your picture on my wall, it reminds me that it's not so bad [va]

[occultation]

【 S H A D O W F U R 】

"No, no, no." Shadowkit vigorously shook his head. "We can't put the leader-rock there, cause it's too close to the nursery. We don't want the baby kits climbing all over us. I think we should put it there." He gestured with a paw to a spot on the other side of camp, where the warm sun broke through the trees to form a soft, enlightened circle.

Alderkit groaned. "Why over there? It's so hot in the sun."

Shadowkit shoved him with his shoulder. "Oh, quit being such a baby. Do you think Icestar complains if it's hot? If the sun is on us, it makes us look cooler."

"It makes me look cooler. It makes you look dumb."

"At least I actually look like a ShadowClan cat," he countered. Puffing out his chest, he said, "My mom says that I carry the strength of the whole Clan in me. What do you have? What even is 'alder'?"

The russet kit shook his head. Truth be told, he really didn't know what 'alder' was, nor why his dad had decided to name him that. His siblings had cool names. Shadowkit had a cool name. Why did he have to be named after something stupid?

Shadowkit blinked. Alderkit was getting space-y again; he didn't like when he did that. It made his whole face look weird, like one of those constipations in the sky. Hmph, somehow that didn't sound right.

Oh well. He poked Alderkit repeatedly in the side. "Hey. Hey. Hey. Let's have a scrap! Maybe if we get really good at fighting, we could ask one of the warriors to show us a move! Maybe Lightbubble, or Fennelhaze, or, or! Maybe Dawnstripe."

Alderkit's tail lashed, his irritation over his name blown away like cottonweed in the wind. "Let's fight by the warriors' den, so maybe they'll see us!"

The pair of kits dashed off toward the warriors' den. About halfway there, Shadowkit got tripped up in his own too-large-for-his-own-good paws, crashing into Alderkit and sending both of them tumbling into the grass.

"Dung bugs!" Alderkit cursed. "You're always tripping over your own feet. Didn't your mother teacher you how to walk?"

Shadowkit scrambled away from his friend and got back up. "Didn't your mother 'teacher' you how to speak correctly?" he shot back.

Alderkit's tongue poked out of his mouth in an annoyed blep. Shadowkit shook his head and glanced toward the warriors' den. "Come on."

The pair finished their sprint over to the massive den, fortunately without any further mishaps. As soon as they got there, the two leapt at one another and crashed together in the sloppiest way possible.

Shadowkit aimed a flurry of kicks with all of his legs at Alderkit, while Alderkit countered with a series of headbutts. The majority of the kits' attempted strikes did not land, but to them it felt like they were the greatest warriors in their Clan.

Eventually, Shadowkit got bored with throwing his legs all over the place. He decided to try to grab Alderkit. Reaching out with his long legs, he wiggled them all over as he tried to grab ahold of his enemy.

"Aha!" he cheered as he finally managed to wrap his legs around Alderkit's shoulders. "I am the great Shadowcrasher, feel my wrath!" He bonked his head into Alderkit's, which promptly made stars flash in their vision and their minds dance with confusion.

The two kits separated, both raising paws to rub at their throbbing heads.

"Sorry," Shadowkit mumbled, blinking a few times to clear his vision. This wasn't the first, nor would it be the last, time that he'd banged his head on something.

Alderkit shrugged, his mind slowing back to normal speed. "Shadowcrasher would fit you if that's how you're gonna fight. But I don't think Icestar would name you that."

Shadowkit blinked. A little fly buzzing around caught his attention, and he began trying to swipe it out of the air.

Alderkit watched, unimpressed. "Because. Your fur is black, so she's probably gonna name you Shadowpelt or Shadowfur."

The black tom's nose wrinkled. "I hope not. Those are boring names. I want to be Shadowcrasher."

Wriggling his little rump, Alderkit pounced into the air and swept the fly with a paw. He slapped his paw down on the ground. Both kits peered, wide-eyed, as he slowly lifted it. A triumphant purr rumbled out of his throat as he saw the evidence of his hunting prowess dead on the ground.

"I bet Icestar will call me Alderfly," he boasted. "One day, when I'm big and grown, I'm gonna be the best hunter ShadowClan has ever seen. I'm gonna fill the prey pile with birds and frogs and raccoons! Oh, oh, and my favorite: shrews!"

His eyes glowed as he imagined himself standing proudly atop a heaping prey pile. Prey of all kinds spilled down toward his hungry Clanmates below, as they cheered his name. All of the other Clans envied ShadowClan, because they didn't have hunters like him.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Shadowkit?"

The black kit looked up from where he'd been staring at the fly, trying to figure out how it could, well, fly. "Yeah?"

Alderkit tipped his head to the side. "Do you think we'll always be friends? Even when we're warriors?"

Shadowkit stared at him for a moment, wondering what in the forest would make him wonder such a thing. "Of course we'll always be friends. Why wouldn't we be?"

The russet kit shrugged. "Dunno. Sometimes cats grow apart. At least, that's what my dad told me once. It doesn't make much sense to me, but he knows everything, so I thought I might want to worry about it."

Shadowkit gave him a playful shove. "Your dad might be right about everything, but he isn't right about that. We're gonna be friends forever, and ever, and ever! We're gonna be apprentices together, then warriors!"

He straightened, a totally fantastic idea occurring to him. "When we become apprentices, let's put our nests right next to each other. That way, we'll never be cold! Sometimes when my mom leaves, I get really cold. But if you were near me, then I'd never be cold again. And, and we can do the same thing when we're warriors!"

Alderkit nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes! And we can make our nests really cool, so all the other cats are jealous. I can line them with all the fur I get off my prey, and you can... find cool leaves or something!"

Shadowkit turned back in the direction of the nursery. "Let's go practice making the best nests!"

Together, they scampered back to the nursery.

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Shadowfur quietly slid into the warriors' den. His paws were heavy, exhaustion weighing on him like a rock. Nothing was more appealing to him right now than his nest.

He circled in his nest three times before settling. Tucking his paws under his body, he laid his head down on the soft pelt of a shrew.