY USING A CHILD AS FUEL!"

Solar:"your point?"

Chosen:"IT'S CHILD ABUSE!"

Solder:"no it's not the child itself isn't being harmed"

*-you hear a beeping sound "-

Solar:"oh it seems were done here"

[koistocrat]

Ive seen people ditching their pet female cat's kittens as if its their duty to take care of it (worse, they lead astray their cats bc they dont bother making ways to, idk, prevent their cat from getting pregnant??)

Like you cant normalize that shit AND AT THE SAME TIME advocate for "pro life" which is stupid might i add, because the human ISNT BORN YET and here you are already killing THINGS THAT ARENT YOUR SPECIES

You canNOT be this fucking stupid. Abortions shouldnt even be considered harmful to something that hasnt had brains yet. They did not ask to be born just for them to suffer death anyway

[gorentaya]

✞༒︎✞ (:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅) ✞☓✞(:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅) ✞༒︎✞ (:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅) ✞☓✞

Patient Zero is a developing indie comic, representing the journey to recovery and healing of illness and trauma. Meant to disturb the comforted and comfort the disturbed. The story is based off the creators own life experiences and struggles with mental and physical health. Using metaphors and symbolism to tell the tale of their life

⚠️Story contains adult and mature themes, content/trigger warnings are the following…⚠️

Existentialism. Sexual, physical, mental, and animal abuse. Sexual/physical assault. Violence. Gr00ming. Mental illnes. Chronic illness. Disabilities. Eating disorders. Self harm. Suicide. Sex. Nudity. Drug use. Alcoholism. Addiction. Death. Murder. Gore. Religion and religious trauma. Hospital trauma. School trauma. Bullying. Infertility

These themes will be handled with love and care. My intentions is to raise awareness as well comfort those who has gone through these things. Make them feel heard and understood. To give them hope that you are able to heal and recover from whatever pain they are going through.

You are not alone. You deserve to heal. You deserve to live. You are enough. And you are worthy of being happy.

Toyhouse link for more information https://toyhou.se/Gorentaya/characters/folder:4499676

✞༒︎✞ (:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅) ✞☓✞(:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅) ✞༒︎✞ (:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅) ✞☓✞

~ Main Cast ~

Yamimiki Mimi - Protagonist

Gorentaya - Deuteragonist

Morrigan - Support Character

Bugs - Support Character

Angel - Antagonist

[talonslockau]

Forest of Secrets - Chapter 7

Chapter 6 || Index || Chapter 8

WARNING: This chapter contains animal husbandry from the perspective of animals. There will be themes of: dubious consent, pregnancy, abortion, and implied animal abuse.

If you do not want to read any of the above, the chapter summary below describes all the important plot beats going forward. If you do wish to read the chapter, see below the cut. Chapter summary for those who wish to skip: Fireheart visits with Princess and learns that she is carrying kits. Seeking to help her, he brings Yellowfang and Dewpaw to speak with his sister under Tigerclaw's nose. They bring back some catmint to use for any leafbare greencough, and Fireheart learns about the greencough epidemic the leafbare before he joined, in which many older warriors and elders died, including Peppermask's grandmother Swiftbreeze.

The days grew colder and colder as the last of the leaves dropped from their trees onto the forest below. Fireheart shivered as he passed between the barren bushes, his long puffed fur not keeping him warm enough in the cold leafbare morning. He had told Tigerclaw he was off hunting near Tallpines, hoping that the location far from camp would yield more prey. While he would, eventually, the truth was a little different.

“Princess!” He called over the fence, trying to keep his voice light even as his body shook from the cold. It was about this season that he had first been taken from the nursery to his new Twoleg home, and something about it made him long for his sister’s comfort more than ever. He wouldn’t dare tell anyone in the Clan that, of course, as they would surely make fun of him for having such kittypet weakness, but he knew his sister would understand.

