Not Born, But Made {open for the missing kits}

Theron glanced over her shoulder as Lyralei arrived, not having a moment to say anything to the Scout Captain before Eris spoke up, catching her attention. She twitched an ear as their leader pointed out that she would get her time with them...And once she brought up Roe, the Nightstriker Captain couldn't help but flash her a grin. "Oh, you know me too well. But I truly chose him because he shows such promise - he just needs somebody to make sure he stays on the right track, eh? Not to get to squeamish when the job needs to be done," she hummed, gently whacking Roe on the side with her tail as she spoke.

"A-And I appreciate it, I do," Roe meowed, glancing between the two high ranking she-cats. "I don't want to jeopardized a mission. I need to learn to do what needs to be done - for the glory of Asylum," he added. It was very true - he had been chosen as a Nightstriker due to his size but he had always had...A little trouble when it came to fighting. A 'bleeding heart' was often thrown his way, but fighting was the way of the Nightstriker. It was up to him to be on the front line and keep everybody safe. "I-I don't mind the Captain...Um, 'picking' on me. I've heard worse and she is at least trying to help me out."

A laugh escaped Theron, bumping shoulders with Roe. "And I keep him around because he is just a good sport about it all!" she chuckled, before her eyes turned onto the kits. Eris made some mention about them being the perfect age and...While she wanted to get to training right way, she couldn't deny that the Asylum Head had made a perfect choice. "That they are - they will be raised up right here. Can't deny them that, they will have a good life in our care," she meowed. She shrugged a little as Locust snapped at her to lay off of the kits, rolling her eyes...Not noticing as Roe tensioned up a little beside her.

"Um...I-I think you are scaring the kits," he suddenly meowed, drawing Theron's amused attention. He pushed himself to his paws, heading towards the kits. He crouched not far from them, tilting his head as he studied them. "H-Hey there little fellas," he meowed, a soft smile crossing his face. It had been a long time since he had gotten to properly interact with kits, with his duties as a Nightstriker often distracting him from being able to help like a Standard would. "Don't listen to the grown-ups, they are being dramatic. Things aren't so bad here - bet its loads safer than where you were from. But don't worry your little heads, just try to relax. We are one big family here - even fight like one to," he meowed, a soft chuckle escaping him. "We look out for our own and now you are one of us. Things aren't bad here - I got saved as a kit myself. Born into a bad group...Would have been killed for my, uh...Bleeding heart. But then these guys swooped in and took over my group - raised me up right here! This is scary, I know. Its not familiar but...In no time, you will be a proper Aslyum cat, trust me."

He blinked as there was a chuckle from behind him, glancing over to see Theron looking at him with a soft smile. "What did I say? Good with kits."

Tawnykit was not as excited about the freshkill that was brought as the rest of the kits were. Back at camp, she hated feathered prey. She spent more time plucking the feathers than getting the actual meat, when she could just dig right into something like a rabbit! And she was quite sure she did not see any rabbits here. She was not a fan of that one bit. Could they not at least give her something good to eat? That wasn't this crowfood? And every kit was just mindlessly digging in! Except Berrykit, for some reason she didn't want to eat at all. But like the big cat said, never say no to food! And she was not doing that, simply requesting tastier options!

"Excuse me? Big cats? Um, what do I call you guys anyway? Warriors? Are you like our Clans? Do you have any rabbit I can have, I don't think I like this, I don't know what it is, but it has feathers, and feathers are yuck!" Well, not necessarily "yuck" as she had called it, but they were too much work!

And then yet another big cat came. Could they not get some privacy? It wasn't like she was paying attention to what was said anyway, she wasn't interested in drama. Especially when she wasn't the one causing it, she was the queen and these cats better learn quick! But there was one thing that cat said that caught her interest.

"Asylum cat? What even is an Asylum? At least our Clan is named after something we know, you guys have some weird names!"

