Yellow eyes opened, wide and thoughtful as they scanned the surroundings. A high-pitched mew emitted from a small kitten's mouth, and a tail immediately stroked her bare black skin. A pale orange pelt curled around the kit, the long fur warm against the small naked body.
"Hush, my sweet," the voice was soft and lush, like newly sprouting clover in Newleaf. "You're alright. Just a chill from the breeze, I assure you."
"Yes, Mama..." the little youngster blinked. "May I have milk?" She inquired, and the ginger she-cat nodded, scooting the kit closer to suckle from a full teat. The kit, dark gray and black like a stormy morning, closed her eyes as she fed. At the sound of sucking and the scent of sweet milk, two more kittens awoke. They clambered over their littermate, their fluffy pelts leaving a tickling feeling against the bare, lanky kit.
"Move over, Batkit!" Demanded a male's voice. A sunset-colored tom-kit pressed the unaware kit away from their mother's belly. Batkit squealed in protest, surprised by the sudden cease of the flowing of warm milk down her throat. She quickly gathered a different spot at a new nipple, latching on and feeding once more. Batkit glanced at her littermates, who looked so different than she.
The litter was about one and a half moons old, very young. After their bellies had been filled, the kittens gathered around their mother. The pale orange queen purred, her green eyes sparkling with love. The tom-kit who looked like his mother, though he had amber eyes, gazed past Batkit to look at a dark brown she-cat with an orange chest.
"Robinkit," he mewed. "Wanna go listen to stories from the elders?"
"Now, Firekit," the queen chided, chuckling softly. "Shouldn't you discuss things like that with your mother before making plans?"
Robinkit nodded. "Yes, Orchidflame. May we?"
The fiery colored mother's whiskers twitched in amusement. "You may," she replied. "Take Batkit with you."
Firekit let out a complaint. "Mama, we don't want to bring her. She's annoying and ugly!"
"Hey!" Batkit made a sour face. "I am not!"
"Are, too!"
"Am not!"
"Are-" Firekit was cut off by a sharp scold.
"That is no way to treat your sibling! She is not pestering anybody, and she is most certainly not ugly! She is beautiful. Isn't that right, Batkit?" Orchidflame's chest swelled as she defended the hairless kitten. Batkit purred, nuzzling her mother.
"Thanks, Mama," she expressed her gratitude. Orchidflame dipped her head and flicked her tail.
"Now, go on. Listen to stories. Maybe Fallendusk will tell you about WindClan's survival around the time of Brokenstar. She remembers many stories that were passed down many generations ago."
Batkit trailed after her brother and sister, but as soon as they were out of earshot, they both whipped around.
"You can stay out here!" Robinkit snorted. "We don't like you. I cannot believe we got stuck with you! How could you possibly be our littermate?"
Firekit laughed in agreement. "Yeah. You look nothing like us! You have no fur, and you gotta stay inside the den most of the time 'cause you burn easy. Your eyes look like bug eyes, and your ears are too big for your head! That's why Mama named you Batkit; 'cause your ears are enormous and you are wrinkled like one."
Batkit began to sniffle while the two bullies snickered.
"No! That's not true! She named me Batkit because I have ears that will be able to hear everything! And because I am as dark as the nights that the winged creatures fly among! She told me so," Batkit retorted, the skin above her eyes furrowing.
"She only said that to make you feel better 'bout yourself. I don't see why, though." Robinkit tittered, hatred gleaming in her green eyes.
Batkit couldn't take the embarrassment anymore. She made a dash for the exit of camp, with was a slight dimple in the grassy hills. She ran as fast as her thin legs and tiny paws could carry her, before collapsing, out of breath. She begin to grow uncomfortable under the rising sun, the heat too much for her uncovered skin. She desperately searched for a shady spot, but there seemed to be no shrubbery or trees among the rolling hills. She had strayed too far from her home, and she was too young to have learned the territory.
"Help!" She wailed, but nobody was around to hear her. Her skin burned under the heat of the sun, and it grew irritated and painful. She withheld a cry of searing pain. Suddenly, the breeze that had wafted through the air during the night before picked up, and it seemed to guide her. She followed the current of the wind, and a surge of relief washed through her.
"Mama!" She cried as she hustled into camp. The orange queen was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a smoked tortoiseshell tom approached her, his expression stern.
"Batkit, your mother was worried sick! You were gone so long. Oh dear..." the cat looked her over, seeing a faint redness flushed into her skin.
"Let me heal you," he led her to the medicine den. He had her sit patiently while he brought out a long leaf that had a rubbery covering and some sort of serrated edge to it.
"Aloe," he explained. "I always go to TwolegPlace and pick some up, because I know it can come in use. Priscilla is kind and helps me gather it."
"Thank you, Dewdapple," Batkit mewed as he sliced the plant open, lathering her skin in the gel. It was cooling and soothing.
"Who's Priscilla, by the way?" The young she-kit added.
"Oh, she's a kind kittypet who is very helpful. She's hairless as well, but my, is she pretty. Not that I... I was just trying to offer some comfort. I know you get self conscious about the way you look," his voice was anxious as he rambled on.
"Anyways," he changed the subject. "Why don't you just rest in the shade of your den. It's a good thing that we dug out old burrows. They offer shelter from heat and coldness alike."
Batkit did so, padding to the nursery and laying down in wait for her mother.