Hello! Welcome to my new story.
This story will be a bit slow at the beginning (just like my other stories), but it will hopefully get more action-full in the future. The name of this story might seem unconnected to the story at first, but you'll understand that, too, in the future.
The story will be told in first person by Stormkit, I might add in other POV in the future.
N'joy
Chapter 1
Stormkit was up at the crack of dawn; her usual time. Some cats wondered whyshe did it. She never really answered her friends' pesky enquiries, preferring to shrug and let the conversation move on. It was easier then actually telling them, though she knew that sharing was key to friendships.
Not that she didn't share things; stories from the elders, jokes and puns she thought of or picked up from somewhere, the kind of prey she liked. But obviously, none of those are private, intimate; anything that will actually allow them to understand her better.
Stormkit got up, carefully jumping and skirting around Blazekit who was shifting and turning in his sleep, and Swiftkit, still as a boulder, dark gray chest rising and falling slowly. She didn't want to wake them. Swiftkit's paw shot out suddenly and snagged her tail. Stormkit hissed and leaped backwards, freeing her tail from her brother's claws.
Maybe not like a boulder, she thought once she was out of the Nursery, rubbing the small scratch on her silver tail. I've never heard of rocks that move of their own accord.
A slight breeze ruffled her fur, fresh and cold. The sky was still a dark blue, though only a few stars could be seen, and they were ever so slowly fading away. Far in the horizon streaks of pale orange and red marked the place where the sun would soon rise. Stormkit loved this hour, when everything was silent save from the occasional bird chirps and the rustling of the leaves, and of course, snoring. She loved the cleanness of the air, the coolness on her pelt, the faint light that washed everything in soft colors.
A large yawn escaped her jaws. Stormkit shook her head vigorously and padded up to the small pool of water in the center of camp. It wasn't much of pool now, just a small, murky puddle, gathered up in the lowest ground. The banks were cracked and dry, coated with dead reed-beds. Many hot, rainless and sunshine-filled days did that to water.
Stormkit padded down the slope into the center and dipped her muzzle into the muddy water. Despite that, it was cool and washed her sleepiness away. She looked up at the Gathering Stone. A large, gray boulder, its edge poking out of the center of the pond; at least it theoretically did. Now it just seemed awkward and out of place with the water slushing slowly around its bottom. It's strange how these things work, but now that the whole stone was visible, it seemed somehow smaller and less impressive.
Time to do something.
Stormkit flicked droplets from her whiskers and then stretched her muscles quickly. She ran through the list of things she usually did in these early mornings. Eat… Nah I'm not hungry. I don't feel like going back to sleep either. I can collect soft moss and feathers for Mother's nest, or maybe for the elders; they always appreciate it. Or that I can go to the forest, yes that sounds nice. Stormkit stared above the camp walls, where a thick forest covered the gently sloping ground. She'd been out there several times before, once she realized that no cat would catch her if she left early enough in the morning and made sure to return after the dawn patrol left and before anyone else got up. There were no guards at night because everything was safe; they were at peace with SkyClan, no rogues and loners had been seen wandering around for moons, and the territory was clear of foxes, badgers and rats. At least Stormkit had heard so from the warriors.
Breaking the rules did make her feel a little guilty, but she enjoyed it too much, and anyway, in a moon or so she will have no choice but to go out, so what difference does it make? Besides, the rule was made because it could be dangerous for young cats to wander around on their own; that wasn't relevant right now; not when it was so safe.
Stormkit got up and made her way around the Gathering Stone, towards the camp's entrance.
"Where are you going?"
Stormkit jumped in surprise and guilt and turned around. To her horror, the cat talking to her was no other then Pinestar, the Clan leader.
"Um… I was ju- ju-just…" Stormkit didn't know what she was trying to say. Just what? Just trying to sneak out of camp against the rules? Just walking to the entrance, but no, I'm not trying to go out though it very much seems like it? She hadn't expected to be seen by anyone, especially Pinestar. Just her luck; the first direct conversation with her leader was about her rule breaking while she was stammering.
She always stuttered when nervous.
"Trying to get out of camp," Pinestar nodded, completing the sentence she wouldn't.
Stormkit forced herself to meet his gaze calmly, though her muscles were tensing and her claws were digging into the soil. After a moment she found herself calming down as she spotted a spark of amusement in Pinestar's eyes.
"Well then, come on," he mewed, indicating with his tail towards the Nursery. "Maybe you should go get some more sleep."
Stormkit narrowed her eyes, once again surprised. "Um… I'm not in trouble?"
"Not this time. Just don't let me catch you trying again. You are not the first kit, nor the last, who has tried to leave."
"O-okay." Stormkit was even more confused now. Was it just her imagination, or did he put emphasis on catch, meaning she could go out again, as long as he didn't see her? "I'm not tired," she said quickly when she realized he was expecting her to go back to the Nursery.
"Then would you like to learn something? How about tree climbing?"
"Fine," Stormkit shuffled her legs in embarrassment, though her ears perked up in interest.
Pinestar got looked around camp, and finally indicated for her to join him near a small and rather bare tree. She got up and walked to him on what seemed like legs made of sand, suddenly wishing she had gone to the Nursery instead.
