Oh Deery [Closed]

There was a little someone peering into WindClan's dens. He didn't seem all that impressed by what he saw. Well, he didn't seem to show any opinion at all, actually.

A young, brown-pelted kit was sticking his nose into everything he could find in WindClan camp, dancing around the paws of warriors and apprentices coming in and out of camp. This young tom's name was Deerkit, and while he wasn't a troublemaker, he would often get into much trouble for sticking his head where it didn't belong. His eyes had already faded from kitten blue to a piercing pumpkin orange. The snow blanketing the territory didn't seem to bother him much at all. Right now, his oversized paws were leading him towards a strange-smelling den with a dark interior. His large eyes shined like miniature suns as he padded just over the threshold. The smell was much stronger in here, and he almost turned back after letting out a series of sneezes. But somewhere in there he could see a dark figure in a nest much larger than his own. He approached quietly, curious as to who this was laying here alone. The kit peered into their oddly flat face, not quite caring if they were awake or not, and huffed. They smelled a lot like the plants laying in one corner of the den, but nearly as much as the other two who he'd seen come in and out.

Despite the questions that lingered, he gave the cat one last sniff before leaving as quickly as he'd come. What else would he see today?

Bulbous eyes blinked open as she heard a kit shuffling around outside, the noise growing steadily stronger as it made its way to the medicine cats den. The sickly apprentice raised her head and looked up onto to come face to face with the large kit, her big amber eyes blinking with shock as she gave a rather startled sneeze. The she-cat tried to brush away the crust around her nostrils before stumbling to her paws, after the kit with another sneeze.

Mistpaw's eyes squinted as she stepped out, rather disturbed by the change in lighting, seeing as she hadn't been out in a long while, she had fallen ill and still was since the beginning of leaf-bare.

Deerkit's ears perked as a sound came from the den he had just exited. He turned to face the apprentice that had just left the den, head tilted. He stopped walking and reapproached the she-cat. Now in the weak Leafbare sunlight he could see more of her. She appeared a bit ruffled, with messy fur and a snot-encrusted nose. What a great first impression. "I'm Deerkit." He'd been told to introduce himself first so as not to seem rude. At first, he'd just stared at his Clanmates and nearly gotten into a scuffle with another kit because of it. "What were you doing in there?"

Maybe he still had a bit of work to do with his words.

Mistpaw opened up her mouth to respond, but a violent cough racked the small she-cats body. Shuddering she rocked back onto her back legs, her rump falling to the ground and the snow puffing up around her. "I'm Mistpaw..." She rasped, cringing at how rough her voice sounded. Her ears flickered against her head as she meowed stiffly, "I'm sick, really sick, I-I shouldn't be out here." She seemed to curl in on herself. "I shouldn't be interacting with anyone... I-I might get you sick, and I don't want that." She huffed, the peace only lasting for a moment before she started hacking, spittle flying as she tucked her head so she wouldn't send it the kits way.

Sick? He didn't quite understand the concept of "sickness", and he snorted, releasing a puff of steamy breath into the chilly air. His little paws were getting a bit cold standing still in the snow. "My dad says if we stay inside for too long rabbits will hunt us instead!" Deerkit moved to take a step towards Mistpaw, but he felt the snow shift under his growing weight and he was plunged up to his muzzle in the stuff.

He was rethinking what he said. "But maybe," his voice was a bit muffled and he struggled for a moment to make himself heard. It was pretty soft, softer than his nest, but it was so very cold! "Maybe they aren't hungry today." The tom scrabbled out of the hole and, despite her warnings to keep away, ended up by her side, although facing the opposite direction. Perhaps staying inside would be best for the both of them. "Why did the smelly cats say you were sick?" His bright pumpkin eyes stared directly into the older she-cat's amber ones.

Mistpaw's face scrunched with a smile at the young kits remark, breaking into a chuckle as the kit practically disappeared underneath the snow. Turning with the kit, she turned so she could face the same direction. "Them smel- You mean the medicine cats? Because I sneeze and cough and I can't keep much food down, I can barely stand as it is." Mistpaw meowed, shuddering alongside a sudden cold chill as she dipped back inside and into her temporary nest. Seeming to melt into the nest.

He followed her back into the den, walking a bit oddly as he tried to shake the snow out from between his toes. It was actually warmer in here, something he hadn't noticed before, seeing as he'd only been inside for but a moment. Deerkit tilted his head at her squished nest. "How long have you been in here?" His eyes were dilated rather far due to the darkness inside the den. There wasn't much to do here except lay down. "It's pretty lonely." He laid down on his belly and stretched his front paws as far as they would allow, which was significantly farther than he thought. For a heartbeat he wondered where the smelly cats - the medicine cats - were and what they were doing. Shouldn't they be helping Mistpaw instead of leaving her all alone like this?

"Since the start of Leaf-bare... I wasn't watching where I was running and I went head first into the gorge, Smokepelt saved me." Mistpaw muttered, looking at her paws bashfully. "Yeah, I have my sister, Featherpaw though, and my older brother Dawnlight. They're both around really often. So I'm not very lonely, though I wish I had a friend or two I could talk to." Mistpaw wistfully sighed, her tail gently swishing as she thought.

The tom yawned wide and tilted his head towards her. "You fell in the Gorge?" His little voice was raised slightly in surprise. "I thought anybody who fell in died." It amazed him that she'd survived the incident. Deerkit moved to sit next to the larger she-cat. Her fur appeared somewhat tangled in a few spots, prompting him to attempt to groom it clean. "You've been in here a long time. I'll sit with you then, until they come back." He tucked his paws under his chest and wrapped his tail against his side, gently working through some of the knots he could reach.