Oh the antics of kits! (Open)

Bright blue eyes watched from the clearing of Skyclan’s camp with fascination. The coming and goings of patrols were always an interesting affair to him. The sight of hunters returning with their kill made his blood race and heart pound. One day, he will be out there. He will race through the treetops, catch prey and maybe even fight other cats.

Eaglekit flicked his tail, a newly growing eye tooth visible from his grin. He would be the best! He stood, ready to announce it to the entire clan that today they sat before greatness! Then paused, why would he announce it… when he could show them? Prove what he was worth, his strength and agility. He looked out among the throng of cats, then noted a small tree at the edge of camp. That would do. He’d climb that tree, then ambush the first cat to walk under it! He’d heard of tree ambushes before, but he had yet to try even climbing one all by himself.

He glanced back into the nursery, then bolted off. Tiny body painfully visible against the slate and foliage, but he didn’t notice. The only thing in his mind was the tree… which now that he was below it, he leapt. Tiny fore claws hooked into bark before his back legs. A brief pinch of pain made him wince, but he stubbornly clung on. Tried to wedge his claws free of the bark. When he finally had success, he clambered up to the lowest branch.

Suddenly SkyClan looked a lot farther down. He blinked, but the ground didn’t come any closer. His lichen lined branch was slippery with frost when he tried to step onto it. More than a little unhappy with how it creaked beneath his paw. ‘Okay Eaglekit… I-it’s fine.’ He huddled onto the thickest corner of the branch, up against the main trunk of the tree. ‘You’re a SkyClan cat! You’ll basically live in trees...’ the thought wasn’t as comforting as he would have hoped. Maybe jumping onto a random clanmate wouldn’t be a good idea.

Bloodstrike returned to camp with a plump rat and a squirrel in his jaws and dropped them into the fresh-kill pile. His back and shoulder ached. He was glad no one had been around to see it, but Bloodstrike fell out of a tree twice trying to get used to his new body. Without his tail, he had a hard time rolling in the air and landing on his feet. He had been determined to catch at least a few things to show his daughter that he was returning to normal... even though some days were better than others. He had been about to go back out when something bright against a tree caught his eye. For just a brief moment, he thought he spotted a white squirrel... but then he realized it was a kit. Not just any kit... but Copperfox's son.

Any other cat might have yelled at the young tom for climbing a tree, being as young as he was, but Bloodstrike only watched, ready to bolt toward him if it looked like he might actually fall. He watched the body language of the unsuspecting kit... and could tell exactly when he lost his nerve. Bloodstrike chuckled and approached the tree. Casually walking under the branch while looking up, Bloodstrike stopped under it and positioned himself in a way where Eaglekit could drop down on him easily if he wanted.

"Not bad for you first try Eaglekit." He complimented the little tom. His tongue swiped over his exposed left fang to prevent it from drying out before he continued. "So what's your plan to get down?" Bloodstrike smirked, hoping it didn't look like a grimace with his face as tore up as it was. He wasn't about to spoon feed the tom all of the answers. He had to learn these things somehow, and Bloodstrike had raised several strong kits already.

Let's see what you do kiddo...

For a moment, Eaglekit had convinced himself that no other cats could see him. That none would notice his embarrassing predicament. That ended once Bloodstrike padded into the clearing. The torn up tom’s mouth full of fresh-kill. The tom always looked ragged, but in the light of the sun, it was even more appearent. Maybe that should have scared him, but Eaglekit watched the older tom with fascination. He was every inch a warrior. It only made sense that he was the deputy.

He was coming. Eaglekit’s eyes widened. His posture straightened, claws dug deep into his perilous perch when the large tom settled beneath his tree. Not bad? Blue eyes blinked while the praise sunk in. Except that was a point… how did he get down? He looked at the trunk he had scrambled up, going down meant facing the ground though. What if he fell? Eaglekit looked around for anything close he could safely land on, that wasn’t the scarred deputy. ‘Of course the cat that would see me would be the Deputy. No cat can hide from him.’ He thought, while his gaze raked over the branch.

