other side II a warrior cats fanfic

Chapter 1

Sagekit sees it all around him. Blood. Wet, sickly, blood. The scent of iron crams into his nostrils, flooding him.

Bodies pile up, crimson red leaking from them. The smell of death is strong, overpowering, as Sagekit cowers.

Accusing eyes stare, shining blue. Sagekit stares at the pair, eyes wide, and sees his blood-stained fur reflected.

A realization dawns painfully on Sagekit. It hurts, burns, and he can't stand it.

This is his doing.

~~~

Sagekit blinks, going from darkness to icy blue eyes. They shine with excitement intertwined with persistence.

Sagekit knows he can't deny those eyes. Flickerkit. The littlest of them all, the almost still-born. The arguably most persuasive kit in all of camp. Sagekit can't deny those eyes. He smiles at them instead.

"Flickerkit," he mumbles sleepily, eyes soft, "what is it?"

The den is dimly lit, warm sunlight crawling into the den from its opening. Flickerkit fidgets with excitement.

"Aloestar's gone," he whispers, voice implying what he wants, "Ca-"

"What are you two up to?" Smoothkit's voice cuts sharply into the two tom-kit's conversation. Sagekit twists in his nest, eyes blinking at his sister.

"Shh," he mumbles nervously, "we want to explore." Smoothkit's eyes widen with mischievousness and excitement, and her tail lashes.

"Yes!"

Smoothkit hops from her nest, eyes glinting in the dim sunlight. Her little claws sink smoothly into the moss and grouse feathers from WindClan.

WindClan. Sagekit feels strange at the name. A mix between good and guilty. His fur twitches with discomfort, and his green eyes blink slowly.

"Okay," the tom kit enunciates slowly, shaking the remnants of the dream and the thought off of him. His full attention should be on his escape.

"So," Smoothkit whispers, "Mother says we can't be seen for a few more moons."

"Yeah," Sagekit adds quickly, "it's tradition."

"So we won't," Flickerkit's small shoulders shrug easily, not a hint of nervousness in his posture.

The small tom clearly doesn't notice the danger. His plumed tail flicks nonchalantly. "We're going to be alright."

Sagekit isn't worried about that. He knows if he does get caught, he'll get off the hook easily. Snapstar makes it that way. Aloestar has told them their father loves them, dearly so, but he is busy. Never around.

Sagekit nods profusely. Of course they will.

And then he huffs.

"What?" Smoothkit asks, voice dripping with confusion. Sagekit draws a claw through the dirt.

"Aloestar makes a big deal of Snapstar not being around, but she's never here," he snaps irritably. The den is silent for a moment, before Smoothkit straightens her back proudly.

"Yeah," she agrees, "consider this her punishment."

"Yeah!" Flickerkit's tail shoots up proudly.

The kits quiet again, they're minds swirling with possibilities. Finally, Sagekit flicks his tail.

"I know," he announces, "we can just tour camp. I mean, if we want a real punishment for Mom, we should make sure everyone sees us."

Smoothkit brightens at the idea, and Flickerkit grins. And a plan is born.

The kits will walk into the middle of camp and flaunt their pelts and eyes, grinning at Aloestar. "She probably will be too busy complaining about Snapstar," Smoothkit adds sourly. Then Aloestar will see she's made a mistake.

The kits creep from the den with this idea bubbling in their heads. Soft paws pad from stone to dirt to green. Green grass. Green, springy grass.

Sagekit expects an intervention. A paw to come shooting from the sky, to plant itself in front of the group. To claw him from the ground, to send him writhing into the sky. For a voice, deep and loud, to yell at him, scold him for getting out.

But there is nothing. A bleak nothing. Sagekit pauses, waiting for something. Anything. But there is no punishment, no cat ushering them back into the leader's den. Sagekit blinks in surprise, feeling Smoothkit's rough nose repeatedly lodging itself into his side.

"Come on, you scaredy mouse! Already backing out?" her condescending tone makes Sagekit's fur bristle with anger.

"I-of course not! Shut your muzzle, mange-pelt."

Smoothkit snorts at the insult, only bothering to roll her eyes. Her tail doesn't lash, a breathy huff doesn't escape from her mouth. She shows no sign of humoring Sagekit, and for some reason it makes him annoyed.

Sagekit lashes his tail in his sister's face and creeps silently forward. He is good at this. Better than good, in fact. He can't hear himself walking. While Flickerkit's steps are not nosy, they are soft thumps that it worries Sagekit to hear.

Sagekit takes one step. Then another. He slithers like an adder, lean body now fully out of the den. His eyes adjust to the bright light, blinking repeatedly, before he looks around.

From his crouched position, Sagekit can't see much. Stones chiseled into blocks by persistent clawing stand in the way of his vision. But from what he can see it is hilly, some-what at least, and grassy. Trees poke over the walls, large and green, and their scent is earthy and amazing.

"Wow," Smoothkit whispers, mouth agape. Flickerkit's eyes widen as a gentle breeze tugs at his fur, and he grins.

"Outside," he nods, "It's so..."

"Vibrant," Sagekit finishes eagerly, "I'm so excited." Smoothkit nods in agreement, Flickerkit only gazing up at the baby-blue sky.

Looking around once more, Sagekit gathers himself. So what if the outside world is too beautiful, too new? So what if it is so big, too big for Sagekit? He will grow into it. He will.

Sagekit creeps forward, small steps silent. His moves tail up confidently. The three kits make their ways further, further, into the stone, until the wall is close enough to touch with a paw. Sagekit inhales the smell.

The aromas are mingled with one another, all cats. Some carry prey, as the kits tell from the scent of warm blood. They stare, wide-eyed, at each other.

The air is silent, almost eerie, as the kits creep along the wall, tails down and unsure. Their pelts bristle nervously, their tiny bodies pressed together in an anxious flock.

"Look!" Flickerkit lightly nudges his brother. Sagekit looks, but only for a moment. The wall has left them. The nudge sends him unbalanced. Unbalanced and wobbling. Wobbling turns into a trip over his paws. And a trip sends him reeling.

To the ground.

Down. Down, down, down-

~~~

hi! hope y'all enjoy the first chapter so far! that's really all :)