wow wow [C]

The arrival of Nectarflower’s litter meant a whole new crowd of bodies wriggling around to take up space in the nursery. But… well, new faces were new faces. And Falconkit had taken a particular interest in Nectarflower’s litter. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he felt like he just had to get to know them. Most of them, at least; Snakekit wasn’t all that fascinating, but all the others? They had his full attention. Slowly, he was getting to know each of them, whether he sought them out or vice versa. Today, he was going seeking. There was a grouse dragging between his teeth and his eyes were set on Cloudkit, grooming down her pelt across camp.

Falconkit padded over and paused right in front of her. ”Hey there,” he purred after setting down the bird. ”You hungry--fancy a meal together? I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.” Falconkit punctuated the sentence by winking and issuing a flourish with his tail.

”Something like that,” Falconkit laughed in response. He picked up the grouse again and gestured with his head for Cloudkit to follow. Then he padded just a little further out of the way, where they would be properly out of the way, and settled down. He slouched halfway onto his side and his tail waved casually across the ground while he waited for Cloudkit to approach. When she had, he purred, ”You go ahead and have first bite. You’re my guest, after all.” Falconkit stretched out his forelegs and flopped fully onto his side. ”So, tell me about yourself, Cloudkit. What’s your favorite piece of prey? What’re ya most looking forward to about becoming an apprentice one day?”

There was something kind of…soft about Cloudkit. Or maybe soft was the wrong word--maybe it was fragility. Every movement she made was measured and small, dainty. Falconkit watched her curiously while he made that observation. He wondered if it was self-imposed containment or if she was just the prim, withdrawn sort by nature. He couldn’t imagine being like that. He could, however, find fascination with it.

”Obviously rabbit’s good. We’re in WindClan.” Falconkit laughed, tail swishing. ”Glad you said you like bird, though. I would’ve been embarrassed if I brought you something you couldn’t stand.” His nose wrinkled with humor and he rolled back upright. He plucked a few feathers from the grouse and took a bite from it himself. Cloudkit answered while he chewed and he nodded quietly along. Proving herself? Now that was interesting--and something many cats, Falconkit found, were fixated on. His tail rose and fell again. He couldn’t claim to share the sentiment.

After he swallowed, Falconkit shrugged and said, ”Dunno. Not a lotta options, huh?” WindClan had plenty of warriors, sure… but they already had plenty of apprentices too, and currently, they had an overabundance of kits. ”’S long as it’s not my dad, I’ll be okay. Love ‘im, but I don’t wanna deal with the pressure.” Falconkit shifted slightly to rest his chin on his paws in between bites of food. ”And personally, I think I’m just looking forward to checking out a Gathering. Training sounds like a lot of hard work, but those sound fun. Can you imagine how many cats there’ll be there to meet? You’re excited for your first one too, aren’t you?”