"Wingkit, come on!"
Bearkit tumbled over his own paws. He was laughing while Wingkit slowly clambered out of the nursery, poking his nose around nervously. Bearkit bounced around his nervous little brother, waving his tail in the air. "Rabbit!" He cheered. "And I mean lots!"
"Rabbit?" Wingkit mewed. His thick white pelt seemed to puff out. "Where's the rabbit?"
It was afternoon, the sun slightly covered by thin strips of cloud. The bright light of early leaf-bare brushed Bearkit's pelt, but excitement was ringing from his nose to tail. His dark brown pelt was visible among the frozen grass as he rolled around, laughing. According to the elders, snow would come soon; thick white snow, whiter than Wingkit's pelt and softer than heather. Bearkit wished it could come early, and he would be able to play hide-and-seek with his brother everyday.
His heart pounded hard with lively joy as he lifted his nose and smelled the air again. Somewhere near the camp, the extremely strong scent of rabbit was overwhelming him. He beckoned Wingkit to follow, but the little white kit was still nosing around the frozen grass.
"It's kind of cold," he mewled.
Bearkit bounded up to him. "Aww, it's fine," he reassured. "Your pelt was way thicker than mine and I'm not feeling cold! At all!" "That's because you are moving around so much," a voice sounded over-head. Bearkit looked up to see the stern look of Laurelleaf. The brown warrior was still doing his apprentice duties, and Bearkit instantly became excited upon seeing him. He circled Laurelleaf's legs, yelping "Laurelleaf! Laurelleaf!"
"You're almost an apprentice!" Laurelleaf groaned. "Stop acting so much like a kit that's a moon old." The brown tom stomped away, and Bearkit stood, staring. Maybe Laurelleaf was still feeling frustrated from Gorsestar's punishment. He turned to Wingkit and quickly tried to change the topic. "Come on, let's find the rabbit," he meowed.
Life was a big rainbow for Bearkit; bright and shiny and beautiful and exciting. He poked his nose into every shrub and every sprout of grass while Wingkit trailed up slowly behind. Several times Bearkit had to wait for Wingkit to catch up, and they continued exploring the camp. "I want to go back to the nursery," Wingkit mewed. "I want Whitewhisker."
"All you ever want is the nursery," Bearkit rolled his eyes and nudged Wingkit forward. "How about you be a rabbit for a while and I catch you? You're fast and nimble and could probably escape my claws." And it might tempt you to do something interesting! Wingkit was never doing anything exciting. Bearkit always have to urge his brother to do anything exciting, and all he ever did was to stay in Whitewhisker's belly.
"No," Wingkit replied. Bearkit sighed. "Then let's get out of the camp!" He meowed, ears perked and tail lashing excitedly.
"No way!" Wingkit backed a step, his icy eyes stretched wide. "I'm not leaving the camp! That's… dangerous and Whitewhisker says we can't!"
"There are large rabbits outside," Bearkit meowed. He poked his nose into the nearest shrub and shook his head. "Nope. No rabbit in here."
"Young cat," an old, hoarse sigh answered Bearkit. "You'll learn how to detect and locate the rabbits when you are an apprentice."
Frosty wind blew across the camp, ruffling the heathers and gorses surrounding camp as Flightfeather climbed out of the elders' den and stared at Bearkit with amused eyes. His shaggy white pelt flowed in the wind, nearly blending into the snowy background. "The smell of rabbit was strong, but how could you be sure it wasn't coming from the fresh-kill pile?" "My nose told me it came from outside the camp," Bearkit answered. Flightfeather shook his head. "Your nose may be wrong," he sighed. "And you aren't supposed to leave camp."
Well, of course kits are never allowed outside, Bearkit grumbled innerly. But nobody ever said that we have to follow the rules! The thought sent a jolt through him, and funny plans started unfurling in his mind.