There was a dip. It was a decently sized one, not overly noticeable from the ground, but the curve was just enough from his vantage point to see that there was a rock near it. If he could walk there, he could jump down all on his own! He figured it out! Eaglekit stood up, then padded towards the part of the branch. His claws attempted to dig in at each step. With his pace though, he felt gravity pull at his pelt at a single slip. Not careful or slow enough. He tightened his jaws, refused to yowl in fear while his foreclaws dug ruthlessly into the bark. Shards of ice fell around him. Tail lashed only a couple lengths above the ground, but to a young kit, it felt like many.[/i]

Bloodstrike kept his emotions hidden while he watched Eaglekit make his way toward... he followed his gaze... ah, a rock! He followed close by, ready to allow the kit to fall onto the large tom's back if things didn't go well, but still gave him enough room to try to get down himself. A fall from that height might hurt, but the kit wouldn't be in any danger... at least he didn't think so. He was no medicine cat. If Eaglekit needed assistance, Bloodstrike would be over there in a heartbeat. Still, he firmly believed in allowing kits to learn and grow rather than being a...

Well thinking of helicopter dads apparently summoned them.

---

Copperfox dropped a few quails onto the fresh-kill pile. He spun on his heel to go back into the forest for more when Bloodstrike near the nursery caught his eye... and so did Eaglekit on a branch. He opened his mouth to call out to him, to scold him for being up on branches when he was still just a kit, but no words came out. He thought better of it at the last minute. If he broke Eaglekit's concentration, he might fall. Still, Copperfox's tail lashed with worry as he watched, locking eyes momentarily with Bloodstrike. His dad had always been like this, pushing himself and others until they found a line that neither of them should have crossed. Do you really need to do it with my kits dad? If he falls and gets hurt, you are not scary enough to stop me from giving you a Beechface Lecture! He kneaded the ground beneath him as he struggled to keep quiet. It was already too late to stop him, so he would have to trust Bloodstrike and just let Eaglekit complete his task.

His tiny heart pounded while he dangled. Little back curled in an attempt to get his back claws hooked onto the branch. His jaw ached while he struggled not to give into the smaller portion of his thoughts. The ones that told him to cry for help. Eaglekit dug his claws deeper, a back claw managed to snag a hold on the branch. He could do this. He could! Finally his other hind claw found purchase on the hard bark of the branch, and he was able to pull himself onto it fully.

He almost fell, but he didn’t. Eaglekit felt a surge of pride in his chest. With a look at the icy branch, he noticed small little spots not unlike those on the ground. Where ice and frost had concentrated, leaving a slipper surface. Well, all he had to do was be careful, right? He looked at the rest of the clanmates below him. It didn’t seem like any of them had seen the near fall.

Except his father. He spotted Copperfox’s orange pelt. Those familiar dark eyes wide… he must have been surprised. ‘Maybe he’s super proud of me! No one else except Bloodstrike has seen me so far!’ His pale little chest puffed out with pride. Each step towards the rock brought him one step closer to success, to proving that he could not only be stealthy and climb, but he could do it all on his own!

When the rock was below him, Eaglekit looked down at it. It was only a couple tail lengths, but to Eaglekit, it was a terrifying drop. The urge to ask for help swelled once more, but SkyClan cats often jumped from much higher distances and they were fine! With that thought, and a shuffle of his fore paws he prepared to jump. Except his little claws didn’t grip hard enough. The cool jump he had envisioned ended up being a surprised flail as branch slipped away from him and air was all he felt.

It was wonderful. His heart pounded fiercely in his ears. Little body twisted instinctively in the small moment of time, little paws breaking the free fall within seconds. That feeling sank in deeper. It rooted itself to the Eaglekit’s core and he looked up at the branch, then to Copperfox in the distance, and Bloodstrike next to him. A gleeful grin on his face while he bounded between the two of them.

“DID YOU SEE THAT!? Did you!?” He crowed in delight. Forget ambushing or whatever that was, the climb was sooooo much better. “That was so COOL! I wanna do it again! Dad! Did you see me!?” Eaglekit’s little body shook with excitement while he darted between the tree and the two cats watching. Blue eyes already glancing at a higher branch.

Beechface's eyes narrowed at the sight before her as she stepped out of her den. Eaglekit was climbing a tree, which wasn't entirely surprising (this was Skyclan, after all), but what caught her attention was the dark, ragged tom standing beneath him and offering encouragement.

With a huff, the medicine cat stalked forward, lightly brushing against Copperfox as she came to a stop next to her brother. He looked worried, and Beechface was more inclined to agree with that worry.

"Careful..." Beechface muttered, watching as the kit managed to scramble his way onto the branch once more. It wasn't a terrible distance to fall from, but for a kit that would hurt far more than an adult cat falling from the same height. She was ready to jump in should Eaglekit lose his balance again. Bloodstrike might've been standing under him to break his fall, but Beechface wasn't entirely sure she trusted her father's judgement at the moment.

