Chapter One
"Lilykit, cut it out! That hurts!"
Rainkit squirmed in protest, trying to free herself from her sister's rough pin on her back. Lilykit leaned down and hissed in Rainkit's ear.
"Why would I want to loose such a plump, juicy squirrel?"
Rainkit squawked as Lilykit dug her claws hard into her shoulders, knowing she had to do something fast if she didn't want Lilykit taking half her pelt. Suddenly remembering something she overheard Sootpaw complaining about after returning from a ThunderClan border skirmish yesterday, she stopped struggling, letting her sister's weight press her into the dirt, but kept her legs tense and ready. As Lilykit gave a cry of triumph, loosening her grip, Rainkit surged upward, sending Lilykit screeching through the air and landing on her hindquarters with a thud.
"Escaping, eh? You just wait until I get you again!" Lilykit leapt at Rainkit, eyes blazing gold. Rainkit tensed, preparing to be bowled over again, her shoulders still stinging from the previous tussle.
"Hold it right there!"
A tortoiseshell paw flashed out in front of Lilykit, knocking her out of the air.
"Hey!" Lilykit turned angrily, only to stop upon seeing Lilykit and Rainkit's foster mother, Squirrelfoot.
The two had never known their mother, Dawnheart since she had died giving birth, so it was Squirrelfoot who had taken them in and raised along with her own three kits, fed and washed them, and judging from the look on her face, Rainkit guessed, was about to give them a major scolding.
"What in the name of StarClan are you doing that requires so much noise?" Squirrelfoot meowed crossly. "You know the elders get especially cranky without sleep, and Whitewhisker says you two have been keeping him up all morning!" Rainkit shot a glance over at the elders den and saw the old tom glaring at them through the entrance.
"We're sorry, Squirrelfoot. We would never want to disturb the elders. It won't happen again." Lilykit mewed.
"Make sure of it. I-" Squirrelfoot stopped with a gasp, noticing blood on Lilykit's paws.
"How did you…?"
Squirrelfoot's gaze traveled over to Rainkit and her green eyes widened.
"Rainkit, your shoulders!"
Rainkit stared in surprise at the bleeding scratches on her shoulders, not even realizing until then that she was hurt.
Squirrelfoot rounded on Lilykit.
"How did this happen?" she hissed. Lilykit's eyes grew as round and large as the moon.
"I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I was just trying to practice my warrior skills, but I ended up hurting my own sister! I'm such a disaster!"
With that, Lilykit threw herself dramatically on the ground with a sob, covering her head with shaking paws, apparently devastated. However, Rainkit knew Lilykit and wasn't fooled. Squirrelfoot wasn't so keen. Her eyes softened.
"There, there, Lilykit," she murmured comfortingly, licking Lilykit's head. "I'm sure you didn't mean any harm. Just try to be more careful next time."
"I will" Lilykit sniffled, bowing her head. Squirrelfoot turned to Rainkit.
"Now, you go right to Sweetflower and get those scratches treated. After that you should both probably take a nap. I think you have had enough play time."
Both of the kits nodded, and Squirrelfoot gave them each a quick lick and padded back inside the nursery. As soon as the two were alone, Lilykit gave Rainkit a hard shove.
"Why do you have to be so slow and pathetic? You always hurt yourself and get me in trouble!" she snarled. Rainkit bristled
"Oh, so this is my fault, now? Who clawed who?"
Lilykit puffed up her chest. "A real warrior is always practicing. Not that you would know that."
"Really? Why don't you be the squirrel this time and I'll show you who's a real warrior!" Rainkit snapped.
"Please" Lilykit scoffed. "I could beat you on one foot. The only reason you threw me like that was because you played dirty."
"Played dirty?" Rainkit echoed incredulously. "What do you mean by that?" Lilykit's eyes narrowed.
"Don't lie to me, Rainkit. You know what you did, tricking me into thinking you surrendered like that. It was a foxhearted move and you know it!"
Indignation surged through Rainkit. "It's called battle strategy, stupid. ThunderClan warriors use that move."
Lilykit smirked. "Of course! You're not a cheater, you're a second-rate coward who uses tricks, sneakiness, and enemy clan tactics to hide the fact that you're as clumsy and soft as a ThunderClan cat. You better go to live with them, then, since you're obviously just going to be an embarrassment to ShadowClan!"
With that, Lilykit spun around, smacking Rainkit in the face with her fluffy white tail as she stalked toward the nursery. Rainkit's pelt burned in anger.
"Go live with them yourself, dung face!" she yowled after Lilykit, but her sister simply twitched her tail, not even looking back as she vanished through the branches.
Fuming, Rainkit stormed off toward the medicine den, hissing as she stubbed her paw on a sharp stone.
Why did Lilykit have to be so mean?