Treading on clouds[Lion/open]

[.:Lion:.]

Lastsong tried not to smile as the kit got snippy with him.

"Some cats talk just to hear the sounds of their own voices." He meowed with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. He took some of the salve he had made and began rubbing it on the paw.

"And other cats bicker just to make themselves feel less stupid for getting hurt in the first place." The whiskers above Lastsong's eyes rose slightly as he fixed his gaze on the kit.

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit almost smiled at Lastsong's retort, almost being the operative word. "Or else because they know they're going to win the argument because they're too stubborn to give up." he meowed with a grin. That pretty much summed up Drizzlekit's personality. He knew he'd eventually win, because the argument would eventually wittle down to the inevitable yes-no back-and-forth things that he was so prone into doing.

Sandswirl gave an unladylike snort and rolled her eyes. "Don't even start, Drizzlekit. Just let the medicine cat treat you so you can fight again tomorrow."

Drizzlekit scowled at her before shrugging. "If you say so." He looked at Hazekit with a smirk. "Just so you know, I totally won that fight."

[.:Lion:.]

Lastsong glanced at Hazekit.

"Did he now?" He blinked in expectance, and Hazekit twitched uncomfortably.

"Um... I'd say it was a tie." She said, straightening up and nodding. Lastsong twitched his whiskers, amused.

"Well I'm sure this paw put an end to things before they got interesting." He stated, patting on some cobwebs to bind the salve. Then he took a step back and nodded to the little tomkit.

"Now don't put too much strain on that paw. If the bindings fall off come to my den for new ones. I will check on your later this evening to see how it's getting along, but don't worry; it's nothing serious."

[shiningheart]

Before Drizzlekit could even defend himself, Sandswirl laughed harshly. "Ha, this mouse-brain wouldn't have even stopped had I not made him. He would have either kept going until he collapsed or Hazekit let him pin her just so he'd stop being stupid."

Drizzlekit growled and stood, separating himself from Lastsong and balancing on one paw. "I could still pin her even without using my paw." he proclaimed with a scowl.

[.:Lion:.]

Lastsong looked at the little kit and then at Hazekit. He squinted and made and thoughtful noise in the back of his throat.

"Hmm, I don't know. You both look pretty tough to me. But I suppose you two should save that until you're apprentices and know some real good moves." He flicked Hazekit's ear with the tip of his tail. Then he turned to Lionkit.

"Now, about those elders..." Lionkit frowned and pouted.

"But I don't wanna clean their ticks," he complained.

"You don't want to prove what a big grown up kit you are?" Lastsong asked. Lionkit thought about that for a moment and then sighed in resignation.

"Okay, I'll help Autumnpaw." He mewed with a martyr's sigh, glancing at Hazekit before following Lastsong towards his den. Lastsong gave one last nod to Sandswirl before continuing on his way.

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit scowled after Lastsong before glaring up at Sandswirl. "You gonna scold me some more, old she-cat?" He dodged the swipe Sandswirl aimed at his head and smirked up at her. "Ha, missed me Sandswirl!"

Sandswirl growled low in her chest with her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm not old, kit. Just remember that I could end up being your mentor, so you'd best not annoy me." With that, she turned around and lightly whisked her tail over Drizzlekit's head to take the sting out of her words before trotting away.

Drizzlekit mimicked Sandswirl and made a face at her retreating back. When the warrior could no longer be seen, he sighed and hobbled over to Hazekit, being sure to keep his paw off the ground. "Now what?"

[.:Lion:.]

Hazekit glanced at Drizzlekit and then shrugged, her bony shoulders jutting from her lean back. Her soft dusted grey fur spiked up a little as she braced herself against the cold. Glancing up at the sky, Hazekit wished Newleaf would arrive already.

"I wish there was something fun to do around here. The Elders tell good stories but I don't want to suffer with Lionkit." Hazekit twitched her nose at the scent of mousebile, which came from her brother as he made his way to the elder's den. She sighed and shook her head. She could tell herself some stories. That would be fun. Maybe Longkit would like to listen to them? He usually didn't mind.

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit wrinkled his nose at the stench as Lionkit passed them. "Ugh, mouse-bile. One of the things I'm not looking forward to when I'm an apprentice." He looked at Hazekit with a thoughtful frown. "Why is Lionkit being punished anyway? Did he and Lastsong have an argument and now he has to help the old flea-bags?"

[.:Lion:.]

Hazekit turned to Drizzlekit and smiled.

"No, he's always like that. Lionkit secretly likes to help, and Lastsong knows it. My brother rarely needs much prodding." She meowed glumly.

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit made a disgusted face before meowing, "You don't think he'll end up becoming a medicine cat apprentice, do you? I don't think I can think of anything worse than being stuck in the medicine den all day, tending to whiny and complaining cats." He shuddered violently, ruffling his gray coat. "When will leaf-bare end? I want to get rid of all this fur when the shedding starts!" He scratched his side and watched thin tufts of gray drift off. "See? It's starting already!"

[.:Lion:.]

"No," Hazekit meowed immediately, her expression solemn, "He would rather just help up where he can. But Lionkit doesn't have the memory for herbs and remedies - or the patience. And Lastsong knows a lot of fighting moves - he sometimes shows Lionkit." She meowed. She listened as Drizzlekit ranted about the weather. Hazekit glanced down at Drizzlekit's fur, her expression only mildly interested. She then tipped her head to the side and smiled as she looked after Lionkit.

