Shame is six clawed
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Chapter 9: Not an apprentice
Rushkits POV
"Berrypaw! Mousepaw! Hazelpaw" the clan cheered its three new apprentices, but not every cat was celebrating. Rushkit sat in the entrance to the nursery watching his adopted littermates ceremony from the shadows and angrily digging his claws into the soft moss.
He should have been up there with them! He was ready to be an apprentice! Just because Leafpool said he still need rest to recover from the shock of falling into the river and nearly drowning didn't mean he couldn't be an apprentice.
Daisy came over to him after she congratulated her kits, the joy sparkling in her eyes made Rushkit even angrier. Why couldn't she tell Firestar he was fine? He was better! He didn't need to sit in the nursery all day like a little kit.
Daisy put her tail on his shoulder, though she knew practically nothing about fighting and hunting she was a good mother and she knew when one of the kits in the nursery was upset. He supposed it helped that she had been his adopted mother for three moons.
"I understand how hard it is that you have to wait a bit to become an apprentice Rushkit but…" Rushkit spun to face the light brown she-cat he cut her off before she could try and comfort him.
"No! You don't understand! Being a warrior is the most important thing in the world to me! But you wouldn't know because you're not a warrior!" Not wanting to stay and have to listen to the clan talking about the new apprentices Rushkit turned and ran out of camp stumbling a bit along the way.
Daisy's POV
A wave of hurt washed over me at Rushkits words as he ran out of camp, I knew he was just upset but his words echoed the comments made by the senior warriors and that stung.
Still when a kit was upset the thing they needed most was their mother so Daisy allowed herself to acknowledge the hurt and replace it with determination and love as she headed off to find her adopted son.
When she was out of sight of camp she stopped, she had no idea where Rushkit would go, then a memory of Firestar telling her about how he had found Rushkit by the river after he had run off the day he nearly drowned flashed in her mind. She knew where Rushkit was.
She spotted Rushkit by the river's edge he looked so sad she immediantly wanted to go over and comfort him but something stopped her. The sight of the pale outline of a black tom with his tail on Rushkits shoulder, Daisy slowly backed up and went back to camp this was something she thought Rushkit wouldn't want her to see.
Rushkits POV
I was sitting by the river quietly seething my claws leaving deep gouges in the soft earth on the rivers bank, when a strange but familiar scent washed over me and I felt some cat's tail on my shoulder.
I looked over and saw the outline of a black tom with ice blue eyes just like Nights, except his were kind of soft unlike Nights which were always hard. A purr rumbled through the tom that I realised must be from Starclan.
"You won't remember me Rushkit, I died before you were born. My name is Flint and I am your father" I shrunk away trying to hide my paw. Mother said father hated cats with six toes. She said he would have been disgraced by me.
Flint sighed and sat beside me he licked my ear comfortingly and I slowly relaxed perhaps she had been wrong, maybe she was the only one who was disgraced by me.
" I know what you must think from what Grace always told you. I used to hate cats with more than six toes but I don't anymore. You are my son Rushkit and I love you no matter how many toes you have. Your mother loves you too and the way she treated you was wrong" Flints eyes hardened now he looked more like Night.
" I will make sure that she realizes that" he promised he faded until only his scent remained and I decided I better go back to camp and find Daisy. I felt bad about what I said and I wanted to apologize. It wouldn't hurt to spend another moon in the nursery.