not afraid of shadows [c]

It was nearing daybreak, and the pre-dawn sky was streaked with the pinks and reds, Sunfire noticed, as he slowly made his way across camp, towards the warriors' den. He'd been awake for some hours now, having already hunted a bit this morning, and, thankfully, actually being successful this time. One of the scrawny sparrows he'd managed to catch became his breakfast - the first he'd had in days - and the other was dangling from his jaws. Arriving at the mouth of the den, Sunfire poked his head inside, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom before picking his way around a few sleeping warriors until he found his mother's form curled in her nest, asleep. Gingerly, so as not to disturb her, the tom placed the sparrow beside her, where it would be the first thing she saw upon opening her eyes.

Mission accomplished, he crept out of the den and into the first few weak rays of sunlight. But there was no rest for him today - he had plans, and those plans involved one of his daughters. So across the camp to the apprentices' den he went, stepping just inside and over to Bubblepaw, and careful not to wake the others. "Bubblepaw," he said quietly, rasping a tongue across the top of her head. "Wake up, kid, we're burning daylight."

Bubblepaw had been dreaming of one of her favorite memories of kithood--the day when Daddy had come to visit them and let them try grown-up prey for the first time. It felt almost real as she bit into the piece of mouse, feeling the juicy flavor burst across her tongue, loving every second. But she wasn't full yet. She wanted more. So she turned to get another piece. And another. For some reason, she still felt even hungrier the more she ate. It was when she was finally, desperately, turning to ask her father what was wrong that she heard his voice. Telling her to... wake up?

Disoriented, groggy, the gray apprentice forced her heavy eyes to open. There was no mouse. No sunlit days in the nursery. Right now, there was only hunger. But she was determined to stay optimistic, so as she looked up, she offered Sunfire as warm of a smile as she could get. "Okay, Daddy! I'm coming." Ignoring the way her stomach was protesting, she slowly stood up, stretched, then followed him out of camp. "Another hunting patrol today? Where we goin'? You're so good, I'm sure we'll catch a million birds, no matter what!"