like past lives & nursery rhymes [Open!]

The blue pointed tom-kit sat outside the nursery, wide eyes watching the activity in camp. He wouldn't know, because he was too young to remember a time where the Clan was larger, but right now there were depressingly few cats going about their lives. Bluekit curled his tail around himself, resting it over his front paws. One of his favorite things was when he was told stories by the older cats, but he was disappointed that he couldn't see anyone that might have the free time to speak with him. He wanted to hear about the warrior code, and how brave RiverClan warriors upheld it. In the meantime, he got lost in his own thoughts and fantasies of what it meant to be a warrior.

If there was one thing that Otterkit was one-hundred percent, unequivocally sure about in her short lifetime, was that the nursery was boring. She had explored every nook, every cranny, every crack in the foundation - twice! And she was going nuts. It wouldn't be long now until she and Bluekit were apprentices, and Otter could not wait. She pictured all the adventures they would go on together, exploring the forest, swimming in the river, hunting, battling, everything that it meant to be a true RiverClan warrior!

But it still seemed so far away.

Otterkit lounged on her side in the nursery, staring at a small strand of hanging ivy. She rolled from her side, to her back, pawing at the offending foliage although it was at least a tail-length from her outstretched claws. A small huff escaped her, and she finally disregarded the ivy, rolling to her paws and shaking the dust from her pelt. Where was Bluekit? Maybe she could tempt him into some good ol' troublemaking. Wandering to the entrance of the nursery, she found him, silhouetted against the backdrop of the camp. Immediately, she dropped into a crouch, one paw in front of the other as she crept forward. When she was in pouncing distance, Otterkit paused, muscles bunched up in her hind legs... her butt wiggled, her tail twitched, and then she leaped!

The she-kit slammed into her brother with a fearsome yowl, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and dragging them both to the ground as she batted his belly with sheathed rear paws."I've got you now, ShadowClan scum!" she mewed.

The dilute-furred she-cat walked into camp with two lucky water rodents in her mouth. Leaf-bare wasn't exactly the best season for a Riverclan cat to hunt but thanks to Starclan she found these two small pieces of prey in a hidden den she stepped down just by accident. Silvertooth quickly delivered the prey to the fresh-kill pile but before she could even take a rest from a day of work, the sound of kittens out of the nursery reached her long ears.

The naming of Shadowclan quickly alerted her, however, her worries were soon proven false at the moment her gaze fell upon the two siblings, playing with not a care in the world. Silvertooth showed up a small half-smile at the two kits, remembering her own kit-hood days. For a few moments, she wondered how it would be like to have kits on her own... play with them, feed them, raise them to be great Riverclan warriors one day. It would interesting, that was for sure, but the she-cat wasn't quite sure if she would even fir the role of a nurturing mother considering how short-tempered and emotional she could get. Not to mention the lack of a mate.

Well, it wasn't like she needed a tom to have some fun with the kits of the clans while the queens were resting. Maybe one day, one of them would be one of her apprentices anyways. It was part of the warrior life to get to know her clanmates and train the young so they could live for themselves one day. Just like her mentor taught her. "Oh, what's this that I see? A brave future warrior of Riverclan?" Silvertooth mewed when she finally made her way to them. "Seems like you two already have the fire of a warrior! But of course. you still need to know a few tricks to be a true warrior." She mewed referring to their "play-fighting" skills. A playful smirk was drawn on her face as she laid down a few paws away from the playing kittens. "Maybe you would want me to teach a few of them?"

Bluekit let out a most un-warriorlike squeak as he was bowled over, but soon realized it was just his sister. She was always instigating things, and while sometimes it made Bluekit nervous, he loved playing at being warriors. He let out a peal of laughter, attempting to get one of his front paws in between them onto her chest to push her off of him, hind legs desperately trying to protect his soft belly from the onslaught of her sheathed claws.

"Aw, come on! Why am I always ShadowClan?" He protested, but there was merriment in his tone and in his eyes. "I'll never back down, not with fight in my claws!" He crowed, attempting to rear up enough to dislodge her. He was distracted by another voice, and he flopped back on the ground to look up at the approaching warrior, recognizing her even though she appeared upside down to him.

"Hi, Silvertooth! Would you really teach us your tricks?" Any head start on his warrior skills sounded good to him. He might have the code memorized, but that might not help him much with the practical work.

Squealing in between emphatic giggles, Otterkit wrestled with her brother, grunting when he managed to dislodge her and send her tumbling, only to fall back down, belly-up. Seeing an opportunity, she rolled back to all fours and crouched again, preparing to pounce the vulnerable belly, but Silvertooth's appearance made her halt, perking to attention at her words. "Yes! Please teach us!" she mewed, bouncing over to sit beside her brother, so close she was nearly sitting on him. "We'll be apprentices really soon! We can start learning now!" Eager blue eyes shone up at Silvertooth.

