The harsh winds were not enough to daunt Owlkit from exploring the clearing, but his mother's soothing yet firm voice beckoned him back into the warmth of the nursery. Though his mother's words were filled with love, Owlkit knew she could be strict when necessary. Letting out a huff, the two-toned tom laid his head on his paws, dramatically showing his boredom.
"Why don't you play with the younger kits? Airheart would be happy for the peace." His mother murmured, nuzzling the kit towards the other queen's nest. Owlkit stifled a sigh, secretly excited to finally play with his denmates - the other kits in the nursery were close to becoming apprentices and didn't seem as interested in him anymore as they were the actual apprentices. Owlkit cheerfully greeted Airheart before peering into her nest, his amber eyes immediately drawn towards the fiery ginger coat of the smallest kit - Tinykit.
"Hey, Tinykit -" he paused as the younger kit turned towards his voice, seeing her closely. Although Owlkit had seen Tinykit before, he couldn't help but feel he recognized her further than the few times they had been allowed to stray from her parents. Confused by the thought, Owlkit shook himself, bringing himself back to the present. "Tinykit, do you want to play or explore with me? If Airheart is okay with it. Have you been outside of the nursery yet?"
T I N Y K I T
The tiny little kitten hadn't strayed too far from her mother's belly since she had been born. For some reason, the world outside their nursery seemed daunting to her. Big. Like it went on forever. The outside world was scary to a baby like herself- a foreign world away from her moms and her dad. She didn't want to leave the nest yet. She didn't feel ready. Unlike her siblings, whom Airheart practically had to keep on a leash to reign them in.
Today was no different. Airheart was trapping Horizonkit by his tail to keep him from running off without supervision. Her brother bickered at their mother and begged to be released, but the sandy-furred queen refused to let go. The rest of her siblings, their parents didn't worry about as much because they weren't as reckless or rebellious.
But Tinykit's attention was torn from her family at the peep of another voice. This particular voice felt close, and it garnered her concentration more than her mother. When she turned, she faced a brown kitten whose face she could have sworn she had seen before. They knew each other's names and of course they had seen each other around the nursery since- but it felt like more than that. Somehow, he felt just as close to her as her own blood.
"Mhm, I'd love to!" Tinykit responded enthusiastically. For some reason she couldn't explain, she felt hesitation to leave the nest regarding her mother, but she didn't fear a path involving Owlkit. "Mom? Can I go play with Owlkit?" With a verbal reassurance from Airheart, the little orange kitten turned back to Owlkit and nodded to him.
"Okay, you lead the way."