Duckwing seemed skeptical, but he didn't push her further. His head snapped forward at the sound of gentle rustling and he crouched down, crawling towards a bush.
Crescentshine considered for a moment. "Well, I… I suppose so. Just be very careful!"
Coppershine, who was by now blushing furiously, walked away before she could hear the noise. She muttered angrily to herself under her breath. “Idiot! You always mess everything up, and now you’re gonna mess this up too!” Before she could stop herself, she slashed a claw down a tree in anger.
“Yay!” Sparrowkit cheered. She bounced out of the den on clumsy paws, eagerly drinking in the scents of the SunClan camp.
Batkit stumbled after her, only getting any sense of where he was from hearing, smelling, and bumping into things.
Duckwing stood back up when Coppershine stormed off, tentatively going after her to watch before he tried anything.
Coppershine backed up from the tree as soon as she’d done it, guilt clogging up her throat. She sat down with a sigh, sweeping her tail back and forth across the forest floor. What was she doing? She was supposed to be helping Dewpaw, not acting like him! Internally, she was panicking. She’d had her flirts and flings as an apprentice, but this was something else, and she could not handle it. “Idiot!” she said under her breath.
“Hey, Batkit!” Sparrowkit called. “C’mon!” She ran over to the fresh-kill pile. “It smells so good! Right?”
"Coppershine…?" Duckwing asked softly, slowly approaching her. "You okay?"
Batkit nodded, making his way to Sparrowkit unsteadily.
Hornetkit bounded after his littermates, soaking in the warm sunlight. "It smells so yummy!" He mewed.
“No. I’m not okay. I’m not okay!” she said, hysteria creeping into her voice. “StarClan, it feels good to say that.” Coppershine let out a little giggle.
“Wow! There are so many colors!” Sparrowkit said in awe. She bounded over to Hornetkit and poked him with her paw. “Ha! Got you!”
"I'm gonna get you back!" He squeaked, chasing after her.
Lilypaw skidded to a halt at the StormClan border as a black and white Tom rose out of the water, shaking tiny droplets out of his fur. "Darkpaw!" She purred happily.
"It's Darkshadow now," he meowed.
"You're a warrior now?" She exclaimed happily. "Cool!"
Sparrowkit let out a squeal as Hornetkit began to run after her. She jumped over the fresh kill pile and skidded around a stump.
Hornetkit ran right into the stump, bumping his head. "Owww…" He murmured, and continued stumbling after his sister.
"Are you sure nobody will find us here?" Lilypaw meowed nervously. "If my father Eaglestar found out, he would shred me!"
"Of course not," Darkshadow reassured her. "Both SunClan and StormClan border patrols have been this way today. It'll be fine."
Hornetkit peered into the cave which was the medicine den. "Woah," he marveled. "I wonder what's in there? So many different smells!" He bounded right in and ran headfirst into Dewpaw.
Sparrowkit ran after Hornetkit and stumbled to a stop after him. “Oh! Are you our big brother?” she asked, craning her neck to look up at Dewpaw.
Dewpaw jumped when he was bumped into, startled. He looked down at the kits and nodded, Batkit stumbling in as well. "Mom says Dewpaw doesn't like to talk." Batkit announced, sitting down. Dewpaw nodded again, glancing at Batkit's eyes.
“No. I’m not okay. I’m not okay!” she said, hysteria creeping into her voice. “StarClan, it feels good to say that.” Coppershine let out a little giggle.
Duckwing came up next to her and nuzzled against her. "I'm here to help if you need me…"
"S-sorry, big brother!" He mewed, standing up and exploring the den. "Is this the medicine den? It's so big! What do all these herbs do?"
Dewpaw let the kits explore, supervising them constantly, especially Batkit. Tawnyleaf had mentioned that the kit was likely blind, so Dewpaw didn't want him to hurt himself by mistake.
Hornetkit sniffed a juniper berry (which he didn't know it was at the time) and, when nobody was looking, he took a bite.
(That won't really do anything lol they soothe bellyaches)
Dewpaw didn't notice, as he was pulling Batkit away from something more dangerous.
((I know))
“Thank you, Duckwing,” Coppershine replied softly. She gave him a soft lick on the cheek. “I’m very overwhelmed right now, and it’s mostly because of you, but that’s okay.”
Sparrowkit pointed at the poppy seeds. “What’s that?” she asked Dewpaw.
"Have I done something wrong?" Duckwing asked worriedly, looking down at Coppershine.
Dewpaw hesitated before deciding he might as well speak. "They are poppy seeds. They ease pain and soothe the nerves."
“Not at all, trust me,” Coppershine replied with a little smile. “You are a-okay. There is nothing - absolutely nothing - wrong with you.”
“That’s cool, Dewpaw! Do you get to give cats medicine and stuff?” Sparrowkit asked enthusiastically.