"Climbing is less dangerous when there are less leaves," he explained the reason for his choice. "It's very easy to mistaken a thick cluster of leaves for a branch, so this way it's safer for beginners." He nodded towards the tree he had chosen.
The tree also has many intertwining branches, Stormkit noted to herself. That, too, should make it easier.
"Now, climbing up is quite simple; getting down is the hard part. That's why you should never climb up higher than you can just jump down, unless you're confident in your skills or that there's someone there to rescue you if needed. Understand?"
Stormkit nodded and he continued.
"That's a very common beginners' mistake. They climb up to the top, and then are stuck there, because they have no idea how to get down. Give it a try," he said, nodding at the tree.
"Umm, okay," she mewed awkwardly, a bit surprised that he expected her to climb already, and also somehow wishing she could try it alone, without her Clan leader watching and scrutinizing her every step. She padded closer to the tree.
"You didn't exactly tell me what to do," she pointed out.
He smiled. "I know. That's part of the challenge, and it's also mostly instinct. No need to explain so carefully."
Great. Real help. Doesn't tell me anything except what not to do.
Stormkit leaped at the tree in annoyance, unsheathing her claws midair. She tried grabbing onto it and digging her claws in, but she hit the bark with too much force and was thrown back. She landed heavily on the dry ground, and a cloud of dust filled the air. Stormkit sneezed and got up, shaking sand from her fur. Her shoulder ached from the impact.
"Maybe that's enough for now," said Pinestar, catching her wince of pain. "Smallfeather is going to murder if she knew I let you try to climb."
Stormkit found it slightly funny that the powerful Clan leader was scared of Smallfeather's sharp tongue, just like the rest of the Clan. But she was still annoyed at herself for doing something so stupid. She wanted to succeed, to show Pinestar that she would make a good warrior. "One more time?" she begged.
"Fine," agreed Pinestar after slight hesitation. "But no telling Smallfeather."
Stormkit nodded. Why approach the medicine cat when there's no need to?
"And just to the first branch," he added.e no "When you climb, only unsheathe your front claws," he instructed. "You'll need your back paws for propelling upwards. Try it."
Stormkit stepped towards the tree, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. She was going to do this right. She reached up, leaning against the tree trunk for balance, and sunk her front claws in. She looked at Pinestar uncertainly.
"That's it. Use your back paws."
Stormkit pushed up, using the ground. She started moving up the tree, freeing her claws, one paw at a time, from the bark, and then sinking them into a higher part of the tree. She moved slowly at first, still hesitant, but soon she gained confidence and was moving quickly skyward.
She reached the second branch before Pinestar had time to tell her to stop. "Come down now," he told her. He looked a little annoyed.
The descent was much slower, but she was no longer scared, and before she knew it she was touching the ground again, facing Pinestar. She was panting, out of breath but still excited
"Pretty good for a first time," he mewed. "But next time try to listen to what I tell you."
"Thanks," Stormkit mewed. Her shoulders, especially the one that was hit before, were sore, and so were her back legs. She knew it would be worse later on.
"Why don't you go back to the Nursery? You must be tired."
The excitement was fading, and she was starting to feel self-conscious. "F-Fine."
Stormkit turned her back on her leader and started padding towards the Nursery. She was sure she could feel his eyes on her back, but when she couldn't bear it any longer and turned around to check, he was nowhere in sight. A couple other cats were in the clearing, presumably the dawn patrol that returned, and the other early risers.
She reached the Nursery, and Blazekit was just getting up.
"Hi," he said when he saw her. "Why are you such a mess?"
Stormkit shrugged. "I went fishing and fell into the lake."
Blazekit stared at her for moment. "We don't have a lake in our territory."
"How would you know? You've never taken a step out of camp, let alone explore the territory."
"Because that's what the entire Clan says. Why would I believe you over them?"
Stormkit shrugged again. "I don't know. Anyway, I wasn't trying to claim that we have a lake in our territory. I went fishing outside the territory."
"Yeah, right. Anyway, if you would have fallen into the lake you would've been dripping water."
"That's what bothers you about my story?" Stormkit snorted. "Not everything else? Like, how didn't I get caught, or how did I even get there so quickly, I mean you saw me right before you went to sleep, and that was pretty late. I wouldn't have made it there and back. Besides the fact that it would have been something pretty stupid to do."
"So what did you really do?" he asked, ignoring her rant.
"Learned to climb. Pinestar taught me."
"I'm not going to fall for that, you know," Blazekit mewed, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not that stupid."
"No, I really did. I'm telling the truth. I promise."
"What did you do?" That was Swiftkit.
"Learned to climb with Pinestar," Stormkit mewed. "Why are you awake so early?"
"With you two arguing? How am I supposed to sleep?"
"Well, while you two were sleeping, I learned something useful," she teased, and then yawned. "I think I'll go to sleep."
"Well, while you go to sleep we're going to do something else," returned Swiftkit.
"Ah," mumbled Stormkit as she curled up in the nest. "But you aren't going to do anything useful with your time."
