Painted by Smoke

Chapter 2

Smokekit POV:

I am the unwanted kit.

I was born with a slightly deformed ear, tail, and leg. I can still function perfectly and walk; I'm just ugly. As for colors, I am black and white, painted with grayish boundaries. I am smoke.

No one likes me. Moonlight's favorite is obviously Icekit. They chatter all the time and groom each other. I think Icekit is the favorite of most of the queens. To them, I am just a subject of gossip. Nightstalker, however, far prefers Darkkit. Whenever he has any free time at all, he always spends it training her in small ways: how to pounce, how to stalk silently, wrestling, etc. I'm usually the victim, but not always; sometimes it's the older kits. All of the strongest warriors in Nightstalker's friend group love Darkkit because she is strong and brave for such a young kit. Even the kits want to be away from me for fear that my ugliness and strange personality is contagious.

Only Robinstride has eyes for me. I know she must hide it for outward composure, but it's obvious. The way she watches me when I play alone further away from the den. The way she makes sure I'm inside at night. The way she watches me at night. Oh, and the time she gave me my first piece of fresh-kill (I am only 2 moons old, mind you) when Darkkit "caught" her first piece and shared it with Icekit. So Nightstalker just got back from dawn patrol and the camp is relatively empty. He goes about training Darkkit like usual, no problem. A brave mouse was spotted by someone and Night stalker immediately corners it. Instead of killing it, he herds it toward Darkkit and pins it down while she kills it. All of the older kits want the mouse, but Darkkit growls fiercely and Nightstalker takes a swipe at them with his paw, claws sheathed, so they get the message and leave. Darkkit immediately proceeds to devour it while Nightstalker smears its blood on her fur. In case you couldn't tell, Nightstalker is half ShadowClan. This doesn't happen for long before Icekit immediately begins whining and Darkkit gives her some of the mice. Moonlight and Icekit then complain as they groom Icekit about it being too bloody on her pristine white fur. In this whole thing, no one thinks of me for even a second. Well, except for Robinstride who later sneaks me an entire shrew all to myself. The one night I didn't go hungry. The borage leaves given to Moonlight by Reedfur to give her more milk just made Darkkit stronger and Icekit fatter instead of making me not as thin as a twig.

I have learned to accept my fate.