Private Thread A Grassy Hideout

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

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The absence of Flickerkit didn't float past Emberdawn's nose and he had begun his search from the moment he noticed she wasn't in camp. He had been following her scent all morning, surely Cloudflare would have his hidee if one of his kits were hurt. Especially his only daughter. For a moment, Emberdawn had thought he'd lost the trail. But it was when the sun hit its peak above them that he could see a small form curled beneath the shade of an overhang. 

Emberdawn's ears flattened, he had a feeling as to why she was out here, it had barely been a few days since Aspenberry's unfortunate passing and guilt plagued his heart. He was in the battle against the rogue, he felt he could have protected her, but instead of helping Petalsnap apply herbs, his anger brought him to battle with the rogue. That won't happen again, I won't let it, he thought to himself as his paws marked a trail towards the boulder.

His chest tightened with an ache that Aspenberry left behind, he had noticed that Beewhisker seemed to be less of themself, less bouncy and chirpy. That was understandable... Aspenberry was their best friend. But they didn't disregard their duties, he just felt so much heartache for Aspenberry's family and close friends. And her kits. I could have done more...

For a moment, when he arrived to where Flickerkit was laying he didn't rush to speak, to comfort her, to tell her everything was okay, that wouldn't help, her dame died not two days ago, nothing would help with that ache but learning to live with it, most warriors experienced that pain, but she wasn't a warrior, no kit deserved to suffer like this. "Afternoon, Flickerkit." He greeted gently, not coaxing her out, just making his presence known to her. He wanted to be there as a pillar in this time, even if he had taken her mother's place before her time.

Never be bored and you'll never be boring

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Flickerkit had her face buried in her tail and her eyes shut, milky back to Emberdawn as he approached. She tensed as the sound of rustling grass reached her ears but did not move. Was it something come to eat her? A rabbit? StarClan forbid, a WindClan warrior looking for her? Whatever it was, it did not immediately begin scolding her, so she considered the final possibility eliminated. 

Then Emberdawn spoke, and she started at the sound of his voice. Ugh… She stole a glance at him before slumping back into her previous position. 

“Go away,” Flickerkit mumbled sullenly, and shoved her nose under her paws. Her voice came muffled though them as she added, “I’m not going back to camp.”  She was too big now, she figured, for Emberdawn to carry her back. 

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

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Emberdawn was not surprised by Flickerkit's avoidance, in fact, he expected it. How could a cat live in a camp that was missing a cat so important, so memorable. So utterly her world that it would feel like it is crassing down around her. He would want to feel secluded as well. "I didn't come here to take you back to camp." The WindClan deputy replied, though the title didn't feel real yet, it felt like he was filling in until the clan had found someone better, until Aspenberry came back, but no. Aspenberry had been buried not so long ago, the ache in his chest settled but didn't vanish, it just... felt more real.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to leave without you either. I'll stay here with you. Even if you won't be leaving, not kit deserved to be alone forever." Emberdawn emphacized his words, deepening their meaning in every breath to ensure that Flickerkit knew she wasn't alone, she didn't need to come out, she didn't even need to speak with him, he simply wished for her to know that he was there instead of somewhere in camp forgetting about her. "Even warriors need company sometimes, even if it's quieter than usual."

And from there, Emberdawn lay in silence beside the overhang that Flickerkit had found herself so everpresently content beneath. He wasn't intending on leaving, not without her by his side. As much as their clan needed a deputy, they needed a cat that knew them better than anyone else did, from old and young, kits included.

Never be bored and you'll never be boring

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“I didn’t come here to take you back to camp.” Huh? Flickerkit’s eyes popped open, and she couldn’t help but lift her head a kittenstep, ears turned outward. Emberdawn looked earnest. He continued, and she set her face back down and let the rest of his words slip through her mind unconsidered, annoyance rising. Such a petty and mundane emotion tasted sweet in comparison to the day’s misery, and Flickerkit indulged in it. Oh, look at me, I’m a big old warrior and I don’t know where my whiskers aren’t welcome. She mocked him in her mind but outwardly held her peace, too tired to bother telling him to leave again. 

