The first memory he has is squirming. Pressing close to his mother for warmth- nosing for the source of milk, eyes and ears sealed shut. He remembers the comforting licks in his fur, the sweet taste of food, his mother's heartbeat almost thunderous compared to his own. His first few days of consciousness were like this- drifting in and out of one kind of darkness to the next, squirming and eating and being groomed.
His next memories are much, much louder. By the time his ears have unsealed, he becomes aware of other presences in this limited world of his. He has learned the voice of his mother- and with that, his name. Bravekit. He doesn't quite understand it, but it was given to him by her, so it's good enough. He learns other voices too- a shrill, scratchy voice from a cat named Thistlekit, and the scolding voice of what he assumes is Thistlekit's mother. There's also a bubbling, babbling voice- he learns that one belongs to Skykit, and a stern, high voice, belonging to Swiftkit.
When his eyes open, he's nearly taken aback by the world. Of course, he had crawled about pitifully before, but his mother, Softshadow being her name, always kept him confined to her side. He's excited, too- The voices from before now have faces, and he had wanted to see them for what felt like an eternity. Peering over the edge of the nest, he spots who he assumes is Thistlekit- the spiky pale fur and ragged tail that sticks straight into the air seems to match the scratchy voice he heard before. Skykit is soft, he decides, savoring the new context for the word in his mind. Everything about her is made of circles, and she smiles back at him when she catches his eye. He ducks, shaking his pelt slightly, and turns to look at Swiftkit, whose striking black-and-white markings and large size have Bravekit's face burning with jealousy. Now this presents him a new question-
What does HE look like? Kneading his paws into mama's belly, he impatiently waits for her to wake up.
"Mama, wake up! I have a question!" His voice sounds funny to him, after all this time, and he can't help but crinkle his nose at it. She sits up, looking down at him with a yawn.
"What is it, Bravekit?" His tail puffs out of its own accord, eyes gleaming.
"What do I look like?" She gives a mrrow of amusement, leaning down to pick him up by the scruff of his neck.
"Let's go see!" She carries him out- out of the nest! Out of the den! His senses are assaulted with sights and sounds and smells, watching the camp mull about their business. Cats lounge and eat and groom each other, chattering amongst themselves. And they're all so big! He suddenly feels awfully tiny, shrinking against his mother as she gives a little purr. One of the cats- a big, burly black cat with patches of orange smattering his pelt in odd patterns, and the strongest blue eyes Bravekit had ever seen- approached, dipping his head slightly to Softshadow.
"He lives."
"Of course, Flamestripe. He's a little warrior- isn't that right?" The coldness she has in addressing the other dissipates when she turns her attention back to her kit, and he nods shyly. Flamestripe simply gives Bravekit another look- before turning on his heel and walking away. Before the kit can contemplate what that meant, his mother was setting him down in front of a strange, clear, reflective thing. A puddle! He had heard of these!
"Bravekit, if you're very careful, you'll be able to see your reflection!" She was posed to catch him if he fell in, and he tentatively got to his feet, wobbling and nearly falling out of balance. Shifting his weight to his stronger side, he peered at his own reflection. He was soft, too, like Skykit, with dark fur like mama's and white dots smattered over his cheeks and body. His tail wiggled in the air, and his round ears flopped about at every noise. The thing he liked best, though, was his eyes. They were round and green- not anything like Flamestripe's. They looked like mama's eyes! Giving another look over himself, he frowns slightly. Peering back at his haunches, he then looks up at his Mother.
"Mama, where'd my leg go?" He mewled, wiggling the stump of a back leg. Her expression softened, and she carefully picked him back up.
"You were born like that, Bravekit! It just means you're a little different, that's all." He nods at her explanation. That makes sense, he supposes! He had been doing fine without it anyways.
When they get back to the nest, he's almost instantly tackled by the bigger kitten- Thistlekit- who gives a sharp growl and bats at his face.
"So you ARE awake!" He crows triumphantly, Bravekit only able to sputter under the onslaught. It's only a matter of moments though before Thistlekit is pulled off by Softshadow and set back down into his own nest. "Thistlekit, I know you're excited to have a playmate, but you need to be more careful with Bravekit." She chides, shaking her head. Thistlekit pouts, but he doesn't make another attempt at a tackle.
Bravekit takes a minute to think over things- and decides that even with cats like Thistlekit and Flamestripe, the world isn't bad at all.
