little rey of sunshine [open]

Sunkit had never been claimed by a Queen.

She didn't possess the faintest memory of her mother's face or scent, nor her fathers, and that was a fact that often left her sniffling in the night while the others slept. The various Queens that frequented the nursery often tended to her enough to see that she got by, but they never welcomed her into their nests or regarded her with anything other than the simple kindness associated with mingling with another Clanmate. While their brisk behavior never truly bothered her, she never felt quite welcome among her denmates and their kin. The little tabby's gaze drifted to a single snow flake that drifted from the slight gaps in the ceiling above her. But she didn't need to find a place within them, did she? She just needed to wait for her parents to return to her.

Peering outside of the thickly woven reeds that formed the nursery, the young she-kit gazed at the desolated and snow drenched camp with wide, unblinking eyes. With a hesitant paw, Sunkit gently prodded the churned up snow that laid outside of the den, clearly unsure of whether or not it was safe for her to try and wade through.

Carrying the remains of a fat quail that had escaped the twoleg's farm, Ivystar trotted over with a rather brisk pace through the sparse snow that layered the clearing of RiverClan camp. The best of their catch went to the queens, thus she was making her usual delivery to ensure no apprentice got a sneaky bite of the kill enroute. She couldn't exactly blame them, food was short and a morsel like this was awfully tempting. When was the last time any of them tasted anything more than sinnew and bones?

Lost in her thoughts and following the same path she always took (swinging around the apprentice den to make sure they weren't disturbing Shellwater with their racket), she nearly trod on Sunkit. The leader blinked her eyes in surprise as she flinched back, then whiskers twitched with curiosity as she leant to have a good look at the kit. She looked a bit young to be out alone, was no one watching her?

Gingerly placing the fowl down, she meowed softly to the kit. "What are you doing alone, little sun? It's much too cold for a kit your age."

A little, split-faced tortoishell scampered after Sunkit. Her desire to pad slowly and take it in was quickly forgotten as she took up a new goal--find out what her denmate was doing. The sleep that clung to her concious and edge of her mind melted away almost instantly. Darkkit skidded to a halt right next to Sunkit at the edge of the nursery. Her gaze widened as she took in the scene of snow before them. Then, it flickered to the other she-cat before going back again. Her eyes darted quickly back and forth a few times as she tried to decipher which matter was of more importance to her. Eventually, the question weighed heavier than the sight of snow.

"What are you up to?" Darkkit squeaked. She blinked, realizing she had forgotten to shut her eyes as she took it all in. A droplet of water fell from the melting ice over the entrance. It fell on her nose and she shrunk back in surprise while screwing her eyes to try and look at the wetness on the bridge of her nose. It was futile. After a second, the kit shook out her pelt to rid it of the unpleasant sensation. She was not a fan of the thing that fell on her nose. Despite her long and silky coat, a shiver ran down her spine. The question she had posed was almost forgetten, but just before Sunkit could speak, she straightened back up and tried to keep full attention for a moment.

The soft snow easily gave way beneath Sunkit's tentative testing, the sticky flakes eagerly clinging to the downy tufts of fur that grew between her small toes. However, before she had long to dwell on whether or not that meant it was safe for her to try and cross through, she was greeted with the sight of Ivystar standing before her and Darkkit alongside her. Round little ears twitching with something akin to wariness, Sunkit's dark gaze pivoted between the two she-cats before she finally spoke up, " 'M waiting."

"What for?" She meowed in between tossing the fowl into the nursery overhead so the queens could feast. yeet It made the few snowflakes that were clinging to her sleek pelt fall down in a twinkling flurry, with some snowflakes clinging to her nose unpleasantly. But Sunkit seemed not that bothered by the snow, more curious than anything. Darkkit on the other hand seemed more perturbed by the icy sensation, shrinking back from the cold. "You can come under me, Darkkit if you want to come outside but away from the falling snow."

The leader adjusted her position to created a little cave of warm between her seated hind legs and forelegs for the kits to crawl under. She remembered doing this for her own kits, letting them experience the world from the safety of her bosom. Jaystream had been so tiny, surrounded by his siblings. And Sootwhisper, he was a ball of fluff. Sandfrost and Ashpaw were too big now, though they were her youngest. Time flew so quickly.

Darkkit cocked her head, silently wondering what the other kit was waiting for. But, before the she-kit could even think of asking, a figure blocked out what little light came from the dreary outer world. Her eyes widened as her gaze trailed from Ivystar's feet up to her face. It seemed like an eternity before she finally reached the leader's eyes. The cat was so massive! The little tortoiseshell did not know of origins that caused the old warrior to be larger than most of Riverclan, but she was impressed by it. An impressed grin caused her maw to curl upwards.

Some flakes of snow fell from the fowl as it soared over her head. She ducked back once more. At Ivystar's offer, she nodded furiously and quickly leaped over the snow to dive towards the she-cat's underbelly. The snow was a bit of a shock on her paws, but that wasn't all that bad. A loud purr immediately came from her chest. Little eyes glanced up and she smiled happily, "You're warm, big cat."

OOC: Think of Spruce as that Suave and handsome British dude in movies with a thick accent but is kinda awkward a times.

