Patchkit couldn’t notice the sound of his name over the chatter of the nursery, all of the sounds, muffled as they were, blurred into a right mess within his ears. So the ginger continued to remain curled up in a ball, and didn’t respond to the warrior speaking to him.

Patchkit startled. Startled harshly. As the warrior stepped forward to nuzzle into his fur, the kit had briefly heard the soft steps and was just sitting up to investigate. The actual being touched by a stranger made him scramble to his paws and back away, fur ruffled and bristled, before calming a fraction upon understanding it was just a clan mate. He frowned, “What? I was taking a nap.”