ATTACK! of the moss.

[CROOKY]

Her pelt was on end sticking up in almost all directions. How dare they come here! How dare they invade the camp and attempt to drag off our fresh kill pile! They would feel the wrath of Thunderclan! She opened her mouth and hissed at the intruders arking her back and slitting her eyes. She looked to her right and her clan mate was there with her lip curled and to her left a strong tom was stalking closer to the intruders. She waved her tail back and forth rapidly before flicking it and sending the she-cat to her right stalking a bit forward. When they had gotten close enough behind the intruder she gathered her haunches to pounce!

She leapt right on to the intruders back sinking her teeth right into the scruff of its neck before flipping it over and pinning the cats shoulders down with her paws.

"Flairkit!! You said I got to kill the intruder this time!!!" Hazelkit came running over whining. "You always steal the kill before either of us get to!" Hazelkit sat down with angry eyes and her tail thumped down on the ground hard. "If you can't share I won't play with you!" She squeaked.

Brackenkit walked over behind Hazelkit before pouncing on her from behind playfully knocking her over. "Come on sis I'll fight you right now! I'm better than any old piece of moss anyways" He said before playfully hissing and backing up around Hazelkit.

Hazelkit squeaked with excitement and got down into her hunting position with her tail flat down on the ground and she turned her ears back facing her brother.

"Guy's if you left me in a real battle I would have been crows food by now! Have you got Bee's in your brain?!" Flairkit squealed angrily. She came over and cuffed Brackenkit on the ear right when Hazelkit leapt and they all fall in a ball on the ground laughing.

"Do you think we will get to be apprentices soon?" Brackenkit asked excitedly. "I heard the warriors talking about a ceremony soon!" Brackenkit kneaded the ground in anticipation. "We'll be the greatest warriors ever wont we?!"

[Tanglekit]

Tanglekit watched on in envy as the older kits played with the moss. She was only three moons old making her to young to leave the nursery, and play with the others. She sighed curling up at the entrance as the other kits played on. Since her father and mother had gone she was alone. And that meant no one to keep her in the nursery. She stepped outside of the protective thorn walls of the nursery inching towards the other kits. She was so much smaller than the rest of the youngsters. Her fur was still the soft of a new kits. Her paws only used to the padded nursery floors.

She stepped into the sunlight for the first time in her young life. But it burned her soft skin and protected eyes. She squeaked softly rushing back to the nursery. Her paws hurt and she felt hot everywhere. Why would the older kits even go outside if it hurt them so much. She would be content to spend forever in her nest. Maybe that was why warriors were cranky all the time. They had to burn all day long. Plus it was loud out there. The older kits squeals rung in her oversensitive ears. She shook slightly curling back up near the entrance.

"Going outside is stupid.", she mewled sadly as she watched the others play along. She was jealous of their merriment and joy. Angry that she didn't have any friends to play with. No siblings to love her.

[CROOKY]

Flairkit was very angry when her kits starting tumbling around without her. She was being left out! "Stop it guys!" She squealed but no one listened to her. She stepped on Hazelkit tail pulling her out of the fight but her claws were so sharp that when she stepped down they went right into Hazelkits tail.

"Ouch!" Hazelkit yelled. She turned on flairkit with tears in her eyes. "Why would you do that?!" She looked so angry and Brackenkit turned to to look at Flairkit. "Why would you hurt Hazelkit?" He asked with accusing angry eyes.

"I...I...It was an accident!" Flairkit wailed very miserable indeed. She had scrunched up and looked so small compared to the other two kits who were standing with their fur sticking out. She tried to inch closer. "Hazelkit I'm sorry." She looked at the ground.

Hazelkit growled. "Go away! I don't want to play with you anymore" He high pitched voice made it impossible to sound threatening but Flairkit understood it just fine. With her head down she padded back to the nursery as Brackenkit and Hazelkit started rolling around again.

When Flairkit had gotten back to the den she noticed Tanglekit sitting alone in her nest and she looked quite pitiful. The kit was shaking like it had gotten burned or hurt. Flairkit padded over to her. "Are you okay Tanglekit?" She asked tentatively. She didn't want to get rejected by two people in one day.

[Tanglekit]

Tanglekit sniffed in despair curling deeper into her den. It wasn't fair that all of the others could go out and play, while she was stuck inside. She was miserable sitting alone in the privacy of the den. But then there was a voice behind her, asking her if she was ok. She felt a little warm inside as she turned to look up at the larger kit. It was Flairkit. "No!", she whimpered remembering the hot feel of the sun on her skin. The burn of the hot ground on her paws. The searing of the bright light on her eyes. The loud screams of the other kits in her ears.

