|:| in a wanderer's paws |:| {CLOSED}

Small paws crunched on rotten leaves, and a brown tabby kit, not five moons old, bounced along, her mood optimistic and friendly. Although, to be fair, there was no one around to be friendly to.

Squirrelkit, having an explorer's heart and a mischievous mind, had wandered away from camp again—but this time, she had gone further than before. And, in the end, she'd gotten lost.
Of course, she didn't think of it that way.
It had been almost a full day; the sun was just disappearing behind the seemingly forever forest. The small brown tabby was still a kit, and had gotten off track many times. To chase a butterfly, or attack a leaf, or chase after a mouse (she caught nothing).
But now, finally, she was in Thunderclan territory, just a little ways from their camp. She was crowded with strange scents, but couldn't distinguish which was which; she sneezed often in the pollen-filled air.
A bird called in the distance.
And somewhere behind her, larger paws crunched. Her heart leaping, she jumped nearly a tail-length in the air, turning around to face the cat standing there.

Blacktwig was like a giant compared to the small tabby she-kit. Glaring bluish-violet eyes bored into her. "What do you think you're doing out here?" Blacktwig challenged in a loud voice, standing in place without a fright. Claws unsheathed, his shadow cast across Squirrelkit's small shape. He'd never allow her to leave without permission. "It's unsafe," he continued, tone softening. He stepped closer to her, and touched the tips of her ears with his tail.

He raised a paw to head off, with the kit by his side. "Come on." Blacktwig hissed. "This will need to be informed to your mother." The humungous tomcat began to pad away, gesturing for the little she-kit to follow him.

"I'm exploring!" she squealed, proud of herself for finding such a large warrior.
As he turned to pad off, she bounced along beside him, her ears pricked forwards.
"D'you eat kits?" she questioned, her fluffy paws hitting the ground once every heartbeat as she hopped alongside him.
"Morningfog dun' care. I explore. I found lots of stuff. Once I caught a toad!" she paused, panting. Her paws hurt from the long time it had taken for her to get there and bouncing as high as she could didn't really help it.
Squirrelkit switched to trotting beside the larger tom. "But 'en it was gross so I let it go. The elders said it'd give me warts on my paws but I don't think it did. Anyway," she continued, panting spastically at this point. "Have you ever killed a cat before? Otterpaw said you'd eat kits like me. Are you gonna do it now? Do kits taste good? What do mice taste like? And…"

Suddenly the tabby she-kit paused, looking horrified.

"What do squirrels taste like?" she whispered, seeming more upset by this idea than the prospect that Thunderclan cats ate kits.

"Food," the tomcat replied in an expressionless manner. He then looked down at her, seeming confused. He then focused more on the scent. The kit did smell of fear. "No, no!" Blacktwig insisted. "I don't eat kits. But you should get back to RiverClan." Blacktwig raised his head, eyes becoming sharper to gaze off into the distance. He could see shimmering rocks coming up, the border that Blacktwig was familiar with. He sat down to drop the little she-kit off. "Uh, you go along now." Blacktwig said. He shrugged his shoulders.

He gave the excitable tabby a nudge. "Go on, uh... Morningfog is probably waiting for you." Blacktwig mewed, then got up, shaking out his pelt of water that splashed menacingly onto his paws. The massive tom raised a paw to turn around, but he looked back at Squirrelkit. "You sure you can get across?" Blacktwig asked. The warrior code sang its song clear in his mind: Assist a kit, no matter what clan. He smiled at her, though her scent was salty, fishy and foreign. She'd have a much better place in RiverClan than in ThunderClan. The river was her home, not the woods.

Squirrelkit quickly got over her alarm that the black tom she was talking to ate squirrels, and that they tasted like food.
"Oh," she sounded disappointed. "I thought you did eat kits."
Her fur fluffed up as she spotted the slight shimmer and blurred patches of cats of Sunningrocks in the distance, across the bubbling river. She tentatively reached her paw into the rushing water, then made up her mind.

"Nah," she said casually. "Too wet. Carry me across!" the small, bright-eyed tabby demanded.

Squirrelkit leapt up, her front paws only barely touching his chest when she stood on her hind legs, waiting for his teeth to sink lightly into her scruff.

b u m p i n g   u p  ;P

Greypaw watched the water-vole for the slightest move, her legs tense and ready to spring. Suddenly a smell of Thunderclan filled the air. She shuddered at the thought of a intruder, hesitating a second before pouncing and missing the prey she was trying to catch. "Aww, fox-dung!" She hissed. The grey tabby lifted her head to find the source of the scent, then stepped the ground silently to the cat. Halfway there, she caught another scent... Squirrelkit! Oh no! A kit's in danger! The fear drained away from her body as she ran and pounced on the intruder.

Morningfog had searched every overturned stump, branch, any clump of moss and stone she came across. When she opened her mouth to find the scent again, she lost it at the river. The queen's heart grew icy with fear as she bounded to the riverside. She had been running as fast as a WindClan cat to find her missing daughter and her throat was on fire from it now. She saw tiny pawprints in the mud on ThunderClan's side of the river and didn't even hesitate. The mother leaped across the stepping stones to ThunderClan territory, spotting Squirrelkit. She felt weak with relief, her kit was safe. Now, her body caught up with her, she coughed with her dry throat and practically fell onto the cool grass.

Greypaw hissed at the intruder as she scented Morningfog nearby. She didn't dare turn back, or else that would be giving the warrior a advantage. She slowly back away and grabbed Squirrelkit by the scruff and ran as fast as she could to Morningfog. "Here's... kit....... ... Thundercla..... run.....!" She panted and forcing the words out to Morningfog.

"Calm down," Blacktwig said. "I'm only here to return a missing kit. She was wandering in our territory. I assume you're her mother?" Blacktwig looked up gratefully at Morningfog's arrival. He smiled. "Funny one, she is. Good luck," he mewed, and turned tail.

"Ah, hey Mor—ow, OW!" Squirrelkit struggled loose from Greypaw's grip, her pale tabby fur ruffled, eyes indignantly wide as she was plopped down next to the queen.
"This is my friend." the kit stated proudly, glancing at the large tom standing a little ways away. "He—what's your name?" she stood up to yelp after him, her forehead furrowed, a breeze catching her ear and waving it slightly. "I'm Squirrelkit."

Blacktwig blinked at her, turning around. Friend? If he was an idol to the little kit, he'd actually feel as if he made a difference. But he couldn't say he wanted to be recognized by RiverClan - just return a small, lost kit to her home. "Blacktwig," he said. "Blacktwig of ThunderClan." The oddly large tomcat faced Squirrelkit with a smile, acknowledging her, before turning to pad away again.

Greypaw stopped and turned around. The kit she was carrying was on the ground and the Thunderclan warrior didn't seem threatning anymore. "Oh. Sorry." She sighed.

Squirrelkit didn't make a move to assure Greypaw it was okay, or even to check on her own mother, lying limp beside her.
She just stared after him, shaking her small head side to side slightly. 
"He's so cool." she whispered longingly, and then almost chocked on a small bit of dead leaf she'd snorted up.

Finally, the warrior jumped over a string of brambles, and soared down a small ditch. Just like that, the speckled tomcat vanished.