Seedscatter started awake, eyes wide and fur bristling. His heart pounded in his chest, sending thrills of adrenaline pumping throughout his body. He was in his nest, that much soon became clear to him. But why was he so unsettled? In an instant, he remembered his dream.
And then there it was again: a fierce, high-pitched yowl. He pelted outside, ignoring the grunts of his clan-mates and leaping deftly over bodies like a hare in flight. As he arrived in the camp clearing, Seedscatter felt his panic fall away to annoyance.
There, right outside the barn, stood five kits, completely oblivious to the looks they were getting and focused solely on... whatever it was they were trying to do. Dustkit and Silkkit sat off to one side, the former watching with an amused smirk and the latter rolling her eyes at an alarming frequency. Brackenkit stood in the thick of it, eyes alight in the center of attention. Petalpatch's kits were older than Goosewing's, almost apprentice-aged, and were already acting as if they were next in line for leadership
"You're doing it wrong!" Maplekit whined, shrieking again as Windkit bowled her over.
Tone chiding, she repeated herself. "You have to keep your body level. That's what Blackpaw said."
"Oh, Blackpaw? I forgot that you were obsessed with him!" Windkit stretched out the older tom's name, laughing. This time, it was him who was knocked on his back.
Just a few sunrises back, his nieces and nephew had been allowed out of the nursery loft. They had luved up to the expectation of every cat in the clan and were managing to get underfoot during every task imaginable. Even eating was hard with them around.
From his perch on the Sycamore tree roots, Seedscatter watched the kits play. Seeing them tussle in the grasses, fighting and laughing in equal amounts, he felt a tingle of... Something. Apprehension? Dismay? Or was it... Envy?
He was snapped out of his thoughts, however, when a squeal rang in his ears. He had no time to duck out of the way before Maplekit had pounced, landing squarely on his back and digging tiny claws into his shoulders. Knowing the consequences that he would face from bucking her off, the deputy was forced to lower himself slowly to the ground and suffer the weight on his back.
"Uncle Seedscatter!" She cried joyfully, resting her chin on his shoulder blade.
Windkit leapt up in an attempt to push his sister off, dark eyes flashing gleefully. He only succeeded in alerting her to his presence, and she batted at his advances with an absent-minded paw.
"Will you teach us some battle moves?" Maplekit pleaded in Seedscatter's ears.
Seedscatter only shook his pelt in response, and Maplekit reluctantly climbed off, her eyes watery with fake desperation. The other three kits had made their way over by now, and, at the mention of some early training, the two twin brothers perked up, though they had been taught a bit more respect for their deputy than Goosewing's kits had.
Seedscatter gave in with a quick "Fine," much to the delight of his gathered admirers. They bounced around him as he led them to a more secluded part of camp - one where they wouldn't be a bother to their clan-mates. Under the shade of a gangly sapling, Seedscatter began the lesson.
"When fighting-"
He was cut off by an excited squeak from Maplekit. She gave an apology, looking down at her paws in a display of what Seedscatter could only guess was supposed to be humility. Windkit cuffed her over the ears playfully.
"When fighting an opponent of your own size-"
"What if the opponent isn't your own size?" Windkit cut in abruptly, leaning forward as he posed his question. Seedscatter ignored him.
"When fighting an opponent of your own size," he said quickly, pausing for any further interruptions. When none came, he continued. "You can't use that factor against them. You'll have to find weaknesses in other aspects of their fighting style. Look for openings to sensitive areas, anything that can threaten the other cat's balance - it doesn't matter.
"Maplekit, you'll go against Windkit, and play fair!" He sent the two a stern look. "Brakenkit, Dustkit, you two are on the same skill level, and almost apprentices at that. Silkkit... You'll fight winner. Alright?" He gave the white she-kit an apologetic look (or as apologetic as he could muster) and stepped back. He knew nothing would come out of this play fight. Telling them a simple battle tactic would make the game they had been playing moments before seem more fun.
The kits chorused their approval, oblivious to this, and Silkkit moved to sit beside Seedscatter. Already, he could feel his heart rate increasing. Sand winding through his toes; his body deflating; foam flying from his mouth-
"I think it's stupid to learn fighting at such an early age," Silkkit admitted suddenly, and Seedscatter was startled by how old she sounded. He didn't think he had ever heard a kit dismiss games like these.
"And what might make you think that?" Seedscatter asked incredulously, a laugh to his voice.
"Well, we're going to learn anyways. You're just feeding them all these grand ideas of battle. How many times have you even needed the skills you were taught?" Silkkit turned her blue eyes on Seedscatter's yellow ones.
Something about the expression she wore told him that she didn't expect an answer. She already had all the information she needed from his silence. She turned away, facing the two groups of siblings once more, but Seedscatter didn't dare look away. Was he missing something? Some crucial bit of information that linked the Silkkit he knew from his dreams and the one before him now? Could she really be the devastation of FieldClan? Seedscatter wasn't quite sure anymore. How could she be the creature from his dreams with the split smile and black eyes? For the first time in a long time, he felt himself questioning his situation.
Again, he was lurched away from daydreaming when Windkit's triumphant cries rang throughout the clearing. He turned himself away to face the pairs. Brackenkit and Dustkit had already finished their spar and were chatting quietly, bright smiles on their faces and bodies posed neatly next to each other in a way that told Seedscatter that they hadn't realized the state that their golden pelts were in.
"I win! I win!" Windkit yowled victoriously, his big white paws pinning his sister to the floor.
"Yeah, we get it," Maplekit snarled, her voice strained from the weight on her chest. "Now, off me, you lump of fur!"
Windkit obliged, pulling a face at his sister as he clambered off. Maplekit lashed her tail once before sitting down, not a muscle moving as she regarded her brother. The animosity between the two - the way that Windkit was purring just a little too loud and twitching his whiskers just a little too much to be simply self-satisfied - struck a nerve with Seedscatter. He and their mother had always gotten along so well as kits. The deputy sensed that something more was bothering the two than just a rough sparring session.
"Windkit and Silkkit now." Though Silkkit didn't say anything, he could feel her eyes boring into his cheek as she stood. He refused to meet her gaze this time.
The result, if it hadn't already been clear from the start, was quickly realized. Windkit, the much bigger kit, easily tackled Silkkit to her back, and she gave no fight when he did so. She seemed a bit resigned to her fate, as if she knew that trying would just disappoint her.
Seedscatter left the mock-battle grounds feeling much more conflicted than he typically was. He had never really engaged in conversation with Silkkit before; in truth, he had never really thought to. Now, having heard her speak about her personal opinions and watching her pitted against her brother, he felt what little confidence he had left waver ever so slightly. On the matter of Maplekit and Windkit's rivalry... Seedscatter could tell Goosewing about that later. He was sure that nothing would come of it, anyways.
Now, as he headed over to where the assembled dawn patrol waited, Seedscatter was forced to shove his thoughts to the back of his mind. He needed to be alert right now, and daydreaming could get him into even more trouble with Harestar than he was already in. That idea alone was enough to push Silkkit and her siblings right out of his head.
Already, Wheatfur and Beetlefang were sniffing the air, as if they hoped StarClan would bless then with a mouse this close to camp. Seedscatter knew they wouldn't be that lucky, though he gave them each a nod of approval as he approached the group. With that, the patrol set off, winding through the grasses like adders - swift and silent. But an eagle was far nearer than those careful snakes ever imagined.
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author's note:
when you go back to foreshadow something that you've already written. how to set yourself up 101 by cresci.