Swiftpaw's tale

Taste of fresh-kill

My mother turned to face us. "Remember, don't over-eat. Don't maul the prey. And yes, don't forget to give thanks to StarClan for the life the prey has given up to feed us. Try to...". She had been pacing up and down, repeating her instructions over and over again, as if we were too mousebrained to remember these things. Today, we were to have our first taste of fresh-kill, and I personally didn't want to mess up.

"Okay, okay, can we go now?", Galekit interrupted. For days now, she had watched the warriors eat while drooling disgustingly.

Goldenflower half laughed, half sighed. "Alright, go on."

All three of us raced forward towards the freshkill pile. Nimblekit turned his head towards Frostfur's kits, and called out,"So long, suckers! We're off to eat fresh-kill! And it looks delicious."

On reaching the fresh-kill pile, I looked at the mouthwatering variety that lay before me. Plump voles. Tender mice. Juicy-looking rabbits. Squirrels with a mouthwatering aroma. Oh, and the birds! Thrushes, pigeons, starlings, magpies... each looked more tempting than the previous. I really couldn't make up my mind between all my delectable options. I was spoilt for choice.

Galekit must have had similiar problems, or she approached Nuttooth, who was lounging around the clearing and sharing tongues with his littermate, Longtail. "What's nice?".

"Oh, you're having your first taste of freshkill, are you?", Grassdew asked. She was finishing up a vole a few mouse-lenghts away. "What are you planning to eat?"

"What did Bluestar have for her first time?", Nimblekit asked. He probably figured that it had some part on Bluestar's rise in leadership.

Nuttooth and Longtail chuckled. "You've dealt the mouse a deathblow." It was one of my father's favourite phrases. "It was because she chose right that she's Clan leader today. Choose wrong, and you'll end up like Thistleclaw. Disappointed."

Nimblekit stared at him, his eyes as wide as the full moon.

"Nuttooth!", Grassdew warned. Shooting him a glare, she added,"Thistleclaw was a noble warrior, who gave up his life in the service of the clan. You.."

Nimblekit persisted,"What did she choose?".

"Well, you see, since I watched her try out the freshkill, an elder that I am, I'll be able to tell you exactly what she ate. Smart of you to ask me and not one of the elders." Nuttooth kept a straight face.

Mumbling to himself, Nimblekit stomped off towards some senior warrior enjoying some late morning sunshine.

Ravenpaw, who had been conversing (or more likely asking her for help with learning something) with Grassdew chuckled nervously. The skinny black apprentice had been quite close to the grey warrior, perhaps closer than his mentor. She always encouraged him and tried to reduce blows dealt upon the sensitive apprentice by his sharp-tongued and hard-to-please mentor. She had once stayed back after dark to teach him something he'd failed to pick up under the pressure exerted by his mentor. That was actually why Bluestar had picked her to be a mentor.

Galekit also laughed. "What would you recommend, then?".

"See, since its your first time, you have to choose well. We wouldn't want you falling sick, would you?", Longtail asked.

"Oh yeah, and keep and eye out for the herb mixed prey. Spottedleaf made the apprentices carry herbs to camp for her. The lazy furballs carried them with the prey to save themselves the trouble of going back. Anyway, the herbs won't affect warriors like me me, but, um... you two try not to throw up over the fresh-kill pile, okay?".

Throwing up your first fresh-kill was something we all knew that the others wouldn't let us forget. It would be so embarrassing. Galekit glared at me as if it had been my suggestion to the apprentices to carry the prey and herbs together.

"Oh, he's just pulling your legs, my dears," Grassdew reassured us. "The prey is perfectly fine. Spottedleaf did make the apprentices carry herbs, and thy did carry it with the prey, but I'm sure...".

Galekit and I exchanged a glance. "When will the hunting patrols be back?"

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We waited for what seemed like ages to us. In forethought, maybe my decision of not drinking any milk today was a bad idea. Maybe... just maybe I should go back to the nursery... but no, I reflected. The other kits would never leather forget it. I could picture them all in my head, Brackenfur shaking his head, Cinderkit tutting us mockingly, Brightkit giving us pitiful looks, Honeykit trying hard not to laugh, Thornkit making snide comments, Rainkit and Dawnkit basically copying the older kits. And Nimblekit. I was sure he had eaten by now. How smug he's be. He's lord over us worse than ever.

I heard a low, grumbling sound, not much different from that they called 'thunder', which I faintly remembered from my earliest days in the nursery. It had been frightening beyond anything I'd heard before. Nimblekit and I had burrowed deeper into our nests, headfirst. Our father had told us then, that our Clan was called ThunderClan as we were equally impressive and frightening in battle. It was something I liked thinking about.

Another burst of that thunder shook me out of my thoughts. It was coming from my stomach!

I glanced at Galekit, who was crouching beside me on by the fresh-kill pile to avoid being seen. On that thunderous night, she'd managed to go a far as the entrance of the nursery before mother grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her back. She's reported that waster was falling from the sky, where monsters were fighting an creating weird lights. She also spoke if an invisible, cold cat banging against her. A lovely sensation, she's added and tried to go back. That was the day our parents named her. Nimblekit and I were named later, once we began racing across the nursery.

Her stomach rumbled too. She grunted and rose to her feet. "I give up.".

She marched up to a particularly glossy-looking magpie, an dragged it off towards the place where Nuttooth and Longtail were sharing tongue. After wolfing down a few bites, she called out,"It's great!".

And then, the hunting patrol returned, right on time to stop me from caving in as well. My father was on the patrol. He placed down a few starlings and a vole and a mouse. He picked up the mouse and walked up towards the elders den.

It was as if by some magical force, that my legs carried me to the vole, and both of us to we're Galekit was guzzling her food.

I bent down and bit into the vole. The taste was indescribably sumptuous. Flavour spread to every corner of my mouth. I felt worse awake, energetic, and eager for more. I bent my head and wolfed down a few more bites.

I turned my head towards Galekit. She was in the middle of throwing up. No surprise there. She's thrown up milk many times. She looked up and mouthed 'not one word'.

I grinned to myself and helped myself to more vole. It was a lovely day, windy and not too hot, I'd had my first freshkill and I had leverage over my sister.
Not a bad morning.