A Ripple In Time = A Day in A Kits Life | (o) Leafkits Intro

She watched with curiosity at the little kit’s antics. Brookpaw, while nearly a warrior, didn’t have an awful lot of experience with kits. There had been a few, of course, but as the gap increased between her own kithood and herself now, she found it more endearing to watch kits roaming around camp. Patiently, she waited until Leafkit’s ball of moss moved within range - when it did, she gently batted it back in his direction before he could pounce on it.

“Having fun?,” she asked playfully. With her apprenticeship coming to an end so soon, she didn’t have an awful lot to do right now. She could spare a few moments to bond with one of her newest Clanmates, couldn’t she? Besides, her own mother remained in the nursery. It might give Windwhistle a break if someone else played with kits for a change.

The bluntness of his response surprised her, but perhaps it was only fair. She hadn’t thought the maneuver would be so disruptive. Then again, how much did she really know about any of Rookbriar’s kits? She hardly knew which one this one was. “Oh - I’m sorry I interrupted your fun, then,” she apologized awkwardly. It’d probably be good to apologize, help reinforce manners or something, but it still felt like she was being reprimanded by a kit who didn’t even know a proper hunter’s crouch. Then again, how many did? “I’d love to join you, though - I’m Brookpaw, by the way. What did you want to play? Still want to stick to the moss ball, or something different?”

Dutifully, she went to retrieve the moss ball and bring it closer to Leafkit. A self imposed responsibility after she had intruded upon the moss’s course and disrupted his game. “I could teach you how to pounce like a warrior,” she offered. In her kithood, getting lessons from the apprentices and warriors was exciting - she hoped it was the same for Leafkit.

She felt like she was talking to a much older cat, with the way that Leafkit so formally responded to her. It made her feel like the immature one, which was surely incorrect - she was almost a warrior, for StarClan’s sake! As for a game, though… “Alright, how’s this? I’ll teach you how to pounce like a warrior, and we’ll use that to play a game? If you pounce on me successfully, I’ll even give you a badger-ride,” she offered, curling her tail gently. A pounce, after all, was the most basic thing in a cat’s skill set. It was self-evident that Leafkit was working on that skill on his own. Her assistance would simply help them be more efficient, and maybe even make their play-practice set them ahead as an apprentice.

The idea was a little exciting, helping a kit be prepared for apprenticeship. Besides - it could help with her dodging.

“Excellent,” Brookpaw purred. “Show me your best hunting crouch. The best way to help you improve it is to see where you're at right now. I can already tell that you're pretty clever, so let's see just what you've picked up from hanging around camp all the time.” It really didn't feel like that long ago that she and her littermates had been like Leafkit. How strange time was.

She pawed the moss ball into position. “Pretend you're going to pounce on the ball again, it'll be a better prey substitute than I could be,” Brookpaw mused. “Looking up at me would throw off the whole thing.” At least throw it off enough so that it could be an awkward teaching experience, at least.

Circling the kit, she analyzed his pose very dutifully. Like her own apprentice, moons from now when she was actually in that position. In a way, it was training for her, too, wasn’t it? Some part of her realized now that most cats didn’t receive any sort of training on how to teach apprentices or work with them. Interesting.

They pulled themself out of their thoughts, prodding gently at Leafkit’s forelegs. “A good start, but you’re putting too much weight on your front. You’re off balance, so your jump won’t go as planned. You might even fall on your face,” she explained gently. “I think that’s why your tail is so extended, too. You’ll feel more secure if you can put some of that weight into your hind legs. After all, they’re what will really launch you off the ground, right?” A rhetorical question meant simply to engage Leafkit’s own thinking process. Clearly, the kit was interested in this sort of thing, it’d help her in the future to be able to ask questions to adjust to situations.