Somewhere I Belong (Storm)

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Frostheart twitched her ears in surprise, and as did Sharptalon. Their eyes were wide with surprise and a deep purr rumbled from Sharptalon's throat, his smile widening into a grin. He rasped his tongue in between Squirrelkit's ears and gazed at her with pride. "Yes, Squirrelkit! You can swim!" he purred happily, tail-tip flicking in content. Frostheart glanced at her father, smiling in amusement. He was such a nice tom. It was sad to see how stressful he was, when he wasn't with Squirrelkit, of course. When he's alone, or on a patrol, you can really see how the weight of things can change his happy appearance into a tired one.

Frostheart padded forwards and gently cuffed Squirrelkit's ear with a sheathed paw. "Do you think you can show me how you swim?" she asked. Sharptalon quickly looked at her, his gaze hardening into an anxious expression. She merely shook her head and locked eyes with him for a moment. He understood, and nodded, returning to his earlier, cheerful posture. "Go ahead, Squirrelkit. You can do it," the tom encouraged. His muscles were tense, though, ready to spring after Squirrelkit if she didn't have enough strength to swim.

"Relax, Dad. She'll be fine. She's not a newborn anymore," Frostheart quietly pointed out, her voice reduced to a whisper so that Squirrelkit wouldn't hear her. If she did, she'd be sure to throw a cute little tantrum. Sharptalon hesitated, considering his daughter's words, before letting out a sigh and relaxing, curling his tail around his paws. "I just that..." he trailed off, looking discouraged for a heartbeat. "... You worry about her, I know," Frostheart finished, supportively brushing her muzzle against his.

[dylan]

Squirrelkit watched her big sister and daddy and their amused/surprised looks. It was like they hadn’t ever seen a kit speak before! Her eyes narrowed at them and she tried to act hurt that they were so amused by her speaking, but it only made her look cute and the pouting was quite adorable. She let out a startled squeak as Sharptalon gave her the lick on the head, and she tried to cover it up with a mewl, but it didn’t work. But they seemed just as excited as she did, and Squirrelkit needed all the praise she could get. Praise had not been received from her mother, and this was still new to her, but she was beginning to like it. ”I…big…kit.”

[/color] she mewed, puffing out her chest, clearly proud of herself. She was feeling quite bold and was truly feeling like a normal kit. This was more attention than she normally got in an entire moon, and Squirrelkit was milking it.

Despite her small size, and weak state, Squirrelkit was quite intelligent. She had a great memory and was very determined. The little kit was very clever and cunning. And when Frostheart asked her to show off her newly acquired skills, Squirrelkit was more than willing to. The pale little kit soon no longer felt tired or weak, she felt determined to prove she could do it. Knowing she would regret this later and probably be sick, the little kit didn’t care. She was going to give it her all. She nodded eagerly at her sister and grinned at Sharptalon. Even daddy was agreeing to this! Her tiny paws soon made their way back to the water and she was trying to contain herself.

Before she knew it, she backed up and had a new idea. Squirrelkit wanted to try her earlier method. Getting a running start, the kit launched herself in the air and into the water, staying submerged for a few moments before popping back up. She was remembering what daddy had taught her and was actually staying above the water. She would not be able to keep this up for long, but the tiny kit was finally doing something like her other clanmates. Squirrelkit was a very brave little kit and was probably pushing herself a little too far. Her paws were slowing down, and she was struggling to stay up now.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]