Tunnel Expedition!

[froststream]

"I couldn't either. I hate water, so no RiverClan, I don't feel safe out in teh open, so no WindClan, and ThunderClan are good hunters, and I don't really like doing that. The only Clan I'll ever live in is ShadowClan, until I'm an old, old elder."

She purred again. "It's a while till we'll get to WindClan," she huffed. "And then we've gotta pass taht and get to teh barn Good thing it's a Gathering, otherwise there'd be tons of patrols that would send us home. And then Mommy would get mad."

Paleflower didn't anger easily, but when she did, it was bad. She wouldn't raise her voice that much, but serious, disappointed words scalded her more than any amount of shouting ever could.

[Ki]

"We'll be cranky old elders together!" Duskkit giggled, gently nudging her sister. She hoped they wouldn't be cranky. Duskkit wanted to be the nice elder. The one the kits and apprentices came to for stories. She and Tawnykit could tell them about the time they'd both snuck away as kits to see a group of loners. Duskkit shuddered at the mention of her mother angy. Paleflower didn't yell, didn't hiss...she talked in this low disappointed monotone. Duskkit would have liked it better if she yelled. It would be easier that way.

"I hate it when she's mad...she's SCARY." Duskkit loved her mother. But like all sensible children, she knew that mothers were freaky when mad.

((Hm...what do you think. Will Paleflower be angry at them when Alfa brings them back, or do you think she'll be too relieved to care?))

[froststream]

((Hmm... At first, probably relieved. But when she recognizes Alfa... It'll be weird. Awkward, then shocked, then furious. ))

Tawnykit nodded. "When she gets mad, every word feels like I get smaller and smaller until I'm a bug, and then she goes to lie down, and I feel guilty. t takes a while for me to grow into a regular kit again, but then she gets mad at me again or I do something stupid and I shrink again."


She shuddred. "I don't try to shrink, of course. But sometimes I do something, get punished and only realize how dumb I was afterwards. Then I wish I could go back in time."

[Ki]

((Furious at Alfa or the kits? Or both? XD))

"I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I feel I'm so small that I'll disappear right then and there! Poof! No more Duskkit!" Duskkit shuddered. She wouldn't put that power past her mother. Who knew what Paleflower was capable of? Duskkit had never seen her do anything warrior-like. She wondered when she and her sister were out of the nursery if her mother would go back to being a warrior. Duskkit's tail flicked at that. It would be fun to go on patrols with their mother. Despite all, Duskkit loved her mommy. Why wouldn't she? "I can't wait till I'm an apprentice. Oooh...who do you think my mentor will be?"

[froststream]

((Probably more at Alfa. The kits, she would first be relieved, then extremely protective of them. When tehy were alone, she'd just explode. Not like her usual self. She'd start yelling and stuff. ))
"I don't know," Tawnykit admitted. "It has to be someone wonderful, like you deserve. One who's curiosu and brave, like you. Or would they choose someone who was your opposite? To balance things out, do you think?"

She kept walking, thinking. Her feet were a bit sore. How sore they would be when they got to the barn. Then, she'd have to rest for a moment. Just so she could be her best when she got her first glimpses of loners. She felt excited already.

She, too, loved her mother dearly. Like any kit, though, sometimes she just wanted freedom. Paleflower was very observant and always protective of her kits. It was motherly instinct, she supposed.

[Ki]

((I'm sure Specklestar and the rest won't be pleased with them, either.))

"I don't know. I want to get to know the warriors a bit more. One of them is bound to be my mentor. Do you think if I asked Specklestar for someone to be my mentor, she'd let them have me?" Duskkit doubted it. It was Specklestar's judgement over a kit's preference. She would gladly accept anyone to be her mentor. None of the cats in their Clan really got under her skin. Sometimes her mother could be naggy and overprotective, but that was what mothers simply did. "I'll just be happy to be an apprentice, really." Apprentices could go out at night and hunt if they wanted to. They could go to Gatherings. And they didn't have to stay cooped up in the nursery with their mommy fussing at them.

"I'm gonna be the best apprentice ever! And when I'm big, I'll be the best warrior ever!" Duskkit mewed, slashing her claws at an invisible enemy. "No cat will mess with ShadowClan until I'm old and blind! And then my kits will keep ShadowClan safe!"

[froststream]

Tawnykit laughed. She battered a falling leaf until it crumpled into a tiny, shredded clump. "I think Mommy can choose who you get. Only if Specklestar agrees, of course. So be extra good and drop hints, and Mommy will probably get you the one you want."

Tawnykit sort of longed to want to be a full-fledged apprentice. But she couldn't make herself want it, when she felt such intense belonging in the medicine cat den. It would be neat to get messages from StarClan. And then... Oh my..

"Duskkit!" she screeched. "If I'm a medicine cat, I can talk to StarClan, and I can talk to Daddy if he's dead! And of course, if he was a good cat. but he must've been, because why else would Mommy have loved him?"

[Ki]

Duskkit jumped at this realization. She pawed at her sister, her lovely green eyes shining with life. "We can sneak out again next Gathering and go talk to StarClan!" Her sister was born to be a medicine cat. Duskkit knew that their paths would part within the next two moons. Duskkit would take the path of a warrior, a fighter...Tawnykit would take the path of a medicine cat. "You can tell me what he's like!" Duskkit didn't believe StarClan would talk to her. Tawnykit was the future medicine cat in the family. Not her. And StarClan didn't talk to warriors unless they were leaders.

