leafbare blessings [closed]

The brisk early morning sun hung heavily in the cloud-speckled sky, offering a brief glimpse of the limited warmth that the day had in store, although large swathes of snow still softly blanketed certain parts of the camp. Despite the brief reprieve from the constant snow and sleet that was often associated with Leafbare, hardly any cats seemed be out attending to their duties for the day- obviously preferring to keep within the warmth of their temporary dens instead. Due to how poor the weather had been over the past few days, the majority of WindClan had retreated to the safety of nearby rabbit warrens in an attempt to keep themselves from freezing due to exposure from the harsh elements. Tucked deep within a cozy rabbit warren resided Brindlewhisker, who was doing her best to keep a rambunctious brood of five kits preoccupied and out of trouble.

The fact that she and Dewtuft were expecting another litter of kits had come as quite a surprise, after all, she was getting to be a bit old to be having kits! But it was still a welcome surprise in both of their eyes, especially considering that it was a fairly sizable litter healthy kits. The eldest of the five kits was a sweet and soft-spoken grey tabby she-kit by the name of Dovekit, who could easily be the most sociable out of the entire litter. Following Dovekit came a lithe little tom by the name of Bramblekit, whose already calm nature was a bit of a surprise to Brindlewhisker. After Bramblekit came an already stout and stocky little bundle of grey fur called Eaglekit- his cautious nature definitely fit his name. The second to last kit of the litter appeared as if he was a clone of Dewtuft, with his grey fur and amber eyes making him appear as though he was a miniature twin of his father. Aptly named Jaykit, the young little tom was a ball of energy in comparison to his littermates. The runt of the brood was rowdy silver tabby she-kit named Falconkit, who definitely made up for her status as the youngest through her wit.

Blinking rapidly so that her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the temporary den, Brindlewhisker looked down at the kits with an affectionate expression before finally mewing, "Would you little ones like to go outside today?"

"Outside?" asked Bramblekit warily with a little scared look in his eyes. Going out in the freezing snow and when even strongest warriors were hiding in their dens with tails between their legs. What is so interesting outside? As lazy and as little unconfident he was like, he flickered his tail while thinking. But on the other side there were some prickles of his adventures nature; the only cats outside would be tiny kits, this was really cool.
Bramblekit nodded and mewed:"We... can take a look... I guess... He ended looking at his brothers and sisters; after all decision wasn't just his- he was the second kit.

Jaykit's little ears perked up at the sound of his mother's voice.  "Of course!" The solid grey tom barreled through his siblings, knocking them aside.  "Stop being a scaredy cat, Bramblekit, that's Eaglekit's job!"  The youngest brother slid to a stop at the entrance of the den only to make sure his siblings, and mother, were following.

"Yes!" The gray tabby kit exclaimed in excitement. "I so wanna go outside! The nursery gets so boring sometimes. If I'm gonna be the best warrior in WindClan, I should get more familiar with the camp that I'll be shining in every day!"
With a flick of her tiny tail, she leaped towards the exit of the nursery and thrust her head out into the cold, open air. She didn't understand why Bramblekit was so nervous all the time. Exploring outside would be such an adventure, and Dovekit was more than ready to see everything. Maybe she'd meet a warrior, maybe she'd meet two warriors!

Eaglekit looked at Jaykit. "I am not a scaredy cat!" He hissed. "If anything I'm the bravest cat here!" He continued. He jumped out into the snow and looked around. "Come on now!" he yelled to the others.

Falconkit got up and stretched her little legs in preparation of leaving the den for the first time. She looked back at her mother with her sweet face. "Okay i'm ready to go! I-I can't wait to go exploring and maybe even meet some apprentices to learn from them! I really want to be a big help to the clan when I become a warrior!" she squeaked with confidence. All she could think about was what the outdoors looked like. She rushed outside at Eaglekit's call. "O-Oh look! It's so big out here!" the little she-kit exclaimed.

Brindlewhisker's face melted into a rare expression of mushy adoration as she listened to her kits chime in, her pale eyes gleaming affectionately in the shady light of the little tunnel that the family occupied for the time being. Leaning forwards, the brindled she-cat gently rasped her tongue over Bramblekit in response to Jaykit's jest, hoping to reassure the little tabby tom. Stiffly rising her paws and carefully following the kits out into the brisk cool air of the camp, the Deputy allowed for the gaggle of kits to stumble several paces ahead of them. "Perhaps we can find Dewtuft- I'm sure he should be around at the moment." Brindlewhisker prompted, her gaze lifting from her kits to scan the rather barren clearing for her mate.

"Dewtuft?" mewed Bramblekit a little more confidently. This was a good idea; to find their father and see if he is in some den. If so then they would not need to be outside. Quickly he stood up and raced towards the entrance so he wouldn't had lost his mother and be the last in the nursery. Pushing his way through his siblings, he went out and padding a little further he sniffed. The cold air was a little unexpected, but not so disturbing as Bramblekit imagined. Trying to return to Jaykit he mewed with a little too loud sound: Come on, you lazy bones! He was always trying to be more confident and brave. What would happen when he would become apprentice and when he would become a warrior. There is no place for unconfidence in the fight.

Jaykit laughed at Eaglekit's reaction.  "I'm just messing with you!" He batted at his brother's nose with a loving paw.  The snow cold and wet on his paws, but he didn't care.  He bounded around with his siblings, until his mother mentioned his father's name. From his little stature he scanned the camp in search of his Dewtuft.  "I don't see him!"  He stalked around the camp calling out, "Dad!  Dad!  Dad!"  The little grey tom looked for a cat that fully embodied his own color and build.  He stuck his nose into every den he could to be able to find his maxi-me (whatever is the opposite of mini-me).

Dovekit's ears perked up with excitement once the name of her father was mentioned. She sprang after her siblings with a pep in her step and a grin on her joyous gray muzzle. She glanced over briefly at Eaglekit and Jaykit before yelling out for Dewtuft.
"Papa!" She called out, not even thinking about how all the noise they were making could disturb or wake up other cats. "Papa, where are you?!"
There was more excitement in Dovekit's voice than there was confusion. She wasn't familiar with the arrangement of the dens, and if she knew where the warriors' den was, then she would've immediately raced towards it. Instead, the she-kit looked around curiously in order to try and figure out which den belonged to the warriors.