Where did all the snow go? (O)

Ivypaw saw no more snow. The only thing that reminded him of leaf-fall was the cold breeze. The clan was more lush now, and plants weren’t weak and small anymore. He saw a single dewdrop fall from a sapling. He wasn’t used to there being no snow. He stepped forward and away from the apprentice den, still surprised. He must’ve looked weird, dumbfounded by all the plants growing, but he didn’t want to get picked on. So all he did was sit near the apprentice den. Sure, he could hunt and be more productive, but he would rather lick his paw until moonhigh than go on another dreadful morning patrol. The thought of it disgusted him. He even felt his fur prick. After he finished cleaning himself, he stretched his paws. Not many cats were around, perhaps they already went out to hunt.

Lionkit shook the mud off of his paws as he walked back to the fresh-kill pile. Now that he was onto solids, he was more of a nuisance to the queens than anything else. He smacked his lips, full of fresh, Newleaf shrew, the first to come out of hibernation. He counted himself lucky, with his long and feathery coat, that he was more suited to the blustery first days of the new season than most. Dumbfounded as well by the newly sprouting plants surrounding camp, he took the woody stem of a sapling between his teeth and began to tug, batting at his enemy with his back legs and snarling heroically. Surely, once he was allowed to leave and be off in the forest unsupervised, he'd treat any predators or enemy patrols the same way. RiverClan, especially.

He didn't have enough strength in his muscles to yank the sapling from the ground. Lionkit released his victim begrudgingly and considered his options. Asking a warrior for help would be humiliating. If I brought a sapling back to the nursery, though, he considered, No one would question it. I'd look very strong.

He spotted an apprentice, who seemed more interested in skulking than going on another patrol today, who seemed like a better option than a full-grown, presumptuous warrior, who might ask him what he was planning to do with a sapling. Swallowing his pride, Lionkit shook himself off and padded up to Ivypaw, taking a moment to peer curiously into the apprentice den. He dreamed of moving into the pile of scruffy, battle-hungry apprentices and joining them on their morning training. Until then, though, he was trapped under the watchful eyes of the queens. "Hey!" he almost barked. "Will you pull up that sapling for me?"

As she often did these days, Blazefang was watching the kits, silent as a specter. She saw the way that Lionkit looked to Ivypaw, the kit admiring the apprentice, beholding what he aspires to be. She’d been on the receiving end of that look with Specklepaw, may she rest in peace. It was good to see that life rolled on, that kits continued to pad after their older friends till the end of time. With a wistful sigh, she disappeared into the elders’ den.