Confronting One's Demons

The little tom plopped his heavy paws along, a tune in his head that wasn’t really… translating that well through voice. “Doobieeee doo dahhh! N-No, that don’t sound right… hmm…” Leopardkit was making his way towards the warrior’s den, where he knew that his aunt, Otterspark, slept. He’d actually got the idea from his mother to ask her a load of questions about her scars because Rowanscar’s stories were ‘not suitable for his age’. Hmph! Maybe Otterspark’s stories would be cooler, anyway. There were a few rumours around regarding his family (a lot of them… not very kind), but Leopardkit had at least heard some details about the many achievements his relatives shared. It was… a little daunting, although the tom had to admit it was also pretty cool for most of his kin to be well known. Hopefully, they didn’t expect him to live up to this grand legacy.

Ahh, now he was feeling nervous. Maybe he could turn around and head back to mama—AH! She was watching!!! The kit huffed, puffing his cheeks up so that his fur bristled, squaring up to himself in a puddle not too far away. He looked pretty scary, right? Maybe he could live up to the tales after all! Otterspark would soon have to listen to his stories about scars… maybe. Did scars hurt to get??? Now he was having second thoughts… Spying a brown butt he recognised not too far off, he followed the tail joined to it and quickly spotted Otterspark’s tail tip. Interesting… Flinging himself wildly at the big fluffy serpent, he screamed, “Lookie auntie!!! A pred— a predwedor is hunting youuu~”

Otterspark was having a pretty lovely dream about fighting off a lynx- in fact, she was just about to win when the animal suddenly turned and… “Predwedor!” Escaped the animal's mouth. Slowly opening her eyes, Otterspark groans with confusion as she moves to flick her tail, which… Feels abnormally heavy as her nephew's sentence is finished. “Wh…” Turning her head with half-opened eyes, Otterspark has half the mind to gently kick out one of her back legs towards the red-furred kit, not fully processing who or what was currently attacking her tail. “C'mon, it's early… Let me get some rest…” The warrior grumbles softly as she closes her eyes before blinking them again.

This time, in spite of being half-awake, the brown-furred tabby finally clicks two and two together- Leopardkit... But she hadn't fallen asleep in the Nursery, had she? Why was he out here? Grumbling softly, the molly shifts her weight with a yawn. “Leo, that you??”

The kit is completely amused by the fact that he had caught Otterspark off guard. He had heard so many cool stories about her many accomplishments, and knew that she was a very skilled warrior … or, at least, that’s what his family thought. He hadn’t actually spoken to many other warriors, he realised. Not that he really wanted to, anyway, because talking to strangers was his worst nightmare, although he supposed that they wouldn’t be strangers for too long once he was old enough to actually venture off without worrying his mama too much. Leopardkit’s ears pull back, but he steps forward and playfully placed a paw on Otterspark’s nose, smiling, “It’s time to get up, sleepyhead! No nappies for grown-ups.” He knew this wasn’t completely true — he’d seen Rowanscar nap plenty of times, but he wanted Otterspark to wake up, any excuse would work.

His smile stretches into a grin as his aunt finally recognises that it's him, “Is me!!” the little kit exclaims excitedly — likely a lot louder than Otterspark would probably enjoy, just waking up and all. Leopardkit was very excited, though, because he had ventured over here to annoy his aunt for a very specific reason: her scars. Just like his mama, she had many scars littering her pelt, although Otterspark seemed to have at least one covering every part of her body. To the kit, this was very impressive and he wished to learn more. He stepped back from the warrior, though, and allowed her to shuffle around and wake up properly — he had woken her up, after all, so he should at least show some manners. Leopardkit didn’t want to annoy his aunt into perhaps rejecting his questions about her scars.

Letting the little tom place his tiny paw on her nose that she scrunches up when he does, Otterspark rolls her eyes playfully as she moves to gently bap at the red-pelted tom. “Y'sure 'bout that? Warriors need their sleep to grow big and strong as much as kittens do, Leo,” And- oh- his voice is up in volume, and now Otterspark is unfortunately definitely awake, knowing fully well that she has to keep her eyes on her sister's little troublemaker— which... If she had to watch any kitten aside from her own, then fine, it could be Leopardkit- he was pretty well behaved, very nervous, very… Polite. He reminded her of Lichenclaw in a lot of ways.

With a deep sigh, the molly moves to haul herself up off of her side and into a sitting position, stretching out her front limbs with a soft purr. “Fine, fine… 'm up kiddo, y'got me.” Otterspark teases gently, moving to bend her head down and bump her muzzle against the tom's head in a form of greeting, purrs growing stronger. In spite of Bearkit's behavior and disdain for her, Otterspark very much enjoyed the company of the new kittens within the family, and adored them. Then again, maybe that was because there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for either of her siblings, although she was having a shitty time showing it to the warriors themselves. “So… Why'd y'wake me up? What y'want?” She questions with raised eyebrows.

