[P]int-Sized Intruder

[Deleted]

Fireshine

Lickkit grinned to himself as he slipped inside the warriors' den undetected. It was a few moments before dawn, and the kitten had gotten an idea stuck in his head. He was going to try to meet all of the warriors! Given that many of them were out and about during the day, he'd had to choose a time when they were all in camp. Disturbing them when they were asleep was probably a bad choice… but he hadn't exactly thought his plan through that much.

He made his way over to the closest nest and hunkered down, then attempted to nibble on the hopefully-unsuspecting cat's tail in order to wake them up. The pale orange feline could hardly wait to make some new friends!

[Fireshine]

I twitched softly in my sleep, walking slowly through a dreamy looking forest after dreamy looking mice. It was a pleasant dream, until I felt a sharp pinch on the end of my tail. Jumping slightly, I opened one eye and looked over to the source of the nuisance. There, sitting at the end of my tail, was a small orange kit. He had big bright eyes and a stupid grin on his face. I grumbled in distaste, hoping he would go away if I just ignored him, but that didn't seem to be the case. "Can I help you?" I mumbled softly, lifting my head up to get a clear look at the kit. He was pale orange, much like I was, though he was lacking in the black stripes and long fur. Though he was young, he was still old enough to start getting himself into trouble. "Shouldn't you be back in the nursery?" I asked, stretching my jaws into a huge yawn. Since it seemed that I wouldn't be getting any more sleep, I figured I might as well make conversation.

[Deleted]

The little tom practically glowed with excitement when his new playmate woke up. "Hiya!" he chirped, probably a bit too loudly. He belatedly hoped that he hadn't disturbed any of the other cats, and continued speaking in a somewhat quieter voice.

"The nursery's too boring. I wanted to meet the warriors, since one of you will probably be my mentor when I'm older! Oh - I'm Lickkit, by the way." Lick released Fireshine's tail, leaving the fur half-soaked with saliva, and sat up to observe the older feline.

[Fireshine]

I watched the younger cat glow in excitement. Apparently I had made his day by simply waking up. How odd. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't imagine it will be me," I told him, almost regretfully. The young tom did seem to have a bright spirit and a glowing personality, but the truth was, I was getting to old to be a mentor. Of course I had an apprentice now, but they would probably be my last one before I retired to the elders den. It was a sad thought, actually, leaving my duties behind to the younger warriors. I didn't much fancy the idea, but I knew I couldn't stay forever. "I see," I nodded softly, remembering how boring the nursery could be. "Well, as long as you promise not to wake anyone else up. I'm sure they won't be as happy to see you as I am," I teased, brushing my tail over his nose.

[Deleted]

"Aww! But you seem cool," Lickkit protested briefly. Honestly, it probably didn't matter who his actual mentor ended up being. All of the warriors seemed like they'd be nice. Granted, they were sleeping right now, but he was still in awe.

The amber-eyed kitten tipped his head a bit to one side. "Why not? Do they not have time to play?" he questioned as he tried to slobber all over the twitching tail once more. Drool tended to get everywhere when Lick was around.

(Oops, gotta head off for a bit. I'll be back shortly!)

[Fireshine]

"Well, the truth is, I'm getting a bit too old to be a mentor," I admitted sadly, shrugging my shoulders sorely. "I'm sure whatever mentor you get will be great, though," I reassured him, watching as his drool got all over the end of my tail. I gave a small sigh of distaste, but really didn't let it bother me, because I'd soon be cleaning myself anyway.

I looked around, my green eyes reflecting in the growing light of dawn. The other warriors still seemed to be asleep, and I imagined they would be for quite some time. Though most of the cats were sleeping, I could spot the empty nests where a few cats slipped out for the dawn patrol. There nests still seemed to be soft, so I could only assume that they had gone out recently.

(Okay, bye!)

[Deleted]

The American Shorthair examined Fireshine briefly, then he piped up once more. "You don't look like an elder, though! They're usually all raggedy and gross, and you're… not." The retired members of RockClan would probably box his ears if they heard that, but Lick was blissfully unaware that he'd said something improper.

"Do you have to do anything today? Can we start a game?" Just like that, the little tom was back up to maximum enthusiasm. He promptly forgot about Fireshine's tail as he eagerly bounced on the tips of his toes.

[Fireshine]

I winced in surprise as the kit began bouncing on my tail, his enthusiasm overcoming his common sense. "Well, I'm much older than I look, I can tell you that," I chuckled,sitting up and stretching out as much as I could in the cramped den. "Though, I do have a move or two left in me," I chuckled, turning around to bat the youngster on the ears. There were grumbles if disapproval from around me, but I was caught up in the joy of the game that I didn't even pay much attention.

[Deleted]

He hadn't expected Fireshine to jump right into things, and barely managed to half-duck away from the playful swipe. Grinning once again, Lick proceeded to fling himself forwards in an attempt to land on the warrior's back. He'd always loved play-fights.

"Rawr! I'll get you, TreeClan invader!" Though the growl sounded threatening enough, the effect was ruined by him giggling immediately afterwards. So much for letting Fireshine's denmates sleep undisturbed.

[Fireshine]

I let out a ferocious hiss, my fur standing up on end. "This territory is mine now, Rockclan scum!" I growled, attempting to shake the smaller cat off of my back without hurling the young tom across the den. I rolled over, forcing Lickkit off of my back and pinning him to the bottom of the den. A victorious grin spread across my face, slowly fading as the grumbles from inside the den. There were a few quiet hisses and snarls, but none of the cats had moved in an attempt to quiet the play fight.

I let Lickkit up, picking him up by the scruff and taking him outside the den. I set him down outside, and neatly tucked my paws underneath myself, watching the sun rise slowly. It was growing brighter, the heat of the day warming the earth beneath me.

[Deleted]

(Next time, can you wait for Lickkit to react instead of immediately pinning him down and carrying him around? That counts as minor powerplaying. Thanks!)

Seeing as he was too young to have received formal training, the warrior seemed to have no trouble getting him to lose his grip and tumble off. He was pinned before he could even roll to his paws. Then Fireshine grabbed him, making him squirm a little - he'd never been a fan of getting carted around by the scruff - and carried him into the clearing.

Lickkit shook out his pelt as soon as he was free. It looked like some of the older cats were starting to gather for patrols. "Are they gonna go out? I wanna go, too!" the youngster announced.

[Fireshine]

(I'm sorry. DX)

"Sorry, but you're a bit too young to be heading out of camp, yet," I answered, looking back down at him. There were still specks of dust on his fur, and I bent down to lick them off. "Besides, they shouldn't be heading out for a few more hours," I figured, licking my tail to get rid of the small stones stuck in my fur.

"You're gonna have to wait a few more moons before you're allowed out of camp. Supervised, of course," I explained to him, sensing his excitement and attempting to add a sense of patience to it.

[Deleted]

Lickkit pouted, though it was more for the sake of trying to convince Fireshine than anything. "Aww! But I wanna explore," he complained. "The queens hardly even let me out of the nursery and it's not faaaiiir."

Apprenticeship could never come soon enough. Maybe it would be out of the frying pan and into the fire if he ended up with a strict mentor, but Cloverstar wouldn't be that mean. Right?