Battlecats - The Path to the Trees

Chapter 7

A few days had passed and Ratkit, Viperkit and Tankit had started spending more of their time outside of the suckle den. The three had become more independent and seemed to have left Gingerkit and Goldenkit behind.

Gingerkit had suffered quite a lot in those days. After the fight she had with Viperkit in front of the kill mound, she had become even more relentless in her taunting. It was a regular occurrence for the she-kit to steal her favorite fresh kill and belittle her for how weak she was. What was even more frustrating to Gingerkit was that Viperkit did it where most cats' eyes and ears couldn't reach, so she never got caught. One instance in particular always ruminated in her mind whenever she thought about or even saw the brown and white she-kit.

Gingerkit had been minding her own business in the corner of the podgrounds, sunning herself in the afternoon sunshine, when Viperkit strolled up and began teasing her for being lazy. The two argued for some time before everything seemed to flood over when Gingerkit threatened to tell Palebelly what she had been doing. Viperkit had scoffed at her.

"So? Palebelly would never believe you. I'm her kit. Do you think she would take your word over mine?" She grinned wickedly and lashed her tail. Gingerkit swallowed, hard. "M-Maybe! You never know, she could believe me, and you'd get into a lot of trouble. Lion Spirit may even delay your battlekit ceremony because of it." Gingerkit felt her confidence raise at that. That was Viperkit's dream. She wasn't willing to let anything get in the way of her becoming a battlekit. And in the small chance that Palebelly did believe her, she might tell Lion Spirit about Viperkit's awful deeds and have her wait even longer to be a battlekit. That would be the best consequence for her actions.

However, instead of making Viperkit anxious, it had the opposite effect. Her grin faded into a bare toothed snarl and her fur bristled along her spine dangerously as she stood over Gingerkit threateningly.

"If you even think of saying anything Gingerkit, I'll claw your ears off." She snarled, leering down at her. "And, if I wanted to, I could lie to both Palebelly and Scorchbird and make them think you were the one bullying me. Stealing my prey, knocking me over every chance you get, and making me look like a bad cat to get me into trouble. They'll believe me much more than they will you."

Gingerkit shrunk beneath her pelt. Could she do that? Would she? Would Scorchbird really think she would do something so terrible? "You-you wouldn't do it. I know you wouldn't." Gingerkit hissed, glaring at her as best she could. Viperkit's gaze burned holes in her pelt as she growled and unsheathed her claws.

"Oh, I wouldn't, huh?" Viperkit swung her head around, her tail drooping and her ears low as if she were in pain.

"Oh Scorchbird, mother! Gingerkit pushed me into the kill mound and a heavy rabbit fell on me and now my leg hurts." She began to fake a limp as she dragged herself across the ground. She even had the sense to make pain show in her yellow eyes.

"And she's been stealing all of the prey I worked so hard for by doing a little extra battlekit training before I even become one. She's so mean to me for no reason! Tell Lion Spirit he needs to stop her from becoming a battlekit, or she'll do this to everyone else, not just me." She wailed pathetically before regaining her composure and standing to her full height.

"See? I can lie just as well as you can Gingerkit. If you say anything to anyone, I'll make your life a living nightmare!"

"Why do you hate me so much!" Gingerkit cried, staring aggressively into Viperkit's slitted eyes. "You're always picking on me; telling me I don't deserve my favorite prey, punishing me for making a small mistake, and always saying I won't ever be better than you. Ever since I can remember you've always hated me! What did I ever do to you?" Gingerkit huffed shakily, trying not to let the anxiety welling up inside her make her look weak.

Viperkit blinked before sneering, "You really want to know why Gingerkit? Because ever since you were born, cats have doted on you and your stupid scaredy cat brother." The she-kit stepped closer, the malice ever intensing in her eyes. "And you want to know why? Because your mousehearted father didn't want you and abandoned your mother, so all the cats in WebPod pity you and your kin for it."

Gingerkit blinked several times, not understanding. "What does that have to do with me? You should be mad at the cats showing pity for others who don't need it. I don't care that my father didn't want us, I still have mama and Goldenkit and that's enough for me."

"It has everything to do with you!" Viperkit snarled. "I was perfect at everything and did everything I could to be the best so I could look good in front of my parents, Fallenheart, and Lion Spirit. Because every cat knows Lion Spirit isn't exactly a young cat and when he dies and Fallenheart becomes the next chief, my father is next in line to be the understudy. I want to become this pod's next chief. I had to show them that, until you came along." Viperkit's lip curled in disgust as she ended the sentence. "All the attention I deserved for being exceptional got taken away from me all because you were born."

"But that still has nothing to do with me! I didn't intentionally try to take the attention away from you. You should be blaming the other cats, giving pity to those who don't need it." Viperkit shook her head in exasperation, growling under her breath.

"You don't get it, you rabbit brain. You were born. Just you being born has everything to do with it." Her scathing remark made Gingerkit wince.

"If you hadn't been born or if your father had stayed in your life, I would have been made a battlekit early for my amazing skills and risen through the ranks a long time ago. Instead, it all got taken away by rule breaking, mousehearted kits who shouldn't have been born at all." Gingerkit lowered her ears. Viperkit had been bullying her because she was born? Did the older she-kit not see how wrong that was?

No matter how Gingerkit felt, Viperkit seemed sound in her idea that Gingerkit had ruined her chances of becoming chief. "I didn't do anything to you, Viperkit. You have no right to bully me the way you do. I didn't ask to be born."

Viperkit rolled her eyes, "Think whatever you want Gingerkit. You and your brother are the one constant problem in my life. I will do what I have to to become this pod's next chief and if I have to stomp you down and put you in your place to do that, then I will." She spat the last words in Gingerkit's face before turning and stalking off in the direction of scuffling battlekits. Before she had gotten too far, she turned her head to glare at Gingerkit one last time. "And remember Gingerkit, you will never be better than me at anything." Then she stalked off.

She was shocked to say the least. How could Viperkit be so cruel? She couldn't do anything about being born or the way other cats treated her. Gingerkit couldn't believe the she-kit would even think such horrible things! Gingerkit crouched beside the wall of the podgrounds, her day beginning to grow somber. She couldn't tell a spirit about what Viperkit was doing. She feared the way Viperkit would lie to get her way out of being revealed. Even worse, if Viperkit couldn't lie her way through it, there was no doubt that she would tear Gingerkit apart later for doing it. And she knew Viperkit would in fact do it.

An unsettling feeling began to rise in Gingerkit's chest. How was she going to be able to deal with this for the rest of her days? Viperkit was relentless and she would definitely continue to pick on Gingerkit any chance she got. The calico she-kit hoped that after Viperkit became a battlekit she would have too much time on her paws to pick on her and possibly even forget her hatred. Gingerkit sunk at the thought that this may go on forever...