The kits tumbled around, trying to get comfortable. A ragged tom with scars and a graying muzzle said, "Settle down, and let me tell you about Shadowpaw. If any of you can guess the moral, which means the meaning, of the story, then I'll tell Vaststar to give the winner a little more to eat." RidgeClan was a harsh clan, captured cats learned how to serve the perfect amount of food, which wasn't enough, usually. Fathers and brothers would hunt a little more to get a little extra bite for the family. The kits needed more food, so even elders hunted. Elders were as flexible as if they were still young. The elder, named Shadowfur, after his father, started the story.
"A long time ago, a cat named Shadowpaw-"
"Was that you?" A brown tabby squeaked, a little lower than most kits, but that was because her mother abused her. She still miraculously stayed bubbly.
"No, Rosekit, it was my father." Shadowfur sighed as he thought of how his father died. (AN: I will be doing a story about RidgeClan after I finish another story.
"Back to the story, Shadowpaw had a close friend Featherpaw. He liked her, so he was joking with her about climbing a tall tree then jumping down."
"What? That's insane!" Rosekit mewed, and all the the other kits started talking to eachother.
"Yes, it was. Settle down." Shadowfur said, and since the kits were used to being smacked in those situations, they whimpered, squeezing their eyes shut and expected the blow. It never came.
"Kits, it's alright. Now onto the story.
Shadowpaw had climbed the tree, and then, Featherpaw said not to do it. She said, "If hedgehogs fly, you would live." Shadowpaw was fearless, brave. He then-"
All the kits huddled together, ready for what was coming.
"Jumped."
The kits didn't do anything- they just stared in shock. They knew what death was like, disobedient cats and starving cats died almost every three days. They started to depart, but the elder called them back.
"Wait! The story's not over with!" All the kits knew another elder's trick- she put blood and scarier details into her stories and she told them to come back. The kits doubted he would do different, so they left. All but a gray tom with gray eyes and a white chest and collar-like shape on his neck. He mewed, "Go on."
The elder smiled. "Okay. Featherpaw was worried. All she thought was about what she said. "If hedgehogs fly, you would live." She could have stopped him. So she went to the tree, and when she got to the top, the clan yelled for her to come down. She said she was dizzy and tired, and in an attempt to kill herself, she fell. Shadowpaw survived the fall, and Featherpaw did as well. They both broke two of their limbs, Shadowpaw's front limbs by trying to cushion his fall, and Featherpaw's back limbs so she could feel a tiny bit of pain- what she didn't know is if she survived it would hurt more than ever. The medicine cat had to cut off the skin on both of their damaged limbs around the damaged spot and then remove the bones... Cloudkit, are you listening?" Shadowfur paused when he saw the remaining kit staring off.
"Ew!" Cloudkit said, turning back. "I'm just... uh, gonna leave now." He said, slinking off. With the elder all alone, the other elders outside discussing battle plans with the leader, he finished his story whispering to himself.
"And then when they recovered a few moons later, they sat under the stars in ForestClan territory and Featherfox said to Shadowclaw, "I guess hedgehogs didn't fly, but you survived." Then, a hedgehog with wings, which was actually a hawk trying to get it off him, took off into the sky."
The elder chuckled, and thought of the next story, which was probably best for when they were warriors.