A Quiet Evening [Musty litter]

The night air was warm as Mistyfalcon stepped into camp. The border patrol he'd been on had been uneventful, save for the lingering scent of rogue near the borders. The rogues hadn't made an appearance tonight, but it still had Mistyfalcon on edge regardless. He wanted to find them and drive them off of Shadowclan territory for good, but so far attempts had seen little success. They'd had the audacity to ambush a pregnant queen, and by Starclan, he was going to find the ones who did it eventually. For now though, there were better things to take care of.

Waving his tail as he split from his patrolmates, the dark-furred warrior turned toward the nursery, grabbing a couple mice from the fresh-kill pile as he did. Murkystrike had been more exhausted than he'd ever seen her taking care of the two kits, and now that his own patrol was done for the night he'd be able to give her a bit of a break and spend time with them

Basilkit laid at the very edge of her family's comfy nest, peering out the nursery entrance into the camp beyond; night had recently fallen, but the tiny she-kit's eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly.  She was waiting for something, tail tip and ears twitching in her anticipation.  The usually very talkative kitten was almost never this quiet, only when she was concentrating with all her effort on something, or someone.  It seemed her waiting paid off, as when a figure began to approach the nursery the little tortoiseshell purred and leaped to her paws too fast, stumbling a little bit as blood rushed to her head.  "Papa's here!"  Turning to find her brother nearby in the darkening den, Basilkit kicked at him gently with a back paw and meowed; "C'mon Hornet, let's see what he brought Mama!"  Padding the short distance from their nest to the entryway, Basilkit crouched down and waited until Mistyfalcon was close enough, and then...  "Gotcha!"  Springing forward, Basilkit wrapped all four limbs around her father's much larger foreleg and clung there, rubbing her face against his fur.  "I missed you!  How was the patrol?  Did you see any rouges?  What did you bring Mama?  Can I..."  Basilkit's flurry of questions was cut off by a sharp gasp for air, followed by a cough.  Unlatching herself from her father's leg she had to take a moment to catch her breath, breathing deeply through her mouth.  Not again, Mama and Papa get worried whenever this happens!  I don't like when they're worried...

Before most of his clanmates had awoken for the night, Hornetkit had already tired himself out looking for bugs, swatting at Murkystrike's tail, and pestering any sundown patrol he could find. It wasn't long before he settled down next to Basilkit as they patiently waited for their father to return home from patrol. A soft kick to Hornetkit's side let the tom know Mistyfalcon had arrived, Basilkit already running off ahead of him and into the nettle-strewn clearing. "Hey wait for me!" He yelled, finding a new burst of energy at the sight of the black smoke tom. Basilkit latched onto Mistyfalcon's foreleg, while Hornetkit barreled into the warrior's side. He was practicing his battle moves! Larger than his sister, Hornetkit was sure he'd be a formidable fighter in a few moons or so. Maybe he'd even get let out of camp early if Flintstar thought he was strong enough! Basilkit's flurry of questions faded into background noise until her breath got caught in her throat and she had to stop to find her bearings. Hornetkit often worried for his sister, but he knew his parents worried more. Basilkit didn't want them to, so neither did Hornetkit! "Hi dad!!" He whapped Basilkit with his tail and stepped in front of her. "Basilkit was helping me groom earlier... she's got a lot of hairballs! Don't worry! How was patrol?"

Murkystrike has spent the day playing and tending to her kits, Hornetkit swatting at her tail as she kept an eye on little Basilkit. They were certainly pawfuls... But she would never get tired of watching them interact with each other and the clan around them, and the way their eyes lit up when something excited them. The sound of approaching pawsteps caught her attention and she turned to see Mistyfalcon walking towards them with some mice hanging from his jaws. The queen purred as he got closer, waving her tail in greeting and smiling as their kits greeted their father. Basilkit's questions were interrupted by a gasp, and Murkystrike tensed, taking a step forward towards her daughter. Worry and concern flashed in her expression, and she glanced to Mistyfalcon nervously. Rookfire had been able to bring her back from the claws of StarClan, but... This was the cost. She was terrified that it would cause an early death, something she wasn't certain her heart could take. Her eyes narrowed slightly as Hornetkit stepped in. They had been grooming earlier, but... She sighed, keeping an eye on Basilkit until she caught her breath again.

