Hey, it's a new chapter! :D I'd like to thank munchkineater and Featherpool16 for reviewing. :) Now, the chapter.


Chapter Three: A Little Blottchy

'There you go,' meowed Lizardstripe approvingly, watching Maplekit gulp down the herbs. 'You'll be fine in at least a moon if you rest.'

Brokenkit had escorted his sister to the medicine den when she had sneezed one too many times in his face. He was here now, watching his sister eat her herbs. 'It's greencough, isn't it?' he mewled, with morbid curiosity.

'Of course not, silly kit. It's a mild case of whitecough and she'll be all better before the next full moon.'

Brokenkit looked slightly crestfallen. 'But whitecough can turn into greencough, can't it?' Maplekit let out a whimper.

Lizardstripe looked hard at him. 'Don't tempt fate.' She turned to Maplekit. 'And stop whining. Your brother's a mouse-brain and you know it.'

Maplekit giggled. 'Yeah, he is.'

Just then, Yellowfang popped her head in. 'You haven't seen Sootkit and Tanglekit anywhere, have you?' Her voice was taut with annoyance, and her fur was ruffled even more than usual.

Lizardstripe held back a grin. 'Well, by asking the way you did, you're implying that you hope I haven't seen them—or maybe that you don't want them to be found, or . . .'

'Lizardstripe.'

'. . . No, I haven't seen them since you got them in trouble for putting dirt in Nightpaw's nest.'

Lately, the two kits had developed a habit of playing pranks on the other kits and apprentices, though they still fought regularly. To Lizardstripe, it looked as though their friendship was strictly business.

'I saw them!' Maplekit piped up. 'They snuck out of camp when I was coming here. They tried to get Brokenkit to come with them, but they didn't ask me. How come no one ever asks me to play with them, Yellowfang?'

'Because you're sensible,' replied Yellowfang shortly. She twitched her ears at Lizardstripe. 'We're looking for them.'

'Hang on . . . why me?'

Yellowfang made no reply. She sniffed the air as they left the camp. 'They went this way.' she announced, and set off through the scrubby undergrowth.

'Can't imagine how they managed to cooperate this far,' muttered Lizardstripe as they entered the pine forest. Yellowfang grunted in agreement, but just then there was a squeal up ahead of them. Lizardstripe looked up to see Sootkit pelting towards them as fast as her small paws could carry her. She barreled into Yellowfang, and lay on the ground, panting.

'Hey, take it easy,' meowed Yellowfang. 'What's wrong now?'

Sootkit gulped a mouthful of air, then mewed, 'Tanglekit's . . . in a tree . . . and there's a . . .' She took another exaggerated gasp.

'Drama queen,' mewed Yellowfang peevishly. 'Come on. I suppose we must find your friend.' She resumed walking.

'She isn't my friend!' protested Sootkit. 'And you have to run! There's a . . .'

A pathetic squeal sounded up ahead. 'Heeeelp! I'm stuuuuuck!'

Yellowfang rolled her eyes skyward and started to run, with Lizardstripe and Sootkit on her heels. Soon they came to a particularly tall tree. Looking up, Lizardstripe saw a small brown shape dangling from a high branch. 'Tanglekit!' she called out, then felt slightly embarrassed at her outburst.

Tanglekit glanced down at them. 'Oh, you're here!' she mewed happily.

'Tanglekit!' roared Yellowfang. 'What are you doing up there. Get your tail down here this instant!'

'Can't,' came the perfectly cheerful mew. 'I'm stuck.'

Lizardstripe stepped forward and put a paw on the tree trunk. 'Oh, come on,' she meowed in what she guessed was a kind tone. 'How did you get up there in the first place?'

'Well . . . um . . .'

Some instinct made Lizardstripe turn around and scan the undergrowth. What she saw nearly made her jump out of her pelt.

'I was hiding from the fox.' replied Tanglekit after some consideration. Yellowfang gave a sigh of annoyance. 'What fox?'

'Um . . . Yellowfang?'

'Oh. That fox.'


