Mistshade was sharing a squirrel with Tawnyclaw, and Reedkit was biting in his first prey ever. He'd resisted prey for moons, but when he saw Creampaw and Honeypaw eating prey, caught by themselves, he just had to.
Exactly twelve days after Creampaw and Honeypaw's apprentice ceremony, Stormkit was born to Lightmist, and soon there was Dewkit. Mistykit and Rainingkit were born a week later, to Snowheart, and Reedkit felt bored by their childish games.
"Ooh!" shouted Rainingkit, her dark blue eyes gleaming with interest. "Roll it to me!"
Dewkit tossed the ball, and Rainingkit leaped, catching the moss ball in her soft paws.
"Wow!" Her sister awed. Mistykit snatched the ball from her, and threw it to Reedkit.
"Aw!" Rainingkit muttered, dismay clear in her eyes.
Without saying anything, Reedkit rolled the moss ball back.
"Are you playing with us?" Mistykit asked, eyes glowing.
Rainingkit snorted. "You must be in love with him," she teased. She fluffed out her gray pelt as Mistykit pelted the moss ball at her.
Creampaw was padding by, and her chin was raised up high in the air haughtily. "Are you playing moss ball," she asked, in a peculiar accent.
"Say -ball?" corrected Dewkit.
Rainingkit rolled her eyes.
Creampaw shrugged. "Whatever," she mewed carelessly. "Anyway, Reedkit, are you enjoying the shrew?" She was still enjoying the weird accent.
"No," muttered Reedkit.
The taste of shrew was disgusting; it tasted of fur.
"It tastes of fur."
"It has fur, fish-brain. Of course it tastes of fur." Creampaw sniffed. "Today Stormsky, Honeypaw, Acornsquirrel, and I went on a patrol together. Fascinating how it was put that way, isn't it? Tansyflight was very kind."
"Drop the strange thing, Creampaw," meowed Oakpaw, looking amused.
Creampaw whirled around, her ears flattening. "Oh. It's you." Her ears stood up again, but her creamy fur was still bristling slightly.
"Silverstar said she'd personally organize patrols if you talked too much with Honeypaw."
Creampaw sniffed. "Mind your own business," she snapped.
Oakpaw shrugged, and turned away.
Mistykit sighed. "Creampaw, so what happened?"
"We met an enemy patrol. ShadowClan. This apprentice named Mousepaw and Sunpaw growled at each other, and Ratpaw had an ear torn. Already! Sunpaw said she heard from Mousepaw that Ratpaw's ear was from cuffs from his mentor.
"His mentor wasn't that bad, I think," continued Creampaw. "Ratpaw was just so a fish-brain."
"Yippee," interrupted a golden tabby she-cat sharply.
"Sunpaw!" exclaimed Creampaw, wincing.
"Where's Sparrowpaw, anyway?" Sunpaw replied. "Mistshade's looking for him. He had his assessment today, after all."
"And you?" chirped Dewkit.
Sunpaw stared sharply at him. "No."
Dewkit shrank back. "Okay."
"I'm going to train." Sunpaw whirled around.
Her golden pelt shone in the sunlight.
"What happened with her?" whispered Dewkit to Rainingkit.
"Maybe she was too bad at training only Sparrowpaw had the assessment," whispered Rainingkit, purring amusement. The kits always teased Sunpaw; she was a nasty little apprentice who was so fun to tease. She never knew the kits giggled about her behind her back.
Rainingkit raised her head. "When are you going to be apprenticed, Reedkit?" she mewed.
Stormkit rolled his eyes. "Like, duh! Three days later."
Rainingkit's eyes grew large. "Wow!"
Mistykit sighed. "Oh, wow," she sighed.
Lynxpaw peeked in. "Hi, kits!" she meowed. "I'm having my warrior ceremony tomorrow." Her eyes gleamed with triumph. "I am so, so excited." She purred. "Isn't it so nice Eaglepaw postponed his ceremony for me?"
Rainingkit rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she muttered. "Lynxpaw, go away."
Lynxpaw purred. It seemed nothing would disturb her today. "Sure, Rainingkit. But tomorrow, you'll no longer be calling me 'Lynxpaw'."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yes!"
Lynxpaw was having her ceremony tomorrow? Reedkit didn't even remember when Lynxpaw and Eaglepaw were new apprentices. He probably wasn't born then.
Yawning, and then stretching, he padded out of the nursery.
"Where're you going?" meowed Mistykit quickly.
Ignoring her calls, Reedkit walked stubbornly away. He wanted to see where Mistshade was.
"Mistshade?" he called out anxiously.
Nobody answered. He rolled his tiny little neck sideways to see if he could spot a silver pelt, or maybe, a tawny one.
Instead, a gray and white pelt appeared out of the blue.
"Reedkit?" Ottersnow asked.
Reedkit flinched. "Ah! Ottersnow?"
"Who're you looking for?"
"Mistshade."
