Beetlekit and Raccoonkit

[Raccoonkit]

-Please forgive the lame title. I'm not good at titles.-

Raccoonkit had been given a ball of moss from one of the apprentices. They had collected too much and they gave her one to play with. She sniffed at it first, but accepted it. Now, she thought, who will play this game with me? She glanced around the camp. Warriors passed by her doing whatever important warrior stuff they had to do. Apprentices were napping or eating from their training sessions. The brown tabby huffed. It seemed no one would play. She sat there staring at the ball of moss like an idiot until she thought to look in the nursery.

"Of course!" she exclaimed to herself. One of the smaller kits would want to play. Raccoonkit picked up the ball of moss and entered the nursery. Amber eyes scanned for someone who would like to play. She saw another set of amber eyes and purred to herself; the dark brown tabby set down the moss ball.

"Hello," Raccoonkit called out. "One of the apprentices gave me this ball of moss; do you want to play with me?"

[Deleted]

-Forgiven xD-

Beetlekit was curled up in a tight ball in her nest with her mother and a few siblings, who all seemed to be napping. She had tried to join them in their slumber, though she had already slept earlier that day. She wasn't exactly bored, though she did want something to do. She was very young, and hadn't met anyone aside from her mother. She didn't mind being alone, though she supposed she wouldn't mind some company.

She lifted her head in surprise at the greeting, amber eyes boring into her own. "Hi." She slowly gathered herself to her paws, her voice barely above a whisper. She considered the offer, carefully stepping out of the nest. "Okay... How do you play?" Her head tilted lightly to the side, voice remaining small.

[Raccoonkit]

-Thank you, ha!-

Raccoonkit dropped playfully into a crouch, her butt wiggling. "I'll pass it to you like this," a brown paw hit the moss ball and sent it flying over to Beetlekit. "Then you pass it back." A kit grumbled at Raccoonkit's louder voice. The brown tabby ducked her head and apologized. "Maybe we should play outside since the others are sleeping."

If she were to be apprenticed soon this is a game she would miss. She decided for herself now that as an apprentice she would make time to play with kits. Stormpaw had been kind enough to show how to bury their prey. Raccoonkit wanted to be like Stormpaw when she became an apprentice.

[Deleted]

Beetlekit squeaked in surprise as the moss ball was thrown at her, ears flattening against her head as she jumped out of the way. Embarrassed, Beetlekit moved towards the harmless ball of moss. She lowered herself to the ground as a cat grumbled in annoyance. "Outside? O-okay." She stumbled over her words, nervous.

Beetlekit pushed the ball towards the den exit, looking up at the kit who's name she hadn't learned yet, hoping she would go first and lead the way.

- sorry, mobile!-

[Raccoonkit]

-That's okay. -

Raccoonkit let out a mrrow of laughter. Beetlekit acted just like Raccoonkit had. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who shied away at first!" The brown tabby followed Beetlekit to the nursery's entrance. The shy kit reminded Raccoonkit of Icepaw when he was still in the nursery. Raccoonkit paused just inside the entrance. "I'm Raccoonkit," she introduced herself. "What's your name?" Amber eyes glanced down warmly at Beetlekit, trying to reassure that shier kit that she was harmless. Raccoonkit realized that this kit was a good moon or two younger than her. The dark brown tabby decided to take it easier on Beeetlekit until Beetlekit was a bit older.

[Deleted]

Beetlekit offered her an awkward smile, one that quickly faded back into a more reserved look. She wasn't exactly sure how to act around this cat. She took in a deep breath, forcing herself not to worry so much. Nothing in camp would hurt her, and the older kit would protect her, right?

"I'm Beetlekit." She responded, studying Raccoonkits expression. She was certainly a friendly cat. Beetlekit moved away from her, keeping the mossball close to her. She hadn't forgotten about their game. She hit it lightly with her paw, watching it slowly roll towards her. She hadn't tried very hard.

[Raccoonkit]

Raccoonkit nodded, taking note of Beetlekit's small smile. It was reassuring to her that Beetlekit wasn't too shy to brush her off. Protecting this smaller kit was at the front of Raccoonkit's mind. For a moment Raccoonkit wondered how Beetlekit would make it through the journey; it was the brown tabby's hope that Beetlekit would survive. Raccoonkit would make sure of it.

"Beetlekit," the brown tabby repeated. "It sounds like a good name." Raccoonkit nodded and easily caught the moss ball. "I'll race you to it." Raccoonkit swat at the ball sending it into the camp. Raccoonkit trotted off quickly, sure that she would win though she wanted Beetlekit to win to. She slowed down a tail-length from the nursery. Huffing so Beetlekit would think it was exhaustion.