An amused purr escaped the tom at the antics of the two kits, and setting the mice down next to Murkystrike he lightly nuzzled the top of Basilkit's head as she threw herself at his foreleg. "Hey, kiddo-" The pair had certainly proven to be an energetic bunch, and as Hornetkit barreled into Mistyfalcon's side he let out a huff of laughter. He was larger than his sister, though at this age neither kit could do any meaningful damage and it was just play, besides. Mistyfalcon aimed a gentle paw (not the foreleg Basilkit had attached herself to) at Hornetkit in response.

"All was quiet today, no rogues." It was more directed at Murkystrike, though it did have the benefit of answering the kits' questions, too. Questions that were suddenly cut off by coughing. His gaze sharpened with worry, glancing up briefly to meet Murkystrike's gaze. It seemed as though they'd shared the same thought when it came to the kits. He offered Hornetkit a half smile as he stepped in front of Basilkit, explaining that she'd helped him groom earlier, though Mistyfalcon was far from convinced that it was just a hairball. Rookfire would do all he could for Basilkit, and he wished that it would be enough to spare the little tortoiseshell from this.

"You alright?" He asked, sitting next to the two kits. It was half-aimed at Basilkit, but also at Murkystrike. He hated the worried expression that had crossed her face, and wished that there was something more he could do.

Concentrating on taking deep, steady breaths, Basilkit felt her heart returning to normal after just a couple of moments, but she knew that her normal wasn't really normal at all.  She was still learning what exactly she should and shouldn't do to avoid these attacks, and now another thing to add to the list; talking too fast, and too much.  Mouse dung, but I love talking!  Once she recovered her energy, the kitten couldn't help but smile thankfully as her brother tried his best to shield her from view, but a quick glance at both her parents told her his dodgy excuse hadn't worked.  As they exchanged a knowing look, Basilkit felt her stomach twist with anxiety and a bit of guilt.  I ruined the happy moment we've been waiting for all day...no, I can still save it!  Just be careful this time.  The tortoiseshell kitten faced her Papa's question with a bright smile, bumping shoulders with Hornetkit so they stood side by side.  "Yeah, or at least I would be if this giant didn't have such a furry behind!"  Despite her sarcastic tone, she shot Hornetkit a grateful grin before prancing forward to nestle herself between Mistyfalcon's front paws, leaning her head against his leg as she glanced up with wide amber eyes to meet his gaze.  "So, what did you see out there?"  One question at a time, and this time she was speaking more calmly.  Her excitement pushed her towards everything fun, but her body always seemed to say no, it wasn't fair!  For now though she kept smiling; as long as she smiled everything would be okay, and no one would worry! Right?

Hornetkit's head turned slightly as Murkystrike padded towards the rest of the family. She looked worried, but she always looked worried around Basilkit. The young tom opened his mouth to speak, but the thought of hearing more about his father's patrol silenced him. "Oh yeah dad!! What did you see?" Hornetkit settled in front of Basilkit's perch between Mistyfalcon's legs, so he could see his father as well. The tom wondered when he'd finally get to leave camp and see all the neat things Mistyfalcon could. Maybe he'd get to catch frogs and kill foxes!

Murkystrike relaxed as Mistyfalcon confirmed there had been no sightings of rogues, but her tail lashed once behind her as she realized that meant they were still out there somewhere, biding their time. As the kits turned to their father, she zoned out, staring past Mistyfalcon as she contemplated where the two she had fought with Foxspark had disappeared to, and what their motive had been. The attack had seemed premeditated, as if they had been watching the clan cat's patterns, waiting for the right moment. She hummed quietly to herself as she considered what options the rogues may have had, what their origins were, and what reasonings they had, allowing herself to slip into her duties as a deputy now that Mistyfalcon was back and keeping an eye on their kits. Mistyfalcon's voice cut through her thoughts, and her eyes shifted over to his face, staring blankly for a moment before focusing as she drew herself out of her thoughts. She nodded once, expression softening as Basilkit spoke up. Butting her head to her mate's shoulder, she purred. "Just thinking. I'd like to speak with Rookfire and Flintstar soon." She mewed softly to him as their kits asked what he had seen out in the territory. She had been in the nursery for so long at this point, she was excited to hear about what was going on outside of the camp as well. "Yes, what did you see my love?" Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she settled next to her kits to hear what Mistyfalcon had to say.

