Do the Monsters Dance at Night? [O]

Falconkit, days away from his apprentice ceremony no doubt, was having yet another night of troubled sleep. For as long as the kit could remember, he'd been plagued with nightmares when he slept. It was rare that he got a true full night of rest, but none of his dreams were all that memorable. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He had become too big for the nursery really, another sign that he was due to become an apprentice soon. Instead of lying there, thrashing around in his sleep or crying out to wake his siblings and mother... again... the kit stepped outside of the nursery for some fresh air. Falconkit was tired... his eyelids heavy despite his racing heart from the newest bad dream. He couldn't recall anything very clearly, just brief glimpses of the night and shapeless monsters within it.

Falconkit looked around the quiet camp as he settled into a loaf outside the nursery. He was no Shadowclan cat, but he could still see well enough to know there were no monsters in the dark. As his ears swiveled this way and that way, all he could hear was the typical night sounds of leaf-bare, which was almost nothing. It was eerily quiet rather than comfortingly quiet. Alone and still very tired, Falconkit let his imagination run. A part of him wanted to try to remember his nightmare and wondered if it was the same recurring one or not. Another part of him wanted to forget about it for awhile and just try to focus on what it would be like to be a warrior. He would finally learn how to hunt and fight! He would start getting respect and recognition!

Falconkit loved his family, but there was a burning desire in him to be more than what he was. He wanted to be more than just their sibling or just another warrior in a sea of endless warriors. He wanted more... If he wanted it, he was determined to get it. A chilly breeze blew by and he lowered his head against it. All of these things that he wanted would come to him in time, he knew, but he still felt impatient. His apprentice ceremony couldn't come fast enough.

Graykit had been woken by something, or rather someone. It had been on the tip of her tongue to growl at being woken before realizing it was her brother. Sleep had never came easy to him for some reason, and unfortunately that resulted in being woken up more than anyone would have liked. It wasn't Falconkit's fault, she knew, and so Graykit simply closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Wolfblossom usually checked on him, but it seemed the deputy was out cold for once. After a few minutes of trying to sleep, Graykit opened her eyes. Falconkit wasn't beside her... And sleep was now eluding her.

Carefully, trying not to disturb her other siblings or their mother, Graykit stood and made her way toward the nursery entrance. Falconkit sat just outside the nursery, and after a moment of hesitation Graykit padded toward him. "Hey," She mewed softly, flopping down beside her brother and pressing against him for a moment.

The one good thing about the nursery being so full right now, with Wolfblossom plus the bulk of four large, fluffy kits, was that when everyone was asleep, it was warm. Sunkit liked the warmth... he liked basking in the rays of dawn, when the ground was warm from sunlight. He liked curling between his siblings and his mother, sharing their body heat as they dozed beside him. What he didn't like, was being woken up while it was still dark outside as Graykit pulled away from their pile of bodies. Grumpily, the tom's yellow eyes opened and followed his sister from the den. Where in StarClan's name was she going at this hour?

Then he noticed that Falconkit, too, was missing. Only Quickkit snoozed quietly beside him, and he was suddenly guilty for being annoyed. Reluctant but determined, he uncurled and followed his siblings, shaking out his coat as he made it to the entrance and paused to see where they'd gone. Not too far, and... not alone, apparently. His eyes narrowed slightly on the pointed she-cat that had approached them, and as he padded closer, he caught the tail end of her statement. Sunkit made it over to them, dropping his head to butt Falcon gently, and then glancing back up at the apprentice as he sat next to Graykit. "Just because our mom took care of you doesn't make you our sister." he stated matter-of-factly, flicking his gaze up and then down her.

Falconkit hadn't expecting anyone to join him, but he wasn't bothered by it. Graykit approached and sat beside him and he gave her a gentle sideways headbutt in greeting. "Hi. I'll be in bed again soon I just wanted to wind down a bit first." He told her gently with a small reassuring smile. His ears pricked forward when an apprentice approached. Juniperpaw? Okay... He didn't know what exactly to say to this apprentice. Because their mother raised her that made her a sister? Falconkit managed to keep his emotions concealed, but the thoughts in his head didn't dissipate.

Siblings were raised by the same parents, but what made someone a brother or a sister was the warmth that was shared between them. The bond was more important than anything, even blood. Falconkit didn't want to be rude necessarily, but he wasn't sure how to respond either.

"Uh... well... hi. I've been outside the nursery a lot actually." He glanced at Graykit, uncertain of what else to say. He would have an apprentice ceremony himself fairly soon, but again, he was doing his best to be pleasant. Sunkit made his presence known at that moment, and while Falconkit didn't agree with his lack of tact, he didn't disagree with his words either.

Curious, he watched Juniperpaw for a reaction. The best way to tell a lot about someone was to be nasty or blunt with them. Falconkit didn't have it in him to do that just yet it seemed. He was content to wait for now, curious to watch this interaction unfold. At least his mind had been taken off of his nightmares for now.

"Alright," Graykit nodded at Falconkit, but before she could say anything else a pale she-cat with dark fur across her face had approached. She certainly seemed cheery for this hour, introducing herself as Juniperpaw. Wolfblossom had helped raise her, and apparently this made them siblings of a sort. "Yeah, we've been in camp before... Nice to meet you." She hadn't heard Sunkit approach, but her brother seemed to have no qualms about speaking his thoughts, and Graykit winced internally, giving Sunkit a look. He didn't need to be rude about it! She didn't know Juniperpaw and disagreed that a cat who raised her would make them siblings, but Wolfblossom, she expected, would have wanted them to at least be nice to the apprentice. She fell quiet, just as unsure as Falconkit seemed to be of what to say.

Neither of his siblings seemed sure what to say, but Sunpaw was undeterred. He sat and stared at Juniperpaw, yellow eyes sharp and observant. It appeared he'd hurt her feelings with his matter of factness, but he didn't particularly care. If she was hurt by the truth, that was her own problem, not his. Still, though, Wolfblossom had told them about Juniperpaw, and the deputy did seem fond of the apprentice, so it was only fair they gave her a chance.

"I think friend is an acceptable word," he said with a polite smile. Sunpaw relaxed his body language, curling his feathery tail around his paws and bobbing his head in a pleased nod. "We're due to be apprentices any day now, so maybe we will get to train together."