Warriors: What Is There To Do?

Chapter 14- Sharper Claws

The Twoleg place was quiet, but at the same time, Splitpaw couldn't hear her own thoughts. She didn't know the bad things and the kit tales that Moonpaw seemed to know, but the way he was on edge was getting to her. The place was full of huge den things, but instead of bracken and ferns, they were made of colorful materials that she didn't know the names of. There were little trees, without branches, bark, or leaves, stacked up next to each other in a straight line, and they looked oddly shaped.

"What in Starclan are those things?!"

For a moment Splitpaw thought the silver tom was speaking about the weird tree sticks, but he was gesturing to the small balls that were on the ground a couple of tail lengths away with his tail. Splitpaw didn't know what they were, either. There were four, that she could count, and each were different colors; One pink, the other blue, and two orange. They had little spikes on them and smelled like cat, and that was the thought that kept her from jumping like Moonpaw when a small tom leapt out in front of them.

"Hiya! I don't recognize you... are you new here? Where are your housefolk living at?"

Moonpaw and she shared wary glances. So this was a kittypet? He didn't look like much; he was a small white tom with black splotches on his back and face, with amber eyes and a little bit too much fat. He didn't look on edge at all, unlike them, who were heartbeats away from unsheathing their claws and bolting out of there.

Splitpaw sighed as Moonpaw made no sign of answering the kittypet.

"We do not have Two- housefolk. We are from the forest. Could you please point us in the right direction to leave this place?"

The tom blinked. "Yer forest cats?! Do you really eat bones and kill kits if they're too weak?!"

For some reason that Splitpaw couldn't fathom, Moonpaw flinched.

"Yup, we do. Now, can you please point us to the end of this place?"

He stepped back. "Y-yeh. It's that way, past those about twenty-or-so gardens. Y-yer going to the mountains?"

Neither of them replied, instead pounded towards where the black and white tom had gestured to with haste that they could blame on the quickly worsening weather. The sky was an angry looking grey-black, the fog changed places with a cold wind warning there was more rain to come.

As long as there's no lightening, Splitpaw muttered in her head.

"Splitkit, get up. Dreamsong wants to look you over," called Strongsoul.

Splitkit yawned and blinked open her eyes. The nest was old; she would have to drag some new reeds from the clearing... but she didn't want to go out there! The cats all looked at her weird. Splitkit knew she was different, but that didn't mean that they could look at her with such... abandon. She had feelings!

Getting up on sore paws and stretching, she looked at her claws. She had found a little stone, small enough for her to carry into the Nursery without suspicion, that if she rubbed her claws against it, it sharpened them. She had no idea when that would help her, since she was still a kit, but maybe she would sink them into Batwing's shoulder...

Just a thought...

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the Nursery. The sun was shining, and cats were already separating into patrols and tasks for the day. After the usual glares, scowls, and flinches were doled out, she pushed her small body past the lichen that hung as a barrier for the Medicine Cat den.

Dreamsong, a pure white she-cat, was mean. There was no better word for it, which Splitkit felt was good to say. The she-cat would just sit and look at herself in the little puddles that were kept full from the drippings of ferns, and would admire herself! After she had done that, she would pull Splitkit over and they would both stare at her face.

"I know what my face looks like," Splitkit had muttered one day, the days where she wanted to run away and burn her face. To cover one side in mud or just... not be her.

"I know that too, Splitkit. I'm making sure you don't get delusions that you are a normal cat in your head."

The medicine cat huffed when she didn't reply, and stomped out into the open air to make up something to Strongsoul about her being a hopeless case and that there was no hope for her.

Splikit wondered if you looked ugly enough you were considered bad, and if you were good-looking enough, like Batwing, you were considered good, no matter what you said or did.

She hoped it wouldn't always be like that. She just wanted to make friends! She was the only kit, and there were no apprentices, though... she couldn't wait to become a warrior! She would be so strong!

Splitpaw woke from her dream, confused for a moment why her chest was hitching her breath so much. Her and Moonpaw were taking turns letting their eyes rest while the torrential downpour slowed. They still had to cross the Thunderpaths...

A picture of her face in that puddle flashed in her head.

There was a puddle right at her paws. She looked up at Moonpaw, who was glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes.

She flicked her eyes down for a half heartbeat.

She frowned, and broke the flat surface with a unsheathed paw, as if it would make its copy disappear too.