Freezingkit of SkyClan: Thank you for the kind review! I really appreciate it~! ^.^ Hopefully this chapter will help you understand the thing about Hazestar and travelling.
The day had already begun. Birds swooped and soared in the sky, taking advantage of the warm air currents that prevailed across the lands. The sun shone bright overhead, casting its golden rays down onto the ground below, and gracing the hills of the grassland with light.
A russet she-cat yawned, stretching and flicking her ears and tail. Her shining gray eyes cracked open, and she stretched languidly, ears and tail flicking in a relaxed manner. Breathing in deeply, the scent of wildflowers filling her senses, she exhaled, letting her worries leave with a determined huff. Getting to her paws, Dartstar allowed a determined smile to grace her face. Today was going to be a great day, she was sure of it! Now, w-
"Hey!" A yowl interrupted her musings, full of passion and anger. "Give it back!"
An exasperated sigh left Dartstar's mouth. It would be a good day if she and the queens could figure out how to control the kits. But rowdy kits were not her concern currently, and there were much bigger matters at paw. With a final glance at the quarreling kittens, mentally praying for their mothers, Dartstar strode off to go discuss with Palestripe, her deputy and best friend.
"I saw it first!" Silverkit snapped, clutching a brilliant red feather in her mouth. Her brilliant blue eyes were narrowed in anger, and she stood stiff-legged, fur bristling.
"Well I grabbed it first!" Starlingkit snarled back at her, his kitten-claws unsheathed and his body coiled to pounce at the annoying she-kit.
A wail interrupted them, "M-mommy! Starlingkit a-and Silverkit are fighting again!" The cry was interrupted by constant sniffling and sobbing, and both kittens turned angrily to the source of the noise.
"Quailkit!" Starlingkit growled at his sister, "What did I tell you about being a snitch?!" Silverkit stood at his side, nodding with agreement for once.
Quailkit's green eyes were round with terror, and she squeaked, burying her head between her paws. "I-I'm sorry!" The patched she-cat blubbered, tail lashing behind her, "You sc-scared me so much with all your yelling and-!"
"I should teach you a lesson," Silverkit hissed threateningly, about to leap at her with unsheathed claws, when she was grabbed by her scruff.
"And I should teach you a lesson for attempting to attack Quailkit," Lightchest sternly admonished, her voice slightly muffled by holding her daughter's scruff in her mouth. Beside her, Aspenwing held her son in a similar position, although her fur was bristling and fury flashed in her eyes. After all, Quailkit was her kitten.
Aspenwing passed her struggling son off to Breezefall, who held his scruff gently but firmly. Aspenwing crouched down, at eye level with her still bawling daughter. "Are you okay dear?" She asked, giving her a comforting lick between the ears.
Quailkit still had tears streaming down her face but nodded, sniffling and shaking her head to try and stop her crying. "Crybaby!" Starlingkit jeered from where he was held by Breezefall, Silverkit snickering with agreement.
Aspenfall raised her head and glared at her son. "Starlingkit!" She snapped, "Apologize to your sister! Your behavior is unacceptable."
Starlingkit stuck his tongue out, blue eyes flashing with defiance. "I don't want to."
Aspenwing drew herself up, rage clouding her gaze. She started to speak, but Lightchest, who had already set Silverkit down, beat her to it. "As much as I hate to interrupt your lesson," The gray tabby started, "I don't think there is much you can do about his behavior."
Aspenwing gazed at her friend, an incredulous look in her eyes, "What do you mean there isn't much I can do about his behavior? I am his mother!"
Lightchest smiled, "And a very good one at that. However, the kits are restless. They are starting to get HazeClan wander syndrome."
"HazeClan wander syndrome?" Silverkit questioned, while Breezefall laughed. "What in the name of StarClan is that?"
Aspenwing was starting to laugh as well, "That's what the warriors back when we were kits used to call it. It's a longing to wander, to explore, to venture. It's the very heart of what a HazeClan warrior is."