"Hello, Eaglekit." She mewed, stifling a purr as the kit landed safely and bounded up to his father excitedly. "Having fun?" She asked, giving her father a sharp look as she asked the question.

(Cays asked me to jump in i wasn't sure what to do so Cays if you want me to change this i can))


Bramblekit had stayed near the nursery entrance for a moment watching what had been going on with her brother. "I can do that too"She mewed but her words were unheard as the cats,their father,grandfather and Beechface were around her brother.Whether a fit of jealousy or wanting to do as her brother,Eaglekit had done. The fluffy furred dark faced she cat moved streaking past the growing crowd of cats. Tail flicking she seemed to hesitate at the base of the tree before she started to climb it her small claws sinking into the bark some well at least to get a grip. She had been eyeballing the taller branch for a moment as she climbed up to the branch that was just above the one her brother had been in shortly. She paused trying to get on the branch and she paused for as moment once upon the branch. Maybe this was a bad idea,she had thought to herself but she was already up on the branch but she couldn't move her ears pinned against her head for a moment.

Bloodstrike watched carefully as Eaglekit managed to get himself down, even if it was a bit ungraceful. He would get the hang of it with time. Copperfox on the other paw exhaled a ridiculous amount of air.

"I saw... that was good but you don't need to- Bramblekit...." He couldn't stop himself this time. She was already up the tree before he could even finish saying her name. Copperfox trotted over to the tree and debated jumping up to her branch. He decided not to, fearing that his jump to the branch might shake it too much and knock her off of it.

"Don't go too high!" He told her, though his tone itself was still fairly calm. His tail twitched with worry as he watched.

Bloodstrike could only watch the antic with amused interest. After Copperfox made his way to the tree, he nodded once at Beechface in greeting. There was a tiny smirk on his face, but whether or not it would be reciprocated was yet to be seen.

You can't protect them forever, son. Bloodstrike thought to himself as he watched Copperfox nervously stare at his other kit in the tree. The forest was harsh and mistakes were all too often unforgiving. His sisters were all dead and he was the last remaining kit in Wolfstar and Blossomstep's first litter. Firepaw had disappeared and hadn't been seen in moons. Mistrain burned to death in a fire. Adderflare had fallen from a tree and died. Bloodstrike probably should have died... but alas he was here. One of four kits.

"Eaglekit," He said softly, turning his attention back to the kit on the ground. "Show me how fast you are on the ground. I need to see." He sat down calmly, deciding to give Copperfox a break from the tree antics with at least one of his children for the time being.

Three separate generations of fathers surveyed Bramblekit and Eaglekit as they explored the camp for one of the first times. Bloodstrike and Copperfox were down in the camp with them, though, and Wolfstar remained perched at the entrance of his den, one paw dangling over the side, and the other curled beneath his chin. Watchful ambergold eyes flicked from one kit to the other as they scaled the tree above the nursery, a tingle of worry along his spine that he tried to suppress. He couldn't rescue them if they got stuck, anyway. Since falling and losing a life during his argument with Beechface, Wolfstar hadn't stepped paw off the ground aside from climbing into his den.

What kind of SkyClan leader can't even, won't even climb a tree?

The dark tom sighed, long tail flicking irritably, and let his gaze rest on Bloodstrike. Hurt pulsed through him. He'd hardly spoken a word to his son since the defeat of the Asylum. And likewise, the deputy, aside from the jabs about Spottedstar, hadn't gone out of his way to talk to him, either. He'd have to repair it, eventually. Right now, though, he just hadn't the energy.

(no one needs to respond to this, I just like lurking with Wolf in open posts XD)

Eaglekit looked at Beechface, he hadn’t even noticed her next to his dad!
“The best fun!” He declared happily. When his dad began to speak, he looked at him curiously, ‘Don’t have to- what?’ He thought, interrupted by his sister’s sudden appearance and decree. He turned around immediately and raced after her. “Wait for me!” He called, his little body skidded on the ground. When his paws touched the trunk, he heard Bloodstrike call his name. Curious, he turned towards the older, scarred up tom.

It was kinda weird how his tooth stuck out. His head tilted quizzically. Not left waiting for long when the warrior gave him a task. A task. It was almost like he was an apprentice! Run? He could run! He could do that so fast… he flashed a grin to Bloodstrike, then raced off away from the tree.

