*ON HOLD* Our Rebellion (Sequel to Tigerstar's Apprentice)

Chapter 4

"Come play moss-ball, Patchkit!" Minnowkit called from outside.

Turtlekit glanced at his brother. "You can go play with them if you want."

Patchkit rested his dark blue tail over his brother's back. "Then you should come play too!"

"I-I don't want to." Minnowkit and Maplekit will probably make fun of me again.

Patchkit smiled sympathetically. "Your tail's fine. Don't listen to those fish-brains!"

The blue-gray tabby flicked his stump of a tail. He had been born with the defect, and it was what had given him his name. "Well... just for a bit," Turtlekit's whiskers twitched as Patchkit bounced on his paws. Turtlekit rolled his eyes. "Don't make it a big thing, ok?"

Patchkit's eyes shone. "Yeah, whatever." The handsome tom winked before darting out into the camp. For a heartbeat, Turtlekit envied his long tail flowing out behind him, but he pushed it away and bolted after his brother.

"Well well well, look who it is," Minnowkit sneered as Turtlekit and his brother approached them. "It's Turtlekit. Or should I say, Stumpkit."

Maplekit chuckled, her eyes glittering coldly. Something about Maplekit's amber gaze made Turtlekit shiver. Something's off about her. She acts more... mature than the rest of us, almost as if she's a warrior already, and she hates getting her paws wet. "Yeah, Stumpkit," she then batted her eyes at Patchkit. "How are you doing?"

Patchkit curled his lip. "Leave Turtlekit alone," he growled.

Minnowkit rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he picked up the mossball with his forepaw, and padded over to the biggest flat area of the camp. He paused after Turtlekit took a single step. "He's not playing with us, is he?"

"Yes," Patchkit growled.

"But he stinks at mossball!" Minnowkit complained. "He hasn't got a tail, and every cat knows you need a tail to balance."

Turtlekit stared at his paws. "I have a tail," he muttered, but his words were drowned out by his brother's outraged yowl.

"Just shut up, Minnowkit!" Patchkit snarled, his tail lashing. "If you don't want to play with Turtlekit, then we'll play without you." As swift as a warrior plucks a carp from the river, Patchkit snatched the mossball and turned tail.

Minnowkit stumbled and hared after him. "Hey! No fair!"

Turtlekit's whiskers twitched. He heard Maplekit clear her throat behind him. He turned to face her. "I-I'm going back to the nursery—"

"I can show you how to balance," Maplekit cut him off.

Turtlekit's ears twitched in surprise. He glanced up at her. "Really?"

The tortoiseshell she-kit's gaze remained emotionless. "Yes. Follow me."

Turtlekit padded after her, his pelt pricking with excitement. None of his Clanmates, aside from Patchkit and his mother and father, Bluewillow and Creeksplash, ever paid any attention to him. Maplekit lead him over to the reeds that made up the camp wall.

Turtlekit hesitated. "We're not allowed to leave camp."

"We're not," Maplekit didn't glance back at him. "There's a grassy area behind the elders' den. We can practice there."

"Oh," the tom meowed, following her along the woven reeds and brambles. Eventually, the reached the solid walls of the elders' den.

Maplekit finally glanced over her shoulder. "It's a bit of a squeeze, but seeing as your a three-moon-old ball of fluff, you should be fine."

Turtlekit shrugged off the comment. At least she's talking to me. Maplekit was right, it was a bit of a squeeze, but he managed to slip through with only a fur tufts of fur getting snagged in the brambles.

"Woah..." he muttered, gazing at the space around him. Completely closed off on all sides, except for the small crack in between the camp wall and the elders' den that they had just come through, was an area full of tall grass and ferns. The undergrowth, completely free of cats' trampling paws, towered over Turtlekit's head, and flowers as tall as the elders' den tickled his ears. "It's so... pretty."

Maplekit turned to him. She was pacing along the other side of the small meadow. "I know. That's why you can't tell any cat about this place. Not even Patchkit. Understood?"

He gulped. But Patchkit's my brother! I tell him everything! Even though his heart was screaming at him, Turtlekit nodded. "O-ok. I promise."

"Good." Maplekit went back to pacing. "You want me to teach you how to stand on your hind paws without falling, right?" Turtlekit nodded again. "Ok. So, you want to stand on your hind paws, obviously," the she-cat now towered even higher than the dense undergrowth. "And I'll tuck my tail in to show you..."

Maplekit expertly wrapped her tail around one of her hind legs. Why does she know how to do that? Turtlekit pushed the thought away. She's being nice to me and actually trying to help me. I shouldn't question her.

"...and to balance, you want to make sure that your back paws are shoulder-width apart, and that you hold your front paws up like so," Maplekit tucked her front paws in to her chest, her tail still wrapped around her leg. The she-cat dropped back onto all fours. "You try."

"Um, ok," Turtlekit lifted his front paws off the ground, feeling himself teeter. His instincts told him to stick out his tail and lash it from side to side, but he couldn't, and he came tumbling down with an "oof!"

Maplekit's whiskers twitched. "Alright, remember to keep your hind paws shoulder-width apart. They were only a minnow-length away from each other that time."

"Ok," Turtlekit nodded, trying again. He stayed back behind the elders' den with Maplekit practicing his stance and a crouch and leap until the sun had set and stars were beginning to show in the sky.

Turtlekit glanced up, panting. His muscles ached from practicing, but Maplekit looked unfazed. "Oh my! It's almost moonrise! Bluewillow will be wondering where I am!"

He glanced back at his denmate. She was grooming herself in the grass, her long, fluffy tail wrapped over her paws. "Ok. You can go. I'm going to stay back here for a little while longer," she paused her grooming, her forepaw up to her muzzle. "Remember, don't tell any cat where we were today. Minnowkit will ruin this place if he gets the chance."

Turtlekit nodded and smiled. "Thank you for helping me."

"Of course."

"Maybe we could... do this again?" The tom shuffled his paws uneasily.

Maplekit, again, paused. "If you'd like to."

"I would!"

"Alright then," she purred. "Let's meet again at the quarter moon."

"Ok!" Turtlekit squeezed out of the hidden space, racing towards the nursery. I finally have a friend!