Ashes Hiding among the Shadows

It looked fun, yet fear prevented him from moving.

Ashkit remained hidden in the shadows of camp, watching with longing green eyes as kits his age played a frolicked in the dirt, laughing and looking like they were having the time of their young lives. He let out an exasperated sigh and swiped at ground with his claws, a sour mood taking over him. Why couldn't he be like them? Confident and without a single care in the world; Starclan, acting as if they owned it! 

He twitched his ears and closed his eyes, allowing himself to breathe for a few moments to clear his head of any rash thoughts. He was content here, by himself. If he even tried interacting with others he'd stutter and embarrass, earning a look of disapproval from his fellow kits. "I'm better off here..alone. This is for the best, I guess."

Still, a young kit could dream.

Blossomheart's eyes would have passed right by the kit if it hadn't been for his eyes. Bright eyes that didn't seem to belong. The fluffy she-cat grabbed a mouse within her jaws. She walked over to him calmly, making sure he could run away if he wanted. Best to let timid kits have their escapes. "So, what's your name? I'm Blossomheart."

Oh, he hadn't been expecting this.

When the warrior first passed by him, he held his breath, immediately intimidated. When they came back and introduced themselves, he nearly had a heart attack. He had jumped up and hissed at them, his ears pinned back and his back arched. He was trembling, completely caught off guard by their sudden decision to approach him. His first instinct was to run far; run far and find a new hiding spot. But there was something about them...something about the way they looked at him and spoke; they acted as if they wanted to speak to him.

Hesitantly, he swallowed his low self esteem and stuttered out in a shaky voice, "I-I'm Ashkit! P-please don't hurt me!" It was a pretty pathetic first impression, but it would have to do. 

Eventually, his fur went flat and he allowed himself to relax a little. Giving his chest a brief lick, he looked up at the stranger with wide, green eyes, "Y-You surprised me..sorry for the outburst." Hopefully he hadn't ruined his chance of socialization by one tiny slip-up. There were cats out there who had done much worse things than him; he was probably a saint next to them.

Blossomheart let out a little laugh. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm your clanmate, silly! Hungry?" She pushed the mouse towards the kit with her nose.

Ashkit blinked at the mouse that was roughly the size of him. He glanced between the warrior- Blossomheart, and the freshly killed prey. Still a bit timid, he inched forward and took a few bites, just to be polite, even though he wasn't really hungry. Though, he did enjoy the taste of mouse, so he took some extra nibbles for good measure before stepping back and licking his jaws.

"Thank you," He meowed gently, staring at the ground as he shifted on his paws. The silver and white tabby tom-kit let the silence hang awkwardly between them, before looking up at Blossomheart once more, "How'd you..how'd you see me when no one else could?" He cleared his throat and immediately ducked his head back down, feeling foolish for asking the question. "Now you've done it, Ashkit. She's gonna leave and no matter how loud you cry, she won't come back."


"I-I didn't mean t-to be rude! I'm sorry!" He squeaked, pinning his ears back as tears sprang to his eyes. He was shaking again, his eyes never able to leave the ground as he kept his head hung, ashamed of himself. 

Blossomheart gave Ashkit a funny look. "You're not being rude at all! It was a genuine question, and a good one too." She paused. Ashkit must have had self-esteem issues because he scared of seeming rude. Of course, all cats felt this but it was especially present in his every sentence. "Your pelt may have blended perfectly, but I just happened to see your eyes, which are bright if you look right at them. I'd say it was just a matter of luck."

Blossompaw felt the urge to be a mother and a friend to this kit- she'd have to settle for the latter. "Why would anyone hate you? Some cats are shy, though my family tends to be social. Everyone has their own talent. You just have to discover what it is."

How did the conversation from his everyday struggle to his talent? "Huh. So this is how conversations usually work; switching topics constantly. Noted, so the next time I speak to a cat, I won't be awkwardly saying the same thing over again."

Ashkit blinked up at her as his frown grew, before ducking down his head and shifting his paws. "Well..to start, I'm great at keeping myself hidden. No cat has really seen or spoken to me when I'm invisible," With a shaky mew, he added, "Y-You're actually the first, I think!"