Flamekit looked around at his new surroundings. Full of weird cats, some of them much bigger than him, some the same size, all of them unrecognizable to the young tom. This is strange. When he was given a piece of food, the young tom began to eat it immediately. Yum. While the other cats were talking, he sat and listened to them talk. He liked Roe and Locust the most, then the cat that he didn't know the name of that brought him and the other kits here. They all seemed much nicer than Theron, but Roe seemed to like Theron for some reason. Either way, he felt the most comfortable around Roe and Locust, so when Roe mentioned being an Asylum cat, he was all on board. Asylum cat, he thought. Immediately while he was contemplating what that meant, another kit spoke up in protest. Really, it felt a little like SkyClan to him. Like a home away from home.

Eris simply watched as Locust lifted Berrykit and attempted to get her to eat the owl, satisfaction settling on her features when the slick young cat dug into her meal. "Now, that's more like it, isn't it darling?" She mewed gently, nodding as the kits meowed their sentiments. Her ears slicked back just slightly when a rather... bold she-cat piped up about their choice in prey, as well as what they were to be called. "Well, young one..." Eris was really wishing that Locust had already named them in that moment, unsure what to call the little cat. "For now, you can just call us by our names, hmm? I'm Eris, and that tom over there is Locust, he'll be the main cat helping me take care of you lot. That there is Roe, and behind me are Theron and Lyralei," Eris remarked, nodding to each cat as she rattled off their names.

"It's very important that you appreciate what is given to you, alright? I'm sure there's something there that you'd like, you've just got to give it a try. My friend over there brought you guys a sparrow and a mole as well, they're a bit smaller than that owl but just as tasty. Now, I can help you pick the feathers off of the sparrow if you want to give that a try? Or perhaps the mole... Nobody has touched that yet, I'll bet it's still quite juicy." Eris began to nudge the kit back towards the rest, letting her choose between the mole and the sparrow. "Now, like ol' Locust mentioned, we've got to name each of you. Your names will be quite special, so you've got to treasure them- it is the only thing you will be called here, nothing else, okay? You may have been called something different before, but these are your true names." Eris looked around at the kits for a moment, contemplating which of them she'd start off with. "Now, I'll begin, and Locust will get around to the lot of you afterward." Her eyes settled on a rather small calico she-cat, one that she was sure came from RiverClan because of her sleek, almost oily fur. She padded towards the young one with a twinkle in her eye, sitting down next to her and curling her tail around her in an attempt to warm her. "How about... Ceres, hmm? I think it's perfectly charming, and suits you well." Eris purred, looking down at the little she-kit.

Cloudkit continued to chomp away at the owl that she so clearly enjoyed. It was unlike anything she had ever had before, and it definitely tasted nothing like the fish that her mother had often chewed up a bit to make it easier for her and her littermates to eat. It felt odd to eat without any prior assistance, and after a few bites, the calico found her jaws becoming tired and sore. The former RiverClan kit lifted a tiny paw and placed it on her right cheek, grimacing a bit. Who would've known that eating prey was such a chore? Cloudkit had completely let her guard down, but when Berrykit was picked up by the older tabby, she quickly looked over to make sure that her sister was okay. It would be perfect if her littermates stayed together, no matter how kind these strangers seemed. After all, they were sisters. Quietly, the she-kit scooted closer to Berrykit and looked over at Duskkit, silently beckoning her to do the same. Plus, if anything, staying close meant that they could be comfortable in each other's scents. Every other cat here smelt odd, and Cloudkit didn't like it one bit.

Upon hearing the she-cat that had brought them all here begin to speak again, Cloudkit lifted her bold yellow eyes to look at her. She scrunched her little nose in confusion as the tall stranger began to throw out names.
"A Theron? A Lyralei? That's dumb, what do those even mean? I've never heard of an Eris before." The calico said as she moved her focus from the owl to the strange names of the unfamiliar cats.
Cloudkit didn't want a new name. If anything, they'd end up being just as weird as the other names. It took everything in her to hold back an eye roll of indignation. Her mood had gone from thrilled to annoyed almost instantly. All she could do was hope that her new name was something that she knew.

