- The Origins of Smolderspirit -

Chapter Three: A New Enemy

"ROAR!" shouted Cedarcub. The cubs were roleplaying again. This time, it was the she-cubs against the young toms. Smoldercub was outnumbered, because Patchcub had run off with Lilycub to the retirement den. Cedarcub, Owlcub, and Coppercub were rushing towards the she-cub.

"WAIT! Can we join?" shouted a voice. The playing cubs spun around to see two cubs standing in the nursing den entrance. They belonged to a queen named Heatherfur, who had her cubs a few dawns after Emberfern's. Heatherfur was a light brown she-cat, with a muzzle lightly singed with white, and grey-blue eyes. She also had a long, fuzzy tail. Her cubs were both shes. All the cubs were about 3 moons old now, and the promise of newleaf was around the corner.

Heatherfur walked over to the other queens to watch them play. The two cubs rushed over to join the others that were playing.

"Hi! I'm Gingercub!" squeaked one of the cubs. She was white, with a few, large ginger tabby spots. She had bright yellow topaz-like eyes, and twisted whiskers. Smoldercub instantly liked her.

"And I'm Willowcub," said the other one. She spoke in a smooth, cute tone. The young toms seemed in awe of her. She had a fluffy cream-colored pelt, a smoky brown muzzle, and beautiful violet eyes.

They all played together, and had a lot of fun. Even if the ground was cold and the air was somewhat harsh, the sun shone down on the cubs gently, and their playing was easy-going.

"I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, OWLCUB!" shouted Gingercub, running away, pretending to be injured. "MWAHAHAH!" Owlcub meowed. "Not so fast!" meowed Smoldercub. She pounced on him, careful not to hurt him, and he threw her off lightly. She spun around, and saw Cedarcub was wrestling with Gingercub now, and Willowcub had creeped up on Coppercub while something had distracted him.

Owlcub suddenly pounced on Smoldercub, and got a good grip on her. "I'M TOO STRONG! FACE IT, SMOLDERCUB! YOU CAN'T BEAT ME!" squeaked the tom.

"Yes, she can!" yelled Gingercub, before Coppercub pounced on her. Smoldercub stretched in to get Owlcub, and she lightly nipped him on the tip of his ear. Owlcub got surprised, and he drew his head back. "HEY! Don't do that!" Owlcub hissed.

The she got off the ground and backed away. Her ears flattened. "Did I hurt him? Did I do something wrong?" she questioned. She felt guilty, thinking she had really hurt him.

She watched as Willowcub trotted lightly over to Owlcub, and licked his ear. "Are you ok, Owlcub? Did you get hurt by that mean cub over there?" she asked, "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the meanie!"

Owlcub looked at her, and squeaked out a purr with a surprised, yet excited look on his face.

Coppercub seemed a bit jealous, and Cedarcub stuck out his tongue. "Bleh! That's gross!" he said, and Gingercub nodded with him.

Tail and ears drooping, Smoldercub nodded to her friends, excusing herself. She walked up to her mother who happened to be resting on a rock with Rosespot. She leaned her head on her mom's arm, it seeming so large compared to her feeble size.

Emberfern looked down at her cub questioningly. "Are you ok, sweetheart?" she asked Smoldercub. Smoldercub's eyes clouded with sadness. "I think I hurt Owlcub. We were just playing..." she said, in a guilty tone.

Emberfern looked down at her saddened cub with a look of sympathy. Since they had met, Owlcub and Smoldercub At that moment, Owlcub called over Smoldercub.

"Hey, Smoldercub! I'm all better now! You still wanna play?" he asked. He seemed a little confused. Smoldercub stood up, still feeling upset, and joined the cubs.

She managed to ease it off with every step. They decided to play a game they all liked. They all had to choose a partner, and Owlcub was always her partner. Smoldercub walked up to him, and Owlcub looked at her.