meeting the warriors {pre-ceremony--daisynose}

[HAREPAW]

Harekit lazily gazed down at the fresh kill pile. Large, mottled blue-green eyes flicked from one rabbit to the next. Some of the prey still had white fur, the kind that cloaked them from harm during Leafbare's harsh snows, and hid them from predators. Others were reviving the brown fur, much like his own, that they grew to last until the next season of cold. Rosetail had instructed Harekit to pick his own prey for once- he was going to be an apprentice soon, after all.

The kit flicked his tabby-striped tail proudly. A 'paw at last! He half wondered who his mentor would be. Would Thornstar himself take on the apprentice, or would it be a warrior? His mother? No, that wasn't allowed. Parents would be too easy on their own kits, and the last thing Harekit wanted was an easy apprenticeship. He wanted to fight, to hunt, and to take down all enemies. I want to show them I'm the best. The thought invaded his mind like an unwanted thorn, but it was true. Harekit thirsted for a kind of water he couldn't have as a kit- loyalty. Pride. Ambition. He wanted it all. He wanted others to believe in him, trust him, think him as the best warrior ever.

But for now, he was just a kit. With an annoyed flick of an ear, Harekit picked a small brown rabbit and started to drag it out of the fresh kill pile.

[Daisynose]

Daisynose parted her jaws in a yawn, her tail flicking as she surveyed the camp. Though it was New-Leaf at last, and all of the prey had returned, the she-cat couldn't help but feel that there was something missing in her life. Sure, she had warrior friends, and many of them were friendly to her, but Daisynose felt that she somehow wasn't contributing to the clan as much as she hoped to. Her father avoided her a lot, and she noticed that she now spent most of her time trying to figure out just what it was that he was so scared of her about.

As her eyes strayed to the fresh-kill pile, the she-cat's tail flicked again. What was the point of eating if she hadn't even caught anything for her clan yet? It wasn't that she hadn't been hunting lately, it was just the fact that she hadn't been paying attention to her sorroundings, and often fount herself daydreaming about what she could do to get her father to at least notice her. The she-cat scolded herself mentally, feeling that the least she could have done was to hunt for the sake of her clan, and not stand around camp all day like a mouse-brained fool. No wonder her father didn't want to talk to her.

The drearyness in her amber eyes lit up as she spotted a kit dragging a rabbit out from the fresh-kill pile. If it was one thing that Daisynose loved, it was seeing kits. She never quite knew just what about kits she liked, but she knew that she liked to watch them all the same. Perhaps it was their endless energy, or perhaps it was their neverending joy. The mottled brown tabby never really knew. Getting to her paws, Daisynose started to pad towards the fresh-kill pile, her tail flicking back and forth as she smiled to herself.

"Need some help?" She asked when she was within earshot.

[HAREPAW]

Harekit struggled with the rabbit. Despite it being the smallest he could find, it was still nearly twice his size, and much heavier than he. "Stupid rabbit," he muttered softly, his words muffled by the warm fur between his teeth. The prey refused to budge, no matter what he did. Without letting go, Harekit turned his head a bit to examine the freshkill pile. A larger, snow-white rabbit had toppled on top of the one he was carrying. Mousedung! He ignored the other rabbit and continued to drag his chosen one, though unsuccessfully. It was around this time he noticed her approach.

The she-cat wasn't much different in appearance to Harekit- besides being larger in size and female. Her eyes were also amber, when his were a pale green. It took the kit a moment to remember, but Rosetail had once pointed her out as being Daisynose. The warrior's tail flicked back and forth and her muzzle curled upward in a genuine smile. He dropped the rabbit he had been attempting to drag out of the freshkill pile and cocked his head slightly, flicking an ear. "Sure," Harekit tried to sound casual, but it was hard to act casual when you were barely six moons old. His voice still had a squeak to it and his size didn't give him a cocky appearance, either.

[Daisynose]

Daisynose's muzzle parted into that of a smile, and the she-cat bent her head down to pick up the brown rabbit, all the while surveying the kit in front of her. She had recalled seeing him around the nursery once in awhile, and it took her awhile to recall the kit's name. Harekit. The name struck a bell in Daisynose as she picked up the rabbit in her jaws, the brown fur tickling her nose a bit as she glanced at the kit again.

"So are you taking this back to the nursery?" She muttered, the fur in her mouth making it a bit hard to talk. She partly wanted to volunteer to go to the nursery, but since she was carrying the rabbit, Daisynose figured that she would have a good reason to anyways. Besides, she had been planning to visit the nursery that day anyways, to bring some fresh-kill to the kits, and to greet some of the queens. It wasn't that she was thinking of her duty, but the plain fact that Daisynose just loved kits. She didn't know why she did, but she did. There was no "why" about it.