#lightclan!antkit

[ts3lightclan]

(1.23) Kits-And-Tell

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"Psst! Ly! You awake?"

Lilacdream woke to a harsh, excited whisper in her ear. She lifted her head and squinted, able to blearily recognize the rough shape and color of her sister.

"...I am now. What's the matter?"

"I gotta tell you something!" Pepperfrost purred, dropping the snake she'd brought along, probably as an offering to make up for waking her so rudely. "I wanted you to be the first one to find out!"

"I'm... listening..." Lilacdream lied, closing her eyes groggily.

"I mean it!" Her littermate huffed impatiently. "It's really important. I need you to come here."

"Fine..."

Lilacdream dragged herself out of her nest and trudged over, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes.

"Here, give me your paw!"

Without feeling the need to ask questions, Lilacdream offered her paw to her sister. Without missing a beat, Pepperfrost moved the extended paw over to the side of her belly, pressing Lilacdream's paw against it.

"Your... belly is damp, were you laying in a snowy nest?"

"Shh! Quiet. Wait for it."

Lilacdream reluctantly fell quiet, wondering what Pepperfrost was getting at... until she felt a subtle movement coming from inside of Pepperfrost's belly. Instinctively waking up, she yanked her paw away with a gasp.

"Pepper, you're..?!" '

"Yeah!" Pepperfrost was beaming with an excited glow. "I wasn't sure at first, but... I'm expecting kits!"

"Pepper..." Lilacdream faltered for a brief moment. She was, of course, overcome with joy; she was going to be an aunt. But, at the same time, she... worried. Especially considering their current circumstances.

A stir in the nest next to her own startled Lilacdream into neglecting the rest of her sentence, though Pepperfrost of course was not fazed. Stormflower had been sleeping in the healer's den as well when the tortoiseshell entered, and now...

"...You two are loud..." The older she-cat mumbled.

"Oops! I'm sorry, Stormflower." Pepperfrost laughed awkwardly. "I was just so excited about--"

"I heard you the first time. You don't need to repeat yourself." Ouch, shot down. "Celebrate all you like, but be careful. Kits born in leaf-bare are harder to care for. I can only pray nothing bad happens to them."

"Pssh..! Don't be such a downer." Pepperfrost laughed off the healer's advice, quickly hyping herself up once more. "C'mon, Ly. Let's go eat in the clearing! Wouldn't wanna keep Ms. Grumpy from her beauty sleep."

"Alright, alright..."

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Pepperfrost reveals to Lilacdream that she is expecting kits.

Now that Pepperfrost will be moving into the nursery, Magicpaw's training falls on the rest of the clan.

Lightrunner teaches Magicpaw how to fish.

The clan has an overabundance of frogs, toads, and minnows, leaving no cat hungry.

It begins to hail. Antkit and Birchkit play a game where they try to dodge the falling pellets of ice.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.22) Just An Apprentice

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As dawn rose over the thoroughly-snowed territory, Magicpaw was beginning to worry. After their training the previous night, Pepperfrost had asked him to head back first... something about wanting to "enjoy the night air" a bit longer. Magicpaw had been waiting for her, hoping to show her the prey he caught on the trip home, but...

...Pepperfrost hadn't come back. Magicpaw waited, and waited, and waited, and now it was sunrise. Only now could Magicpaw catch his mentor's scent approaching, and he quickly hopped up from his resting place and ran to greet her.

"There you are!" He half-hissed, sniffing her over to make sure she was okay. "Y-You took a long time to come back, so I thought..."

"Hey, take it easy, buddy!" Pepperfrost sidestepped him briefly, grinning. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stay out so late, really! It was just so peaceful out there, I--"

"Ew!" He exclaimed suddenly, recoiling at a new scent he hadn't picked up on until closer inspection. "You reek of kibble! Were you at-"

"Sh-sh-sh-sh--" As his mentor shushed him, Magicpaw reluctantly bit his tongue and shuffled back. He hoped she had a good explanation for this.

"It was just a little bite," She whispered, glancing around as though she hoped no one would hear. "I was hungry, and the prey was all asleep, and..!"

"Going into the farmhouse is one thing, but... eating kittypet food, that's..."

"Against the rules, I know," She huffed. "Jeez, you really need to calm down. It's no big deal. Everyone tries it at least once. You've eaten it before, too!"

Magicpaw's ears grew warm at the mention of his kittypet origins, but he scoffed to try and save face. "I was a kit then! You're a grown-up!"

"Exactly, which is why I get to do what I need to, and you get to follow orders."

"But I-"

"No buts!" Pepperfrost interrupted, leaving Magicpaw fuming. "You're just an apprentice. I get why you're mad, and I won't expect you to understand, but please... just trust me on this one, okay?"

Magicpaw's belly twisted in frustration. The longer he remained a dumb apprentice, the more he began to realize how irresponsible grown-ups could be.

Instead of humoring the argument any longer than he needed to, Magicpaw turned and stormed off. Honeypurr had been reminding him to keep on top of his temper lately, but his mentor was making it far too difficult.

"You're my favorite apprentice!" Pepperfrost shouted after him.

