Awfully Intuitive. Really awfully. (OPEN)

Newtkit had no problem darting through the snow. Being cooped up in the cramped nursery left it a breeze to play in. His black pelt wasn't good for stealth so, he had to find another way to hunt for any prey. At first, he tried covering himself in the snow. It melted after a few moments of running around. He hid in little piles but, he was exposed moving between them. Now, he stood at the nursery entrance, digging into the snow with tiny claws until a small hole was made. From there, he tried to make a tunnel, kicking up snow into the nursery as he made a very small "cave". Bits were already crumbling at the edges but he kept going. Until...

"Ack!" The tiny little tunnel collapsed around him and he scrambled to get out of the snow. Only his head showed up as if he were a rabbit peering out of their burrow. With a soured expression, he squirmed around, eyeing the slush that was flowing down the dip in the earth he made. He needed to hurry or he'd be soaked to the bone!

A soft, sympathetic purr sounded from behind the little kit, and suddenly soft teeth grasped into his scruff and pulled him out of the snow. He landed softly in the snow next to the slushy pit.

"You must be careful, little one," Newtkit's rescuer, Heatherpetal, meowed kindly. "We wouldn't want you to get sick, especially in leaf-bare. Are you okay? Are you cold?"

Newtkit shook his fur out as much as he could with kit fur. It wasn't water repellent and softer than the fur of older cats. He shivered a bit as bits of snow melted into his fur. "I'm f-fine." he mewed quickly, teeth beginning to chatter. "I was just trying to hunt but my pelt's too dark!" he frowned and looked up at the warrior. "How can I hunt if I stand out so much?"

"Olay, but don't hesitate to ask if for help warming up if you need it," Heatherpetal replied after a few moments of hesitation. She knew the kit was most likely trying to put on a brace face for the newly appointed warrior, and she knew some kits were independent and eager to prove themselves warrior material to anyone they could, which was why she didn't jump ahead to practically mother the kit in warming him when he didn't seem to want it.

She purred gently at the question. "It is much more difficult for most warriors to hunt in leaf-bare because of the colors of their pelts against the white snow. What I personally do is hide behind any bush or tree I can while I stalk. Your prey won't notice you anyway if you stay quiet and keep yourself downwind from it, so it would be an easy hunting tactic. Of course..." She sighed. "I've never been the best hunter myself. I can definitely fight foxes and badgers and enemy cats, but that's about all I can do for the Clan."

If warriors had the same problem, they'd all need to figure out a way around it. "Why don't we hide above the prey in the trees? We wouldn't need to hide our scent and the prey couldn't see us!"" He piped up before looking at her in awe as she mentioned her strength in battle. "You've fought a fox?" He murmured, amazed. "Are they big? Was it scary?"

"Well, that's what SkyClan cats typically do, but I suppose we could as well," Heatherpetal answered. "However, we do use trees to our advantage in battle. And yes, foxes are large, strong, and very nasty. StarClan forbid you ever have to fight one."

Oakkit sprang out of the nursery and scrambled through the snow, his soft kit fur fluffed in the cold. He looked around the camp for something to play with. A stick, a piece of moss, a warriors tail... He wasn't all that picky.

Then he heard Newtkit talking to Heatherpetal. Maybe Newtkit would want to play! Oakkit ran up and heard Heatherpetal say something about foxes. His eyes sparkled.

"I could fight a fox!" He squeaked, puffing out his tiny chest and looking the warrior in the eye. "I'm Oakkit." He added, by way of explanation.

"I bet I could too! They're so bright, you could see them from the moon in all this snow. They'd never be able to sneak up on you. They've got big noses too, right? That's easy to hit." The tom added, rearing up on his hind legs and giving the air a few swipes before landing again to prove his point.

Heatherpetal purred with amusement at the kit's battle moves, as well as Oakkit's declaration. She blinked kindly at him at his approach. "Hello there, I'm Heatherpetal."

She now turned her attention to both kits. "You're both going to make incredible warriors one day. As a matter of fact, if you'd like I could always teach you a few things about hunting and fighting. It's never too early to learn after all." In spite of her shyness, Heatherpetal had always wanted to become a mentor herself one day. She wanted to be as kind and as supportive a mentor as Reedheart had been to her -- and nowhere near as strict or crude a mentor as Specklefang -- so she figured this could be great practice for her for when she got an apprentice of her own.

Oakkit felt his chest swell further. Incrediable warriors... Heatherpetal couldn't have picked a surer way to win over the kit. He would be the greatest warrior ever! He'd be so strong and so brave, enemies would run even at just his scent. He'd catch so much prey that ThunderClan would never be hungry again. He flexed his claws, purring at the thought.

He got so caught up in his fantasy that he almost missed Heatherpetal's next words. "You mean right now? You're going to teach us right now?" He mewed, bouncing up and down. "Yes!"

"As if I'd pass that up!" the tomkit meowed grinning. "What first? A sneak attack?" the tom mewed, ducking down into the snow. If they were going to be incredible warriors, they'd have to start soon. Newtkit squeaked as the snow fell over on his face and sat up, shaking his head and sneezing. The now speckled kit's ears folded back in embarrassment for a moment. "I uh- meant to do that."

Heatherpetal stifled a purr of laughter, not wanting to further embarrass Newtpaw, though her whiskers twitched a little. She began clearing away the snow to make a decent-sized patch of bare earth, then scooped up a pawful of snow to pat onto the center of the ground to make a little stiff heap. She made a second one next to it. "Let's start with battle moves. Your mentors will teach you more advanced lives when you're older, so for now I'll show you the basic attack safe for kits. It's called the Front Paw Blow." She made her own pile of snow a few tail-lengths away, then crouched down into the attack position with head lowered, legs spread out, and tail straight. Then she lifted up a paw and thwacked the pile with swift precision, sending specks of snow flying.

The youngest ThunderClan warrior shook out her fur when the snow covered her, then she approached the kits again. "Just like that. First I'll have you work on the power of your attack, then your speed. Finally, you'll put them both together and attack the snow piles I've set up for you. Are you ready?"