"It's no fair", she wailed, fat tear drops running down her face. She couldn't beleive how harsh the world could be outside. "I don't ever want to go outside again.", she cried. It was the worst feeling ever to be stuck in this dark den all day long. With no one to talk to or play with. No mother or siblings to warm her or her den. She picked her way over to Flairkit and bundled up next to her. She was still shuddering from shock, and Flairkit was so warm and welcoming. She licked at Flairkit's shoulder gently, nuzzling her head into the thicker fur. How many nights had she been left alone to sleep alone in the cold. This was one of the few times that she had ever spent time in the comfort of snuggling. She had been cuddled as a younger kit when her mother had first left her. The resemblence to their fallen Tanglestar had made them use her as part of theri greiving process. But as time had gone on she was left alone again. "Why does it burn outside?", she mewled pitifully, muffled by fur.

[CROOKY]

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[atrb=background,] notes. Tanglekit is too cute! Flairkit looked at the little kit shaking and pressed up against her. She blinked her eyes. Well she knew what it was like to have no one to play with. She looked over at the other two kits playing away with each other forgetting that they even had a sister. Her ears flicked back and flattened against her head. She looked down at Tanglekit again. Poor thing was just sitting around in the den all day. "I remember when I had to stay in the den all day long. It stinks." She said licking the kits head so that she would stop shaking. "Don't worry you can go out soon as your older though and it wont hurt anymore. Pwomise!" She squeaked again. She looked around and saw that the nursery was empty as ever. She sighed and looked outside. There was the moss right where she had left it by the entrance. She slinked and ran and picked up the moss in her mouth before walking back to Tanglekit in the nursery. "Come on! Lets play. I'm the big bad Shadowclan cat and I am going to steal that piece of moss from you and eat all of your kits up!"

Flairpaw © Crooks!

[Tanglekit]

Tanglekit almost fell over when Flairkit left her side. She felt cold all of the sudden, shivering, from the absence of her heat. She whimpered again curling into a little ball. Flairkit left the nursery for a brief moment dragging something green and damp inside with her. For the briefest of seconds she was afraid of being left alone, abandoned in this den.

She was a little excited at the invitation to play, but then she talked of eating kits. She thought about her brothers and sisters, her mother and father. Had they been eaten by Shadowclan? "But Why would you take it away?", she burst into tears backing away from the bigger kit. "You said you wanted to play, why would you eat them?", her little body shook as she kept wary eyes on the other kit. Why was the world so cruel to her when she had been so good. Or maybe she had always been bad, a mistake. Maybe she was supposed to be with Mommy and Daddy, and that was why life was so hard. Why did other kits have so much fun playing with the moss.

Being attacked and eaten didn't sound very much fun at all.

[CROOKY]

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[atrb=background,] notes. Flairkit shrunk back a little bit at the kittens harsh words. "It was just a game Tanglekit, Shadowclan doesn't really eat cats. That would be icky!" She said sticking her tongue out. "They eat weird food though that is for sure." She inched a little forward and grabbed the moss in her mouth. "Its just moss, see?" She shook the moss in her mouth showing how lifeless it was. And then she sighed and sat down. "We can just toss it back and forth if you want..." She asked tilting her head to the side.

Flairpaw © Crooks!

[Tanglekit]

Tanglekit calmed a little bit when Flairkit explained it was just a game. She took a step forward, sniffing at the moss. It smelled sweet and fresh, different from the moss of their nests. Her small paw shot out swatting curiously at the moss. Then as if by instinct she attacked it in a fury of tiny claws and teeth. She squealed with delight as she rolled around in the moss thoroughly coating herself in it's smell. Her pupils had expanded to fill her entire eye with its playful look of black. She scratched at the moss with her back paws, while her front ripped. Her delight was very plain as she tore the moss to pieces. Once it was nothing more than shreds she jumped to her feet. She bunched up into a ball and then sprung at Flairkit. She had seen the other kits jump at each other, but her attempt wasn't as skilled or graceful. She ended up flat on her belly a few feet away from Flairkit. But she wasn't discouraged as she bunched up again and this time came a little closer to Flairkit. It took her a few more tries before she finally landed close enough to swipe at Flairkit. Her claws were sheathed as she batted away.

