Kings and Queens of the Moons to Come [OPEN]

The sun had covered the rolling grass of the plains, and the sands of the WindClan camp housed within. Underneath the protective gorse sat the nursery, where Shrikekit remained against the pelt of his mother. The other kits had begun to play outside, but it seemed like such a big place out there. Too big for a little kit like him. He preferred the warmth and comfort of his mother's fur rather than the camp outside.

Smallbean let out a sigh. Ever since the night of the gathering, all he had been able to think- or worry, rather- about was the fact that he was going to be a father to a litter born in Thunderclan. Any improvement he had shown in personality over the past few moons had disappeared, and he was now just as worried and nervous as he had been around Larkflight's death, just without all the sadness. Gazing across the camp, the tumble and play of a few kits outside the nursery caught his eye. Despite if it was obvious or not, Smallbean had always had a soft spot for kits, even since he was an apprentice. He admired their innocence and their non-judgmental personality; they hadn't yet been tainted by what the world had in store for them. It made him think about the kits Cedarheart had been carrying. Had they been born yet? He shook his head, trying to red his mind of Cedarheart and the forbidden kits.

Looking beyond the playing kits, he focused his eyes to the nursery. Of course, there was almost always a cat in the nursery, but he saw a queen, and what looked like a kit all by itself next to it's mother. Surely it couldn't be asleep, kits were never asleep at this time of day, and it sometimes seemed like they never needed to, by their unlimited supply of energy. Standing up and stretching his legs, Smallbean decided that he was going to check on the kit. Surely the queen wouldn't mind him visiting.

The small tom padded his way over to the nursery, making sure to stay out of the way of the kits. Once he had reached the entrance, he poked his head inside. Once he had adjusted to the light, he saw that he was in fact right; the kit was awake and pressing against it's mother. Laying down at the entrance to the nursery, he laid his head on his paws and gazed at the kit. Looking at this kit, he saw his former kit self. A kit who was afraid to see the world, afraid to go beyond what he knew, whether it be physically or emotionally. "Hey there, what's your name? I'm Smallbean." It was almost like a different side of him came out around kits. He didn't feel the slightest bit nervous when talking to the young tomkit- perhaps because felt like he could relate to him. "I don't mean to bother, but why aren't you out playing with the other kits?" Despite already knowing the answer to the question, he wanted to hear it from the kit himself.

From his spot next to his mother, Shrikekit could see one of the WindClan warriors padding to the nursery. At first, he thought he was there to see one of the queens, but he was surprised to hear him talking to him instead. "I'm... I'm Shrikekit," he responded, his words unsure, as if he didn't know his own name. His mother had reassured him that everyone in the clan were friendly, and that they wanted to see him, but he was still nervous all the same.

"It's scary outside," he admitted. There was nothing to worry about: both his mother and father had told him that. Of course he believed them, but... He was smaller than the other kits. Kits were small, of course: tiny bundles of fur. Even so, he was smaller than the others in similar litters. "I don't know if I'm ready..." Something about Smallbean made him feel less scared. He was a warrior, but he seemed really kind, like he was perfectly fine spending his time around the less boisterous parts of the camp.

The warrior listened as the kit replied to him. "I..." He struggled to think of something to say. Things like this he wasn't the best at. Should he try to comfort Shrikekit? Or should he try to help him build confidence to leave the den? He knew he himself needed someone to lure him out of the nursery as a kit, but he didn't know if that's what the Shrikekit wanted, or if he would even be comfortable with him trying to get him outside. Maybe... he could try doing both, and if the kit wanted to stay inside he would stay there and talk to him. Clearing his throat, he continued. "I know it's... scary outside. I was once like you, y'know. Still am, actually. I know it seems intimidating, but there's so many wondrous things to see outside, and even beyond. You'll only be able to see so much from the nursery entrance..." He turned around to look behind him and back into the camp. "Look out there, there's so many cats who could be your friend. And besides, you'll want to at least know the layout of the camp. You're going to be an apprentice before long, right? You don't want to just be thrown out into the world."

Letting out a sigh, he looked Shrikekit in the eyes. "How about... How about I take you out into camp. I know i kind of just met you... but i promise you it's not nearly as bad as it seems. If you still don't think you're ready, i get it, and that's perfectly okay. We could always stay in the nursery."

The warrior was right: there was only so much he could see from the nursery. He wouldn't remain a kit forever, and what good would he be to the clan if he stayed buried in his mother's fur for his entire life? It was scary, but... he didn't want to be scared. Maybe if he took Smallbean up on his offer, he could learn to go outside the nursery.

"I... I would like that," he mewed, slowly getting up onto his paws and padding away from his mother. He looked back over his shoulder, eyes wide, but his mother's warm, comforting eyes gave him enough strength to pad over to Smallbean. He looked up at the warrior, trying to appear braver than he actually felt. "I'd like to see the camp, Smallbean."

A warmth sparked through his body as Shrikekit accepted his offer. Smallbean knew this was a large step for the kit, as it had been a large one for him, but he was going to do his best to comfort him. Giving the young tom a quick nod, he stood up and stretched out his back legs. Standing up beside the kit, he muttered the words. "Are you ready?"

Walking through the entrance to the nursery, he rested his tail on Shrikekit's flank, in a way he thought to be reassuring. He wasn't completely sure how good of a job he was doing, but he was going to keep up nevertheless. Squinting his eyes at the sunlight, he looked across the open sky. Barely a cloud in sight. "It's not nearly as bad as it seems, in fact i think it's quite beautiful." He turned back to the kit. " Look at all of them. So many amazing cats, ones that will fight tooth and claw for you- ones that you can create beautiful bonds with." Using his paw, he gestured to the many busy cats of the Windclan camp. He could only hope that Shrikekit was enjoying himself, although he couldn't say he'd be surprised if he was still nervous.

