[Abyss]

Rustkit

Rainclan She-Kit

I'm talking with a big smile

A pair of large and round amber eyes shot open, the only sight laid out before them being the tangled but sturdy wall of the Nursery. Blinking a few times, pushing the blurriness of sleep away, pointy ears twitched atop a small head which laid on the edge of a big nest. That small head lifted, glancing momentarily around the den at the other nests. It appeared as though one or two of the Queens were still asleep, though there weren’t many Queens anyway.

Letting out a yawn, the small she-kit slowly rose from the nest that she laid in alone, despite the size being fine for herself plus a Queen and a few other kits. Though it was lonely at times, Queens had tried to convince the kit to join them in their nests, but she always refused. She would politely decline and return to her nest. She would never leave this nest. Not until she became an Apprentice…

Very briefly, an unreadable emotion passed across the she-kit’s face, ears slowly bending backwards against her head. As quickly as it began, it ended.

With a shake of her fur, the rusty red she-kit leaped from the side of the nest, outstretched legs aiming at the ground. Despite the perfect aim and the seemingly perfect form, at the last moment the little she-cat’s head leaned forward, front paws bending and legs flattening backwards against the kit’s sides. Her chin hit the ground, feathery tail flicking upwards and hanging over her head due to her back-end still remaining within the nest. There was a thud and an ‘oomph’ that sounded from the action, the kit motionless for a minute or so. Though as soon as this minute was over, the kit rolled over out of the nest the rest of the way, a smile on her face despite the less-than-graceful tumble she took.

Her ears perked back to normal and a shimmer sparked in those round kit eyes, tiny paws trotting forward towards the entrance of the Nursery. Each step taken became faster and faster until the kit broke into a full sprint, shooting out of the Nursery with surprising speed. An audible laugh and giggle broke from Rustkit’s jaws as she burst forward, the breeze rushing through her fur tickling at her sides.

For a moment, she felt as though she were already a Warrior! She leaped from the Nursery entrance, landing just fine on her paws for the first time in who knows how long. This in mind, a burst of confidence shot through her, her smile and eyes brightening.

“Yeah! I’m a Warri- oomph!”

Just as she leaped again, intending to launch herself through the sky like the graceful and elegant Warrioress she believed she was, she just as quickly smacked directly into something. Only a small kit, she didn’t even feel what she hit move, but she surely did.

She dropped straight to the ground, chin hitting the ground once more. There’s that saying: “cats always land on their feet.” Usually an accurate statement, in the case of most. Rustkit was not one of those cases. She did attempt to push her paws forward under her, but rather than catch her fall or bring her to a land, they went more forward than they went down.

Opening her eyes after a few seconds and blinking away her surprise, the she-kit’s head slowly lifted, peering up at the large figure she had ran into. Her gaze was met with a tall (to her at least), white-coated cat with long fur and a pair of beautiful pale green eyes. She blinked a few times more, her head slightly tilting to one side.

Who was this again? Wait, it doesn’t matter who it is!

Eyes widening very quickly, her paws began to scramble beneath her, moving too quickly for her brain to register. By the time she did bring herself to a standing position, her back paws were way more spaced apart than they should have been and her front legs were crossed, miniature paws turned in weird directions.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!” A strange toothy grin crossed the she-cat’s face as she looked up at this she-cat she had run into. “I mean...it isn’t hard to see you. But I wasn’t really paying attention. I hope that’s ok!”

but they haven't got a clue.

722 | Amber | <3

[Amber]

The storm that had lulled her to sleep the previous night had been chased away by the morning sun. Frozensong woke early, exiting the warriors’ den to stretch in the dawn air. Pale green eyes flitted about the RainClan camp as she warmed up her muscles and settled down to groom her fur. Her long, stark white coat was a hassle to keep up, but it was something the senior warrior had grown accustomed to ages ago. It was why she woke before most of the Clan each morning, to have a time of peace and solace to make sure she was in order.

By the time her fur was immaculate, the sun had edged higher in the sky and her Clanmates were stirring. She nodded greetings to her fellows as they rose and ambled about, some leaving to perform various duties, others sharing tongues and partaking in grooming rituals like she had. Her gaze caught on the pale-furred form of her only brother as he made his way from the den to the fresh-kill pile. Just as she was about to rise from her sit to join Coldrush, a gentle thud against her leg jolted her attention downward.