"I gotcha", she giggled entangling herself in the other kits limbs, making it impossible for either to escape. She wriggled around a little until she found a small intruder. "Attack!", she squeaked charging at the furry invader. She grasped onto the twitching enemy. She tried her best to keep it still, but it get wriggling free from her grasp. "Flairkit help me get it!", she whined attacking Flairkit's tail.

[Deleted]

Sunkit had been following his curious little red nose around the other end of the ThunderClan camp, trying unsuccessfully to track down a mouse. The long-limbed tom could have sworn he'd spotted one between the elders and the warrior dens. Little to his knowledge, the scurrying, furry little brown creature had in reality only been a fluttering leaf among the shadows that were being cast by the overhanging tree limbs. But while being so focused on his search, he hadn't noticed the other kits playing near the nursery. It was only after he'd begun to bore himself with his quest that he had looked about him and taken notice of the scene just across the way involving Flairkit, Brackenkit, and Tanglekit.

The sight of the other kit's play made the bright golden tabby forget all about his imaginary mouse. Instead, a grin spread across his white muzzle, his ears pricked, and his long tail stood tall. The reason he'd wondered off across the camp was because there had been nothing for him to do, originally. But now that there was some action going on, Sunkit certainly wanted to be involved. He was hardly the kind of cat to just sit around and watch the others.

So with an eager grin still strong on his face, Sunkit wriggled his haunches and bounded across the clearing. Along the way he had to dodge around a few older cat's legs as he ran, but he hardly noticed them, as he was intent solely on his target. And that target was Flairkit's tail, which Tanglekit seemed to be going after. So when he finally reached where the other kits were playing, he managed to slow himself down a bit with some difficulty, call out "I've got it!" and then proceeded to pounce on the she-kit's tail, pinning it down with his forepaws before grabbing it- lightly enough- between his jaws. Stifling a purr of a giggle, the golden tabby glanced at Tanglekit with a now cheeky sort of grin in his amber eyes. "Hi," he mewed through the fur in his mouth, sort of as a way of asking to join in the play.

[CROOKY]

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[atrb=background,] notes. Flairkit was happy to see that the little kit was having fun and contented herself to wriggle her tail back and forth just out of reach for the little kit. Finally another tom busted on to the scene grabbing her tail easily enough. She yelped loudly and looked at the other two kits. "Hi Sunkit!" She said loudly before lowering down on her haunches and facing the other two kits. "Lets see if you two can take me!" She challenged facing them and looking at them challengingly. She hoped that Tanglekit wouldn't be too frightened to play.

Flairpaw © Crooks!

[Tanglekit]

Tanglekit squealed in delight when Flairkit began to play along. She batted at the tail frantically trying to pin it down on the ground. She was mid swipe when an orange body grabbed the tail and pinned it down. She squeaked her alarm, before getting a good look at the tom. It was Sunkit, another kit of the nursery. He was older than she was, but still a little bit younger than Flairkit. He grabbed a hold of Flairkit's tail, pinning it down, when she couldn't She was a little embarrassed that her small body couldn't hold the task. He turned and grinned at her, leaving her breathless. There was a tickly feeling in her belly, and she couldn't reply to his 'Hi'.

Flairkit broke the silence and crouched in front of the two younger kits. This time Tanglekit wasn't scared, and she charged forward. She missed when she tried to tackle Flairkit, but when she fell she saw Sunkit again. His fur reminded her of the sun, as did his name. And his smile was sweet. She wanted to smile back, but forgot how. So she continued to jump and hop around Flairkit, trying to find her tail. She giggled loudly as she ran back and forth. "You are funny Flairkit.",

[Deleted]

When Flairkit turned about, Sunkit swiveled around and crouched as well, his hindquarters high and his head low in an inexperienced battle pose. "I think we can," he mrrowed, lashing his tail out behind him, the grin on his face shrining into a little smirk. But before he could make a move, the young tom saw Tanglekit dash out in front of him towards the older she-kit. Her assault missed the other kit by a little, however, and she fell back to the earth.

Having seen the enthusiasm in Tanglekit's eyes, and seeing that she hadn't hurt herself just then, the larger smile came back to the golden tom's face. Sunkit didn't know much about the younger kit, really- only that she hadn't a family of her own. But from what he could remember, she had caused some sort of excitement among the older cats that no one bothered to explain to him about when she first arrived. Whispers here and there that his own parents had taken part in. None if it had made any sense to Sunkit.