For a little while, Flickerkit refused to acknowledge Emberdawn’s presence beside her. The sound of his breathing made forgetting about it impossible, though. It brought her no comfort, but it did prevent her from completely losing herself in anguish. 

Flickerkit then began to feel the effects of hunger, if not hunger itself. Her appetite had been gone since news of Aspenberry’s death. After nearly half a day without eating, nausea and a headache came. With it, thoughts of her littermates. Maybe seeing them again wouldn’t be so bad. Having calmed down slightly by this point, she broke the silence.

“…Emberdawn?” Flickerkit asked tentatively as she turned her face up to his, feeling somewhat ashamed to abandon even a fraction of her isolation and misery. “Is there anything to eat or drink around here? Or…um… do I have to go back to camp?” Her voice was quiet and tired, all aggression drained out of it. Flickerkit felt like a wrung out piece of moss now that the flood of emotions had subsided.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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A large inky shadow had been trailing Flickerkit long before the WindClan deputy found her. High above the moor the breeze carried large wings as a black-eyed raven watched. She had followed the small, stumbling shape of the kit the moment she broke away from the safety of her camp. She might not have recognized grief the way cats did, but she understood vulnerability.

And scent.

The wind shifted and another presense was made known to her...A sharp silhouette cut across the sky as a young male Cooper's hawk locked downward on the unmoving kit. When it looked like it might have taken an opportunistic pass at Flickerkit, the raven unleashed a loud, throaty croak as she flew by, cutting off the trajectory of the swoop that would have likely targeted the kit.

The young hawk veered, startled by the sudden intrusion. It screeched, banking hard, but the raven did not yield. She surged closer as if she was protecting one of her own nestlings, wings beating before the hawk, hunt spoiled, flew away where the raven did not pursue.

She landed on an ash tree, glossy black plummage ruffling. She watched as another cat had come...stayed and offered comfort. Flickerkit would be safe enough for now. From somewhere within her dark outline she drew a loose, sleek black feather holding it carefully in her beak. With a final glance the raven pushed from the branch, wings carrying her sizable frame soft as a shadow high over the pair...

...and released the feather.

It drifted down to catch the sunlight before landing just before Flickerkit's paws.

The raven did not linger before flying steadying towards the treeline towards RiverClan.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

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Emberdawn's muscles tensed, about ready to pounce at the hawk with bared teeth and unsheathed claws until a display of black feathers launched itself at the hawk. The beating of wings was unmistakable, but it didn't allow Emberdawn to ease his protection over Flickerkit. He stood, protecting the path to the kit with his body while the birds faught, he had no idea if the raven had intentions with Flickerkit either, it was best to be safe.

And then, the squawking and screeching stopped and the flapping of wings disappeared into the distance, both wings, both birds. Emberdawn's ears lowered for a moment as he took a glance down at Flickerkit, had she seen the display? Was she alright? She wasn't harmed, the raven seemed to have made sure of that... for whatever reason it might have been. Faint memories of a caw from a raven echoed from the battle with the rogue not so long ago, but whether it was the same raven itched at the WindClan tom's mind. Regardless, the threat was gone, and the black bird had leaf a feather as a gift. 

He sniffed at the feather, then glanced at the direction that the raven had vanished to, for a moment, he thought he saw a flash of black feathers, and whether the raven had seen him or not, he gave a nod of thanks. That bird had saved Flickerkit and saved him from having to fight with a hawk and risk injure in front of the kit. And now he had the energy to hunt for her.

Finally he turned back to the brown kitten and smiled gently at her. "You can follow me and see if we can find something, those birds would have frightened off some nearby prey for at least a fox-length or two. But you can come with me to see if we could find something, maybe you could tell that story to your siblings if you decide to return to camp." he didn't say when, or after, he said if, he knew she would go back to camp, she had to eventually, but he was giving her that choice, and something a little more enticing to come with it. "Maybe I could teach you a move or two? Make work a little easier for your future mentor." he chirped softly with a little purr.

"You can keep that feather too, if you want."

