Legacy (Book 1)

Chapter 2: Just A Kit

Chapter 2: Just A Kit

Rainstone crouched on the ground, her eyes fixed on her prey, a thin black snake that whisked from side to side rhythmically. Waggling her haunches, she pounced, claws unsheathed.

A exclaiming cry of protest rang out, the cry muffled by the small dirt walls of the den. "Rainstone!" the sharp rebuke came from her mother. Rainstone retracted her claws and stood back as Pepper whisked his black-tipped tail away and gave it a few licks, giving her an annoyed glare.

"You mustn't do that to Pepper!" her mother, Droplet mewed, her voice had a tinge of horror in it. Rainstone swished her plumy tail along the floor mutinously.

"But Mudslide attacks his sister all the time! And I was being good, I didn't even scratch him!" she protested. One moon old and impatient, she couldn't comprehend why she wasn't aloud to go explore with Pepper or play roughly with any cat like Pepper, Tangle, and Mudslide did.

Why, she'd even been cuffed by her father for defending herself when Tangle leapt on her and started clawing her! Her scratches still stung and her belly burned with resentment.

She looked at Pepper, he was pouncing on a beetle that had somehow made its way into the den, the entire episode of the tail obviously forgotten. Pepper didn't care that she played with him roughly, but no cat would let her anyways!

She gave her paw a quick lick, licking it again as it twitched a few times on its own. "When can I go out into the cave? And when can I start training?" she asked in a sigh. She wanted to be a fighter! She wanted to run outside and climb the highest mountains!

But that would be impossible, so every cat told her. She didn't understand why, Tangle and Mudslide would be hunters, as well as Pepper, but she'd been told she also couldn't even be a hunter.

So what am I supposed to do than? She thought in frustration, her paws itched and she wanted to actually do something! Without cats telling her 'no' every time she attempted to do it.

She looked up as Droplet draped her silver tail over her shoulders. Rainstone shrugged it off, she didn't want to be comforted, she wanted to have more freedom! Was that really too much to ask?

She padded back into the shadows as Mudslide padded in with Whisper. She flicked her tail to get the silver kit's attention, but Whisper's green eyes were tired and miserable. The kit just went to her nest and curled down to sleep.

Mudslide raced over to Pepper, leaping on her brother and tussling the smaller kit to the ground. Rainstone wanted to rush over and join in, but she knew what she would be told. You're just a she-kit! You can't play, you're only good to look at and being used.

Those were the words Mudslide had told her so often. She didn't know what use looking at her would be or what being used was. And she had no idea why her being a she-kit would have to do with anything, but apparently it had to do with a lot of things.

Rainstone lashed her tail as Hawk came in. Her father strutted toward his son proudly, giving his an approving look as the young tom wrestled Mudslide off. "Where's your sister?" Hawk asked.

Rainstone pricked her ears, she'd never heard him ask for her before. Pepper looked around, his gaze resting on her, even though she was practically invisible in the dark shadows with her dark pelt and dark eyes.

Pepper flicked his tail in her direction and Hawk looked over to her. "I see you have sharp eyes, Pepper, that'll be good for being a hunter," Hawk purred as he padded toward her.

Rainstone looked at her father defiantly, she hadn't done anything worthy of a lecture in the past few days, following the strange and stupid rules for the most part. "Rainstone, it is time for you to see where you live," Hawk announced.