Kits, Worms, and the Night {open}

This night was not as cold as some others had been. Duskrain found her frame had adjusted well to the harsh wind that cut through the warrior's den. She missed Dacedream and her sweet scent and soft fur, and Houndheart provided little comfort in comparison. So the young she-cat opted for independence instead. Oftentimes Duskrain would awaken from her slumber, padding out into the darkness to hunt a leafbare bird, or simply to gaze at the stars and long for their freedom. But most recently, Duskrain had been entranced by the kits growing at Dacedream's belly. Some of them had her pretty pelt, and others had stripes like Houndheart did. Their little purrs made the warrior smile. They had grown fast, and now were walking and talking. They were small, and had small claws and teeth. Duskrain would often gaze at them and marvel at their size. They could not fight a beast. They could not catch a squirrel. But bugs were small, like the kits were.

Tonight, Duskrain found herself standing above a sleeping Dacedream, green eyes surveying the kits that were now sprawled out across the nest. She grinned and wished to help them catch bugs. "Wake up..." Duskrain whispered softly, gentley prodding Jaykit, Puddlekit, Vixenkit, and Cherrykit. A smile grew on the dusty gray she-cat's maw as they awoke. She bounded out into the midnight clearing, eyes bright. "Do you want to look for bugs?"

The little tan tabby rolled over as a paw gently prodded her awake, and blearily looked up to see Duskrain standing over her and her siblings. She sat up with a yawn, and when Duskrain left the nursery, Cherrykit followed, eyes bright and curious as to what the older she-cat wanted with them. Her ears pricked up when hunting for bugs was mentioned, and she whispered,
"Are we going to leave camp?"

Cedarkit stirred. She heard a cat talking, and stood up, blinking. Duskrain! It seemed like they were gonna do something fun. She glanced at her sleeping mother, Ferretnose, and bounded towards the She-cat. “Can I come with you?” Her eyes were wide with excitement, one would have never guessed she had been asleep just a few seconds ago.

Daisykit also woke, and she saw some kits gathered by Duskrain. If I do something bad, I could get in trouble, and delay my apprentice ceremony. Plus, who knows what scary things are out there! She closed her eyes again, willing herself to go back to sleep.

Jaykit had only been half-asleep when Duskrain entered, and he popped up excitedly at her proposition. He didn't really know how exciting the prospect of catching bugs sounded, truthfully, but he liked Duskrain, and if she said it was fun, he'd take her word for it. The largest of Dacedream's kits bounced after the warrior, swatting at Cherrykit playfully as he passed. A glance was tossed in Cedarkit's direction when she tawny kit spoke, and Jaykit rolled his shoulders in a shrug - the older kit was his kin, after all, so he didn't mind.

"Urrghhh," the soft prodding barely brought Vixenkit out of her drowsy trance. She was used to the pushing around; she did not like the prodding. And so, she kept her eyes firmly shut, muzzle wrinkling to convey her message. Shrill voice weaved with indignance, she groaned, "Stop it, Jaykiit... you're pushing me again..! It's so annoying..." The petite she-kit tumbled on her other side, pointedly hurling her limbs out to forcefully nudge her siblings away, before an unexpected voice resounded in her ears:


The larger voice, albeit in a hushed tone, prompted her eyes to flicker open. The soft shade of kitten periwinkle reflected little light in the darkness that swallowed them all. It was still night? And yet, she had been awoken? How insolent. Once realizing the source of the voice, she fixed her gaze directly at Duskrain, huffing, "Bugs? Ew. They're all squiggly, and squelchy, and disgusting-y! No!" Briefly, her large eyes distinguished the others, already outside the nursery, senses barely adjusting to the dim atmosphere. She glimpsed Cherrykit, and Jaykit, and another kit she thought was called 'Cedarkit'. Whatever. They could all go frolick around, see if she cared. "Don't bring back any to me," she snarled softly, aiming her words at her siblings, "I'm staying with mama!"

Jaykit skidded to a halt, leaving a trail of rough dirt in his wake. Black-and-ginger ears flicked back at Vixenkit's exclamation, and he swung his head around, eyes narrowing at the calico she-kit. Jaykit lowered his head, rear up in the air tauntingly. His stubby kit-tail stood straight up, and he fixed Vixenkit with a challenging stare. "What, are you, scared?" he asked, voice silky and mocking.

