Hahaha . . . after all the Warriors stories I thought of, this ends up being the one I upload first. XD
I had this idea . . . I dunno, ages ago now. XD A few things you should know when reading:
Brokentail will not be evil.
Lizardstripe is a med cat who fell in love with Mudclaw (ShadowClan Mudclaw, not the WindClan one. XD Seriously, there was a ShadowClan warrior called Mudclaw.)
Sagewhisker will not be in this story. I don't know why . . . I just don't like her. :P
Chapter One: Tanglekit
Lizardstripe stared down vacantly at her one surviving she-kit. She was a scruffy brown tabby, larger than the others, which was probably why she survived.
Without warning, the kit began to wail. Lizardstripe quickly flopped down and guided the kitten to her belly. 'Be quiet!' she hissed, though she knew it was pointless. 'Do you want to bring the whole Clan down on our heads?'
As the kit suckled, Lizardstripe began to wonder what she would do back at camp. Show the kit to Mudclaw, she supposed, though he had never given any indication that he would care. She knew that the tom she loved disliked kits, and had never shown any interest in hers.
Another thought was pushing its way to the surface. I'm a medicine cat! I can't have kits! Troubled by this, she started to think about what she would say to her Clan. I'll have to give the kit to Yellowfang, she thought reluctantly. She had never liked Yellowfang very much, but the grumpy gray she-cat was the only one in the nursery at the moment. She would have to do.
Gray light began to filter through the hole in the tree, and Lizardstripe rose stiffly to her paws. All her muscles ached, and her head spun uncomfortably. She pushed her head out into the open, blinking as weak sunlight hit her eyes.
A whine from the kit stirred her into action. She picked up the small brown bundle by her scruff, and headed in the direction of the camp. Before entering, she set down her kit and gave herself a throrough wash, so no cat would guess what she had been through.
To her relief, the first cat she saw was Mudclaw. The dark brown tom looked up at the sound of his name, frowning when he saw the kit. 'Only one?'
'Keep it down!' hissed Lizardstripe, looking around discreetly. 'Yes, only one. The others died.'
If she had been expecting any sort of sympathy from her mate, she received none. A look of disappointment crossed his face briefly, then he turned away. 'Well? What are you going to do?'
'Give her to Yellowfang.' she muttered, turning in the direction of the nursery.
As Lizardstripe entered the nursery, she saw Yellowfang curled around her three kits, apparently asleep. Raggedpelt was there too, curled protectively around his mate, with his head resting on her flank. His head snapped up as the medicine cat entered, and he sat up, looking slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a position.
Yellowfang looked up more slowly. Her eyes fell on the kit. 'Whose kit is that?' she demanded, frowning.
'I don't know,' Lizardstripe forced out the words. 'I found her in the forest. Some rogues must have abandoned her.' She set the kit down at Yellowfang's forepaws. 'I . . . was hoping you'd look after her.'
Raggedpelt had remained silent through Lizardstripe's speech, but he leapt up now, looking annoyed. 'You can't ask her to do that! She has three kits already!
Yellowfang hissed, 'Don't talk about me like I'm not here!' Raggedpelt subsided, glaring at his mate.
Lizardstripe nudged the kit forward, with a hopeful look at Yellowfang. I must look like a complete idiot, she thought sourly.
'Scruffy little thing, isn't she?' Yellowfang sniffed at the tiny bundle of fur, which let out a pathetic whine. Most queens would have found this cute, but not Yellowfang. Lizardstripe meowed a quick agreement, so as not to sound too much like it mattered.
'I'll take her.' the gray-furred queen announced after an awkward pause. In spite of herself, Lizardstripe felt a pang of relief. I shouldn't care! she thought fiercely. I wasn't meant to have kits in the first place! But the fierce, protective feeling remained. In fact, it took all her willpower to nudge the kit forward so Yellowfang could scoop her up into the nest.
Raggedpelt gave his mate a look that rested between disapproving and downright angry. He whipped around, glared at Lizardstripe briefly, then stormed out of the nursery.
She turned to follow him after a few awkward seconds of staring at the kit. As she pushed her head out of the nursery entrance, a meow from Yellowfang called her back. 'Hey! Have you named the kit?'
Taken aback, Lizardstripe turned to look at the kit and Yellowfang. The queen was looking at her in a way that made Lizardstripe feel uncomfortable. Does she know something?
'Tanglekit.' she said, after more time had passed than was quite necessary in order to think of a name. 'She's Tanglekit.'
So, whatcha think? Please review. Oh, and Erin Hunter owns Warriors.