[froststream]

"Yeah!" Tawnykit agreed. "And while I'm talking to Dad, you set it straight we're not leaving our Clan to any cats who think otherwise. We're a good team."

Her mother often said that. She would say, "You two work well together, and taht's why you've got to stick togther when you grow up." But surely Mommy wanted to stick with Daddy? Mother was so fond of talking about close relationships it seemed odd she wouldn't have stuck with whoever was closest to her.

[Ki]

They were a good team. The two sisters were very different. Tawnykit was built for running. Duskkit was built for fighting. Tawnykit rarely spoke around anyone other than her mother and her sister. Duskkit would strike up a conversation with a badger if she could. Tawnykit was, most likely, going to be a medicine cat. Duskkit would become a warrior. Yet somehow the two managed to work together and get along perfectly. A good team indeed. Yin and Yang, some might say. "We are a good team. And nothing will ever slipt us up."

[froststream]

"Nothing," Tawnykit agreed."Even StarClan can't take us apart!"

That made her feel strong. Like, with DUskkit, she could do anything, even defy StarClan. Duskkit was the strong, curious, adventerous, intelligent and sensible one. Tawnykit was, self-addmittedly, the quiet, independant, fast and bright one. The two always made it work, whether it was escaping the nursery or playing a wrestle game (which Tawnykit most often lost). They were like... Like... The Sun and the Moon. That made sense, actually.

"We're like the Sun and the Moon," Tawnykit purred. "You're bright, cheerful, outgoing and make people smile, so I bet you'd be the sunshine. And I'd be the moon because I'm... discreet, independant and... yeah."

((So, do you want them to actually arrive in the loner barn? Alfa is searching right now, so do you want them to arrive or be found?))

[Ki]

Duskkit's eyes sparkled. Yes. She was the sun, her sister was the moon. It seemed to fit perfectly. Tawnykit was quiet and independent, docile at times. Duskkit herself was brave and strong. Paleflower had birthed the sun and the moon! "Exactly." Duskkit rasped her tongue over her sister's ear. They were the best of friends. Nothing could stop them. Not even StarClan themselves.

((Sure.))

[froststream]

((Okay, so is that a being found or arriving? Heehee, Alfa is in for a real treat.))

Tawnykit trundled along happily. She was content in the silence. She only sounds were their purring, footsteps and the occasional hooting of an owl. That was all she needed. The moon, Duskkit and adventure. Well, those were the things she needed mentally and emotionally. Every cat needed food, water and shelter, and Tawnykit was no exception.

"Think we'll run the hunting grounds of StarClan together?" she asked. Sometimes she was afraid one of them would do something terrible - and be banished to the dark forest. That would be terrible! But she had faith in Duskkit, just as she did in herself.

[Ki]

((Being found))

"I think we will." Duskkit replied confidently. She looked up at the stars. She pictured herself and her sister running across the velvety black skies of StarClan together. Her sister a former medicine cat, and herself a warrior. Best friends in death as they had been in life. "We'll always be together." Duskkit stepped over a puddle and caught a glimpse of reflection in the shining moonlight. She was muscular, strong. With proper training Duskkit could grow up to be a powerful warrior. A pretty one at that. "I wish I looked like you, Tawnykit. You're so dainty and pretty-looking."

[froststream]

Tawnykit whipped around and stared at Duskkit. How was in even possible for Duskkit think she wasn't pretty? The she cat was absolutely stunning looking. Tawnykit didn't give a care for what she looked like, but Duskkit was genuinely beautiful.

"You're the most beautiful cat I know," she said honestly. "Inside and out. Duskkit, you are..." She thought of a word. "Stunning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marsh. Thunderpath. Bugs. Mud.

Alfa snarled at what he was trudging through. Disgusting. He hated it. He picked up the pace to a trot, hoping to get out of the wet soon. He was grumbling and yanking his once again stuck paws from the muck. When he freed a paw, he found a gentle slope leading up to firmer, dryer earth. He leapt up and took a moment to catch his breath. He glanced u when he saw two tiny little cats toddling towards him. He thought this was weird. Two kits off on a midnight stroll? Ha.

He had caused enough trouble tonight. He wouldn't torture these kits. He took a few more breaths, and stood, starting to walk away. Then, his head snapped back. The grey kit. She had silky long fur, was very pretty, even for a kit, and looked somewhat familiar. He blinked, looked gain. Her fur looked like Paleflower. He squinted. She was a slim, compact build, very strong looking. He noticed her pleasant walk, and looked down at himself. He walked the same way, with back legs stepping before front paws. She looked so much like him and Paleflower...

And the other kit. A calico she kit. She had Paleflower's face, without a doubt, but another fur colour. He heard the grey one call her Tawnykit, and he nearly fainted. This could all be some weird, twisted coincidence... But when Tawnykit answered the grey one as "Duskkit", he knew it wasn't. Then it must be a trap. He scented. No other cats, he was sure. It was now or never. He could never harm these kits enough. Ha!

He crept behind them, slowly. Then said, "Are you Duskkit? And you, Tawnykit? Paleflower's kits?" He put on an innocent, curious, happy face, like he too was an innocent kit, when really he was the polar opposite.