Nursery

[Redwing]

Redkit opened her eyes. What had happened? She wasn't completely sure, but she would find out. Yawning, she stretched then began to groom herself. Halfway through her grooming, her memories all came rushing back to her. Her mother was gone. A orange tabby had found her, then had taken her back her. Her name had been Red before. What was her name now? Redkit searched her mind. Red.... Red something. What was it? Redkit sat upright. Redkit! That was it! Redkit wriggled with happiness then got distracted by a ball of moss. Focusing on the moss, she slowly crept forward until she was five tail lengths from the moss. Wriggling her haunches, she crouched then leapt and landed perfectly on the moss. Pain shot through her paw as she stood, and she collasped. "Ow!" Sitting up, she picked up her paw and flipped it over so she could see the pad. A thorn stuck out of the paw, and she nudged it with her nose. Pain shot through her paw again, and she started to wimper. How would she ever get it out? Redkit limped out of the nursery and into the clearing, where hopefully the orange tabby would be.

[Sungaze]

Sunlight streamed through the tightly packed roots of the Warrior's den, glaring in Sungaze's mismatched eyes. Irritation flared in the pit of her belly. "Of course I'm stuck in the nest that the sun always shines on." She grumbled getting to her paws and arching her back in a luxurious stretch. "Ah well. I might as well be getting up anyways." She said around a loud yawn.

The high-pitched whimper of a kit grabbed the orange tabby's attention. Her mismatched gaze locked onto the form of Redkit, who sat in the clearing. A tiny splash of crimson caught her attention. Her gaze instantly softened, for she could see the faint shape of a thron protruding from the kit's pad, accompanied by a small amount of blood dripping from the wound. Sungaze padded over to where the kit sat, friendliness shining in her eyes.

"Hey, it's your first wound! I bet all the other kits'll be jealous." She joked while inspecting the kit's outstretched paw. The thorn was not embedded deeply, so it would be easy to fix. "Hold still, and I'll fix that right up for you." She clamped her jaws firmly around the thorn, and gently worked it out of Redkit's paw. "There we go, sweetie. All better. Now just lick that really well, and if it starts hurting again, go see the medicine cat, okay?"

[Redwing]

Redkit sniffed the wound, then rasped her tongue over the wound. "I don't see why any cat would be jelous," she mewed in between licks. "It hurts!" She gave the injury one final lick then set it down on the smooth ground. The sun shone through the black twisted trees that bordered the camp, and shone in Redkit's eyes. Squinting, she saw that the fresh kill pile was stocked. A cloud passed over the sun, and Redkit blinked. Opening her mouth slightly, she scented her favorite meal: mouse.
Redkit gazed up at Sungaze. "Sungaze, can I have a peice of freshkill?" she mewed in a small voice. A warm newleaf wind swirled around her, scattering the leaves around her feet and wafting the scent of mouse towards her. Redkit's mouth watered. Another scent jarred her from her day dreaming. "Sungaze!" Redkit whispered frantically. "Who's that?"

[Sungaze]

Sungaze gave the kit a small grin. "It won't hurt for long, don't you worry." Her mismatched gaze was soft and reassuring. Sungaze was often like this around kits. Even the hotheaded warrior had a softer side.

The tantalizing scent of fresh-kill wafted into her nostrils as a subtle wind blew in her direction. "Mmmm." She muttered, her mouth beginning to water. "a piece of fresh-kill sounds good right about now, so go ahead. i'll go with you." In quiet that followed, her stomach gave a loud rumble, loud enough for even the kit to hear. With whiskers twitching, she gave her fiery chest fur a couple of embarassed licks.

Shortly after she had selected a juicy piece of fresh-kill from the pile, another more disturbing scent hit her nostrils. "Redkit." She said, suddenly serious. Sungaze was all warrior now. "Go back to the nursery, and don't come out 'till it's safe, okay?" she padded after the scent, mismatched eyes hard. She knew that scent. It was the same scent she'd found on Redkit when she first found her.

[Redwing]

Redkit shook in fear. "Sungaze, don't leave me here!" she whimpered. Redkit desprately tried to get Sungaze's attention. A loud noise at the other end of the camp sent Redkit sprinting into the nursery, squeezing through the thorns and brambles that circled the nursery entrance. Soon all that could be seen was Redkit's shining amber eyes. Redkit drew in a sharp gasp of shock as a beautiful dark ginger she-cat with cold, calculating amber eyes stepped out of the shadows. Whimpering, Redkit drew back farther into the nursery. The ginger she-cat's ears flicked up and she turned her burning amber gaze on the nursery. Redkit shook all over with fear as the ginger she-cat's eyes narrowed and began to stalk towards the nursery. "Come out of there at once!" the ginger she-cat's tone was sharp. Redkit gulped and padded cautiously out of the nursery. "What do you want?" Redkit's tone was calm, but the meaning behind the words was evident. Redkit did not want theis cat here. "I'm here to take you home." the words were clipped, and Redkit flexed her claws. No way was she going back. "But this is my home," she mewed. "Not anymore it's not," the cat snarled. Redkit stepped back from the she-cat. "I'm not coming, Mother."

[Sungaze]

Sungaze watched the confrontation between mother and kit with hard mismatched eyes. She had known this was coming for awhile now, yet she had attempted to block the inevitable from her mind. Thorn-sharp claws slowly slid from their sheaths to dig into the soft ground below them. The fiery warrior was ready for anything.

"You do not have to go anwhere that you do not want to, Redkit." She said slowly, taking a few steps up to Redkit's mother. Sungaze truly looked intimidating, like a creature spawned of flames. "You've got no authority here." She stated to the rouge mother. "After all, Redkit must have had a reason to leave, or else she wouldn't have, hm? Not such a great mother, are we?"

To be honest, Sungaze just did not want the closest thing to a child she'd raised to be snatched away from her. After all, it had been the kit's choice to leave. "If it is her you want, you might as well leave. I'm not afraid to let things get ugly." she raised a paw and unsheathed her claws further, sending the unspoken threat of I'll hurt you if I must.

[Redwing]

Redkit glared at her mother. "Yeah," she added. Redkit's mother glanced at Sungaze's claws then began to back away. "I'll be back," she snarled. "Doubt it," Redkit mewed. Turning her back on the two she-cats, she padded into the nursery. She scraped together a few peices of moss then curled up. She wasn't going to sleep, she was just doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing: staying out of the way while Sungaze took care of the intruder. No big deal. Redkit strained to listen, but she couldn't hear them through the thick nursery walls. Oh well.

[Redwing]

Redkit slowly opened her wide amber eyes, woken by the bright afternoon sun. She didn't remember falling asleep, yet she obviously had. Redkit stretched, her tiny claws extending from thier sheaths. Oh, well. The nap had been long and restful, and she was ready to play with Sungaze. Redkit leaped up, her eyes shining in anticipation. She bounded towards the door, only to screech to a halt when the scent of her mother hit her nose. A burst of memories flashed through her head, and she cautiously peeped out of the nursery, wondering if the dark ginger she-cat had left. When Redkit was sure that her mother had, in fact, gone, she crawled out of the nursery entrance, and with her tail waving, went searching through the camp in search of her orange tabby friend.