[ti]Private[/ti]Abusing moss & serious talks

[chickenbatnana]

It was a clear day, pleasant new leaf scents filled the nursery. It was pretty empty, with just Stream and her siblings, but that was okay. That only meant Stream had more place to play. Carefully, she snuck through the den. In the middle lay some moss, nicely rolled into a ball. When she felt the time was right, the small kit leaped onto it, biting it viciously as if it were prey. This was some sort of fun! She went back into position and repeated the process for some time. However, jumping on moss could only satisfy her for so long. After backing off again, she tried a new kind of attack. A scratching attack. With all the energy in her body, she jumped forward onto the moss. Instead of biting, she flailed her claws into it like only a kit could. Sure it looked silly, but Stream really did not mind. When she stood up, something was wrong. The moss ball was stuck to her paw! Rapidly she shook her paw up and down, but it didn't go off. It seemed to be all tangled up in her still-tiny claws. Stream bit at the moss, she wasn't just going to lose to some stupid plant. That'd be stupid. She wasn't stupid.

[sabs]

{SKY} OF ENDLESS STARS >>

    The tom padded quietly into the den of his family, just in case anyone was sleeping. He was on a mission, and it involved one certain kit of his. He spotted Stream as soon as he entered, stuck on a ball of moss. He couldn't help but let out a mrrow of amusement. Sky made his way towards the young she-cat, gently grabbing hold of the moss with his teeth and pulling it downward off her tiny claws. He sat the moss to the side and gave a small smile. "It seems you were having a bit of trouble there." He looked out toward the clearing at the entrance of the den, then back to his daughter. "I have something I'd like to discuss with you." He mewed, flicking his tail to signal outside the den. "Let's go to a bit outside, it's quite nice today." 

[chickenbatnana]

Stream looked up when her father entered the den. She didn't have the closest relationship with him, but she generally didn't mind his company. Not as much as others, at least. He was at least slightly based in realism, which was good. She was happy to have a dad with some sense. Thankfully, he helped Stream be freed from the wrath of the moss ball. ''Oh, yeah it just stuck to my claw.'' She admitted, not sounding ashamed at all. She sat down and listened to her dad, unsure about what he wanted to discuss. It was probably about this healer thing, she'd heard a lot about it the past few weeks. The others seemed to be really impressed and sometimes concerned about it, but the kit didn't understand all the fuss yet. She looked outside when her father mentioned the nice day. It was really nice outside. Not too hot, but enough sunshine to not freeze to death. This was important to Stream, especially with her very short coat. With a nod she replied. ''Sure, what is it?'' She stood up and waited for him at the door.

[sabs]

{SKY} OF ENDLESS STARS >>

    The stalky tom padded after his little daughter. Looking at her, it was hard to imagine that Stream would be the Healer one day, but it was something he would have to come to accept, just as she would have to accept her future. He gave a gentle smile. Sky was sure that she would be more than ready for the challenge, when the time came. All of his kits were fiery and courageous, and she was no exception. Once they had reached the entrance, he took a few paw steps outside onto the stone, letting the warm breeze greet his dark face. Once Stream had joined him, he sat down, curling his tail around his paws. He was quiet for a moment, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the forest surrounding them.

    He looked back at the small cat, knowledge beyond her age seeming to already gleam in her eyes. Though his children were fierce and hot-headed, they were far from mouse-brained. He took great pride in his family, and intended to show it.  Sky cleared his throat, trying to find the words to explain the responsibility that now rest on the she-cats shoulders. "Stream..." He began, pausing for a moment. "I know that you are already aware of your newfound position." It was rare that the tom showed any sort of raw emotion, it wasn't that it was overly difficult...it was just that he preferred to keep his emotions bottled up, that's how he found himself strongest for his Tribe. "If you have any questions or you ever find yourself struggling, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you." He moved his tail to brush against the she-cat's shoulders, letting it rest there momentarily before standing once more. 

    "You still have a lot to learn, but I'm confident that Firstspeaker will be a great teacher...." He paused, turning to look back at Stream with a purr. "And if not, I'll rake his ears a bit for you." The tom mused, watching as a crow landed a few tail lengths in front of them. Sky wasn't sure what else to add, or if he needed to, really. She was a bright kit, he reassured himself, however stubborn. He just hoped that she would actually take his advice and come to him with her problems, or even for comfort. He let the silence sink in between them, watching the bird peck around the forest floor for it's next meal. 

[chickenbatnana]

''Don't the others have a lot to learn, too?'' Stream said. She knew that her position was something unique, but that didn't inherently make it harder. From what she saw, all to-be's always came home exhausted from doing whatever, she didn't expect it to be anything else as the Healer. The kit smiled to herself. ''And from what I've seen Firstspeaker do, the job seems easy! It's just keeping an eye on the tribe and, I don't know, speaking weird spiritual stuff?'' She was unsure why Firstspeaker seemed to be unable to say anything directly. Why was it that he only spoke in weird metaphors? Would be much easier to just speak normally! If anything, she'd be struggling with the fact that nothing ever seemed to be clear. It was weird, the world would just be so much easier if everyone was like her! ''But yeah, you can rake his ears for me, if I don't do it earlier, that is! Er, one more thing though, do I have to change my name? Or can I just not do that. Firstspeaker seems like a very stupid name to me. Maybe I could change it.'' In her mind, Stream was already thinking up new names. Streamstars? Because she was named Stream of Silver Stars. Maybe Silverstars. Streamsilver. Streamsilverstars. Or was that too long? Why not just ask. ''Are there rules for making new names?''

[sabs]

{SKY} OF ENDLESS STARS >>

    ''Don't the others have a lot to learn, too?'' The tom's throat rumbled with amusement at his daughter, giving her a soft flick on the ear. She was quite the spirited one, that was certain. "Of course little one, you and all of your siblings will learn your path, in time." Sky sat quietly as she berated him with more questions about her position, and about Firstspeaker. He got to his paws, signaling for the she-cat to calm herself as he turned to lead her inside. "All of your questions will be answered for you by Firstspeaker, but I know the job is far from easy." He warned, keeping amble pace with his kit as they left the warmth of the outside and entered the cool, quite cave. His heart swelled with pride, yet his stomach tightened with worry. He hoped that her role wouldn't prove to be dangerous, but he knew that he would always have his daughters back, even if he couldn't answer the tricky technical questions for her. He was confident that Firstspeaker would train her well, and she would be more than prepared when the time came. She was still very young, after all.