[.sins.]

Username: .sins.
Cat Number: 612
Cat Name: Orcakit
Gender: male
Rank: kit
Clan: Glacierclan
Age: 4 moons
Prompt:

Username: .sins.
Cat Number: 613
Cat Name: kit
Gender: female
Rank: Oceankit
Clan: Glacierclan
Age: 4 moons
Prompt:

xxxxx"Oceankit, we really should turn back now," the tremble getting out better than the tom kit wanted it to sound. He was the oldest, but by no means the bravest of the two.
xxxxx"Not until I see the whole territory," the grey she-cat chirped back, her heart set on a dangerous mission. The cries for the kits in the camp just mere whispers on the wind now. The grey kit pushed on through the brush, her soft kit fur catching on the ends of sticks, pulling gently at the skin beneath. "I can't wait for this stupid tangled fur to be gone. Then all these branches will stop pulling at me!"
xxxxx"Maybe that's Starclan telling you to go back to the camp!" The black tom wailed, hoping for a warrior to hear him. He stopped abruptly when a loud snapping sound came from the right of the kits.
xxxxxBoth pricked their ears at the sound. Their breathing shallow, hearts racing, and tiny claws digging into the hardened dirt beneath them. Oceankit got low to the ground, not wanting to make a noise, while her brother, Orcakit, ran back for the clan camp. A sharp yip and the chase happened. Oceankit sprinting behind her brother, with the calls and yips of the dog-like creatures behind them.
xxxxx"Don't stop running!" Oceankit called out to her brother, falling behind him. His black pelt moving quickly through the forest. She felt a new wave of fear and also calm wash over her, as her brother didn't look behind him. Caught up in his own worries and fear. The warmth of the coyote's breath on her pelt, she awaited the worst, while her legs pushed her on still. The heat quickly faded, and the yowls of warriors filled her ears. A jaw quickly snatched her up and made its way back to the camp.
xxxxx"Bring her in," Fawnleap called out, "quickly!" The small kit was dropped harshly onto a nest of feathers and moss. "What were you two thinking? You two-"
xxxxx"There are about five other warriors out there fighting off a small band of coyotes," Riverstorm interrupted the medicine cat. The brown she-cat nodded and quickly checked over the kits before shooing them out.


xxxxxThe sun was starting to set behind Bear Mountain when the warriors that had saved them came back. Some were wounded, but none as bad as Glacierstar. The tom was being half carried and half dragged by two warriors, his body still and unmoving. Orcakit watched in horror as they took him to his den.
xxxxx"Oceankit, what did we do?" the black and white tom whispered. Oceankit had no answer but was certain that they would be punished for it.

[/nyx.]

Username: bmkmb
Cat Number: 612
Cat Name: Candirukit
Gender: male
Rank: Warbler (kitten)
Clan: CaladiumClan
Age: 4 moons
Prompt: below

Username: bmkmb
Cat Number: 613
Cat Name: Arapaimakit
Gender: male
Rank: Warbler (kitten)
Clan: CaladiumClan
Age: 5 moons
Prompt: below

The blue-furred kitten plodded along, steadily progressing through the seemingly never-ending territory. She set her maw into a firm line—much more of a frown than any sort of smile. With her, she carried one goal: she was going to leave the Caladium. She was going to leave and never return because really, she wasn’t happy there. Not quite. She would be better off on her own, somewhere out there… or so she thought. She hoped.

Barely a dozen wolf-lengths away from her, a different, black-furred kitten plowed through the rainforest. He pranced around with a confident bounce in his step. With him, he carried one goal: he was gonna brave the Ferals. He was gonna brave that super dangerous forest, and he was gonna make his leader and his mama—they were two different cats, but both equally important, mind you—he was gonna make them proud.

Only, he was too wrapped up in his fantasies for the future to hear the near-silent flapping of wings approach him. Too late, he heard the shrill battle cry of the eagle above. Or perhaps… maybe not too late.

Still, he let out a high-pitched shriek at the threat. Suddenly, his heart was up in his throat and he forgot all about making his special people proud; all he cared about was run, run, run!

She heard him long before she saw him, though she’d seen the threat—at least, it’s shadow—long before she heard it. Still, she nearly forgot to move when the two came her way. “Candiru!” she yelped, extending her senses wildly before finding a safe spot between the large roots of the towering trees. She bolted for the hole, letting out a shaky breath that she hadn’t purposely held when Candirukit collided safely into her. “Candiru…” she sighed.

Outside, an angry screech sounded, and they could hear the scraping of claws against the bark. Their eyes widened, both terrified in their own right. Discreetly, they backed up closer to the far end of the crevice, pushing closer against each other.

“Candirukit, what are you doing out here? It’s dangerous!” the blue sepia she-kit reprimanded. She ignored the hypocrisy of her words.

But when Candirukit didn’t reply, she looked closer at him. He looked… more than terrified. What was a worse word than terrified? The she-kit wondered. “Can-di-ru,” she sounded out over the commotion outside, just like her mama would do whenever she had a nightmare. Only, this nightmare was real, and she’d never planned on seeing her mama again to begin with…

“Ara?” the black-furred tomkit replied eventually. He seemed so small, so lost… and not just because he was literally smaller than she was, being the younger of the two.

