open your eyes

The first words Flashlight had ever spoken in the presence of her kits were whispered, soft and low, a secret they wouldn't realize they were keeping: "I'm sorry, loves, to bring you into a world like this one." Someday they would know sunshine and ice-sliding, they would know laughter and the peace of the river on a newleaf afternoon and all her favorite secrets - but first, born as they were into this world ruled by Asylum, they would know a war as cold as the ice over the river.

(Was it selfish, then, to be so happy they were here? Well, she'd never shied away from selfishness in the past, but when it came to her kin... She wanted to be selfless, in whatever ways she could.)

That selflessness manifested in a simple way. They would know love from their first breath, the soft and unconditional kind that she had started to believe only existed in nursery tales. The fierce and protective kind, the way she knew best. She would do all she could for them, love them in all the ways a mother should; be all that she could for them.

Now it was the first day they would venture outside the safety of the nursery, ready to see the rest of RiverClan in all of its glory. Or, well... What had once been glorious (what would be glorious again). Still, in the eyes of a kit most things were simple and glorious and beautiful, and she would hope to see them happy. Bubblekit, because she was sweet and cheerful for all that she had been born into (in Flashlight's eyes the leaf-bare cold and the shadows of Asylum parted, briefly, for the light of her); and Vaporkit, for the absence of vibrant colors from his soft kit fur and the way his tail all but vanished as it started.

(They were wonderful names, but then, they were hers. Of course she would think so.)

Now she nudged them gently, trying her best to sound encouraging. "Ready to step outside?"

Bubblekit seemed to be the happiest little kit anyone had ever seen, especially in dark and tragic times like these. She hardly cried, but was always eager for her share of her mother's milk. She was a trembly kit, and while some thought there was a hidden draft somewhere in the nursery, others believed her to be exuding joy merely for being warm, fed, and loved.

As the little molly grew older, her happiness and excitement did not wane. Instead, it only seemed to grow. She became eager to learn everything this wonderful new world had to offer, and she wanted to know it all. She would often stare out at the many cats walking back and forth across camp, desiring to become their new best friend; in fact, sometimes Flashlight had to physically hold her down with a paw to keep her from scampering out before she was ready.

But now, she was ready, and she couldn't be happier. She was going to see the world! She was going to make an abundance of friends! But most importantly, she was going to spread her love and joy wherever and to whomever she could. The moment her mother gently nudged her, she took off like a rocket, bounding outside the nursery, excited to make her very first friend! "Hi, I'm Bubblekit, and I wanna be friends to you all!" she squealed out loud to anyone who would listen.