Warriors: Mistybreeze's Choice (SOB Short Story)

Chapter 3

"I spy something... brown!" Mistykit purred.

She and Coldkit sat side by side in the clearing, not far from the nursery. The sun was setting over the pine trees, casting long shadows across the camp. Mistykit watched as her brother studied their surroundings. "Is it a tree?"

"Nope."

"Is it that branch? The ground?" When Mistykit shook her head, Coldkit narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Hmm... Oh!" He lifted a paw and pointed it across the clearing where Hawkfeather was sitting outside his den, sorting herbs. "Hawkfeather!"

"Right," Mistykit purred. It was quiet for a moment. "Do you want to play again?" She inquired.

Her brother shook his head. "We've been playing all day." He let out a sigh. "I'm bored."

Mistykit couldn't deny that she was falling under the heavy spell of boredom too. She and Coldkit were getting tired of playing the same old nursery games. There were no other kits in the nursery, and Bloodpaw never visited them. It's still a quarter moon until we become apprentices! How are we ever going to make it?

"I taught that cat a lesson!"

Mistykit flicked an ear at the loud purr and turned her head, looking across the clearing. It had been two days since the battle, and Revengepaw was still boasting about how well he'd fought. 

"And then I knocked a tabby warrior right off his paws!" Revengepaw was boasting to his brother, his tail swishing back and forth. "That was right before I slashed open that gray cat's muzzle. You should have seen the blood!"

Swiftpaw's attention was fixed on his paws, which he shuffled uncomfortably. "Err yeah." He hesitated. "Timberstorm wanted me for a training session." He awkwardly slunk away, his tail low. 

"Hey!" Revengepaw glared after him, giving a frustrated snort. "I wasn't finished." He stared after his brother for a moment, then looked around boredly. He spotted Mistykit and Coldkit and rose to his paws, strutting over confidently. "How'd you two like to hear about how great I was in the battle?"

"Okay." Coldkit's eyes flashed with interest. 

Mistykit looked past Revengepaw to where Swiftpaw was sitting at the side of the clearing, his head low. "Is Swiftpaw okay?" She asked.

"Swiftpaw?" Revengepaw scoffed. "Oh, he's just traumatized by his experience in the battle." He puffed out his white chest. "Not every cat has nerves of stone like me."

Coldkit frowned. "What was it like fighting in a real battle?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Revengepaw's amber eyes gleamed. "It's greater than you could ever imagine. Surrounded by the yowls and shrieks of your enemies, tufts of fur and blood whirling around you."

While Coldkit's eyes widened, Mistykit spoke up. "Didn't you get hurt?" She asked worriedly.

"Oh, yeah!" The black-legged apprentice's eyes lit up. He twisted his body to show off a long scar across his right shoulder. "I got this! Poisonedsap says I'll have it forever!"

"That's... good?" Coldkit sounded uneasy.

"Yeah! Scars show how tough you are." Revengepaw boasted. "And I'll be the toughest cat in the forest one day."

He's hardly even phased by being in danger and getting a scar! Mistykit thought in amazement. "You weren't afraid? Not even a little?"

Revengepaw's amber eyes flashed to her. "Of course not! There's no time to be scared in battle. Your instinct takes over." He raised an unsheathed paw to study his claws. "It makes you stronger than anything."