[Deleted]

Beetlekit blushed at the comliment. "Thank you." She looked down at her paws, not so sure. It wasn't a bad name, though it was a weak name too. Not that a strong name would suit her, she was the opposite.

Beetlekit stayed where she was for a few moments, watching Raccoonkit take off after the moss ball. She blinked, her small legs clumsily starting to move. She picked up the speed when Raccoonkit slowed, eyes wide with excitement and wonderment. Could she really win against an older kitten? She pounced on the moss, panting. "Woah, I actually won?" She questioned, looking down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." She quickly added, thinking that the older kit would take offence to her loss.

[Raccoonkit]

Raccoonkit beamed when Beetlekit passed her. At the beginning Raccoonkit was worried Beetlekit wasn't going to be able to pass her; she was glad she slowed down. When the brown tabby stopped she exhaled loudly. "You beat me!" Raccoonkit exclaimed in mock horror and her tail drooped.

"It's not rude to win at contest. You didn't cheat, did you?" The older kit lowered her head to meet Beetlekit's gaze. Her look wasn't stern nor was it too friendly. Raccoonkit breathed normally again.

[Deleted]

Beetlekit flattened her ears to her head fretfully at Raccoonkits annoyance, blinking slowly.

"I didn't cheat!" She squeaked, her voice raising an octave. It wasn't exactly possible to cheat at a race, though she decided not to mention that fact. She forced herself to look in her eyes, trying hard to look at innocent as possible. She was, after all.

[Raccoonkit]

Raccoonkit backed up a step. Beetlekit's defensive reaction was something Raccoonkit admired. Beetlekit had spunk. The brown tabby lifted her head. Maybe teasing the littler kit was a bad idea. In her mind, it made Beetlekit's win more realistic. Raccoonkit was sure that Beetlekit would find out that she let her win at some point, but it wasn't important now.

"Okay," Raccoonkit conceded, "I believe you." She relaxed her muscles though it was difficult to see past her long fur. To reassure Beetlekit, Raccoonkit released a purr.

"Since I hit it out here, you can hit it next." Raccoonkit was trying to be fair. She tensed her muscles, ready to chase after the ball.

[Deleted]

Beetlekit relaxed, nodding her head with a grateful sigh. She didn't want Raccoonkit to be mad at her, thinking that she had cheated. After all, this would be her first friend if she was successful in winning her over. She didn't think it would be that hard, if Raccoonkit didn't like her she wouldn't have told her to hit the ball again.

"Okay." She bounded towards it, circling around it so she was facing the feline. She gave the ball a hard swat unlike the first time, sending it tumbling towards the older kit. She was beginning to enjoy playing with the mossball, she had never played any games with other cats before.

[Raccoonkit]

Raccoonkit felt a surge of warmth through her small body. Beetlekit was the nicest kit she had met so far. The shier kit gave Raccoonkit a sense of purpose, like being a bigger sister. Raccoonkit enjoyed the task. She wondered if this was they if felt to mentor someone. Though she wanted to be a warrior Raccoonkit didn't feel ready to mentor someone. She had a lot to learn. Maybe she could practice with Beetlekit.

The dark brown tabby's amber eyes widened at the strength of Beetlekit's swat. Totally unprepared because she was in her thoughts, Raccoonkit got hit in the face with the moss ball. The unexpected force caused her to sneeze. Her fur stood on all ends, making her appear twice her size. The moss ball sat in front of her. Raccoonkit was silent for a moments before bursting into laughter.

[Deleted]

Beetlekit winced as the moss ball smacked Raccoonkit in the face, ducking her head in embarrassment. She tried to look as small as possible, her tail lowering, waiting for the older feline to blow up. Her head tilted to the side when she burst out laughing, though she quickly found it contagious and joined in. Beetlekit found herself unable to stop, collapsing dramatically to the ground and rolling onto her back, the fits of giggles growing louder.

Beetlekit's laughter slowed, and she looking at Raccoonkit's upside-down figure with a goofy grin on her face. "Sorry." She smiled cheekily, showing off her tiny sharp teeth in a wide grin.

[Raccoonkit]

Raccoonkit had closed her eyes to laugh. She was able to pause for a moment and opened her eyes to see Beetlekit on her back. The sight made her laugh even more because she thought of beetles on their backs. Raccoonkit rolled over and laughed for what seemed like minutes.

Eventually the dark brown tabby was able to stop laughing; she was jubilant that she ran into Beetlekit in the nursery. She was having a lot of fun! Quickly righting herself, she began to groom herself. Dust had settled into her fur. Raccoonkit shook out the excess dust, releasing a dust cloud. She disliked being dirty, but having long fur was difficult to clean. Giving her fur a few licks she looked over to Beetlekit, patiently waiting for Beetlekit to be ready to continue their game.