Initially, the bump startled the senior warrior, but eons of practice had her quickly covering her momentary fear. She looked down, face softening at the sight of the small kit splayed out on the ground beside her. The warrior watched with growing amusement as the russet-hued kit opened her eyes, blinked owlishly, and then suddenly attempted to scramble upright. A light 'mrrow' of laughter bubbled up from her, and she beamed at the little kitten. The adorable way the kit stood, paws and legs all askew, warmed her in a way she’d never felt. She didn’t have time to dwell on the feeling, though, as the kitten’s mouth was moving rapidly in conversation.

As Rustkit continued to babble, Frozensong flicked her tail around and pressed the fluffy tip to the she-kit’s maw. Once the stem of silent words had ceased, Frozensong removed her tail, flicking it up to indicate her own ears and purposefully shaking her head. 'I can’t hear you. She didn’t have the words to say it, but she had the motions memorized. It had worked for her before, and she hoped it would work on the adorable little kitten before her.


Abyss

[Abyss]

Rustkit

Rainclan She-Cat

I'm talking with a big smile

Though a large smile crossed the tiny she-cat’s face at this Warrioress’ own smile, her words that at first were going to continue were brought to a halt. A large and fluffy tail, even softer than the softest of the moss in the Nursery, emerged from behind the bigger she-cat and was reached outward, pressed lightly against the rusty she-kit’s mouth.

Bright amber eyes went wide, looking up at the white feline both in surprise and questioning. She could tell easily enough that this was done to silence her, or at least make her calm down with the speed of her speaking. But she found her head tilting as the white tail moved away from her, instead gesturing now to the she-cat’s ears. She shook her head, looking down to the kit.

Rustkit couldn’t quite understand at first, her head tilting even more. But then it clicked and her head returned to normal, blinking a few times as a small understanding smile pulled at her jaws.

“Oh, you can’t hear me.” She said it out loud, though it couldn’t quite be told if she said it to herself, or if she attempted to say it to the Warrioress. But then a few seconds later, her eyes widened again, what she said actually clicking into recognition finally. “Wait...you can’t hear me.”

She looked at the ground for a second, letting this phrase rattle around her mind for a minute in an attempt to understand more clearly. The white cat couldn’t hear her? Did she have so much fur that it plugged her ears? Couldn’t she have that groomed away? Did she have moss stuffed in them? Or had she just not talked loud enough? Her voice was rather high-pitched, and she was usually unintentionally loud anyway, so that wouldn’t be it.

Amber eyes lifted to meet those pale green once more, her head tilting again.

“Why?” It was very questionable, to any on the outside at least, that the kit was still having trouble understanding. She knew that she couldn’t be heard, but she didn’t know why this was. And, despite knowing that she couldn’t be heard, had spoken again anyway as though it would be different. She wasn’t attempting to be rude or anything, nor would she have likely been able to tell even if it was seen that way. But any time someone had told her in the past that they couldn’t hear her, it was because they had water stuck in their ears or something. Was that what this cat meant?

but they haven't got a clue.

424 | Amber

[Amber]

The little she-kit’s head tilted dangerously to the side, almost making Frozensong worry her neck was going to break. Suddenly, the rusty head popped back into place and understanding dawned on her face. Frozensong bit back the urge to giggle as Rustkit’s disproportionately large features slowly morphed from one emotion to another. She spoke again, and then a few heartbeats later, it seemed to click even more.

Frozensong gave the kitten time to mull over what she’d just learned, watching fondly as the gears seemed to turn in her head. Rustkit looked up again, letting out a short sound and tilting her head questioningly. While she didn’t know exactly what the kitten said, it was easy to assume she was asking why. The white warrior gave a soft “mrrow” and lifted her shoulders, tail curling behind her in a question mark shape. She shook her head softly, the whole charade spelling out “I don’t know.” In order to get her to understand a little better, Frozensong cast her pale green eyes around the camp before catching onto a familiar russet pelt.

