Feather Steps [open]

Yarrowkit poked his nose out from the nursery, and then his head, whiskers twitching, the leaf-fall chill nipping at his ears. He followed the whisper of water out into the clearing, ignoring the crunch and crinkle of leaves beneath his paws. A dim cast hung over the rushes and reeds in the early light, robbing the camp of color and replacing vibrant greens and golds with more muted shades.

He skirted around the edge of camp, silent, brushing his tail low against the ground. A trail of golden leaves parted behind him as he ringed around the crooked-backed willow in the center of the clearing, keeping close to the thick sedge walls as he made toward the camp entrance, stalking under the drooping boughs of reeds and rushes that seemed to tower over him.

Darkpaw woke up with a start she just had a nightmare and was really scared. oh it was just a nightmare. she left the apprentice den and stretched out her legs. She smelled the nice cold air and knew that leaf-bare was going to be not that bad this year. She was going to the nusery when she saw a kit leave it. hey isn't that yarrowkit?she asked herself. "hey yarrowkit what are u doing out of the nusery so early in the morning?" she asked the kit.

Sandkit smirked as she stalked the tom. She had seen him get out of the nursery so she wanted to have fun. She jumped when an apprentice began to speak to Yarrowkit. The she-kit shrank back and hid before she got spotted too.

Yarrowkit froze mid-step, tail bushing out in surprise. He didn't turn around at first, only shooting a curt glance over his shoulder to the older apprentice. "Going." Then, after a moment of frosty silence, he kicked into a sprint toward the camp exit, leaves flying up behind his paws before any cat could intercept him.

Darkpaw looked out where the kit ran off. She knew a kit wouldn't survive the forest alone so she went after him. When she got to the entree center of the camp she couldn't see him so she fallowed his sent. She fallowed it to a tree than lost it. i better go tell someone she said to herself. On her way back she noticed that it was going to snow today and ran. When she got to the camp she saw another kit hiding it looked like this one was Sandkit.

OOC: I was going to wait for Sandkit to post but it's been a couple days, so lol ;; Sry

IC: He knew this was against the warrior code, and the queens and warriors and Fishstar and Ivyfall would all be mad if they found out, but he couldn't stand it in the nursery anymore. They were all so loud, and they talked so much. The warm stuffiness of the nursery felt suffocating compared to the big wide world outside, but he knew, just knew, that RiverClan camp was just one little clearing in one territory in a whole great forest. Out there, he'd formed the idea in his head that it was clear and empty and, even if just for a little bit, he could hide away for a little while.

Yarrowkit plunged through the stream around camp where the water was narrowest, small paws churning against the pebbles to find a grip, and zipped out into the reeds with his tail trailing behind, until he was sure he'd lost Darkpaw and anybody else that might have seen him make his quick escape.

His heart was pumping, slipping under the roots of an old willow, into a small dip in the soft soil half-covered by a draping fern. And once he'd caught his breath, there was just silence. No mews, no squealing kits or bickering elders or nagging queens, just birdsong and the trickle of water, and all of RiverClan territory to explore. The kit poked his head out from under the fern, breathing in a hundred new scents, taking in a hundred new sounds, ears pricked, eyes wide and alert. He crept out from the base of the tree, low to the ground, and sighed.

Mouse-brains... He had all this space to play in, without anybody to watch or anybody to jump in. It was perfect. Back in camp, he always tried to keep a good fox-length between him and the other kits, but that was impossible with the way they jumped and jostled each other around, always getting underneath every warrior's paws when they weren't confined to the nursery. Just trying to sleep was enough of a challenge, with all those little legs and tails and paws kicking and brushing up against him, the queens and their litters and then just him nestled in his own corner, not able to get any separation from any of them.

In the back of his head, the threat from Darkpaw and all the trouble he might get in weighed down on his thoughts, but he tried to brush it off. If they found him, he could just say he was lost or scared and they'd stop being mad quick enough... And if that worked, maybe he could do this again, just less sloppily. Frustration built under his hackles that he'd let Darkpaw see him go, but he just shook it out of his mind, padding into the sweet-smelling grass.

A gold leaf drifted down from the branches, and he swiped at it as it came fluttering past his nose, tail lashing. The leaf seemed to dart just out of reach of his claws, swooping away on the cool leaf-fall breeze. Yarrowkit pounced after it, the bustle of RiverClan camp melting from his mind like morning dew.

OOC: I'm very sorry! I forget these things! XD I usually check in the afternoon but I forgot today!

