[Phoenix]

Gustkit

- - -

Crouched down outside the entrance, the small tabby form looked very much like a feline about to cause trouble as he poked his head around the corner and peered into the shadows of the nursery. Struck by the first sensation of caution that had flickered through him all day, he was suddenly very conscious of the consequences should his father – or even worse, his mother – have noticed his absence, and he had little desire to face either of them at the moment. Just in case. Yellow-green eyes scanned the interior of the den, searching for any sign of either Dovesong or Windstrike, and striped shoulders sagged in relief as a sigh left his mouth. Their nest in the nursery appeared empty but for a few of his siblings. Dovesong was nowhere in sight; he was safe.

With a rapid patter of paws, he dashed toward the refuge, all caution thrown to the wind as his grin returned. I’ve been out of camp! The phrase repeated itself in a singsong fashion, dancing through his head. Yellow-green eyes rested gleefully on Blazekit. And you haven’t! In a burst of energy that came from some deep reserve that seemed to have slowly refilled itself, Gustkit took a running leap toward the nest with paws outstretched. A fierce battle cry ripped itself from his parted jaws as he flew through the air, ending with a thrilled laugh when he landed on his target.

He had had an awesome day wandering out of camp with Spottedpaw and no one had noticed! He would get away with his plan, and nothing could dampen his mood. His grin grew in size as he paced in a circle for a moment before settling down, still restless with excitement as he realized just what he had accomplished. It was great. It had been an amazing day. Everything had gone absolutely perfectly, and he felt so generous that – his gaze turned to his siblings once more – he might perhaps take them out with him next time.

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Fate Admin Fawn

[Fate Admin]

Blazekit sat grumpily toward the back of the nest and away from his siblings. It wasn’t fair that everyone was making so much fuss of Gustkit. He was totally off somewhere having a really cool, fun time and Blazekit was just SITTING here. He’d been sitting around the nursery nearly ALL DAY. At first he’d thought Gustkit had been playing hide and seek and had used all his great many kitten abilities to search him out, to no avail. Then he’d gotten his siblings involved and one of them had eventually told Dovesong they couldn’t find Gustkit and sent her into this weird mood. It might have been funny if it wasn’t also somewhat alarming. He’d never seen his mother look so frightened before. Stupid Gustkit. It was all because of him.

He’d spent the better part of the day after that peeking from the nursery and watching Dovesong pace around camp where she kept telling them to stay in the nursery if they tried to come out and play, as if she was worried they might all disappear like Gustkit. He was going to give his brother a brutal scuffle when he came back for making this such an awful, boring day… with claws AND teeth, and he didn’t care what Dovesong said about it. He’d claw his silver counterpart’s ears off and chew his tail off too! He stood and stomped about angrily in a circle, claws unsheathed and ripping up the soft grass and rabbit fur that lined their nest. He was too furious with his brother to sleep, even though it was getting late, and Dovesong wasn’t even here to snuggle up close to and… all because of Gustkit. Their father had been out of camp for most of the day searching for him too!

When a small shape slinked into the nursery, Blazekit froze. As Gustkit leapt into the nest gleefully Blazekit arched his back and hissed, looking as threatening as a tiny kitten could possibly look, “You dirty piece of mousedung! Because of you we had to stay inside the nursery ALL DAY!!!” Without further ado he leapt for his brother with an angry screech. Claws AND teeth!