Warmth surrounded the she-kit the moment that Eris wrapped her tail around her. Cloudkit lifted her head to stare up at the cat. A frown broke out on her maw as she was granted her new name. Of course it was weird, she had expected nothing less. The flicker of happiness that had once given her eyes a joyous glow had turned into one of protest.
"Ceres?" She reluctantly repeated after Eris, "What is a Ceres? That's weird!"

The newly-named Ceres let out a huff, looking away from Eris and down at her pure white paws.

Theron huffed as the kits didn't seem to grasp the...Glory of their names. What did it even matter? She found their names to be silly, named after colors and prey...There was nothing special about any of it - nothing that made them stand out among themselves. "Our names are as different as the cats who wear them," she retorted, pushing herself up to her paws as she stalked over to the kits. "I've heard about the type of names that you had...And tell me, how many other cats have shared those names? Everybody is special - each one of you will serve a purpose here in Asylum. Nobody is a waste, so nobody deserves a name that another could easily share," she said, giving a nod of her head in approval of her own words. "But...If that is how you feel..." her eyes searched over the kits, settling on a tortoiseshell tabby that was happily eating the food. "That one, her name will be Brick," she declared, puffing out her chest. "Not as wonderful as the names that we tend to wear but if you all really want to throw a huff about the names we are so generously giving you, she won't be the only one getting a lackluster name. Or, you can be good kits and get truly special names that show how much you all stand out."

With food still in his small mouth, a confused Blazingkit had to ask. "Ashylum? Whash dat?" With another hard gulp and a wince, the kit bounced up to the cat known as Eris. "We already have names though! I'm Blazingkit! I think.. Yea! That's right!" Before the Asylum cat had a chance to directly respond the kit looked back to the food tried to take another bite out of the prey. Turning his head back towards the older cats. A new family huh, that's awesome! Now I have two families! This is gonna be so much fun! With a slight wiggle of his tail, the unsuspecting kit kept on munching away at his food.

Finchkit had been living quite a confusing life so far, and it hadn't even been a moon. It had all started back when he had been ”kitten.” His mother gave birth to him, and she hadn’t been able to take care of the little squirming kit. So he had been given to Windclan, a place that was known for the welcoming nature of the cats that lived there.

He had been named Finchkit, and brought to the camp. He had been nursed and treated like one of the clan’s own, even if it had only been a few sunrises. And then, that was when the strangest thing happened. He had woken up, hearing noise. Slightly annoyed at the disruption, but curious, he joined a train of kits that had been growing the whole night. Maybe this was some sort of apprentice test? He wasn’t quite sure, but he had joined them.

His legs ached as he tread the path that the cats of the asylum were walking. He was easily one of the youngest there, maybe even the youngest. He was quite tired, and hungry now that he had been awoken. His big, bright blue eyes watched as the kits and older cats bickered. Why were they making such a big deal? These nice cats had given them food, after all. Speaking of which...he was hungry.

Yawning, he piped up, his small voice barely more than a squeak. "Milk." It wasn’t so much a plead but more of a demand, which was quite funny coming from a small little ball of fur, not even a moon old. Hopefully they could go back to sleep soon, in a warm den. That would be nice.

Already, he had started to forget what the cats of his clan looked like, what they smelled like, about Windclan camp. He had a sense that this place was his new home, where he could stay forever, with his new family. After all, it had happened so early on in his life, is must be right?

The green-eyed she-kit had been watching the exchange between the other kits and the strange cats with subdued amusement and curiosity. Her wariness still hadn't completely gone away but she was feeling less nervous once she had finished her meal. She began to groom herself, seemingly disinterested in hearing the conversation going on, however, the occasional swivel of her ears betrayed the attempts to mask her engrossment with the discussion.

