Hailpaw's kits

[Cloud]

She glared at the little nuisances (although they were bigger than her kits) who had so inconveniently appeared.

Stonekit piped up, "No dey aren't! Imma join'n'be da biggest baddest Clanna' evah!"

Then his mother cut in. "Yeh, I used ta think dat too. But lemme tell you sumfin, kits. You's nevah been parents, so ya dun know how hard it is, day in, day out. Dese kits I got drain me to da bone. Love em all ta death, but dey do. So I gots t'get me some help."

[duckyaisha]

Dingypaw introduced herself to Hailpaw's kits, hoping she had gotten their names right. Locustkit and Blotchkit were the only ones that had talked to her, and she had no idea what the names of the other two kits were. She simply didn't try to guess the other two's names, and said only a greeting.
"What's wrong with ya two? Clans'r a good thing! It's pretty hard fer me t'hunt now, and without the experiment Clan I'm in, I might be dead. So don't ya hate on Clans. Hailpaw's got the right idea with what she's sayin'. I used to not like th'idea either, but then I got old and couldn't hunt for mahself."

[Ten]

Tinykit shied away from Whitekit and Greykit, overwhelmed by all the strangers, but at least they weren't as big as Dingypaw. More worrisome was his mother's comment about getting drained "to the bone". He had seen bones before. When an animal died, like a cat or a rat, its body would come apart and then it would have bones left in its shape. Bones didn't give milk, and bones most certainly did not protect you from your big brother.

"No, momma! You no turn into bones! Not bones! Too much death talk! Stoppit!" He covered his ears with his paws and closed his eyes, hoping all the strangers would go away. This scary conversation about Clans and dying was all their fault.

[Cloud]

She sighed. "Calm down, Imma not die. Yer bein' silly, Tinykit."

Stonekit snorted. His brother was so dumb he couldn't tell the difference between words and real life. Obviously, if they actually drained Hailpaw to the bone, she'd be dead already. Although he didn't know why she said things that weren't true, that much he understood.

"Yer so dumb, Tinykit. Get ova yerself'n'see what's real 'n' what ain't."

His mom shot a golden glare at him and he backed down, whimpering. "Be nice to ya brother, or else."

"Aw mom!" He whined. "I LIKE Tinykit, I do, but make him not dumb, pwease!

The little gray she-cat rolled her eyes, and looked at the elder apologetically.

"Ah'm sorreh ma kits 'r bein' so ri-di-kuh-luss."

[duckyaisha]

Dingypaw chuckled at the kits' antics, though it came a harsher, more threatening sound than she had anticipated. Hopefully the kits knew by now that she wasn't a threat, but the smallest one, the aptly named Tinykit, might still be frightened. The poor thing seemed to be scared of most everything; she wouldn't be surprised if he was scared of his own shadow.
She and her sister had never squabbled as much as these four, but her own kits had. Just thinking about them dredged up a host of memories, mostly of her kits, obviously, but some were of her mate. Like a weight upon her mind, her head slowly lowered until her eyes were locked on the ground.
"Kits will be kits," she said, tremors in her voice and in her body.

[Thistle]

Locustkit shoved her muzzle into Whitekit's face, her expression defiant. "How woulds you know dat? Our momma thinks it ain't dumb an' so it ain't!" She paused, then added, "Who're ya?"

[Gosh]

Kits. Bronzefoot hadn't seen any kits in a while, apart from those two who were following Beetlepaw around. While right now they were really nuisances, their minds were malleable. They could be.. impressed upon. They were growing up in a time where the threat of a Clan was looming. But he could cast a dark light on Clanhood. It could make a difference.

Especially since he wasn't directly involved in any Rebellion plan. He felt the need to help out, somehow. He only hoped that no Clanner had gotten there first.

The tom padded forward, up to the kits, and was about to speak when he noticed Dingypaw. Well, that plan's stoned, he thought. He couldn't rant about Clans with her here; she was another member of the Experiment, and his erratic behavior might be too suspicious. He would have to exchange pleasantries, make up an excuse, and leave. "Hello there," he meowed to the kits, and then he turned to Dingypaw. "I was wondering where everybody had got to. Looks like I've found someone," he meowed with a smile.

