Rainbow Badge - Owlpaw can have two warriors named Mouseheart (father) and Stronghawk (mother) be his parents that passed during leafbare in a battle with ThunderClan, it was a battle because of territory for food, which does come to play in the story as we continue on. But that would make Goldenpaw his brother if your okay with that.
April 14th 2021
The nursery was quiet once all the litters had left to play. Moss was tossed around, and the nests that the queens used were all torn, but now it was the warriors outside who had to deal with the loud kittens.
Carefully, she turned to her side. Tail swatting the ground harshly as she nipped at an annoying iche on her shoulder. Darned fleas. She huffed in anger. Those no-good kits had hanged out near the elders without clensing themselves of fleas afterwards. And now she had to deal with it.
Annoyence ruffled her brownish-golden fur. She could hear the soft rumbles of her parent sleeping just behind her. Their loud snores were easy to hear, as it nearly shook the entire nursery.
Most days the young she-cat wasn't allowed out of the nursery. It was for many reasons, one being she was to small, and Dawnflame kept that drilled into her head. It was none stop talk about how she could easily be stolen, knocked over, attacked by a hawk flying by.
It made her pelt crawl with anger. Why did the other kits get to play outside while she was stuck doing absolutely nothing? Leopardkit never seen it fit or right, and yet no matter her protest against her confinement the ginger cat kept her locked up in the nursery.
Leopardkit was staring to lazily groom out her pelt when a new scent hit her nose. She sat still, mouth opened just enough to let the breeze shift through her small teeth. "Have you seen Minnowpelt?" The tom's gruff voice wasn't new to her, and she rolled to look at the green field around the warrior.
"Outside, she was watching the others." Eyes trained on the waving aura, she could sense his unease. The way he shifted on his paws - the action causing dry, brittle moss to crackle.
It amused her to see the tough warrior be so uneased around a kit - one barely the size of his paws. And yet, she knew why. It was how she could look right at them with sightless, blind eyes.
Leopardkit had learned early on that she was the runt and a blind one at that. But she never thought she was fully blind, she could see the colors that surrounded the other cats. After moons of being between death and life, she finally learned how to walk and eat properly.
Now, at five moons old, she knew much more than she did than. Even in that short time, she learned that others couldn't see the colors, or auras as the elders called them. Leopardkit had learned this after speaking with the elders, they took a liking to her, and listened whenever she spoke of dreams or her thoughts.
After learning that it was an ability that she had and only she had, it made her feel better. Lighter. Moons of being called the small one, a kitten that most likely would be only a medicine cat or helper, she had learned she could see things others couldn't.
It took awhile, but she managed to find the right words for it. And now with her ceremony of being an apprentice almost up, she knew she had to speak with Thornstar. Once the tom knew she had this special ability he couldn't just let her be a helper.
Beechjump had turned to leave. His tail lashing in the air, a muttering curse under his breath about something that she couldn't exactly hear. Just as he left she heard another noise - ears perked and turned to the mass of tired sleepy blues and bright oranges.
"Already up?" Dawnflame's tired voice was scratchy and dry. Their ears flicking as they groomed at a piece of moss stuck in their tail.
The kitten tucked her paws neatly, feathery tail wrapping around them as she nodded. "And so is everyone else. Minnowpelt took them all out to play," she paused, letting the sigh die in her throat before she added. "I was told to wait for you to wake up."
Dawnflame had stopped grooming long enough to mumble something. Although they stretched out their limbs before giving a gentle purr. "I didn't keep you waiting to long, did I?"
Yes. The impulse to hiss out the correct answer burned in her chest. Everyday she was made to wait for Dawnflame to wake up, and since the warrior was in the nursery they slept to almost sunhigh. How they were once a morning cat, deputy over the entire Clan, was a complete mystery to her.
"No," the short and sweet answer sounded much louder than needed. But she could already sense that Dawnflame knew the answer to their own question. "Can we go outside?"
The ginger warrior nodded. "Stick by me and Minnowpelt, and make sure to-"
Without listening to another word, the kitten raced out the nursery. She knew it would get her yowled at later, but that was later. Right now she just needed fresh air, and a space that didn't smell of stale moss.
Outside the sun burned down on her back. She purred. Enjoying the sudden burst of warmth that quickly spread through her entire pelt. It was a sunny day, usually if there was any type of clouds the sunrays wouldn't be as harsh.
"You could wait and listen before you go charging off." Dawnflame meowed. Their tail flicked over the grass, causing a small wave to ripple back and hit the she-cat's tiny paws.
