[Open] Spring and a Storm

Weaselkit poked his nose out from under the gorse, staring out around the camp with wide eyes. He had never left the nursery before--he'd always prick his ears to listen, catching the friendly voices of cats he had yet to meet. He'd tried to slip out a few times, but somehow his mother had always caught him trying to leave. He was older now, and bigger now, so when he bounced awake the first thing he did was stumble to the opening in their den.

He didn't know what he expected when he looked out into the camp, but he didn't think it was really that. Everything was covered in a soft white, and despite the fact that it was sunrise, there was still a chill in the air, though it wasn't unpleasant. The thin kit pulled himself forward, pressing a paw into the white powder, and he squeaked and scrambled back. It was co cold! Hesitantly, he stepped back into it, and this time he squeaked in delight. He thought about what his mother had told him, about great great sheets of white covering everything, and how she had called it snow. At that moment, he felt supremely lucky to go outside when there was all this snow on the ground, and he batted a pawful up into the air, mewling happily when it came down on his nose.

Twistedtail sat by the slowly growing fresh-kill pile, smiling as one of the clan's newest kits scrambled out and started playing around with the snow. The kits are so innocent, protected from the horrors of the world that I have faced, she thought. Getting up and awkwardly sitting down due to her injuries near the kit, she looked up at the blank sky above. "Enjoying the last of the snow, little kit?" she twitched her nose, shaking off some snowflakes gathering on her muzzle. "This would probably be the last time you see this before next Leafbare. The flowers are blooming already, and you could find them somewhere around the ridge around camp. You like the flowers, do you?" she asked, giving a soft smile to the young kit.

Weaselkit whirled around, staring at the cat standing over him. He was right, it was snow! ...but the snow was going away, apparently. He frowned, and he started to open his mouth to ask how long that would be, but then he found himself looking around excitedly. A ways off, he caught a splash of pink, the snow receding away from it, a trail of browning green leading up to the flowers. Flowers! "They're pretty, I do!" He chirped, ears pricking excitedly, a grin spreading across his muzzle. Without a second more of hesitation, he tottered off towards the flowers, stumbling a few times when his paws got caught in deeper snowbanks. He paused when he came to the end of the snow, and he stretched out a little paw, pressing it into the swath of pink. The flowers were cool, and some felt frigid and brittle while a few more, blooming skywards, felt softer against his pad. The kit bounced forward, all four paws landing in the patch of flowers with a delighted purr.