sunshine lollipops & rainbows [p]

[Captain]

SPROUTKIT

Deep into the hunting grounds of StarClan, a small brown-furred tom played by himself, all while still wearing a big happy smile on his face. He stumbled through the tall grasses, carrying a smooth pebble in his mouth. Not many kittens tended to play with with young Sproutkit, and the adults up here always seemed too busy to chat with a kid like him, so it was up to the three month old kitten to keep himself entertained. But that wasn't too hard of a task for little Sproutkit. There was plenty to explore, and lots of cool stuff to collect. Plus, kittens could just go wherever they wanted without any supervision! He walked over to a tiny, shallow stream and placed the stone in the water. Many other stones were alongside it, making a line across the waterway that was supposed to be some kind of dam. Sproutkit wanted to see if he could stop the gentle water's flow with enough pebbles. Sure, it was quite the mission for just one kitten, but he was determined to get it done. He sat down for a moment to catch his breath, admiring his work with innocent emerald-hued eyes.

[ @birdie ]

[taillow]

All her life Fawnlight had been told that being up in StarClan would some big, grandiose adventure - but in reality as each day passed it wasn't all that different from the world below. Days passed by just the same, and the former medicine cat had fallen into a routine of sorts; she started the day with a little fishing, settled down beside her two honeycombs in the den she had built herself, and then out to the territories for a little wind-down walk. It wasn't much, but it made her happy and kept her mind occupied.

Blue eyes observed the ways in which the reeds bent and swayed in the wind, much like the ones back in RiverClan territory had. Sounds of a trickling stream had her ears swiveling, the sound of a splash halting her steps. Oh? Poking her nose around the area she found that her paws eventually led her to a grassy clearing, one cut by a shallow stream. Near it sat a familiar kit, and Fawnlight felt her heart squeeze. Sproutkit. Memories of guilt were quickly shoved down in favor of letting light into her gaze as she padded over quietly, taking a gentle seat next to the young kitten. "Did you collect all those stones?" she asked in genuine wonder, blue eyes round and a smile upon her face.

[ @Captain ]

[Captain]

SPROUTKIT

Using one of his back paws, the tiny floppy-eared kitten scratched the side of his neck, watching the cold water push against his pebbles. He would soon become aware of another cat sitting down next to him, which made young Sproutkit turn his head and peer up at the molly with green eyes as large as saucers. She looked familiar to him for some reason, but he couldn’t put his paw on it. However, the dappled she-cat looked at him with kindness and the bobtailed tomcat knew immediately that she was a friend, regardless of the details. “Yes!” Sproutkit squeaked, nodding his head so much that his whole body trembled, “I got them all from exploring this whole forest by myself. Rocks are so cool, aren’t they? They can be big, small, smooth, bumpy, sharp… and they come in all sorts of cool colors!” It had been a long time since any cat had shown interest in his pebbles. Most cats who talked to him hardly noticed what he was doing, but that was alright. He liked his rocks and that was all that really mattered. "My name is Sproutkit!"

[ @birdie ]

[taillow]

It was clear to her that despite the circumstances of his death, young Sproutkit was still as sweet and kind as ever. Fawnlight was glad. She had let go of the anger surrounding her mistake in not warning the Clan earlier about Hawkpaw, after quite a bit of self-searching. When he had disappeared from the Clan she hadn't relaxed for awhile, but as the days passed with the heinous tom's continued disappearance, she had taken it for what it was; a gift.

"I see. You've got quite the collection there!" It was true; she hadn't seen a collection like this since Birdpaw had told her about the collection she kept behind her nest; a nice memory from her apprentice days. "Rocks are very cool. No two are exactly alike." Blue eyes watched as the little kitten seemed to tremble from ears to tail tip out of excitement, head bobbing up and down. "It's nice to meet you, Sproutkit. My name is Fawnlight." She decided to not let onto the fact that she had known him, and instead start over anew. It felt... good. A breath of fresh air, almost.

"Say, could I perhaps join you in your search for rocks?" It would be a break in her routine, but a welcome one nonetheless. Fawnlight smiled as excitement danced in her blue eyes.

[ @Captain ]

[Captain]

SPROUTKIT

As the nice she-cat complimented his collection, he couldn’t help himself from grinning widely, his short bobbed tail wiggling behind him. Sometimes, he wondered if he’d become a warrior in RiverClan, would his name have been something related to rocks? Hm. Sproutrock. Sproutstone. Sproutpebble. Nah, none of those sounded cool enough for him, and it didn’t really matter too much anyway. This place did not seem to do naming ceremonies like his birth clan did. He listened to the brown-furred molly’s words, to which he cheerfully agreed with. Yes, not two rocks were the same. That was the beauty of it. It was what made collecting them so fascinating and never ever boring, you always ended up with something new and never a repeat. “Fawn…light…” Sproutkit sounded out her name, testing the word on his tongue, like he often did when meeting new cats, “Fawnlight! Nice to meet you!” She sure seemed like a nice cat, and meeting new cats was always so much fun—and she even wanted to help him collect more pebbles! Once again, he nodded excitedly, jumping to his paws and almost falling over in the process. "Yes, please! It's hard to collect rocks sometimes due to my wiggles." His limbs shook and trembled uncontrollably as he did a little spin on his paws, trying to show her what he meant. Sproutkit did like his wiggles, regardless.