Leopardkit shrugged. "I've waited all day - awake since sunrise!" She rolled her shoulders. She had tried to practice what she thought was a hunter's crouch, than again, she only got second paw information on all that. The elders once tried to teach her, and with the auras dancing around them she could just barely see the shape of their forms and how they moved or crouched.
It was just enough to give her hope. Although, she knew it was most likely a dead end to another dream of her. Head lowered she shook out her pelt. There was no use to ligure over those negative thoughts - it did nothing but make her feel small.
Tail flicking from side to side she blinked. The colors that danced around were blinding, all tangled together, but not mixing. She had found that auras didn't exact mix, they avoided each other, only a few ever mixed, and she found it was only those who were mates - very close mates.
"Heya!" A loud chirp made her fur stand on end. Ears twitching backwards, she tried to smooth out her pelt, hearing Dawnflame's paw steps stop abruptly. If her parent thought she was unhappy, scared or anything than they'd make her go inside the nursery. "Oops, didn't mean to scare you!"
Mistkit's loud and excited yellow and purple aura swirled around her. She always had a pretty aura, one that would twist and turn and glow happily. It reminded her of Mossykit's and Minnowpelt's.
Sitting down, she curled her feathery tail around her paws. Head tilted just enough so she could continue to study the aura closely. It was the only thing that she could see, darkness surrounded everything else, and she hated to see the darkness.
"I'm not scared." Huffed Leopardkit. She squared her shoulders, dark amber eyes turning over to where both of their parents sat. "..Do I look scared?"
Mistkit shook her head. Ears perked as she waved her tail in the air, her aura moving around the motion. "Well, you did. But now your perfectly fine!" She purred before cutting herself off. "Come on, you can join our game!"
Sighing, she lowered her head. It was already to hot for her outside - course she would never admit that, she rarely got to go outside without her complaints - and she knew that running around, doing whatever crazy games the others were doing.
The two she-cats approached the other kits. She could head Swirlykit and his loud mouth, yelling about something that someone did. She growled lightly under her breath. That tom was exactly like Thornstar.
"Don't worry, Leopardkit. Foxkit is pretty nice, and he'll keep the others at bay." Explained Mistkit. She was walking at a brisk pace, tail waving happily behind her.
I know who Foxkit is. The retort died in her throat. Of course she knew who Foxkit was, just like she knew most of the others, they were all practically littermates or half-siblings. The only litter in there that wasn't from Milkstream or Dawnflame was Minnowpelt's and another unborn litter from Hawkbreeze.
The clearing was made up of everything colorful. From deep reds to the lightest blues or pinks. She could see mixed of orange, happy yellows, sickly greens, worried blues, drowned grays.
She felt her throat tighten and eyes narrow. It was bright. So much at once that twisted and turned, each fighting for their own space against the others. A tail tapped her shoulder. She hissed, teeth baring as she forced her fur flat once more.
"You okay?" Mistkit's aura waved out with a slice of green. Unusual amongst the happy and cheery aura that she had found a small comfort in knowing there was good within someone.
Leopardkit nodded. She swallowed, forcing down the thoughts of worry and the overwhelming sight and feelings. "Yeah..yeah.." She shook out her thin coat. "Lead the way."
The she-cat still paused, as if unsure whether to still go forward or not. Leopardkit sighed. She didn't need the pitiful look that burned into her pelt, or the pitiful colors that rippled on the pretty purples and yellows.
"Come on," she shouldered past Mistkit. Possiblity a bit more forcefully than needed, but she didn't need anyone's pity, definetly not some younger kitten!
As she walked Mistkit quickened her pace to keep up. Although that was nothing but a quick hop that closed the distance, as even with Leopardkit being close to apprenticehood, she and the two-moon-old kitten were about the same size.
Head tilted she pushed through the dizziness that came with walking through an aura. A blinding mess of light that made her stumble before she squared her shoulders and pressed to close to Mistkit, who gave a small mewl of surpirse.
The she-cat's tail flicked out behind the two of them. And Mistkit just started talking - confusion flashed over the dark patched kitten, but she wasn't going to complain. Leopardkit never got in big groups, so being around different auras all at once was new. And now she could see the affect it had over her.
Legs shaking, she could barely continue to walk. New emotions slapped her in the face as they walked past a group of three kittens, she was barely aware of the usual sparky aura of Mossykit as they walked to wherever Foxkit sat surrounded by the other kits.