Sing me to sleep {Closed}

Nightstalker was settled outside the nursery, her body spread out as she lounged in a rather sunny spot and drinking up as much of the leaf-bare sun she could. It seemed colder lately and she felt the bite of the cold despite her thick pelt, and she felt a pit of worry in her stomach for her mother and youngest siblings that resided in the nursery. As much as she rolled her eyes at the thought of more siblings, she still cared deeply for her kin. Her father may not be good with words or his emotions, but he sure was good at furthering his bloodline. She could hear the soft murmurs of the kits and her mother inside and rested her head on her paws, content to listen to the soft chatter as it almost lulled her into sleep as she remembered her days as a kit.

Other than Cloudbreeze resembling more of their mother and Nightstalker herself looking like a miniature Lightiningstar, there wasn't much at first that separated them. They were both bright young kits, and Nightstalker recalled a short and fleeting time where she was close with her sister and not so indifferent. As they became older, it became more and more obvious the expectations placed upon them and how her sister excelled where as Nightstalker simply existed, doing her best to earn a little of her father's favor. She remembered countless nights going to her mother, asking her why she was they way she was and why her best was never enough for their leader, why she seemed to just fly under the radar. She cried and ached until she became bitter, tired of her triumphs being overlooked and her failures called out time and time again. When she became a warrior and her younger siblings entered the world, she did her best to make sure to recognize all their triumphs, no matter how big or small so they knew that they mattered. She would brush over their failures and not dwell on them, instead helping them to find the positive and to push them to keep trying. She was fiercely protective of her siblings, and swore up and down that she wouldn't let anyone, even their father, bring them down or make them feel less than what they were. The young she-cat was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the murmuring in the nursery still or the rustle of branches as someone approached.

Having returned from a hunting patrol with his mentor, Cloudbreeze, Valerianpaw made sure to bring prey to the cats who needed it, which meant the elders, and the queens and their kits. While he found that other apprentices grew quite resentful of such menial tasks, the fluffy grey tom quite enjoyed spending time with the much older and much younger clanmates. It was certainly a change of pace from his usually apprentice training and gave him something to do.

With the kits now resting after playtime and the queens fed, Valerianpaw said his farewells and headed out of the nursery to see one of his older sisters resting nearby. "Hello, Nightstalker," the regal apprentice mewed with a dip of his head as he padded over to her, deciding he'd might as well spend some time with his family while he waited to go out on his next patrol.