[Fawn]

Mudkit was exhausted. Having sat around in the nursery watching his mother practically pull her whiskers out with worry was not what he considered an ideal day; even if his siblings weren't able to cause trouble or trash the Medicine Cat's den this time around, there was still the trouble with Gustkit missing. Mudkit was unable to enjoy their confinement to the nursery when everyone was running around looking so worried, and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of their father since he'd first heard the news that Gustkit was gone. For the first part of the day, the stocky little brown tom had been convinced his brother was just playing a trick on everyone, and would bound back into the nursery proclaiming himself the hide-and-seek champion for all eternity – but that didn't happen. As the hours rolled past, what had once been a disgruntled sensation at Gustkit's misbehavior quickly mutated into worry, going so far as to give the aptly named kitten a stomachache for which he did nothing about; he wasn't in a rush to see Rookfrost again, and it would only make Dovesong worry even more if he wasn't completely healthy and right in front of her eyes at all times. The last to fall asleep, Mudkit had slept facing the entrance, hoping he might catch a glimpse of his silver-furred brother being escorted back by their father, praying to StarClan that he wouldn't be carried back injured or worse, lifeless. You'd better be alive, you jerk. And so he'd fallen into a fitful rest, his dreams filled with badgers and foxes and all manners of beasts that ate kittens who wandered out of camp. “You dirty piece of mousedung! Because of you we had to stay inside the nursery ALL DAY!!!” Mudkit woke up as if struck, staring around with wide orange eyes as his already upset stomach flip-flopped, the tom blinking to see the outraged figure of Blazekit shouting at something that had just slipped in from outside. ”Gustkit?” he mewed in a faint, hopeful tone, shaking the moss and rabbit fur off his short dark pelt, stepping forward to get a good look at him – his spirits soaring upon recognizing the silver fur and dark tabby markings, his brother's scent smelling strange but with an underlying familiarity. Not going to swear like his oldest sibling, Mudkit's dark, serious features immediately arranged themselves into a cross expression. ”You're back! You're in so much trouble, Gustkit! Mom and Dad spent all day looking for you!” I should go tell Mom so she stops pacing. Still.. Mudkit couldn't help but feel bad for his brother, knowing whatever punishment awaited him for breaking the rules would be particularly severe. Considering how much the Clan had mobilized looking for him... Oh Gustkit was in some seriously hot water now.

[Phoenix]

Gustkit

- - -

Admittedly he had not expected such an angry reception from Blazekit, and completely relaxed as he was in the wake of getting back without being caught, he could do nothing to dodge the sudden attack. Before he could even comprehend the words that his brother had shouted at him – which included a swear, he was sure – sharp kitten claws flashed in front of him, and he turned his head away on instinct. His breath left him in a whump! as Blazekit’s attack hit his target, and working to recover quickly, the striped tom clambered back to his paws. All of his enthusiasm had vanished, and in its place remained a defensive anger. His own claws slipped from their sheathes as he faced his brother from a relatively safe distance away, bracing himself in preparation for another incoming attack.

A quieter mew off to the side caught his attention and he swung his head around to see Mudkit stepping forward, pieces of their nest clinging to his dark brown fur. The snarl that had found its way on his lips in reaction to his other brother’s attack had lessened somewhat as he recognized the other figure, but when Mudkit had nothing of importance to report – granted, the part about their parents searching all day for him had caught his attention – his lip curled upward in a slight sneer. Yellow-green eyes flicked back to Blazekit briefly, and he took a half-step closer, a wicked grin back on his face.

”How was the nursery, Blazekit?” Gustkit goaded, claws still unsheathed as he watched his brother for any more signs of aggression. ”It’s not my fault you’re too boring and mousebrained to do anything exciting.” Behind him, his striped tail lashed through the air. It was clear that his siblings had no idea where he’d been, and before Blazekit had launched an attack at him, he had been feeling generous enough to consider sharing the information. That, however, had changed. If they wanted to know where he’d been, then they would have to work for it. ”Besides, I bet you’ll never guess where I was.”

- - -

[Fate Admin]

Blazekit’s fur stood completely on end with rage as he glared death at his brother, claws still unsheathed. He shot a glare at Mudkit too, though his brown brother actually managed to brighten his mood for once. That’s right! Gustkit was going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE. This seemed to pacify Blazekit’s rage for the current moment and his fur began to lie flat. He sat and licked his chest fur, calming down, quite happy with the knowledge that Dovesong was going to make Gustkit pay big time for this. Now that his rage was subsiding, his curiosity was rearing its head.

