Misty Nights [c]

Rainkit couldn't sleep. He had heard the now familiar pitterpatter of rain outside his den, and it had sent his heart pounding and his fur standing on edge. He stay curled up in his nest, listening with perked up ears as the rain beat down on the safety of the den. He wasn't afraid, persay, not of the rain anyhow. He knew rain by itself couldn't hurt him. It was more that he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the last time he had experienced rain. When the rain finally petered off, Rainkit had stayed wide awake, and soon enough, became restless. He sat up, taking a deep breath and smoothing out his fur with a couple quick licks. He looked around at the now-sleeping occupants of the den, squinting at the darkness to make out their forms. He finally got completely to his feet, carefully stepping out of his nest and stepping around the sleeping queens and kits.

Briefly he considered waking Crookedkit up. He didn't want to be alone, after all. But Crookedkit was always so energetic, and it seemed like he would need sleep after spending all day bouncing around in the way he does. So Rainkit kept moving, stepping outside the den. The rain hadn't lasted all that long, thankfully. No where near the downpour that Rainkit had gotten stranded in. But it took up most of the evening, and it was nighttime by the time Rainkit poked his head out. To his surprise and delight, the entire area was soaked in a layer of mist and fog, causing a cooling effect to his thick pelt, warm from the inside of the nursery. 

He stepped further out, little paws gingerly batting at the air and admiring the way he cut through the thick fog. He let out a tiny giggle of delight. It was nice, the fog. He liked it. He didn't want to wake anyone up, so he kept quiet as he wandered about, enjoying the way the misty air tickled his whiskers and admiring the natural phenomena. He walked up on a few crunchy leaves. He glanced around. He couldn't see anyone through the fog, so he wiggled down on his haunches and launched upward, landing on the leaves with another soft giggle. In a rare show of playfulness, he played for a few moments like he hadn't since his arrival to the Skyclan camp. He pounced on the crunchy leaves, letting out soft 'mrps' every time he successfully made a catch. He was finally starting to get his energy back, and it felt nice to forget about everything and play around again.

As he landed once more, he stumbled, rolling over himself until he tumbled into a fluffy mass. He let out a squeaky mew of surprise, stumbling to his feet with a puffed up tail. He blinked at the warrior he ran right into and took a step back, ducking his head apologetically. "Sorry!" He says, still keeping his voice hushed so he didn't bother anyone else. "I didn't mean to run into you."

 

Rainkit shook out his fur, trying to get rid of the restless energy still clinging to his fur as surely as the fog around them. He sat down in front of the older cat, tugging his tail around his paws. "Yes ma'am," He promised softly. "I was just having trouble sleeping and I wanted to get some air. I'm sorry again for running into you, I wasn't paying attention."

He shifted from paw to paw for a moment. Then he remembered Birdchaser's gentle encouragements to get to know his other clanmates, and so he asked, "What's your name? I'm Rainkit." As he said his name, he felt the familiar rush of warmth at the name given to him by Birdchaser. By this point it had become a part of him, but that didn't meant that the novelty had quite worn off.