IC: Sprucekit jumped at the sound of voices nearby. His stubby tail stood up and his pretty light green eyes looked around for the owners of the voices. He ran outside only to fall face first in the snow. The tiny tom whined and huffed when he resurfaced. The snow was piled on his head and back from the fall into the snow. His face lit up as he bounced around, excited to see snow for the first time. He had no mother or father to bring him back into the nursery. He then turned to look at Sunkit, Darkkit, and Ivystar. The little kit blushed. He was in the presence of three pretty she-cats. The tom looked around for something. He couldn't go to them with paws empty. Such beautiful cats deserved a gift from a respectful tom like himself. Despite never having parents and being a young kit, he had acquired the mentality that she-cats deserved only the best. The tiny tom got a hold of a tiny bud, a sign that Newleaf was approaching. He padded back to the three she-cats with the "gift." He placed it down in front of them. "H-Hello. My name's Sprucekit. What may yours be, lovely she-cats?" Yep. He didn't seem weird at all. He shuffled his paws around as he tried to stay calm.

ooc) Sprucekit best boi

Whatever answer that had been bubbling up in Sunkit’s mouth died as more of a commotion stirred, and so the young she-kit merely offered a simple shrug in response to Ivystar’s words and averted her gaze two the other two kits. The words had tasted foul upon her tongue anyways. Stubbornly remaining seated, the she-kit resigned to simply watching Ivystar, Darkkit, and Spurcekit with a curious gleam evident in her gaze, her head eventually tilting slightly as Sprucekit placed the bud before them.

Similar to the other kits in the nursery, Sunkit only recognized him due to the fact that they shared a den. ”I’m Sunkit.” She eventually spoke up once more, her gaze drifting back to the brightly colored piece of foliage that lay at the young tom’s paws.

"And you are very cute, little dark." Ivystar meowed promptly, before curling her tail over her paws to be an additional buffer against the cold wind for the she-kit. The little tortoiseshell seemed to cozy where she was, but the queen in her couldn't help but fret over their condition. Kits were so delicate at this age, a poof of fluffy fur that could barely regulate their own heat. Purring deeply, she gently leant down to allow herself to be pelt to pelt, giving Darkkit much needed warmth as she greeted the newcomer.

It was little Sprucekit. Another Leafbare orphan. The cold was hard on queens. But despite being parentless, he was quite a spry kit with a knack for flattery it seemed. "Why hello, Sprucekit. I'm Ivystar, your leader, it is a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to join us outside? You could huddle next to Darkkit, I promise I'm quite warm despite my short pelt."

Purring continued to rumble in her little chest and threatened to take over as it shook her whole body. The big cat was wonderful. Warmth seemed to envelop her and her eyes closed slightly. For a moment, it appeared she would almost drift back into the deep sleep she had shaken off when Sunkit began her mission to survey the camp. But, a new voice caused her eyes to snap back open. Darkkit peered out over Ivystar's tail. There was a tom. His name escaped her because there always seemed to be more and more kits with names to remember in their den. That was a bit too much for the little she-cat. Thankfully, he introduced himself and brought a gift.

Excitedly she glanced up at the leader with bright eyes, as if asking permission to leave if only for a moment to collect the tiny bud that she now wished to treasure forever. However, Ivystar offered him a place next to her. That was a much better plan. Darkkit nodded for him to join her in the little cavern of comfort. An elated smile turned into a contented one as she sank back into the wonderful warmth of Ivystar. Her mother was similar, but in a contrast to the chill of the snow, the older warrior seemed like the greatest gift from Starclan. Silverfang did not need to know that, though. She blinked a few times, her little split face just barely visible, "Y'should bring that too, Sprucekit. It is very nice."

Sprucekit nodded. "T-Thank you. You're very kind." he said to Ivystar while blushing. The tom looked over at Darkkit as she spoke. "O-Okay. I will." he said while picking up the bud and walking to Ivystar and Darkkit. He placed it in front of the little she-kit and huddled next to her. His short pelt couldn't keep him warm in this cold so he was thankful for such a kind she-cat like their leader. His light green eyes looked over at Sunkit. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to come huddle with us S-Sunkit?" he asked while huddling closer to Darkkit.

Ivystar suppressed a laugh as the kits seemed to burrow into her belly fur. It was an odd sensation, but not unpleasant. At Sprucekit's words, she leant down and whispered conspiratorially, "Perhaps Sunkit is scared to leave the nursery. Sprucekit, why don't you show her how fun it is here. Look." The leader rolled up a ball of snow with one paw, shaping it a good size for the kits to bat about. "Have you ever tried to play snow ball?"

Birchkit and nightkit stood at the nursery entrance by sunkit playing truth or dare. Every now and then Birchkit would look away and start watching the snow fall, for he hadn't seen snow before. "Truth or dare?" Asked Nightkit. "Dare!" Birchkit challenged playfully."Hmmmmm.... I dare you to... Go jump in the snow!"Nightkit replied.

Birchkit pummeled into the snow and looked around. He saw Darkkit in the snow, ans sprucekit hiding in Ivystar's belly fur. Then he felt snow on his pelt and saw that Nightkit had also jumped in the snow. Birchkit was looking at Ivystar, for she had just rolled up a snowball and she was talking to sprucekit. Birchkit saw the snowball and ran up to it and started batting at it.

Nightkit was looking back at the nursery entrance, Sunkit was standing there, staring at the snow. What was she waiting for? She wondered. Just then she heard Birchkit call out, " Hey sunkit, come play with us!"