stop and see the world

The nursery was where kits were supposed to stay, most of the time, and Leopardkit was a good kit who tried her best to listen to what she was told, but being in the nursery all the time was just so boring. She was young, still - just barely old enough that the walls to the world around her were starting to feel confining rather than wholly safe, and there was an itching in her paws that drove her to explore the rest of the camp. It was okay, right? It wasn't like she was trying to sneak out or anything. Her paws carried her to the space just outside, stumbling past the entrance on legs that felt too long for her, skidding a short distance away and falling face first into the mud of the hollow as she made her exit. "Oww..."

After a moment of sulking, she looked around and really took in her surroundings for the first time as light snowfall dusted her fur. "Oh!"

Sootwhisker's tail twitched in irritation as he watched the snow drift down, wrapping the camp in a bright white blanket. Leafbare seemed to be dragging on and on, and the "visitors" Shadowclan was forced to put up with only contributed to his bad mood. To think one of the greatest clans in the forest had been defeated by a gang of rogues and undead horrors made him want to tear his fur out in frustration.

Movement near the nursery caught his eye, his claws unsheathing instinctively before he realized it was just a kit. He struggled to hide his amusement as they fell face first in the snow, his mind flashing back to all the times he'd stumbled over his paws as a kit, and even as an apprentice. As the kit stared around at camp, he padded over to greet them.

"First time out of the nursery?" He asked, and as he spoke he noticed the snow that flecked the kits fur.

"The snow's freezing, but if you can make a game out of it, it's almost worth it."

Scooping up a pawful of snow, he tossed it toward her to demonstrate.

Leopardkit tried to shrink in on herself (a near-impossible task, as she was a bit too small to make herself any smaller) as the warrior addressed her, afraid she might be in trouble. "I just wanted to see what was outside..." When he didn't lecture her, but instead talked about the snow, she relaxed and watched the demonstration with interest. "You can play with it?"

She tried to mimic what he had done; and then tried to jump back as her paw made purposeful contact with the snow, instead falling over again. It was colder than she was used to without the shelter of the nursery, and the ground felt sort of slippery, and then the snow felt even colder when she tried to scoop it up. "Cold..." After managing to stand once more, she tried instead to bat at it like it were a pebble or a mossball, watching as it rolled a short distance. She glanced up at the warrior. "Like this...? Am I doing it right?"

Deerleap laid on a bare ground under a small pine tree, watching Sootwhisker playing with Leopardkit, glad that he had taken some time off feeling sorry for himself and instead entertained himself and a clanmate.