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"At my signal, unleash the full force of ThunderClan upon these rogues!"
Sinking her small claws into the tree stump, Spottedkit looked down on her most loyal warriors and smiled. They stood before her, eyes gleaming with anticipation, pelts bristled, and ready to heed their leader's command!
Beyond them crouched their rivals- the rogues; their tails were flicking hungrily for the battle yet to come.
"ThunderClan forever!" Spottedkit yowled ceremoniously, raising her muzzle skyward. At this, a red tortoiseshell tom-kit whirled around and charged for his closest rival, pouncing with all his might.
"No! Redkit!" Spottedkit exclaimed. "That wasn't the signal!"
Quickly jumping from the stump, she marched toward her littermate, who was now tangled up with a pale-tabby she-cat, trying to bite her scruff. "Get off of Brindlekit!"
Brindlekit, in turn, wriggled from Redkit's feeble grasp, knocking him to the ground with a sound, "oof!" Scrambling to his paws, the little tom met his sister's heated glare. "Well, it sounded like a signal!"
"And you didn't say what the signal would be," countered a white she-kit, her sky-blue eyes giving an unamused roll as she approached the pair.
Redkit nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what Frostkit said!"
Spottedkit lashed her tail indignantly and huffed. "Ugh, you've spoiled the game, Redkit! So you can't be my deputy anymore."
Before a taken-aback Redkit would react to his sister's harsh rebuff, a soft-grey kit bounced forward from where she'd been standing beside the stump.
"Can I be deputy," she asked excitedly, earning another stunned stare from Redkit.
"No, Willowkit!" Spottedkit flashed her sister a sharp glare of her amber eyes. "You're supposed to be my medicine cat. Not my deputy."
"But I want to fight in the battle," Willowkit protested with a dramatic roll of her head, and she slouched dejectedly to the den floor.
Spottedkit groaned irritably. Why does she have to whine so much? She knows I wanted to be the leader today!
A thick-furred white tomcat crouched beside Spottedkit's gangle of bickering troops arose to his paws and gingerly stepped forward. He stood noticeably taller than the others, lacking their delicate kitten fluff and squeaky underdeveloped mews.
"I'll be the medicine cat, if you'd like, Spottedkit." He meowed, a tender smile lifting his whiskers.
"It's not up to you, Whitepaw," Spottedkit retorted, the edge in her voice growing sharper. "I'm the leader, and I decide who does what."
"Well, I, for one, don't want to be a rogue," Intercepted Brindlekit, tossing her head up in dramatized refusal. "And you're too bossy to be our leader, Spottedkit!"
Spottedkit was baffled for a heartbeat, staring wide-eyed before stomping her paw down indignantly. She was the leader this time in their game, and it was a leader's duty to command her warriors! Why couldn't any of them see that?
"But now we only have one rogue!" The little tortoiseshell wailed, her fluffy white cheeks bristling in frustration. "That's not a proper battle!"
"I don't want to be a rogue or a warrior anymore!" Frostkit's voice rang out, aggravated to the tipping point. "I'm done with this game!" The snow-white kit spun on her paws and bounded out of the nursery with a whip of her tail.
"Me too!" Declared Brindlekit, turning and scampering away with Willowkit not far behind.
Spottedkit jolted upright, mouth agape as her friends and sister padded away into the daylight beyond the nursery. When her brother began to tread after them, she couldn't hold back the wail in her chest. "Wait- not you too!"
Redkit glanced over his shoulder, meeting his sister with one last annoyed frown before joining his retreating denmates. "We don't wanna play with you if you keep bossing us around, Spottedkit. You can come to play with us when you're done throwing a fit."
Spottedkit stood dumbstruck from the unfurling events, any rebuttals dying on her tongue. What...just happened...?
A paw nudged her shoulder, startling the kit out of her trance, and she abruptly peered up to see Whitepaw suddenly beside her. His bold yellow eyes were just as friendly as his tone when he spoke.
"Give them some time. I'm sure they'll come around."
She wanted to believe his reassurance. But with her brother's words still echoing in her ears and the sight of the kits beginning a new game together in the clearing, Spottedkit wasn't convinced. "I doubt it..." The little tortoiseshell sagged to her belly atop the stump, defeated.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Whitepaw offer a small, sympathetic smile before also turning to leave. "I'll see you later, Spottedkit."
