[open] You're all my friends!

A pale, warm light filtered down through a sheet of silver-gray clouds that drifted lazily but constantly across the sky. It was mid-morning, not yet sun-high but a while after sunrise, and RiverClan's camp clearing was blessed with the perfect weather for a certain new Clan member to make her first outing from the nursery. In the two short moons since her birth, Dacekit, daughter of Dappleshine and Sparkfrost, had grown a thick, kitten-soft dilute calico pelt of off-white, cinder, and peach, a beautiful blend of her long-coated parents. Her eyes had shifted colors since the day they opened as blue, and now they were turning a green-hazel like her father's, though they were rounder and glimmered with love much like her mother's. She was a bundle of energy with a heart of newly cast gold, and when she had learned that she was finally going to be able to head out into her Clan's camp that she'd heard so much about, Dacekit was untameable. She pranced about the nursery, unable to still herself and unable to count the moments until she would be free.

And then she was.

Dacekit dashed out of the nursery, brushing against the rushes as she ran, little paws pattering on the ground. Her little tail, awkwardly tufted at its beginning stages of growth, stuck out straight behind her. She had gone only a tail-length or two from the nursery when she stopped, planting her little cream-and-gray paws on the earth. Her glimmering eyes skimmed over the camp, catching on cat after cat after cat - more cats then she-d ever seen in her whole life! She could hardly believe what she was seeing. She took a few more stomping steps forward and then puffed her chest out as she took in a deep breath. "I'm Dacekit, and I'm your friend!" the kit mewled loudly to no one in particular - or everyone, perhaps. She immediately looked back over her shoulder with proud eyes, looking for her mother's validation.

The queen had settled quickly into her new routine, and though her paws itched at the thought of going back out, she was more than content to enjoy these moons before Dacekit was appernticed. The days had streamed by as quickly as the river's current, and before her eyes the tiny, helpless bit of fur she had birthed had opened blue eyes. It wasn't much longer after that they began to shift to match her father's, a fact that made Dappleshine smile. Her coat had filled out, becoming absolutely stunning, a perfect blend of both of her parents. Dacekit was her pride and joy, and though she wasn't anticipated Dappleshine would never change a thing. She hoped that someday she would be able to introduce her kit to Raventail, and Barleytuft. She was beautiful, kind and loving, and perfect in every single way. She had broke the news that her daughter would get to step out of the nursery for the first time, and the excitement in the walls of the nursery were palpable as she had carefully groomed her daughter in preparation.

Too soon, it felt, it was time. She stood to the side as Dacekit raced out of the nursery, her tail streaming behind her. Dappleshine couldn't help but laugh to herself as she padded after her, careful not to let her single kit out of a sight for even a moment. Stepping out behind her daughter, she watched her expression shift as her eyes moved from cat to cat, before letting out a proclamation for all to hear, and immediately turning to catch her mother's eyes. Dappleshine met them with a kind smile, and a hearty nod. Moving to Dacekit's side, she gently licked the top of her head. "That was wonderful, my dear. Remember to be careful not to get under the paws of the warriors, some of them could be busy and might step on your tail, okay?" She purred, nuzzling her head gently with her own.

The experienced warrior was just finishing dropping a blackbird he had caught when the voice of a young cat called his attention. He looked at the nursery and smiled widely when he noticed it was nothing else but Dappleshine and Sparkfrost's kit. After talking with Mistlepaw, meeting Myrtlepaw and talking to her sister, the tom had started to become a bit more cheerful and open to his clanmates. And now with Dacekit around, how could he not be happy if he was an uncle now!

After finishing leaving the prey on the fresh-kill pile, the large, golden tom walked to the small kit and her mother. "Morning, Dappleshine! I see you finally decided to let his little warrior for her first stroll." He purred greeting the grey she-cat. Berrycloud then turned his sight to the small kit and he lowered his head so their eyes could be at the same height. "Hey there, little one! I'm your uncle, Berrycloud but I would love to be friends with you. What's your name?" He already knew his name because of the other warriors but first introductions had to happen directly.

Delighted, the small she-cat purred her notoriously loud purr at her mother's gentle lick and kind words. Though her head was tilted awkwardly back to look with wonder-filled eyes at her mother, Dacekit nodded at the pretty silver-gray she-cat's instructions. "Okay, mommy! I'll be careful as a mossyball with no fur!" she promised gravely, as though her odd string of words had some sage meaning in their depths. Dacekit then turned her head back to gaze about the camp, and a moment later she felt Dappleshine's motherly nuzzling. Her purr strengthened, and then she saw a tall, thick-furred tom approaching.