Mistyfalcon's whiskers twitched in amusement at Basilkit's sarcasm. She went on to ask about what he'd seen on patrol, and Hornetkit joined in to ask as well. Mistyfalcon was not a storyteller, and the patrol really had been uneventful. Murkystrike had seemed lost in her own thoughts, but had stirred at his question. He nodded agreement with her words, curling his tail around her as she pressed against his shoulder. He couldn't help rolling his eyes at her question, but if anyone wanted to hear what went on outside the camp walls, he supposed it would be Murkystrike. She'd mostly stayed in camp to take care of the kits, though Mistyfalcon figured she'd enjoy stretching her legs outside of camp sooner rather than later.

"About as uneventful as you could get, really. The other clans have been keeping to their own borders, and the forest was quiet." The patrol had been perfectly mundane, perfectly boring, and there was little to say other than that. Another cat would've probably embellished a little, but there wasn't much that Mistyfalcon could say that would've made an interesting story for the kits, nor was he creative enough to think of anything. How he'd somehow been asked to tell a story was a mystery to even Starclan, he was sure.

"Were you hungry?" He'd brought those mice over for a reason, after all, and extended a paw to pull one closer. Food would distract from Mistyfalcon's abysmal storytelling abilities, right?

Ravenpaw had only heard whispers of the recent events. She had been spending much of her time lately training and doing patrols. She knew it was almost time to become a warrior, at least she hoped, so she hadn't spent enough time in the camp to know what had happened. She asked one of her clan mates where Murkystrike was, and hearing she was in the nursery meant she could visit her at last. She had some time before she went on a patrol later, so she walked towards the nursery.

She stuck her head in gently, seeing that Mistyfalcon had brought some mice, and looked at Murkystrike and their kits. "Mind if I come in?"

"Aww, that's no fun!"  Basilkit's round little face that just moments ago had been wrapped with anticipation now sported a pout, bottom lip jutting out and sunny amber eyes scrunched with disapproval.  All quiet on the outside, how was that possible?  Every day Basilkit could hear and see so much happening just in the pine trees that surrounded camp; the music of birds as they scuttled through the branches, squirrels trying to reach the highest peak, and at night the croaking of frogs that echoed through the hollow.  If she were out there, surely she would find at least something interesting!  Ah well, at least she and Hornetkit would be apprentices soon, and they could leave camp whenever they wanted!  Or...at least that's how she thought it worked.

As her father redirected to the mice, Basilkit gave one a curious sniff.  So far Mama had only been giving them little pieces of prey, so seeing the full thing right there in front of her was impressive.  Can one cat really eat that whole thing?  It's so much food!  However, before she could try to steal a bite, an unfamiliar voice made the little tortoiseshell look around.  A young black cat stood nearby, and Basilkit decided to take it upon herself to welcome her.  Pushing her way out from between her father's legs and shouldering past her brother, the tiny kitten trotted up to the apprentice and purred.  "Of course you can!  My name is Basilkit, who are you?"

Ravenpaw couldn't help but be amused as the kit pushed her way towards her. She entered in the rest of the way, staying near the entrance in case Mistyfalcon or Murkystrike wanted her to leave. She looked at how small the kit was, and Ravenpaw couldn't believe she had been that small at one point. "It's nice to meet you Basilkit, I'm Ravenpaw." The apprentice couldn't believe how much the kit looked like Murkystrike. That thought made her glance up towards Murkystrike, to see how she was doing.

Murkystrike's head lifted as she heard Ravenpaw's voice, and she smiled and nodded. "Of course you can, you're always welcome Ravenpaw." She purred, watching as Basilkit padded towards Ravenpaw and the two interacted, eyes narrowing in happiness.