take this plunge [open]

The sun had set; the evening patrol had been sent out; it was time for Mudkit to put her greatest plan in motion. She’d come up with it since she’d overheard her father being roped into the aforementioned evening patrol, and after a solid day of refinement, it was flawless. Thistlenose couldn’t keep her in the nursery when he wasn’t in camp. What right did he have to do that, anyway? It wasn’t as if he slept there every night. Mudkit wrinkled her muzzle at the nursery wall. Not for long—the patrol wouldn’t be gone forever. She couldn’t afford to waste time.

First, she poked her nose outside. Already she could see the reeds (different from the nursery’s solely because they weren’t in the nursery) shrouding RiverClan’s camp—and beyond that, hints of the rushing water that had lulled her to sleep every night. Eyes shining, Mudkit eased forward until the tip of her tail passed the nursery’s threshold. No one shouted for her to come back. If only for an evening, RiverClan’s portion of the world was entirely open to her. Flawless, indeed. She marched up to the nearest cat and, in a half-hearted attempt to not be noticed, kept her mouth shut as she peered over their shoulder, standing on tiptoe to see what they were doing.

Dappleshine had been relaxing for the evening, selecting a fish from the fresh-kill pile to eat before trying to force herself to return to her nest and get some sleep. It was still hard to come by, and what little she did get was still plagued with lonely nightmares. As she bent her head to take a bite of the fish in front of her, she felt a sudden creeping presence behind her. Keeping her head bent, she opened her mouth to try to figure out what was going on, and the scent of milk and newness and the nursery hit her tongue. Ah, a curious kit. Her heart warmed at the thought, and an ear flicked as she turned her shoulders slightly as she took a bite, allowing a better view of what she was doing. A quick peek showed that it was the young Mudkit, presumably escaping the clutches of the nursery while her father was on the final patrol of the day. What a tiny thing she was, as small as Dacepaw had once been.

The cat she’d chosen to observe was much bigger than her, and so, for some time, Mudkit couldn’t see much at all. As it was still more interesting than the nursery, she didn’t mind. A fresh, fishy scent waited just out of reach. Suddenly, the gray, furry shoulder blocking her view shifted, and she spotted the source of the scent (which was, of course, a fish, with tiny scales like the pebbles that sometimes found their way into the nursery). The little calico stretched out a paw to give it an experimental poke—

Wait. The gray-and-white cat had moved, and her ear had twitched. Mudkit’s eyes narrowed, her mind working furiously, knowing this meant something… Maybe the other cat knew she was here. She hadn’t really tried to be subtle. In that moment, she decided it didn’t matter if someone saw her; it only mattered that Thistlenose didn’t. She withdrew her paw as if something had bitten it, then padded around to face the gray-and-white warrior head-on. ”I’ve never seen a shiny one,” she said with the solemn honesty of someone confessing to a crime. Thistlenose usually took the scales off. He'd said they were dangerous, but Mudkit thought they were sort of pretty in the low light. ”Can I touch it?”

With the final patrol of the evening set off, Ivybrook had the rest of the day to herself. Free time had been extremely hard to come by as of late, so she was appreciative of any that she was able to snag her claws on. Her eyes drifted slowly to the freshkill pile, her empty belly urging her towards it, but she reminded herself that those on the patrol she'd just sent off hadn't eaten yet, and that was enough to keep the rumbling at bay. Instead, she began padding towards a lonely looking Dappleshine. The she-cat had been there for her when she needed it the most, and with both Sparkfrost and Dacepaw gone, Ivybrook was sure that the RiverClan she-cat could use it. Settling down right next to the grey warrior, Ivybrook let a small sigh escape her lips. "Hey, Dappleshine. I've got some exciting news for you, if you'd like to he-" Ivybrook was cut off by a small kit- Mudkit, she remembered- presenting herself in front of the two of them. Somehow, Ivybrook had never noticed the young kit's presence, so it had startled her slightly when she spoke up. Glancing down at the fish that she was speaking about, Ivybrook chuckled heartily. "The shiny ones are the best ones, Mudkit. If you'd like one of your own, I'm sure that could be arranged." She offered with a gentle smile, glancing towards the freshkill pile.

The silver tabby’s approach drew Mudkit’s attention. Of course she knew Ivybrook—any kit eager to leave the nursery had to know the name and the face of the cat who would guide them into apprenticeship—but she didn’t match this new name, Dappleshine, to the gray-and-white she-cat until Ivybrook said it. That she was talking about something as irrelevant as fish in front of RiverClan’s deputy didn’t faze Mudkit in the slightest. ”Of course I want one,” she said, kneading the ground in excitement. ”Do I have to ask Torrentstar? Or you?” Getting in trouble with Thistlenose was one thing; getting in trouble with the Clan was another.

