Two Birds, on a Wire | open, intro

Coldkit. She was one of Flameseeker's wasn't she? Redstripe thought so at least. A small smile creeping onto her maw, she slowly approached the kit, eyes glued on her neat piles of pebbles. "Whatcha doing there, Coldkit?" the warrior asked kindly as she sat down beside her, staring down at her handiwork with the pebbles. "You know, I know a really great game we can play with those if you're interested," she offered, wondering if the kitten would prefer to do something fun rather than her counting game. The red tabby curled her tail around her paws to shield herself from the cold and awaited an answer.

Oddly enough, most of Flameseeker's kits were rather aloof. There was Coldkit, distance and serene, then Skykit who had her head in the clouds, and finally Hazelkit herself who spent all her time dreaming up new ideas. Stormkit might be the only sane one of the bunch. Pulled from her quiet reverie as Redstripe spoke to her sister, Hazelkit blinked and gazed over, finding the kit counting pebbles. Was this a new form of game? Now overwhelmed with curiosity, she made her way over, sitting beside her and asking, "What are these for?"

^{I FEEL LIKE A MILLION BUCKS —}

^{A blur of cream and white fur tumbled onto the scene. It was Stormkit, bounding over to his sisters, a huge smile on his face.}

^{"Hiiii guys! I mean, girls! Hazelkit, Coldkit... and also unknown stranger!" the rambunctious kitten said, his tiny voice as loud as he could make it. He looked at the pile of pebbles, all neat and tidy and nodded appreciatively. "Nice work, it looks great." Stormkit said, this time quieter, admiring the way they were sorted.}

"They look wonderful dear." Flameseeker would purr as she padded over to join her kits and Redstripe. She would lick each of them on the head, then sit down beside the group, wrapping her tail around her paws. As they grew, it was amazing seeing each of their personalities develop. They were all so different. Was this how her mother had felt when she and her siblings were little? The ginger female smiled as she watched Coldkit organize the pebbles. With her neatness, maybe the tortie would pursue medicine when she was old enough.

Redstripe chuckled to herself as Coldkit was joined by two others. Even though she enjoyed children, she didn't interact much with them and hoped she wasn't too terribly awkward, especially when their mother settled in nearby to watch. "Redstripe," she introduced to Stormkit who announced she didn't know her name. When Coldkit asked what game Redstripe was talking about, the warrior noted a bit of bluntness to her voice. Perhaps she didn't want to play a game. "Well... if you'd rather organize them that's fine too, but I was going to suggest we glide them across the ice. Whoever can get theirs to go the farthest wins."

^{I FEEL LIKE A MILLION BUCKS —}

            ^{"Redstripe... that is a great name, seeing as you are both red and striped." Stormkit said, matter-of-factly, nodding at his own observations as if he was a researcher taking important notes on something. He flashed a quick grin, showing he was partly joking with the kind of stupid statement.}

^{"I'd love to play that game, sounds fun! But maybe we should find some pebbles that Coldkit isn't sorting right now." he added, considering that the little stones seemed important to his sister and he'd rather not disturb the cool organizing-thing she had going on.}

Skykit trotted over, having followed Flameseeker to see what was going on over here. Her ears pricked up and her bright blue eyes shone. "They're like drops of dew from the moon!" She purred, admiring the smoothness and beauty of the pebbles. She was very tempted to snatch one of her sister's stones, but she knew it wouldn't make her happy. However, at the mention of a game, she turned her attention eagerly to Redstripe and bounded away from her mother's side. "I want to play!"

Keeping pebbles? That seemed awfully silly to Hazelkit, but out of love for her sibling, she didn't say so. Instead, nodding as though she had an inkling of understanding, the tortoiseshell kit glanced over to the others at a prospect of a game. While sliding the tiny rocks over ice sounded marvelously fun, Stormkit was right. They should support their sister. "I bet I could find the most pebbles," she challenged her brother, a playful glint in her eyes. Internally, her mind was buzzing. How would she collect the most? Well, if she borrowed some moss from the medicine cat den, maybe a few leaves, she could make a makeshift basket of sorts and go down to where there was some water and fish out the most promising ones... Ah, yes! Perfect! Her idea was flawless, and she would most certainly gather the most!

ASPHODELPAW ;;

-----> "As long as you all make sure not to hit anyone playing that game!" came a snapping call from the make-shift nursery. Asphodelpaw way sitting just outside his mate's current den, staring hard at the group of children talking about pebbles and how to properly use them in play. It wasn't that he didn't like them, or that he hated fun or anything - he simply worried a stone might be thrown into the wrong place. Or face. Like his mate or kit's. He frowned protectively at the thought, scooting over to block the nursery entrance.

(c)trexgirl

^{I FEEL LIKE A MILLION BUCKS —}

^{"Challenge accepted." the young tom said dramatically, his expression determined. Stormkit nodded seriously to Hazelkit, indicating he was ready to take her on in this proposed pebble challenge. His mind started to race as he calculated the best way to collect the small, smooth rocks. Maybe he could carry them in his mouth... or find some sort of way to carry a bunch at once. Or maybe... he could just run really fast. Yeah, that seemed like the easiest thing to do. He just hoped it would be the fastest.}

Redstripe chuckled in response to Stormkit's observation of her name. Even though it did make sense, sometimes she wished she'd had a name that was a little more exciting. Flameseeker's name, for example, sounded so neat in comparison to her own and they had similar appearances. "Yes, I suppose it does make sense," she chuckled before nodding when he suggested then that they find some other pebbles that his sister wasn't playing with. "That's a good idea, but feel free to join us if you wish Coldkit," she purred to the youngling.

Nodding to Hazelkit as she offered to find them some pebbles to play with, her gaze shifted over to Asphodelpaw, who grumpily told the children not to hit others in the face while playing. "Flameseeker and I will keep our eyes on them, Asp. Let them have fun," she chided gently, rolling her eyes at them as she turned dutifully to watch the children.