Silverkit raised her head, looking around. The world was so pretty! She had opened her eyes a moon ago, and she couldn't get over it. Everything looked so cool!
"Why can't I go out?" Silverkit mewed at her mother, Firestorm.
"You're not supposed to be able to walk that far…." She shook her head.
If Mother wouldn't pay attention, she'd just go! So Silverkit slipped out of the nursery, and into camp. Nobody noticed, for she was being very sneaky and things. Mother had said she wasn't supposed to do that either. She didn't understand why her brother and sister, Thunderkit and Ripplekit, couldn't even stand up for more than , like, a minute. Also, why can none of the cats speak with writing? She'd seen a twoleg do it, and thought it looked interesting. Why don't the cats do it, if we're supposed to be better than the twolegs! Silverkit explored around the river, and fished out a small minnow. Mother had said that she was not supposed to hunt, so she couldn't bring the fish back, and it was too small anyway. She plopped the fish in her mouth and chewed, thinking about the twoleg writing. She decided to work on it.
She dragged a piece of soft moss from out of some tree roots, and started etching symbols in. She had been working on this for a while. She had made a different symbol for every sound. She had recently finished the language a while ago, and, on another piece of moss, wrote
"We can be better."
It was pretty sloppy handiwork, but yet she was proud of it.
She brought the moss back to Mother, and showed her the symbols. She was just explaining the second symbol, one that meant the "ee" sound as in "sleep", when Mother shook her head violently, and stood up abruptly, throwing Thunderkit and Ripplekit to the ground, for they had been drinking milk. Mother left, and Silverkit was left thinking, Milk is disgusting! Why do the kits like it? I'm glad I can catch bugs and small fish so I can eat. Mother said I'm not supposed to do that either. What am I supposed to do? Lie on the ground and mewl helplessly? But then Thunderkit spoke.
"You! You took our mother! You made her go!" Silverkit had never heard Thunderkit put together a sentence before, unless it was "I want milk"
"You have spoken!" Silverkit squealed, but instantly knew it was the wrong thing to say. Thunderkit pounced on her, Claws unsheathed, and drawing blood. Silverkit flipped over, smushing Thunderkit on her back, and flipped over, pinning him down.
"Stop! Don't hurt him!" Ripplekit pounced at Silverkit, but only scratched a leg. Silverkit's claws were clearly sheathed.
"My claws are sheathed! He was hurting me!" She screeched, the whole camp could probably hear, because soon, Minnowpelt came dashing in.
"Where are you hurt?" She said examining her.
"It's fine." Silverkit mumbled.
"Well, you don't look fine. Come to my den." Minnowpelt padded out, and Silverkit followed, Thunderkit and Ripplekit glaring after her.
"It's not my fault.." Silverkit looked down, still walking out.
Silverkit was also glad that she could go to Minnowpelt's den, because, one, she could get away from her two glaring siblings, and, two, Minnowpelt was the only cat she knew that didn't think she was some sort of freak.
When they were in the den, Minnowpelt asked "What did you do this time?"
"How…?" Silverkit stared at Minnowpelt.
"Why else would they hurt you?"
"I showed Mother my writing. She didn't like it, and Thunderkit and Ripplekit got mad at me for 'taking' her. She hates me! She doesn't understand me like you! I don't even think we're related."
"I've heard something similar to that…" Minnowpelt stared off into space for a second, but quickly looked back at Silverkit, and went back to healing her wounds.
"You have? Who?" Silverkit stared back
"That is… no… it's nothing." Minnowpelt looked away. Silverkit knew she was lying, and knew that Minnowpelt knew that she knew, too.
"Tell me! I can know!" Silverkit tried to meet her eyes.
"No, I will, another time. Not now. What were you showing Firestorm?" Minnowpelt turned back to Silverkit.
"My writing, see. The Twolegs do it so can't we? Look this one means 'e' as in 'egg'" Silverkit pushed her moss towards Minnowpelt and was showing her the symbols.
After Minnowpelt had mastered seven of the symbols, night had fallen.
"I should get back to the nursery…" Silverkit murmured.
"Oh… yes, you should." Minnowpelt looked at Silverkit's writing. "Could I keep this?"
"Uh.. okay. I've already memorized it anyway." She looked out of the den, where dusk was falling, casting the camp into shadows. "Bye, then." And she padded out of the medicine den, and back into the shadowy nursery, where certain punishment awaited.
Silverkit waited as morning light flooded the nursery. She saw Mother… was she Mother? Minnowpelt hadn't said much, but Silverkit was doubting that Firestorm was her mother. Firestorm lifted her head, and saw Silverkit.
"You." She hissed. "You. You are coming with me. To Shellstar's den." She stalked out of the nursery, and leaped after Firestorm, trying to keep up.
They reach a crevice in a rock, covered by vines creeping down over the crack, shielding it from outside eyes. Firestorm walked through, and a cream cat with chestnut eyes and faded stripes lifted his head. Their leader.
"Ah, Firestorm. What is it you've come to complain about?" As Shellstar said this, Firestorm flashed an angry glare.
"Silverkit." Firestorm hissed with plain frustration. "She, she is not normal! She's a freak!"
"Calm down, Firestorm." Shellstar meowed simply.
"Calm down? Calm down!? How can I be calm when I'm raising a freak?!" The last words of Firestorm's lament were screeched out as loud as a Thunderpath full of monsters.
"Calm! Yes, calm. I mean calm, Firestorm. You must love Silverkit in some way. She's your child…" At this Shellstar looked at a piece of moss in the corner of the den. Was that… Silverkit's moss? Minnowpelt had it… had she given it to Shellstar? And why?
"Where did you get that…?" Silverkit squeaked.
"Minnowpelt. She said I might like it. So it is yours?" Shellstar turned his head from Firestorm's blazing face, towards Silverkit.
"Yes… Why- why is mother-" Silverkit paused.
Shellstar seemed to need to fill this momentary gap of Silverkit speaking, so he said, "Different? Unmotherly?"
"I am not unmotherly!" Firestorm screeched. The noise echoed across the den, maybe even into the camp.
"You may seem it to the kit." Shellstar turned towards Firestorm, the slightest tint of anger in the corner of his otherwise calm face. "May I speak to her alone?"
"Fine. Just tell me the punishment." Firestorm grumbled, and stormed out.
"Silverkit, you are special, different." Shellstar looked again at the moss.
"How?"
Shellstar shook his head. "I can't tell you just yet. When you are older, maybe."
"But I want to know now!" Did everyone think she was too young for everything?
"Be patient. I know you want to know everything about everything, but in time. You are not ready."
"Okay… When I'm an apprentice?" She'd be old enough then, for sure!
"Actually, you're becoming an apprentice tomorrow. Courtesy of me. Now get back to bed, and tell her your punishment is… No leaving the nursery until you're an apprentice." Shellstar winks, and then walks to the back of the den, towards his nest. Silverpaw scurries out, and bursts into the nursery, full of excitement. She quickly covers it up.
"Punishment?"
"I-I can't leave the nursery until I'm an apprentice."
"4 moons to go. You're only two moons old!" Firestorm smiled for the first time Silverkit had ever seen. "Now go to bed."
Silverkit smiles and curls into a ball, drifting to sleep.