"Hey, Tigerkit!"
A small head lifted itself off dark paws. The tabby kit glanced up at the other kit that had called his name. "Redkit?" He asked, surprised. "What is it?"
"Well…" Redkit looked around the empty nursery before continuing. "I was thinking that we should go out into the forest. Do you want to come?"
Tigerkit was surprised. Redkit had never been very friendly with him. They got into fights often and Redkit nearly always could win. He would goad Tigerkit into fighting, then run off to some other cat and tell them Tigerkit had started it. Now he was inviting him to break the rules with him. It was something only the boldest of kits did, and only with the company of siblings or good friends.
"Sure!" he said anyway. He had wanted to go into the forest forever, and here was an opportunity to go. He was not going to pass it up. Besides that, Tigerkit didn't want Redkit thinking he was a coward. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, and in the next was off to go through the small hole in the nursery wall. He glanced back and saw Redkit was following him, a disappointed expression on his muzzle.
"I didn't know that you knew the way out."
Tigerkit tried to act as though this was routine. Redkit's disappointment was no mystery to him. The tortoiseshell tomkit would have loved the opportunity to brag that he knew the way to leave—and rub it in that Tigerkit didn't. Tigerkit padded ahead confidently. Redkit followed a tail-length behind. They were shortly on the other side of the bramble wall. Tigerkit forgot for a moment that he wanted to act cool about this. He let out an audible gasp. He hastily turned it into a cough. Redkit looked at him quizzically, then continued into the trees. Tigerkit took in all the rich tree scents as he walked through the forest, trailing a little behind his Clanmate. They wandered a little, and neither spoke. It was not long before Tigerkit could distinguish scents from one another. He could not identify them, but he could guess the ones that were prey. They reminded him of the fresh-kill pile at camp, and made his mouth water. He heard sounds too. So many sounds. He had heard similar ones around camp, but the bramble walls and loud talk must have muffled them.
Tigerkit heard a quiet scrabbling sound. He broke away from Redkit to investigate it, and tried to be as quiet as he could. He could feel Redkit's gaze boring into him. Tigerkit was soon in a clearing. In the center, its tiny paws clutching a nut, was a squirrel. Tigerkit knew it from those he had seen in camp. He began to stalk it, instinct taking over him. He got close to it before it sensed him, and then it ran away as fast as its little paws could carry it. And it was fast! Tigerkit could barely keep up. Finally, he managed to hold on to the leg. The squirrel screeched and twisted around to face his attacker. Tigerkit spat it out, and expected it to keep up the flight. The odd creature just hobbled away. Tigerkit pounced on it with a triumphant squeal. The prey was his! He killed it, and lifted it up triumphantly. The happiness faded from his eyes. He had no idea where he was. The chase of the squirrel had taken him farther than he'd realized, and the trees here all looked the same to him. Redkit was nowhere to be seen.
Tigerkit wondered how far he was from the camp. He couldn't see the bramble wall that was his home. He didn't know how far he'd run. For a moment fear pricked at Tigerkit. He pushed it away. Warriors weren't scared of anything! Tigerkit drew himself up tall, reminding himself that he was going to be the greatest warrior in ThunderClan.
So, how would the greatest warrior in ThunderClan handle this situation, Tigerkit wondered. The answer came to Tigerkit quickly. He'd follow his own scent trail. Tigerkit nosed around in the bracken, till he found the path that smelled strongly of him. He picked up his squirrel and followed it. Every so often he would but down the squirrel and check he was still on the right path. It wasn't long before he heard voices. They were calling his name, he realized.
"I'm here!" Tigerkit called back.
In a few moments, his Clanmates had reached him. His mother, Speckletail, was there, with Moonflower.
"Tigerkit, you're all right! I was so worried. When Redkit came to me and said that you weren't in the nursery anymore, I thought maybe a fox had gotten you, or something." Speckletail was talking very quickly, licking Tigerkit all over.
"I'm fine. Look, I caught a squirrel."
"Tigerkit, never do that again. You can't just leave camp whenever you want. You'll be an apprentice in a moon. Can't you wait just a moon?"
"Did you hear me? I caught something!"
Moonflower stepped up next to Speckletail. "Your mother's right. You worried the whole Clan, and Sunstar had to put warriors on patrol just to look for you. If Bluepaw or Snowpaw had done something like that, I'd have their tails."
"We're going back to camp." Speckletail said, picking Tigerkit up by his scruff.
"Hey! I can walk myself! Put me down! What about my squirrel?"
"I'll get the squirrel." Moonflower said.
Tigerkit was carried into camp, squirming in his mother's jaws. Redkit and Spottedkit ran up to him as soon as he was put down.
"Oh, Tigerkit! Are you okay?" Spottedkit asked, concerned. "Should I get Featherwhisker?"
"I'm fine. I caught a squirrel."
"Really?" Redkit asked jealously.
"Stop bragging, Tigerkit. It's time we went to Sunstar, to see what your punishment should be." Speckletail beckoned to Tigerkit with her tail. He followed her energetically to Sunstar's den beneath the Highrock. He'd never been in that den before. He wondered if what Redkit said about Sunstar having a nest make of lichen that shone like moonlight was true.
"Sunstar? It's Speckletail. We've found Tigerkit. He went off by himself into the forest."
"Come in, both of you."
Tigerkit pushed his way into the den, eager to see inside. He was disappointed. Sunstar's nest didn't glow. It looked a lot like Tigerkit's own nest in the nursery. His face fell. Redkit was a liar.
"I'm glad we found you." Sunstar said.
"I wasn't in danger." Tigerkit grumbled. "Everyone's acting like I would have died, but I wasn't. I even caught a squirrel."
"And what if you had met a fox or a badger? Or if you had strayed over a border?"
"But I didn't." Tigerkit wasn't sure why everyone was making such a big deal out of his adventure.
"That doesn't matter." Sunstar said, rising to his paws. "You must learn to respect the warrior code if you are to become an apprentice and you must learn to respect your Clan. Your actions today show that you have yet to learn respect for either of those things. Tigerkit, I'm afraid I have no choice but to say that you must stay in the nursery an extra moon before you become an apprentice."
"What? That's not fair!" Tigerkit wailed. "It was Redkit's dumb idea in the first place."
"Redkit was the one who told us you left camp."
"He left, too. He must have doubled back to camp while I was chasing the squirrel. He probably only suggested it in the first place to try to get me in trouble."
"Tigerkit!" Speckletail said. "I'm ashamed of you. Haven't I taught you not to tell lies about other cats?"
"I'm not lying."
Speckletail shook her head. "I think you've bothered Sunstar enough with your tales. Come now." Speckletail led Tigerkit out of the den. Silently, Tigerkit fumed at all of them. It was so unfair. His father would understand. Thistleclaw would appreciate that Tigerkit had been adventurous, and had hunted well. Thistleclaw would understand that he'd shown the skills of a good warrior, not a bad one like the others were insisting.