"I'm your ONLY apprentice!" He shouted back.

Sigh.

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Pepperfrost goes missing overnight, and when she returns, she smells of kittypet food. Thankfully, only Magicpaw notices.

Lilacdream notices a twoleg on the edge of the territory and runs to camp for backup. Lightrunner then chases the twoleg away.

Over the course of the day, the weather warms up again. The snow has melted once more, and the pond has thawed.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.21) The First Snow

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It was Lilacdream who first felt the flicker of ice on her pelt, having been in the middle of a grooming session when she noticed the drifting snow above. She looked up at it, purring softly. While she had certainly seen snow, there was a new magic about it. Now, there were more cats to enjoy the serene atmosphere with.

The kits were the second, third, and fourth cats to notice, respectively. Lilacdream watched from afar as Antkit, Birchkit, and Mousekit began excitedly pouncing at snowflakes, giggling amongst themselves and roughhousing.

Honeypurr's litter was so rambunctious, even, that they almost crashed right into Stormflower as she passed. The spotted healer didn't seem to notice nor care, ignoring the altercation like she had already gotten used to this sort of thing. How many leaf-bare seasons had Stormflower seen, Lilacdream wondered? She and Pepperfrost were still rather young, so she knew that Stormflower had been around a lot longer than them. Perhaps the healer had just been around so many kits frolicking in the past that she'd expected this? She'd even wandered off into her nest to take a nap...

As the snow began to stick to the forest floor, the kits only grew more eager to play and run around. It was good that they were so excited, pouncing and dancing amongst each other like this. They would be apprentices soon, according to Lightrunner. Soon, their prancing and playing would be gradually replaced with patrols and hunting. Lilacdream hoped they would enjoy these final days of freedom while they still had the chance They were kits, after all.

...Just watching made Lilacdream resist the urge to stick out her tongue and catch a few snowflakes...

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The first snow has fallen. The clan is celebrating by prancing about in the fresh blanket of white.

Pepperfrost teaches Magicpaw some snowy battle techniques.

Honeypurr and Lightrunner chat about the weather in passing.

Honeypurr watches her kits playing from afar, proud of their growth.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.20) Catching Up

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"Hm?" Stormflower turned from her grooming to face Lightrunner, tipping her head. "What's this?"

"A, um... an offering. Of thanks. For saving Lilacdream's life." Lightrunner felt sheepish offering it, glancing elsewhere, but hoping that the she-cat would accept the offer.

"Oh, please!" Stormflower smiled. "It's my duty as a healer to help those in need, isn't it? It wouldn't be fair to ask for payment, nor 'offerings'."

"Y-Yeah, about that..." Lightrunner furrowed her brow slightly. "What are you doing here..? What about your clan?"

"My apprentice can do his job fine without my help now," The spotted molly mused, humming softly. "I wanted to make myself useful elsewhere. I started to travel, and now, here I am! How fortunate for both of us."

Lightrunner stared oddly at the stranger for a moment, then sighed in relief.

"...I worried for a moment that something bad had happened to your clan," She mewed in a soft tone. "The job of a healer... it's surely stressful. I couldn't begin to imagine."

"You get used to it in time." Stormflower almost seemed to purr at her own statement, and Lightrunner chuckled awkwardly in response. It felt a bit easier for her to talk with this cat... even though they hadn't seen one another in many moons, and despite not being more than acquaintances, it felt nice to chat with a cat who shared her clan origins.

"That being said..." Stormflower sighed, glancing off in the distance, where Magicpaw was preparing a playful sneak attack on an unsuspecting Lilacdream. "It feels like StarClan themselves wished for us to meet here. Your clan is doing well so far, but with herb storage so low and leaf-bare on the horizon... not to mention the pond is already freezing over."

She hesitated, self-conscious now that Stormflower had noticed the very things Lightrunner worried about.

"We... we'll manage," She blurted out suddenly, as if she needed to prove herself to this cat. "We're strong- my cats are strong, and Honeypurr's kits are almost six moons old. They'll be apprentices soon!"

"Hmm... well, that's wonderful!" Stormflower smiled. "I just worry what might happen if more of your clanmates fall ill. I might be able to help with that, if you'd be interested in working together for a while."

"O-Oh..!" Lightrunner stuttered. "Yeah! Yes, of course! I would appreciate an extra set of paws around camp, especially with your expertise... if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not! I've quite missed clan life in my travels," The spotted molly purred. "I'd love to help."

A sigh of relief escaped Lightrunner's maw. It would be one less thing for her to worry about, if Stormflower could help her clan stay healthy through leafbare that is.

"Well... in that case, welcome to LightClan! Here, I'll give you the tour."

"Why, that sounds lovely! There's so much we need to talk about..."

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Lightrunner presents Stormflower with a Rainbow Beetle as thanks for saving Lilacdream's life from The Sickness.

Stormflower decides to stay with the clan and support them through hard times to come. She joins with the rank of healer.

Lilacdream and Stormflower begin to get to know one another. Lilacdream hopes to learn many remedies from the older healer, whom has already earned her deep respect.

Pepperfrost is in an especially good mood now that her sister has recovered from The Sickness.