Her wide eyes flickered, blinked; vexation flared in her sky-blue gaze. Scared? Scared? No way, no way was she scared! "Me? Scared? You mousebrain, I'll show you!" Vixenkit squeaked, her strident retort accompanied by an irked tail flick. She hastily stumbled to her paws, almost tripping in the process. Pointedly demonstrating no reluctance, she pranced up to join the cluster of cats, head held high as she refused to look at her brother, sister or that other she-kit. Perhaps a little too roughly, she shoved past both Cherrykit and Cedarkit, nudging against their pelts in disapproval, before proceeding to shoot a venomous death glare at her brother. "See? I told you! I'm gonna be the best, the best-est at catching b...b-bugs..! Their... their wiggly-ness doesn't stand a chance against me! I'm gonna beat you all, I'm gonna catch the most-est bugs, you'll see!" With a challenging huff, she whisked her head away, before trotting up to Duskrain. She fluttered a glimpse towards the assembled kits, eyes furrowed and maw pouting, before she stood on her very tiptoes, attempting to reach the warrior. Why was she so tall? She didn't like it when cats were this tall! They made her feel so... tiny!

Her voice abruptly muffled, becoming a soft whisper, eyes constantly flicking back to her denmates. Her mumble carried a taint of horror, dread that she tried desperately to conceal, to evident failure. She didn't want anyone but Duskrain to hear her question...

A strange grin grew on Duskrain's maw as the kits slowly awoke, clambering over the nest like squirrels. She watched them with intent green eyes, leading the way from the nursery to the cold, moonlit clearing. Turning around, it appeared she had gathered a following, and giggled at the kit's small size and fuzzy fur. Duskrain was not a large cat, but she was larger than the kits. Their voices squeaked through the lines of mist, thousands of questions and millions of curiosities. They reminded Duskrain of herself. But the questions that were bestowed upon her now were ones she had the answers to. It felt good, she felt strong.

"No." Duskrain replied to Cherrykit, the smallest of Dacedream's offspring. Duskrain knew that beasts were outside of camp. And beasts could eat a kit. She let her eyes drift to Cedarkit next, Beartooth's daughter. "Yes." She answered this time, grinning. "We're going to dig for bugs." Bugs? Vixenkit protested loudly, and Duskrain only watched, her face revealing nothing. Vixenkit had the name of a beast. Duskrain had killed a fox before. She wondered if Vixenkit would be as strong as a beast too. Jaykit passed his sister and teased her, his voice squeaky. Soon, Vixenkit had been coaxed from her next and into the clearing. She padded quietly next to Duskrain, fur soft. Whispering, she asked if the bugs would eat her. Duskrain only stared with impossibly wide eyes. "No." She answered simply, leading her trail of kits to a muddy part of the camp. "Bugs are too small. But beasts will eat you. Badgers and foxes and eagles. They like blood. You have to be careful." The thought that the statement might startle the kit never crossed Duskrain's mind. What she spoke was true, so how could it be bad? Satisfied with the answer she had given, Duskrain crouched down in the mud, circled by the masses of kits, grinning.

"There's worms here." She whispered with excitement, as if worms were some form of elusive treasure. "Take out your claws like this, and dig in the dirt. We have to dig very deep to find them. The worms don't like leafbare. They have no fur." Duskrain unsheathed her claws, flashing in the diming moonlight as she began to scoop pawfuls of dirt from a mud-and-slush puddle. She liked kits. She liked their small bodies and fuzzy fur. She wanted to show them worms.

Puddlekit had woken up as soon as Duskrain had urged them to. Though she didn't bother to speak, her interest was peaked at the mention of Bugs. She had only been recently acquainted with those things after they saw one and Vixenkit freaked out. She really wanted to see them again and to search for them, so she lifted herself from her resting position and took herself to her siblings. Hoisting herself over the nest, she managed to catch up with the rest of them as they left the nursery.

She peered at Duskrain and the spot in the ground she had began to dig up, and let out a small unintentional gasp of amazement.

Cherrykit nodded along, simultaneously relieved and disappointed at knowing they were going to stay in camp, and began digging at the ground with her claws, the process made a little easier for her because of her extra toes. She quickly got into the rhythm of digging, being careful to not shower anyone with mud, and soon dug up a wriggly pink thing that she thought could be one of these worm things. She scooped it up with her paw, being sure to not hurt it, though she didn't know if it could feel pain, and showed it to Duskrain.
"Is this a worm?"

A smirk played at Jaykit's muzzle as his sister indignantly stormed after Duskrain, and as she passed him, he swatted her with his tail. Mission accomplished. He could have just let Vixenkit stay behind, of course - and it would have been her loss - but Jaykit wanted to have fun! And he always had the most fun when his siblings all came along. Mostly because he never got tired of picking at Vixenkit in particular.

Smugly, the little tomkit traipsed after the rest, to an obscure corner of the camp, that was a bit muddier than the rest. As soon as his paws began to sink into the soft muck, Jaykit stopped. His eyes widened in alarm, the cold moisture darkening the white fur over his toes. Uh, yuck!

He had begun to reconsider his own attendance at this point, but, unwilling to look like a coward, refused to back down. Instead, he began to halfheartedly scratch at the dirt in search of worms, one lip curled in distaste at the feel of the muck around his paws.

(Can Icepaw help out jay kit?)

(Absolutely! He's not stuck though, he's just prissy! Lmao!)

OOC: Can I join this? Is it still open?