Sun-Sensitive

[mewmehh]

With the gentle Newleaf having come and gone, the sunny heat of the Greenleaf season all too quickly made itself known as warm sunbeams touched all they could with their golden glow. Grass grew high and insects filled the forest with their lively chitters, and all those sporting fur were certainly feeling the weight of the weather. Yet, this was perfect playtime weather for the kits of the clans and a pawful could be found scampering around Ivyclan's camp clearing.

A small group of downy-furred kittens had been beating around a bludgeoned ball of moss outside the Nursery. It was harmless fun to be had by Longwing's brood as his gingery red and white daughters and son had busied themselves while their father was out on patrol and their mother was working to nurse the three kits that she had recently taken in. Blossompool had told them that Redkit, Bluekit, and Greenkit needed to build their strength and that they could play later. So, until then, the older youngsters played by themselves.

It hadn't been very long at all; the sun had hardly made it to the center of the sky when a particularly pale she-kit had grown weary and collapsed. It seemed that Wingedkit, with her delicate white fur and showy pink skin, had a bit of a weakness to the heat and reacted poorly to the summer sun. A nearby warrior had luckily seen the situation unfold and took the small kit to the medicine cats' den, urging Wingedkit's littermates to keep playing and ensuring that she would be fine.

Pale, rosy-hued blue eyes flicked open slowly as the white she-kit awoke, facing the dark ceiling of the exotic-smelling den. She coughed a little as she struggled to sit up, her body feeling weak and her head fuzzy. Blinking lightly in rapid sequence, Wingedkit tried to recall what had happened and in her confusion, she meowed out softly, "Larkbeat?" If anyone could shed some light on what had happened, it was the tortoiseshell she-cat.

[Dofferz!]

With the abundance of prey and the warmth of the sun heating her back, Larkbeat knew that she would choose the sun of Greenleaf over the cold moons of Leafbare any day. While the tortoiseshell could admit that there were times that the sun's rays were dizzying and exhausting, was easy to seek the cool shade that was offered alongside, unlike easy warmth in the cold moons. And this time of the year were the days that the girl thanked her ancestors for her short pelt. How long-haired felines could stand to suffer in the sun, she knew not. But alas, perhaps she was also biased with the excuse to also be eligible to spend a great deal of the day in the coolness of her den, free of burning rays and dry heat. Perhaps was why she was finding this Greenleaf more favorful then her last one.

But this did not mean that she was free from work. While Leafbare carried with it illness, Greenleaf assumed just as dangerous when it came to warriors tripping over foliage, troding on thorns, and in this young kit's case, dangers of staying exposed in the sun for excess amounts of time. Usually the tortie wasn't a fan of treating kits, but usually only because the vast majority of them came to her spilling tales of monstrous thorns that suddenly grew out beneath their paws, attacking the delicate skin underneath. But in this case, she wouldn't stress to those measures.

"Larkbeat?" She raised her head from her sortings at the mention of her name, turning her gaze to the young kitten. She remained silent for a couple more moments, setting the last leaf before pushing the pile aside, focusing all her attention on her patient. "Wingedkit, is it?" she would meow, a light tone to her voice. She would hesitate a moment to allow her to answer, before continuing. "Is pretty hot out there. Took a nasty spill." while she assumed was the issue, Larkbeat simply wanted to confirm a few things first. Make sure the issue was, in fact, the issue. "When you were outside playing, how did you feel? Dizzy or lightheaded at all?"

[mewmehh]

The small white kit gave a small gurgling sound as she finally managed to sit upright, still blinking her pale eyes albeit a bit slower as they adjusted to the fragrant darkness of the medicine cat's den. Listening to Larkbeat speak, Wingedkit nodded with a small,"Uh-huh..." and flexed her toes. They felt heavy and as if they hadn't been moved all season. "Mhmm. My head feels fuzzy and my hearing sounds kinda warbly. B-but it's not as bad as before." Wingedkit mulled it over as the tortie explained what had occured and the young she-cat felt her ear tips grow hot with embarrassment. Hopefully Mintkit wouldn't hold it against her that she messed up their game.

As she thought to how Larkbeat mentioned the heat, Wingedkit was quicker to respond. "I wasn't out there for very long. But it was pretty hot..." She furrowed her brow and glared a pair of holes into the den floor. How peculiar for a healthy kit her age to be so easily overheated. It sounded so preposterous, but she wondered what ever could have been the reason. After all, the rest of her clanmates seemed just fine and it was barely just more than morning.

[Dofferz!]

All things considered, was simple enough for Larkbeat to come to the conclusion that the kitten had quickly become overheated during her time outside this morning. There wasn't much that the tortoiseshell was able to do besides allow the child to cool down in the shade. "Right. Here," she would push a clump of wet moss forwards that she had gathered while Wingedkit had been out. "It's not much, but it's best you stay hydrated, else worse things can happen. I'm not too certain why you're as vulnerable to heat as you are-" she would trail off, collecting her thoughts for a minute. "-but I advise you not to test your limits and overstep your boundaries. When you feel yourself growing weary, find some water and a cool spot and allow yourself to take a breather and cool down. You can even come sit in here if you want, huh?" funny. Larkbeat offering a kitten to be welcome in her den? But she supposed she would rather have an eye on her when heat acts up rather then Wingedkit being by herself and something bad happening.

In all truth, Larkbeat was not at all familiar with the traits of the strange mutation that Wingedkit was born with. The tortoiseshell had never dealt with albinism before, and the side effects of the condition were foreign in her ears. Already Larkbeat was planning on asking either Silverfang or Cedarleap about it during the next half-moon gathering. Perhaps one of them knew something that she didn't, but until then, Larkbeat was determined to keep a close eye on the girl.

[mewmehh]

Wingedkit listened thoughtfully as the tortoiseshell she-cat spoke briefly before a tuft of sodden moss was pushed her way. Heeding the older cat's advice, the pale kitten politely thanked Larkbeat before lapping at the soft springiness of the moss, draining it quickly of much of it's water. It felt as if she hadn't had anything to drink in moons. Once satisfied, she blinked lazily back up at the she-cat, catching as much of what Larkbeat was saying as she could.

When the medicine cat offered her refuge from the heat in her den, Wingedkit beamed a gracious smile and dipped her head in a little bow of thanks. "I would like that, Larkbeat. Thank you!" She paused to take a quick sniff of the exotic-smelling den and nodded gently to herself. Yes, she would like that very much. The medicine cat's den always smelled so nice, so even though it wasn't very fair that she couldn't play in the sun, Larkbeat's offer made up for it.