Birchkit and Antkit race one another around the frozen pond.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.9) The First Meeting

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Standing atop the flattest rock-- the Light Rock, as she supposed they'd call it-- Lightrunner felt incredibly out of place. She never wanted to be a leader, but right now, she was all the clan had in terms of one. Briarclaw was right, just as she was right about many things. Until they had found a proper leader, Lightrunner would have to step forward. "Cats of-" Yikes, her voice cracked. "Cats of LightClan, it's- it's time that I held our very first Clan Meeting!"

Of course, as she said that, it dawned on her that every grown cat in the clan had already gathered. Did she command respect already? Or did they just assume she had something to say based on her stuttering and the anxious prodding of her paws? She cleared her throat and tried not to think about it too hard.

"We've- we've come a long way so far, with all of you leaving your homes in order to join me here... to start something new and alive! I can't thank you all enough for that."

She could spot Honeypurr and Skunktooth sharing a look amongst the group, which made her a little concerned. However, Briarclaw gave her an encouraging nod. Lightrunner smiled. Finding the confidence to raise her voice a little, she continued.

"I think it's time that we had our first proper ceremony," Lightrunner mewed. "Lyla and Pepper, you are both strangers to our camp, but StarClan has deemed you both worthy of ranks in LightClan."

The younger of the sisters, Pepper, seemed to beam with pride. Lyla seemed a bit sheepish, but still happy to be there. Good, Lightrunner thought, I haven't scared them off yet.

"Pepper, as is customary for clan life, you will adopt a new name to match this new journey ahead of you. StarClan shines upon you like a ray of warm light. From this moment forward, you will be known as Pepperfrost, a new warrior!" When Lightrunner had once seen loud roars of cats chanting a new warrior's name, back in her home clan, there were only a few cats cheering with various "woo"s and "yay"s (mostly just from Honeypurr). But with a clan of this size, Lightrunner could pick out each cat's voice individually, knowing their response was approval in their own individual ways. Pepper- now Pepperfrost- seemed to purr with approval. The name suited her, as well as her strange warm-and-cold-toned pelt.

"As for Lyla," Lightrunner mewed, "StarClan has given you their blessing to walk the path of a healer. LightClan will forever welcome your intuition and your connection to the Warrior Ancestors."

It occurred to her now that the only cat here who actually had warrior ancestors was... well, herself. Still, it only felt right to honor them, as they had essentially adopted these new cats as their proteges. One day, if they were successful, LightClan would have its own warrior ancestors, and Lightrunner would be among them.

"StarClan shines upon you like a warm ray of light. From this moment forward, you will be known as Lilacdream!"

This time, it was Pepperfrost who cheered loudest, alongside Honeypurr and (surprisingly) Briarclaw. Lightrunner couldn't help but be a little bit proud of herself for the warrior names she'd come up with. She had never considered how difficult it might be for a leader to come up with names for cats! She had fussed over getting it just right for so long that it was good to feel the gratification afterward. And with that, the clan was dismissed. After giving the meeting its proper end, Lightrunner hopped down from the rock and watched as her fledgling clan headed off to do their daily tasks. Doing so made her heart swell with pride.

They were one step closer to being a true clan now.

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Pepper joins the clan as a warrior. Her new name is Pepperfrost, in honor of her blue-and-red marbled pelt.

Lyla joins the clan as a healer. Her new name is Lilacdream, in honor of the dreams she shares with StarClan.

Skunktooth and Mousekit have some bonding time.

Honeypurr holds Antkit hostage in the nursery.

Magickit watches a hedgehog on the outskirts of the camp.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.8) New Arrivals

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"Wow! I've never seen so much nature before!" Pepper exclaimed aloud, staring out at the forest Lightrunner and Briarclaw had led them to. "And I live on a farm, so that's something!"

"Well, you live here now, I guess!" Lightrunner purred in response. "We're nearing the camp now. It's not a whole lot, but it's home."

Lyla kept up the rear, quiet and visibly exhausted as Briarclaw finished helping her across the thunderpath. It was still nighttime when the group departed, and the small molly hadn't gotten but a quick nap in before they did so. Now it was dawn, and the group was finally in LightClan territory.

But something was different in the scent of their camp by the time they had returned. Briarclaw seemed to have noticed it as well, but Lightrunner was the first to recognize what was different.

"Is that... milk?"

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Under the watchful eye (leaves?) of the Forest Spirit, Honeypurr gives birth to three healthy kits.

Kitten 1 is male. He is Playful and Adventurous.

Kitten 1 receives the name Antkit, in honor of the Honeypot Ant that his mother ate while she was expecting.

Kitten 2 is female and slightly bigger than her littermates. She is Playful and a Hunter.

Kitten 2 receives the name Birchkit, in honor of her light fur and black markings, as well as her sturdy body.

Kitten 3 is female and slightly smaller than her littermates. She is Playful and Clueless.

Kitten 3 receives the name Mousekit, in honor of her small body, big ears, and slim tail.

The group returns home with both Pepper and Lyla.

The patrolling cats bring back enough fresh-kill to feed the new kits, who were eager for some breakfast.