a first time for everything [open for anyone]

The little kit's tail wagged back and forth as he peered over the edge of the sandy hollow that WindClan called camp. His blue eyes were wide as they looked upon the stretching moors. A constant gust blew against the tall grass, leaving it to ripple and wave like a vast green river. It was beautiful, and the small but curious tom was all too excited to explore it. One day. He was only a kit after all. Kits weren't allowed outside of the territory.

As Icekit turned to slide back towards his mother who waited patiently in the nursery, a rustling caused his attention to flick back to the fields. His ears twitched and nose inched forward as he began to scent out the source. It was all too familiar. His father often came by fresh with the smell. Rabbit. Such a delectable scent. H-He couldn't help himself...

The blue kit bunched his legs, ready for a run, but found himself freezing as he heard shifting sand behind him. "I-I w-wasn't doing a-anything!" he blurted, eyes shut tight and head hunched down. Was he caught?

Mottleheart had been relaxing in the camp when he spotted a small blue-grey bundle disappearing over the edge of the camp. His eyes narrowed as he clambered to his paws, his steps swift as he crossed the clearing to where he had seen the shape disappear. He reached the top just in time to see the little bundle - Icekit - about to break into a run only to be alerted to his presence. The warrior raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth only to catch the scent of a rabbit in the direction that Icekit had been ready to dart. Ah. He shook his head, sitting down as he stared at the young kit. "Sure you weren't," he said lightly as he curled his tail around his paws as he allowed his gaze to shift to the territory. "Then may I ask what you are doing on the edge of the camp?" he questioned, a playful tone to his voice. He wasn't going to get the kit in trouble but it was clear that Icekit knew he wasn't suppose to be out of the camp.

Quailfeather sat by the fresh-kill pile, white tail-tip flicking lazily from side to side as she absorbed the Greenleaf sun. It was her favorite season- a time when prey abounded, when there wasn't as much work for the whole Clan to do, when everything seemed to move slower. It was a time of contentment and plenty. Last Greenleaf, she had just been excited to spend more time with her family- long walks on the territory with Kindleblaze, Gustpuddle and Ryecloud while Ashstar, Smokepelt, Cedarfur and Brindlewhisker sat in the distance, laughing and talking. But this Greenleaf was different. Life since the change in deputy had been drastically different. She hardly saw her father around any more- he always seemed to have an excuse to be out of camp. Kindleblaze was a rogue now- she had been exiled from WindClan, and the experienced warrior hadn't seen her since. Gustpuddle was busy in the nursery with a bundle of kits, and was horribly sick with greencough besides. Ryecloud... she hadn't seen him around lately, either. He generally avoided most other cats, and recently he'd seemed to be avoiding her as well. Most of the family shunned Ashstar and Brindlewhisker for the leader's decision, and while the gray speckled she-cat didn't truly hate either of them, she was still uncomfortable around both she-cats, and didn't make any efforts to seek them out. At least she still had her mate, Silentstrike, and her remaining daughter, Laurelpaw. She still had no idea what had happened to Mistpaw, who had just... vanished one day. But it was all okay. She wasn't going to let this get her down. If she did, then where would she be?

Whenever she had a break from patrols, Quailfeather usually just sat in the sunlight, watching camp life go on. Today she saw Mottleheart, a quiet tom who she considered a friend, apprehending a tiny troublemaker. Icekit, wasn't he? A corner of her mouth quirked upwards as she watched the exchange between the two. She got up from her comfortable spot and slowly padded over, white paw standing out among her other gray ones. Her ear twitched as she held in a small laugh at how uncomfortable the poor kit looked. She nudged the warrior with her tail. "Oh, lighten up, Mottleheart- he's just a kit." The lithe she-cat bent down to be on eye level with the small tom, her playful ice-blue eyes dancing as they looked into his green ones. She winked. "Of course you weren't doing anything. Don't worry, you'll be an apprentice one of these days. Then you'll get to run around the territory so much you'll be sick of it. Hey, d'you wanna see the view from Tallrock? You can see everything from there."