But Ivybrook hadn’t appeared simply to offer fish-related wisdom, nor had Mudkit forgotten what she’d interrupted. Looking between the two she-cats, the kit frowned and with a flick of a spotted ear asked, ”What news?” Confined to the nursery or not, she was part of RiverClan, too; if this was Clan business, then it was Mudkit’s. And if it wasn’t…well, it was in RiverClan, so the way she saw it, it was still her business.

"Of course you may, if you wish to." Dappleshine purred as she nudged the silvery fish towards the kit, curious to what her reaction would be. Approaching pawsteps drew her attention, and as Ivybrook settled next to her the warrior turned her head to her with a soft smile. "Hey, Ivybrook. Of course, I would love to hear any news you have!" She exclaimed as Ivybrook broke off, chuckling as she talked about the fish to Mudkit. It took her a moment to realize that perhaps the deputy hadn't noticed the kit, so she gently rested her tail on her friend's back as the young kit questioned about Ivybrook's news as well. After a few heartbeats, she looked up to Mudkit. 'You have my permission to fetch a small one, if you would like. Try to find one just like this one here, and bring it back, how does that sound, Mudkit?" Perhaps the young she-cat would be gone long enough to give Ivybrook a chance to explain more.

Smiling at Dappleshine's response, Ivybrook looked down at the little kit with bright eyes. She supposed it wouldn't be too big of a deal if Mudkit knew, would it? "Well," She began with a little smirk. "I've just gotten done speaking with Mistlepaw." Her tail curled around the small kit as Mudkit looked on with anticipation, bright eyes meeting hers with that kit-like innocence. "I thought perhaps I had gotten a small case of green cough- I had thrown up a bit of a sparrow that I'd eaten last night, and I was a little dizzy," She continued, explaining her symptoms and what had been happening over the last few hours. "I figured it would be best to ask Mistlepaw before jumping to conclusions. I'm glad I did- She told me I'm going to be having kits." Smiling as she met Dappleshine's blue gaze, the RiverClan deputy gestured down at her stomach with her tail. Though she was unsure of what to do or how to react, she knew she was at least a little bit excited- the first emotion she'd felt that wasn't emptiness since Jaystar's death.

Dappleshine’s attempt to direct Mudkit away from whatever secret Ivybrook had to give almost worked. Almost. Mudkit turned toward the fresh-kill pile, already scanning it for something she could bring back—but before she could consider her options fully (a fish sounded nice, but what if she missed the news?), Ivybrook’s tail curled around her. With that, her decision was made. Mudkit wasn’t going anywhere. She settled in, still kneading her paws as she leaned into the deputy’s fur.

At the mention of Mistlepaw, she straightened up. The medicine cat? That couldn’t be good… Mistlepaw seemed nice enough, but Mudkit had come to associate her with the smell of herbs and, by extension, with any number of kithood illnesses. However, Ivybrook’s explanation took a turn. Young though she was, Mudkit knew what this news meant. ”More denmates!” She’d probably be out of the nursery by the time they arrived, but still. She blinked. Then her eyes went wide. ”Wait here,” she said, as if either she-cat had any plans of leaving, and raced off to the fresh-kill pile. Predictably, she returned with a fish (small, like Dappleshine had said). Rather than keep it for herself, however, the little calico dragged it over to Ivybrook and dropped it at her feet.

When Ivybrook mentioned that she had seen Mistlepaw, Dappleshine's stomach twisted. Oh goodness, was Ivybrook feeling ill? Judging by the smirk on the she-cat's face, and they way she kept Mudkit around, it wasn't anything too bad... And then she mentioned she had thought it was greencough and the warrior just knew she was going to be ill at the thought. Ivybrook continued though, explaining her symptoms. If she had greencough, she wouldn't be out here in camp... Especially near a kit... The only other time Dappleshine had felt ill like that was...

Memories of a belly swollen with a kit who had followed a different path flooded her mind, and as Ivybrook made her announcement, meeting her eyes with a smile and a gesture towards her belly Dappleshine slowly smiled, her expression fading from worry and concern to shock to glee and excitement rapidly. "Oh Ivybrook, that's wonderful news! Congratulations!" She purred as Mudkit bounded off, returning with a small fish. Giving the kit an encouraging nod as she offered it to Ivybrook, Dappleshine continued. "I'm so happy for you, Ivybrook. I can't wait to meet them! If you ever need a break, let me know, I'll keep an eye on them for you." She purred, nuzzling her friend's shoulder with her nose. This was wonderful!