It was a warm sunny day in RiverClan. Beechstar was washing his striped pelt carefully, grooming out burrs and pine needles. Grasspaw and Maplepaw were sharing a water vole. Petalkit and Reedkit were playing mossball, tumbling every which way. A bird let out a happy twitter as a hunting patrol returned, jaws full of prey.
Suddenly, a screech split the calm air. All the cats turned their heads to the nursery. Alarmed glances passed through the cats, but Beechstar signaled for all to be calm. He had known a queen was close to her time since the moon before.
Fernfrost shot out of the medicine cat den, gray pelt rippling, and rushed to the nursery. She looked in to see Waterpool on the moss, in pain. The kits! Fernfrost thought. She gave the queen a stick to bite down on and some honey for strength.
"Don't worry Waterpool. Just don't get too tired." Fernfrost advised calmly. Waterpool bit down on the stick, splinters flying everywhere. A small black kit tumbled onto the moss. He was stinking of crowfood. Dead. Fernfrost thought.
Waterpool's belly rippled in a spasm. She began breathing heavily and shattered the stick as a huge brown and black tabby came flying onto the moss. He was only just moving, so Fernfrost licked him extra hard. He began to breathe and she sighed in relief.
Waterpool let out a moan and growled in pain. Fernfrost gave her another stick from the nursery wall and it was instantly crushed. A black kit with a gray muzzle, paws, tip of the tail, and chest plopped onto the moss. The she kit began mewling at once and Waterpool licked it until it was crying out and shaking.
Fernfrost left for a moment and returned with borage, giving it to Waterpool so her milk would come quickly. The kits scrambled to Waterpool, begging for milk. The she nudged them to her belly and looked gratefully at Fernfrost. "Thank you..." She muttered before turning back to the kits.
"Waterpool! I want to go out in the camp!" A huge brown and black tabby kit squealed.
"Go on ahead Falconkit." Waterpool purred. "My big, strong warrior should always know about his surroundings."
"Waterpool? May I go too?" A gray and black she kit asked.
"Graykit, you know you will never become a warrior, so just stay here." Waterpool hissed, swatting her with claws unsheathed. Graykit was thrown against the bramble wall of the nursery. The comment stung her more than the blow.
Graykit curled up in her nest as the last hints of dusk faded into the night; Graykit's nest was the farthest nest from her mothers. She curled tighter and hoped that her mother would love her like she did Falconkit. She fell into a light, disturbed sleep.
"Hello Beechstar!" She meowed, bouncing up to him. Beechstar turned, snarling, and clawed her ear. She shied away, bumping into her mother. Her mother raised up a paw to deliver a blow, slowly changing into something much bigger. She reared on her hind paws, letting out a roar as she finished the transformation into a badger. Graykit squeaked in surprise and backed away, but her mother – no, the badger – began to bring her enormous paw down, closer and closer, claws gleaming, teeth bared in a grin...
She woke up suddenly, fear-sweat clinging to her fur. She shook herself quietly awake, padding over the sleeping kits and around the mothers. She stayed well away from her mother; she would earn a bite on the muzzle if she woke Waterpool up.
Graykit reached the end of the den and padded lightly out. She trotted up to the meeting rock, which was not too high for her to leap onto. She landed silently on the rock and just sat. She surveyed the empty, moonlight camp with watchful eyes. She saw and scented that the fresh-kill pile was low. She wouldn't say anything though. No warrior or apprentice would listen to her anyway.
She yawned, her tiny pink tongue lolling out of her mouth. Her dream hadn't scared drowsiness away from her. She slowly trudged back to the nursery, her tail drooping. She was going to see if she could hunt the frogs that sometimes hopped inside the camp, but she knew she was too tired. Too distracted by thought to care about being careful, Graykit dragged herself into the nursery and stepped right onto Falconkit's tail.
"Hey!!! Mommy!!!" Falconkit wailed. "Graykit stepped on me!" All the queens and their kits shot awake. One or two kits started wailing. Waterpool rounded on Graykit.
"Can't you do anything right!? You are a disgrace to me. To the Clan! You will be confined to the nursery for all of tomorrow." Waterpool finished her rage with a hard blow to Graykit's side.
"But... but I am becoming an apprentice tomorrow..." Graykit muttered as she licked the bruise that her mother had given her.
