sneaking out of camp (open!)

Shadekit found her relatively easily and poked her through the brush. Once again, Mottlekit cursed the white spots that gave her away whenever she tried to be sneaky at night.

She squinted into the darkness, looking for Shadekit. She was jealous once again of his pure black coat. Eventually she caught sight of him. He really just looked like a patch of darkness moving through the night. So lucky. But now that she saw him, she took off after him and reached out for his tail.

Shadekit gave a quiet squeal as he felt breath on his tail. He darted sideways and behind her, silently plunging behind a stump. He ducked low and held in a chuckle as he watched Mottlekit try to find him.

Mottlekit let out an annoyed squeak as Shadekit disappeared again. He blends in so well at night. Lucky!

Hoping for a better view, she leapt up on top of a nearby stump and peered around. After a few seconds, she realized Shadekit was crouched right next to the exact same stump! Feeling a little silly for not noticing him sooner, she jumped down on top of him. "I've got you this time!" She hissed.

Shadekit purred as she tackled him. He batted her whiskers, before plunging away again. This time, he had a great spot. Quietly racing to the other side of camp, he leaped behind some vines and crouched low, sneaking to the very edge-wall of camp. He ducked low in the corner, squinting to see the vines a little ways ahead of him. He closed his eyes, not wanting his bright-emerald gaze to give him away. Shadekit looked like a part of the shadowy wall, not visible at night.

Mottlekit felt Shadekit bat her whiskers and then run off with a purr. She tried to watch where he was going, but she lost track of him. She squinted around camp and saw nothing. Where could he be?

She tried to think about it logically. He was probably somewhere along the edge of camp, because it was darker there and there was more cover. But where? She headed in the general direction he had been running and peered at the foliage. She'd never see him if he was in there, especially if he'd thought to close his eyes. She walked along the wall, dragging her tail along it at about his height. Once, she thought she felt him, and she sprung at the wall. But she just crashed into nothing and got a mouthful of plants. Spitting them out, she continued with her trick, hoping she'd run into him eventually.

Shadekit felt Mottlekit spring into the wall nearby, and he held in yet another chuckle. He squinted open his eyes and gazed through the vines, spotting Mottlekit walking along the edges of camp. He knew his spot was so good, he probably wouldn't be found until dawn! Shuffling tighter into the corner, he closed his eyes again, slightly smiling.

For a second, Mottlekit thought she saw the emerald flash of Shadekit's eyes. Then, she heard an almost silent rustle right in that same area. It was a corner hidden by vines. Of course! She realized. That's a great hiding spot. I bet he's there.

Mottlekit pretended not to know where he was and continued past the corner, making sure to feel around with her tail. She couldn't be certain that she'd felt him, especially after lunging at the wall earlier, but she thought she felt her tail brush against fur. Deciding to risk it, she whipped around and lunged into the corner.

In that heartbeat, Shadekit decided to play a little trick. Quick as lightning, he grabbed some soft, fur-feeling moss and replaced himself with it, darting away silently. He plunged into some bushes and smiled as he watched Mottlekit.

Mottlekit growled as she crashed into the wall again. She was so sure she had him this time! Where could he have gone?

She heard rustling again, and noticed one of the bushes nearby was shaking slightly. Maybe he darted in there somehow? Mottlekit squinted at it for a second, but realized there was no way she'd see him. And even if she did, he'd know she'd found him before she could pounce.

Quickly averting her gaze, she scanned the entire camp and pretended to be completely stumped. She wandered towards the bush, purposefully trying to appear as if she didn't have a target in mind. Once she was close, she leapt into the bush without any warning, hoping to catch Shadekit off guard.

Shadekit was finally caught. He play-wresting with Mottlekit, laughing quietly. "Good one." He mewed hoarsely, before he could stop himself. He swished his tail and rose to his paws, sitting and gazing at her. After a moment, he rose and trotted to the nursery, deciding to get a bit of rest. They could play again tomorrow.

Mottlekit stared after Shadepaw in stunned silence as he padded back to the nursery. Had she really heard him speak? Maybe she'd somehow imagined it. She'd never heard his voice before, and she thought he wasn't capable of speaking. She was pretty sure most cats thought he was, and always would be, mute. So he actually can talk? Or did I just imagine that?

Mottlekit shook her head. It was late, and she could sort this out tomorrow. She padded back to the nursery as well, curled up in her nest, and was asleep immediately.

Dim sunlight filtered into the nursery, casting soft yet long shadows onto the sandy floor. Shadekit yawned and quietly rose to his paws, stretching and flexing his ebony toes. Silently stepping out of his nest, he crept from the nursery and squinted as a warm beam of sunlight hit his eyes. He stretched again, relishing the warmth. Padding over to the Fresh-kill pile, Shadekit decided to do something. From yesterdays and this morning's Dawn Patrol catches, he got a piece of prey for each of the queens and kits. Picking a tiny vole for himself, he made about 4 trips, each time going and setting a piece of prey by a queens nest. Shadekit had saved the best piece of prey for Oakstar. Trying his hardest not to drag it, he carried a large, plump salmon over to the front of Oakstar's den. He nudged it through the vines and crept away. The dark kit headed over to the small stream that edged camp. Sitting by it, he stared at the tiny minnows. Sunlight made their scales shimmer, and every time he gently dabbed his paw into the water, they seemed like light flashing as they darted away. He swished his long tail slowly in contentment, watching the beautiful stream.

Mottlekit slowly woke up as sunlight creapt into the nursery. It felt far too early, and she thought about going back to sleep. But a weird smell caught her interest. Freshkill? In the nursery?

Blinking the grogginess out of her eyes, she noticed a fish sitting right in front of her nest. Well that was nice of someone, she thought, wondering who it could be. With a purr, she took a few bites of the fish until she felt full, leaving some for her mother.

She looked around the nursery to see if any other kits were awake. No one seemed to be, although she didn't see Shadekit. Where could he be? She wondered, remembering how hard he was to find last night. At least he'll be easier to spot in the daytime!

Mottlekit padded out of the nursery and blinked in the bright sun. She immediately noticed Shadekit sitting by the water. She walked over and sat next to him. "Hi there! What are you up to?" She meowed, and then remembered Shadekit didn't like to speak. "You don't have to answer that, if you don't want to."

Shadekit kept his gaze on the water, gently flicking his tail at the shining fish. He was purring softly as she sat beside him. Gazing at the beautiful sunlit stream, he dabbed an ebony paw into the stream and, to Mottlekit's surprise, didn't dart away. Instead, they just swam near it, some even coming up and nibbling at his paw. Every day Shadekit had come to see the fish, and it was like they had gotten used to his tiny black paw dabbing into the water every-now-and-then.

(Btw, who would say is your main character? I was going to draw you a pfp- if you like- of them standing in the middle of a blizzard, looking straight ahead. I figured it would be cool, but you don't have to take it if you don't want )

Mottlekit couldn't believe that the fish were so calm around Shadekit. Maybe being quiet had its advantages? She didn't want to disturb the beautiful, shimmering fish as they swam around his paw. So she sat without speaking, allowing herself to enjoy the moment without comment. It felt so peaceful that she could almost understand why Shadekit never spoke.

(That would be so nice, thank you! I think I'd have to go with Mottlekit since she's my first character and the one I've done the most with so far. Also, she'd look really interesting in a blizzard I think!)