Hissing Duo [private]

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"Viperpaw, wake up already!"

Adderkit shuffled his paws impatiently as he leaned over his brother's nest. It wasn't quite dawn yet, but dim light was filtering into the nursery, and the pale tabby tom had already been awake for ages. It was time to explore! He didn't want to go out alone though, just in case the queens decided to order him back inside - they'd probably hesitate to ruin the fun of two youngsters. Which was why he needed Viper.

He jabbed a paw at the other kitten's flank. "C'mon!"

[Viperpaw]

I heard my brother's voice and shifted in my nest groggily. My eyes landing on him. I yawned, stretching and not before long found myself standing at his side. I'd felt him jab my flank and that made me flick an ear. "I'm coming, I'm coming." I sighed but managed to stifle and excited laugh.

"Alright, let's go! You first!"

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With an excited lash of his tail, Adder hopped backwards. "Finally! Let's go check out the camp," he meowed as he headed for the den's entrance. He'd poked his nose outside a few times before. However, he'd never done a thorough exploration, and the Ragamuffin could hardly wait to start memorizing every nook and cranny of IceClan's camp.

The air was surprisingly brisk that morning; a breeze cut right though Adderkit's soft pelt, causing him to shiver. But he didn't slow down as he headed for the first thing that caught his eye: the fresh-kill pile.

[Viperpaw]

"Heyy! I like to sleep.. I was having a good dream." Man that was a nice dream. I'd been laying down sunning on a rock and it felt amazing. I watched him stick his nose out and observe the camp before he actually started to exit the den. I was curious, as I waited my tail swayed from side to side. "I wanna explore everywhere!" I grinned broadly.

"C'mon c'mon hurry." I bounded after him as he headed for the fresh kill pile. "What's this." I poked a fish. "It's kinda wet..! And slimy.." I stuck out my tongue and sniffed it.

[Deleted]

"You can sleep later," the tabby replied over his shoulder, sympathetic as always. Which was to say, not at all. He wasn't gonna waste his time trying to sound nice - not even towards his brother!

Adder quickened his pace and came to a skidding halt once they'd arrived. He wrinkled his nose at the damp piece of prey that Viper was investigating. "Eww, what's that? It looks gross…"

[Viperpaw]

I sniffed it and poked it before jumping back then narrowing my eyes to look at it from a far. I darted back towards it, jumping on it, feeling it's slimy texture under my paws before I hopped backwards away from it again. "It smells funny." I stuck out my tongue to taste it. "It tastes funny too!!"

I bounded back to my brother's side. "You try it!"

[Deleted]

Never one to back down from something that sounded even remotely like a dare, Adder narrowed his eyes. He crouched down next to the fish and took a big bite. At first, the slimy texture was enough to make him nearly spit it out, but once he got past that… the fish meat was actually rather tasty.

"Yeah, it's horrible. Don't try any," he told his brother before nipping off another piece to chew on.

[Viperpaw]

"Hey! You are eating it. That means it tastes good." I watched him grab another bite with narrowed eyes. I took a bite and gagged, making loud dramatic choking noises before sitting there, slightly content. "Mm.. Not bad." I went to poke it. "Maybe it's one of those things that fly in the air. 'Cause I've never seen it before." I blinked.

"What do you think?"

[Deleted]

"No," Adder lied with his mouth full. It wasn't very convincing. He watched as his brother tried some and made a big fuss over it before quieting down - that probably meant there'd be less for him very soon. The pale tom tried to chew faster.

"Don't think so. It's all wet, see? So it's been in water. What sort of weird prey likes water?"

[Viperpaw]

"Dunno but it's good." I noticed him chewing faster. My eyes narrowed and I took a bite with almost too much to fit in my puny kitten mouth. "WALLY GOD." I tried to say really good but my speech was muffled by a mouthful of fish. I swallowed.

"I didn't know anything could live in there." I admitted.

[Deleted]

Stretching out to reach the gnawed-on fish, he snagged it with his sharp little claws and dragged it closer to himself. Adder managed another mouthful before he had to respond once more.

"Yeah… maybe it just spends part of its time in the water? It couldn't breathe if it was in there all the time. I wonder if our mentors are gonna tell us all about this stuff once we're older."

[Viperpaw]

"Hey, don't take it all." I frowned, trying to drag it a bit towards me. I cocked my head. "Hmm.. That's true! I wonder..." I didn't exactly know a lot about prey, or predators. Then again I was a kit and those things weren't exactly common knowledge for me.

"Probably."

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"Hey! You can look for another," protested Adderkit as he hung onto the fish. He only succeeded in tearing it apart, however, and clung to the piece that he'd ripped off with a pout.

A thought suddenly struck him. "Oh - have you met any warriors yet?"

[Viperpaw]

"That's not fair this is my first prey, I want it!" I successfully moved it towards me. I was wary, with eyes narrowed. But when my brother mentioned warriors I flicked an ear and gave myself a second to think. "No.. I haven't. Have you?" I asked curiously.

I hope he didn't I didn't want to be outmatched.

[Deleted]

The pale feline's ears twitched. "Nope, not yet. I wanted to talk to some of them before we get our ceremonies… otherwise I might get stuck with some dumb mentor that I don't even know. Wouldn't that suck?"