He blinked in surprise at his aunt’s words, before nodding sagely. What she said was definitely the truth, because Otterspark would never lie; she wasn’t a liar, he’d never believe such an accusation. “Is that why you’re so humo— humongoulous?” That word didn’t sound right, but he was going to roll with it; it was close enough. “Huh. Maybe I’ll tell Bearkit he has to listen to when mama tells us it’s bedtime, otherwise I’ll get bigger and stronger than him!” At the idea of this, he beamed, evidently very charmed by his aunt’s argument for why she’d struggled to awaken.

Leopardkit’s stomach had dropped for a short second when Otterspark had sighed, the little kit anxious that he’d perhaps made her angry. Although, the tension seizes when the warrior leans down to bump her muzzle against his own, and he purrs loudly in return. It was nice that the family members he interacted with most were so loving and kind because he loved spending time with them and hearing stories about experiences they had before he was born. Speaking of stories, Leopardkit perked up at her question, tail wagging a little as he got excited.

“Can you tell me the scars you have and how you got them?” He also enjoyed hearing about how strong Rowanscar was because of her own scars, so it was only natural that he wanted to hear some from Otterspark, who was basically covered in them. Maybe there were so many stories to tell that he’d have to come back another time to hear the rest? That thought both made him excited and sad, wishing to have so much content to listen to but also wanting to know it all instantly. Stars, trying to have patience was hard sometimes, huh?! But mama always said he should at least try, so he counted his breaths for a moment before climbing into the space between Otterspark’s forelegs, settling for some exciting tales.

Staring at the red-furred tom curiously with his first question (while mentally preparing herself for the 10 more questions that were sure to follow…) but happy to satiate the young kit's curiosity and thirst for knowledge, Otterspark gives an amused purr. “I ain't sure what a humongal is, kid,” Otterspark mews— not really bothering to try and repeat the big word Leopardkit had used. “But.. I do know growing kits and apprentices get big and strong when they sleep and let their elders sleep.” She mews with a playful raise of her eyebrows, crossing one paw over the other with a warm chuckle at his suggestion of talking to Bearkit.

… Otterspark does not enjoy the idea of adult Bearkit, however. “I hope y'do get bigger n stronger, Leo,” Otterspark jokes with a chuckle as she moves to stretch her front paws with a yawn. It still felt a little too early for this, but… The Lynxclan warrior could never say no to an opportunity to brag about her past feats. Even if some of those feats weren't really feats, and were instead rather miserable failures on her end. But a little fabrication to a story or two that she would tell never hurt Leopardkit. He was clever, even if he was young.

“Hmmm…” Otterspark looks down to the kit that settled between her forelegs, looking pretty cozy and ready for his aunt's long-winded tales. She can't help but purr, the smile on her face only growing… Maybe missing some of her sleep was worth it, to entertain her nephew for the morning. “Well… That all depends, Leo, which scar do y'want me to tell y'about first? I don't think we can talk 'bout them all today, but… Maybe one or two of 'em.”

Nodding along, Leopardkit couldn't help but feel absolutely enraptured. Otterspark just … had a way with words, and they were really gripping him with their profoundness. Everything she said just made sense and he'd never met anyone so wise! He was not aware that if he said these words aloud to someone else, that he'd probably be laughed at. Instead, a purr rumbled in his chest as he took in her lesson; it would be very important for him to grow so that just meant he had to sleep! If he slept more than Bearkit, then he'd grow before him, and then Bearkit wouldn't be able to beat him in a fight. The thought made him very happy.

Otterspark's support only meant the world. The kit's face lit up with a huge grin, and he felt as big as her knowing that she also wanted him to grow big and strong. With his family backing him up, there wouldn't be anything he couldn't do! All anxieties about annoying her were now forgotten, and his paws tingled with the excitement of learning about some cool stories that happened before he was born. It felt so strange that there was so much history to learn, and it made him feel so … small and insignificant, but also willing to learn? It was a very strange feeling.

He had a little think about her question — what scar would be the best one to ask about? Leopardkit wasn't sure if he wanted to just pick the biggest one because it must have the most exciting story, or if he should start off with the smaller ones and work his way around. He knew that there'd likely be many times that he'd come and find his auntie and annoy her until she provided some good content. His patience showed itself to be a virtue in this instance, and he blinked up at the molly, “Well … why don't you pick? Which one are you most proud of?” The kit asked gently. He wanted the one which held the story that Otterspark wanted to tell.

