StarClan isn't real..

Chapter 4

Yellowkit sighed, her paws working on the dry ground of the nursery. A few days had passed since the apprentice ceremony, and she had mostly calmed down. But it was still painful to talk to Blacktooth, knowing she was not her real mother. And now that it was nearly greenleaf, the warmest season of the year, most of the cats stayed in their dens for most of the day. Yellowkit was stuck with Blacktooth for another moon, until it was her turn to become a 'paw.

The gorse rustling caught Yellowkit's attention. She turned her head to see Deadbee, Nettlestem's mate and the father of Whitekit and Casperkit, walking into the nursery. He had a squirrel hooked in his jaws.

"I was wondering if you'd like to share this?" He asked Nettlestem.

She purred and stretched up to nuzzle her mate. "Sure," She said. "Kits, come say hi to your father!"

Whitekit and Casperkit, who were playing moss-ball near the edge of the clearing, bounded over. They surrounded their father, purring and pressing against his legs. Yellowkit watched, feeling a sting of envy. Who was her father? Just a rogue. And she had no littermates, or mother. She didn't even have any kin in WindClan! Yellowkit's claws dug into the ground, and she looked away. What in the moor did she do to deserve this? Be born? She didn't believe in fate, but she did believe in bad luck. And it seemed she had gotten all of it dumped onto her.

She fiddled with a scrap of moss, her ears pricking as Casperkit spoke up. "Dad, why is that kit alone?"

"I don't know," Deadbee replied.

Yellowkit bristled, her tail twitching. She tried to ignore the young ones, but when she heard pawsteps, she had to look over.

Casperkit was walking over to her, a flower in her jaws. Yellowkit thought it came from the clumps that scattered around the nursery, giving the den a sweet scent. "I got you a gift," Casperkit said. She dropped the flowers at Yellowkit paws. Yellowkit stared at it, disbelief and warmth soaking through her. She was uncomfortable and awkward, but some peace was also soaking through her fur.

"Um... thanks," She mewed.

Casperkit purred and bounded away. She reached her sister, and Yellowkit was able to hear Whitekit growl, "Did you touch her?"

Yellowkit looked away. What am I, a case of greencough?

Her gaze drifted to the flower. A gift. She had never had a gift before. She dragged the flower closer to her and rested her head on the stem. She knew it was stupid, but she would still treasure it forever.

She dozed off for a moment, Deadbee exiting the nursery when a few moments later. Then the gorse bush rustled, and Logpaw entered the den. He was carrying a freshly-killed mouse, his chin high and his eyes shining with triumph.

"Did you catch that?" Blacktooth purred.

"All by myself!" Logpaw purred.

Yellowkit hesitantly approached, but Logpaw ignored her. He set down the mouse and turned to the other nursery queens, Nettlestem and Patchstep. "Do you two need anything?" He asked. "Weedtooth picked fresh moss today, so if you want your bedding changed, I can go fetch Finchpaw and Fallowpaw." His voice was responsible and thoughtful, and Yellowkit hardly recognized her brother- er, adopted brother. She was used to him being playful, rough, and snarky. Who was this new cat? Could she grow to like him?

He doesn't like me, though. She remembered.

"Deadbee brought me something earlier, but Patchstep hasn't eaten." Nettlestem pointed with her muzzle to the gray-blue she-cat. Logpaw nodded and exited the nursery, his tail whisking out of sight.

"Yellowkit, come here!" Blacktooth called.

Yellowkit rose to her paws and hurried over to her adoptive mother. "Have some mouse," Blacktooth said, nudging the prey with her nose. "You can have as much as you like."

"Thanks, Blacktooth." Yellowkit said. She bent her head and nibbled at the mouse, and as her appetite returned, she quickly gobbled up half of the mouse. Once she was full, she drew back and licked the prey scraps from her whiskers. Blacktooth purred with amusement and finished the mouse, then curled her tail around Yellowkit and laid down, her eyes closing.

Yellowkit was about to sleep, too, then she remembered something.

She scrambled over Blacktooth's tail and flopped onto the ground. She scrambled to her paws and bounded across the nursery, where her flower was. Yellowkit bent her head to pick it up, then darted back to her foster mother and lay down at her belly, the flower hooked in between her paws. As her eyes closed, Yellowkit felt a pang of happiness. She supposed her life was okay, now... after all, she had made a possible friend, and she'd be an apprentice soon, right? She nad no idea what lay in front of her- only her choices could tell- but even with a simple gift like a flower, it seemed easier.