Never be bored and you'll never be boring

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Flickerkit pressed back against the rock, fur standing on end and heart rate picking up as avian battle cries split through the air. She had never seen a bird this close before, and despite everything, a few sparks of excitement sizzled inside her. 

With wide eyes, she watched the pair fly away. Then her gaze dropped to the inky feather before her. Her mind was reeling still, and she wasn’t sure if she would be allowed to do anything with the feather; fortunately, Emberdawn took the liberty of appraising it for her. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Flickerkit responded to Emberdawn, “…okay. I’ll come. But I’d rather eat before training or anything.” I’ve never watched a warrior hunt before, she realized as she tucked the feather between some small rocks for safekeeping. The thought lightened her mood.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

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"Mhm." Emberdawn nodded at Flickerkit, lowering his voice as they reached a stretch where the prey would have been more rampent, at least a distance where they would have flead from the attack. "You've practiced pouncing on moss balls and stuff haven't you, the crouch before the pounce? You'll need to hide from the prey as much as me." He whispered to the chocolate colored kit as he lowered himself down at the scent of a small vole in the distance, chewing on seeds, no idea that it would be it's last meal.

"Stay low, level your legs and don't let your belly or tail brush the ground. Follow where I go." Emberdawn instructed her kindly, keeping his eyes on the unsuspecting vole as he began his stalk, his explanation being put into practice as he kept his body level against the grassy moor. For a moment, the vole glanced in his direction. "Still." He spoke but not loud enough to alert anything other than the kit beside him. He then froze himself in place while the prey was inspecting him, then turned back to its chewing.

After a few more steady pawsteps, he flew, all four paws off the ground for just a fleeting moment before gravity brought him down on his prey, his mouth clenched around the vole, pressing his fangs into the vole's body until he felt stillness. The he lifted his head and body in tandem and glanced over at Flickerkit, gently placing the vole at her paws. "Here you go, fresh from the cat's mouth. Enjoy." He offered with a smile and a loud purr that resonated in his throat.

Never be bored and you'll never be boring.

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Flickerkit followed Emberdawn's instructions, attentively but artlessly. Air filled her chest in an involuntary gasp of awe as she watched Emberdawn's skillful pounce. Wow… I can't wait to be a warrior.

She nodded eagerly when Emberdawn instructed her to eat and dropped into a crouch to dig in. The prey was still warm, flesh soft with blood slowing to a stop. She practically inhaled it, hungrier than she had thought she was. She only remembered her manners once she sat back finished and licking her lips.

"Thank you," she mewed.

Her hunger satiated, everything felt much less hopeless. Deep sadness remained, but seemed to settle like sand in a pool of water. Speaking of water, Flickerkit wanted some. She glanced around and spotted a shallow puddle in the shade of one of the many rocks strewn about. Forgetting about Cloudflare entirely, she sprang up and over to it, eager for a drink.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

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Emberdawn watched as Flickerkit scoffed down the vole and a smile teased his lips, his eyes softening as he watched Flickerkit took a few sips from the pond. But that didn't stop him from observing the other things around them, he didn't want another hawk to think that Flickerkit was a free meal. After all, it seemed like she was feeling a little better about everything. This will impact her for a lifetime, but Emberdawn wanted to make sure that Flickerkit knew that she was safe in her clan, treasured by her clanmates. That was the most important.

"You are very welcome." Emberdawn replied, it was soft, almost a whisper but the words were there, and hopefully they weren't spoke to e ignored. Emberdawn crouched down to Flickerkit's level, which wasn't so low anymore in hindsight. She had gotten so big now. And it she would only grow larger and stronger over time. He would be interested to see who her mentor would be when the time came. "I'm always happy to be of help to you and all your siblings, Flickerkit, it's the least I can do." he added, lifting himself back up and shaking out the mostly white fur.

Emberdawn glanced back at how far they had travelled from where the feather lay and then back down to Flickerkit, his bicolor eyes softening further at the kitten's innocence, sombered by the death of a cat that shouldn't have died, he had a lot of apologising to do... in due time. "How about we go grab that feather and show you siblings and Cloudflare, yeah?"