Tangletuft's Mistake; (complete)

Chapter three

"Could you two help me for a second?" Tanglekit nodded as Rabbitfoot asked the question. Breezekit nodded as well.

"Could you two gather some moss from behind the Meeting Hollow? I need to fix my indoor nest." Rabbitfoot gestured with his tail to his indoor nest. Twigs and thorns hung out at all angles while barely any moss covered them.

"Okay." Tanglekit mewed then led Breezekit out of the medicine cat den.

Once she was out, she took in a huge breath of the cold air looming around her. Leaf-bare had come two moons ago and in less than a moon, Tanglekit would be an apprentice.

Snowpaw and Smokepaw sat near the Meeting Hollow, the two sharing a rabbit. They had been training almost non-stop in leaf-bare that Tanglekit could assume they only had two moons left of apprenticeship.

"You two were barely a moon old when we were apprenticed," Smokepaw mewed to them as they passed, she had grown out of her mocking stage, or as it seemed. Maybe the black furred she-cat would become cocky and bossy once she had been made a warrior "And now you're almost apprentices too," Smokepaw continued "and we're almost warriors."

"Your point is?" Breezekit asked, rolling his eyes.

"My point is that Snowpaw and I will become warriors before Featherpaw, Smallpaw and Crowpaw and we'll definitely become warrior before you two and Sagekit so when we're all warriors you'll have to listen to us because we became warriors first."

That was the Smokepaw Tanglekit knew. Bossy and arrogant.

"Well Tanglekit and I need to collect moss for Rabbitfoot so if you don't mind, we have stuff to do." Breezekit meowed, rolling his eyes at the older apprentices.

"Wait," Tanglekit stopped her brother from padding away before he could do anything "Why would you two become warriors before Featherpaw, Smallpaw and Crowpaw? They're supposed to be warriors already but they all caught Greencough at the last moment. When they're fine Graystar is going to make then warriors. Won't they be fine before two moons pass?"

"Because they have Greencough. It takes more than two moons to get it out of your system," Smokepaw mewed "Good thing you aren't becoming a medicine cat or WindClan would be doomed."

"Don't listen to her Tanglekit," Breezekit nudged Tanglekit towards the Meeting Hollow "You'd be a great medicine cat if you weren't going to be a warrior."

Tanglekit nodded then followed Breezekit blindly through the Meeting Hollow, rubbing around the edges so that the cats in the middle wouldn't see them.

"Why would you want that cat as your apprentice?" Tanglekit heard Graystar mew, clearly not noticing the two kits behind him.

"Because, that cat has a future and I want to be part of it." Tanglekit recognized Darkwing. The dark furred she-cat's tone was cold. As if she didn't care for anyone but herself.

Tanglekit almost let out a gasp at the coldness of Darkwing but kept her mouth shut and closed her eyes.

She imagined a storm raining down on WindClan and kits mewling for their mother. The mother came and shushed them into the nursery. Their mewling stoping as they suckled on their mother's belly. The kits looked familiar. Four brown and white kits. Were they her and her littermates? When had that happened. Probably just her imagination.

Suddenly, her imagination took a different path, she imagined claws raking down her side and that she couldn't stop coughing. Tanglekit couldn't help it. She opened her eyes and let out a wail of terror.

Graystar turned around immediately "Tanglekit? Breezekit? What are you two doing here? You know the Meeting Hollow is for warriors only."

"Rabbitfoot wanted us to get moss for his indoor nest," Breezekit explained, shrugging "We didn't want to bother you then out of nowhere, my stupid littermate let out a wail. We're sorry." Breezekit looked at his paws. Tanglekit did the same.

Graystar sighed the mewed "Go on. Go get your moss for Rabbitfoot." In a hushed voice he continued "I'll just have to teach Rabbitfoot not the send wailing kits into the Meeting Hollow."

Tanglekit bowed her head to the leader then rushed off to the moss pile, speeding as fast as she could. And as moss tickled her nose she sneezed, letting the tickling moss plunge to the ground.

Breezekit giggled as Graystar flashed the two kits a look of annoyance.

"I'm sorry." Tanglekit mewed, feeling guilty as she grabbed as much moss as she could then scurried out of the Meeting Hollow, tripping occasionally.

Breezekit passed Snowpaw and Smokepaw again, not stopping as Smokepaw let out a giggle at the two kits.

As Tanglekit entered the medicine cat den, Birdflight lay there with a questioning gaze.

"You're going to have kits." Rabbitfoot mewed pawing the queen's belly.

"Kits!" Birdflight gasped "How many?"

"Two it seems." Rabbitfoot pawed Birdflight's belly.

"Kits? Ew gross!" Breezekit shuddered "I never want to have kits! I hate kits!"

Birdflight and Rabbitfoot turned around to face the two kits and Birdflight let out a mrrow of laughter "But Breezekit. You are a kit."

"Not for much longer!" Breezekit retorted "And plus, even if I had kits I wouldn't want them to be stuck in the nursery for six moons like I was."

Tanglekit just watched, moss still in her mouth.

"Alright," Rabbitfoot mewed, shrugging and keeping a glint of amusement in his eyes "One less tom to whine about his own kits."

Birdflight nodded in agreement, amusement deep in her expression.

"I assume Willowflight would want her kits back now." Rabbitfoot mewed, giving Birdflight an herb that smelled harsh and made Tanglekit's nose hairs tingle.

Tanglekit scrunched her nose "Gross! Why does that smell so bad?"

"It's mouse bile. It's used for getting ticks off of cat's pelt." Rabbitfoot instructed "All you do is rub this on the tick and it'll pop right off. It's usually used to elders and-"

"Why are you telling me this? I'm going to be a warrior, not a medicine cat." Tanglekit mewed, puffing out her white fluffy chest fur.

Rabbitfoot nodded, not looking up from the tick on Birdflight's pelt "Of course. Go on now. Willowflight is probably worried about you two."

Breezekit nodded and dashed out the den yelling "I'll beat you to the nursery!"

Tanglekit suppressed a purr and giggled a little "So much for acting mature." She followed her brother, at a walking pace.

Tanglekit entered the nursery and let in a yawn.

She settled down beside Bluefeather's nest. The blue queen, and the littermate of Birdflight, was expecting kits too. And hers were to be born any day now which frightened Tanglekit. Would any of her kits die like Amberkit did?

Tanglekit let the story in her head begin to play. She had been told that she once had another littermate named Amberkit. Amberkit was a large tom-kit with a dark brown tabby pelt. Every cat presumed that his eyes would be amber, but instead, they were a dark blue. Before the Clan could rename him, he stopped breathing suddenly, and Amberkit died on the fourth day.

Her daydream from earlier passed into her head. The four suckling kits. They must've been her and her littermates.

"Tanglekit? Are you going to sleep or are you just going to stare off into space?" Sagekit asked, pawing her sister playfully.

Tanglekit nodded and rested her head down. As soon as she closed her eyes she had fallen asleep in the soft mossy bedding.