She lay there miserably, resting her head over her paws at an angle where she wouldn't have to witness her friends and littermates playing together. What did I do wrong...? I was just-
"Is everything alright, love?"
Spottedkit's head bolted upright to see her mother's tabby-striped face staring down at her. While her gaze shone with all the warmth of a mother, there was a layer of something else in her yellow orbs. Spottedkit didn't hesitate to explain her dilemmas to a listening ear as good as her mother's. "Redkit says I'm too bossy and that I was throwing a fit. But I wasn't- nobody was listening to me! Willowkit didn't even stand up for me. She just ran away."
Swiftbreeze hummed in acknowledgment and bent down to rasp her tongue over Spottedkit's scruffy mottled fur. Spottedkit leaned into the contact, a purr growing in her chest from the much-needed affection, but even that couldn't steady her emotions.
"Perhaps you should let one of the others be in charge next time you play," Swiftbreeze suggested. "When it's your turn again, you should try a different approach. Compromise."
Spottedkit shook her head to and fro. "But they said I could be Clan Leader this time! And then they didn't wanna listen to anything I said," she grumbled, tail twitching at the memory. "And being a clan leader means I have to look after every cat, right? And they have to listen to me."
"Well, every cat has responsibilities and a role to play in leading a clan, my love." Swiftbreeze gently explained, ceasing her comforting licks as her daughter wriggled. "And no leader could do without their deputy or their medicine cat. Think how Sunstar relies on Tawnyspots to organize the patrols and Goosefeather and Featherwhisker to heal the sick. No cat can lead a clan alone."
Spottedkit huffed dismissively and sat up on her stump. "When I'm leader of ThunderClan someday, I'll be in charge of all the patrols..." She looked outward into the clearing where the many cats of ThunderClan went about their day and searched for a familiar white pelt. "And I'm going to make Whitepaw my deputy. He's kind and smart, and he tells Tigerpaw to stop showing off whenever Thistleclaw teaches him a new way to fight."
Swiftbreeze shifted unusually and shook her striped head, unbeknownst to her frustrated daughter. "Thistleclaw shouldn't be teaching Tigerpaw so many battle moves...," she stated with a weathered sigh, "Not when he's only been an apprentice for two moons." Spottedkit's ears perked at the notion but said nothing as her mother's tone then dropped to a thoughtful whisper as if she'd forgotten that she wasn't alone. "...I should ask Leopardfoot to have a word with him. She wouldn't want him taking on more than he can handle..."
But isn't what being an apprentice is about? Learning to fight? That's what warriors do!
"Leopardfoot doesn't mind; she said so," Spottedkit interjected avidly, causing her mother to gaze down upon her with a piqued expression. The kitten took that as her cue to continue. "She says that Tigerpaw is Pinestar's son, so he has to be the best warrior in all the Clan."
Spottedkit sometimes wondered how Tigerpaw felt, knowing that his own father had left, not only ThunderClan but his own kin behind to become a kittypet. She couldn't imagine her own father, proud and strong Adderfang, suddenly leaving his growing family to live the soft life of a Twoleg Pet- as the warriors put it.
Sunstar was ThunderClan's leader now, and he seemed never to allow the subject of Tigerpaw's father to be spoken of, especially around the young apprentice. But nonetheless, cats still talked when Sunstar was out of earshot, sharing rumors and criticisms about ThunderClan's former leader. Some said age had made him skittish, and he feared a warrior's death. Others called him flea-brained or proposed that Pinestar had another secret life outside the Clans.
Spottedkit wasn't sure what to believe.
She sometimes noticed Tigerpaw glaring at his clanmates as if he blamed them for Pinestar abandoning ThunderClan. While not the fondest of the dark-brown tom, due to his overbearing show-offy-ness, she still wouldn't wish the hurt he must be feeling on the apprentice.
Pushing the troublesome thought away, a smile returned to Spottedkit's cheeks.
"But Tigerpaw better watch out, 'cause I'm gonna be the best warrior ThunderClan's ever seen!"