He all but ignored Gustkit’s taunting. He couldn’t wait to see what sort of punishment Dovesong would give him. He did his best to look entirely unfazed by his brother’s words, though his tail twitched in annoyance. He could hear the baiting tone in Gustkit’s voice and tried not to look too interested. “Well, you weren’t in camp or I would have found you,” he stated matter-of-factly. He yawned, as if he didn’t care, and turned back to their nest, hopping in and curling up in the soft grass and rabbit fur, as if to sleep. Gustkit wouldn’t be able to resist rubbing it in all their noses where he was, would he? He wouldn’t give his stupid brother the satisfaction of trying to get him to tell. “I guess someone should get Dovesong,” he stated to no one in particular.

[Fawn]

Mudkit had long ago learned that mixing wind and fire together was generally a bad idea, the wind fed the fire and the fire just burned hotter - though Blazekit was doing a remarkable job of acting like he didn't care. Watching their interactions with a sense of weariness, half-expecting a fight to break out, the dark stocky tom-kitten felt his fur prickle a little at his reddish brother's nonchalant words. Someone should go get Dovesong. Yeah. But if they got Dovesong, Gustkit would be in a tremendous amount of trouble - that and Mudkit didn't want to risk ire from his brother by being the one who ran around camp announcing Gustkit's return. But he didn't want the adults to keep scouring throughout the territory for his silver-furred brother when he was right here. Not to mention he hadn't even seen his father all day... The dark tom's face scrunched a little, brooding over this peculiar predicament. Breaking the rules was wrong, and Gustkit deserved to be punished - his parents shouldn't have to worry anymore. Still...it never felt good to see a sibling get into trouble, and Gustkit had a heap of it bulldozing right towards him. "I'll get her." He finally spoke up, voice solemn, as though about to go get Gustkit's executioner. Mudkit couldn't help but add a little gruffly, embarrassed to have gotten so worried over his brother throughout the whole day, "I'm glad you're okay." Blazekit don't start anything. Mudkit half had a mind to stay right where he was, in case Gustkit successfully goaded their brother into breaking more rules by running out of camp to go on another silly excursion. That would be just like them, the mousebrains. He would never quite understand the urge to leave camp. Unless they were trying hard to avoid Rookfrost, it was nice here.

[Phoenix]

Gustkit

- - -

Unable to prevent the smug expression from crossing his face, the young tabby tom sat back slightly, watching as his brother practically quivered with anger in response to his taunting. Anyone could see that Blazekit was jealous of him, but it was hardly his fault that his brother had yet to figure out a way to sneak out of camp. For all of his brother’s boasting, it was clear to see that he, Gustkit, was the superior of the two. His smirk grew, and yellow-green eyes shone with victory.

”Clearly you know the camp very well,” He shot back, tail lashing behind him, and his tone was suspiciously complementary. ”I suppose that’s the only place you can know well, seeing as you’ve never left it. I, however, have.” Gustkit stepped forward slightly, lips curved upward and the fur along his spine pricking. Raising his chin and straightening up, the striped feline quipped, ”You can rule the boring old camp; obviously you can’t handle any more than that. The untamed wilderness outside is mine.”

The mention of their mother – the sudden reminder of the cats who held the real authority – stopped his heart, and his smirk faltered ever so slightly before he recovered himself, attempting to appear unbothered by the threat. There was nothing to worry about, he tried to convince himself. Gustkit had ventured outside of camp and survived that trek. He had seen more than any other kit his age had ever seen, as he so eagerly reminded his brother. Yellow-green eyes watched cockily as Mudkit disappeared through the entrance, exiting with the air of one marching to the gallows. The atmosphere was almost infectious, and in an effort to prevent it from tricking through his pleasant haze of self-confidence and invincibility, Gustkit cast another smirk in Blazekit’s direction, adding lightly, ”Were you always this boring, Blazekit? I didn’t know you were so tame. I guess your true nature must be showing through.”

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