Lazing Around[open]

[shiningheart]

Tornstar yawned and closed his eyes, relaxing his body until he felt like a puddle of muscle and fur. He would have fallen asleep if there wasn't a steady drone of meows and pawsteps. It was about sun-high, when the sun was at it's highest and the shadows were at their smallest. He'd already hunted that morning, so now he was taking a break.

So the WindClan leader took a deep breath of the scent that he grew up with and loved: the wind, the grass, the rabbits and heather. This was the scent of the Clan of speed and loyalty, and he would never grow tired of it.

[skypaw]

Heatherkit bounced around the camp, looking far too pleased with herself. You see, the tiny black and white kit was supposed to be sound asleep, curled up against her mother's side, but she had other plans. As soon as her mother and brother drifted off, she carefully sneaked out.

Usually, she would drag her brother along for the fun, but today she wanted some alone time with her father. She could only hope he was still in camp and wasn't disappointed. In moments, she had spotted Tornstar's familar pelt and had to hold back from running to him. Attempting to stay light on her feet, she slowly creeped forward until she was a few mouse-lengths from him. Then, with an excited squeal, flung her tiny body at the older tom's head.

[shiningheart]

Being a kit, she didn't have all of the knowledge it took to sneak up on someone. Tornstar admitted that she was good at keeping light on her feet, but it wouldn't fool a rabbit would she have been hunting. And she wasn't downwind; he'd smelled her approach as soon as she started to creep towards him. Still, he smiled a little as she tried to ambush him.

When Heatherkit leaped on him, he pretended to startle badly, shooting his eyes wide and jerking his head off, fast enough to give off the appearance of not knowing what had attacked but not fast enough to hurt her by throwing her off. "Huh? Wazzat?" he meowed, feigning looking around wildly before turning to look at his daughter. "Heatherkit! You made me nearly jump out at my fur!" he meowed with a grin. "Who's been teaching you to creep up on cats like that, your mother? Because if so, I'm going to have a word with her..."

He kept his tone playfully stern, but his grin was playful and as unserious as a grin could get. The leader's amber eyes twinkled merrily, and he flashed out a paw to hook around his kit and draw her closer, his look twisting into something devious and mischievous. "Or else we could sneak up on her..."

[skypaw]

Heatherkit slid off of the silver tom's head, her rump hitting the ground as softly and gently as her Father had intended her to. Peals of laughter erupted from the cute little kit as Tornstar looked around wildly. "I got you! I got you!" she cheered excitedly leaning up on her hind legs to bat at the Windclan leader's ears. She stopped when he praised her, and her little chest puffed out with pride. "I'm gonna be the best hunter in all of WindClan one day, just like Mom," she announced cheerfully, nodding her assent to her Father's question. Okay, so he wasn't quite sure that Silverbreeze was the best hunter in all of WindClan, but she looked so graceful and amazing when she showed her the hunter's crouch that she couldn't imagine her being anything but.

She purred rather loudly as Tornstar pulled her closer, happily breathing in the familiar scent of the moors that always clung to his pelt and nuzzled him affectionately. There was no doubt in her mind that her father was the best leader WindClan had ever known. She pulled away, however, to look up at the silver tom with round, blue eyes, as blue as a clear sky, and brimming with innocent and outright shock. "B-but Dad! She said I could only use that move on you!"

[shiningheart]

Tornstar would never have lived it down if he squealed at the cuteness of his daughter. No matter how many litters he and Silverbreeze had gone through, the adorableness of kits will never cease to make the WindClan leader melt like snow in the sun. He gave an exaggerated gasp when Heatherkit said that she could only sneak up on him, and narrowed his eyes in the direction of the nursery. "She did? Well then, I'll just have to sneak up on her to repay the favor, won't I?" he meowed before tickling Heatherkit's belly with a gentle paw.

[skypaw]

Heatherkit yet again giggled at Tornstar. Her Father was definitely the funniest cat in the whole clan, in her opinion. Of course, maybe she idolized the older tom just a bit, but she didn't see it that way. Tornstar was just that great in her eyes. He could do no wrong. "Of course!" she purred enthusiastically. She allowed him to roll her over, more peals of laughter escaping her. Letting out a "viscous" growl, she wrapped her small body around his leg and paw and held on tight. Then, she began kicking his poor leg with her back feet. "Rawr, I am the mighty Heatherstar! No one can beat me!" She growled playfully, though her attempt to be mean was cut off by her innocent giggles.

[shiningheart]

Tornstar laughed right along with his youngest daughter, allowing her to wrap herself around his left and pummel him. "O-oh no! Heatherstar is attacking!" he crowed, rolling over so that she was above him. Naturally, if this were a real fight, his soft belly would be torn into bedding within seconds. Since that wasn't the case, however, he felt safe at that moment. "I surrender! I surrender!" he meowed dramatically, widening his eyes into a mock pleading look. "Spare me, oh great one!"

