Legacy (Book 1)

Chapter 1: Two Kits And A Dream

Chapter 1: Two Kits And A Dream

Droplet looked down at her two new kits. Born just yesterday they still had their eyes closed, their ears were wrinkled, and they mewled quietly, the sound muffled by her belly fur. She lay in a soft nest of grass and moss on the dirt floor of the kit-den.

Golden light filtered in and dappled her silver pelt with its soft glow. The light came from a patchy hole in the side of the ceiling that was mostly blocked by a light curtain of lichen and the light wasn't strong enough to light up the corners of the den, but let enough light in to see.

She glanced across the den, Shimmer, an older black she-cat with white tipped tail, ears, and chest, was curled around her one kit, Tangle. It was the she-cat's second litter and although all but one kit had died from her first litter, it seemed that the she-cat didn't mind not having more then one kit.

Droplet could understand. Every she-cat hated to have kits in this life. Although toms had a good enough life, she-cats were haunted with every step. She supposed she was one of the lucky she-cats, her mate, Hawk, was fair to her and had never scratched her unless she accidentally slipped up in front of other toms.

And with him being the leader of the hunters, no tom dared flirt with her in his sight, for he wasn't fond of letting any other tom near her. She looked down at her two kits, would her she-kit be fortunate like her?

She sighed and closed her soft gray eyes, but she couldn't sleep. She could still hear Hawk outside the den, bragging about his new kits to all the other toms like a go-lucky fool. Not that she could say even the slightest reprimand.

Her ears flicked as she heard Twist enter the den. The she-cat's steps were dragging and heavy and Droplet caught the sharp, salty tang of blood. She could hear Mudslide taunting his sister, Whisper, but the little she-kit made no sound of protest.

Droplet opened her eyes into slits. She could see Mudslide scratching his sister's ears. Twist looked like she wanted to protest, but she knew as well as Droplet that Mudslide would screech for his father, Hare, and that Hare would beat both Twist and Whisper, harsher then what the tom kit was doing to his sister.

Twist sat in her nest and Whisper ducked behind her, hiding from her brother, her silver ears stained red with blood, hiding the scars of the other scratches she'd received from Mudslide or any other tom who cared to do her harm.

Droplet swallowed hard, would her tom kit be like that? She hoped he'd be more like his father and be fair to his mate. Speaking of mates, has Hawk decided who our kit's mates will be? Her son would, of course, be able to change his mate pick when he became a trainee if he wanted, but her daughter would be stuck with whoever chose her.

She studied her kits again, her worries swept away in an emotion of love. Mudslide had fallen quiet as he suckled, kicking Whisper back until he was full. The kits fell asleep as the soft orange light turned to silvery-blue.

Droplet was again overcome with a desire to go outside and see the night sky, just like every night. But it was forbidden to leave the cave after dusk, whether if it was to stop cats from falling down the steep-sloped loose rock and dirt, or to stop escapees, she didn't know, but she'd never seen the sky at night.

She looked at the hole, trying to see past the lichen, but all she could see was black and a dot of white. What's out there? She stiffened her curiosity, it was dangerous for a she-cat to have curiosity, it might make her do something that would harm her.

She looked back at her kits, studying once again the pattern of their pelts. Her tom was patched black and white, his face white with black ears and his back was black as well as half his sides and his back left leg while the rest was white, except his black tipped tail.