Clove & Moose: Moose Moment 8

Clove and Moose is a serial fiction story. If you want to get caught up on what came before, click one of the buttons below.

Previously, on Clove & Moose: After the mysterious Cataclysm dried up the earth and its magic, Clove and her cat Moose travelled to find and repair pools of corrupted magic left behind. She's picked up three companions: Marissa, Jasper, and his trusty horse Miss Delilah.

Moose was woken by a sound in the night. He tried to ignore it but it didn't go away.

After a few minutes, he uncurled himself from the cozy nest he'd made in the big armchair of the house where they were staying. He arched his back in a big stretch, and jumped down to the floor.

He padded up the stairs and down the hall until the sound grew louder. He entered the room, leapt into the bed, and nuzzled the figure who lay there.

“Moosey boy?” Marissa sat up and pet him. “Did you come to check on me?”

He pressed his face into her hand, accepting the pets until she lay back down. Then he sat beside her and kneaded the blankets into shape.

“Thanks for looking out for me, little guy. Sometimes I just get really lonely at night, you know? Clove and Jasper are great, but I miss my family. I wish we could find them.”

Moose walked across Marissa and curled up on her chest, purring loudly until she stopped sniffling and fell asleep.

He'd never admit it, but sometimes he got lonely at night too.

Thank you for reading! We'll come back to the main story of Clove & Moose soon enough, but I've been publishing a monthly fiction newsletter for five years straight and I need a little break. These shorter Moose Moments will be coming to your inbox instead for the next few months.

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Katie Conrad is a speculative fiction writer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can find her on bluesky and instagram.