[skypaw]

Purring, Heatherkit climbed on top of Tornstar and sat on his stomach, tail curled neatly around her little paws. She puffed her chest up, eyes gleaming triumphantly as she pretended to look thoughtful. Of course, she knew her Father was just letting her win but it did nothing to dampen her spirits. "Hmmm... Let me think about it..." she mewed, eyes gleaming with barely contained mischief as she plopped down on his chest so that she was nose to nose with him almost. "Well, I guess so, 'cause that's what a great leader would do but only if you teach me somethin' really, really cool!"

[shiningheart]

'Thank StarClan kits don't weigh much.' Tornstar thought when Heatherkit slid onto his belly. The way she scrunched up her nose in playful thought made him want to laugh, but she might have fallen if he allowed himself to chuckle, especially when she moved from his belly to his chest. ""Well, I guess so, 'cause that's what a great leader would do but only if you teach me somethin' really, really cool!"

[/s] Heatherkit said.

The WindClan leader nodded with a crooked half-grin and meowed, "Sure thing, Heatherkit- I mean, Heatherstar." But then he dropped his grin and adopted a serious, stern face. "But no battle moves until you're 5 moons or older, okay? You aren't big or old enough to learn anything beyond the basics."
[/size][/blockquote]

[skypaw]

Heatherkit's eyes widened in shock and outrage and her mouth gaped open. "B-but Dad!" she whined, pouting, tail lashing. "That's so not fair... Battle moves are the fun things to learn...' she grumbled, big blue eyes filled with disappointment. She huffed softly, still sulking but brightening suddenly as if remembering something and turned to look at Tornstar triumphantly. "But they can't be that dangerous because Icenose taught me some really, really cool ones!" The naive little kit couldn't believe the nice cat she had met in her dreams would ever do anything to cause her harm.

[shiningheart]

Tornstar never knew that it was possible to choke on air. He became a believer though, as soon as the name of his long-dead brother passed through his kit's mouth. The WindClan leader hacked and coughed and wriggled until Heatherkit fell off of his chest, then he rolled over so that he was laying properly on his belly. Once his breathing got back under control, he leveled the 'leader look' at Heatherkit. "How do you know Icenose, Heatherkit?" he demanded. Simply saying his brother's name made the scar on the back of his neck throb. "He died long before your time, before Tigerwhisker and his sisters were born."

[skypaw]

Heatherkit fell off her Father with an "oof', groaning softly as she sat up. Her body was slightly sore and she shook her head as she sat up. She opened her mouth to scold the older tom but withered under his unusually serious, almost angry stare. She pressed against the ground with her ears back nervously. She had never seen Tornstar like this, especially not directed at her and the tiny kit couldn't imagine what she had done. "H-he came to me in my dreams. He taught me some battle moves and how and where to sneak out of camp while Mom was sleeping and talked to me about stuff, like how he's my uncle and what a great warrior I was gonna be and stuff..." she mumbled nervously, having no idea that her uncle was simply using her so he could see the look on his brother's face when he found out he was stalking his innocent daughter's dreams.

[shiningheart]

Tornstar kept his expression neutral, even as his heart clenched at the nervousness in Heatherkit's posture. But he had to shake off his own feelings. There were times to be a father and times to be a leader. Right now, he had to be the leader. Still, it was hard to not snarl in anger when Heatherkit mentioned seeing Icenose in dreams. Instead, a short growl vibrated in his throat and his eyes narrowed into slits.

At once, memories of his kin flashed through his mines. There weren't many good ones that involved Icenose. Most of their time together was filled with competition and malice and anger. With each vision of the past, Tornstar's fury grew. Making his voice steely, he meowed, "Heatherkit, you listen to me right now. If Icenose visits you again, you tell him to leave you alone. I don't want you having anything to do with him. Icenose is a bad cat, and involving yourself with him will only cause you pain."

[skypaw]

Heatherkit took a couple steps back, wanting more than anything to run back to the nursery and the safety of Silverbreeze. She eyed Tornstar as if he was an intruder, not the cat she loved more than StarClan itself. She was more than nervous now, she was scared and it only intensified at the tone of voice he used in his next words.

She started to mumble an okay and dash to the nursery when something hit the smart little kit. If this was really her father, she would never of questioned his orders and would of been certain that he would only be thinking of her safety. But she couldn't imagine that this cat who wasn't smart or funny or kind could think of anything. So, despite her fear, she gathered her courage and spoke in a tiny, trembling voice. "B-but Tornstar, if he's so bad, how do you know he won't hurt me if I tell him to leave me alone...?" She looked at the older tom with distrustful eyes and then glanced nervously at a small scar on her shoulder. She had said something she shouldn't of to Icenose while they were practicing battle moves and somehow she ended up with a scratch on her shoulder. "Sorry, Heatherkit, I slipped." She had told Tornstar and Silverbreeze it was a thorn and they had spent all day searching the nest for it.