Cold silence filled the air around him as he stood there, waiting for her to appear. Perhaps she was in her Twoleg nest, curled up beside her Twoleg for warmth. They had plush beds that kept heat long after the body that had warmed it was gone, and burning fires that they kept in little stone dens to warm their nests. Very few kittypets would be willing to brave the cold when they had all of that at their paws, and he couldn’t say he blamed them.

Still, he thought - he hoped - that his sister would come out, at least for a little while, to talk to him. “Princess?” He called again, unable to keep the apprehension from creeping into his voice. She took longer before, when he had come to the wrong garden, but he was certain he had the right one this time. And yet, as he stood there and shivered patiently, there was still no response.

Maybe she just hadn’t heard him? He hesitated, not sure if he should call for her louder. He didn’t want even the cats in Riverclan camp to hear him crying for a kittypet, though, and part of him worried what might happen if a Twoleg heard his yowl. Maybe he could enter her garden, just this once?

Still, as he bunched up his legs for the jump, part of him held back. He recalled Lionheart’s dire warning when Bluestar had first extended the offer for him to join Thunderclan;  “If you did become a Clan cat, you would never return to your Twolegplace. If you did, then you would be exiled.” Just the mere threat was enough to make him shiver, not from the cold, but from fear.

He shook his head. They had meant that he couldn’t return to being a kittypet. And he wasn’t going to! He would only talk to his sister, nothing more. He wouldn’t even go in the Twoleg’s nest. It would be fine.

His mind made up, he jumped to the top of the fence in one easy bound. He hesitated at the top, looking down into his sister’s garden. It was filled with flowers, much like his own garden had been, although they were dying off now that the frost had come. In the center was a circular stone floor; a ‘patio’, they had called it; with spindly chairs and a table on top of it. His own Twolegs had had a similar setup, though they had rarely used it.

He still didn’t see Princess as he scanned the flowers. Where had she gone? His heart quickened as he imagined her entering the forest searching for him. But surely that would have been news amongst Thunderclan? Unless she-

A flash of motion from the Twoleg nest caught his attention, and he was about to leap back the way he had come when he realized it was Princess emerging from the cat flap. “Princess!” He mewed happily from where he sat on the fence. “Why didn’t you say something? You had me worried!”

“I’m sorry, Fireheart.” Her voice was even softer than he remembered it, and he frowned as he looked down at her. Her tawny pelt, normally silky and smooth, looked as though it hadn’t been groomed in several days. Her tail was low, brushing against the ground, and even her emerald eyes seemed to have lost their spark as she looked up at him. “I… I suppose I must not have heard you the first time.”

“What’s wrong?” He asked with a frown. “Is it because I almost entered your garden? I’m sorry. I can stay outside, if you prefer.”

She hesitated, then slowly shook her head. “No, it’s not you. I’m sorry, Fireheart, I just…” Her voice trailed off as she slowly looked down to her slightly dirty white paws.

He glanced around, looking for any sign that someone might spot him, but the forest and Twolegplace were both still and quiet. Gathering himself, he leaped down into her garden, fur prickling in worry as he pressed into her side. “What’s wrong? You look-” He cut himself off. Life in the Clan had quickly taught him that making comments on a molly’s appearance was a bad idea. “Are you sick? Did something happen? If any cat attacked you, I’ll-”

“No, Fireheart. I haven’t been attacked.” He blinked gently at her as she interrupted him. She looked briefly up into his eyes, before squeezing them shut and turning away. “Fireheart, I- I think I’m going to have kits.”

“Huh?” He stared at her in confusion. He knew what that meant; after all, Goldenflower had carried Frostfur’s kits, back when he was an apprentice. But they had been mates, and they were both queens, and that was normal for them. There had been talk of Whitestorm and Lionheart having kits come newleaf, thanks to the Clan’s queens. But they too were mates that cared deeply for each other. “You’ve never even told me you had a mate!”

“I don’t.” She was on the verge of tears as she looked back down at her paws. “I don’t- I don’t know if I even want kits, Fireheart!”

