A whole new world (Open)

The bite of the chilled breeze didn't affect the young tom much as he sat in the shadows near the nursery, having risen long before his fellow kits that resided in the nursery with him. His white pelt blended into the snow around him but stuck out sorely against the backdrop of reeds and brambles behind him. He wasn't necessarily trying to stay hidden, but he'd rather keep his distance. Growing up surrounded by such a large number of rambunctious kits set his nerves on end and made him feel jittery, sometimes he just wanted to be left alone and enjoy the quiet. He liked to observe the warriors and apprentices, watching as they filtered in and out of the entrance to the camp and shaking droplets of water from their paws. Driftingkit wondered what they saw out there, what the world was like beyond the island he called home. How big was their territory? How long was the river? How wide was the sky? He wanted to run through the trees and bask in the river while he fished, to enjoy the breeze on his face and the current brushing his fur. For such a shy, timid thing, he had larger than life dreams.

Granted, all kits dreamed about being the best warrior they could be. Many often playing games where some played a leader, a deputy, or an undefeated warrior, but all Driftingkit dreamed of was seeing the rest of his home and doing all her could to protect it. He wasn't as ambitious as some of the others, content to just be the best he could be, not better than the rest.

The young kit was so lost in his thoughts, he lost sight of the camp around him and the cats that milled about.

Applekit observed the tom for a bit. He hadn’t seen him around before. He started towards him, his orange pelt reflecting the bright sun. ”Hello. I’m Applekit.” When the kit didn’t respond, he poked him with his paw. “Helllooooo?”. He grinned, looking at the kit and hoping he would be a friend.

Nightkit bounced up and down. It wouldn't be long before hes an apprentice! Of course there was the matter of water but other than that he was excited. He glanced over to see Driftingkit. They were around the same age. And could be friends. Though Nightkit knew how the tom liked to keep to himself maybe it was because he was shy. A new friend would make him less shy.

"Hiya! Wanna play a game together?" Asked Nightkit. He hope he didn't startle the tom. But it was of course the best thing that Nightkit did. Nightkit realized that Applekit was also trying to interact with Driftingkit. He pointed his tail towards Driftingkit as if gesturing that a new freind could be made.

The voice of whomever approached him sounded like it was far away, or trying to speak under water as Driftingkit continued to bask in his daydream. As a paw prodded him he nearly leapt out of his skin, blue eyes wide as he looked around wildly before his gaze settled on the ginger kit beside him. "O-o-oh, Applekit," The white tom stammered, shivering as he gave his pelt a shake and licked his puffed up chest fur. "Y-yo-you startled m-me, I-I-I didn't see you th-th-there." Driftingkit flinched as he stuttered, his nerves getting the better of him. He glanced at Applekit with uncertainty gleaming in his eyes, unsure if the other young tom would tease him for his speech or not. He was trying to get better about speaking clearly and without stumbling over his tongue, but once his heart started racing and anxiety gripped him, her had a hard time regaining his composure.

When Nightkit bounded over Driftingkit did his best not to flinch. 'How are they so calm and boisterous all at the same time?' He thought as he offered a timid smile to the other kit. "W-w-what kind of g-ga-game did you have in m-m-mind?" The white tom mewed, silently praying it was anything but fighting. The long legged kit was better at hunting or chasing moss balls. Once he got his legs figured out and got to running, he was even decent at playing tag.

”Sorry for scaring you.”He shrugged, then looked back at his brother.  ”We could play tag!” He grinned. Applekit was a very fast runner, and so he excelled at tag. He realized that Driftingkit might not like tag.  ”Something else is fine though!” Applekit was very bored and just wanted to play a game. He started to shift his weight impatiently.  Let’s play a game! Fun! Fun! He thought in his mind. He and his brother seemed to be thinking the same thing. Nightkit and him did have similar personalities.

Ooc: How did you do the signature thing?

Nightkit wagged his tail excitedly. He knew the perfect game. "How about warriors and squrriel!" Said Nightkit excitedly. He'd only seen a squrriel once but he played with it happily until Lightsong scolded him for playing with prey. Appartnly squrriels were to be eaten. Weird.

"I'll be the squrriel and you two can be warriors! It's like a game of tag but we also pratice our hunting skills! Perfect pratice!" Said Nightkit happily sticking his tounge out.

