Unstoppable Youth (Closed)

"Uhhggg, I'm so booored!"

It had been a full moon since Beartooth's vigil and the new deputy ceremony, and ThunderClan was beginning to settle back into its normal routine; which for a middle-aged kit who had already explored every nook of camp, was a monotony of utmost ennui. Despite having been confined to the nursery due to his reckless words at Beartooth's vigil and almost imploding from the boredom, his return to camp life still revealed itself to be the same few activities repeated over and over; eat, sleep, play. He couldn't stand it anymore! Laying sprawled out on his side underneath the shelter of a bush's wide branch, Leopardkit watched with annoyed eyes as most cats settled down to share tongues or have a meal on this bright afternoon.  Yet he was left here, to wither away until the day came when he hit six moons, and could be released from the clutch of these bramble walls.  He could probably go play with his littermates...or go bug his older siblings...but that's not what he desired.  The son of a leader wasn't supposed to be contained like this!  Coniferkit or Daisykit might not care much, but he felt wronged!  Why shouldn't he get special treatment?  He was fast, strong, handsome, and cool, he could totally be made an apprentice right now!  Yet he was stuck here, in camp, a slave to the Warrior Code's dumb rules...

Or maybe not.

As the spark of an idea came to him, Leopardkit's eyes quickly brightened, and a sneaky smirk transformed his face.  Why he had not seen this for all his moons of life he did not know, but now that the revelation had come upon him he felt as if he was a new cat!
Besides, ever since his embarrassing punishment, he had been feeling a bit rebellious...  Leaping to his paws - bumping his head on the bush branch in the process - he looked around until he spotted the pelt he was looking for, his guide to the world outside.  "Stormpaw!"  Sliding to a halt in the fresh powder snow, the younger of the two bounced on his paws excitedly, tall enough to almost look eye-to-eye with his adopted sister.  "Stormpaw, I need you to-!"  Realizing how loud his voice was, he lowered it to almost a whisper and tried again.  "I need you to help me sneak out of camp, just for a little bit!  Come on, please!  I'm bored out of my mind right now, and I know a secret way we can go so no one will see!"  It's not that he needed a guide, but having a cat with him who knew her way around would just make it easier.  Besides, going in a group would be more fun! He was still a bit mad at her for telling him off...but if she agreed, all would be forgiven!

Stormpaw had finished eating a nice meal for leaf-bare standards; a squirrel she caught while on patrol earlier. She'd been sharing tongues with Rainstrike, newly named, since Dacepaw, who'd recently got her warrior name, Dacedream, was nowhere to be found. Soon, she'd have to go do a battle session with her mentor, Mistwalker, whom was also her oldest brother. Licking her jaws and stifling a yawn, she mewed goodbye to her friend and started towards Mistwalker, easily spotting his familiar gray pelt.

The morning was bright and the winds not freezing by leaf-bare standards, though the elders and queens would probably disagree. Compared to a few sunrises ago, the powdery snow today was not near as bad. She'd almost reached her mentor when a familiar spotted shape appeared. Immediately, she thought of Beartooth's vigil and narrowed her eyes; she'd tried to avoid her younger brother, though Dacedream tried to "guilt trip"(in reality just trying to kindly ask) her into forgiving the kit, though Stormpaw wasn't quite sure. "Yes, Leopardkit?" The silver tabby answered, forcing her fur to lie flat.

At the sound of her voice, she paused. Was she snarling at him? What was wrong with her? This was her family! Just look at his eyes! Leopardkit looked so excited, the apprentice could hardly believe she'd been mad at him. Her blue eyes softened, and instantly Leopard would know; he had her wrapped around his paw, and Stormpaw was too naive to notice.

"Sneak out of camp? Well, but..." She hesitated, unsure. "What would StarClan think...? Well, I suppose it isn't the first time a kit has snuck out... Surely they won't mind? Okay. Fine. But the first sign our ancestors want us to go back, we're coming back, okay?" Leopardkit could be reasonable, couldn't he? Of course he'd listen to her; she was older, after all. She frowned, remembering Mistwalker. Perhaps she could feign sickness? Oh, she hated lying to her mentor, but it was for her precious brother, after all.

After padding up to her mentor and telling him she had a bellyache and needed to go see Mossbloom, she headed back over to Leopardkit. There was no turning back now.

Coniferkit had been spending the day the usual way: lying down and minding his own business. Well that wasn’t exactly true, he had in reality been competing with Daisykit about how many beetles each one could catch. Coniferkit had a total of four when he saw his brother talking to Stormpaw, doubtlessly trying to rope her into his mousebrained antics. He sighed and excused himself from the game, leaving his sister to find another playmate. His face was blank and inexpressive, but his whiskers twitched in curiosity as he approached his spotted littermate. ”Hey Leopardkit, what’cha doing? Whatever Leopardkit was planning, Coniferkit wanted in. They were brothers after all, and someone needed to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

After a sharing both a meal and a wash with Stormpaw, Rainstrike was sad to see her go. There was one thing that the newly-named warrior didn't foresee about moving up from apprenticeship, and that was the fact that all the apprentices she'd been sharing a den with for moons now (aside from Dacedream, of course) now had an entirely different set of duties. She was perhaps a little glad that she'd managed to get out of the den before Oakstar's newest brood were apprenticed, but for the most part she longed for a return to the way things were before. When she could just spend her entire day with Ferretnose out in the forest. Now her mentor was in the nursery, so Rainstrike didn't even hardly get to see her.

