Splashflight's Mistake (book one)

Chapter 3

Splashkit slept outside the rest of the night, listening to the rain as he laid under a meager leaf. His tears had long since dried, and he had lost the energy to feel sorry for himself after about two heartbeats. He watched the sun rose that morning, before he got up to pad back to the nursery. Shaking his pelt of the morning dew that had settled between his fur, he paused as he heard his sister complaining.

"Splashkit clawed my face on purpose!" Morningkit was whining to Aquastar, her lips puckered to a pout. "He pinned me and I had no choice to defend myself and claw back!" She held up a paw to point to a deep cut in her face. "He said he hated me because we wern't really siblings!" Splashkit growled and saw she was hiding a smile, and though her eyes were wet, they wern't red. She must have made Dawnkit claw her, and put water in her eyes like tears. He burst in, holding back a growl and his glinting claws that wanted to badly to rip her face for real this time. He was tired of Morningkit! He was tired of her lies and taunts. He just wanted her to stop!

"You meanie! You liar!" He cried, trying to leap up on top of his sister, who was much larger than the tiny tom. His short legs barely reached over her shoulders, and Morningkit just stood above him, staring at him with a hint of amusement on her face. It quickly vanished, as she tried to keep up her convincing act. "I never said that and you know it!" Splashkit protested.

Morningkit backed away, her eyes wide. She put fear in her gaze, flattening her ears. You're so dumb, Splashkit, He could just imagine what she was saying to him in her head. Why don't you just die like your sister did? Splashkit arched his tiny back and hissed, baring his teeth until he felt his mother's bellows of rage through vibrations in his paw pads, and he stopped, hanging his head sheepishly when he realized what he had done.

"Splashkit, Morningkit, enough!!!" Aquastar bellowed furiously. Her eyes were thorns, and she stared back and fourth between each kit. Dawnkit watched silently from behind a nest, her ears flat in surprise. Splashkit gasped in shock and guilt, lowering his head in shame.

"Mama, I never-" he was cut off by Morningkit's angry glare, promising to make his life miserable if he told Aquastar what really happened. Knowing she wouldn't hesitate to go through with the silent threat, he looked at his paws and sighed.

"Splashkit, you should be very ashamed of your actions just now," she scolded Splashkit. "You attacked your sister! When has it ever been okay to do so?" Splashkit opened his mouth to protest, but his mother flicked her tail. "You and Morningkit need to sort yourselves out." She lifted her chin. "You will each clean your own nest together for the rest of your kithood, and you will also be confined to the nursery together for a half a moon," she declared.

Morningkit looked at her mother in surprise. "But I didn't do anything! He attacked me!" Splashkit was also very surprised. He had never clawed Morningkit! She had made everything up! Then he remembered. I just tackled her. He thought, and sighed miserably. So much for proving her wrong.

His mother gave Morningkit a hard stare, challenging her protest. "I object." She growled. She pointed to the claw mark on Morningkit's nose, and raised an eyebrow.  "You lied to your mother and leader." Morningkit pouted, and shot a glare at Splashkit, sticking out her tongue. "Now, each of you say you're sorry," Aquastar ordered, cuffing Morningkit over the ears after she made a face at Splashkit.

Morningkit stuck out her bottom lip and pouted, her tail lashing as she turned to Splashkit. "Sorry," she mumbled. Then, when Aquastar wasn't looking, she added, "Just for the record... You'll be clearing my dirt too." She scoffed, tipping his head down to his chest and stalking away before he had a chance to apologize.

Splashkit sighed dejectedly, tears threatening to fall down his face again as he gave a sniff. Curling up in his nest, he buried himself in to moss, and fell asleep. When he woke, he saw a bubbly one-eyed face staring him in the eye. "Hi!" Brightkit chimed energetically.

Splashkit returned with a gloomy, "Hi," and curled up in the opposing direction. Brightkit tipped her head to one side, and her eye suddenly grew serious.

"You know, I don't think Morningkit is very nice..." She said. This made Splashkit smile a bit, and he gave a tiny purr.

"Thanks, Brightkit... You have no idea how much that helped..." He said quietly. Brightkit smiled back and curled around him comfortingly, and soon Splashkit had closed his eyes, and was snoring softly.