[Ten]

ooc| I'm carrying Frozenheart over from the talk at the wall.

bic|

Tinykit hid behind his mother as a huge white tom came trotting forward, tail in the air, looking delighted to have spotted a litter of cute little kittens. Frozenheart gave Locustkit a big sniff, then identified Hailpaw as the mother, and in a fit of joy he gave her a purr and a rub as a form of congratulations. They were beautiful kits. With his tail quivering in the air, the tom looked back for his friends, whom he expected to come behind him.

[Cloud]

Stonekit was a little scared of the big tom, but was curious about him too. Other than him and the other tom who'd just shown up, he'd never see another grown up tom before. It made him think of his father. Not that he knew anything about him. All Hailpaw had told them was that they would meet him one day. Maybe one of these toms was his dad. Though trembling slightly, he padded right up to the white cat and chirped, "Are you my dad?" Then he looked at the other one. "Or are you my dad?"

Hailpaw was surprised, pleased, and a little confused at the commotion. But hey, maybe she and her kits WERE the most exciting thing happening in this boring enclosure. The thought made her purr. If they weren't now, they would be one day. She and her kits could ultimately change the direction of the fate of the enclosure by doing whatever they wanted. But what was Stonekit saying? Were they his father? She laughed. They were nothing like Shortwhisker and Grimykit - which was probably a good thing.

"Nah, Stoney, I'll tell ya when we meet yer dad."

"Aw, okay." The gray tabby was faintly disappointed. But even if they weren't his dad, he could play with them anyway. Growling playfully, he attempted to leap on the white tom, but fell short. He settled for clinging to the tom's leg instead and snarling ferociously. "Rarrr! Imma big scary cat! Fear meh!"

Then he leaped off the blue-eyed tom and looked at the tabby with an appraising look. "Who ya lookin' fer? Yeh fromma...Clan thing?" He cocked his head to one side. Then he remembered his plan. "Oo! If ya are, can I join? Imma be da biggest baddest Clanna eva!" He bared his tiny fangs.

Drabheart looked at his friend who had padded over to a group of cats...and kittens. It made him sad for some reason, looking at Frozenheart rub himself against the queen. Then he realized why; because poor Rainstripe might never be able to do that again. Poor, poor Rainstripe. No, he argued, she's strong. We'll find a way to get rid of it. But hopelessness, amorphous and heavy, seemed to drag him down.

But then...he realized what she'd said about names. That was fine and dandy. The thing about kits, though...it made him nervous. It made think of that tom Grimykit, who was a horrible cat - not beyond hope, for no cat was beyond hope, (he reminded himself) but bad. He did...bad things, he'd heard. But Rainstripe was a cat of honor - she wouldn't do something like that. No. She just needed a mate, he supposed. Frozenheart was the obvious choice. He smiled. They would be great together, he had no doubt about that.

But would Frozenheart even want to be her mate? Drabheart couldn't think of any reason why not. They obviously knew each other well. They understood each other. Why not? The only problem was suggesting it....a big problem. Um. Stones. Well, he could try. Hopefully they wouldn't claw him for asking.

So he meowed quietly, "Say, uh, Rainstripe...about kits...I think you'd need a mate first. And I think there's a tom you know who could be." He looked at Frozenheart and smiled, but inwardly he was hoping frantically that she didn't scratch him for it.

And then the queen remembered that she wanted to ask about the Clan attempt she'd heard of. "Say, Dingypaw, how does I join dis Experiment thingy? Is dere some leader I gots to talk to?"

[Gosh]

Everything was happening at once. He glanced over to the three new cats who had just arrived and decided their discussion, while weird, was irrelevant. He turned back to the kits and looked down at the one who was talking. "I might be," he meowed to the little kit. "How much have you heard about the 'Clan thing'?" He wondered if maybe he could convince the little kit that a Clan was bad, without alerting Dingypaw, who seemed to be preoccupied with, from what the mother was saying, convincing them to join the Experiment. Stones.

What could he do? Well, more cats were arriving. Perhaps some sort of conflict would break out - it always tended to happen when cats gathered. Then, maybe any non-Clannerlike actions he took wouldn't be noticed. Unlikely, but possible. Bronzefoot decided to wait and see.