Dacekit was awed by the warrior's size as he came to stop in front of her and her mother. He had heard her greeting! The tom spoke to Dappleshine first, and Dacekit overheard his words and they made her giggle. "I'm not a warrer yet, I'm a kit!" she protested, struggling to annunciate the larger word. The powerful golden tabby turned his attention to her and she took two small hops towards him. "Hi Uncleberrercloud!" she mewed, but she crinkled her face as confusion flickered over it, not answering his question about her name. "What does your name mean? What's an Uncleberrer? Unc....Uncleby?"

Shaking the remnants of water droplets from her fur, Ivybrook padded back into camp with a fish and a lizard between her teeth. She had been on- you guessed it- another solo hunting patrol. Although this one may not have been successful as usual, she was glad just to have gotten more prey back home. After dropping the two scaly creatures in the freshkill pile, her eyes wandered to where her brother and niece were chatting. She saw Dappleshine as well, so she figured that this must be the young kit's first time exploring camp.

Ignoring the slight ache in her paws, Ivybrook walked over the where Sparkfrost and Dappleshine's kit was speaking to Berrycloud, who she knew as... Uncleberrercloud? Interesting, she thought with a little grin. It was her hope that Dacekit might prove to be a temporary distraction from her own provocative thoughts, so she crouched down to eye-level with the kit and tilted her head playfully. "Hiya, Dacekit. I'm your aunt, Ivybrook. I'm Berrycloud and your father's sister." Ivybook looked up to Dappleshine with a smile, standing to her full height. "She's beautiful, Dappleshine." Then, with a wink, the newly appointed warrior swiped with sheathed claws at Dacekit's tail, a challenging look in her eye. "Betcha can't catch my tail!"

Purring as Berrycloud approached, followed by Ivybrook, Dappleshine nodded in welcome. Her eyes shone bright with pride and adoration as her kit spoke, and amusement sparked in their depths as she attempted Berrycloud's name. "Good morning! Yes, it's a beautiful day for an introduction to the camp. As I'm sure you can tell, she's very excited. Thank you, Ivybrook." She purred as the new warrior complimented her kit, and smiled as Ivybrook issued her challenge to Dacekit.

The fluffy yellow tabby smiled when his sister joined them. With a purr, he stood up to greet her and his happiness could not be wider when Dacekit started asking questions with a funny kit-language. It was clear Dacekit was still too young to create full sentences without having some sort of mistake but it was great she was talking this much by now! "He, but I bet you will be a warrior soon with that energy! And like my sister here said, being your uncle means I'm your dad's brother."

He looked down at the interaction between the she-kit and Ivybrook when suddenly, an idea came to his mind. Crouching down to be near Dacekit's ears, the golden tom beckoned her to come closer. "Psst... Dacekit. Before you start trying to catch my sis' tail, remember you say "crow-food" whenever you miss. It's part of the game and a really funny word." He whispered only to the dilute calico she-cat before standing straight again. Berrycloud sat down near Dappleshine, containing a chuckle to come out his mouth. This shall be fun.

Before the tom could answer, Dacekit saw another cat approaching and turned her head, immediately distracted, to see a thick-furred dark tabby approaching. "Hi!" she purred, "I'm Dacekit!" The she-cat got down on her level, her belly on the dirt, and Dacekit couldn't help but grin at the new friend. The warrior greeted her warmly and introduced herself as Auntivybrook, another odd name like Uncleberrercloud's. The kit wondered why their names weren't normal, like Mistlepaw and Dappleshine and Sparkfrost were, and even her own was. Auntivybrook explained that she was Berrycloud's sister, as well as Sparkfrost's. Why didn't she say his name right? Dacekit wondered.

Unclberrycloud, or perhaps Berrycloud?, spoke again, explaining how he'd called her a little warrior because she'd be one soon with her energy. She giggled and shook her head bashfully, but continued listening as he confirmed that, yes, "uncle" meant he was her father's brother. Dacekit tried to commit the thought to memory. Uncle means brother. Uncle means brother. She felt a lot smarter then.

A moment later, a flash of quick movement appeared in the corner of her vision. Dacekit, always high in energy, was immediately alert, bouncing away on light toes. For a moment she looked at Auntivybrook, wide-eyed, gauging if the she-cat was upset, but a playful and devious grin was splayed on the dark she-cat's face and with no more hesitation Dacekit crouched - a poor imitation of a hunter's crouch, with her butt and tail much too high in the air - and grinned back, pupils widening with focus.

A voice pulled her back for a moment, however; Uncleberrycloud had crouched and beckoned for her, and Dacekit glanced between her target - Auntivybrook's tail - and the waiting tom for a moment before going to him. He whispered softly some instructions of the game, namely that one must announce "crow-food" if they miss. Dacekit nodded enthusiastically with agreement, murmuring "Crow-food, crow-food," a few times under her breath before finally turning to Ivybrook, ready for the game.

Dacekit wriggled back into her crouch before taking a dash at Auntivybrook, trying to run around her side to grab at the she-cat's tail.