[ @birdie ]

[taillow]

Watching as the little kitten before her jumped to his paws in excitement - and almost falling over in the process - Fawnlight was quick to shoot out a paw as if on instinct to try and catch him. He seemed to be shaking a for a moment she wanted to ask if he was cold, or hungry, or... something, even though such things didn't really exist up here in StarClan. But then he spoke of his 'wiggles' and understanding dawned on her. It must've been something he was born with. He even spun around to show them off, to which a chuckling purr rose from her chest. "I see. That's okay; I can help you if you ever need it. I think your wiggles are pretty cool," she purred with a swoosh of her tail behind her as she stood up. "Where is the best place to look for pebbles, hmm?" Surely the pebble collector extraordinaire before her would know the best spots.

[ @Captain ]

[Captain]

SPROUTKIT

It was probably strange of him to be so positive regarding his odd wiggles that he had no control over. The simple answer to that was that he never knew really how to think any different than this way. Sproutkit didn’t get to live long enough in RiverClan to know what it was like to be bullied, and every doubt he’d have about who he was would have been shooed away by his mother Lilycreek, and he had never been treated unfairly up here among the stars—at least that he knew of anyway. He had been born the way he was and he had learned to like who he was, solidifying his seemingly-innocent, always happy view of everything around him. The floppy-eared tomcat gave Fawnlight a gentle smile. "Thank you." He mewed simply, not really knowing what else to say, "I think they're pretty cool too." His quirks made him unique and he loved that about himself. No feline could ever get this kitten down, not even the worst imaginable. Upon her question regarding the best places to find rocks, he tapped a tiny paw against his chin, humming thoughtfully for a second or two. There were many, many ways to answer a question such as this, so the three month old had to go answer it like a smarty cat would. "Well, we'd find pebbles about anywhere one could look, hehe!" Sproutkit exclaimed, purring as he explained, "You can find them in the water, in the dirt or mud, under bushes and even larger rocks too! I've tended to find really smooth stones near the rivers around here, and those are the best in my opinion." It reminded him of his favorite one back in RiverClan, what had ever happened to that? Stars, he did miss that pebble sometimes.

[ @birdie ]

[taillow]

Fawnlight
Something about watching the way in which Sproutkit interacted with the world around him - his genuine kindness, his whimsical nature - brought a mixture of pain and happiness to Fawnlight. Was this what her kits would be like? Would they also go around trying to collect pebbles and stones? When they could talk, would they ask others to help them find some? An ache settled into her heart at the thought of knowing she would never get to be the one they asked, but it was concealed underneath a perfectly kept smile.

"Ah, I see! That definitely makes sense," Fawnlight purred, whiskers twitching in a broader smile as she nodded in agreement. Of course pebbles could be found anywhere - it was StarClan after all. "Well how about you lead the way and I'll follow, and along the way we can look for some! Maybe up along this stream?" It seemed like the best place to start a pebble hunt.

[ @Captain ]

[Captain]

SPROUTKIT

“Oh, goodie!” The small floppy-eared kitten said with a big grin as his expression. He sometimes had trouble getting his points across to where other cats could understand, but Fawnlight seemed to get everything he was saying and that was a huge relief. Oh! She wanted him to lead? Goodness, that meant he'd have to be really brave and confident, like Goldenkitstar was when she graced him with her presence. "Alrighty! That sounds like a great plan!" Sproutkit squeaked and did his very best to puff out his chest, holding his head high like a cat with utmost confidence would do. "Count on me, Fawnylight! I shall show the way to the coolest of rocks." He then would turn swiftly on his paws, staggering slightly but overall maintaining his whole balance. "Onward!" With that, Sproutkit walked alongside the stream, peering into the water and beginning the search for any unique pebbles.

Whenever Sproutkit looked for pebbles, he tended to look out for ones with interesting colors that made them stand out from the rest, but it also made him feel bad for leaving other rocks out of the fun. It was a careful and particular process in his little kitten mind, but it was what he devoted his days to up here in StarClan. Nobody that he knew looked at rocks that way that he did, but it made him happy and in a way, these pebbles were like the friends he never had. Of course, maybe Sproutkit could've done more to look for actual friends instead of stones in the forest, but he would hate to be a bother.

[ @birdie ]

[taillow]

Fawnlight
With Sproutkit on board to be the leader in the Pebble Mission, Fawnlight smiled and followed after the young kitten, tail swaying low behind her. There was a nice, gentle breeze that brushed through her fur and twirled the longer tufts of it. Up above the weather was nice - though that came as no surprise since the weather here was almost always nice. Blue eyes watched Sproutkit navigated his way along the stream, much like a mother would watch their kit. It was... nice to pretend, at least for a little while. There was no harm in that, surely?

The silence stretched between them but it was neither uncomfortable nor heavy, and it allowed the she-cat to keep an eye out for pebbles or stones. A few caught her eye, reminding her evermore of the stream that ran through RiverClan's territory back home. Paws carefully padded along the soft yet springy grass, every once in awhile slowing to provide her with a better look. Just underneath the shallow stream, half-covered by wet sand, seemed to be something white and shimmery. "Oh, what about this one?" Using a paw Fawnlight scooped up the smooth stone, retrieving it to be placed in front of her. The water had detached any remaining dirt or sand to reveal a pretty, small white stone. It's edges were rounded and smooth to the touch. The former medicine cat looked up to Sproutkit, eager to see what the kitten thought of it.

[ @Captain ]