Ask to Join Wish I Had a Tail

Even the smallest smile can brighten the darkest den.

∘◦⛅️◦∘

Aa Skykit was getting much too large for regular nest sharing and the nursery was rather crowded with both Lilyriver, Bloomfire and the kits, she felt it would be a nice expedition to leave the nursery, not exactly to look for adventure, not anymore, she wasn’t much for adventure now, not really, she liked to visit Tangleloon and the other elders when she had the time, but other than that, apprenticeship was not far. Lilyriver had been preparing her for it. Teaching her the importance of camp duties, teaching her to hold respect for all the clan warriors as any one of them could be her mentor, and making sure she was well rested, after all she will be starting to wake up at dawn most days soon enough, But soon couldn’t come any faster.

It was then that Skykit noticed Beetlekit practicing his pouncing on Mistydawn’s tail and began to pad over, dainty and precise, as if it were practiced, but she didn’t seem too bothered by the stride. Simply moving to greet her den mate and the cat she knew as a young warrior.

"Hello Beetlekit, good morning Mistydawn." The white she-cat chirped politely as she noticed the paws grasping the Warrior’s tail and dipped her head down "Would you like to chase a fluffier tail?" She asked, twitching the snow-colored plume attached to her rear. Now offering Beetlekit an inviting smile.

Roly poly, topsy turvey, bumble paws

❖ ⭒ ❖ ⭒ 𓆣 ⭒ ❖ ⭒ ❖

The moment Mistydawn yelped, Beetlekit dropped her tail with yelp of his own. He didn't expect her reaction to be an outburst. His blue eyes grew round as river stones and for one moment he remained frozen, staring up at Mistydawn's mismatched eyes.

With a squeak Beetlekit launched himself backward and nearly backed up into Skykit. "Ahh-!" His paws tangled beneath him as he attempted to flee the scene of his crime. The little black tom nearly collided with her chest before awkwardly twisting sideways at the last moment. His hindquarters skidded out from beneath him and fell onto his back.

For a second he simply remained there all scrunched up as he peeked at Skykit. She did have a fluffier tail...but the warrior's tail was an interesting color and he didn't know her. Beetlekit slowly rose onto wobbly paws, trying his best to look innocent. "S-Sorry..." He mewed softly at Mistydawn as he ducked his head.

"H-Hi...Skykit. Your tail is nice..." His voice trailed off, hoping to placate the older white she-kit.

Even the smallest smile can brighten the darkest den.

∘◦⛅️◦∘

"Tails are nice." Skykit mewed kindly as she lowered herself to the height of Beetlekit, of which was lower than she had last thought? Had Beetlekit gotten smaller? Or perhaps she had gotten larger? She looked at Mistydawn for a moment and then took in her size as well, she wasn't the same size as she had remembered, from their few encounters. She was smaller than the big warrior she had seen before. Perhaps Skykit was getting bigger. She shook the thoughts from her mind and turned her pale blue eyes towards Beetlekit. "They help us balance, and the ones that have short tails and can still balance are admirable, huh? Even if they tumble or they don't." She chirped.

Skykit moved closer to Beetlekit, hoping to prove herself as a good influence on him "They still have paws to grow into." Skykit replied, placing a paw next to Beetlekit's black paw, a stark contrast from the white, but the same in shape and softness, although Skykit's didn't have any kit fluff left. Yet they didn't seem any different from Beetlekit's fluffy little paws. "See, we've got the same paws, we all end up walking the same way, even on different paths." she purred softly before remembering what they were originally doing an smiling with soft gratitude at Mistydawn.

She bounced on her paws, swaying her plumed tail from side to side playfully. "Wanna see who'll be able to get Mistydawn's tail first? After all, she did say that you could." She offered playfully, kneading the earth beneath her paws with a feigned confidence, just enough for Beetlekit to be intrigued, but enough to let Mistydawn know she always planned to let Beetlekit win

Roly poly, topsy turvey, bumble paws

❖ ⭒ ❖ ⭒ 𓆣 ⭒ ❖ ⭒ ❖

Beetlekit blinked up at Mistydawn, surprise briefly outweighing his embarrassment. She wasn't mad at him? He looked between them, shifting awkwardly on his paws. "You don't...? Why?" The warrior's reveal tugged at him somewhat. He knew what it was like to stay on the edge of things. Blinking wide eyes innocently up at her, he continued. "...Was your mama mean too?"

To Beetlekit it seemed like a reasonable explanation. Mothers were big and important and made rules. If a cat didn't play much maybe they had been told not to. Maybe they got in trouble for it. The black kit immediately looked down at his paws afterward as though realizing he'd perhaps asked something strange.

But when Skykit advanced and his attention shifted, he seemed to relax. Seemed like their paws really were the same shape. Looking away quickly to hide an embarassed little smile, Beetlekit stared a hole into the ground. No one had ever made his short tail sound admirable before.

"Mmm...Maybe." He murmured softly, a bit shyly at the other kit. His eyes found Mistydawn's tail again, but remembering his manners he glanced back at the older, white she-kit. "Can we...share?"

Even the smallest smile can brighten the darkest den.

∘◦⛅️◦∘

"Lilyriver can be a bit grumpy, but that's cause she doesn't want us getting hurt." Skykit added, feeling her inclusion might be able to help Beetlekit feel a little more comfortable, at least in theory. Whether this little theory would work in practice wasn't entirely up to her, especially when Beetlekit was his own cat and was often like this from what she had seen in the nursery, that was fine with her, every cat was different and that was what was beautiful about talking to different cats.

However, when Beetlekit asked if the two could share Mistydawn's tail, Skykit nodded, an encouraging smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Why of course we can." She purred as she lowered herself closer to the ground, her blue eyes following the twitch in Mistydawn's tail, she felt much too old to be playing with cat tails, but for Beetlekit to feel included, she would participate as much as she could. "Tails can move when you least expect them to, you've gotta make sure you grab on real good. But there are cats attached to them, so don't bite or scratch them." she added with a soft purr.

Then she moved forward, trying to entice Beetlekit to do the same with a flick of her ears. "It's okay if you tumble though, it's part of learning." She had heard one of the warriors say that, maybe she would understand a deeper meaning behind it when she starts training, but for now, it seemed like the right thing to say here. The main thing was for Beetlekit to have fun "You can go first, Beetlekit."

Roly poly, topsy turvey, bumble paws

❖ ⭒ ❖ ⭒ 𓆣 ⭒ ❖ ⭒ ❖

Beetlekit nodded. "...Otterwhisker nice..." He echoed quietly, sounding relieved more than anything. If Mistydawn's mama was nice... then maybe not every mother was scary all the time. As Mistydawn's tail quivered and Skykit explained how they should play, he nodded again. That made sense...

"No bite." His belly lowered, waiting... And then with a determined little squeak, Beetlekit bounded forward. His paws landed squarely on the very end of Mistydawn's tail but quickly slid off. He tumbled into a fluffy black ball, before he sprawled as a tiny, breathy laugh escaped him. "Missed!"

He pushed himself back onto his wobbly paws, ears warming with embarrassment. Still when he looked back at Mistydawn and Skykit there was a shy little grin on his face. He'd missed... but it had been fun.

Just as he bent his legs for another attempt, a familiar voice came to him as Bloomfire called. He bent his head as he exchanged a look with them both, before he appologized. "Gotta go... Thank you."

Beetlekit hurried off on his short, sturdy legs toward the nursery.