What if Mapleshade's kits lived

Chapter 7

"Faster!", Mapleshade snapped as she knocked Larchkit away with a single flick of her paw. Her claws were unsheltered. As the brown kit rolled, he managed to get his footing, roughly landing on all fours. Catching his breath for a brief heartbeat, he charged in for another try. Moving like a snake, Mapleshade's front paw skimmed over the ground, attempting to trip him up. However, Larchkit darted away to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. With an opening, he launched. She staggered back, when he took hold of her leg, using his thorn-like claws and teeth to dig into her thick fur.

His tail lashed with adrenaline and excitement. While Larchkit clung to her leg like an annoying tick, she leaned in, digging in her fangs into his defenceless tail. He squealed out with a mix of pain and shock. She licked away the small traces of blood that edges her lips. She shoved him off with her tail, sitting back, her throat aching as it panted. "Better.", she admitted. His face lit up with as she mewed her approval. "But you need to remember that cats have teeth, not just claws.", she advised, "Tuck your tail in next time.".

They began padding up the sandy slope, away from the running fresh stream. They headed towards their home, a small sandy hollow, with a dense clump of brambles up against an old oak, that served as a den. It's a nice quiet little spot, not too many loners or rouge ventured to. Being just close enough to the Four territories to act as a deterrent. While Mapleshade continued to address Larchkit, he listened with genuine intrigue, causing his bright eyes to sparkle, "If you try to grab an opponent like that, it's idler to land on their back, where they can't reach you. However it's little hard for you to jump onto a fully grown cat's back with your current size, but there's not much we can do about that.". Larchkit nodded before dashing forward.

Mapleshade flopped to the crusty ground with a huff while Larchkit sniffed at the scraps of bones and fur from their last meal. Scratching at it a few times, Larchkit turned away from the disappointment, "When are we going to eat?", he moaned. Mapleshade didn't bother to raise her head as she lay there, "Hopefully when Appledusk and your littermates come back from hunting.", she mewed, "And let's pray to Starclan, that your father doesn't bring back frogs again.".

She heard a shuffled of sand as Larchkit landed next to her. He made whispering noises as boredom gripped him despite just having a training session a heartbeat ago. As they lay there, Mapleshade's thoughts mellowed out as she just simply began to focus on the world around her. There was a soft tinkling noise as the nearby stream lapped against the smooth stones that lay against it's edge. Branches of the oaks rustled as they steered from the wind weaving in between them, like a creature waking from slumber. A purr began to form as she felt the yellow sunshine warming her pelt, threatening to make her drift into sleep. However, she was brought back from her welcomed daze, when an unwelcome grey smudge on sky drifted over the blazing red eye of the sun, washing the land over a light layer of shade. Mapleshade muttered to herself, burying her head in her paws.

Her ear twitched as Larchkit's stomach growled at her to be feed. She couldn't hunt now, could she? Hesitantly, she glanced over to Larchkit. Despite his body noticeably lacking much-needed amount of fat for a 4 moon old kit, he was a remarkable size. Already larger than most of the fish that Appledusk somehow managed to drag back from the gorge river.

With an annoyed sigh, Mapleshade nudged the brown kit to move as she clambered to her shaky half-asleep paws. Letting off a gaping yawn and arching her spine into a stretch, she began padding towards the shelter of the canopy and undergrowth. "Since you're that hungry, I'll see if there's a mouse prowling about.", she told him, "Can I trust you to be by yourself for a bit?". Larchkit eagerly nodded, "Oh, sure! You can trust me.", he mewed with the blinking innocence eyes act. Though, Mapleshade just snorted, "We'll see about that. I'll be back soon. I'll be in earshot, shout if anything happens.". Her tortoiseshell fur faded into the greens and browns of the woodland.