He stared at her, his mind racing. None of that made any sense. And yet, he knew that he loved his sister, the only family he had, and that whatever else happened, it was his responsibility to help her. “Tell me what happened.” He mewed at last, padding over to sit beside her and beginning to gently lick at her forehead.

“Oh, Fireheart. I don’t know what to do. I’m all confused inside.” She cried, tears dripping down her cheeks even as her eyes were screwed shut. “I- I trusted them. My housefolk, they’ve always been so good to me, but now… I don’t know. I don’t know!”

He didn’t answer for several moments as he lapped at one of her ears. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?” He finally suggested to her.

She hesitated, then nodded softly, letting out a small hiccup as she did. “It all started about a moon ago. My housefolk, they took me to the vet. It was this big, strange smelling place with all white floors and walls. Another housefolk, they came in and felt me all over and poked me a few times with strange claws. It was weird, but it seemed like it made my housefolk happy, so I just smiled and purred.”

He stopped washing her for a moment as something in what she said tugged at the back of his mind. “We’ve been to the vet before, haven’t we? When we were young kits.” He mewed softly. “Our mother’s housefolk, they put us all in a big hard box with a little door. They poked us with those big claws then, too.”

“They did!” She seemed surprised at the mention of it, then gave him a weak purr. “Do you remember how our littlest brother howled when they first poked him?”

“Do I ever! You would’ve thought they were killing him.” Fireheart shook his head bemusedly at the memory. “That was just before we went to our new housefolk, wasn’t it?”

“It was.” She was suddenly somber again, and he gently lapped at her cheek twice before moving on to groom her neck. “My housefolk took me in one of those boxes to the vet last moon as well. It wasn’t… it wasn’t fun, but they seemed pleased with themselves, so I just let them do it.” She flicked her ear sadly. “But then, a few days ago, they put me in that box again and carried me back out to the Monster.”

“Again?” He mewed in surprise. The box, as he recalled, had been a very rare occurrence when he had lived as a kittypet. “Why would they take you back to the vet?”

“That’s what I thought, at first.” She replied, her voice tinged with regret. “But they took me somewhere else, instead. They put me in a nice room, with furniture and scratching posts and lots of food and water. And… and there was a tom.” She choked up for a moment. “His name was Oliver.”

Fireheart flicked an ear to show he had heard, but said nothing yet. “He asked me if I knew where I was, and I told him I didn’t. He told me that was normal, and he’d tell me everything.” Tears started flowing from her eyes, staining her tawny fur a dark brown. “He told- He said that he was what housefolk called a ‘stud’, and that other housefolk brought him their cats so they could have his kits. I asked him why, and he said he didn’t know, but that the housefolk got very angry at him if he didn’t do his job, so…”

The ginger warrior struggled to understand what she was saying. “So the housefolk make him father all these kits? But why?”

“Yes- no- maybe? I don’t know.” She struggled to find the right words. The young tom pressed closer into his sister’s side and began lapping at her fur faster. “He said that the housefolk would get really excited when the queens had kits, and they’d take good care of them before giving them to other housefolk. Sometimes the same queens would come back, and that’s how he knew, but not all the time. Sometimes, he thinks they would then go to different ‘studs’ instead.” 

Her whole body was shaking now, though her fur still held the warmth of the Twoleg nest. “He was so nice, and my housefolk were so gentle when they came back for me, but I hated it. I hated it!” She howled it out into the cold, still air, icy tendrils curling around her mouth as she did so. “Do you think this is going to be the rest of my life, Fireheart? Having kits to make the housefolk happy?” 

He didn’t know how to answer that. In the Clans, kits always seemed to be a joyous occasion. They were new life, and they would eventually become new warriors that served the Clan. That was a good thing. But the queens did so happily, and they never seemed to harbor doubts about their role in Clan life, not like his sister was. 