But besides her history, Tanglekit had always seem very self-secluded inside the nursery. She hadn't been one for playing with the others. So this new leap into action was surprising to the long limbed tom- but not at all in a bad way. He was glad to see her out and about, jumping around with her denmates. The quiet life in the nursery had never been appealing to him, and he doubted the possibility that Tanglekit had really enjoyed it. This would be good for her. So when he caught sight of her eyes for a brief second after she had tumbled to the ground, Sunkit purred a happy laugh.

Once Tanglekit was back on her paws, Sunkit blinked his eyes are returned his attention to the game. "'Better look out!" he cried, and leapt at the she-kit again, aiming to knock her off her paws. As he jumped, he let out another call to Tanglekit, "Come on, get her while she's down!" making sure that he didn't leave her out of the play.

[CROOKY]

Flairkit's eyes opened wide in excitement as the two kittens turned on her. While they were younger than her they were still more than half her size. She steadied herself for the oncoming assault and whipped her tail from side to side. Finally Tanglekit made the first attack missing slightly and bouncing back a little bit. She looked worried for a second to make sure the kit had not hurt herself before turning towards Sunkit. That kitten was the mischievousness one and would take her down quietly while she paid all her attention to Tanglekit. She shook her head back and forth keeping one eye on Sunkit and one eye on Tanglekit.

Finally Sunkit leapt on her taking her down on her side. She heard her call Tanglekit to attack while she was down. She padded her back paws at Sunkits belly trying to push him off and then stuck her front paws out to protect herself from Tanglekits attack when it came. She mrowwed with excitement. "You can't take me! I'm as strong as a badger!" She gloated.

[Tanglekit]

Tanglekit bounded over to Sunkit's side. Her tail waggled in the air and she squeaked with anticipation. This new game was so exciting to her. She had never felt this tickling feeling in her belly. She jumped and pounced her way towards Flairkit and jumped for her paws. Her small body was tangled amongst the older kits paws. She had never really played with the other kits, and now that she was included it made her feel good. She puffed out her chest and tried to find a way out of the maze of big legs. She was laughing pretty hard by the time that she did free herself and she tried to knock Flairkit down.

Her little body was getting tired and fast, she didn't have the endurance of the other kits. Her heart was racing and her breathing was quickened, her chest moving rapidly. "Flairkit when do I get to big like you and Sunkit? I don't like being small.", she complained. She didn't understand why everyone else was big and important, and that she was small and alone. She was overlooked, and forgotten. Many of the warriors had visited her shortly after her birth, but now they never came anymore. The whispers had faded and she was alone with only herself.

[Deleted]

When Flairkit began throwing her back paws at his belly, Sunkit had to struggle keep the she-kit pinned. She wasn't really hurting him, of course, but the jabs weren't exactly soft, either. So the tom removed one paw from its place on Flairkit in order to use it to cuff her ear as a distraction, hoping that it would be enough to mess up her kicks to his belly. "I eat badgers for breakfast!" he yowled in retort to her cry, barring his sharp little teeth in what should have been a snarl, but was contorted into a half grin due to the fact he couldn't stop laughing.

As Tanglekit made her attack, Sunkit managed to glance over at her. She seemed to be having fun- she was laughing at least, and he liked it's sound. It was full-hearted and happy. And for a little kit, she seemed pretty energetic while facing off against a bigger, older she-kit. But her level of energy looked to be draining quickly, as the young tabby began to withdraw from Flairkit's legs with heavy breaths. Concern pricked the tom's ears, wondering if they had pushed her a bit too hard.

Her question that followed reassured Sunkit that she was alright, but it made his smile slowly fall away. There was more to it than just the whine Tanglekit had projected. A look in her face suggested something more- something that reminded the golden tom of the sad little she-kit who had stayed curled up in the nursery. This wasn't good. Sunkit didn't like seeing other cats upset, especially not this particular kit. Her upset face stirred a feeling in his chest, urging him to somehow bring back that smile he'd just seen not but a moment ago. So instead of letting Flairkit be the one to answer the question, the tom pushed himself off from on top of the she-kit, and padded around over to Tanglekit with a hinted sympathetic smile. "Don't worry about that. You'll get bigger as you get older, but being big's not really a big deal. I've got long legs, so that makes me tall, but all that gets me is not being able to hide in small places when my momma wants to groom me." The corner of his mouth twitched, along with his left ear in unison. "I think you're a perfect size right now."