GoldenHeart

Chapter 1

"Ugh! BlackKit, you bully!" GoldenKit turned and battered at her sister's underbelly with churning hindpaws. BlackKit fell away with a squeak, and TigerKit took her place. The two littermates squabbled while BlackKit challenged SnakeKit.

"Hey!" LizardStrike complained as GoldenKit and TigerKit rolled over his half-eaten mouse. "Get back here!"

LizardStrike leapt onto GoldenKit, and bit down on her nose. She squeaked and squirmed away, her nose dripping blood.

"LizardStrike!" LightningHeart snapped. GoldenKit turned to stare at the brave she-cat who had carried her all the way from the ThunderClan-WindClan border to the ThunderClan nursery.

"LizardStrike!" She repeated. "What have you done?"

"Punished a kit for ruining my meal," he muttered crossly.

"You've already eaten. I saw you," LightningHeart added. "Way before any queen or elder. Have you anything to say in your defense?"

"Kits are stupid?" He snorted. LightningHeart hissed and spat.

"Come with me. We are going to talk to StormStar."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No. I don't have to do what you say." Tail high, LizardStrike flounced into the nursery, on his way to visit PearFace.

LightningHeart hissed again, then bounded up the stones to StormStar's den.

GoldenKit began prodding her nose.

"That looks bad," SnakeKit whined.

"You should go see MintWhisker," TigerKit meowed.

"You're gonna bleed to death!" BlackKit wailed.

"I am not. Am I?" GoldenKit squeaked. "No! No! No! No! No!"

"What's all the ruckus?" VinePaw purred as she and SparkPaw padded up.

"LizardStrike hurt GoldenKit! He bit her nose till it opened! She's bleeding!" The other three kits went into hysterics.

"Hush. Calm down, all of you! GoldenKit, come with me. VinePaw, take those three back to ShadowStripe and tell her what happened." VinePaw nodded and began ushering BlackKit, TigerKit, and SnakeKit back to the nursery while GoldenKit trailed after SparkPaw.

"Once we're in my den, I'll give you some herbs for that nose. We'll put some marigold on it, then some cobweb. Would you like a poppyseed to help you sleep afterwards?"

"Maybe," GoldenKit sulked. She hadn't meant to ruin LizardStrike's meal, but she hadn't done anything so wrong as to make him hurt her.

SparkPaw led GoldenKit to a soft patch of grass and told her to wait there. GoldenKit nodded. As his black tail vanished, she spotted a butterfly fluttering over the wildflowers that grew in camp. ThunderPaw, StormStar's son, came barreling forward with a yowl of glee. He pawed at it, pinned it, let it go, then began chasing and pawing at it all over again. GoldenKit let out a small mrrow of laughter.

"Oh!" ThunderPaw exclaimed as he whipped around. "It's you, GoldenKit. Great StarClan! What happened to your nose?"

"I accidentally rolled over LizardStrike's meal, so he punished me," she whimpered as the true pain of the event sank in. Her cut didn't hurt as much as her heart. One of her Clanmates was mad at her, because of something she did!

"That's stupid!" ThunderPaw exclaimed. "The fresh-kill pile's on the ground. No duh the prey will be dirty! I'll go talk to him," ThunderPaw announced, "and set things right. He had no right to do that to you!"

"ThunderPaw! Quit bothering GoldenKit and get on with your duties!" An elder yowled. "My bedding needs changing!"

"Yes, SnaggleTooth," ThunderPaw called before muttering, "stupid piece of fox dung."

GoldenKit watched the silver apprentice trot off. He shared many of StormStar's qualities: the silver pelt, gray paws, gold-green eyes, broad shoulders, and graceful body that almost seemed too small for ThunderClan.

Known for being some of the largest cats in the Clans, ThunderClan cats learned how to head-butt cats so ferociously bones would break. Strong bones were the key to ThunderClan technique.

SparkPaw reappeared with a bundle of herbs in his jaws.

"Let me," he offered when GoldenKit attempted to smear the medicine on herself.

SparkPaw dabbed a drop of the tiny mixture on her cut. GoldenKit squealed and shied away.

"I'm sorry. I know it stings, but we have to do this if you want your nose to get better."

SparkPaw applied another drop of the mixture, then another and another. When the cut was covered, he placed a small swathe of cobweb on it.

"Eat this if you want to sleep," he advised as he rolled half of a black seed towards her.

GoldenKit nodded dumbly, her nose stinging. She lapped up the seed, stumbled towards the nursery, and fell asleep before she could reach ShadowStripe. Her fluffy gold tail stuck out the entrance.