“Hm… Tha's a good question,” Otterspark mews with a rare thoughtfulness crossing over her features, giving a glance toward her right.. Toward the particularly large scars on her side, from her first encounter with a real predator. The warrior feels a sense of shame cross over her and decides that not only is this scar something to be embarrassed by, even now, because of how she had acted on that patrol when she was an apprentice... “I'll save the lynx scar for anotha time,” She comments to the red-furred kit beside her as she looks toward her right, ears perking up a little at the former burns. While the wound had healed nicely, it had left its damage.

She didn't feel like getting into the scratch on her front foreleg from Volepelt, or the scratch on her face from.. “…How 'bout I tell you 'bout these scars?” The brown and tan tabby mews with widened eyes, her expression playful as she gestures toward the healed wounds. “They're from before I was a warrior—” She says with a lift of her head, a playful smirk pulling her muzzle upwards. “Only a moon or two before I was 'posed to be named, actually! I'd gone out on a patrol with a few other Lynxclan Warriors.. One of them being ya Great Aunt Dawnfrost, and another cat on that patrol being Coppershade.” Otterspark continues, more eager to delve into this tale & impress the red-furred kitten beside her, rather than upset him with her foolish antics. While Otterspark knows there had definitely been other warriors, the molly decides it's probably best to avoid mention of those who had passed, or Leopardkit probably didn't hang around very often. Keep it familiar, and simple.

“We'd been sent out by Mintberry and Peppernose to investigate this smoke that had started coming up in the air.” Otterspark explains, making sure to lift one leg with a wiggle of her paw, trying to emanate what smoke coming up into the air would look like to the curious tom-cat beside her. “And as we was heading down this path, we started seeing these strange crows, started out with just one… Then they kept coming up.” Otterspark continues with a flick of her tail. “Finally, if 'm remembering correctly, aunt Dawn went to attack one of them…” The warrior begins to trail off, and then gives a playful chomp of her jaws at the young cat. When she does this, however, Otterspark can feel her stomach sink as a flash of red comes over her vision.

It was hard to forget just how hot the flames coming from the animals attacking them had been, even if multiple seasons had already passed and she tried to repress the memory, somewhere deep down. Otterspark's smile falters before she gives a warm laugh, moving to ruffle the fur on Leopardkit's head with one of her paws as she continues, trying to be eager for the tomcat. She didn't mind this very much, but maybe she should have told another story… Eh, she'd just keep that in mind for next time.

“And you'll never guess what happened next!” She mews, trying to keep a playful grin on her face as she looks at Leopardkit expectantly, hoping for a wild guess or two from the curious tom.

Lynx scar? Leopardkit can’t fight the pout that shows up on his face at the mention of it, though he makes sure he doesn’t whine about it. If Otterspark didn’t want to talk about it just yet, then he wouldn’t press it … but that didn’t mean he wasn’t happy about it. Lynxes were really cool and reminded him of his own namesake, so of course, he wanted to hear about it. However, all of his aunt’s scars had a story linked to them, and he had said that she could choose which story to tell. So, instead of getting too upset, he settled further and nestled comfortably into her forelegs.

The mention of Otterspark’s past interested him, and he leaned forward as she explained that the scars she’d chosen to talk about were from before she was a warrior. Leopardkit hadn’t been around then, so he had no clue whatsoever what Otterspark could have been like back then. It didn’t occur to him that he wasn’t actually that old and Otterspark would very likely have been exactly the same as she was now… he was much too busy perking his ears and gazing at his aunt with wide-eyed awe. The inclusion of Dawnfrost excited him, but he couldn't help but feel a little… intimidated. Great Aunt Dawnfrost was nice enough to him, but he’d heard some tales about her that told him never to annoy her too much.

Leopardkit didn’t really understand patrols just yet — only the fact that they were usually tasked to hunt prey, so his interest piqued at the mention of them. Did Otterspark have some sort of important mission she had to do? If she’d been assigned something by the medicine cats, then it had to be important! The tom’s nose wrinkled at the mention of smoke, but he continued to listen intently, completely transfixed. The scene he imagined was probably not even close to what she was describing, but he was trying his best to keep up. Fire crows? Leopardkit had never even witnessed a fire, although he did know what crows looked like, because of the prey pile… he had so many unanswered questions, but he remained quiet.

Suddenly, her jaws snapped! Leopardkit jumped back a little, red fur bristling before he started to giggle, the initial shock wearing off. That jump had done its job! Still giggling, he pushed lightly on Otterspark’s chest, whining, “That was scary, auntie!” Although the pretend pout didn’t last long, and he settled back into his position again. He isn’t still for very long — at her cliffhanger, the little kit springs forward, bouncing on his paws and all over her forelegs in excitement. “What happened?! What happened?!” There was an edge to his voice, already wanting to know all the details despite the fact that Otterspark was still continuing the story. His patience wasn’t big enough for this, he wanted to know it all now!

