Breath of Fresh Air [open]

Must... get... the... butterfly!

Sheer determination had hardened her gaze to be as thick and tough as the base of the Fourtrees oaks as her little paws swiped at the air. The green-turning gaze tracked every single movement that came from the bug flapping its wings, dancing in unpredictable patterns around the camp in an attempt to simply get away from its tiny predator. True to the nature of other Skyclan cats, she was already certainly large for a kit of her age, but her youth only made her larger frame that much more unweildy as she continued to scamper after it. The creature flapped its wings to go higher into the air, almost just out of reach.

Bunching herself together, her entire frame wiggled with anticipation and hope as she then lept. All that energy recoiling, only to explode right at the butterfly. A single paw outstretched with the disturbingly sharp claws, only missing the butterfly by a single tuft of fur.

"Oof!" Mintkit cried out as her body had hit the ground, absorbing the shock of her leap into her paws. It felt harder than it should have, given her inability to adapt and land gracefully just yet. The moment her mind cleared from the landing, the butterfly was gone- and a disappointed huff accompanied the visible sag of defeat that overtook her once-determined features.

Oh well, there was more to do in camp!

Small, excited paws flew towards one of the dens that she knew would hopefully hold someone to talk to. Her ears rose tall, hope rippling through her tail as she scampered by, only to plop her rump down right at the entrance and mewing politely, "Hello? Is anyone in here? I'm lonely."

Littleflower padded into camp with a mouse in her jaws as she just came back from hunting. She was planning on setting the prey at the pile before resting but that all changed when she saw a kit near the entrance. "Hello, what are you doing over here?" she mewed setting the prey down and laid down on her paws. She winced in pain from the still lingering muscle pain from the burn, but she wanted to be level with the kit.

Bubblekit had been napping in the warmest patch of sunlight that she could find in camp. It was a spot right by the base of a tall fir tree, where a sunbeam crossed the roots and made the patch of ground beneath the soft grass almost too hot to touch. It was perfect. She didn't know quite how long she'd laid there in a stupor until a loud squeak of a voice woke her. One pale green eye opened, then another, and she glanced around to see where the sound had come from. She would've guessed Sorrelkit from the high-pitched tone, but it hadn't sounded like her sister. Wait--who was that? A different kit? Oh, it was one of the younger kits from the nursery. She'd been spending a lot more time out in camp, running into Greataunt Bird and Uncle Rain and all sorts of other fun cats, so whoever this kit was, they'd never spoken much before. Well, it was time to change that!

She leapt up from her comfortable spot, feeling the heat that had soaked into her thick gray pelt begin to dissipate, and scampered over towards the she-kit. "If you're bored, wanna play?" Bubblekit chirped, standing near her new friend. The other kit was a bit bigger than her, despite being younger. "Also, what's your name? I'm Bubblekit." Some warrior came over to say hi--Littlesomething?--and then Patchdream came wandering out of the nursery, worrying as usual. "Aw, Patchdream, it's okay for us to be out of the nursery," she complained. "We don't gotta tell you every time we wanna go take a nap."

It seemed that whatever she asked for would appear. Soon enough, a warrior had appeared in front of her, carrying prey. Youthful eyes widened in a sense of wonder at the abilities the older she-cat had displayed, dipping her head in some sort of ingrained respect from the bowing of the warrior. "I was looking for a friend," Mintkit did her best to comment politely. Even as the excitement tickled in her paws, even as her entire body seemed to shake with excitement.

But before she could go farther, there was the affectionate lick of Patchdream. "I told you as I was on my way out!" Well, perhaps that was a bit of a lie. She'd tossed nothing more than a, I'll be right back! before her attention strayed to the butterfly she had been after. Leaning back towards the queen, it was only a heartbeat later that it seemed kits were quick to follow.

Names swirled in her little mind like a storm. The warrior was... Littlebubble? No. Littleflower. Then there was Bubblekit. Then another one, who hadn't said their name, but apparently titled Mintkit as 'not one of her sisters.' Finally, Thyme.

Oh, she liked Thyme. The gift they brought her left a big smile on Mintkit's face, the little she-kit taking the flower and tucking it into her fur. "Oh, thank you!" The scent was rather lovely. Obviously it smelled floral, but it was special in its own way. Stepping away from the shelter of the queen, Mintkit's tail rippled with excitement as she once more considered all of the new friends that she had. "I'm Mintkit. Would you all like to be my friends?" After all, it was nice to ask! "Even you, Patchdream!"

littleflower looked at the kit with a smile. "I would love to be your friend." she mewed.

Bubblekit waved with her tail once as Sorrelkit approached, offering a warm welcome to her sister. "This is Sorrelkit! One of my sisters," she explained brightly. "She's great at playing, too!" The other kit they'd spoken to a while ago--Thymekit, right?--also approached, this time bringing a flower for a gift. Aww, that wasn't fair! Bubblekit hadn't known ahead of time she'd be meeting a new friend, or she would've brought a gift, too! She felt as if she had somehow been upstaged. That thought fled immediately as the new kit introduced herself. Her name was Mintkit. What a nice name! And... she wanted to be friends. Perfect! Bubblekit beamed widely at the question. "Duh, of course!" she agreed happily. "We can totally be friends!"