Sneaky Peaky

Nettlesting’s words—or maybe the strange, intangible look to his fur—had lodged themselves in Mudpaw’s mind before the last strands of her tail-fur had even left the Mothermouth. Be involved. Dedicate herself to her Clanmates the way she would one day dedicate herself to RiverClan. It wasn’t hard to understand part of what he’d meant. She had few friends in the Clan and not a single one in her den; of course she needed to spend more time with the cats she slept beside. To help. To protect. To make a name for herself. As long as RiverClan was made up of strangers, she’d never succeed.

But how?

Mudpaw had just returned from a successful patrol, evidenced by the fresh fish dangling from her mouth and the mud splashed halfway up her forelegs. She padded right by the nursery’s entrance. One, two, three steps past it—then she paused. She could’ve sworn, out of the corner of her eye… A glance over her shoulder confirmed she’d seen something after all. Rather, she’d seen someone. A scruffy, nearly apprentice-sized kit peered into the camp through the nursery’s protective curtain of reeds, green eyes wide with curiosity.

For a long moment, Mudpaw simply blinked at her. Maybe this wasn’t what Nettlesting had intended. No kit could get swept up in something so serious it would endanger RiverClan. But Mudpaw wasn’t at the Moonstone anymore, which meant she got to decide what “be involved” meant. Right now, it meant striking up a conversation with a potential future denmate; no one could tell her otherwise. She marched right back to the nursery’s entrance and dropped the fish. The closer she got, the funnier the kit looked—a single face poking out of the reeds. A smile sprang onto Mudpaw’s face. She tried to hide it with a cough. ”Guarding the nursery?”

Treekit was cleaning himself nearby, pausing to see another kit peering out of the nursery. His flat ears twitched slightly as he noticed Mudpaw coming over. He licked his fluffy brown paw and it took him awhile to decide to check it out. The kitten had fur sticking out everywhere, she was light brown with some white fur, her ears had tufts and her eyes were a greenish colour. He didn't say anything, he didn't even go very close, he was just watching the scene unfold in front of him.

Treekit almost wanted to talk to the kit but kept silent and just stared at the she-kit. He stared at her for awhile before opening his mouth to say something. "You got into a tangle there." He mewed simply.

The kit’s yowl startled Mudpaw in turn. She leapt back a kittenstep or so, eyes going wide, then smoothed her fur back with a reminder that there was obviously nothing to worry about. After a moment, the kit emerged (as much as she could emerge, considering some smaller reed-bits still had a stubborn hold on her pelt) with a bright response, glossing over what had just happened. Mudpaw happily let her. ”You’re helping already,” she said lightly, ”The more cats keeping an eye out, the better.”

Suddenly, the kit’s gaze dropped to the fresh-kill Mudpaw had brought over. ”Of course. Once you're an apprentice, you catch these all the time.” She couldn’t help the pride in her voice. This far into her apprenticeship, hauling her various catches into camp had become more mundane than praiseworthy; after all, any RiverClan warrior worthy of the title knew how to fish. Hearing amazement in someone's tone again was a nice change. Encouraged, Mudpaw hummed. ”You know, guarding the nursery is hard work. How about—“ She nudged the fish back toward her and with a careful claw stripped a few scales off its side. They settled amidst the dirt and mess of reed fragments at her paws, tiny and gray like pebbles. ”See? Now it's easier to eat.”

Another high-pitched kit-voice sounded from nearby, and Mudpaw turned to spot Treekit quietly watching them. Of course he had to comment on the reed situation. "It happens to the best of us." She wasn't sure it had happened to her, but neither of the kits needed to know that. Better for no one to get embarrassed, or for everyone to be. With a carefree flick of her tail, she said, "So what are you up to, Treekit? Too busy to share a fish?"