"Your fur looks fine to me, Drizzlekit," she mewed, amused.

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit gaped at Hazekit, looking comical with his wide eyes and open mouth. "Looks fine, she says! I'm leaving scraps of myself all around the camp! Look at this!" He dropped down the ground (being careful of his injured paw) and squirmed against the earth before rolling aside and revealing even more tufts of gray fur. "Is that natural? I think not!"

[.:Lion:.]

Hazekit smirked.

"Alright then, you look like something an owl chucked up just before a heavy rain. Does that make you feel better?" She teased, twitching her whiskers. Hazekit never noticed appearances. To her, the grit and grunge of Clan life was part of the excitement. Seeing fur coming off Drizzlekit in clumps didn't phase her, and she was amused by his obsession with it.

[sephri]

Swirlkit

Swirlkit yawned in the nursery, smacking her lips together. Her bleary green eyes blinked and looked around. Someone was missing from their nest. Drizzlekit The tiny she-kit pulled herself up and out of the nest. She could smell her brother and followed the scent to the source.
The gray tom was whining to Hazekit about his fur and Swirlkit rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for his mutterings. She glanced over his pelt, crumpled and dotted with snowflakes from his rolling. That's when she noticed the bandage. Her eyes widened worriedly. "Drizzlekit!"
She scampered over to him and sniffed at the cobwebs. It reeked strongly of herbs and Swirlkit's nose wrinkled. "What happened?" She hated sleeping, she always missed somethign important. She spun around to face Hazekit, craning her neck to see her fellow she-kit clearly. "Did you see what happened? Is he gonna be okay?" she mewed, shrill with anxiety.
Without waiting for an answer, she spun back around and licked her brother's cheek. "Furrball!"

[/color]

[.:Lion:.]

Hazekit felt overwhelmed by Drizzlekit's little sister, who preened and prodded and probed until Hazekit wasn't sure what was happening any longer. Glancing at the nursery, the kit saw a long-haired blue-eyed cat emerge, her expression tinged with worry.

"Is there something the matter with Drizzlekit?" His mother, Eternalsong, asked.

"Nah, Lastsong says it's fine." Hazekit meowed, "He just wrenched his paw a little." She glanced at Drizzlekit, wondering what he would make of all the fuss.

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit was about to answer Hazekit when Swirlkit came charging out of the nursery, inquiring about his paw. To be entirely honest, he'd forgotten about his injury. He guessed Swirlkit waking meant that woke their mother, because Eternalsong appeared behind his sister. "I'm fine, nothing to worry about. We were play-fighting earlier and I did something mouse-brained and got hurt."

To himself, he added that he's probably still be doing something mouse-brained had Sandswirl not stopped them. Drizzlekit told himself that he'd have to thank her later, even if she had been obnoxious about it.

[.:Lion:.]

Eternalsong smiled, relieved.

"Oh, that's good." She meowed, glancing down at Hazekit. The long-limbed kit had a thoughtful look on her face that was quite mature for one to young. Eternalsong sighed, then turned to her kits.

"Well, let's not play too rough today then." She said solemnly, hoping that Drizzlekit's injury wasn't bad after all.

[sephri]

Swirlkit's brow was crinkled worriedly, perched above wide blue eyes. She purred gently and licked Drizzlekit's ear in comfort. Then she turned to Hazekit. "Thank you for helping him! Were you practicing your fighting moves? I bet you'll be an apprentice soon!" She bounced on her toes and beamed up at the older kit.
Eternalsong slipped from the den and Swirlkit trotted over, rubbing her mother's leg with her head. She watched the conversation bounce between her mother and Hazekit and chipped in "He's gonna be alright, Eternalsong!"
She slipped back next to Hazekit and squeaked, "Why don't we play a game? One with less fighting?"

[shiningheart]

Drizzlekit gave an ill-tempered scowl and sat where he was, sulking. "What fun is anything else?" he whined. "Fighting it the only thing I'm good at! I'm not small enough to be a creeper like you are, Swirlkit, and I'm not fast enough to be a good hunter like Hazekit!" He pouted. "I can only dominate when we're wrestling, and we can't do that now because of my stupid paw." He glared at the offending appendage like it was it's fault he was injured.

[sephri]

Swirlkit shifted her weight on her paws, staring at the ground. Her tail curled nervously around her back leg and she whimpered. "Well," she started, "why don't we play hide-and-seek?" Her tail waved happily now, kinked over her head. "It's a fun game!" She turned to Hazekit for support, "Come on, Hazekit how about it?"

[.:Lion:.]

Hazekit glanced from Drizzlekit to Swirlkit. She was glad that the latter was trying to raise Drizzlekit's spirits, but she understood that he wasn't feeling well about having injured himself. When Swirlkit suggested hide-and-seek, Hazekit had to wonder whether or not Drizzlekit would really be up to it.

"I suppose it's not a bad idea," she meowed slowly, turning to Drizzlekit, "Might as well play some games before everything is training, right?" She mused.

[sephri]

Swirlkit bounced around, purring a squeaking in excitement. "Yay!" Come on!" She spun on her heels and scampered off only to turn around and come right back. "Who wants to be it?"
So what if she was scatter-brained? Her siblings were the serious ones and she liked to see others laugh, even if it was at her. "I can be it if you want," she muttered. She never liked being it. That meant she had to go look for the others. If she wasn't it, she could find all the best hiding places. She was definitely smaller than her siblings and she was definitely better at hiding.