new dawn[O]

Dawnkit scrambled out of the nursery, her eyes bright as she took in the camp for the first time. It was so big! the little she-kit darted from one corner to another, trying to see everything, until suddenly she felt teeth grip her scruff and lift her off the ground.

Tawnyshadow gripped Dawnkit's scruff firmly in her jaws and carried the she-kit back to the nursery. "I know you're excited to explore the camp for the first time, but other warriors are all busy working, and you shouldn't disturb them," She scolded the kit lightly, though her stern words were somewhat ruined by her gentle licks on the she-kit's ear.

"blah blah blah" Dawnkit muttered annoyingly under her breath, imitating her adoptive mother's tone of voice.

Tawnyshadow frowned slightly at Dawnkit's immitation of her, though she didn't scold the kit another further. "Why don't we play a game, so that we don't disturb the warriors?" She suggested. Sure, she herself had duties, but she already completed the dawn patrol and a hunting patrol. Surely, she could take a break?

Rolling some moss into a ball, she placed it a foxlength away from the silver tortoiseshell she-kit and mewed, "This is a mouse. You are going to try and pounce on it from here." she then drew a line in the dirt beside Dawnkit.

Dawnkit looked eagerly at the "mouse" and mewed "YES!" and attempted to pounce on the ball of moss.

Watching Dawnkit try and fail was certainly amusing, especially when the she-kit landed a tail-length away from the moss and on her face as well. "Here, try this," She signed, getting into a crouch position to show the kit how to pounce. "Keep your belly off the ground, put most of your weight on your hindlegs, and push when you want to pounce," She instructed.

"Okay!" Dawnkit said excitedly, eyes still fixated on the moss. She got into a crouch position, made sure her belly was not in contact with the ground, channeled her weight to her hindlegs and pounced. However, she still missed the moss, landing at least a meter before the moss. Dawnkit let out a heavy sigh, feeling dejected, annoyed and frustrated all at the same time all because that she could not pounce on the moss.

"That was very good, especially for a first try," Tawnyshadow forced a purr, not wanting the kit to be disappointed. She was still a kit, after all. "It took me a few tries to get it right too," she added, which even though it was a lie, surely other cats had taken a few tries right? It must be normal to not get something on your first try.

Dawnkit beamed a bit to Tawnyshadow's praise and comments but could not help feeling utterly disappointed in herself. What if she never got it right? Then how would she be able to hunt for her clan? wouldn't she be useless if she cannot even pounce? Thoughts like these circled around Dawnkit's mind, making her sad.

seeing that Dawnkit was still feeling a bit down, Tawnyshadow quickly added, "Why don't you try again? Practice makes perfect, afterall."

"sure!" Dawnkit said, though not so eagerly as before. She got into a crouch position again, made sure her belly was not in contact with the ground, channeled her weight to her hindlegs and pounced. However, she missed again. At least, she was closer to the moss compared to before. But she could not hold back her emotions as a deep feeling of sorrow filled her heart.

Tawnyshadow was at loss as to what to say when Dawnkit missed yet again. Was a foxlength too far for a kit to pounce? Or was it a balance problem? "When you pounce, stretch out your frontlegs so that when you land you don't fall over," She added. Was this what it felt like to be a mentor? She needed a lot of practice if that was the case.

Taking Tawnyshadow's advise, Dawnkit tried again. She got into a crouch position, made sure her belly was not in contact with the ground, channeled her weight to her hindlegs and pounced. However, she still missed. She let out a groan and suggested, "How about we do something else? I am bored of pouncing already! Let's do something else for a change! How about I learn battle moves!" While Dawnkit suggested this, her mind had decided. If she could not master pouncing and would be unable to feed the clan, she might as well learn to fight and protect the clan.

Tawnyshadow bit back her words of disapproval. This is just a kit, she'll have plenty of time to learn how to pounce properly. Besides, kits should be having fun. Tawnyshadow took a deep breath and agreed to Dawnkit's suggestion. She raised a paw and slashed through the air.

"Now you try," she mewed. It would be easy enough right?

That looked easy, Dawnkit thought. Dawnkit raised a paw too and slashed her held up paw against an imaginary enemy as Tawnyshadow had done