'This has to stop.' growled Cedarstar, looking pointedly at the mud-spattered kits. Sootkit looked suitably penitent, but Tanglekit was slumping on her paws, her eyes darting around as if she was looking for an escape route. Raggedpelt stood behind his daughter, looking embarrassed and angry to have to defend her. Yellowfang was laid up in the medicine den with wounds that would keep her from warrior duties for at least a moon.

Lizardstripe watched the kits, trying to ignore the pain from a gash in her side. As much as she was angry with them, she was relieved that neither of them had taken any serious injuries. On Yellowfang's order, Sootkit had raced back to camp to get help. But even with three other warriors to help, the fox had not been driven off without leaving them something to remember it by.

'Your little pranks have annoyed your Clanmates for long enough now, but this is beyond a joke,' the leader continued, pacing back and forth in front of the kits. 'Thanks to you two, ShadowClan's only medicine cat and a perfectly good warrior have been injured. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?'

'It wasn't a prank!' blurted Sootkit. 'How were we supposed to know about the fox?'

This earned her a slap over the ear from Raggedpelt's tail. 'Maybe you could have stayed in camp in the first place?' the deputy meowed icily.

'I'm sorry,' murmured Sootkit, looking crushed. Tanglekit echoed her with much less feeling.

'So you should be,' meowed Cedarstar. 'As you have caused so much trouble, your apprenticeships will be delayed by one moon.'

'What?' wailed the kits, almost at the same moment.

Cedarstar glared at them. 'You will also be as helpful as you can around the camp. I'm sure Lizardstripe has plenty of chores for you to do.'

Lizardstripe sighed inwardly. Not again! Then she realized that Cedarstar was looking at her expectantly, so she pulled on a stern face and nodded in agreement.

'That's settled, then.' said Cedarstar. He turned to leave, and Raggedpelt followed him, giving Sootkit's ear a parting flick with his tail. Tanglekit looked resentful for a heartbeat, then the expression left her face and she turned to Lizardstripe. 'I suppose you should find us something to do, then.'

Lizardstripe did not miss the look that passed between Sootkit and Tanglekit. But, to her eternal vexation, she did not pay any attention to it.


'Alright, who put a rotten mouse in my dock leaves?' yowled Lizardstripe. A giggle behind her made the medicine cat whirl around. Of course, the owner of the giggle was Tanglekit. Sootkit just stared at her with wide amber eyes.

'I've had it with you kits!' snapped Lizardstripe, acutely aware that Tanglekit had swapped to a pleading expression that said, 'You wouldn't really get me in trouble, would you?' She ignored the stare and went on. 'Cedarstar ordered you to help me, not pull pranks on me!'

Sootkit and Tanglekit looked at their paws, unwilling to meet her eyes.

Lizardstripe let out a snort of anger and turned away from them. This wasn't the first time they had done stupid things like this. It had been three days since the kits' punishment had started. They had been relatively good the first day, but yesterday she had found Tanglekit, Sootkit, and Brokenkit rolling in the moss store, crushing it so that most of it was useless. And the day before that, the two wayward kits had helped her gather catmint, then pretended to be intoxicated by the herb for the rest of the day.

'Listen,' she snarled. 'If you don't behave yourselves, I'm going to have to tell Cedarstar.'

Sootkit jumped forward. 'Please don't do that!' she said. 'You'll make him delay our apprenticeships even more!'

'That isn't my problem,' Lizardstripe replied coldly. 'Now, I'm going to the Moonstone tonight, and if I hear that you've behaved badly when I come back, I will tell Cedarstar.'

Both kits nodded vigorously. Lizardstripe flicked her tail at them. 'Now go away. I don't want to see either of you.'

As they left, Lizardstripe heard Tanglekit say to her companion, 'Don't worry if they punish us. Some cat told me once that you have to do what you want, even if you get punished.'

Sootkit's ears pricked up with interest. 'Who was that?'

'Oh, nobody.' Tanglekit shrugged. 'Let's go and find Brokenkit.'

Lizardstripe frowned. Where did Tanglekit pull that from? But her mind was already on other things as she left camp for the Moonstone. The kit was probably just making things up.


Hahaha, poor Lizardstripe. The punishments never work out, do they? XD One daggy medicine cat is no match for a pair of sharp-minded prankers. ^_^

Please review. Erin Hunter owns Warriors an' all that.