For a warrior sized cat, the camp wasn’t that big. For a kit his size? It was an effort. He ran past the nursery, then bounced past the entrance of the medicine den. A large root extended over the ground, around a large stone den. The feeling of being in the air still thrummed in his chest. He leapt onto the large root, tiny claws dug into it while he continued to run across the camp.

Suddenly, he saw a lump of brown sticking out from the stone. At first, he thought it was jut another root and leapt onto it gleefully. Except it was soft. Eaglekit continued his sprint, stopped abruptly in front of Bloodstrike again with heavy panting breaths. The camp was bigger than he thought! He looked up towards where the dark furred thing was, blue eyes widened when he realised he had just run over the leader.

Bramblekit had gotten onto the branch andthat was when she heard his voice. For a moment as she looked down she had crouch slightly her little claws digging in. This was a bit high for her but she had to get down somehow."I-I won't "she mewed down to her father as she looked for a way down. She looked seeing the rock below hoped for a moment she wouldn't slip off the branch and fall as her brother had. She wasn't sure if she would have made a safe labding that way. Slowly inching more and more until the rock had been below her she stood slowly on paw almost slipping out from under her in the process. Regaining herself somewhat. She had faintly heard her brother saying wait for him but she had been focused as she moved jumping from the branch granted not too gracefully as she half slipped at the same time. The rush of air seemed to last forever blowing in her face pushing her kitten soft fur back. The rock her destination of where she wanted to land rushing up faster and faster to her until she felt the impact her paws reached out to instinctively catch herself but her blue eyes had been shut tightly for a moment. Feelibg the hard surface of the rock under her paws she opened her eyes for a moment her blue eyes eyes wide but she grinned"that was amazing!"She mewed her tail fluffed out. She looked to her father and scampered down over to him"did you see that dad!?"

Beechface let out a rumbling purr of amusement as the kits continued to play, watching as Eaglekit bounded across the clearing. Bramblekit was climbing the tree and had leapt from a branch, and Beechface was relieved that she landed smoothly at least.

"Well done, but you can climb more trees once you're apprenticed." She mewed, lightly flicking Bramblekit's ear with her fluffy tail.

A snort of amusement escaped her as Eaglekit charged towards the leader den... and promptly ran over Wolfstar's sleeping form.

"You were fast, Eaglekit! Well done." She mewed, trying (and failing) to stifle her laughter. Wolfstar was never going to hear the end of that. Ever. Ran over by a kit. Ha! "Wonder if I could pull that off, dad?" The medicine cat smirked, a sudden spark of mischief in her eyes.

Wolfstar closed his eyes, the sound of the kits playing lulling him into a comfortable ease. It had been so long since the camp held no sort of tense, watched atmosphere... they were alone, just SkyClan, and it felt good. Letting out a long, low sigh, Wolfstar shifted, curling to flick his tail over his nose. He let a purr rumble in his chest, and had just begun to drift off to sleep when Eaglekit ran him over. Wolfstar startled, yanking his head up, tail bottlebrush, heart hammering against his ribcage.

When he finally realized what had happened, the leader huffed, grumbling to himself, and slid his gaze across the cats who had been closest enough to see. Far too many. Ears flicking back, he frowned, turned a disapproving gaze on Eaglekit, and then retreated into his den.

Copperfox looked like he was barely preventing himself from going catatonic. He couldn't have looked more relieved when Bramblekit was finally off of the tree. He exhaled so much he nearly resembled a deflating balloon. "That was wonderful love! Stay on the ground now, until you're bigger. Okay?" He gave her a quick lick on the head. These kits were going to be the death of him. Then of course Eaglekit had to scamper over Wolfstar... and Copperfox may have been horrified if it weren't for Wolfstar's... reaction. The coppery tom whipped around to face the opposite direction of Wolfstar and in a failed attempt to not laugh... blew a big (and very loud) raspberry into the air. Well... the secret was out anyway... Copperfox slumped to the ground and wheezed with laughter. Maybe the kits would be the death of him... but perhaps it will be a life well lived because of them too.

---

Bloodstrike unabashedly chuckled for several minutes at Wolfstar's reaction, though deep down there was discomfort there too. Things were still not... patched up between him and his father. He knew he needed to fix things, and he would... but right now he wasn't sure was the time.

"Wolfstar will excuse a kit for behaving like a kit." He answered Beechface. "You would be sent back to apprentice stage and pull ticks off of elders. You probably shouldn't." He flashed her a mischievous grin. "That was very good Eaglekit. Thank you!"