to build a home [C]

In the days following the battle, Dayquill had taken up doing every little thing he could to make life easier for his Clanmates. Extra hunting and border patrols, so the injured could take time to rest; lending a paw in training sessions with the apprentices, as even if he was young, he was smart enough to help where he could; now, he was making his rounds by the nursery, awkwardly kicking along a ball of moss, a few mice clamped between his teeth by the tails. Taking the pressure of constant kit-watching off the queens for a little while; making things easier for his Clanmates. As repentance.


Approaching the mouth of the den, the golden tom sat down dropped the mice next to the ball of moss, stepping around it to avoid kicking it any further. Sticking his nose in to the shelter of the den, he called in a soft voice, "If anyone's awake in here, I've got food and something to play with outside. Come sit with me for a little while." With that, he pulled away and retreated to his pile of gifts to see which kit was daring enough to join him.

Dawnkit was loafed in a nest alone, sitting in the shadows and watching the other cats in the nursery sleep or share tongues. She enjoyed the silence, but it had been silent for so long… kits needed a little more stimulation than to listen to gentle licks and smell sweet milk all day.

A familiar mew had come from outside the nursery. This was just what the medicine cat ordered! Some fun time! The silver kit bound up onto her flat soft paws to gingerly step out of the bramble den and out into the light.

Immediately the scent of mouse had caught in her nose and she felt her belly grumble. When did she eat last? Probably this morning.. well it can’t hurt to eat again. But before she began licking her maw, she looked up to meet eyes with a golden tom. “You’re.. Dayquiet? No, Dayquill?” she mewed, her head tilting slightly trying to remember his name. You couldn’t blame her, she didn’t leave the nursery very often.

It wasn't long before one of the kits came tumbling out of the nursery, enticed by his promise of food and fun. Almost despite himself, a smile tugged at the edges of his maw; no matter how sour he felt, kits were an easy remedy. Few problems existed in their world except chewing on denmates' ears and rolling around camp, getting under everyone's paws. "I believe so," Dayquill answered, rolling the ball of moss around under his paw. "Dayquill, that is. The only one." The golden tom snickered, dry and only a little forced. He shifted, batting the mossball away from him so he could lower himself without squishing it completely, and gave an emphatic nod in the direction of the mice. "You don't have to just stare at them. They're for you, you know." He mewed, then promptly rolled over, falling to his side with a muffled thump.

"Is it... are you Dawnkit?" He hummed, and the name felt only a little sour on his tongue. He'd never known Dawnhawk, only Morningstar, but the name carried a bite with it regardless. But... lifting his head a little from the sandy earth, Dayquill's big blue eyes blinked slowly at the kit. Whatever ill history her name carried, there was hardly a resemblance to be found, especially not in the earnest and wondrous way she craned her head at the world. She was... just a kit. In a way, he longed to be in her place again. Though it wavered briefly, his thin smile settled into place against his features. Dawnkit. He thought, a little admiringly, as if solidifying the name to himself before he'd even gotten confirmation on it.

The little kit gave a wide, thankful smile to the tom for inviting her to eat the prey. She bent down to give them big sniffs before sinking her teeth into the skin and hold the body down with a forepaw. The flavor was sweet and gamey; it felt so right to eat prey. She felt so ready to be able to hunt on her own soon. She flicked her tail side to side excitedly while she ate, occasionally hitting the older tom softly.

Hearing her name, she gently snapped from her food-haze and looked up to the warrior. "Oh yeah, I'm Dawnkit. Like the rising sun, dawn." She purred happily, blinking to him then turning back to take a few more bites with her little teeth. As she was chewing, she decided to ask a question. "Our names are kinda alike, you know? We're both named for the sky." Dawnkit mewed with mouse still in her mouth.

Dayquill chuckled when the she-kit dove into the prey after his assurance, tail waving with excitement. His whiskers twitched the first few times she whacked his legs on accident, but there was something of a rhythm to hit... and she looked so happy to be eating real prey. He didn't have the heart to spin her away from him, or to shift his legs away. He just tipped his head, quietly smiling down at her. The tom offered a nod when she confirmed that was her name, though the assertion that their names were similar gave him pause. Almost, he bristled away from it; but he couldn't help but be endeared by it.

"Yeah, I guess they are pretty similar, huh? Guess we gotta stick together then, Dawnkit." Dayquill looked pleased with that, and in the back of his head he'd already decided he would look after her. "I think they're good names for us." For the she-kit's ears, he left it at that; privately, he added, Like new beginnings for ThunderClan. Tapping his tail against the earth, the pale warrior went on talking, mewing, "I don't think I've talked to a kit so... introspective, before. You're gonna make a good warrior one day if you're already smart like that, yeah?"