Lifting her voice in a louder “Mrroww!” she flicked her tail side to side. Once catching the young tom’s attention, she curled her tailtip in a “Come here” motion twice. It didn’t take Falconheart long to join her, and his tail curled into a questioning shape as he arrived. Frozensong took a quick moment to press her ear tight against his chest before backing up and explaining. Her body moved and twitched in rapid conversation that involved several question marked tails, flicks to the ears, head tilts, and head shakes, along with a couple gestures to Rustkit. After a few moments, the message got across to Falconheart and he turned to Rustkit.

“First time meeting Frozensong, huh? As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, she can’t hear you. She was born deaf, so there’s no way to get her hearing back, unfortunately. However, she can and does still find ways to communicate. Just have some patience with her, okay? She’ll be patient with you, too, I promise.” The russet tom smiled at Rustkit. “And if you ever need help talking to her or can’t figure something out, just ask someone to help out. Most of us have learned by now how to talk to her, and we’re happy to teach others.”

Abyss Hope you don't mind I pulled in a translator~ ^-^
"I speak." 'I think.' I am.

[Abyss]

Rustkit

Rainclan She-Cat

I'm talking with a big smile

Visible confusion, even more than had already been there to begin with, brought the small kit’s head to tilt further. Even she didn’t know why she couldn’t hear? This predicament wracked the kit’s brain, unaware of the realities of life as they looked her in the eye.

Even more confusing, as the white cat called for another of their clanmates, was the way she interacted with this other cat. The tom who approached was someone Rustkit had not seen or really interacted with often. And it seemed as though he was able to hear just fine. And yet when he joined the white she-cat at her side, the way they began to move and look at each other was so strange. All of the movements and gestures and expressions, she felt like she was witnessing a standoff of felines. And yet they acted friendly about it?

Her gaze shifted back and forth between them so many times she felt herself get slightly dizzy. By the time they finally turned back to her, she felt like she could fall over.

At last, the tom turned to her and began to speak. What he told her was still slightly confusing, for she wasn’t sure what being ‘deaf’ meant. But from the way he explained it, it seemed like it was just the lack of hearing. She blinked a few times, pushing this new tidbit of knowledge to the back of her head for later. But then came the next bit of information that the kit found herself wondering over. He said that she had came up with ways to communicate, and that other clanmates knew this too. This idea caused her ears to perk in curiosity.

“How does she communicate? What were all of those weird movements that she did? Can I learn them too?! I wanna be able to talk to her too!” The more the she-kit spoke, the more her voice began to grow in both excitement and pitch. It was like she would be learning a whole other language! Oooo, what if she created her own language?! One that only her and her friends knew! Maybe she could try and make one with…

For a moment, a split moment, something crossed the she-kit’s features. The gleam in her eye, the brightness of that smile, it faded. It was only for a second or two, but it didn’t change that it had happened. She quickly returned back to the way she was before, only a tiny bit duller. Amber eyes looked to the white she-cat, replacing her thoughts with the statement the tom had made. So the white cat’s name was Frozensong?

“I...uh...I know you can’t hear me, but you have a really pretty name!” She was completely unsure of whether the other she-cat would have any idea of what she said. Perhaps the words were spoken to lost ears. But maybe there was a chance? She glanced over herself, trying to remember what sort of motions Frozensong had made when she was communicating with the other tom. Was there some way that she could figure out how to say what she said without saying it? Oh gosh that phrase messed with her brain.

“Um...you.” She lifted a tiny red paw and pushed it forward, placing it against the larger she-cat’s leg. “Uhhhhhh…..have.” She pulled her paw back, crossing it over her chest a few times as though she were taking something. “A…..um…..” She looked around quickly, struggling to figure out how to go about this. Something that was pretty...something that was pretty...Her ears perked suddenly, turning and bounding back into the Nursery. She was gone for a moment, but when she returned, she carried a small flower in her jaws that she had pulled from one of the decorated nests. She dropped the flower at her paws and nudged it with her paw. “Pretty.” Although she found an alternative that may or may not have worked, she had come to the hardest part. How in Starclan was she supposed to motion the word ‘name’? She couldn’t exactly say her name and hope that the other she-cat understood, especially since she couldn’t hear it anyway.

Slightly lost, she looked to the other tom who had helped, blinking quickly and giving him a somewhat confused and panicked look. “I don’t know what I’m doing, “ came small words, her ears folding against the side of her head with uncertainty.

but they haven't got a clue.

744 | Amber