“Mhm,” the she-kit dubbed ‘Ara’ encouraged.

Slowly, Candirukit murmured, “Ah-ra-pai-ma.”

It brought a smile to the older kit’s maw, but she quickly beat it down again—quickly replaced it with her usual not-quite-a-frown.

“Yeah,” Arapaimakit praised. She couldn’t hear any more pressing noises from outside, but she decided not to stick her head out and risk it just yet.

Now, Arapaimakit had a few choices. She could: a) leave Candiru and go leave the Caladium forever; b) bring Candiru with her and leave the Caladium forever; c) return Candiru to camp, then leave again later; d) return Candiru and stay with the Caladium; or e) kill Candiru herself and leave.

She marked out the last option first, though she loathed to admit that she spent a good bit of time contemplating that one. And then she marked out the first and second options because Candiru loved the Caladium, and he’d never agree to leave. Which left… returning him. But then the raptors would keep a closer eye on her, and they’d never let her escape camp again. However… she didn’t need to walk into camp. She could simply walk near it; Candiru could find the entrance all on his own, hopefully.

Arapaimakit sighed to herself. Being a genius was complicated enough, and being a genius caught red-handed in an escape attempt was even worse.

Finally, she poked her head outside of their emergency shelter. She scanned her surroundings, scented the air. “It’s safe, Candiru,” she reported.

Warily, another head poked out of the crevice. Black orbs spun, then fell back, uncertain, unsteady. “Ara… don’t leave me,” the tomkit whimpered. “I don’t wanna fight another harpy.”

A full frown this time. “I won’t leave you!” Arapaimakit cried in indignation. Why would she do such a thing when Candirukit clearly needed her help? She harshly reminded herself that she contemplated killing him a few moments ago.

“C’mon, ‘diru. Let’s go home,” Arapaimakit prompted. Home. Home? But it wasn’t her home. She hadn’t even been born there; some patrol kidnapped her when she was barely a week old! Though, she would’ve died without their assistance…

Candirukit followed solemnly after the other kitten, reveling in her quiet confidence. It was nothing like his boisterous make-belief bravery. He made sure to pay attention to his surroundings this time, not wanting to be caught off-guard twice in one day. So, when he heard the swift padding of pawsteps, his eyes widened. “Ara—!” he warned.

Arapaimakit flicked her tail. “I know.”

Two felines then appeared from behind the fronds, both towering over the kittens dangerously. Candirukit cowered behind Arapaimakit, who stood her ground cautiously. “Candirukit,” the Leader of the Caladium greeted with an obvious mixture of anger and relief. “And… Arapaimakit,” he added, a bit of surprise laced into his tired voice. “Both of you, come with me now.” Condorstar eyed the rebellious duo, making sure to catch the older kit in particular with his stern gaze. “Marañonflicker?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with them, but I need to perform a more thorough evaluation once we return to the camp,” the rosetted Whitewing replied.

“Then do that. Bring up the rear…”

And Arapaimakit turned out the rest of that conversation. She prodded Candirukit with her paw, and the youngest of the now four turned to her. “Do you think we’re in trouble?” he asked.

The blue sepia hid her snort. “Definitely. But,” she continued hastily when Candiru’s face fell, “If I take the blame, then you’ll be safe.”

Candirukit lashed his small tail. “I won’t let you do that!”

And despite their situation, Arapaimakit smiled for the first in a few moons. “Okay,” she allowed. With Candirukit around, perhaps… returning to the Caladium wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, she'd promised not to leave him. (Fool—she didn't break her promises; she should've thought harder about the consequences before blurting out that agreement).

Notes:

• Candiru and Arapaima are both named after rather dangerous, mysterious, nightmarish fish.
• Both were figuratively lost. Literally, they had their destinations.
• Ara's a genius, and the Caladium isn't known for its smarts, but there are other, more cynical reasons that she wanted to leave.

[ivyy.]

mark!

I'm so excited to see who wins!!

[I Like Bees]

Apologies for judging this so late!

Username: .sins.
Cat Number: 612
Cat Name: Orcakit
Gender: male
Rank: kit
Clan: Glacierclan
Age: 4 moons
Prompt:

Username: .sins.
Cat Number: 613
Cat Name: kit
Gender: female
Rank: Oceankit
Clan: Glacierclan
Age: 4 moons
Prompt:

xxxxx-snip-

Congrats! The chase scene had me on the edge of my seat, and I loved the twist at the end!
These two can grow to apprentices right now (since it's been more than 3 weeks), and can grow to adults on March 29th

I'd also like to award HMs to miraphoenix for a beautifully written piece with fantastic imagery,
and to bmkmb for developing some interesting and unique characters!

[.sins.]

Thank you so much!
Congrats bmkmb and miraphoenix

[/nyx.]

Congrats, .sins. and miraphoenix!
Everyone's entries were wonderful!

Thanks for the HM!

[miraphoenix]

Congratulations, .sins. and bmkmb! Everyone's stories were so lovely!

(And thank you for the HM, as well! ^ ^)

[.sins.]

when you get a minute, may i get these kids aged up?