Tiny Trouble in Four Trees? [Open]

Shadekit was on the prowl. Her pawsteps are light and quiet as she crept along in the undergrowth, belly pressed low to the ground. Little good that did, as her fur kept getting snagged by stray briars and twigs, utterly ruining her stealth. She was not built for forests and all the close-tangled trees. Not that she noticed, she was hyper-focused on the clearing and its bustle of bodies. She was looking for the perfect target, some cat her size, someone willing to tussle with her, given her favorite pastime was rolling around in the dirt and she was bored of leaves that didn't hit back.

Her claws sunk into the soft soil as she crouched, golden eyes glinting like fireflies in the dark. The thrill of the hunt rushed through her, warming her to her claw tips. With a triumphant growl, the she-kit hurtled herself from the bushes and towards her unsuspecting target, ready to use her momentum to bowl them over and have a good scuffle. Maybe it was impolite to pounce before introducing herself, but Shadekit had a heart that yearned for open space and a good-natured scrap. She could only get the latter currently. Surely the other kits felt just as pent-up as she was and would be happy to indulge in a friendly brawl. It was good practice, after all.

Shadekit let out a delighted purr when the kit’s angry hiss turned playful. She let herself be bowled over when he pounced and reached up to bat at the side of his head with sheathed claws. Her fur ruffled up, making her tail look comedically bushy as it lashed in the dirt. Growling playfully when he gets a hold of her scruff, the she-kit kicked out at his underbelly with her back feet, flipping them both over in the process. They rolled a few times before Shadekit jumped away, stray leaves snagged in her pelt. Her eyes were bright are happy as her tail whiped back and forth. She pined her ears in a show of bravado before her front paw struck out and swatted him playfully across the nose.

“I’m Shadekit, you’re way better at this than my littermates!” She mewed, and wiggled her hips before pouncing again. She easily pushed him down with a paw pressed onto his narrow shoulder blades and bit at his ear, careful not to press too hard. “Though they’re all a bit bigger than you.” She teased.

She flipped over, letting him up, and landed on her side, belly exposed. Her tail flicked up and down, paws batting at him from the ground. She looked anything but fierce, with leaves and dust all clumped in her fur, but her teeth were sharp and exposed, glinting white from her dark face, encouraging another mock attack. “I’m going to fight so well when I’m a warrior that the other clans will flee when they see me coming!” She growled happily, sounding very confident despite her tangled fur and gangly legs.

A very young kit sat crouched, tail and paws tucked firmly under her little body in the middle of Fourtrees. Having been born surrounded by all the clans, Snailkit knew nothing of their differences. Her parents said they lived someplace else, that this was only temporary, but she loved it here! It was always warm and filled with all sorts of sounds from the many, many cats. Most everyone was very nice - she didn't realize that it was likely only because she was a kitten - and there was always someone new to play with. Case in point: two kits who smelled a little like grass under the milk-scent tussling in an open spot. The she-kit's eyes widened like saucers as she quickly scrambled forward and not-so-gracefully pounced onto the one who flopped on the ground.

"I got you!" She announced, her high-pitched mew devolving into delighted giggling. The little kitten didn't even know who these other kits were, but she was determined to have the time of her life! Until her mom or dad eventually found her and dragged her back among the rest of their "clan", which she didn't know what that was either.

Shadekit flicked an ear. “Probably, the queens say I’ll be out of the nursery soon!” She said with an edge of pride in her voice. This is what really made the kit happy, rolling around and swiping with claws that had no real bite. It made her forget the tug of homesickness that bristled under her fur from time to time. It was strange to long for a place she barely remembered, missing the feeling of the sun on her fur and the smell of the sky more than somewhere tangible. It was just different here. But all of that was fuzzy and far removed when she had the sting of a fight in her blood, as innocent and low-stakes as this one was. Trading softened blows and insults with no real kick settled something that rolled around unhappily in her chest. It was easy to forget the strangeness of it all with a playmate to tussle with.

Shadekit laughed, bracing herself for the expected pounce. “Maybe if you stood on my shoulders so they could see you-oof!” The attack did not come from Lightningkit, but instead a bundle of white and tabby fur that had just ambushed her. She kicked out with a hindleg playfully before the tom-kit knocked the new assailant away. The new kit didn’t quite smell like WindClan, but the scent tangles were too confusing to make out.

Shadekit pulled herself off the ground into a seated position, tail still flicking back and forth. “Hey now, there’s plenty of tail-kicking to go around. I could take you both.” She said with a playful flash of her teeth. “But yeah, who’re you? I haven’t seen you with the WindClan queens, you must be from another clan.” Shadekit tilted her head, curious. “Not that it matters much, I’ll show anyone how fierce WindClan is.” Her tone was still playful, lacking any real malice, but the kit pulled her shoulders back a little, obviously proud of her heritage. “Lightningkit too! We’re going to be warriors one day, if I don’t accidentally squish him before then.” She mewed, but the fond flick of her tail over the other kit’s back softened her teasing.

The young kit let out another bout of bubbly laughter even as she was swatted and tackled. She made sure to give the tom kit a few good smacks of her own before he let her go. Instead of getting up though, she started wiggling around in the dirt, full of pent-up energy. Her mother would certainly have some choice words to share with her later about proper behavior, but that thought didn’t cross her mind now. She paused in her excited wriggling to listen to the grey kitten speak. They were gonna be warriors? ‘Woah.’

It hadn’t occurred to the kit that she was going to become a warrior too, somewhere along the line. No matter, she still had a good few moons left to go before she really had to think about it.

“Shadekit… and Light-en-ingkit,” she spoke slowly and deliberately to make sure she said it right, looking at the two before jolting upright in realization. She hadn’t said her own name, and both of them had asked! Dummy. “I’m Snailkit! I think my mom says we’re Sha-dow-Clan! She also says we’re only supposed to be awake at night, but it’s hard when everyone else is awake during the day.” Her mother was in fact taking a nap at this very moment, unaware that her daughter was gallivanting with rival clan cats. It was the only reason she could be interacting with them right now. Her chest felt that bit lighter. “I’ve never been to where she says “camp” is. Do you know what yours is like?” Even while she was talking, her little paws itched to wrestle some more, one halfway raised in preparation to smack.