Swiftbreeze hummed and readjusted herself more comfortably on the soft nursery floor, paws folding under her chest. "I don't doubt that for a moment, my love," she purred. "But before that happens, you have to learn to play nicely with your clanmates."
"Yeah, yeah..."
This wasn't the first lecture she'd received from her mother, and she was certain it wouldn't be the last one coming.
Amber eyes drifted back onto the sunlit clearing outside the cozy confines of the nursery, and Spottedkit perked up with newfound interest as something moved into sight. The gorge tunnel that led into the ThunderClan camp trembled, and a line of cats emerged, their jaws carrying the fruits of a successful hunting trip.
Jumping to her paws, Spottedkit bounded for the mouth of the den. "The hunting patrol is back!"
Scurrying across the ThunderClan camp, she reached her destination just in time to watch the warriors deposit their prey at the fresh-kill pile. Tawnyspots was at the front, his shoulders tense under the weight of a plump, full-grown squirrel. The deputy looked thin, and his flanks heaved as if he had run twice as fast as the other warriors to make his catch.
"Good catch!" Spottedkit congratulated, and the warrior nodded before stepping away to let Tigerpaw's mentor, Thistleclaw, approach the pile. He carried a thrush in his teeth, its soft tawny feathers fluttering in the breeze as he dropped it. Spottedkit's tail shot upright in glee at the mess of pretty, twirling feathers dancing before her eyes.
"Did you want some of them?" A deep voice suddenly rumbled in her ears, and the kit snapped her awestruck gaze up to meet Thistleclaw's towering frame. He was easily the largest warrior in ThunderClan, with his muscular limbs and big dark-gray pelt that made him look like an agitated porcupine. But as ferocious as the warrior appeared, his dark-amber eyes were kind as they shone down on Spottedkit.
The spotted she-kit hesitantly reached out a paw, uncertain if she was really allowed to have the first pick from the fresh-kill pile, even if she wasn't eating anything. But Thistleclaw blinked encouragingly and pulled aside a few stray feathers to offer them to her with an amused expression. "Go on. There's plenty."
Smiling, Spottedkit stretched up and took the feathers in her mouth, the tips tickling her nose and screwing up her eyes in an effort not to sneeze.
"Could I have some too?" The sound of Whitepaw's voice caused the she-kit to glance over her shoulder, and her eyes brightened at the sight of her friend. "Patchpelt is out on border patrol, and I've finished collecting moss for Sunstar's nest," Whitepaw reported, padding up to his father.
Spottedkit had thought Thistleclaw seemed too young to have a son who was already an apprentice, and when she was little, she remembered wondering how a tom could have a kit without a mate. When Swiftbreeze told her that Whitepaw's mother, Snowfur, had died when he was still in the nursery, Spottedkit had felt her heart grow heavy with sympathy. She couldn't imagine not having her mother or father in her life.
Thistleclaw seemed like a good father to Whitepaw; he spent time with his son every day, teaching him extra battle moves and telling him about patrols. Adderfang said Spottedkit was too small to learn anything the apprentices were taught, which she found entirely unfair; she was growing bigger all the time!
"Of course, you can," purred Thistleclaw, scraping another pawful of feathers from the breast of the thrush. He pushed them toward Whitepaw, who buried his muzzle in them enthusiastically. When he lifted his head, tiny feathers clung to his nose, and Spottedkit giggled at the sight.
"Your warrior name should be Wingnose!" She dabbed some feathers onto the tomcat's ears and then examined them thoughtfully. "How many do you think you need before you can fly?"
Whitepaw reared up on his haunches and waved his paws in the air, a smile stretching over his maw. "More than this," he declared.
Looking on in amusement, Thistleclaw held out another clump of feathers, and Spottedkit stuck them to Whitepaw's cheeks. "Try now," she mewed.
A sudden shadow loomed over the giggling pair, and Spottedkit's fur shuddered at the stern tone that followed. "What's going on?"
Alarmed, Spottedkit spun around, only to find Bluefur glaring down at them, blue eyes narrowed in displeasure. "Why are you messing with those feathers?"
"We were only playing-" Spottedkit attempted to explain, but Bluefur disregarded the she-kit and instead looked to Whitepaw. The white apprentice was trying to blow the last few feathers from his muzzle as discreetly but quickly as possible.
