to the little guys — private

[Acornpaw]

Acornkit knew very well that kittens generally weren’t welcomed into their elder clanmates’ dens. They were places of rest, places where warriors and apprentices could wind down after a long day’s work. Acornkit shouldn’t really be here, but he was. Curious paws itched since this morning, and the small kitten mustered up the guts to walk in.

Really, it was just that. He had walked in, and he had no other motives. Now that he was here, what was he supposed to do? Acornkit didn’t want to bother the apprentices. Briefly, he scanned the den for a sign of his older friend, Dewpaw though came up empty-pawed. The blue-eyed boy huffed in slight disappointment. This wasn’t very fun. But in the midst of making his way back outside, back to the Nursery where he was supposed to be, he came upon his sister.

Grinning, he cried, “Deerpaw!”

[Deerpaw]

sorry about the late reply ;^; holidays are busy

Deerpaw looked down at the stones she had collected; one from each border. She wasn't too fond of stones personally, they were jagged and dirty and messy and she just preferred not be around them. It was lucky she had been born into FireClan, where she wouldn't have to worry about those very much. Instead she could contently gaze at the vast golden grasslands, which she much preferred. The stones she had collected however, were not taken because they were stones; but rather as keepsakes, memories, of each border she had passed in her apprenticeship. Not that she really needed them, but they looked rather nice against the fluffy moss of her nest. One was cool to the touch, it's edges smoothened out by the river that marked the border to IceClan; where Deerpaw had found it. Another was black and held a faint glimmer against its nearly-smooth surface, this one had been a chipped off piece of slate that had rolled into the FireClan territory. The last was a mossy, rugged stone that smelt strongly of oak and that she had found by the TreeClan border. The apprentice smiled contently down at the stones, and her neatly kept nest, admiring the order.
A cry from behind startled the she-cat, and she jumped, effectively knocking her neat nest out of place. "Acornkit?" she mewed questioningly, once the initial shock had died down and she had regained her usual composure, "what are you doing here?" she didn't bother scolding the young tom. Well, at least not until she had heard his alibi.

[Acornpaw]

[No worries! Holidays are always super hectic!]

Acornkit winced a little when he saw that he had surprised his sibling, causing her to dishevel her nest. He knew how partial she was to organization. He offered a sheepish half-smile and said, “Sorry!” He noticed that Deerpaw had been decorating her area with something she had probably just acquired. Acornkit craned his neck to see, but he was too far away to make out what it was. The small tomcat rushed over to Deerpaw, rubbing against his sister affectionately. A soft purr rumbled in his throat. “What are you doing here?” Ah, yes. Acornkit pulled away, and the excitement at seeing his sister was beginning to die down. The tips of his ears grew warm.

“Oh, well, um..” he started, frantically thinking of an excuse but coming up with none, “I... wanted to see you..?” the end of his sentence quirked up into an uncertain tone as if he were asking her something. He bit his lip and looked down, hoping that in some show of miracle, Deerpaw would fall for it. Acornkit sincerely doubted it.

[Deerpaw]

"It's fine," Deerpaw mewed, looking over her disheveled nest. While she was partial to order and tidiness it wasn't like she had much else to do for the remainder of the day, and strangely enough cleaning up messes happened to be something the apprentice found rather calming. She froze a bit when her brother rushed up to her, not used to the affection, but quickly relaxed into the embrace, letting out a soft purr herself and rasping her tongue gentle over the tom-kit's head.
Deerpaw's eyes glistened in amusement at her brother's flimsy excuse of an alibi, but she decided not to call him out on it. After all, it wasn't as if him entering the den would do him any harm, unless he happened to step on the tail of a grumpy apprentice. "Well," the dark brown-and-cream she-cat let a small, somewhat teasing, smile grace her features, "I'm glad you've been thinking of me. Now, was there something you wished to talk about in particular?" the she-cat quirked on of her ears questioningly to the side, saying her next words in a playfully sarcastic manner, "or was simply seeing my beauty enough to fulfill your desires?"

[Acornpaw]

Acornkit mewled happily, feeling his sibling's soft fur against his own—fiery red against earthy brown. Between the three littermates, Acorn had always known himself as the most affectionate when it came to family, and he gave a little laugh at Deerpaw's initial jump at the friendly contact before easing into it. "Afraid I was gonna bite ya?" he teased, eyes closing briefly in mirth as he felt a rough tongue draw across the space between his ears.

Acornkit grinned sheepishly up at his sister. Really, he knew better than to assume he could ever fool her. Had to try, his mind piped in cheerfully. Deerpaw willingly went along with it anyway, and Acornkit's ego was salvaged a little. "I'm always thinking about you.. about everyone in our family," he replied, an earnest tone to his voice. He scrunched his nose and shook his head. Acornkit opened his mouth, formulating a response in his head, but he hardly got a word out before Deerpaw was joking about her beauty.

The tomcat rolled his eyes, bumping his slight figure against her leg. "Yeah, right. You wish! Everyone knows I'm the prettiest." He lifted his chin up and puffed out his chest, showing off.

[Deerpaw]

"Who knows?" Deerpaw mewed somewhat sarcastically, "you seem to be full of surprises today; I'm guessing the idea would not be too far fetched." Her amber eyes rolled, although the mental image of the small tom attempting to take a bite out of her was rather amusing.
A gentle smile graced the apprentice's features as she noted to the earnestness in her brothers voice. I'm glad too hear it, she thought, not able to bring herself to mew the words aloud. The she-cat had never been the best at conveying her emotions, a strange shyness took over her mind whenever she felt like talking about adoration aloud. Maybe it was because, as a kitten, she found talking about such things to be childish and embarrassing. Now it was just a skill she lacked, and was too stubborn to face.
The bump of Acornkit's head against her leg snapped Deerpaw from her momentary nostalgia. "Oh, of course, how could I forget?" the she-cat mewed, laughter edging her tone as she was amused by her brother's words.

[Acornpaw]

Acornkit mischievously bared his teeth, dropping his jaw and pretending that he was about to latch onto his sister’s paw. “Fear me!” he exclaimed with what he thought was a fierce growl, and proceeded to burst into a short laughing fit. “Nah,” he mused, “I think I’ll spare you today.” He darted between Deerpaw’s legs, pawing at her tail and standing on his hind legs, forepaws resting against her flank. “I don’t think anyone should forget, especially when they see me. But you can be third prettiest because Ma is the second prettiest after me.” Acornkit proudly grinned, throwing his head back for more dramatic effect.