“Do you think that the same thing happened to our mother?” Princess asked softly as she stared out at the flowers in her garden. “Do you think she’s had another litter by now?”

“I- I don’t know.” Fireheart meowed at last. “She seemed happy around us. She seemed to love us.”

“She seemed to, though.” The light brown molly’s body was wracked by another sobbing fit. “What if she didn’t? What if she only did it because she thought she had to?”

Had their mother been happy? He wished he could go fetch her, or one of the queens, to talk about it with her. But if he did, then the whole Clan would surely know that he had been talking to a kittypet. What cat in the Clan could he trust to keep such a secret? As he thought about it, he realized he might have an answer to that question.

“Princess, I won’t leave if you don’t want me to, but I think I know a cat that might be able to help you.” He mewed softly. “She- she takes care of all the queens in our Clan. She’s seen a lot in her long life. Maybe she knows of something that can help you.”

His sister was silent for a long time. Just as he thought she might not have heard him, she shifted away slightly. “Help me how?” She asked distrustfully.

“I- I mean, like I said, she takes care of all the queens in our Clan, and the kits when they get sick. She probably knows a lot more about being a queen than I do.” He thought back through all the interactions he’d had with Yellowfang. “And she treats them with herbs, too, to help them with their kits. Maybe… maybe she knows something about preventing queens from having kits, as well?” He didn’t know if such a thing existed, or if queens would even have use for such a thing. He didn’t know a lot, as he was very quickly realizing.

They sat in tense silence for a long moment. “If you think she’ll help.” Princess finally agreed with a small dip of her head, beginning to lap at her chest fur, though he could tell her heart wasn’t in it.

“I- I hope she will.” He didn’t know for sure, but he had to have hope. “I’ll be right back, regardless of whether she agrees to come or not. Okay?” As his sister flicked her tail farewell, he turned and bounded back out of the garden.

He encountered no cat within the forest: all were busy on other patrols. He raced through the forest, not daring to stop for anything. Luckily, nothing disturbed him.

 At least, not until he dashed through the bramble entrance into camp. “Where are you going?” He flinched as he heard Tigerclaw’s familiar growl from near the leader’s den, and turned to see the dark tabby watching him. “I thought you were out hunting.”

“I was!” He panted, winded from running back so quickly. “But- I saw a flower- still growing- saw Yellowfang- use it once-”

The deputy’s lip curled in a grimace. “And that’s enough for you to come back to camp without any prey?” He snarled down at the young warrior. “The Clan needs food, not herbs.”

“I know, but I-” He noticed Dewpaw slip out from the healer’s den. “Dewpaw!” He called quickly. The small tabby molly perked up at the call, and scanned the clearing to notice him and Tigerclaw. She padded over with a polite smile to the both of them. “Can you convince Tigerclaw for me? I saw a rare flower in the forest, one that I think Yellowfang needs.”

She looked a bit confused at his statement, but her ears perked forward nonetheless. “What did this rare flower look like?” She asked him quickly.

He hesitated. Was she calling his bluff? “It- it was golden. Like the sun. But it had orange flecks too!” He stared at her, pleading with her to understand the hint. It was exactly the same way that he had described Redtail’s eyes to her, as proof that he wasn’t lying about seeing the former deputy’s spirit.

Her eyes widened, and she nodded quickly. “Oh yes! That sounds like the firefern. It only blooms for a few days, after the first frost, but we can use it to cure suncough. Yellowfang will want you to show her where immediately!” She turned to Tigerclaw, a scowl quickly coming to her face. “As for you! Why would you detain a warrior that is only trying to help his Clan thrive? Just because you’re deputy now doesn’t mean you can interfere with healer affairs!” She flicked her tail for Fireheart to leave, clearly prepared to square up to the deputy for him.

He gratefully scuttled away, leaving the two to bicker behind him as he sped into Yellowfang’s den. The grizzled molly was pawing through the herbs, mumbling to herself about stocks and supplies. “Yellowfang!” He whispered urgently. “I need your help, but I also need you to keep it a secret from the Clan. Can I trust you to do that?”

