"Five... Six... Seven... Eight.... Nine... Ten!"
Spiderkit took her paws off her face and gazed around. She and her friends were playing hide and seek in the MoonClan camp. She shook out her black pelt and started looking around.
The birds chirped and sang, filling the newleaf morning with their pretty song. They seemed to be saying what a beautiful morning! And I'm hungry, let's go find a worm for breakfast!
A breeze ruffled her pretty black pelt, and the dewy grass under her paws was rejuvenating. The dawn light filtered through the canopy of trees above her head and she skipped over a stone happily as she approached a bunch of ferns. I'll look here first.
Featherpool padded out of her den and looked at the little she-kit. "Oh, good morning Spiderkit, what are you doing?" She asked.
Spiderkit blinked her large blue eyes up at the medicine cat. "Playing hide-and-seek with Ashkit, Brackenkit, and Venomkit."
Featherpool's whiskers twitched, her eyes gleaming. "What about Dapplekit and Redkit?"
Spiderkit thought about her sister, Dapplekit, she was talking with the warriors, acting like she was one of them with Redkit.
"Well?" Featherpool meowed.
Spiderkit swished her tail and flicked her ear. "Oh, they are just playing warrior!" She meowed elatedly.
Featherpool smiled. "Its nice to see kits playing." She turned to pad away. "Don't forget to use your nose!"
Spiderkit skipped the rest of the way to the ferns, not listening to the advice of the medicine cat, then flung herself into the green mass.
She let out a squeal as she landed on bare ground.
She sneezed as dust went in her nose, she waited a few heart beats and gazed around. Under the ferns was a small hollow, with mushrooms growing on the ground. The ground was also dry and smelled of decayed leaves, filling her nose with it's tangy scent. Light filtered from in between the green stalks and leaves of the ferns that towered over her. Fiddle heads curled up from the ground, making lumps in the ground and pushing small silver stones aside.
Spiderkit took a moment to admire the plant's strength. Its only a plant but it can already move stones!
Her gaze snatched to some movement she spotted from the corner of her eye. A long legged creature was walking across the ground near a red mushroom with white spots. It's eight limbs were super thin, and it's body was really tiny pale circle.
She crept up and sniffed the tiny monster, her breath making it shudder. It started walking away.
"Don't leave..." She meowed, placing her paw in front of it to block it's escape route.
The leggy creature shambled along, climbing onto her paw.
Spiderkit smiled gleefully as the eight legged bug traveled up her arm and onto her head, and there it sat.
She let out a squeal of delight and carefully crawled out of the ferns so her new discovery wouldn't fall off.
She padded a few feet from the luscious green plants.
More cats were out of the dens now, Snowdove was sorting out patrols for the day, Featherpool was laying herbs out to dry, two of the apprentices, Stonepaw and Icepaw, were training near the warriors den, and her father, Pantherstar, was sitting on high rock.
A warrior came out of the den and scolded Stonepaw and Icepaw for waking him. Stonepaw had an apologetic look, but Icepaw rolled her eyes.
The warrior huffed and went to the fresh-kill pile, Icepaw sticking her tongue out at him before leaping at Stonepaw, knocking the gray apprentice off her paws.
Pantherstar must have seen her rude act, because he got down from his perch and stalked over to her. As he reached Icepaw his said something Spiderkit couldn't hear.
The small white apprentice blinked at her mentor, then stalked out of camp. Spiderkit guessed her father had told her to go collect bedding for one of the dens.
Spiderkit smiled proudly, her father was a mighty important cat. I hope I'll be important when I grow up.
She felt the creature that she found in the ferns move onto one of her ears, then back down to the area in between her two white tipped ears.
Spiderkit heard the patter of paws and looked to see the other kits running over to her.
Venomkit stopped in his tracks when he saw the creature on Spiderkit's head. "Uhh... Spiderkit! There is a spider on your head!" Brackenkit squeaked in disgust and fluffed out her brown fur.
Ashkit's eyes grew round with interest. "Its so cool!"
Spiderkit gave a delighted mew. "I know!" She purred. "I found it in the ferns."
Venomkit's fur fluffed up. "What if it hurts you?" He meowed worriedly.
Spiderkit flicked an ear, if the spider didn't hurt her by now she didn't think it ever would.
I have no intention to hurt you, young one.
Spiderkit blinked in surprise. Where is that voice coming from?
The voice responded as if it read her mind.
I am the arachnid on your head.
"Hey kits! Time for your meal!" Owlfoot called.
"I'm not going to wait all day!" Spiderkit recognized Roseblossoms voice that sounded as if it were forever sweetened with honey.
Venomkit turned to look at the nursery as the queens called for their kits. Dawnshine and the other two mothers were seated by the entrance, waiting for their kits to come.
"Coming!" Ashkit mewed, running over to them.
"Beat you there, Venomkit!" Brackenkit challenged, flashing one last disgusted look at the spider that was now on Spiderkit's shoulder, before racing after Ashkit.
Venomkit growled playfully and shot after the brown furred she-kit.
Can you bring me back to my ferns please? The voice of the small spider echoed in her ears again.
"Yeah, of course." Spiderkit answered.
She turned and padded towards the green bundle of plants, the spider crawling down her arm carefully as she did so.
The black she-kit stopped at the edge of the greenery and reached her paw under one of the ferns.
The long legged spider graciously walked off her paw and onto the dry dusty ground.
"Bye." Spiderkit whispered, backing up from the plants. And turning towards the nursery.
She bounded to the den that smelled of milk and kits.
The slight breeze that ruffled her fluffy kit pelt was diminished as she entered the warm nursery.
Ashkit and Brackenkit were suckling at Roseblossom's belly, kneading her soft fur with their paws.
Venomkit was sitting by Owlfoot, eating part of a plump mouse.
"Where is your sister, Spiderkit?" Dawnshine asked. She was seated next to Pantherstar in the shadows of the den. Thank StarClan it was a large den, big enough to fit all these cats.
Spiderkit purred "She is playing with Redkit, they are pretending to be warriors." She explained, padding up to her mother.
"I'll go get her." Pantherstar offered, getting to his paws and leaving the den.
Spiderkit looked after her father, feeling a twinge of sadness. Pantherstar never spent time with her, he had never once played a game with her.
She shook the feeling away. He was an important cat, maybe he didn't have the time.
Spiderkit padded over to Dawnshine, who was now laying down, and settled herself by her mother's belly. Instead of nursing, she rested her head on her paws.
"Not hungry?" Dawnshine asked.
Spiderkit curled her white tipped tail in close. "No, only tired."
She closed her eyes as her mother purred. "Sweet dreams..."
She faded into sleep just after hearing to sets of paw steps enter the den.