While he wasn't sure he was ready, Shrikekit didn't want to disappoint Smallbean after already agreeing to go out and see the world. His words got stuck in his throat, so he just nodded and let Smallbean guide him outside. Without his tail keeping him grounded, he might've lost his nerve.

Outside, he got his first taste of the sky without the nursery blocking out most of it. To his young eyes it was like the expansive blueness of the sky went on forever. He was left in awe, barely able to draw his eyes away from it to see the rest of the camp. He let out a tiny squeak of surprise when he saw all of his fellow WindClan cats walking around. Though he had seen them walk by the nursery, or come into it, seeing them all out there was much different.

"It's amazing," he whispered, thinking about all of the clanmates he would get to know in time. It was daunting, but he couldn't be scared forever. He had to be brave to be a good member of WindClan.

Eaglepaw smiled as she saw Smallbean pad across camp to speak with the young kit just sitting in the nursery all by himself. Smallbean had always had a weakness for kits, even older kits that had just become apprentices. She sighed. She should've been made an apprentice a while ago, but everyone seemed to have forgotten about her and Clovertwist, even if he had moved.

"Smallbean! Let's play a game with the kit?" she called across camp. She would bored to death and Starclan knew what she would do if she was bored.

The warrior smiled as a new cat approached- one that although was a lower rank seemed twice his size. It seemed like moons since he had last spoken to Eaglepaw- it probably had actually been that long. He had been a warrior for a while now while Eaglepaw was left in the dust. He couldn't help but feel a wave of pity come over him for her, but soon shook it away. Maybe he could find a way to tell Windflower that she needed a new mentor- not in person of course. Their relationship had been... not the greatest, and he still wasn't quite sure why.

Focusing his attention back to Shrikekit, he felt something close to pride. He was happy that he was able to spark such joy in the kit by helping him face an anxieties- a task he himself couldn't even do. Opening his mouth to speak, he softened his expression, knowing that Shrikekit would probably be nervous about his first encounter with an unfamiliar cat out in camp. "This is a friend if mine, her name is Eaglepaw. You can trust me, she's very kind. Would it be okay if we played with her? If not that's okay" He always made sure to give the open option of not wanting to do something, as he himself often wanted that, but wasn't given it. That led to him doing things he didn't really want to do, but didn't want to openly say no.


His soft expression faltered for a moment before he straightened his posture and got a hold of himself. He couldn't let himself seem anxious around Shrikekit- if it wasn't obvious how much of a problem he had already. He looked back toward Eaglepaw with a hopeful expression. He hoped that Eaglepaw would understand if Shrikekit said no to her offer.

Eaglepaw nodded at Smallbean noticing that he himself understood this kit better than she did. "Shrikekit, we can play whatever game you want. Or if you want, we can just lay around and Smallbean can tell you a story." she offered. She wasn't a good storyteller herself, but she was sure that Smallbean would tell this kit a story.
Nevertheless, she would head Clovertwist's advice and maybe try to make some friends. He had left quite a while ago, but it seemed as if his voice was still inside her head. She sighed and looked at the kit, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, uh..." Shrikekit's first instinct was to rush back to the nursery and hide within his mother's soft fur. Even hiding behind Smallbean was a preferred option. However, he thought about where he was: outside the nursery, in the presence of his entire clan. They were all there to support him, right? That was what a clan was all about. At least, that's what he had heard through stories here and there. He needed to make friends eventually, or he'd have a very lonely time at camp.

"I don't know any games," he admitted, hoping Eaglepaw wouldn't judge him too harshly. "B-But I'd like to play a game, if you know any."

Eaglepaw nodded thoughtfully. "That is understandable, I didn't really play as a kit either." she noted and turned towards Smallbean. "Do you have any suggestions?" The only games that she could think to play was to run on the moor, or play a hunting game with live prey; but she deemed those too dangerous for a small kit.
Either way, Smallbean seemed to have a connection with this kit and any game that he would suggest the kit would pick up right away because he trusted Smallbean.

The warrior didn't expect to be prompted with the question of what game to play. Caught off guard, he slightly panicked but quickly pulled himself together. "Uh- I didn't really play games as a kit either, but i think i can name a few i think i've seen other kits play." He had to admit, he wasn't the best example for Shrikekit, but he had to at least try. He wanted to be the cat he always needed back when he was younger, the cat he needed to tell him everything was okay. "I think ive seen races, feather-chasing, moss-ball, play clan leader, and one where some cat pretends to be a badger while the others have to fight it off. I'm pretty okay with any of them personally, but you guys should pick what sounds like fun to you." He was a bit unsure of playing games, but he didn't have too much of a problem with doing so. The tom thought about Eaglepaw's suggestion of telling a story, but he didn't think he really had too many story-worthy adventures. Shrugging it off, he waited for the younger cats to choose what to do.

Eaglepaw grimiced. "I don't know either, Shrikekit?" she asked uncertainly. She didn't have any stories to tell other than the one in which Clovertwist left for a different clan, but she didn't think that it was the best story to tell a younger kit. "I've seen the other cats play clan leader and badger, but not the other games." she said with a flick of her tail. "But it is up to Shrikekit what he wants to do."

Shrikekit thought over the games that Smallbean had mentioned, weighing them in his head. Apparently Eaglepaw hadn't played some of them, but some of those specifically seemed safer than the others. Not that he thought anybody in the clan would hurt him, but... "What's moss ball?" He finally decided to ask what that game was. It seemed like a safer bet, or at least he hoped so.