Disguise

Chapter 1

Sorry about the spaces between paragraphs, I'm writing this on a laptop. Should I keep the spaces? Let me know before I fix them.

"Thrushkit! Thrushkit, wake up!"

   With a groan, the small brown kitten blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes, looking up to see another kit pawing at his shoulder. He groaned in annoyance, shoving her off lazily. The other cat jumped back, purring.

   "Thrushkit, we're going to play hide and seek, and you aren't going to sulk in the nursery all day!" The other kit squealed, their tail swishing playfully.

   "Ngh- Leave me alone, Frostkit.." Thrushkit turned over, trying to block out the sun seeping into the nursery. He was greeted with a light brown furry body barreling into his, knocking him out of breath. Out of surprise, he yelped, and sprung up, his hair standing on end. He hissed at Frostkit, who simply sat back up and started licking her chest.

   "Looks like someone's awake, huh? Hurry up, or everyone's gonna start without us!" Frostkit gave Thrushkit no time to object before she was sprinting out of the nursery. Thrushkit, after letting out a long groan, followed after her. When he walked into the sunlight, he had to squint to let his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. He suddenly missed the nursery already. Thrushkit always hated going outside.

   Thrushkit was greeted by a snicker, and when he located the noise, it turned out to be Rockkit, his brother. He stood up, standing next to two other kits, who Thrushkit knew as Moosekit and Honeykit. Both Rockkit and Moosekit had darker brown fur, and Honeykit had a brighter, sand colored pelt. Moosekit was the fluffiest of the three.

   "Woah, Thrushkit! Wasn't expecting Frostkit to actually get you outside. I was worried you had turned into a bat!" Rockkit teased, earning a laugh from Honeykit.  Frostkit slid over to be next to Thrushkit.

   "Guys, don't be mean.." Moosekit frowned, looking sympathetically over to Thrushkit.

   "Yeah! Bats go outside sometimes! Maybe not during the day, but this is big for him!" The light brown she kit nudged him playfully, and Thrushkit stepped to the side, visibly annoyed.

   "Shut up. So, we're playing hide and seek?" 

   "You know what hide and seek is? Wow!" Rockkit said, ignoring the glare that was shot towards him by Thrushkit and Moosekit both.

   "I said to shut up, you mousebrain! Who's going to be hiding?"

   "Moosekit and I are going to be hiding," Rockkit suggested. "Maybe Frostkit could be the seeker?"

   "Nice try, but I was seeker last time! I wanna hide, you guys are never fair!"

   "Aw, fine. Thrushkit just joined, he should be seeker!"

   Thrushkit quickly shook his head. "I might go somewhere where I'll get in trouble." 

   "Ugh, do you know how stuck up you sound?" Frostkit's nose wrinkled, pretending to be disgusted. "You're making me sick!" 

   "Since no one's being fun, I can be the seeker. I actually like being one." Honeykit stepped in, giving Thrushkit a look that could be compared to a glare. Thrushkit felt himself go hot with embarrassment.

   "Are we all ready?" When everyone agreed, except for Thrushkit, Honeykit turned around and crouched so that her belly was touching the ground, and tucked her head in between her front paws.

   "One.. two.."

   As soon as she started counting and everyone ran off, Thrushkit's heart fluttered in a slight panic. I haven't played this game in forever, I don't know where to hide! He looked around the camp, and started running towards the first place he saw. Only when he slid inside did he realize where he was.

   He tumbled straight into the flank of Leafpelt, the medicine cat.

   "Oof- Sorry, uhm, Leafpelt!" He stuttered in apology. "I'm playing hide and seek and I don't know where to hide and don't wanna lose-"

   His anxious rambling was silenced by an amused purr from the gray she cat.

   "Don't worry, little Thrushkit. You can hide behind that pile of moss over there, although it might be a bit wet. I won't tell a soul." She flicked her tail, directing him to a small lump of moss.

   "Thank you!" He whispered, before bouncing behind the moss. He crouched the lowest he could go, peering over the moss to see into a small part of the camp. A few minutes passed, and no sign of them was given. His ear twitched when he suddenly heard talking outside of the den.

   "This game is getting boring.." Honeykit said to two other kits.

   "Yeah. Thrushkit probably isn't even playing, just sulking with mom like a newborn kit!" Rockkit's voice said.

   "No wonder we can't find him. He's just a sore loser! I can't imagine him leaving the nursery, let alone becoming a warrior!"

   Thrushkit's tail lowered when he heard Frostkit's hurtful words. He still had a glimmer of hope, listening to see what Moosekit would say. After all, he always helped Thrushkit, right?

   "..Yeah, he is pretty wimpy.." Mumbled the voice of Moosekit.

   Thrushkit felt something snap inside him, and he leaped out of the den, landing in front of the other kits. He tried his best to hide how much he wanted to sob.

   "I'm not wimpy!" He puffed his chest out, trying to disguise the tremble in his voice. "I was hiding in the medicine cat's den, you just didn't find me!"

   "Yeah? Well, getting help is cheating, you know," Frostkit retorted, flicking her tail in an annoyed manner.

   "I didn't-" Thrushkit stopped himself, remembering how Leafpelt suggested to hide behind the moss. Did that count as help?

   "Cheating isn't cool, you know.." Moosekit pointed out quietly. He ducked his head, looking ashamed for saying that.

   He's the one that's sad? I'm the one being ambushed here! Thrushkit thought angrily, although he didn't say anything out loud. The way his tail was lashing said everything he wanted to say.

   He ran past the other kits, not looking back until he was inside the comfort of the nursery. He slid in his tracks, some of the bedding sliding with him when he saw his mother, Sunwhisker.

   "Good morning, Thrushkit!" Sunwhisker purred, laying down. Her expression changed into motherly concern when she saw Thrushkit's tail droop. "What's wrong, dear?"

   "Nothing, mom.." He moved the bedding back to where it was with his paw, then settled down, curling up, with his head hidden behind his tail. He tried to ignore his eye tickling as a traitorous tear spilled out of his eye, dropping down and dampening the bedding.