He padded away from Flightfeather, beckoning Wingkit with his tail, and turned to his brother. "You want to escape camp with me?" He asked Wingkit. He thought of all the adventures he could have by escaping camp. How fun it would be! Seeing patrols coming and going everyday, and the battle issue about fox attacks two sunrises ago, he have grown numb with excitement to join the warriors on a patrol. Whitewhisker kept fretting over the fact that kits before six moons were not supposed to leave camp, but that wouldn't stop Bearkit. He then realized asking his brother such a question was useless, so he pushed his brother forward. "I'm not going to give you a choice," Bearkit grinned.
Wingkit tried to struggle in protest, but Bearkit held him down with stronger shoulders. "Let's get out and explore," Bearkit beamed. "Let's find that rabbit that's lurking around camp. We could bring back that huge piece of fresh-kill and show all our campmates that we are born natural hunters."
Especially me. Wingkit's so nervous and twitchy all the time. I'm going to be the best warrior of WindClan history, even better than Gorsestar and Laurelleaf and Swiftflight and Swiftrabbit and Blackstorm and Larkwing.
—.—
"The scent of rabbit's so strong it's unnatural," Wingkit commented.
Bearkit was in the lead, as usual. "Let's just find the prey and get along with it," he shrugged. "Who knows what else we might find?" He stared outside into the moor. Tall grasses lined with frost. The air tinted with a snowy spirit. The blinding sun was making Wingkit's pelt gleam. The clouds floating away into the faraway horizon, which was tinted gold, but the sky was mostly still blue. The sun hadn't set and was high in the noon sky. Cold dirt crunched under Bearkit's paws as he and Wingkit sniffed everywhere in search of their hidden treasure. Once or twice Wingkit would jump away from something, eyes wide, and Bearkit would stand in front of his brother. "When something happen, I will shield you," Bearkit announced. "And I will claw their ears off!" Wingkit only nodded, peeking away from Bearkit's brown pelt.
The aroma eventually came stronger and stronger until it was unbearable. It seemed to lead a fresh trail towards somewhere, and Bearkit thought that it smelled better than any of the rabbits from the fresh-kill pile. Maybe a plumper and tastier one. Once he brings the rabbit back to camp, everyone would celebrate and he would probably even become a warrior. "I think my mouth was flooding," Bearkit remarked dreamily.
"That way," Wingkit pointed with his tail at a tree a few fox-lengths in front of them. The two kittens trotted slowly toward it, their pelts brushing. The giant oak still had a few leaves clinging to its long, slender branches, though most have already fallen off into the frosty dirt. Its dark brown trunk smelled strongly of rabbit and of... something else. Wingkit trudged behind while Bearkit padded up to sniff the tall tree. A flash of white and black appeared at the side of the trunk, and Bearkit leaped towards it. When he glanced at his claws again, there was air. "There was something behind the trunk, Wingkit!" Bearkit meowed excitedly, and he swerved around the trunk.
There! In the middle of the grass was fresh-kill: a huge plump rabbit, its snow-white fur parted around the neck. Swift bite marks were found, but it's still fresh-kill. "Rabbit!" Bearkit yowled in hysterical excitement. "Rabbit! Rabbit!" "You found it?" Wingkit came up behind, tripping over his own paws and landing next to Bearkit. "There was a big rabbit!"
"Let's take it back to camp!" Bearkit mewed, nearly jumping out of his fur from joy. "Can you imagine how proud everyone will be when they realized kits can catch prey too?" Dreamy thoughts filled his mind. An image of Laurelleaf gasping in surprise and yowling in joy appeared in his head, and he pawed the rabbit in delight. Everyone would be so proud. So what were they waiting for?
"It smells weird, though," remarked Wingkit, smelling the prey. "It's a bit…stinky." "Who cares!" Bearkit big down on the rabbit's scruff and ordered Wingkit to do the same.
Together they tried to drag it out until a flash of black and white caught Bearkit's vision again. He turned around to check, and soon a shadow loomed over the two kits. Teeth met Bearkit's scruff and he disappeared into the darkness with a scream.