The healer paused, and for a few heartbeats he wondered if she was thinking about yowling for someone to help. Instead, she turned to face him. “I’ve kept Redtail a secret, haven’t I?” She replied in her usual bitter growl. “What is so important that you would need my help, of all things?”

“I-” He hesitated, trying to figure out where to start. “I’ve been meeting with my sister. She’s a kittypet, in the Twolegplace.” Yellowfang’s ear flicked, but she didn’t seem very surprised by the admission. “She thinks she’s going to have kits, but she’s not sure if she wants them, either. It- it’s complicated. I think she can explain better than I can.”

The old molly regarded him with a stern copper gaze. “You want me to use my limited stores to treat a kittypet?” She asked him slowly, a fiery spark in her eye.

“I- maybe? If she needs it. Look, I just- I want you to talk to her, at least. She needs someone that isn’t a mousebrain to help her, and I just can’t do it alone.” He pleaded with her, hoping that she would agree rather than reveal to the Clan what he had been doing the past few moons.

She stared at him a little longer. “I’ll talk to her. But only if Dewpaw can come along.” As Fireheart bristled, opening his mouth to reply, she shushed him with a flick of her tail. “These are rare healer secrets you’re asking me to use, and as my apprentice she should be there to learn them. You know as well as I do that Dewpaw will never reveal your secret to the Clan either.”

He hesitated. He hadn’t told Princess that he would be bringing back two cats. Yet, he couldn’t deny Yellowfang’s request either. “Alright.” He admitted with a sigh. “Just- be gentle with my sister, won’t you? She’s very confused right now, and scared, and I don’t want her to be hurt more.”

Yellowfang chuffed in amusement. “I’ll treat her however I very well please, thank you. Now, then; the Twolegplace, you said?” She asked, beginning to push past him.

“Yes. I’ll show you the way.” As she moved towards the entrance, he remembered Tigerclaw and Dewpaw were still likely arguing in the clearing. “Wait! Before you go out there, I, uhm, lied to Tigerclaw to come see you. I told him I had seen a rare flower while out hunting, and Dewpaw said it was a ‘firefern’, which treats suncough, or something.”

The old healer snorted. “At least she’s better at improvising than you are.” With that, Fireheart followed her out of the den and towards where the deputy and apprentice were still bickering. “Dewpaw! Come on! That firefern isn’t going to last very long in this frost!” 

The two turned to look at Yellowfang storming her way across camp, the ginger warrior on her tail. “Right away, Yellowfang!” She chirped, trotting beside Fireheart as they headed for the bramble entrance. He could hear Tigerclaw yowl something at them as they exited, but he didn’t want to put the energy or thought into puzzling out what the deputy was saying.

His heart raced faster than his paws as he led the two healers to his sister, filling Dewpaw in on the way. He was risking a lot, and he knew that, but he also knew that he would do anything in his power to help her, and this was hopefully one such thing. 

It seemed impossibly long before he saw the treeline, and beyond that the fence of his sister’s garden. He slowed to a halt at the edge of the trees. “Wait here until I call for you. She’s scared, and I don’t think she’ll react well to two strangers appearing in her garden without warning, even if I’m with you.”

Yellowfang nodded and sat down, muttering something to Dewpaw he didn’t catch as he bounded out to the Twoleg fence. He leaped over to find her sitting in the same place he had left her, shivering in the cold but waiting determinedly for him nonetheless.

“I’m back.” He mewed softly, rubbing his cheek against hers in greeting. “I brought back the cat I was telling you about. Her name is Yellowfang. She might look scary, but I promise you, she’s the best healer I’ve ever met.” 

“I- Okay.” Her white-tipped tail twitched nervously at his words, but she didn't voice any worries she might have.

