Golden Days (private: Goldenkit)

[Swiftstrike]

@archangelic

Swiftstrike looked suspiciously at the entrance of the nursery for a few moments, debating whether or not to go inside. One one paw he wanted to get to know his kits, and on the other paw the thought of being a father was both terrifying and nerve-racking. Just buck up and go in there! he mentally scolded himself before sighing and squeezing through the nursery entrance.

"Hmph, it's a lot smaller in here than I remember," the warrior mumbled to himself, looking up as his tufted ears brushed against the ceiling of the nursery. Alright, Swiftstrike. Approach the child, he thought to himself, spotting one of his kits. Trying to appear summon up his usual self-confident persona, he approached the young tom. "Heeellooo Goldenkit," he meowed, flashing one of his infamous grins. He tilted his head to the side, "do you know who I am?"

[Deleted]

Goldenkit noticed the tom walk into the nursery.

He cocked his head, as he watched the much bigger cat's ears brush across the ceiling of the nursery. He seemed... Somewhat nervous. The sunny furred tom-kit wondered why. It wasn't like he was going to knock his head on the nursery and bring it crashing down! At least, he hoped he was right to trust the structural integrity of the walls. Ugh, he hoped it wasn't some moron who made them!

The black and white warrior seemed to put on a brave face as he made a bee-line for Goldenkit. Huh. He didn't have anything on him, so it didn't seem he was picking up the apprentice's slack or anything among those lines. He was here for Goldenkit. He knew his father's name was Swiftstrike. Was it this guy? Probably. He couldn't think of a better reason for the tom being here. The larger cat graced the smaller with what Goldenkit figured this guy thought was a charming smile. He also seemed to drag out the greeting waaay too long.

Goldenkit flashed a cocky grin. "Of course I know who you are! You're my Dad, aren't ya Patches?" He wondered if it was bad taste to nickname his Dad. Oh well. Too late.

[Swiftstrike]

Swiftstrike felt his nervousness melt away once his son began to speak--which was a relief, since the unusual lack of confidence he had previously had in himself was making him even more uncomfortable than he was to begin with. "Bingo," the big warrior tom mewed, reaching over with his black-furred tail to ruffle the fur on Goldenkit's head playfully. He cocked a fictional eyebrow when his son refereed to him as "Patches". "Patches, eh?" he grinned, "well, it's better than "old man"," he shivered a bit at the thought. He was still a younger warrior, but that didn't mean he liked being reminded of his growing age.

"Speaking of old men, you've grown quite a bit haven't you?" the black-and-white tom mewed, "bet your apprentice ceremony is coming up any day now, isn't it?" he puffed out his cheeks in a childish pout, "you kids need to stop growing up so fast."

[Deleted]

Thankfully, Swiftstrike seemed to stop being so twitchy after Goldenkit had said his part.

Goldenkit didn't protest with his head fur being ruffled. It actually felt kinda nice. Besides, he could always fix his hair later. Or maybe not. Eh. It'd depend on his mood. He flashed his father a smug expression, hearing him be relieved to receive a nickname that didn't jab at his age. To be fair... Despite the generational age difference, Goldenkit could clearly see that Swiftstrike was on the younger side.

He'd seen older warriors when he'd poked his head outside the nursery. He puffed his chest out with pride. "Yep!" He chirped. "Getting a bit twitchy, want to join Arêtepaw in the apprentice's den!" He laughed. "No way! I'm going to grow so fast, that'll I'll be a warrior in a snap!"

[Swiftstrike]

Swiftstrike chuckled, "well, just don't grow up too fast now," he mewed, long whiskers still twitching in amusement, "or you'll end up in the elders den before I do," the big black-and-white warrior snickered a bit at the thought. It was hard to imagine his son as a grown warrior, and just comical to imagine him as a cranky old elder.

"You know, we should go out hunting once you become an apprentice," Swiftstrike mewed, flicking his ears, which were a whisker-length from brushing the ceiling of the nursery.

[Deleted]

Goldenkit didn't really see a reason to not grow up too fast.

He didn't really like being little. He hoped he'd hit a growth spurt at some point, he was smaller than the other kits and it bugged him. At least no one had pointed it out yet. But sometimes, he swore he could hear them think.

He gave a smug smile. "Well, of course!"