‘Do you have to go?’ asked Brigid as the kittens played around her paws. ‘You know I have to, we have to support your brother, his troops can’t suppress the clans by himself,’ Nechtan leant forward and kissed Brigid on her forehead, ‘we’re family, he would do the same for us.’ ‘Would he Nechtan? Do …
A Parting of the Ways
Brigid ran a paw over her swollen belly. Only she knew the precious cargo it carried; she hadn’t even told her husband Nechtan of the kindle of kittens that she could feel turning and tumbling inside her. For the first time in her life she no longer had a desire to fight, or go to …
Light and Dark
The Cailleach took Brigid and Nechtan’s paws in hers. ‘Do you wish to be one, in this life and the next?’ she asked, looking from Brigid to Nechtan. Brigid could feel the power surge through her body, making the tips of her fur effervesce with energy. She could feel the heat coming from Nechtan’s paw, …
New Alliances
A long, protracted, painful yowl filled the Cove as Brigid flung herself towards the tomcat. He didn’t have time to react before she was on him, hissing and swiping out, teeth bared, claws flying. The cat twisted, knocking Brigid off her paws and together they tumbled and rolled, sand arcing up around them as they …
Strangers in the Broch
Brigid stood on top of the Broch, her paws on the edge of the precipice. She reached her arms skyward, her claws extended and let the sharp, icy wind buffet her fur. She closed her eyes and tipped her head upwards, her whiskers tingled as a shiver ran down her spine. She loved to feel …
The Wisdom of the Cailleach
The flames crackled and spat forked tongues of luminescent orange and green towards the ceiling of the souterrain. A coil of smoke from a bubbling cauldron curled its way upward towards a small opening in the roof. Brigid approached the doorway, and watched the Cailleach as she hunkered, naked over the cauldron that sat atop …
A whisker between life and death
Brigid pushed her claw deeper into the kitten’s throat. ‘Say it,’ she whispered in his ear, ‘you know I won’t stop until you’ve said it,’ she pushed the claw deeper. The kitten let out a gasp, ‘stop it Brigid, I’ll tell father,’ he whispered, his words coming out as breath. Brigid removed the claw from …
The different one
Brigid leaned back on the Broch wall and watched her brothers and sisters play in the bay beneath the cove. They chased each other, running around in circles, trying to grab each other by the tail. Her father had always told her she was different than the others, a leader of cats; and she knew …
A warrior born
Cruithne kissed his wife Eithne’s paw and smiled. Surrounding her on the bed were seven perfect kittens, eyes shut, all nudging each other, trying to get close to their mother. A little white female kept pushing her way in, knocking the other kittens off their stumbling paws. Cruithne leaned over and picked up the mewling …
In the beginning…
Two small figures stood in the desolate moor as around them the maelstrom of elements howled to their mistress. The Cailleach stood up, the bells on her ankles tinkling as she moved. Flashes of blue skin glistened as her cape spun around her. ‘Cruithne,’ she said to the cat kneeling in front of her, ‘this …