“She also brought her apprentice, Dewpaw. She’s training to be a healer, like how I was training to be a warrior.” His sister stiffened at his words, but he quickly held up his tail to hush her. “It was the only way I could get Yellowfang to agree to help. And I promise that Dewpaw is much nicer than her mentor. She’s about our age, and she’s very understanding.”

Princess stared down at her paws for a moment before finally nodding almost imperceptibly. “Okay. If you believe it’s for the best, I believe you.”

“I do.” He nuzzled her once more and bounded back up to the top of the fence. “You two can come out now.”

The healers came out from the bushes warily before they scrambled over the top of the fence, evidently not quite used to having to make such high leaps. As they all dropped down into the garden, Dewpaw looked around with wonder. “There’s so many herbs here! And- is that catmint?” She gasped as she caught sight of a frosted, bushy plant. “Yellowfang-”

“Hush, child.” Yellowfang murmured. “If his sister allows it, perhaps we can harvest some to take back with us. But we have a job to do first.”

Princess’ green eyes were wide as she stared at the two new wild cats. “You’re Fireheart’s friends?” She asked cautiously, though she didn’t move away as they approached. 

“His Clanmates, yes.” Yellowfang replied, though he could tell she was holding back the barbs she would normally have used in response to being called his ‘friend’. “My name is Yellowfang. I am responsible for healing all manner of ailments in our Clan, both mental and physical.” She drew Dewpaw closer with her tail. “This is my apprentice, Dewpaw. She is learning to do the same from me. She is here solely to observe, and will only speak if you ask her to.”

The little apprentice sat primly beside the grizzled old healer and nodded to affirm her words, though didn’t speak as though she were sitting vigil. “Uh- Thank you, Yellowfang, Dewpaw.” His sister mewed, though he could tell she was still wary of them as she glanced at Fireheart. “Did- did my brother tell you everything?”

“He told us enough.” Yellowfang responded as she also sat down beside her apprentice. “But whatever you feel comfortable sharing with me is up to you. We are here to help you, whatever you think that might entail.” 

The grizzled molly caught Fireheart moving close out of the corner of her eye, and turned to give him a surprisingly dirty glare. “Why don’t you go run off and do whatever it is you warriors do when you’re not bothering us?” She growled at him. “Go chase mice, or whatever. Don’t worry; we’ll take care of your sister.”

He hesitated, glancing to his sister for her approval, but she gave him a quick nod. He had to trust that Yellowfang would treat her well. “Alright. I’ll be hunting nearby; you can yowl if you need me.” With that, he jumped to the top of the fence separating the Twolegplace and the forest, taking one last look behind him at the three mollies. They were huddled close together, murmuring softly, and as he watched Yellowfang gently cleaned one of his sister’s ears while she leaned into it. The simple act made him smile, and with more confidence he bounded off into the forest, looking to return to camp laden with prey.

He didn’t return to camp until just before sunhigh, carrying a cardinal and a mouse that he had managed to catch on the way back. Though Tigerclaw glared as he walked by, the deputy said nothing as he put his prey where the freshkill pile would be. Most of the prey had been distributed out for sharing tongues; as he looked up, he could see most cats clustered around the fringes of camp, including two familiar mollies sharing a robin.

He bounded over, the anxiety he’d felt leaving Princess alone with the healers suddenly welling up once more. Just as he stopped in front of Yellowfang, mouth open to issue a greeting, she held up a paw to stop him. “I already know what you’re going to ask.” She rasped at him, swiping her tongue around her mouth to collect some stray flecks of prey. “And I can’t answer anything. If you want to know what happened, you’ll have to ask her yourself.”

“Maybe I was just going to say hello.” Fireheart retorted.  “But I understand. I just want to know one thing: Did you help her?”

The old healer regarded him for a long moment. “Yes.” She answered at last. “We did.”

“That’s all I care about.” The warrior mewed with a dip of his head. “Thank you, both of you. For- for everything.”