Starlingkit tilted his head - well, as much as he could tilt his head while still hanging from Breezefall's grasp. "So it means being restless?"
Breezefall let go of his scruff gently. "Not entirely. It's a longing to go explore the world like we are supposed to. It's what is driving the warriors crazy. We just want to explore."
"Why don't we then?" Starlingkit asked, eyes gleaming excitedly at the thought of exploring, venturing out in the wild, guiding future Clan leaders to where they would set down roots! It made him giddy just thinking about it.
"You know the rules, dearie." Aspenfall smiled, drawing her kits closer to her with one of her paws, wrapping her tail around them, and purposefully ignoring how Starlingkit hissed at his sister. "No guiding while kits are in the Clan. You have to be apprentices"
"That's a stupid rule!" Silverkit hissed, "We can hold our own! I can handle walking!"
"There is a good reason for it," Lightchest reminded her, "Remember the tale of Petalkit?" Starlingkit and Silverkit rolled their eyes in unison. Quailkit, however, looked excited.
"We know," Starlingkit's mew was scathing, "She was Hazestar's first kit, but she was stupid and wandered off and was killed by a fox or something, and Hazestar was so upset by the loss of that pathetic waste that she decided to ruin it for the rest of us."
Aspenwing frowned at her son, "It was a badger! And be respectful."
The black tom-kit sighed dramatically, "I don't care about some dead cat! I want to wander, I'm so sick and tired of being in this stupid camp, and so is everyone else!" Quailkit looked hesitant, but Silverkit nodded her head vigorously.
The sound of pounding pawsteps interrupted the argument, and all the cats watched as Ashenkit burst into the den. "Wa-waterkit and *huff* Graykit are sneaking out of camp," She panted, obviously out of breath.
"Case in point!" Starlingkit pointed out, but all three queens had already dashed away. Silverkit took the opportunity to make off with the feather, and Starlingkit chased after her with an indignant yowl, "Hey!"
Ashenkit collapsed in her nest, breathing slowly easing up. "S-so…" Quailkit hesitantly started, "Uh- how are you?"
Ashenkit just blinked at her, and Quailkit turned away, anxiety hovering over her like a cloud. The awkward situation only grew worse, and Quailkit let out a sigh of relief when the three queens ducked backn into the den, carrying one writhing and bristling kit, and one calm and collected one.
"We were so close!" Graykit hissed, whipping around and trying to wrench himself out of his mother's grip. "I just want to - let me go!"
His brother and polar opposite, Waterkit, hung calm and collected, managing to look regal even while being held by the scruff. "Can you please put me down?" He politely requested, his manner charming and laid back. Breezefall considered his behavior, and set him down.
"Thank you," He purred, and turned towards the two she-kits. Or, more specifically, Quailkit. "Well hello there lovely~."
Quailkit stammered wildly, a flush coming over her face, "Ah-uhm hhhiiibye? Lohel?" She stuttered, mixing up her words and getting more and more disoriented by the second.
"Stop flirting with my sister you fox-heart!" Starlingkit yowled from where he was tussling with Silverkit, who looked pretty smug as he left her where she was, allowing her to escape with the feather.
The black ball of rage stalked up to Waterkit, eyes flaming. "Leave her alone!" He ignored Aspenwing's gasp at his language, and instead focused on intimidating Waterkit. Unfortunately, his tactics did not seem to be working, as the silver tabby dismissed him with a twitch of his whiskers and a swish of his tail, walking past him without a care in the world.
"Wha- hey! You can't just do that!"
"He just did!" Graykit cackled, eyes lighting up with glee at Starlingkit's displeasure.
"Why you little!" Starlingkit growled, pouncing at the troublemaking tabby, "I'm going to rip your pelt off!"
Such was another day in HazeClan. Although the scene seemed peaceful - three queens curled around their softly snoring kits - there was a growing level of restlessness and longing to travel among the cats. And in the hills beyond, shadows stalked.
