hello, my old heart [closed for verychu]

This was perhaps the last thing the warrior had ever anticipated. Moons of training and hunting had sharpened him into a fine warrior, and yet nothing had prepared him for siring his own offspring. There was only one kit; but even that was daunting, surreal, and weighing. Wrenspring hardly even had a mate. Nettlefrost had really only taken interest in him out of boredom, or perhaps loneliness... maybe even stress of their clan's whole ordeals. And he had only reciprocated because of whatever confusion towards his own affections. Regardless of what had brought on their quick union, the other warrior made it clear this was not a prolonged engagement. Given his own lack in romantic relationship, the gray and white pelted warrior felt as if he had merely blinked and it was over. He hardly even knew what was happening.

However, weighing their experience against that of Smokefeather and Bloodstrike, he had come to terms with the idea that what they shared was absolutely not a love or romance. They weren't on bad terms, rather, the pair and simply sunk into hardly speaking to each other as they had before. Well, beyond Wrenspring's usual attempts at conversation with all his patrol mates. He'd through little of her or their relationship. That was until she had presented him with Graykit. Immediately, the she-cat had made it clear she had not intentions of retiring to the nursery like one of the queens; Nettlefrost was a warrior through and through. So, one of the other queens would nurse her then, or course. But it also meant the care of raising the kit was solely up to him.

Nervousness and excitement, equal measures of both, had overwhelmed him the first time he met the little scrap of fur. He had always enjoyed the ignorance of youth; kits were often filled with far more zeal than those who had lived through this harsh life. Wrenspring considered too that winter would be tough. If it meant busying his weary paws, then so be it. Whatever it took to make sure that his offspring was cared for. These thoughts swam through his head as he padded to the nursery after a patrol. A little sparrow was held gingerly between his teeth. It was the perfect size for the young kit.

"Wake up, Graykit. I brought you something to eat." His nose poked through the entrance and he quickly found the kit, gently nudging her awake. It was still early and the camp was still quiet. The thought of them having some peaceful moment together warmed him in a way that he hadn't imagined could be felt for so many moons.

Graykit considered herself to be somewhat well-known by the older cats in the nursery. Being nursed by one of the other queens instead of her own mother had obviously brought some sort of attention to her. Despite all of that, she still felt as if she was a bit detached from the other kits. She had no issue with any of them, but she also found spending time by herself to be a bit safer. Maybe she even preferred it. Leaf-fall made the still air that lingered outside of the nursery hold a chill, but that was the only type of air that Graykit knew. It was often relaxing to poke her head outside of the warmth of the den and feel the breeze. It was easy to think when she was out there. It wasn’t as if kits thought about anything too illustrious at their age, but the Skyclan kit used that quiet time to think about what her future held. She knew what path her life was on. She knew that she would become an apprentice, then a warrior, then eventually an elder.

She knew that all of these ranks and realities were many moons away, but she still enjoyed thinking about it. Before she knew it, she would always be called back to the nursery and told to get out of the cold. Graykit would never protest and listened to what she was told.

When she wasn’t outside, she was sleeping. Even if she couldn’t remember the contents, Graykit enjoyed dreaming. She typically only had peaceful ones, and she wasn’t familiar with what a nightmare felt like yet. Today, the reserved she-kit found herself sleeping later than she normally did. Her striped tail twitched back and forth in the middle of her slumber. Graykit had assumed she would be sleeping for a bit longer until she felt a force gingerly nudge her side. A yawn quickly escaped her jaw as her eyes fluttered open, looking directly at her father. Suddenly, she didn’t mind being  woken up. At the moment, her father was the most important cat to her. She enjoyed his company even though she didn’t mind being alone. Her amber eyes were still clouded with mild sleepiness as the tiniest of smiles appeared on her maw.

The scent of sparrow flooded her nose, and she gave it an eager glance before looking back up at Wrenspring.
“Thank you, father,” A low purr rumbled in her throat as she took a bite, “Did you catch this yourself? I can’t wait to catch my first bit of prey.”

When she called him father, the tom's heart sang in a way it never had before. Wrenspring's paws felt lighter, prepared to take any precautions necessary to care for the little scrap. Graykit was perfect, in every sense of the word. Her little frame was indicative of the Skyclan heritage that ran through her veins. This kit was the most wonderful mixture of him and Nettlefrost. A purr rumbled in his chest, rusty from many moons of sparse use.

Immediately, his kin was dipping her head to scarf down the sparrow. He'd pawed it forward, tucking it just under the chin so that she could get the best mouthfuls. Feathers had already been stripped away and discarded, tucked outside the entrance of the den to later be laced into the nests. There came a slow blink as he stared down at her in a haze. It was surreal to consider he had a kitten who shared his blood, a similar coat marking their relations. How long ago had he chatted with Smokefeather about the foreign ideal of raising a family. This was not a traditional family in any sense of the word but he found himself contented to take the care of this tiny creature between his paws.

"I did. There is a tall tree at the fringes of the territory and not far from Shadowclan. If you get there at just the right time of day, even when its cold out, the birds peck around the roots. Once you have an apprentice name, Daykit, I'll show you all the best hunting places and the best techniques as well." Warm green eyes gazed down at her, sparkling with love in their depths.

The little she-kit found her father to be her biggest role model. Becoming a warrior was a future that most kits dreamed of, but Graykit had a more specific future in mind. She wanted to be just like her father. She admired him in every way. A time would come, eventually, where she would learn even more about the warrior code, but the bundle of gray fur was already aware that loyalty to one’s clan should be a top priority. Graykit aspired to practice such loyalty to SkyClan the moment that she earned her apprentice suffix. She wanted her Clan to be glad to have her, but most alongside that, she wanted her father to be glad to have her. There was a dim twinkle of determination in her eye as she continued to bite into the sparrow presented to her.

Her little ears rose slightly to listen to Wrenspring. Hearing about ShadowClan interrupted her chewing rhythm. It was almost strange to think that there was an abundance of unknown out there, including four other Clans full of other cats that were complete strangers? It wasn’t like Graykit was the least bit interested in what the other Clans were up to, but knowing that she’d have to encounter them sooner or later made her mind spin. There was no trace of fear, oddly enough, only curiosity. The calm smile from before returned to her maw. All of the unfamiliar things that she would learn from Wrenspring when she became an apprentice delighted her.

She gazed back up at the tom in front of her. Admiration was evident in her amber eyes.
“I don’t know much about ShadowClan. Aren’t they supposed to be the scary ones or something?” She asked, tilting her head to the right.
“Not that I’m scared or anything,” The kit clarified, “Just wondering.”