Surrogate Attention

The sun had come up by the time Falconfang dragged himself out of the warrior's den, his eyes a bit dull as he bored holes into the ground while he padded away from the entrance. Admittedly, he was still feeling down from Minteyes telling him that she didn't want to have kits until Twistedpaw's apprenticeship was done, and he understood and respected her decision, but still... it left him feeling a bit empty inside. He needed to train Shadepaw himself, but right now his mind and heart weren't into the task. His paws had taken him to the nursery - real amusing, paws - and so he flopped down on his belly, licking down his ruffled fur as he stared into the nursery. Inside, kits were either sleeping curled up against their mothers or slowly entering the waking world, and a smile formed on his face. Someday, his kits would be in there... someday.

As soon as this thought had left the tom's head, a small kit came bounding from the nursery. Her tiny white paws barely stayed in one spot before pouncing to the next. Her green eyes were wide with awe at the outside world. Every small blade of grass, every bug, every tickle of the breeze interested her.

Rainkit pounced from section to section of grass, enjoying the tickle under her small paws. It was her first time out of the nursery, where the grass and bedding was considerably softer compared to the real world. She spotted a warrior lying in the grass, seemingly lost in thought. The kit assumed he wasn't paying any attention, so she stepped lightly toward him, hardly making a sound. His tail was a mere two mouselengths from her, the tip twitching restlessly. Immediately, the tabby settled into a crouch before leaping onto the tip of the tom's tail, tiny claws unsheathed.

The deputy's eyes drifted across the small kit bouncing out of the nursery, but a small sigh escaped him and he glanced back towards the entrance instead, the wide gap suddenly seeming darker than it had been when he got there. Would his kit be that energetic, that curious... or would there just be none to answer that question? Scowling, Falconfang shook his head to chase away such negative thoughts. There was no reason to think in such a way: they would happen eventuall-"Ah!" His head shot up in surprise - and a tiny spark of pain - as something sunk into the tip of his bushy tail. Whipping his head around, he stared at the kit that had slipped past his vision, her tiny claws digging into his tail with a successful stalk and pounce. Amusement lit up his vision despite the pain, and he lifted his tail up to yank the kit barely a mousetail above the ground. "And just what do you think you're doing, little one?" While he held her by his tail, he wracked his brain for a name... Rainkit! That was it.

Rainkit was struck with a sudden jolt of fear. She sheathed her claws, dropping back to the grassy ground. In attempt to still seem in control, she fluffed her fur just a bit. Visibly quivering, she answered, "I was just playing." What would this warrior do? What if she had accidentally hurt him? What if he got infected? Her young imagination played the possibilities to a point where she was sure every bad scenario was the one that was happening. Oh, she was going to be exiled for sure!

Falconfang laughed quietly at the kit's sudden defensiveness, putting up a paw peacefully. "Hey, no harm done, Rainkit. You're quite good at sneaking, aren't you?" Despite being a kit, she was already showing skills that would serve her well as an apprentice and beyond. Turning around fully so he could see Rainkit, he laid back down and smiled at her. "I guess you're never too young to start learning your skills." It was comforting to know that the new wave of Windclan kits would grow up to become such wonderful warriors.

The tabby kit tried not to look to boastful, but she couldn't but swell with pride at his praise.
"Mama says I'll make a good hunter," she burst out, standing up to her full height, which was not quite as tall as a rabbit. Rainkit's mother had said no such thing, but from observing the warriors and apprentices from the nursery entrance, the kit could distinguish between what physical features fit with certain skills.

"Well, we definitely need more hunters, so hopefully you'll be bringing back lots of prey." Whether or not anyone had said that, it seemed true enough: the young kit looked like she would grow up to be a fine hunter, and the clan could always use more prey. Starclan knows he was such a awful hunter, and with an ear twitch of embarrassment, he realized he might be passing that lack of skill on to his own apprentice. "But for now, you'll need to wait until you grow a bit more. You're not much bigger than a rabbit yourself, you know!" He said this with a purr of amusement, no malice in his mew. This felt quite calming, chatting with the kit. It was at least distracting him from the sorrowful thoughts he had been thinking just moments ago.

Rainkit deflated slightly. Sure, she wasn't big now, but she would get bigger! She had been praying to Starclan for a moon now.
"I'll be the best hunter the forest has ever seen!" she exclaimed, seeming to enjoy the attention she was receiving from Falconfang. Getting caught up in her own self-pluming, the kit pounced on a small, crispy leaf nearby; she overdid it, tumbling over herself.

Placing a paw against his muzzle to hide a wide smirk, Falconfang padded over and plucked Rainkit off the ground and onto her paws. "You have a lot of energy, but you need to control how you use it." Laying his tail along the ground, he began to move it slowly in a side-to-side motion. "Try catching my tail again, but this time concentrate on where you're going to land. Your prey won't be as still as that leaf, you know."

The kit's eyes widened as she realized that Falconfang was giving her a mini lesson. And before I'm even an apprentice! Rainkit was bursting with excitement. She crouched as she had before, but this time, she watched the tom's tail closely. She began counting down in her head...

3, 2, 1, POUNCE! The kit pounced toward where she assumed the tail would be by the time she landed.

Falconfang easily anticipated the kit's movements and whisked his tail out of the way as Rainkit landed on the ground instead of her target. "I didn't say it'd be that easy," he laughed, running his tail back along the ground. "Remember to anticipate me, not just my tail. I'm controlling it after all." His tail slid rhythmically along the ground, though every few swishes it darted in a different direction, not making the task easy for the kit. "Don't worry," he reassured her in a softer tone. "There's no pressure; it's just important that you try."

With a pouty look on her face, Rainkit moved back to where she had started her approach. She was determined this time to catch the tail. She watched it closely again, scrutinizing its unsteady movements. Finally, with a small squeak of effort, the kit pounced, this time just barely catching the very tip of the tail. It quickly escaped her grasp, however.

Falconfang was surprised when Rainkit was able to at least partially anticipate his movements and catch the end of his tail, though it was barely a catch and his tail quickly darted out of her paws' grasp. Still, it was an improvement. "That was good!" he mewed brightly, smiling at the kit. "See? You're getting better already." His tail came to a standstill at this point: no need to overly tucker the kit out.