Soft pink pads moved across the ground, dragging slightly as Glidingpaw padded over to a shaded spot near the nursery, scowling slightly as she gazed at the kits playing with Silvertooth. She avoided the area like the plague, but the quietest spot she could find was tucked away in the corner near the nursery. During this leaf-bare, this was also the warmest spot she could find as the reeds and brambles sheltered her from the chilling bite of the wind that came off the water from the river.

Glidingpaw found a small hollow in the ground and curled up in it, tucking her paws under her to keep them warm as she wrapped her long tail around her body. Her green eyes swept the camp as she vaguely wondered where her mentor was. Usually Sleepywhisker was awake before her, not that he ever had much planned for her. She flicked her ear and sighed as her gaze settled on the kits playing outside the nursery, feeling a painful twist in her chest as she remembered when she was their age, which wasn't that many moons ago. The loss of Nightfrost was still vivid in her memory and the young she-cat scowled as she felt the emotion rise up in her. She shifted and extended one leg as she rested her head against her leg, watching the kits out of the corner of her eye as she tried to chase away the dark memories.

Her green eyes shimmered at the young excitement of the kits. Oh, the memories of such fun times! Sure, she wasn't exactly a senior warrior or anything like that. Among her clanmates, Silvertooth was still a young warrior of Riverclan but it seemed like forever since she last played... "Hehe, with that energy you will certainly be apprentices in no time." She purred, her body laid down on the ground in a relaxed pose. "You see those rodents over there in the fresh-kill pile? Well, we Riverclan cats aren't quite exactly the best hunters of land prey, as you might guess, but we are quite proud of our fishing and swimming skills. In water, we have the advantage over other clans, even in battle. We fight with grace and honour, using the river on our side and thanks to that, we have won many battles. If the other clans mock us, they are just jealous, little ones. None of us has the skill and the brains to swim like us!" Her voice spoke with wonder and with her paws she made some exaggerated moves just to inspire the young kits' imagination about the great battles and the graces of Riverclan. " However, in leaf-bare, sadly, you aren't allowed to swim in the freezing waters. But that doesn't mean you can learn a thing or two... now, the question is, what do you want to learn first? Some battle tips? Maybe fishing? Or perhaps hunting?" The dilute-calico waited patiently for an answer yet she already had in mind some ideas for the two siblings. If they went for fighting, she could tell them about the weak spots and how to do the basics defensive crouches. If they went fishing, the she-cat would use her tail as the practice run, teaching them to be fast and sneaky. And, as the third option, hunting, a mossball or a feather would be perfect to teach them how to stalk properly.

Bluekit's eyes glimmered as he listened to Silvertooth speak. He wanted her for his mentor! That would be too good to be true, but he could hope. Her words excited his inner noble warrior. He couldn't wait to be as skillful as she claimed their Clan was.

"Hunting? If it helps the Clan in leaf-bare, then we should definitely learn that first." After all, it would likely still be pretty cold out when they were apprenticed. He spotted a cat a bit older than him then nearby, one of the apprentices. Glidingpaw, wasn't it? He knew most of his Clanmates' names by now, although he didn't see the she-cat apprentice very much.

"Do you think Glidingpaw would like to join us? Oh...maybe not, she seems...preoccupied." The kit's tail drooped a bit, before turning back to his sister and getting a boost of excitement from her to raise his spirits once more.

Glidingpaw noticed the kit glance her way and she stiffened, her green eyes flashing as she glanced towards where the young ones had gathered around Silvertooth. Something looked crestfallen in Bluekit's eyes and the young she-cat felt her nose wrinkle as the kit turned away from her. What could she teach them of hunting anyway? It's not like their form would be great or they would retain much of the information. It was always in one ear and out the other with kits.

'Who ruffled your pelt and made you so bitter?' She could practically hear Nightfrost's words as she thought about her attitude and Glidingpaw heaved a sigh. If the older warrior were here she would have cuffed the young apprentice over the ears and given her a shove towards the kits. She should set a good example, what better way to she the Clan you care about them than spend time with them? Bluekit's tail drooping and crestfallen expression crossed her mind and Glidingpaw groaned as she pushed herself to her paws.

"I'm not preoccupied at all," She mewed as she padded over and sat down before the young kits. "With Sleepywhisker out somewhere abandoning his apprentice in the camp, I don't have anything else to do." She flicked an ear and looked down at the kits, remembering when she was their age and just as eager to learn. She flicked her tail and averted her gaze, avoiding meeting them in the eye.

"Hunting?" Otterkit scoffed, batting Bluekit's tail with her paws. "Any ol' cat can hunt, we should learn how to FIGHT!" Her last word was punctuated by her excitedly rising to all fours again, stiff-legged and tail high. "Or are you too fox-hearted to fight me?!" The sandy-white kit bristled, ready to go at it with her brother, until Glidingpaw slinked over to join them. Distracted by the older apprentice, Otterkit left Bluekit's side and pranced over, touching noses with the gray she-cat. "What did YOU learn first?"