I bet he wishes he could've flown away like a bird instead.
"You're old enough to know better," Bluefur scolded. "Those feathers should be used for the elders' nests, not wasted in a silly game."
The tomcat hung his head guiltily. "Sorry, Bluefur..."
Spottedkit felt a stab of indignation. Just because Bluefur was Snowfur's sister didn't mean she could treat Whitepaw however she wanted!
"They can still be used for nests," she mewed, hoping to lessen the tension as she pawed the scattered feathers into a pile. "Should we take them over to the elders' den?"
"No, Spottedkit, that's an apprentice's duty," Bluefur scolded, her firmness unwavering.
"She was only trying to be helpful," Thistleclaw interjected, rising to his burly paws.
The sleek blue she-cat whipped around to face the other warrior, eyes dangerously sharp. "You should've known better than to waste our supplies, too, Thistleclaw." With a grumble and a shake of her helm, she brushed past him and settled the thrush properly on the fresh-kill pile.
Rolling his amber gaze with a quiet "humph," Thistleclaw caught Spottedkit's watchful eye. He smirked in amusement, having been caught, and Spottedkit tried to muffle her giggles. Thistleclaw doesn't let anything get to him; she admired.
"Hey, Thistleclaw!" Tigerpaw came bounding across the clearing toward them, his paws thudding on the earth. "I've been practicing that backward strike you showed me." Before he reached them, he launched himself into the air, landing on his forepaws and kicking his hind legs out behind him. He let out a hearty "Ha!" and his tail danced triumphantly. "Take that, Shadowclan mouse-dung!"
Spottedkit found herself rolling her eyes, and she leaned in closer to Whitepaw. "Why does Tigerpaw have to show off all the time...?"
Whitepaw only shrugged.
"That's a very advanced move," commented Bluefur, sounding rather surprised. Her hardened gaze once again returned to the grey-and-white warrior. "You shouldn't be teaching him things like that."
"Why not?" Tigerpaw argued upon approach, looking offended. "Thistleclaw says I'm as strong as a warrior!"
Thistleclaw cuffed his apprentice lightly over his ears, his expression tightening with authority. "But you still have plenty to learn. And did you finish checking the elders for ticks?"
Tigerpaw curled his lip in apparent distaste. "That's the worst job in the world! Whitepaw got to go into the forest to fetch moss for Sunstar! It's not fair"
His mentor's brows narrowed at that. "Does that mean you haven't done it yet?" He gave a dismissive flick of his spiky-furred tail. "Go now, and then I'll take you for more training."
The dark apprentice scowled but turned and stomped away into the clearing, tail trailing on the ground.
Bluefur snorted, displeased. "You're too soft on him, Thistleclaw. He's lazy when it comes to doing anything that isn't learning to fight."
"You're more opinionated than usual today, Bluefur. Telling me how to treat my son and insinuating how I should train my apprentice." With an unimpressed frown, Thistleclaw met the she-cat's judging stare. "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
Bluefur's ears twitched with irritation. "I'm just telling you what I've noticed. Take it as you will." She took in a breath and flicked out her tail, seeming to regain her stature for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to fight, but Tigerpaw needs to learn that there's more to being a good warrior than defeating our enemies."
"And I'm making sure he knows everything he needs to." There was a hint of a warning in the warrior's deep voice, and Spottedkit felt a thrill of anticipation as she saw Thistleclaw slide out his claws. If Bluefur weren't careful, she'd be in for a fight. And there's no way she could beat someone like Thistleclaw!
The lithe she-cat held his stare for a few more suspenseful heartbeats and then turned and padded away, tail-tip twitching.
Spottedkit, realizing that she had been holding her breath, released the pent-up air caught in her chest. That was intense!
When Thistleclaw turned away to address his son, Spottedkit was distracted from their discussion by the sound of soft scuffling from nearby. Her ears rounded, picking up hushed, excited whispers, and the kit curiously turned on her paws to investigate.
