Small Paws, Big Hearts [Cricketkit]

Cricketkit slunk towards the entrance of the nursery, squinting against a blast of frigid wind that tickled the fluffy fur around her ears. She liked to stay with Paledove, buried deep in the warmth of the queen’s thick fur, but the outside beckoned. She edged along the tight-tangled wall, ears pinned back and the fur along her spine bristled like something might jump at her from the shadows. Her original intention had been to just watch, but now the sky was getting kind of dark and maybe she should just duck back into the nursery and hide behind her mother until her heart stopped beating so fast.

She froze, silhouetted against the bracken, and dropped into a crouch, pupils blown wide. A light gray, fluffy tail swayed back and forth, back and forth. Cricketkit followed it with an intense concentration, every muscle poised to spring. Her previous fear was forgotten, as every atom of her being zeroed in on the hunt. She wiggled her haunches, adjusting her stance just slightly,and sprung. Her lithe body arched through in air, releasing all the tightly coiled power in her tiny frame. It felt like she was flying, but in reality it had only been a little leap with her clumsy kitten legs. Through pure luck and the aid of a large target, she landed dead on, curling her sharp claws into the fluffy fur with a little mrrph of pride.

The white and tabby she-kit looked up at the towering molly, looking incredibly guilty. Suddenly Cricketkit felt very small in her mighty shadow. One paw still holding down her wiggling catch, she raised the other defensively, readying herself for a strike. One dark ear and one white ear pinned back, and she showed all her tiny pearly teeth in an open-mouthed hiss.

Cricketkit’s ears stayed pinned back, but her bristled fur relaxed, making her look less like a scraggly burr with eyes and more like a kitten. She didn’t say anything, just looked up at the deputy with suspicion heavy in her gaze. She flattened herself defensively over Wolfblossom’s tail, like she was guarding it. She hovered for a moment, taking quick darting glances at the hulking molly before her eyes skittered away. Satisfied that no one was going to come steal her catch, the kit flopped onto her side, wrapping her front paws around the deputy’s fluffy tail and digging into the fur with her back claws. She had her prize in a death-grip, now it would never escape, and nobody could take it from her.

Slowly her ears lifted, one twitching uncertainty. “I’m Cricketkit.” She said softly, her gaze slowly shifting into one of reluctant curiosity. Shy again, the she-kit ducked her head into the feathery fringe of Wolfblossom’s tail, like she was trying to hide. "You really promise you won’t tell anyone?” The kit asked in a whisper, gripping tighter to the deputy’s tail. "Ospreykit steals my things all the time. She can't know about this, or she'll come take it too.” A growl bubbled in her throat, but it died quickly, like the kit suddenly realised someone might hear her. She glanced around nervously, waiting for her sister to pop up and try to claim her hard-won prize like she did with the mossballs.

Cricketkit nodded once, narrowing her eyes and staring Wolfblossom down for a moment, searching for any hint of dishonesty in her gaze. Satisfied that the massive warrior was telling the truth she relaxed slightly. The she-kit perked her ears up at the praise, a small bubble of warmth burst open in her chest. It felt good to be good at something she deicded.

“I’ll be good at hunting, i’m sneaky.” Cricketkit said softly, before kicking at the deputy’s tail with her back feet in a show of ferocity. Slowly she forgot to be suspicious of the sort-of stranger at all. The hunt was all she was focused on now. She took a quick nip at her captured prey, shaking her head in a mock death-bite. “I’m  a mighty hunter, but i’m also reasonable,” She mewed looking up at Wolfblossom with a playful light in her eyes. “I’ll let you go, if you give me something else to kill.”

Cricketkit’s pupils widened to twin black voids. She flattened her ears, tail lashing behind her. The pile of leaves did look threatening. Anything could be hiding in there. Gingerly she released Wolfblossom’s tail and rolled over, flattening her fluffy body against the ground in an apprehensive crouch. One white paw creeped forward slowly, then a brown paw, until the kit was taking slow, slinking steps towards the leaf pile. Her ears stayed flat back, and her white belly fur just barely brushed the ground. The she-kit glanced towards the nursery, feeling a flare of confidence. If something dangerous was in the pile, then she could yowl at the top of her lungs, and Mother would be there to help. Cricketkit had a reputation to uphold now and she didn’t want to disappoint. She stayed perfectly still in a puddle of shadow afforded by the gloomy sky, whiskers twitching in the cold breeze. She was a mighty hunter, and these poor leaves, all crumbled and pitiful at the unkind hands of leaf-bare, were her unsuspecting prey. She wiggled her haunches, and with a push of her kitten legs, sprung at the pile.

Cricketkit landed in the deep pile of leaves with a heady crunch. The sound swallowed her as the white and tabby she-kit flailed in the leaves. They were growling at her! Eyes narrowed and fur bristling at the relentless onslaught of unexpected crackling, Cricketkit knew she was outnumbered. She jumped out of the pile like her tail was on fire, twisting around right before she hit the ground to land on her feet. Her normally fluffy tail was now doubled in size. She spun around, claws glinting, and hissed fiercely at the pile, like she had done to Wolfblossom earlier. Though her threat was diminished slightly since she was covered in dead bits of crushed leaves. “I wear the blood of your kin you cowards.” She growled right back at the leaf pile, eyes flashing in equal parts rage and terror.

A gust of wind stirred the pile, and Cricketkit’s whole pelt bristled up against their noisy advance. She turned around and fled,  ducking into the massive molly’s shadow. She growled quietly in the direction of the leaves from behind the relative safety of Wolfblossom’s broad back.