Glidingpaw blinked, surprised at the she-kit's approach and sudden touch and she slowly withdrew herself, sitting up taller and lifting her chin as she gazed down at her. 'Learn first?' She wondered as she mused over the question. "Well, before I learned anything Sleepywhisker showed me the territory," She said thoughtfully, then blinked as she looked down at the kits. "That doesn't mean we'll show you guys the territory, at least not yet. You have to be old enough and strong enough to cross the river to get off the island we live on. But after he showed me the territory my first lesson was a fighting lesson." Glidingpaw noticed the light in Otterkit's eyes and she flicked the young she-kit with her tail. "It wasn't really battle training, I was still young and learning so I learned defensive maneuvers before I learned any offensive tactics. Even after four moons of training, I am a better hunter than I am a fighter. Everyone has a skill set they are more attuned to, at least that's what my mother always said. If we were all good at the same thing, we would either go very hungry or wouldn't be able to defend ourselves."

Bluekit scowled, lashing his tail and raising a paw to bat at his sister. She moved away to greet Glidingpaw before he could make contact, and he let his paw fall back to the ground in the spot she had vacated.

"I'm no fox-heart! A warrior always puts his Clan's needs first." He lifted his chin defiantly. "See? It's all important." He was secretly a bit pleased that his sister's attempt to get Glidingpaw on her side hadn't entirely worked.

The Riverclan warrior looked from the corner of her eyes at the abandoned apprentice, feeling some pity and empathy for her. Her mentor was dead and they were almost like a parent to her. Silvertooth couldn't imagine being left aside so young.

Her eyes looked in silence at the interaction between the two siblings and the apprentice with a smile. The warrior was glad Glindgpaw could join too. They were certainly learning the importance of balance regarding skills. "There's no need to argue, young ones. Save that fighting spirit for real threats. Like Glidingpaw was telling you, the greatness of warriors relies on the balance among the skills we should have. Most of all, we must seek to improve in every area so we can truly be exceptional. Hunting and fishing provide food. Fighting and even swimming provide security. All are necessary." Her green eyes suddenly turned to the grey she-cat. "And well, now that Glidingpaw is here, maybe she could help me to teach you the basics in both hunting and battling. What do you say?"

Ooc: Don’t mind this it’s just testing

Otterkit side-eyed her brother at his defiance, but was swiftly distracted again by Glidingpaw and Silvertooth. She supposed that they did make sense. Hunting was pretty important... maybe not QUITE as important as fighting... but almost. Maybe. With a dramatic sigh, Otterkit fell to her haunches, "Allllright then, I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn hunting first? Show us what you've learned, Glidingpaw!"

Glidingpaw blinked and glanced at Silvertooth, having assumed the older she-cat would be demonstrating. She was a little self-conscious with the kits watching her and a warrior other than Sleepywhisker watching her. She shuffled her paws a little before she cleared her throat and stood up. "I know we don't hunt on land very often, but as it's leaf-bare and we don't really fish when it's this cold, here is a basic hunting crouch," She mewed as she shook her paws one by one and set her stance. Her paws were set apart slightly too wide, and when she crouched she was a little off balance. Her tail moved behind her to help her keep her balance and she felt her heart drop to her stomach as she realized her mistake. She tried to play it off and keep going, doing her best to keep her tail above the ground as she took a few unsteady steps forward. To a kit, it probably seemed spot on. To a trained warrior like Silvertooth, the flaws would be as plain as day.

Bluekit watched carefully as Glidingpaw began to demonstrate a hunting crouch to them. He was a much bigger fan of fish than any land prey, but he supposed he would have to know how to hunt on land as well. Especially in leaf-bare, which just sounded worse and worse to the kit the more he learned about the season.

"My turn!" He announced, glancing at his sister with a twinkle in his eye, "You should watch me carefully, and don't feel too bad." Something about interacting with his sister always brought out his more mischievous and sassy side. While quite often he found himself as a sort of counterbalance to Otterkit, sometimes they simply fed off of each other's energy.

The blue-point kit dropped into a poor mimicry of Glidingpaw's crouch, and only managed a couple of steps before completely losing his balance. Oops.

Snorting, Otterkit watched her brother, settling down with her tail curled around her paws. She tried to manage an unimpressed expression, but regardless of their rivalry, Otterkit truly did want her brother to succeed. So she stared at him with a good-natured glint in her icy eyes, and when he stumbled and fell, she laughed, "Good try, Bluekit! My turn to try!"

Bouncing forward, she attempted the same, flattening down into a hunter's crouch, though like Bluekit's, it was a poor recreation. She tip-toed forward, towards Silvertooth's tail, and then pounced! She grasped the tail with her paws and bit down, perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm.

Violetkit had just left the elders den, after rambling on to them for hours about how Leapkit had kicked her in her sleep that night and how she was convinced it was on purpose. Eventually, the poor elders got her to leave by telling her that Otterkit and Bluekit might be bored without her. Of course, the three of them being Ivyfeather's kits, were the best, so she felt bad for leaving them.

She watched as her sister, Otterkit, jumped and landed squarely on Silvertooth's tail. "Great jump, Otterkit!" The pale tabby complimented, a mischievous glint in her green-blue eyes.