Fluttering Dreams [🪽]

                                    

                                          
Under the warm sun of a late summer day, the lush fields surrounding the small twoleg farm buzzed with life. A gentle breeze ruffled the fur of a beautiful, tabby she-cat named Marmalade as she nestled in a makeshift nest of hay in the barn. 
Though she was a kittypet, her heart belonged to the wild spirit of her ancestors. She remembered the fables and tales of her ancestors—the warriors of the clans far away, fighters of shadows, bears of the night. 
Her life had been comfortable and filled with the sweet, familiar scent of rolling fields and blooming flowers, but there was something inside her that yearned for more—more than the daily routines of soft kibbles and sunny naps. 
Yet here she was, content in her small world, nurturing her kittens to become all that she could not. She was a breeder kittypet, often having litters that her farmfolk would sell to the Sunnyville residents at the annual fair.
She was sad whenever each kitten had to go, but it warmed her heart that Sunnyville was a close-knit community. Sometimes her kittens would come to the farm and visit her, and she was happy knowing they were living good lives that she couldn't provide.
Now, she looked lovingly at her freshly born litter of five kittens as they suckled. Her heart swelled with pride as she groomed each tiny bundle, their soft mews harmonising with the breeze.
"Such precious gifts," she whispered, glancing up at the sky where clouds danced lazily in a dreamy symphony. From the oldest to the youngest, she had named them Minty, Honey, Cocoa, Bean, and Berry. 
But one kitten, the youngest, was unlike the others. As Marmalade counted her little ones, she paused, her breath hitching. Nestled between the others was a tiny creature with delicate wings. 
They were not just any wings; they unfurled like soft gossamer, shimmering in the sunlight. "You have wings," Marmalade mumbled softly in awe, "just like your father."
Marmalade recalled the warmth of the northern breeze, the shadow of a magnificent winged tom named Stingray. His gleaming grey spotted tabby coat shine silver under the gleaming light of the moon, and his soft orange eyes radiated the warmth of a thousand suns.
It happened one dusky evening when her farmfolk had let her out of the barn for a while, calling after her to be back before the sky got dark. She had wandered around the coast, basking in the dying sun, when she'd spotted him.
Stingray, in all his silvery glory, had the most absentminded look on his face as he stared confused into the shallow water of the sea, his eyes flickering with the dim glow of frustration and confusion. 
She had approached him, and struck up a conversation to lighten and ease the awkward situation. Their brief encounter had changed her life forever, and now, this ethereal gift represented a bond that transcended both time and distance.
Marmalade understood he could not abandon his Kin' post to live a life with her, no matter how much she wished he could stay with her a little longer. She had to settle for the times per moon he came to visit, permitted by his tribe leaders.
She looked forward to his visits, and she had informed him she was expecting his brood. They had both expected the litter to consist entirely out of non-cryptid kittens; after all, this was not her first time giving birth. 
And yet, here she was, with a teeny little cryptid mirroring her father's grace.
So, as her little cryptid suckled, she decided to change her name. "I shall rename you to Albacore, after the creatures that run wild in your father's domain."