Sandkit looked down and pretended to just innocently wander around. She knew Darkpaw was watching so she went back into the nursery to think of something quick. The she-kit shook her head and gave a small sigh. She decided to just go for it. 'Well here goes nothing' she thought. As silently as she had been when she was stalking Yarrowkit, the kit quickly snuck out of the nursery and dashed out of the camp, knowing someone had to have seen her.

The kit was now searching for the tom. She wanted to play and explore so why couldn't do it together?  The sand-colored kit took in all her surroundings as if she were being fed it. "Wow! It's very big and amazing!" The kit whispered to herself. She continued on her journey to find the other kit she didn't really know much about.

After what seemed like forever, the she-kit spotted the tom chasing a leaf. She grinned and began to give chase. "H-Hey! W-Wait up! Can I join you?" she called out breathlessly.

Darkpaw saw a flash in the edge of her eye and noticed sandkit running out the enterance. what where these kits thinking it was leafbare and it was about to snow. she went straight to the warriors den to call for help. "HELP two kits ran out of camp and it's about to snow!" she yelled in the den.

OOC: I'll PM honey badger to join the topic for the warrior

Amberpelt peered up from where she was curled up at the sound of a voice, her ears twitching as she groggily recongized the shape of the apprentice at the entrance. "What..." she muttered as she gave her pelt a shake, pulling herself to her paws before her ears perked as the words finally got through to her. "What?" Every part of her motherly instinct was on fire as she stared at the apprentice she now recognized as Darkpaw. "What two kits? Where did they go?" she demanded as she rushed from the den, taking all but a moment to pause at the apprentice's side before she gave a shake of her head. No, she didn't have time to wait for the apprentice's response. She tasted the air as she pulled away from Darkpaw, not seeing if the apprentice was going to follow as she started to follow the kits scents from the camp. "What were they thinking..." she muttered under her breath as she prayed to StarClan to find them before it started to snow.

Darkpaw fallowed the warrior out of the camp hoping they found the kits. And if they did that they were still alive.

A voice. For one startled heartbeat, he thought he'd been caught already, and some warrior was about to drag him back to camp kicking and fighting, but when he turned around, it was just another kit. Through his sigh of relief, he also felt a tinge of resentment. So much for perfect isolation. He narrowed his eyes, looking over her suspiciously, before lashing his tail and nodding his head in silent affirmation. Fine, just as long as she didn't get them both in trouble. Yarrowkit turned around again and plunged into the tall grass. His leaf was long gone, skating away on the wind, and long gray skies had begun to stretch overhead.

Yarrowkit paused, turning his nose to the sky as white flakes began to drift down from the sky. What's that...? It didn't fall like rain, and it didn't look like rain... He swatted at one as it glided past and watched it melt against his paw, icy cold, springing back with a snort. "Huh...?" He turned to look back at Sandkit, blinking in confusion.

Sandkit flinched as one dropped onto her nose and instantly melted. She turned back to Yarrowkit, who had a confused expression. "I-I don't know what they are so don't look at me!" she said to the other kit. The she-kit looked up once more. Many more were starting to fall onto them and the ground. "I-It's kinda getting cold don't you think? Maybe we should go back..." she trailed off when it started to get colder.

"Mousedung..." Amberpelt halted as her eyes focused on a small speckle of white that fluttered into her view, followed by many more as she slowly raised her gaze to the heavens. Her ears perked as the snow started to collect on her pelt, blending with the white speckles that already lined her fur. "We need to hurry," she meowed under her breath as she glanced over her shoulder to see that Darkpaw had decided to follow after her. "Kits!" she raised her voice as she turned, picking up her pace as she scanned for the two small pelts. Even if it hadn't been snowing, the two should have known not to leave camp...She wanted to be angry but the part of her that had awoken when she had her own kits only prayed for their safety more than anything. "Where did you run off to?" she called out, worry flickering in her voice.

Darkpaw saw worry in the warriors eyes and noticed it was snowing. oh god what if we don't find them, she said to herself. "i smell kits this way amberpelt." she yelled and ran off after the sent. When the snow started to fall faster she would lose the sent just like if it was raining. She had to hurry which made her run faster.

He fluffed up his fur against the chill. It was getting colder, but he didn't want to admit that to her. How would they become warriors if they couldn't handle a bit of cold? Yarrowkit cast another uncertain glance into the sky, and then back to Sandkit. "Go if you want," he muttered, padding to the edge of an icy stream, the water frothing at the muddy banks. But he couldn't give up so easily, not after finally coming outside... He fought against an involuntary shiver, stalking down alongside the water, toward where the roar of a current grew louder and louder.