When the subject of names came up, Snakekit's gaze lifted, face clearly expressing bewilderment. Every time they mentioned a foreign name, it sounded more and more like they were spewing nonsense. Ceres? Brick? What even? She was about to voice her opinion on the matter but before she could, Theron came in with some clear reasoning. Huh. It kinda made decent sense. They were still really odd names but at least they were unique to only the cat wearing it. She never really thought about that (she never had a reason to but that's besides the point). Her head tilted as pondered. Snakekit was the only name she new. It was what she was called up to this point in her life. Would losing a name be like losing who you were? If she got a new name here, would she be like a completely new cat? All this thinking was hurting her brain. She wasn't the type to think, only do. She better stop now before she dug too far.

"Sooo, the new names you guys are gonna give us... are they just random or do ya have a way ta tell what name will suit someone? Like, I'm not sure what I'm gonna get but it better not be somethin' cutesy or soft-soundin' cause that ain't me, ya hear?" she said with a huff, eyes narrowed and a cute pout plastered on her face. Her pelt fluffed up, trying to make her look bigger but she only succeeded in making her look like a fluffy ball. She deflated and looked away. Hopefully she'd grow to be much bigger than this. She was tough and strong and not soft like the other kits, okay? If she was going to be renamed, she was hoping for something that sounded cool enough. Snakekit was already a pretty great name and the new one has to be even greater if they wanted her to be impressed.

Blazingkit's question fueled her own thoughts. She wrinkled her nose before speaking up again, "Yeah. What's Asylim? Is it what ya call this place?"

Laurelkit nodded along as two of the other kits spoke; the one at her side seemed far tougher than most of the rest of them. She didn't think she was especially smart or strong or fast, and she wasn't tough or loud or even quiet. Really, as far as Laurelkit knew, she wasn't much of anything - there was nothing that Laurelkit was that someone else was not.

(It was something that bothered her, that she wasn't the best at anything in particular; that she was only ever Laurelkit and nothing more. And she wanted to be the best Laurelkit, if nothing else, but now she was told that she wasn't even going to be Laurelkit. What was she meant to make of that?)

Still, she found herself trying out the new words presented to her; sounds that tasted foreign on her tongue. "A-sy-lum," she mumbled, mostly to herself; trying to pronounce the word just right. "That's it, right? Asylum." Then, glancing to the kits who had been named thus far, she murmured, "Cer-es... Ce-res? No, Ceres. And, um, Brick..." Her eyes lit up, "Oh, that one's easy!"

Berrykit's ear flicked as she heard Eris give Cloudkit a new name. She stopped eating, though her stomach felt far from full, and looked over to her sister. Ceres? She hadn't heard a word like that before. She knew of clouds, berries, and what dusk was, but a ceres? She hadn't even thought of the fact that the strangers were giving them new names. Berrykit couldn't wrap her mind around a ceres. And then, Brick? That sounded like some sort of bird. Probably a really gross bird, more gross than the owl she had to eat. Even though she didn't like it, Berrykit couldn't ignore the hunger tying knots in her belly. So she returned to her meal, tearing off a clump of feathers and feasting on the meat hiding below. In that moment, she just had to eat.

Duskkit stood away from the other kits, laying so still that, in a different environment, it would look as if she was stalking prey.  She remembered how the night had gone.  The cold night breeze flowed through her fur as she walked through the dark forest.  The big cat pushed her along and she listened, afraid of what the menacing cat would do if she did not.  Duskkit knew that she should have fought back.  She should have saved her sisters and protected her denmate.  Now that she was here, she did not know what to think.  She felt this aching pain in her stomach.  Was it more fear?  Maybe excitement?  Maybe both?  She could not tell.

All of these cats were unfamiliar, besides her sisters and Snakekit. After a little while, the big cats seemed to be renaming the other kits.  This was very confusing to her.  She liked her name, why change it?  Duskkit saw Cloudkit motioning for her to come over to her and Berrykit, so she got out of her still stance and strode over to them.  A moment later Berrykit got picked up by a big cat.  If they did anything to her sister, she knew her fear would vanish and even though she was small, she would not hesitate to attack.  Even them touching her was almost enough to make her attack.  When the big cat put her sister down, she tracked the big cat for a little bit after, hoping he would not come near her sisters again.

