Rebels: A Warriors Tail

Chapter 4

A tiny, tortoiseshell kit cautiously crouched lower, her ears flattening as she stalks her brother Snowkit from behind a growing pile of used bedding outside the nursery. Patiently, she watches him bat at a moss ball and waits for him to turn his back to her. She shifts slightly, her legs feeling longer and clumsier than they did during her first adventures outside of the nursery a half-moon ago. Featherkit's mind wanders and she thinks about the horror she felt at the end of that horrible nightmare and trembles as she once again pictures the worry in Brindlestripe's eyes when she described her dreams to her the day following it.

Shaking her head to clear it, she refocuses on their game and after what seems like a moon, Snowkit finally crouches and launches himself at the moss ball again, twisting in midair so when he lands, he is faced away from her. Featherkit raises her belly just enough to tiptoe towards him without her fur brushing the ground. The tiny kit takes only a few strides before she is close enough to raise her hindquarters, waggle them, and pounce onto Snowkit, rolling him over and grasping his shoulders to give him a play bite on the neck. For a moment, Snowkit lays still, but then he twists slightly and batters her belly with his sheathed hindpaws to dislodge her before leaning closer to nip her throat in retaliation.

"Hey!" Featherkit protests, squirming away from him and standing up above him with her ears flattened and one paw raised. "You weren't supposed to attack back... You're supposed to be a mouse, remember? Mice don't attack cats..."

Snowkit rolled onto his paws and crouched in front of her, tail swinging from side to side. "This mouse does!! Feel my teeth!" Before the words are even out of his mouth, he jumps towards her, aiming to knock her on her side, but instead flying straight into her outraised paw, getting batted repeatedly.

Indulging the change in their game, Featherkit jumps backwards and runs away, mewling, "Oh, no! The mouse is gonna eat me!!"

Letting out a fierce roar, Snowkit hurtles after her, keeping pace with her as she weaves between cats at the freshkill pile. Featherkit abruptly changes direction and runs to the apprentice's den, where Sparrowpaw and Willowpaw are waiting for their mentors to arrive for their hunting assessment. Barreling between them, Featherkit hides behind Sparrowpaw.

"Don't let that big, evil mouse get me!" she squeaked, peeking around him as Snowkit sped closer after being stopped by a border patrol on their way to report to Dawnstar and Littlefoot by the leader's den in the hollow tree.

Whiskers twitching in amusement, Sparrowpaw nodded and fell into a well-rehearsed hunting crouch. As Snowkit moved to go around him, the apprentice pounced forward and pinned him easily to the ground.

"This mouse may attack cats, but this bird attacks mice," the dark brown tabby purred. "It's a good thing I'm here to save this poor kit."

Snowkit squeaks indignantly, "That's not fair! You can't play. You're too big to play properly... Let me go!" He squirms and backs up, popping out from under the bigger tom with a thud. He shakes his fur out and glares at Sparrowpaw and Featherkit in turn, Featherkit sticking her tongue out at him with a boastful look in her eyes. Snowkit huffs and spins around, looking for Moonrunner before running towards her mewling, "Moonrunner! Featherkit's cheating!"

Featherkit trots after him, meowing a quiet "Thank you" to Sparrowpaw as she passes. She looks back at Willowpaw as she stands and walks over to Sparrowpaw, swatting him over the ears with her tail.

"Mouse-brain," she meows, her voice only barely giving away her own amusement. "No matter how old you get, you're always just an overgrown kit, aren't you? Can't resist joining in the nursery games."