A Beautiful Day [OPEN]

There it was...
Right there...
Just a little closer...

"Gotcha!" Ebonykit mewed, a tiny growl rising up in her throat as she pounced to catch the wayward drifting leaf. She nipped it triumphantly, knowing that she had won and caught the prey. The weather now was clear and crisp which made Ebonykit thankful for the small bit of warmth that came from her pelt of black fur. Combined with a little fun activity, she didn't really mind the coldness. Knowing that she was now supposed to eat the prey, Ebonykit absentmindedly nibbled the leaf she had caught- and promptly spat it out. "Bad idea," she purred quietly as she made a mental note to never do that again. Sticking to regular prey bits seemed like a better choice. How interesting it would be when she could finally hunt real prey for the Clan and for herself!

Licking her chops as she yawned, Ebonykit glanced around the RiverClan camp clearing. She was relatively alone for now. With a shake of her fur, Ebonykit's ears twitched as she tried to find someone to talk to. There was so much she needed to find out about... everything, really. The questions rolled through her mind like a chilly wind. Oh wait, that was actually a chilly wind that made her fur prickle. Where'd the leaf go? She pounced on it once again as she realized that it had tumbled to escape her grasp.

Soon, her tail waved in anticipation as she finally spotted someone to interact with. Ebonykit took the liberty of going up to them with a friendly mew. "Hi, I'm Ebonykit! Whatcha doin?"

Addershade scanned the camp, searching for the dark pelt of his daughter. Ever since she had been born, he had been perpetually nervous-- more so than usual. He knew eventually she was going to have to become an apprentice, and go out into the world, but he still couldn’t help but worry. What if she somehow she got out of camp while he wasn’t watching and found herself face to face with an eagle? Or a fox? Or she fell in the river? Any number of things could happen!

His heart skipped a beat in relief as he caught sight of her, perfectly fine, approaching another cat.


“Ebonykit,” he said, coming up to her. He tried to keep his tone firm, but still warm.  “I hope you’re not bothering anyone…”

Wheeling around on her back paws, Ebonykit's ears flattened in surprise as the voice of Addershade registered behind her. "Oh! Father," she greeted as she turned to face him. Her ears sprang back up eagerly as she perceived that there was no immediate threat of getting into trouble with him. With Ebonykit's focus diverted from the other cat who probably breathed a sigh of relief at her shift in attention, her eyes sparkled at Addershade as she bounded closer to him.

"No, not bothering anyone!" she mewed in amusement. When had she ever gotten into trouble for bothering anyone? Except for that one time, but that had been a mistake, and that other instance-

"Guess what!" Ebonykit sat before Addershade, tilting her head curiously. "Guess what, I caught a leaf! I'll be a good hunter one day." She proudly lifted up a paw to show him her catch before realizing that it had disappeared again. Oops.

"Uh, what's new?" Her tail swished back and forth as she examined the tom. "Did you have any battles? Or catch any fresh-kill? Or... chase off any introobers?" That was a new word she'd learned from eavesdropping on the conversation of a pair of warriors.

Addershade smiled at the little she-cat. Though her dark pelt looked much like his had as a kit, in terms of personality his daughter was quite different from him-- a fact for which he was very grateful, considering the struggle he'd had-- and still had-- to feel at ease and connect with others.

"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful hunter," he said fondly, then laughed a little at the kit's pronunciation of the word "intruder". "And no, thankfully there were no intruders today. Just catching some fish," . He paused a moment. "And when you're older, we can go hunting together, if you'd like,"

Ebonykit purred gratefully at Addershade's reply. She had put in so much practice and knew that having a mentor soon would make things even better. Her ears pricked up even more with excitement as he suggested a hunting patrol one day. "Yes, yes, I can't wait to do that! Catching fish is different than catching leaves, huh." She snapped her tiny jaws at another leaf that swirled past.

Her curiosity roaming to thoughts about a future apprenticeship, Ebonykit let loose a question that had been on her mind for a bit. "Father, who's gonna teach me stuff for the Clan?" she mewed with a tilt of her head. "I heard someone say that there's not enough warriors for the number of apprentices. Will you be able to mentor me, maybe?" She knew that the answer to that question should be 'no', but Ebonykit still held a bit of hope that Addershade could say 'yes'.

Torrentstar had been watching the interaction between father and daughter for a while now, and the RiverClan leader finally decided to join in. It so happened that he overheard Ebonykit's question as he approached. "That decision is Ivybrook's to make, when the time comes." He rumbled, coming to a stop by the two. There was a certain wariness in the green eyes that examined Ebonykit, a slight awkwardness in the way he crouched down. Despite having fathered two litters himself, he was still not entirely used to interacting with kits. It would have been a rather comical sight for the careful observer―the scarred, mascular tom uneasy because of the tiny creature before him. Even so, Torrentstar had come a distance from his initial disdain for the clan's youngest members. "Greetings, little one. And to you, Addershade." The second greeting was made as Torrentstar turned to face the father. He went on, thoughtfully. "Your daughter seems to be a lively one." Addershade was not a warrior he interacted with often, perhaps due to the tom's tendency to keep to himself. Even so, Torrentstar had always appreciated Addershade's quiet loyalty.

Addershade smiled with slight melancholy. Of course, he'd love to be able to be her mentor, to guide her through her training...but then again, he had felt like a failure when it came to being a mentor with his last apprentices, so who was to say if he would be the right choice, if he would do right by her? It didn't matter, though-- it wasn't his choice to make.

Before he could answer her, another voice chimed in, and Addershade looked over at the clan leader. He had not had many close interactions with Torrentstar-- though then again, he did not have many close interactions with most of his clanmates-- but he certainly had a deep respect for him as the clan leader.

"Yes, she is," Addershade smiled as he responded. "She certainly takes after her mother more than me in that respect. Which is, altogether, a good thing, I think. That energy will serve her well as a warrior," he said, looking proudly at his daughter.