Yellowfang shrugged in response. “We’re healers. It’s what we do. Besides, I wasn’t going to leave a young molly like her in distress. I know it’s a hard position to be in, even without being a season-cycle or so old.” 

He perked his ears at that, but before he could ask more she chuffed in amusement. “Why, we should be thanking her! She let us take some catmint when we left, and while it’s old it’s still fresher than the stores Spottedleaf left me.”

He tilted his head in confusion. “Dewpaw mentioned it too. Why is catmint so important?” Nearly every kittypet’s garden had had some, and while it was a wonderful smelling plant, he couldn’t imagine that was why the healers seemed to regard it so highly.

“It’s very rare in Clan territory, but it’s also one of the best cures for greencough.” Yellowfang glanced at her apprentice with a wry smirk. “And unlike firefern and suncough, both are most definitely real. Most leafbares will bring a couple of cases of greencough, but I witnessed one leafbare where nearly a dozen cats caught it. Nearly all of them died.” She shook her head mournfully. “The fresher the catmint, the more likely it will treat it. Perhaps this leafbare we’ll get lucky.”

“That’s good to hear.” He looked up to see Peppermask and Graystripe sharing the cardinal he’d caught. “I’ll leave you two to eat in peace, but I- if you need anything from me, just let me know. I appreciate what you did.”

The old healer rolled her eyes. “Yes, for this and everything else, I’m sure.” She flicked her tail dismissively. “Go on, then. Let us enjoy our meal. Surely you can find someone else to share tongues with for sunhigh.”

He gave her one last appreciative nod before turning and bounding over to where his warrior friends were sitting. “I hope you don’t mind sharing.” He mewed as he settled down besides Graystripe, giving the tom a bump with his shoulder.

“Only if you tell us what you were talking with Yellowfang about.” Peppermask mewed, her ears perked curiously. “Did something happen while you were out hunting?”

He hesitated. Part of him wanted to tell them the truth, but he feared how they might react. Besides, what had happened was just one time; never again would the Clan need to know that he was talking to his kittypet sister. “I found some catmint out on patrol.” He mewed, careful not to lie entirely, though certainly not telling the whole truth. “I remembered Dewpaw talking about it one time. I just wanted to know if it was useful, that’s all.”

The side-eye Peppermask gave him told him she certainly didn’t believe him, at least not entirely, but she nodded slowly all the same. “Helpful as always, aren’t you?” She mewed at last as Graystripe nudged the cardinal slightly towards him. “Was it useful, then?”

“It was! Yellowfang told me about how it’s used to treat greencough in leafbare.” He mewed, before taking a carefully timed bite. 

“Greencough.” Peppermask’s face dropped at the mention of the sickness. “You weren’t here for it, but it killed many in the Clan last leafbare. Between that and the Great Hunger, it devastated the Clan. So many cats died.” She shook her head slowly. “Still, if you found a cure for it out on patrol, that’s a good thing. Maybe it means we won’t suffer so much this season-cycle.”

“I did. Yellowfang said it wasn’t as fresh as she wanted, but it was still better than nothing.” Fireheart mewed, hoping she could hear the honesty in his voice. “Did anyone you know die?” He asked softly, touching his nose to her cheek for comfort.

“It never spread to the nursery, thanks to Spottedleaf’s hard work.” The spotted molly replied slowly. “But many elders and senior warriors died. Swiftbreeze, our grandmother, was one of them.” She shook her head briefly. “It doesn’t matter much anymore. I’m just glad to hear that this leafbare might fare better than the last.”

“It will.” The ginger warrior mewed determinedly. As he pushed his worries about his sister to the back of his mind, confident in Yellowfang’s promise that she had helped Princess, he instead turned his thoughts towards the coming moon. Even with Tigerclaw’s plotting, he would do his best to help the Clan survive the frigid grasp of leafbare. He just hoped that Starclan wouldn’t give them too many challenges, and that the deputy’s inevitable betrayal didn’t come before they could stop him.