Meeting (Dawnblaze)

"Who're you?"

Big blue eyes stared down Lilykit's as a tiny ball of orange fluff stomped into the nursery. He'd never seen this kit before...but he had heard Adderstar's voice earlier, talking about finding a kit by a body. A body...

"Um...I'm Lilykit-"

"I didn't ask for your dumb name! I'm Dawnkit now," he interrupted, marching forward and climbing into the nest farthest from Lilykit. Lilykit stayed quiet for a moment, decidedly not speaking - before his concern and curiosity got the better of him.

"Where'd you come from?"

"Ain't your business."

"Are you a kittypet?"

"It ain't your business!!" His voice cracked, and Lilykit's ear twitched.

"Are you okay..?"

Dawnkit stayed quiet before he pounced on Lilykit, pinning the much bigger tom with rage in his eyes.

"I said it ain't your business!!" he spat, but Lilykit stared up at him curiously, hardly reacting. Beneath the rage was sadness, and he couldn't help but feel a connection. A body...did that mean..?

"...did you lose your mama, too?" he asked, blunt but soft.

Dawnkit's gasp was enough of an answer, and he let go and tried to run away - but Lilykit wouldn't let him.

Instead, he grabbed Dawnkit by the scruff and yanked him back, muffling his angry cry with his tail as he wrapped around him with a soft sigh.

"It's ok to be sad." Dawnkit stayed silent. "It's just me and Ivykit now, too. I heard it was...cold out there." Lilykit stared out of the nursery's opening, watching the cats milling about outside.

"It's not fair," Dawnkit mumbled, his voice trembling.

"I know," he said quietly, "but someday...I want to make it fair."

Confused, the orange kit picked his head up and stared at Lilykit.

"One day, I wanna be leader," he declared softly. "Why can't we just go outside our place? Or...maybe there's other cats who have enough warriors to go hunt, and we could share so no one else dies. There must be something we could do to fix this, but no one listens, 'cause I'm just a kit. I'm too young," he said bitterly. "Maybe when I'm a grown-up, I'll get it, but right now, it just makes me mad. They say they're trying, but they aren't doing it right."

Lilykit turned his head away, but he still felt Dawnkit's stare into his pelt.
"I know it sounds dumb," he relented, his ears pinning back. "I.."

Dawnkit stayed quiet, but he felt the smaller kit nuzzle into his fur as if silently reassuring him. He knew he wasn't stupid, or making up some kit fantasies in his head. He knew his ideas could work, if they would just try.

For now, he felt tired, letting out another tiny sigh and lowering his head to wrap around Dawnkit again.

No matter what, he'd make sure he didn't feel as alone as Lilykit had again.