Just beyond the fresh-kill pile, she spotted Brindlekit, Redkit, Willowkit, and Frostkit huddled together with mischievous smiles as they conversed. And then, when Brindlekit pointed at something with her paw, the other kits nodded and began to take formations on either side of her. Spottedkit's head cocked with interest, and when she followed where the grey she-kit had been directing, her eyes widened. In her line of sight was Thistleclaw; his broad back was turned away unsuspectingly. They're gonna attack him! A determined smile slipped onto her furry cheeks. Not if I can help it!
At Brindlekit's silent beckon, the patrol of kits was bounding for their target, but Spottedkit was at the ready, crouched as low as she could with bated breath. When her denmates neared her position and let out enthusiastic yowls of attack, Spottedkit launched herself forward. Now! With her forelimbs outstretched, she pummeled into her brother, tackling him and successfully knocking Frostkit and Brindlekit down in the process. Only her sister Willowkit remained untouched, but the shock of the surprise counterattack caused her to jump with a startled yip.
"H-hey! What gives?" Spottedkit resisted Redkit's attempts to free himself from her grip, and Frostkit, who was beneath him, fared no better in escaping
The she-kit allowed a triumphant smile to overtake her muzzle as she stared down at her littermate. "I couldn't let you lead an attack on a Thunderclan warrior. Not on my watch." Leaping off her brother, Spottedkit stood before her defeated foes, eyes gleaming.
Grumbling to themselves in shared annoyance, the kits clambered to their paws, tails twitching.
"My plan was perfect!" Shouted Brindlekit, scuffing her paw on the ground. "Now our surprise attack is ruined!"
The other kits groaned and whined in agreement, much to Spottedkit's disdain.
Don't they know how to have fun? I was just playing!
Frostkit let out a vexed huff. "Why do you have to keep ruining our games, Spottedkit?"
And in reply, Spottedkit's mouth went agape, and her tail drooped down to her haunches. Swiftbreeze had said she needed to learn to get along with her denmates and compromise, but what was the point if the other kits never gave her a chance? Brindlekit made a plan of attack, and like a smart warrior, Spottedkit thwarted it, so why were they all so upset?
Shaking her head in frustration, Spottedkit opened her mouth to retort, but the approach of a large familiar frame silenced any ill words from her tongue.
"I see a band of arguing kits when they should be playing," meowed Thistleclaw, gazing down at them all with calm authority. "What's the matter?"
Brindlekit leaped to attention as if energized to finally have a grown-up cat to sort out her problems with. "We were launching a surprise attack, and Spottedkit came up and ruined it."
"Is that so? I didn't even hear you coming."
At that, Brindlekit and her friends seemed to perk up with joy, eyes brightening at the warrior's compliment. Spottedkit slouched into herself, readying for a chastising from her older, admirable clan-mate.
"But you, Spottedkit," called Thistleclaw, "you've also shone great stealth, overturning their ambush. A good warrior must show bravery in the heat of the moment, even if the odds are stacked against them. And you did just that."
To Spottedkit's amazement, the grey warrior dipped his head to her, a proud smile laced across his fuzzy muzzle. Praise was the last thing she had been expecting to receive from this encounter!
It made her pelt tingle with satisfaction, especially as the other kits shuffled their paws and refused to meet her gaze as if they were embarrassed now. If Thistleclaw says I was just as stealthy and brave as them, then they can't be mad at me.
The kits mumbled soft, half-hearted agreements with Thistleclaw before promptly dismissing themselves and scampering off into the clearing.
Wrapping her tail around her paws, she watched them bound away and begin a new game, their earlier dilemma already forgotten. They didn't invite me to play... Spottedkit mused with a fragile sigh.
A big ragged-furred tail touched her back, and the kit peered up to meet Thistleclaw, still standing beside her small form. The midday sun shone against his back and set his fur alight with warm golden rays.
"Not everyone understands what it means to be a true warrior," the tomcat began, a certain power rumbling deep within his voice that captured Spottedkit, "and sometimes others will challenge you and your ambitions." He turned his amber gaze down onto the she-kit. "The best thing that you can do is prove them all wrong."
Spottedkit felt her chest fill up with light, glowing nearly as brightly as Thistleclaw did beneath the sun.
And then the warrior smiled.
"You'll make a strong warrior someday, Spottedkit."