Flames At Night: Book 1: A Shattered Path

Chapter Three

Applekit

Applekit glared at her brothers. "That's not funny!"

"Yeah it is!" Lavenderkit giggled. "You're such a mousebrain."

"Well, same to you!" Applekit retorted, storming out of the den. She could hear her littermates laughing behind her.

The small black she-kit ran to her hiding place between the camp wall and the nursery. Sitting down, she wiped at her face with a paw. Why are they so mean?

She pressed her left ear to the nursery wall. Either her siblings were being quiet for once, or it still wasn't working. Sighing, she turned around and listened with the other ear.

"Let's go outside," Icykit, her sister, mewed. "I'm bored.

"Okay!" Minkkit said happily. "What do you want to play?"

"I say tag!" Lavenderkit bounced up and down. Applekit could hear his paws thumping the ground.

"We're not going to play, mousebrain!" Icykit said indignantly. "We're going to go out of camp and hunt."

Applekit gasped and quickly muffled the sound with her paw. They were going to leave camp? Even after all the times their mother had told them not to? Even after all the stories the elders told about foxes and badgers hunting cats like mice? She had to stop them!

"YAY!" Lavenderkit yelled. Someone tackled him to the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Forestdapple could hear!" Applekit's oldest brother hissed. "Don't yell!"

"Sorry, Quietkit," Lavenderkit sighed. He quickly perked up though. "Can we go now?"

"Sure," Icykit meowed. "Let's go."

Applekit peeked around the corner of the nursery and watched her littermates file out. The second they were gone, she raced into the nursery.

"Forestdapple! Forest-" Her words were cut off as her paws landed on a leaf and she skidded across the floor. Her chin hit the ground, momentarily stunning her.

Featherycloud's kits, Umberkit and Rabbitkit, burst into laughter. Applekit stood up, face burning with shame. The two toms were too young to go outside, but apparently not too young to laugh at her.

"Are you okay, Applekit?" Forestdapple asked worriedly, licking the top of her head. Applekit twisted out of her grasp.

"I'm fine," she mewed, though her head was still ringing. "All the others are sneaking out of camp even though it's dangerous!"

Forestdapple gasped and marched out of the den, Applekit at her heels. "Icykit, Minkkit, Quietkit, and Lavenderkit, get over here!"

"Not fair!" Lavenderkit squeaked, popping his head out of the camp wall. He was quickly tugged back in by a gray paw.

Forestdapple stamped over and reached into the hole, grabbing Lavenderkit by the scruff. She then retrieved the other kits, dumping them into a small pile.

Icykit leaped to her paws. "How did you know we were going out?" she complained. "Everyone but Lavenderkit was as quiet as a mouse."

"Applekit told me, and it's a good thing she did!" Forestdapple exclaimed. "If you had been caught by a patrol, you would have been in much more trouble. Look what you did to the camp wall!"

"We just dug into it a little," the white she-kit muttered. She turned her cold yellow gaze on Applekit. "Why did you tell on us?"

"I had to!" Applekit said defiantly. "You were going to run away and get eaten by badgers."

"We would've been fine," Minkkit hissed, coming to stand next to Icykit.

"Jerk," Applekit heard Quietkit say under his breath.

"Let's go play something without her!" Lavenderkit mewed. The four kits turned and walked away.

Applekit stared after them, tears in her eyes. She had only been trying to help, and now her littermates hated her even more.