A Big Bright Beautiful Day [O]

Blackbear yawned, mouth wide open amd teeth on proud display. She wasn't tired, per se, but she found herself in a rare state of 'chill'. That is, she didn't feel an immediate and insatiable need to claw a hole through the nearest tree. Maybe it was the mild weather, or the hunt she'd just gone on. Either way, Crookedkit's odds of survival were remarkably high when the young tom approached Blackbear of all cats.

She blinked, too surprised that a kit had approached her willingly to remember to look scary. She'd forgotten how... Small they were. She'd never been that small, she was sure of it. She lifted a paw idly over its head, noting that she could cover almost its whole body with a paw. "You're tiny, pipsqueak. Your mom doesn't feed ya?" She lowered her paw, pressing on his head a little. "I eat animals your size." She couldn't imagine herself being anything but massive. How could he survive being so tiny?

Stoatpaw lay sprawled out just outside the apprentice den. He had gone hunting every single day, and while he loved it, it was all he did. Stoatpaw deserved a day off, or at least he thought so. One lazy day wouldn't affect Skyclan. His eyes drooped, sleep coming to him. That was until he saw Blackbear. The sight of her was enough to set him on edge, but seeing the kit in front of her banished any thought of sleep from his mind. There was no way he could let that beast be alone with a kit, even if she was in the middle of camp. He could barely hear the words coming from her maw, but he got the gist of it. Stretching slightly as he got up, Stoatpaw trotted over to the two. "Hey Blackbear, who's this?" His tone portayed a confidence he did not feel.

Willowpaw was coming out of the apprentices den when she spotted Blackbear (who she was a bit scared of) and Stoatpaw talking to one of the kits. She padded over to the kit. "Hi, I'm Willowpaw, what's your name?" Willowpaw knew she probably had some duties to do or a patrol to go out on, but she could spare a few moment to talk to a kit, especially one as small as this.

Blackbear growled curiously, lowering her head to see eye-to-eye with the tiny creature. She'd never much questioned the existence of kits. They were an explanation for the annoying noises always emanating from the nursery, to be heard and not seen. It was weird, actually talking to one. She opened her mouth to question him, but then a slightly familiar voice caught her ear. She turned to look at the apprentice, one paw still on Crookedkit's head.

"Stoatpaw. This is..." She turned back to the kit as he introduced himself. It was a good name, she figured. He did have a crooked tooth. It made him talk weird. With every passing second, Blackbear found herself more and more interested in the tiny cat. Though she couldn't fathom why he'd want to meet his Clanmates. Most of them were at best deeply annoying. Some of them made her want to murder people. Stoatpaw, for example, fell on the former end of the scale. "Don't bother. You know me, you know Stoatpaw here..." She growled the word 'Stoatpaw', shooting him a sidelong glance. "You don't need to know anyone. Except the leader, I guess. And Birdchaser." She removed her paw from the kit's head.

A third cat approached, one she didn't know. Though today was, relatively speaking, a good day for her, she found her ears flattening slightly. She was having a conversation, why did these apprentices keep barging in where they weren't wanted? She was willing to tolerate Stoatpaw, at least. But she didn't give Willowpaw so much as a greeting, choosing instead to quietly growl to herself.

Stoatpaw couldn't deny it, the kit was cute. A little too cute. Just the way Crookedkit spoke had the apprentice forgetting about the beast that threatened to crush the little bundle of fur. He had tried to be stoic in front of Blackbear, but he couldn't help the giddy smile that split his face. A failure to be sure. "Crookedkit... you're-" he was cut off my Blackbear. The growl and accompanying look she sent his way snapped him back to the reality of the situation. "There's nothing wrong with knowing your clantmates." He shot back before turning his attention back to Crookedkit. "Everyone in Skyclan is really friendly, don't listen to Blackbear."

Willowpaw's approach only complicated things. Blackbear's constant growling had Stoatpaw stepping closer to Willowpaw, on the off chance the warrior chose violence. Stars, how could he protect both these cats? Opening his mouth to introduce the kit, he promptly shut it. Any opportunity to hear Crookedkit speak was a blessing from Starclan.