In the windowsill of a warm home was a small ginger kitten, curiously staring out at the falling snowflakes. The light from the Christmas tree reflected on the snow through the glass, causing it to appear a shining yellow beside the house. "Rusty," Nutmeg meowed from where she was curled under the tree with her litter. "Why don't you come here? It's bedtime."

The ginger kit flicked an ear. "In a moment," he replied. "It's so... interesting! I wonder what it would be like to live out there... in the wild."

Nutmeg's expression was thoughtful. She'd had a dream about her son atop a high rock, and she'd called for him to come down several times. But he didn't seem to hear her. "Rusty, we live here. With our housefolk. We have everything we need here. There's no point in fantasizing about the wild. Come on, we should sleep."

Rusty paused for a moment, keeping his green eyes fixed on the snow; then he jumped down and padded back to his mother and siblings. "I guess," he mewed.

Nutmeg curled her tail around her kit and put her head down. Rusty soon fell asleep alongside his siblings, but his mother couldn't shake a feeling of uncertainty. What if her son was unhappy here, with their housefolk? If he really did dream about living out there? Closing her eyes, the tabby queen fell into a light, dreamless sleep, her worries unceasing to trouble her.

How what that? I was bored and decided to do a little one-shot with a young Firestar. Please let me know what you thought by leaving a review! ️