Hello, world! [o]

Dandelionkit

The sky was clear, a painted tapestry of golden orange and pink hues that marked the coming of dawn over the WindClan camp. The strange light had captured the attention of a tiny furry bundle inside the nursery. The kit opened his eyes, screwing them up as they adjusted to the bright rays shining into the darkness of the cozy den.

Light.

An urge passed through the kit's mind, and he didn't quite understand it, but something stirred in his tiny limbs and he scrambled clumsily from the comfort of his mother's flank, padding slowly and uncertainly up through the tunnel, closer to the light. The air grew more and more unpleasant, like tiny claws in his pelt and eyes as he approached the entrance of the nursery.

Cold!

He fluffed up his downy kit fur against the shock of the bitter air and peered out across the clearing. Large silhouettes streaked across the camp, going to and fro, the little kit couldn't keep up with them. It made the world spin, and he sat down to steady himself, squinting against the rising sunlight.

Cloudypetal silently dedicated herself to helping rebuild the poor nursery. his didn't feel like home, to her at least, but she was going to make sure that the new kits would find comfort and warmth in every corner. She had approached the nursery with her mission in mind, carrying the driest and softest clump of moss she could find - which wasn't the easiest. She planned to ask the queens about their night and whether any drafts needed to be repaired for the upcoming days.

Though, what she didn't expect to find was a small kit testing the boundaries of the nursery. Her heart warmed, remembering her late night and early morning adventures into the camp clearing. It all felt so trivial now that she almost forgot that she was afraid to leave the nursery at one point, too.

"Good morning kiddo," She purred in a hush whisper - muffled by the moss that she was carrying. "Is your mom awake? I've brought something you'll like!"

She didn't even know the kit's name. Embarrassing - but she's about to learn! This could be a kit she ends up mentoring in the future.

Dandelionkit

The kit jumped at the sudden voice and opened his eyes wide to stare at her. The warrior was much larger than he, and much larger than his own mother, and she had a clump of moss in her jaws. His eyes, having just opened, were still a milky kit-blue as he observed her and noticed her broad shoulders and fluffy fur, a dusty brown color with grey and orange patches. This was what his mother had told him was a warrior.

He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he barely registered that the she-cat was speaking to him.
"Mama is sleepy," he squeaked simply in response to her question, tilting his head. "Something for me?" What could this stranger possibly be bringing for him? Moss?

Dandelionkit

Dandelionkit was suddenly aware of a presence looming behind him. He cast his milky gaze over his shoulder and saw another kit, larger than himself, stretched out and stealing a sniff. Cautiously Dandelionkit drew himself away. Tiny? he thought. Me?

Just then, another one of his denmates, Sunkit came barreling forward, clumsy as he always seemed to be. Dandelionkit jumped out of his way and stumbled, falling over and letting out a distressed cry. "Too loud, too loud!" he complained, flattening his ears, and appreciated the kit's mother giving him a warning glare. He lifted himself to his tiny, shaky paws. Bright outside, said Sunkit in a softer voice.

It was his first day crawling out of the big, cozy den, and these cats had to come be loud and scary. Everything felt so overwhelming to the tiny kit. Every sound seemed too loud, every scent too strong, every unfocused and blurry image too bright, the air too cold. Too much. The little kit began mewling quietly in distress, shivering with mixed fear and cold, and backing away slowly into the safety of the nursery. Too much!

Sleepyhollow nodded down to Stoatkit in agreement, he is really small, but just in a kit way. They all grew at some point.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a bright orange kit barreling from the nursery mewing greetings to all of them, to which she offered a smile and a wave of her tail. Her smile faltered slightly at Dandelionkit's reaction to the gregarious tom. She almost got up herself when Stoatkit started to reassure his denmate.

Now this kid, she liked this one. It was rare for her to see such empathy in kittens, usually it was all: what's for dinner, where's mama, when can I get out of the nursery? She couldn't remember the last time she had seen such deep care for a den mate. It was the true spirit of a warrior - thinking of others before themselves.

She made a mental reminder to keep an eye on his apprenticeship, she had a feeling he would become a strong warrior. Perhaps she would put in a word with Tigerstar and see if she could take on another apprentice. It had been a few moons since her last apprentice, one had disappeared and the other had died of chronic weakness on her moonstone journey. She was ready for a new apprentice, hopefully soon. It would be nice to have a purpose again. Yes.

Sleepyhollow snapped her gaze to the bright orange kit. The warrior was embarrassed to say she couldn't remember his name, though her question was answered when Stoatkit said it. Sunkit. Ah. Made sense. He was very...sunny.

"He's just excited to be out of the nursery. Stoatkit's right, don't be afraid." she added, her eyes sympathetic.

Dandelionkit

Friendly?
Is that what Sunkit was doing? Being friendly, is all?
As Stoatkit ran his tail down his spine, Dandelionkit felt the need to draw away from the touch. It felt wrong, and he already felt overwhelmed enough without being touched, too. He flinched, his golden eyes flickering around to and from all the cats surrounding him. Too much.

"No touch," he mewed softly at Stoatkit, his fluffy kitten fur instinctively fluffing up along his spine. Though they meant him no harm, Dandelion couldn't help but feel cornered by all these cats. Big warriors, clumsy kits, too much noise and too much touching.

"Want mama," he mewled, and curled himself up into a tight little ball in an effort to make himself as tiny as possible. "Outside bright, loud, lots of cats." There he laid, visibly trembling but unable to move. His ears pinned to the back of his head, and he clamped his eyes shut. "Better."

Cloudypetal watched the unfolded scene in shock - empathy lingered in her eyes. Poor little guy. She had intended to bring a touch of comfort to the nursery - they had gone through so much lately. Unfortunately, she seemed to contribute to a whirlwind of emotions for the tiny Dandelionkit. She gently sat the moss down near the nursery, making sure not to intrude on his personal space.

"It's alright, little one. I understand it's a lot to take in. Sunkit didn't meant to scare you, I promise." She mewed, her voice gentle and soft. "I just brought some soft moss for your nests. It's warm and cozy. You can do whatever you like with it. If you need help to make your nest more comfortable, I can help with that too."

She glanced at Stoatkit and Sleepyhollow, slightly thanking them for their efforts to reassure him. Maybe I should redirect them? "Do you kits want to play mossball?" She purred softly, hoping they'd accept her offer. "Give Dandelionkit some space. He's allowed to stay in the safety of the nursery as long as he needs to! He'll come out whenever he's ready." She insisted.