Chapter 2: World Beyond
Sedgekit awoke with a yawn, curiously blinking his sage green eyes. He rose from his nest, stretching out his limbs. He accidentally jabbed his littermate in the flank and she let out a small growl.
"Watch it, Sedgekit!" she hissed, fur bristling. Sedgekit shot her a cocky smile before leaving the nest to observe the activity outside the Nursery.
"Get over it, Heatherkit. When a clanmate pokes you and there's a battle raging outside the den walls you won't be asking them to watch it!" he snorted but his eyes gleamed with a playful spark. Heatherkit frowned and shook out her pelt with short-lived indignation before padding over to sit beside Sedgekit. He rolled his gaze over her, admiring her pelt. She had a pretty black coat with ginger speckles decorating her slender frame. She had a white chest splash, bright blue eyes, and several other patches of ginger. He puffed out his chest as he looked down to observe his own body. He had been told he was pretty handsome himself. He had a light tan coat with darker tangerine legs, ears, and fuzzy looking stripes down his flank, across his upper legs and on his face. But the most interesting thing about him was he had a stubby, bushed tail. It was very uncommon and many cats were stunned when they saw him. Yet, it only added something more to his handsome features.
"Come on, let's ask Birdsong if we can go out today!" Heatherkit suddenly squeaked, turning to plan an attack on their sleeping mother. Sedgekit rolled his eyes and followed her, dropping into a crouch. Heatherkit led the ambush by pouncing on Birdsong's tail and gripping it in her teeth. Sedgekit launched himself at her flank and batted at it with his paws. Birdsong awoke with a start; fur stiffened, but she relaxed when she saw it was only her mischievous kits.
"You want to go outside, I'm guessing," she purred flicking her tail away from Heatherkit. Both kits nodded eagerly as Birdsong rose and stretched. "Alright, but don't disturb anyone," she warned but she had a precarious look on her face. Both kits took off at once, tripping over one another.
They finally stumbled outside and glanced up in amazement. The clearing was surrounded by large pine trees that shadowed the area. The camp was positioned in a clean dip in the earth and multiple dens took place within it. Shrubs and whatnot sprouted in several areas but the rest was open land, free to run about. He had seen the camp like this several times but for some reason it seemed to amaze him more than ever. Sedgekit wrinkled his nose at the tangy scent of something coming from one of the nearby dens. He guessed it was Briarleaf's den and he quickly shuffled away from it.
"This is so fun!" he mewled, watching as Heatherkit sniffed about, investigating every nook and cranny she possibly could. Sedgekit soon found himself doing the same. They explored all the dens but made sure to not make any noise. Birdsong had been hesitant about letting the siblings outside for the first time and didn't let them do it often. They mostly just played behind the Nursery or right in front where she could watch them. Sedgekit understood her concerns but Crowkit, Rabbitkit, and Mousekit got to go out all the time! They weren't that much older, and if Sedgekit was to be the best warrior he couldn't spend his days whining in the Nursery! He stuck out his chest and bounded about. He was soon tired of exploring and sat down with Heatherkit to rest.
"Who would've known what rested just beyond the Nursery!" Heatherkit squeaked, breaking the silence. Sedgekit was about to reply when a patrol of cats entered the camp. They each looked at the kits as they passed, mostly him for his stubby tail often caught attention. He noticed one of them stop and smile down at them and Sedgekit glanced up with an even wider grin. It was none other than their father, Mudnose.
"Daddy!" Heatherkit gasped, jumping to her paws. The big tom purred and flopped down on his flank as he waited for his children to begin crawling on to him.
"Birdsong finally let you out of the nursery I see," he chuckled, his voice warm and deep. "She keeps you in too much, I think."
"Yep, she finally gave in! And without protest! And the camp is so cool!" Sedgekit purred, nuzzling up beside his father.
"Well, in time you both will be apprentices and will have the privilege to be out here all the time, even outside the camp. With your mentors, of course," he added.
"When will that be, Mudnose? Birdsong says that Crowkit, Mousekit, and Rabbitkit will be apprentices soon. I just think they get to become apprentices because their father is Lightstar," Heatherkit grumbled, flicking her tail with disapproval.
"Don't think that. They get to be apprentices when they turn six moons and that's just what will be happening here soon. You two are almost three moons, correct? Just a while longer and your turn will come, I am sure of it."
Both kits nodded and then all at once the three turned their heads to the sound of Briarleaf making her way across the clearing and to the Nursery. Sedgekit guessed she was checking on Gingerflame's new litter. She had birthed a litter of three annoying brown and golden fur balls just a few days ago. They hardly ever stopped mewling.
"I wonder when the other kits can play. Oakkit and Maplekit seem like they'll be fun but Rootkit is so small. She probably won't do great at playing," Heatherkit meowed, giving a shrug when Sedgekit turned to her.
"You never know. Maybe she'll grow bigger than them all, like a giant monster!" he roared and suddenly pounced on his sister. He wrestled her to the ground then let her up at her squealing demand. She shook off her fur then shot him an annoyed look.
"Whatever. I'm going to have Rabbitkit show me some moves that Lightstar taught him. You can go and defend tiny kittens," she huffed before racing away to join the group of kits that had just emerged. Sedgekit sighed and shot Mudnose a smile as he got up and padded off to share some prey with Birdsong. Left alone Sedgekit decided to explore the clearing some more before heading back to the Nursery.