I'm In Your Walls [c]

Foxkit was outside, battering a mossball between his paws, when one of his denmates suddenly came blustering outside. Or not really blustering, honestly--it didn’t seem like all that big of a production at all. But it drew Foxkit’s attention immediately. He recognized the other kit quickly as Asterkit, one of the pawful that were born at the same time as Harespring’s kits. Foxkit’s ears wiggled curiously. He was ready to abandon his mossball and approach the other tom kit, but before he could get close enough to chat, Asterkit was gone. Foxkit blinked after him and tilted his head curiously to the side. Weird... He thought with a flick of his tail.

Disappearing on him wasn’t enough to deter him, though. Foxkit trotted after the dust that Asterkit’s paws kicked up, following him around to the back of the nursery. And boy, Asterkit really was a weirdo: for whatever reason, he was currently scaling the den. Well, Foxkit supposed he didn’t need a reason to play along. They wouldn’t get in trouble for this, right?

Shaking himself out, he stretched out and hooked his claws in the weavings that made up the nursery. His hindpaws scrabbled through the air as he hauled himself upright. Slowly, claw by claw, he dragged himself far enough up to be nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Asterkit, both of them suspended against the den. When he reached the other tom, Foxkit turned toward him with a lopsided smile and said, rather simply, ”Hey.” His ears twitched and then he set his sights upward and started to climb again. ”I heard you muttering about something over there. Somethin’ scare ya into climbing on top of the nursery, or what?”

Foxkit snickered quietly at the dramatic cough Asterkit let out. Was he really that easy to startle? Well, if he wasn’t, he was certainly easy to get riled up. Foxkit’s whiskers twitched with amusement at the way he whispered his title, though he said nothing--for the moment. He just let Asterkit squawk about himself, and accepted the paw offered to him once he was close enough to. Foxkit shook out his pelt once he was standing upright and took a moment just to look around. He’d never been this high up before… his eyes went a little wide at the view. He could only imagine how it felt to be in the trees.

He blinked out of his fascination and turned back to Asterkit. ”Ha!” Foxkit’s chest puffed out as he released the laugh. ”I’m not scared of anything, neither. Nothing, ever! I bet I could take on the whole wide world.” A dark ginger paw scuffed the ground and Foxkit’s eyes sheepishly slid away. ”’Cept, y’know... Dad.” Just like Asterkit, he whispered the admission. Then he gave himself another shake and whipped his head back up. ”So if you aren’t scared of anything, Aster the Great, what actually brought ya up here?”

Foxkit listened while Asterkit spoke. It was… a genius idea, actually. His own smile rose to match Asterkit’s. Neither of his parents were particularly overbearing--except in Otter’s case--and his siblings weren’t too clingy, either, but… Foxkit did enjoy his time spent by himself. He surveyed camp one more time before turning back to his now-best-friend. ”I think you might be the smartest kit in the nursery,” he purred, whapping his tail against Asterkit’s flank in commendation.

His mouth remained open to continue on answering Aster’s question, and Foxkit almost gave an honest Nah, I don’t really mind ‘em, but his jaw snapped back shut before the words could form. He liked Asterkit so far--he wanted Asterkit to think he was cool. And if the other tomkit was fleeing from his family, he’d probably think Foxkit’s affection for his family was lame. Foxkit puffed out his chest and proudly declared, ”Yeah, duh. They never get outta my fur.” He sniffed between words. ”I mean, I love ‘em, but it’s a little much, y’know? I know I’m the coolest big brother in the world, but come on, right?”