Ottersnow hesitated. "She's over there," she meowed slowly, flicking her tail. "But… she probably won't pay attention to you."
"Why not?"
Ottersnow sighed. "She just won't," she murmured. "Now go. She's busy."
Reedkit scowled. Pretending to pad back to the nursery, he slipped into the long, growing ferns and waited until Ottersnow went back to the medicine den.
He waited a few more seconds, and dove to the next bush, and so on.
But when Reedkit reached the place where Ottersnow had pointed, there was only a gray she-cat there.
"Who are you?"
The she-cat lifted her head. "You're Reedkit, yes? Mistshade's?" A flash of regret seemed to flicker in her dark blue eyes.
"Yeah."
"I'm Slatefoot," the she-cat mewed. "What are you doing out of the nursery?"
"I'm looking for Mistshade. Ottersnow said she was here."
Slatefoot cocked her head. "No, she's not. She's on patrol."
"But…" Reedkit stared at Slatefoot. But Mistshade should be in the nursery! She shouldn't be on patrol already!
Slatefoot winced. "I'm sure she thought you could manage on your own," she suggested kindly.
Reedkit didn't reply. iShe went away? She went and left me!/i
Stumbling, he retreated back to the nursery, feeling rather quite dazed.
Mistykit and Rainingkit scampered next to him, excited to know what happened. "What happened?" Mistykit chirped. Rainingkit stared at him with glowing blue eyes.
"I wanted to find Ottersnow," Reedkit lied, feeling hot under his pelt.
Mistykit nodded. "What did she say?"
"Oh. Just, I wanted to see where Larchpaw was?"
"Why Larchpaw?" asked Dewkit.
Reedkit shrugged. "I mean, he's my age. So… I wondered if he knew where Sunpaw was?"
"Why Sunpaw?" asked Rainingkit.
"Because she's my sister, like it or not."
"Why not Sparrowpaw?" asked Mistykit crossly.
"Oh, shut up, Mistykit," scolded Rainingkit. "You're taking it too far."
"Taking what too far?" Reedkit and Stormkit mewed.
Rainingkit stood in front of her sister defensively. "Nothing," she snapped. "Why do you care what Mistykit thinks?"
Stormkit shrugged. "Okay, then. If you've got anything to say… you know where to come." He flicked his dark gray tail.
Dewkit stared at his friend. "That was cool," he muttered.
Rainingkit sighed. "I'm a hopeless romantic," she mewed.
"What does that mean?" The light gray tomkit wondered.
"It means that I love it when cats say these romantic stuff. Unfortunately, Stormkit and Mistykit's story is a sad ending." Sighing, she gazed at the dark gray figure in the best.
The dark cream kit was cocking her head. "What…?" Mistykit mewed. "I don't know what you're saying.
Rainingkit sighed. "You're so lucky you get to experience these things," she awed.
Dewkit hesitated. "Uh, if you think of anything to say, you can tell me."
The pale gray she-kit blinked at the tom for a second. Then a loud purr filled the whole nursery. "Oh, you're so funny! Sure, thanks, Dewkit."
The nursery wasn't always boring.
Reedkit watched Dewkit stare after Rainingkit, looking very embarrassed.
Lynxfoot purred at Reedkit. "Hi, Reedkit," she mewed. "Don't worry, you'll be a 'paw soon."
"Thanks," meowed Reedkit grudgingly.
Mistykit, Rainingkit, Stormkit, and Dewkit were playing moss ball again, and Reedkit was watching the sky rain.
"It's raining," remarked Reedkit.
"Yes," agreed Lynxfoot. "It was a real shame. I wished everything to be perfect on my warrior ceremony day. But you can't have everything, and I should be happy I got my name."
"Come on, Lynxfoot," mewed Eagleshade. "We'd better tell Mapleflight we passed, or she'll wonder why we didn't tell her."
Reedkit just watched silently and the two, newly named warriors padded to the elders' den.
He wondered how Creampaw and Honeypaw's training was going. The last time he had seen Stormsky and Acornsquirrel, they seemed pretty happy.
"Where's Mistshade?" asked Stormkit's voice. "I haven't seen her in ages!"
Rainingkit sat up. "You're right," she mewed.
"Hey, Reedkit!" called Mistykit eagerly. "Where's Mistshade?"
"I don't know," mumbled Reedkit. Inwardly, he thought Mistshade had gone on patrol, bored of nursery life.
Why couldn't she just stay put for just six moons? Was that too much to ask for?
He turned his head to see Lightmist, Snowheart, and Splashfrost. They would probably stay in the nursery for their kits.
Envy pricked his heart. Why did he have to have Mistshade as his mother, and not someone else?
"Reedkit, come and play if you're going to be a grouch all day!" yelled Rainingkit.
Slowly, he turned to have a moss ball whack his face. "Ow!"
He blinked his shock away, and there were four, small, innocent kits, grinning and purring at him.
Nursery life really wasn't that bad.