Ivybrook grinned when the little she-cat dropped into a crouch, raising her tail far higher than necessary. The little kit had a way to go before she became a warrior, but Berrycloud was quite right- with her energy, the time would pass quite quickly. Waiting as her brother whispered into Dacekit's ear, Ivybrook shifted her paws so that her crouch matched her niece's exactly. She did let her tail drop, however, so that it was at least accessible to the much smaller she-cat. When Dacekit finally rushed toward her, she lifted her tail out of reach, tiny claws missing by just a whisker. "You almost got me!" Backing away from the kit, she dropped back into the crouch, beckoning her forth again.

Dappleshine watched as her daughter went to Berrycloud and he whispered in her ear before straightening and moving to stand next to her. She smiled over at him before turning back to watch her daughter, purring as she noticed her rear and tail was far too high. That would come in time, for now she was just going to watch as her dear kit had her fun. Ivybrook positioned herself, and at the last minute just barely pulled her tail out of reach, and Dappleshine found that she was curious as to how Dacekit would react to failure. Failure was something that every cat faced, at least once in their lives, and she hoped that her daughter would handle it with the same enthusiastic energy that she always did, popping up and trying again.

Minkpaw blinked at the change in lighting as he exited the elder's den, a wad of old dry moss in his mouth. Tiredness dulled his eyes as he began to pad heavily across camp, the ache of yet another day's beginning dogging his paws. Overhead, the watery sky did no more to improve his mood, the warmth of the sun lost in his current state. Apprentice duties held no joy anymore as he carried them out almost in silence, only the occasional noise or word passing his maw in response to the chatter from the elders. Every time he entered it only drove yet another thorn deeper, an echo of a laugh as his brother's shadow dodged a tossed bit of moss. The wraith of his sister teasing him as he accidentally spilled some mousebile on his paws. Just memories that wouldn't leave.

He kept his head down as he moved across to the camp's exit, avoiding any cat's gaze who might be turned in his direction. The dusty dryness of the moss sucked the moisture out of his mouth as he went, and he wrinkled his nose as a piece tickled it. Hopefully he wouldn't sneeze and end up with moss all over the clearing again....

A sudden sound pricked at his ears, and they twitched in its direction as he paused, turning around towards the noise. Near the nursery, there was a little ball of fluff bouncing around, her fur a familiar multitude of colours. Dacekit? He blinked. Is it her first day out of the nursery already? He watched as Berrycloud came up to the kit, Ivybrook following soon after as Dappleshine stayed near them to look on. Almost before he realized it, his paws were heading towards them. He stopped a tail-length or so away and carefully placed the wad of moss on the ground as Dacekit crouched down, her tail high as she prepared to pounce on Ivybrook's.

Aside from the little kit's not-great posture, she was certainly fast as she dashed at the older she-cat's tail, her claws nearly but not quite catching it. Almost before he realized it, a slight mrrow of laughter had passed his maw, a small smile twitching at the edge of his mouth. The small kit's antics lightened something in him, and he continued to watch, curious to see her reaction to Ivybrook's move.

All the little kit's attention was focused on her target, her eyes wide with excitement. Dacekit wasn't a skilled hunter yet, but she certainly had the drive and energy to try. The thick tail was so close as she sprang, letting out a squeal of joy as it raised, lightning fast, to swish just out of her reach. Dacekit grasped desperately in the air for one last attempt before she fell back to all fours on the earth. Not in the least disappointed by her failure, the tortoiseshell whirled back around to beam at Auntivybrook. Remembering the rule that she had been told by the older tom, the little she-kit took in a deep breath and proclaimed with glee, as a kit might proclaim "you're it!", "Crow-food!"

Ivybrook had already beckoned her on, and so Dacekit did not pause after her outburst, immediately hurtling towards Auntivybrook once more and springing at the she-cat's tail hopefully.

Dappleshine chuckled as her daughter sprang, Ivybrook raising her tail high as her kit soared under it, trying to adjust to still reach it. She landed nicely, whirling around to beam at her aunt before taking a breath and proclaiming, "Crow-food!". Blinking in shock and surprise at the sudden outburst of the word, Dappleshine stood completely still, mouth agape and eyes wide. Her brain scrambled to piece together the puzzle of what had happened, and how her daughter had learned what she just said. Suddenly, she recalled Berrycloud whispering to her daughter, and the look on his face as he settled beside her to watch the game with Ivybrook, and she turned, eyes glittering with amusement and playfulness as she scolded. "You put her up to that, didn't you? Teaching a kit mean words, and so young! I'm going to have to keep my eye on you, Berrycloud!" She exclaimed as she nudged his shoulder with her own, unbalancing him slightly as she laughed to herself, shaking her head. She would have learned the word eventually... But now she would have the chore of teaching her daughter when it wasn't appropriate to say. For now though, it wasn't hurting anything - right?