play it cool [closed]

Camp was bustling, the bountiful pile of fresh-kill growing larger and larger as patrols came and went in the characteristic rush of warriors. Palekit sat near the nursery, careful not to find himself whisker away by the passing crowds. Some of the warriors stopped to salute him with warm faces. Sparkkit and he were the youngest kits, only recently birthed by Birchface. But time was flying fast in his head. If he was going to become an apprentice, he had to be prepared. Not in a excited was, no, he would much rather lay on his flank, letting the sun bath his silver-tabby fur and lazy away the days until his inevitable apprenticeship began. It was more a sense of duty.

Another figure caught his attention, a brown and white she-kit just popping out of the nursery. He gave her a curious look. "I hope you aren't planning on leaving the nursery..." he uttered shyly, briefly catching her green-eyes before looking away. She looked determined, and up to no good for that matter. They had to stay in line, they were the future of ThunderClan! Gulping down the knot in his throat telling him to stop being such a wuss, he kept his icy composure, still not looking at the other kit.

Cloverkit jumped softly and quickly turned to look where the voice came from. She sighed and let her guard down when she realized the mystery voice belonged to a kit. "Well, I was going out as a matter of fact! It's a great day to go out and explore every inch of the camp! Why don't ya join me? I mean, why would you just wanna stay in the nursery? It can get boring real quick. Besides, I don't have parents to look after me so basically I can just go out whenever I like." The she-kit looked Palekit straight in the eyes. Her green eyes reflecting strong determination and an unquenchable thirst for adventures and new discoveries.

Taken aback by her energetic chatter, the tom-kit pulled back, alarm in his eyes. He was told not to break the rules, and surely being out and about, getting between the paws of the busy adults wasn't going to make him helpful. On the other hand, she seemed very determined to get out there. Sighing, Palekit rolled his eyes, licking a stray tuft of his silver-tabby pelt. "If no one's taught you any better..." the kit responded, a silver edge to his otherwise kind tone. "I'd have to make sure you don't get yourself in trouble."

Huffing, Palekit pulled himself up from his cozy sitting position as the guardian of the nursery, padding closer to the adventurous Cloverkit. Her fur smelled nice, like the wood beyond the camp. He wondered whether she'd wondered off before, but kept his mouth shut. There was no point inquiring further. "So, resident trouble-maker, what do you want to explore? The dirt place?"

Cloverkit snorted at the nickname. "You're weird and no, we aren't going to the dirtplace dummy. We're going to the Medicine den!" she declared as she began to lead them to the Medicine cat den. "Listen, whatever your name is, I've gone out before and if you stick close to me, we'll be fine. I don't bother anyone. I just explore and take a look around." the kit said. Her forest green eyes looked around the herb-filled den as she signaled to Palekit that they could enter. "I assume you know not to touch anything. Ain't this neat-o? It's bigger than expected and has so many weird smells." Once they were done exploring, the she-kit walked out and bumped his shoulder with hers. "Where do you wanna look next? We have all day ya know?"

He had to admit that leaving the nursery into the open camp felt much better than standing there guard, pouting all day at how boring things were and waiting to be an apprentice. Black-stripped tail swishing in amusement, he trailed behind Cloverkit, casting curious glances around at the herbs neatly stocked, ready for any injured cat. They smelled funny, and soon Palekit's head was hurting quite a bit, so he was glad that she led him outside.

"It's Palekit. And... how about the elders' den. They are bound to have so many stories to tell!" the tomkit mewed.