The gray and white tabby tom paused for a second, eyes narrowed in thought as he began oicking the right words to say. Sentence in mind, he began speaking in his shy, squeaky voice, "Y-You mentioned something about..your family being social. Is that your talent? W-What other things are you good at?" For the first time, the kitten actually seemed genuinely..willing to talk. His eyes twinkled with curiosity; something that he hadn't felt in quite a while. He usually just went with the flow; but today, he could ask any question and not have his intelligence judged.

Blossomheart nodded slowly. This was an observant one. Her words would have flown right over any other kit's head, but this one processed them. He'd grow to be an alert warrior. "You could say that. I suppose one of my other talents is my agility. I'm small and fluffy, but I can use that to my advantage as I'm light on my feet." As she said this, she did a little dance.

"Oh? Maybe when I grow up, I'll be agile too. My stealth and agility would be a huge benefit in case of attack. Or maybe hunting, too. The prey won't see me coming!" Ashkit purred enthusiastically at the thought of bringing home an abundance of prey back to the clan; enough to feed everyone for a moon!

For the first time he felt energetic instead of his usual sluggish self. He wanted to do something to be active, give his stiff legs a stretch. The tom kit lashed his tail impatiently and looked up at Blossomheart, opening his mouth before closing it immediately. He almost forgot to choose his sentence wisely; Starclan, he had gotten so excited he just noticed he was no longer stuttering. And it..actually felt nice, to not worry about what to do or say next.

Ashkit's lips turned upwards in a wide smile, gently bouncing on his paws, "Blossomheart? Is it okay if we play a game? I really want to get myself going, so by the time I'm an apprentice, my mentor will be amazed! Maybe, if I work extra hard, I'll be made a warrior earlier than my littermates!"

Blossomheart laughed a little. "Sure! You'd be super good at hide and seek. We could always play moss ball!"

"Mossball sounds like a great idea! I did say I wanted to run around, and chasing after a piece of moss will fulfill that request. Wait here, I know where a bunch is growing!" Without a moment's hesitation, the white and gray taby darted out of the darkness and made long strides across camp, careful to avoid interaction with another cat. Blossomheart was the only cat he wanted to speak or play with, really, so he'd probably run away from anyone else.

Ashkit disappeared into the shadows once more, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He had made a habit of it; whenever he dashed from one hiding spot to another, he was afraid of his suspicious nature prompting interrogation, which would freak him out. He shuddered at the thought, before padding towards a base of tree that was covered in moss. He tore off a piece and rolled it on the ground until it seemed round enough. Satisfied, he picked it up and hastily made his return to where his new friend was waiting patiently.

The tom kit dropped the mossball at her paws and looked up eagerly, his tail lashing behind him as he waited for her to make the first move. His entire body was poised for action, ready to spring after the ball as soon as it started moving.

By the time Blossomheart looked after him, Ashkit had disappeared into the shadows again. What a stealthy cat! He returned with moss. Blossomheart nodded and waited a few heartbeats before lashing out with her paw to fling it with as fast speed as she could muster. A Riverclanner's was probably quicker, but she'd make do.

Rippedsky was in a great mood that day. His side had healed over the past while since the fox had flung him against a tree. Now, the black and white deputy was feeling the spirit and warmth of the new season. With everything organized for the day, he was free until his patrol later. His blue eyes flicked around the clearing as he debated what to do in the time being. Brokenpaw was already out, which meant training was a no. Likely he would find himself out hunting again..

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flicker of movement. A kit. The little scrap was dwarfed underneath the shadow of Blossomheart. It appeared they were playing a game. It seemed like seasons ago, but when he had not focused on learning Windclan techniques, he had occasionally indulged his denmates in the nursery in a game or two. With his own kits had had jumped in every now and then. Mossball seemed like a good way to pass the time for a bit. Without hesitation, the tom picked up speed, using his inherant agility and darted in front of the warrior only to hook the moss in his claw and toss it up in the air.

"Always have to be prepared for anything, Blossomheart." He shot her a teasing grin and glanced over at the kit to offer up a smile. Rippedsky crouched, waiting for the next cat to make their move. There was no harm in spending some time with clanmates, especially when the forest was on the upswing.