One of the big cats looked at her and gave her the new name of Shira.  She liked the name, but she still did not understand these strange names.  From the moment she was walking with the big cats, she knew her life was changing.  She missed her mother and father and the other cats in her clan, but as she stayed a little bit longer she began to feel better about this place.  She could not explain why, but she started to feel like this is where she really belonged.

Locust took a step back as Eris dealt the first name, the word Ceres dripping from her maw. It was beautiful, as most of the Asylum's names were. Had Locust not been so accustomed to his own name when joining, perhaps he, too, would have opted to be reborn. But he had already spent half his life as Locust, so it made sense to continue to be called that until the other half had passed by too. One of the kits piped up and complained about their choice of naming, to this, the older tom winced. By his prediction, Theron took notice of the discomfort and delved into her chaotic ways.

"Brick." The tom echoed Theron, his tone dry with exasperation and disbelief. "Don' be cruel, Theron. That one wasn't even pipin' up, no. Look at 'er, hardly enough sense to even be scared." Perhaps 'Brick' makes sense then... He thought to himself quietly, gazing at the little scrap still munching away at her food. Even if such a crude name choice was fitting, Locust decided to take over before the Nightstriker ruined more kits' dignity. He stepped in front of the she-cat, frame just as built as hers, but old and tired. His head hung between his shoulders like a burden, but he walked with his chest first, still carrying himself with some sense of poise even now at middle-age.

"No more complainin' ou' of you lot, alright? You, you'll be... eh, Persephone." Locust gestured to a small bundle of ginger fluff that looked stiffer than a tree. Perhaps a new title would cheer her up. A green-eyed she-kit piped up next, asking for a name that was rather tough. Locust's whiskers twitched and his maw almost cracked into a smile as he gave her the name 'Katana.' The next batch of kits went along quite smoothly, taking on the titles of 'Shira, Pyrik, Mirae, Raisha, Griffon, Kai, and Thalia.' These names were just as elegant as Locust had observed from those in the Asylum. He wanted to ensure the group of younglings was respected, that they'd live long and happy lives with a name to match.

There were two kits remaining, a quiet ginger tom that ate quietly like an obedient cat, and a large tabby tom that looked rather strong. While elegant and sophisticated names were something Locust respected, for these two, he chose something different. The tabby looked much like the older tom himself, while the flame tom resembled Dodger... The two kittens were all too similar to something he once lost. So much so, that it'd be a shame to give them any other names. Perhaps it was selfish, but Locust wanted something to hold on to, as he had nothing left to feel nostalgic over. "You." He began, voice just as gruff but solemn, this time. "Will be Spark. And you, will be Stag." Locust caught Eris's eye and shared a quiet moment. The Head knew of his past, and would understand the significance of these names, but she was tactful enough not to share it. Locust could have his piece without a single soul ever knowing.

Finchkit blinked deeply with his large blue eyes. His small maw leg out another small yawn as he struggled to stay awake. As one of the bigger cats started speaking, he looked up. Would he give him milk? Would he find a queen to give him milk? But instead of that answer, he heard a lot of weird words. Brick? Theron? What did those mean? He wanted to ask, but he most likely wouldn’t pay enough attention to get the answer. More strange words came. Persephone, Katana, Shira, Pyrik, Mirae, Raisha. Then suddenly, Locust locked eyes with the small tom, and told him that his name was Griffon.

Hadn’t this just happened a few sunrises ago? When that she-cat (Olistar? Alivestar?) had named him Finchkit? But this felt different. This seemed more like home, with all the nice cats. It was special, unique, and he liked it. Griffon just nodded, watching the rest of the kits get new names. Maybe when he woke up this would all make more sense, as it was a bit confusing right now.