“You beat ‘em, right?! You wouldn’t have run away, I just know it!” He squealed. “Did they run away— oh, well, I guess fly away?” Leopardkit giggled again at his little mistake.

Otterspark was grinning from ear to ear as Leopardkit reacted to her story, a loud laugh breaking from the warrior at Leopardkit's giggling and complaining. Growling playfully, the she-cat moves a paw over the red-furred tom and pulls him close for a moment, ruffling the fur on the top of his head with her muzzle. “Was it really that scary if ya laughing, kid?” Otterspark questions with a smirk as she gently moves her paw away to pat the top of Leopardkit's head in her silent form of an apology toward him for the spook. Otterspark knew he was just as tough as his siblings and cousins, so she had no doubt that the young kit would quickly re-coop from the tiny incident, especially considering how he lunges toward her, just begging to know what happened next. The memories are still uncomfortable for Otterspark to live through, but… She can bare it for Leopardkit.

“Well, Leo…” Otterspark begins, leaning closer with a wide-eyed gaze. “What happened after Aunt Dawn attacked the first bird was… It went still. And then… Poof! Flames!” The she-cat exclaims, scooting back from Leopardkit to sit up onto her hind haunches, outstretching her front legs in an attempt to help the kit imagine the way that the flames had risen up. “Those birds we'd been seeing, earlier? They started attacking us after the bird Aunt Dawn grabbed lit on fire— so of course, like any good Lynxclan cats would do, of course, we started fighting back!” Otterspark exclaims as she sits back down, resting her front paws on the ground before herself with a victorious looking smile.

The she-cat isn't sure how much detail she can share with the little tom without giving him, and maybe even herself, some unpleasant dreams. So instead, she decides to sugarcoat the story, just a little. Otterspark would much rather disappoint the young kit than get an earful from Rowanscar for accidentally traumatizing him with her stories. “It was a long and hard fight, but… We were able to beat 'em. I won't say it was easy, and we obviously came out with some wounds, but we did stop those birds from being a big problem for Lynxclan. Much rather have a couple warriors injured than half of our territory gone 'cause of fire, y'know?” Otterspark offers a small shrug, her face softening a little as she ruffles the fur on Leopardkit's head again, purring with amusement.

“I uh… I hope you, ya siblings, and ya cousins never have to go against anythin' like that. Specially fire.” Otterspark comments a bit more softly. “Tha's not a good experience to live through, even if it gave me a cool couple of scratches to entertain ya with.”

At his hair being ruffled, he playfully pushed at Otterspark again, pretending to whine and complain, although he didn’t much mind at all. It was nice, the closeness of it, and Leopardkit's chest continued to rumble with purrs as he joked with his aunt. “Nooo, you're right. It wasn't that scary, it was funny!” He giggled, fur all ruffled up from Otterspark's playful nuzzle. Rowanscar could always help groom the wayward hair later on when his littermates and himself would begin settling down for bed. Maybe Leopardkit could even share this story with his siblings! He was sure that they'd enjoy it, especially with all the action and scariness.

Flames?! The crows had burst into… flames? Well, Leopardkit didn't know much about crows, but he did know that the ones he'd come across definitely hadn't burst into flame nor looked like they might've before their demise. Blinking a little confusedly, he peered up to Otterspark for a moment, trying to take this in. At his aunt's physical demonstration of the fire, he laughed, trying to imagine what the scene looked like. “Of course you did! LynxClan cats are the strongest and bestest!!” The red-furred kit cheered as Otterspark described the patrol fighting back. Even Leopardkit, who sometimes found it difficult to warm up to certain things, would've fought the fiery birds without a moment's hesitation.

He nodded energetically, “Yeah! You're much too strong to get beaten by some birds.” Leopardkit supported his aunt with his words, knowing that what she was saying was right. “That— that's the duty of being a warrior, right? You put… you gotta put your Clan first!” He hadn't begun his apprenticeship just yet, but the kit did know some fundamentals of the Warrior Code, especially because so many of his clanmates spoke about it all the time. He'd picked up some things, by eavesdropping whenever he could. “I'm glad you beat them. Although, I think I could have fought them, too!” He cheered once again. It didn't matter if he was still a kit and much too small to fight. He wanted to be brave like his whole family was.

Leopardkit tilted his head a little, not really understanding just how dangerous fire was — he'd never seen it, after all, but he had definitely heard some tales. “I hope so too — but if you guys can beat it, then I think we could beat it too.” He nods again, although this time he had a determined expression on his face. “I wanna train so I can be strong like mama, you and auntie Lichenclaw. You're all so brave and… well, I wanna be like you guys!” The kit admitted, warmth gathering under his fur just a fraction. It felt silly admitting such things, especially because he didn't want to become anyone special as Lionkit and Bearkit did… he just wanted to live up to his family, and be great like them.