Curious Kits (Open)

Burningkit blinked in surprise as Flamekit flinched and then walked back to the nursery without comment. Is it because my fur is so dirty? She wondered. For a moment she panicked about that, but she decided it was worth asking Reedkit before she really got upset.

"Reedkit," she meowed hesitantly, "Did I say something wrong?"

(Sorry for the late reply, I was busy.)

As Flamekit stalked into the nursery, Reedkit turned to Burningkit. "I'm not sure..." He answered honestly. "Should I go talk to her..?"

Burningkit felt terrible. How had she managed to hurt Flamekit's feelings so badly? She reviewed what she said and she didn't think she'd done anything wrong. She flicked her tail with concern.

"Let's both go," she finally decided. She lead the way into the nursery and over to Flamekit.

"I'm really sorry if I upset you," she meowed. "Are you okay?"

Flamekit had regained herself a bit and looked up. "Sorry... Yeah- I'm okay. I just, was.. thinking about something." She rose to her paws, which shook a bit, and padded from the nursery, shaking her pelt to try to hide the pain. "Wanna play" She held in a twitch as she spoke, "hide-and-seek?" Not waiting for an answer she closed her eyes and dipped her head. "One.. Two.. Three.."

Burningkit was taken aback. Flamekit was counting down as if they were playing hide and seek, but she didn't seem like she really wanted to. For a second Burningkit thought about refusing to play, but she didn't want to make Flamekit uncomfortable. So she ran outside and looked for a place to hide. Glancing towards the entrance to camp, she noticed a secluded, densely overgrown spot. The ground beneath the brush was about the same color as her fur, and if she burrowed in there, Burningkit figured she'd be pretty hard to see. And she'd be able to see most of the camp, so she could keep an eye on Flamekit to make sure she was okay. Burningkit raced over and wiggled her way into the overgrowth.

"10. Ready or not, here... Here I come!"

Reedkit had bounded into the nursery, squeezing himself into a tiny space where the walls crammed around him.

Flamekit rose her head and opened her eyes, gazing around. She tasted the air and timidly padded around camp, looking for her brother and friend. "Hmm.." She mewed as she came to the nursery. She smelt her brother, but she figured it was just his scent from their nest. Creeping into the nursery anyways, she spotted a flash of dark brown tabby fur. "Found you!" She almost squealed, seeming to be getting her spirits back up. Reedkit bounced from his hiding spot, chuckling. "Yep!" He mewed, following her as Flamekit padded from the nursery. She swore she spotted movement near the entrance to camp, under some bushes and dust. Flinching, she was almost tossed into the memory, but she shook it away. Bounding over to the bush, she cautiously poked her head inside and spotted a faint beige outline. "Burningkit?" She called.

Burningkit couldn't believe Flamekit had found her so fast! Maybe the hiding spot wasn't as good as she thought.

"Yes, here I am," she purred, squirming out of the brush. Little wisps of her fur were left behind in the overgrowth, prompting her to look down at herself. She was still covered in the mud from earlier, and now various leaves had been added to the mess.

Oh dear, she thought, I'm so dirty! How did I let this happen? Forgetting all about the other cats, she started licking her fur furiously.

Flamekit let out an inward sigh of relief as Burningkit slid out, unharmed. She tried to distract herself by helping Burningkit clean out her pelt. "Y'know," She started. "When I get my pelt dirty, I always just go to the pool near the medicine den. If you dip your paws in, it helps with the grooming. Then, all you have to do is either sun yourself or run around to dry." Flamekit nodded as if backing up her own statement. "Go ahead, try it! I can help."

Burningkit had never noticed the pool by the medicine cat den before, but it sounded really useful. She followed Flamekit to it and hesitantly dipped a paw in the water. She began to purr as the mud melted off that paw. This is great! Quickly, she used her paws to wipe the rest of her fur until almost all of the mud and leaves were gone.

"Thank you so much!" She meowed excitedly. Now she just had to dry off. "I'll race you to the other side of camp!" She took off at full speed, and this time she kept her eyes ahead of her to avoid any other mishaps.

Flamekit took off at surprising speed, racing alongside Burningkit. She chuckled as they tied the race and she skidded to a halt. "You're welcome!" She purred. "Better?"

(Gtg for a bit. Be back soon!)

(No problem!)

Burningkit looked at her fur. It was pretty much clean now. She noticed a small smudge of dirt on one leg and started licking it off. Then she realized she was maybe being rude. A little dirt is ok, she tried to convince herself, although she didn't really believe it.

To distract herself, she answered Flamekit. "Much better, thank you! What do you want to do now?"

(I'm back for a minute!)

Flamekit glanced around. Reedkit had retired to the nursery and was napping. "Hmm.." She swished her tail. "Up to you!"

Burningkit licked one paw idly while she considered what to do. She didn't really have any ideas, and she'd hoped Flamekit would decide.

"We could go see if there's anything good on the freshkill pile?" She asked finally.

Flamekit licked her lips as she realized she hadn't eaten today. Belly rumbling, she nodded. "Sure. I'm starving!" Trotting over to the Fresh-Kill pile, she snuffled through it until she came to a red squirrel. "My favorite!" She mewed, taking the squirrel and trotting over to a shady spot near the nursery. She waited before she ate as Burningkit chose her pick.

Burningkit padded over to the freshkill and sniffed the offerings. She found a young but plump vole and decided on that. Grabbing it, she rejoined Flamekit. She took a bite of the vole and surveyed camp as she chewed.