Beneath A Golden Sun [Amberkit]

The sun was inching closer to the tops of the trees as Aurelia gingerly padded toward what the Thunderclanners called a nursery, a squirrel hanging from her jaws. There were a few kits outside, their play supervised by their mothers, whom Aurelia dropped the squirrel in front of with a polite dip of her head. They had been talking among themselves as they watched over the kits, and Aurelia was happy to leave them to their conversation. Eavesdropping was rude, however curious she was, and the golden-spotted tabby had no wish to intrude where she may not be welcome any more than she already had.

Turning, the newcomer to Thunderclan's camp retreated to a spot a short distance away, though once or twice her bright green eyes glanced towards the kits. They seemed happy and well cared-for, at least.

Thunk! The squirrel dropped right near Amberkit, who had been called from his play with the other kits to get groomed by his mother. Thick tangles of long, amber fuzz settled down under the work of the queen's rough tongue. His observant, kit-blue eyes locked onto the odd looking she-cat who had presented this gift to the nursery's inhabitants. She doesn't look like the other cats, he thought curiously. "Go say thank you," his mother said to him, nudging the little orange floof toward the stranger.

Amberkit battled the shyness that held him back. With some more prodding from the queen, the kit finally stood up and stumbled around the dead squirrel, which was bigger than he was! His large, clumsy paws carried him over to the newcomer. There, Amberkit stopped and bashfully rubbed a front paw into the dirt as he stared at the ground. Remembering his manners, the kit said, "Thank you for bringing us fresh kill, miss." Then, realizing he forgot to introduce himself, he added, "Oh, erm...I am Amberkit." Then he remembered that these strange looking cats didn't speak the same as him, so he pointed a paw at himself and said, louder and cleaer, "AMBERKIT!". Hah. Surely this stranger would understand that. Then, he pointed toward the squirrel and loudly said, "THANK YOU!" He put on a big smile so she could understand he was thanking her and not upset with her. He probably looked like a fool shouting at this newcomer, but Amberkit didn't know to what extent she understood his speech.

It seemed she had not gone unnoticed, as one of the kittens padded towards her on clumsy paws. Aurelia tried to smile, an attempt to appear non-threatening. She knew her odd appearance and that of her companions made the clan cats wary, but some were bolder than others when it came to approaching her. The thanks was unexpected, and the kitten offered a name - Amberkit. From what she had managed, it seemed they all had the same ending to their names until a certain age. Odd, to change names so frequently.

"No need to shout." She said, a hint of laughter in her voice. "I understand." It would've been easy to take offense to it, but he was only a kitten. Likely he'd only heard of her in passing, and she could imagine that the barriers between them had been noticed and discussed among the clan cats. Were he an older cat perhaps she would have cuffed him over the ear for it, but Aurelia wasn't in the habit of threatening kittens over something that could be corrected.

"I'm Aurelia," She added. If Amberkit had offered a name, it was only proper she do the same.

At the she-cat's amused response, Amberkit felt embarrassed that he had yelled at the newcomer. But, the shame was brief as his focus turned to something very curious: the stranger's name. He cocked his head at her. What a funny warrior name, Amberkit thought. He didn't dare tell the stranger her name was funny, though. His mother would surely scold him for such a comment. "Ahrel-eeuh," Amberkit repeated, breaking up her name as if it were Amber-kit or Curly-fluff. "That's a cool warrior name. Um..,what is an ahrel and what is an eeuh?" Then, something clicked in Amberkit's mind, and his face lit up in understanding. "Do all Windclan cats have names like yours? And do they all look like you and your friends?" Poor Amberkit. He must've gotten all the queens' gossip mixed up in his head. The little tom, however, was confident that Aurelia was a Windclan warrior.

"Our names are... Not like yours." She tried to explain, awkwardly, "Yours... Different, changing." What was an 'ahrel' and 'eeuh'? The golden tabby blinked at the kit, trying to find a way to explain. Windclan? She'd heard whispers of the supposed other clans, but not much else. She shook her head. "We aren't part of any clan. Our names are one word. And they don't look like us, either." Nobody else in the forest seemed to. She'd never actually seen one of these 'Windclan' cats, but she figured they were not much different than the Thunderclanners who lived here. From the faint scents carried on the wind when she was in the forest, Aurelia could tell that they were simply just more of the domestic cats that seemed to inhabit the area. She and her companions certainly weren't from this area, and Aurelia missed the more familiar scents of home. "We're wildcats... More wild than you who share the same appearance as what your clan would call a kittypet."

"Oh," Amberkit answered, still confused but not knowing enough about the world to continue discussing kittypets and the other clans. The fluffy ginger tabby sat down, eyes carefully studying Aurelia. He admired her golden and brown-marked fur and strong muscles. Next to her, Amberkit felt like a bug that could be squashed at any second. Though, he knew better than to fear her. She would make a great warrior, the tom thought. "Where are you from, then?"

"Not... from around here." Aurelia murmured, "It's been a while now, and with how the twolegs caught us and we got away from them... Not anywhere close to here, I don't think. We had forests, though." And perhaps she remembered her home being a little warmer, but that could also have been the sudden pang of longing and nostalgia she felt for what was now inaccessible to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Amberkit said, face dropping in sadness. He couldn't imagine being taken away from his home - the warm comforts of the nursery, the gentle murmurs of the queens, the companionship of his friends. Amberkit thought of Cedarpaw and Shrewpaw, suddenly mortified at the thought of never seeing them again. The tom's expression took on a new look. His eyes seemed to grow heavy with some deep understanding; his features softened with solicitude. "You must really miss your home." His voice was quiet and sorrowful. His eyes grew misty with tears.

"I do," Aurelia admitted, unsure of how to comfort the kitten who seemed on the verge of tears. "I met Hank and Sleet, though. And we make the most of it while we're here." Meeting Sleet had been unexpected, but not unwelcome. She was a familiar face amid the chaos of what led the trio here.

"Do you have friends here?" He must've, she thought, for such a visceral reaction to her words. Or perhaps his ties to his home were just that strong. Aurelia would never wish being taken from their home on anyone.

Talking about friends seemed to brighten Amberkit's mood. "Hank and Sleet seem like good friends," the tom squeaked. He didn't know much about the other two, save what could be gathered from a few glimpses. But, Amberkit assumed they were nice like Aurelia. "I have friends!! My bestest friends are Cedarpaw and Shrewpaw. They are apprentices, but we play together when they aren't busy. Have you met them yet?" Cedarpaw and Shrewpaw were, to Amberkit, the best thing about being in Thunderclan. He wondered if Hank and Sleet were Aurelia's Cedarpaw and Shrewpaw. The fuzzy kitten thought about getting taken away from Thunderclan and being lost in a strange land with the two apprentices. Only they would make the experience bearable...no, more than that. Shrewpaw would surely turn their situation into a fun game of sorts. And Cedarpaw would stay close and make sure no harm came to the group. As long as they were together, all would be right in the world. Amberkit shook himself from his thoughts to hear Aurelia's response.

"I don't believe so." At least, the names were unfamiliar to her, though it was also possible she could've seen them around the camp or on patrol and simply not realized. Aurelia tended to keep to herself out of habit, unsure around the unfamiliar clan cats. "Apprentices?" She had yet to truly wrap her brain around the different ranks within the clan or why they seemed to change names so often. "They seem like good friends." She added.