The night was quiet and peaceful. It was dark inside the dusty, dry den. Inside lay the old cat of many titles: loner, friend, member, Pioneer, mate, father, Steer, elder, and now Storyteller. His ebony pelt was strewn with little gray hairs, and his formerly bright and shiny green eyes were pale and faded. He felt his tired lungs heave with the effort to breathe. The old loner's limbs refused to move without strain. No one would see him die. No one. But that was okay; for the death of Kili, a cat who had seen this island change a multitude of times, would not go unnoticed. He gave a small smile to... no one in particular. "mi pona..." he rasped faintly to himself. Kili closed his eyelids, letting sleep claim him. Sleep, the cousin of death, cradled him close. He dreamt of the shoreline from which he was so suddenly taken by the ocean all those moons ago. He found himself staring up at the stars in a clear sky with a calm tide lapping at his paws. There was no storm now. Only peace, tranquility, and the gentle sound of the water remained. He saw Alderlake in one of the stars, and in another he saw Trapper Dune. And there was Fennel, Rattles, Dove, Waso, Evergreen, and others... A few hours passed. Kili's last breath was just like any other breath he'd taken throughout his lifetime, only with very old and deteriorated lungs. There was stillness afterward. Sleep had given him to death. "Take care of him for me," sleep said to death. "Life cared about him, even though life never really treated him in a consistent manner. It took me a little while to warm up to him, and I feel a bit guilty. All he really wanted was to help the world he lived in. Don't be like me. He deserves to rest in peace." Death smiled, softly stroking Kili's soul. "Don't worry, cousin. He is safe with me..." ~ [ The end. ] ~
Thank you for reading. If you wish to provide your cat's reaction to Kili's death, you may do so in the comments. You may also provide your own reaction, but make sure to differentiate between the two, so whatever curious soul reading the comments knows which one is which. Scroll down the Notes and Credits for links to a bunch of stuff that relates to Kili. Here is the link to Alderlake's death SRP for those who are curious: Here are links to two pieces of fanart that depict Kili's older self, made by and respectively: ~ ~ Here is the link to a poem made by literally one real life day after Kili's death: Here are the links to Kili's two references, the older one being listed first: ~ ~ Here is the link to a project I made describing Kili's parenting style for his and Alderlake's litter: Here are the links to all the Kili AMVs including the Kili's Nightmare series in order from oldest to newest: ~ Kili's Nightmare (): ~ Kili's Nightmare (): ~ Kili's Nightmare (): ~ Kili's Nightmare (): ~ Kili's Nightmare (): ~ [P4n-$33] AMV: ~ Smile (AMV): ~ Salt (AMV): ~ Water Fall + Water Rise (AMV): Here is an account I made a while ago on which I pretend to be Kili: [I might list more links here later, so lemme know if you find something you want me to link here.]
