“Keep together, little ones!” Twilight called gently as she led the way out of the nursery. Today, the small corridor between the nursery and the main hall was guarded by Wren and Black, and both warriors nodded at Twilight as she passed by. The lowest floor of the camp was bustling with apprentices and warriors, but they all made way for Twilight and the gaggle of kits trailing after her.
“Are we going to cook today?” Daisy asked, her eyes wide and shining. “Can I play with fire?”
Before Twilight could reply, Willow butted in, “Of course not, mousebrain! You’re gonna get burned if you try.”
“Don’t be mean!” Willow’s sister, Song, chided. “You need to use your nice words.”
“I don’t need nice words!”
As the kits devolved into squabbling, Twilight sighed. She envied Sweets and Bison for their ability to maintain fights like these – she wasn’t cut out for this job at all. “Just keep up with me, kits, or you’ll get taken right back to the nursery and won’t get any snacks.”
“No snacks?” Honey finally spoke up, her voice trembling. Twilight felt like she got punched in the gut, looking at her undersized little daughter, who loved food more than life itself. Willow and Song went silent, watching with wide eyes, while Daisy stuck her tongue out at Song. Twilight noted that she needed to teach Daisy more manners eventually, but today wouldn’t be that day.
“No snacks if you don’t behave. Are we ready? Link up, please.” She lowered her tail so that Willow could gently bite it. Behind Willow, the other kits copied her and formed a single line of fluff. “Alright kits, let’s go!”
Leading the way up the slope to the second floor, Twilight kept looking over her shoulder to ensure all of the kits were following behind her. So far, they had been unusually well-behaved, and she was unsure how long it would be until they tried to run off.
“Listen to me!” Twilight twitched her tail lightly to get Willow’s attention. The other kits turned their eyes to Twilight as well, watching expectantly, and she began, “I know the kitchen is a new place, and you’re all very excited to visit, but Plum has agreed to show you how to make some easy snacks without fire. I need you to be respectful and not get into anything you’re not supposed to.”
As the line of kits passed by, other cats turned to stop and comment about the kits being well-behaved and adorable. If only you knew, Twilight thought. They’re only being good because they’re on a field trip!
Eventually, Twilight and the kits made it to the canteen. It was the middle of the day when most cats were either asleep or working, so it wasn’t too crowded. Grizzly and Plume were sharing a meal, and Blizzard loudly boasted to his mother, Spider, about killing a hawk.
Twilight whisked her tail out of Willow’s mouth and turned to them. “What do we say when we go see Plum?”
“Thank you!” The kits chorused, though Willow had to be prompted by Honey to say it.
“And what do we do when we visit somewhere new?”
“Keep our paws and tails to ourselves!” Song said excitedly.
“What will we not do?”
“Eat things we don’t recognize!” Daisy said as she hopped in place.
Twilight sighed internally. “You can’t eat anything you’re not given at all. Even if you see some blueberries lying around, someone might need to use them later, so you can’t just take whatever you want.”
Daisy huffed, and Willow snickered at her, but Honey peered up at Twilight and whispered, “What if there are tomatoes?”
“We do not touch any tomatoes!” Twilight pulled her daughter closer and gave her a quick lick on the forehead. “What happened when Rabbit ate a tomato?”
“He started foaming at the mouth!” Song replied. “And then Dandelion made him eat some rocks!”
“Charcoal, not rocks,” Plum called out. Twilight glanced over to see the she-cat padding out of the kitchens. “It helps make your stomach feel better when you eat things you shouldn’t. Now, come on to the back, and I’ll show you how everything works.”
Twilight nodded and stepped back, motioning for the kits to follow. “Be good, kids, and don’t touch anything you shouldn’t.”
“We won’t!” The kits said in unison. Twilight wondered if they meant they wouldn’t touch anything… or they wouldn’t be good. Taking a deep breath, she followed after the kits and Plum.
The kitchen was bustling with life. Several fires were burning in their alcoves, boiling water or roasting meat, and Thorn and Hawk were sorting out a pile of berries, tossing the bad ones aside to be sent to the compost. Carved hollows in the walls were filled with various ingredients, from dried meats and fruits to uncooked wild rice and chili peppers. Cottontail and Glory chatted excitedly about new meal ideas as they filleted some fish, eating the innards and skin before setting the meat aside.
Each fire alcove was fitted with a row of small stone bars, allowing the cats to place meat and other ingredients over the fire to cook. Water was boiled in large, rounded stones hollowed out in the center to form a cavity. As Twilight watched, Rabbit carefully used a long stick wrapped in thick pelts to pick up one of the water stones. The thick smell of roses made it clear there was a floral tea inside.
I’m never going to get used to this, Twilight thought as she looked around. It was amazing how fast RavenClan had adapted to cooking food, but she wasn’t the biggest fan of such a hubbub. A simple mouse would be fine enough for her.
Still, Twilight sat down and curled her tail around her paws, the kits seem to like this. Indeed, they were looking around with abject wonder in their eyes.
Plum placed several stone bowls full raspberries alongside several flat rocks in front of the kits. “Today, you’re going to help us cook some food. This is how we prepare berries for cooking – mashing them into a paste.”
Willow used a paw to bat at the stone in front of her. “Mash it? With the rock?”
“That’s correct!” Plum said. “Now, watch me.” With a deft paw, she carefully placed the rock on top of one of the stone bowls. “We’re going to use our front paws to push down on the raspberries until they’re nice and smashed. Watch me.”
Twilight toned out Plum as her gaze wandered to the other cats in the kitchen. It felt so strange to be in such a place, somehow like the twoleg den she used to live in, yet so vastly different. When the Great Shaking happened, Twilight had been separated from her family. It was only sheer luck that they ended up on the island together, and even then, they didn’t end up joining the same Clan.
Except for Bat, Twilight fondly thought of her brother, who had joined alongside Wanderer, his new mate, just a few moons after she did herself. It was nice to have her brother in the Clan, and she was happy that her kits now had blood ties aside from her that they could rely on if anything were to happen.
“Mama, look!” Twilight glanced down to see Daisy pushing her bowl of mashed raspberries over. “You didn’t mash any, so you can share mine!”
Twilight immediately began purring. “You don’t want to keep it all for yourself?”
“No! You don’t get any,” Daisy scooped up a pawful of the raspberry mush and tapped Twilight’s muzzle with it. “It tastes good, right?”
The berry was overwhelmingly sweet and tart simultaneously. Twilight hated fruits but couldn’t bring herself to hate anything her beloved kit gave her. “It’s delicious.”