Chapter Text
Water droplets slowly drip down from the stalactites hanging from the high ceiling, splashing onto the gray stone floor of the large cavern that SnowClan calls home. A little gray kitten lightly taps at the now wet spot, blue eyes fascinated by the liquid. She giggles when a droplet lands directly on her nose and tilts her head all the way up. As she watches the dripping water, it becomes a game to see how many she can avoid, bouncing and rolling out of the way just before they can hit her.
She doesn't notice Icebriar approaching her until the queen is standing right behind her, a soft look in the she-cat's green eyes.
"Hi!" Fishkit squeaks, temporarily stopping her game to greet her Clanmate as they touch noses, Icebriar ducking her head so Fishkit doesn't have reach up so high.
"What are you doing? Trying to catch the water?"
Fishkit shakes her head, "no silly! I'm avoiding the water." The kitten looks up at the stalactites again and meows: "I wanna go up there!" She actually kind of wants to know where all the water comes from, she doesn't see any openings in the stone ceiling.
Icebriar chuckles, tilting her own head up as well. "I think they're a little too far away, Fishkit, you would have to be a very big cat to reach them."
That gives Fishkit pause, can a cat grow so big? She knows Smoketail, the deputy, is larger than most cats with his thick and long fur. But even he is dwarfed by the size of SnowClan's camp. He can't get to the droplets either.
A dilemma indeed.
She tilts her head to the side, thinking it all over. So focused is she on her thoughts that she is completely startled when a bundle of fur slams into her.
"Oof." She grumbles from the ground, glaring at the kitten on top of her.
"Careful Mousekit," Icebriar admonishes the ginger tom, gently gripping him by the scruff and picking him up off of Fishkit, putting him back down beside her. "Always pay attention when you're running so you or someone else doesn't get hurt."
She quickly noses at Fishkit and checks her over but luckily the kit is just fine, not a scratch or scrape.
"Sorry Fishkit, I didn't mean to run into you," the little tom apologizes, sincere.
Fishkit shuffles herself back onto her paws, right as Mousekit's sibling and Icebriar's kits arrive on the scene, all breathing a little harder. They had been playing tag with Mousekit, the fastest kitten in the nursery and proud of it.
"I don't wanna play tag anymore," Troutkit huffs the moment he's caught his breath. Easily bored with a game as always. There are tiny mew of protest but Icebriar quickly shushes them.
"Troutkit doesn't have to play if he doesn't want to, he can do something else on his own if you all want to continue tag. You could split up and do your own things or find something that everyone likes."
The queen's words prompts the kits to murmur amongst themselves, Fishkit choosing to join in as well.
Eventually, Squirrelkit pipes up with an idea: "We can explore the edges of camp more? Maybe there are secret paths we havent found yet!"
Excitement sparks in each kittens' eyes, while they've certainly found plenty of little hidey-holes in the cave walls, they're always up for finding more of them.
Icebriar nods, having noticed the others' interest. "That sounds like a good idea, but make sure to stay in the cavern, don't go outside into the snow."
After promising Icebriar that they wouldn't, the kittens set off in the direction of the far walls, leaving the she-cat behind.
Crystals scattered over the walls glow brightly, casting the cavern in a soft light. They've all gotten distracted by the pretty, shiny colours on many occasions. Probably also the reason they still haven't finished exploring even after so many moons.
Even when the group makes an effort not to get distracted, it still takes a long while to find something new. So long the Dawn patrol returns home and the Sunset patrol leaves in the time it takes.
Ashkit, troutkit and Sprucekit's sister is the one to finally spot a new opening, a surprisingly big crack in the wall. They must not have been here yet or it would have been noticed earlier.
It's big enough that a full grown warrior might be able to squeeze through, hidden between some larger rocks.
One by one, the kits slip inside, Fishkit leading the charge as they wander into the tunnel. It's dark in here with no crystals to light the way. She carefully puts her paws in front of each other, letting her whiskers brush against the walls.
Luckily, a small bit of light shines from up ahead and they all tumble into another cavern, this one much smaller than the camp though as they can easily see every corner.
Stunned, the kittens look around. Unlike the camp, which is mostly gray stone with a large clear lake in the middle, this cavern has plants growing through tiny cracks and sprouting up from underneath the floor. A small flower occasionally blooming on the stems. Patches of moss crawl up the walls and over small rocks. There are small pools of water instead of one big body, one thin strip leading into an underwater cavern. The whole cavern is painted in a purple hue, courtesy of the crystals strewn haphazardly over the place, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, anywhere really.
It's amazing! Was something like this really hidden here all this time? Did the warriors know?
Of course, the kittens decided this was to be their secret, a place to play without interruptions, it was perfect.
Though, they were beginning to feel a little tired, deciding to leave playing here for another day and heading back to the nursery to curl up in their nests, pressed close to each other and their mothers.