She watched Stormpaw head towards Mistwalker, tempted to see if she could tag along on whatever they were about to go do. She finished her grooming while Stormpaw spoke with her brother, and then followed after the apprentice as she finally approached Mistwalker. She got close enough to hear the tabby she-cat tell her mentor that she was too ill to train today. And that's where Rainstrike's curiosity was piqued. Having spent the better part of the last few hours, Rainstrike knew that Stormpaw wasn't sick. But why would she lie?

Rainstrike cut away so it wouldn't seem like she was eavesdropping, and then followed Stormpaw as she retreated from her mentor, supposedly to Mossbloom's den. But she didn't go to Mossbloom's den - she went back to Leopardkit. And that's where Rain followed, plopping down on to her haunches and curling her tail around her paws. "What you guys doing?"

For a brief moment Leopardkit internally cringed at the sound of his sister's voice, a rough introduction to his presence, but as he widened his smile and blinked his vivid eyes in as convincing a look he could manage, the tom felt a thrill of satisfaction as he watched Stormpaw's features melt; it would seem he had won the war.  He remained silent as she contemplated the situation out loud, and was only just able to hold back an eye-roll at her obsession with StarClan's approval.  What did he care what some dead cats thought?  Besides, at least some of them must've broken the rules at some point in their lives; or did not respecting dead prey earn you a life sentence in the Dark Forest?  The events during Beartooth's vigil had taught him an important lesson though; sometimes, for the sake of getting what you want, you have to hold your tongue, and that worked in his favor now.  "Okay okay Stormpaw, I promise!"  As her gray tabby form walked away towards his older brother Mistwalker, Leopardkit purred and turned around, only to find himself face to face with Coniferkit.

For a moment his heart fluttered with panic, but it didn't last long; instead, his eyes narrowed mischievously as a great big smirk overtook his face.  "Oh, hello there little bro, guess who's about to see the outside of camp for the first time?"  With a condescending flick of his eyes, Leopardkit twisted his neck to lick his shoulder nonchalantly, as if this announcement was nothing more momentous than going to fetch fresh-kill in the morning.  "Stormpaw's taking me.  I guess you could come if you want, that is, if you swear not to tell."  With a challenging wink, Leopardkit turned back to greet Stormpaw with an excited trill, and started to lead the way over to his secret escape hole.  However, an unexpected interruption came in the form of Rainstrike, one of the new warriors, and a family member.  The kit of Mistwalker, Leopardkit had met her briefly before, but still, his eyes narrowed; was she trustworthy enough to know about their secret mission?  "What do you think Stormpaw, should we tell her?"  Glancing back at his major partner in crime, the silver kit raised one eyebrow inquiringly.  If we get discovered because of her, I'm not gonna be the one shamed for it.

Coniferkit's eyes widened by a fraction, unnoticeable to the untrained eye. Leaving camp? Surely they weren't allowed, they were only kits. But Leopardkit seemed dead serious, and Coniferkit knew his brother wouldn't back out of this. He was much too stubborn. With a weary sigh that could have made an elder jealous, he took the bait. "Yeah, I'll come. Promise I won't tell!" He delivered this with a convincingly cheerful flick of his tail despite the immense doubt he was feeling that Leopardkit could break any rules without getting caught.

Stormpaw waited for Leaopardkit to decide if they'd tell Rainstrike. But after a moment, she realized he wanted her to decide. Looking around, she looked back to Rainstrike. Had Rainstrike overheard her tell Mistwalker she was sick? "Oh, I'm just headed to Mossbloom's den, I was telling Leopardkit I couldn't hang out with him."

This, as Rainstrike knew, obviously was a lie. Leaning in closer, she adapted a serious mew, "How good are you with secrets?" She asked, her voice barely over a whisper. Rainstrike was her friend, and her kin, but could she be trusted on this mission? Stormpaw wasn't sure.

The young warrior snorted, rolling her eyes as she fell to her haunches and spoke, voice low. "If you're trying to be inconspicuous, maybe right in the middle of camp isn't the best place for you to congregate and discuss your plans." Sure, they were being quiet, but any cat who bothered to even look their way was going to be sure to notice something was going on. The pointed tabby flicked her ears, glancing sideways at Stormpaw as she asked about secrets. "If I couldn't be trusted with secrets I would have snitched on you to Mistwalker already."

She didn't know what they were planning... but obviously it was something they weren't supposed to be doing. And Rainstrike wanted in. "Tell me what's going on."