Make exit make haste (o)

Brightkit was ecstatic. All the queens were tending to their kits, and his mother was elsewhere. He padded out of the nursery, feeling the sunbeams dance across his pelt as he escaped the shade of the trees. The ThunderClan camp may have been pretty boring lately, but the nursery held even more boredom. He was barely ever let out.

He trotted towards a large oak tree and stretched out his body, purring as he basked in the rays of the sun. It was another normal day, well, for leaf-fall at least. The fresh-kill pile was half-empty, and warriors came back tired and exhausted, trying to hunt as much as they could for their clan. The fresh-kill pile looked as full as it would ever be. He was glad the warriors and apprentices managed to catch a lot of prey for the clan.

"If a queen catches me, I'll be sent back to the nursery," he pondered and sighed at the thought.

"You will wish it were a queen who catches you." A russet warrior was stretched out in the sun's rays, scarred face as stoic as ever. She was not good with kits, but she wouldn't pretend to raise someone else's. Her shoulders shook as she coughed, her short fur trying its best to soak up what little sunlight was left. "Normally I would send you back with a lecture, but you've caught me in a good mood. If you stay put with me, I will take the fall if you get yelled at."

The Tom was surprised to see the she-cat sit next to him, but didn't make any movements when she settled in with him. Brightkit nodded, twitching his bright golden tail a bit and shuffling his paws. "Why aren't you hunting?" he meowed.

It was leaf-fall, and the clan needed as much prey as they could catch. The fresh-kill pile was sparse, with only a few mice and a vole. Even Brightkit himself, a growing kit, barely got enough to eat. But he somehow felt comforted in the presence of the warrior, resting his tail on the ground and staring back at her with his big blue eyes, waiting for a response. He didn't want the warrior to leave him, though. Having the company of someone—instead of being alone—was just much more enjoyable, especially to Brightkit, a more extroverted cat instead of one to hide in the shadows.