Driftingkit felt a light feeling in his chest. Was this excitement? What it was like to have fun with others? He glanced at Applekit, curious if the other tom would want to play too. "I think it s-s-sounds f-fun," Drifting kit mewed, frowning at himself for still stuttering. Though his belly felt light and fluttered, his heart still felt constricted in his chest as he worried. Would they get in trouble for playing? Would anyone get hurt? What if he messed up the game and they didn't want to play with him anymore?

The young kit shook his head and dropped into what he thought was a decent hunter's crouch. He had observed the apprentices practicing their skills in the camp many times before and had done his best to copy them. His stance was wide and his tail was held too high, throwing him off balance, but he thought it looked right. He looked up at Nightkit, wondering if this was accurate and if he was ready to start the game.

Poppykit was just rousing from a nap, carefully grooming her tortoiseshell pelt before heading out into the camp. She immediately noticed her two brothers, and another kit that she recognized but hadn't spoken to much before. Driftingkit kept more to himself than most of the kits in the nursery did, and this worried her slightly now because she knew that both of her brothers could be a lot.

The she-kit padded over to the other three kits, a friendly gleam in her eyes. "Hey guys, you're not overwhelming Driftingkit, are you?" Somehow she usually seemed to end up being the voice of reason, often echoing words spoken by their parents. "Can I play, too? Who's squirrel first?" She had heard the excitement as she walked over, and she knew what Nightkit's current favorite game was well.

The big kit’s eyes gleamed as he saw his sister. “I wanna be a warrior!” He mewed. “It’ll be good practice, since I’ll be an apprentice soon!” His eyes gleamed with pride. Applekit dropped into a crouch, staring down his brother. “Come on Poppykit! Nightkit’s the squirrel!” He flicked his tail in the direction of his brother, pointing at him. He let out a soft, playful growl. “I’m gonna get you, Nightkit!” He mewed before attempting to  leap onto his brother. However, he fell over his large paws and landed face-first on the ground. 

Nightkit ran off in a dash. "Bet you can't catch me!" He squealed. He ran to make sure that it would quite a challenge for the three other kit. Nightkit ran into the reeds and made sure not to make a sound as he padded in them.

Applekit glanced around. “Nightkit!” He yelped. He started to sniff around for the familiar smell of his brother. Once he caught the smell, he started to follow it into the reeds. He stuck his face in, and saw his brother. “I see you!” He taunted as he reached his brother. He then tried to lunge and jump onto his brother, somewhat unsuccessfully and the Nightkit got away.

Driftingkit watched as the other kits chased each other, his blue eyes wide as he gulped. He was grateful when Poppykit spoke up for him, and throughout the game stayed close as she seemed to voice the things he could't bring to say himself. He darted after Nightkit, but still getting used to his long legs he stumbled and went paws over head into Poppykit's side. The white tom scrambled back with a squeak, mortified at his actions as he looked at the she-kit with wide apologetic eyes. "S-s-sorry, Pop-p-pykit," He stammered, giving his chest a few swift licks to clean off the dust and dirt. "I g-g-guess my legs g-g-got a little a-ah-ahead of m-me." He gave her a sheepish glance before looking around to see if Nightkit and Applekit had witnessed his tumble, embarrassment heating his pelt.

Poppykit sighed, but it had an amused edge to it. It was just like Nightkit and Applekit to barely even allow for a response before darting off. Shrugging a bit with a look at Driftingkit that read as 'what can you do?', the tortoiseshell took off after her brothers. It wasn't long before she felt contact, and she wondered if somehow she'd been chosen to take over as the squirrel for a moment before realizing what had happened. She was knocked off balance, but recovered herself, sitting down to give her chest a lick or two to calm herself from the startle. Looking over at Driftingkit, she sent him a smile.

"No worries, Driftingkit." She leaned forward to touch her nose to his shoulder in a comforting manner, "At least you're not trampling me on purpose." There was amusement in her voice, and she gestured with her tail at Applekit and his failed pounce. It was pretty obvious that things sometimes got rowdy with the littermates.

Applekit got up, shaking his pelt. He looked back at his sister. “C’mon Poppykit!” He mewed, before darting off to catch his brother. “Where did he go?” Applekit had lost sight and scent of his brother. Huh...he was just there a second ago. He shrugged before continuing to run around in a crazy pursuit, just running around randomly.