Thank everyone so much for reviewing!
Songmistle: Those names sound so good! I will promise you that Beamkit and Flowerkit will be used eventually. As for Appleblossom, I'd really like to use that as a cat from a different Clan.
Bilbz: Thank you for your feedback! I'm trying to work on better grammar and everything. I really hope that you enjoy the rest of the story!
"Do you ever wonder what Sandkit was like?" Rownakit asked.
"Well, we can always ask Roseflower or Beamheart," Robinkit said. "They know the most about her."
"No, I mean her personality!" Rowankit meowed, exasperatedly.
"Well, I bet she wasn't as annoying as you!" Rowankit's sister stalked off, leaving Rowankit alone.
She was used to it, though. However much fun she could be, for some reason she had a knack for annoying cats. Sometimes she was too chipper. Or she was too grumpy. Or curious. There were about a thousand descriptions the other cats gave her, and none of them were pleasant.
The worst one was imperfect.
The defining aspect of LightClan was that they were all perfect. To be in LightClan, you had to be Elegant, Graceful, Pretty. Perfect. And Rowankit seemed to be the exact opposite of that.
Of course, no one was a complete lost cause. Along with learning all the regular warrior duties when you were apprenticed, you also had lessons to make sure you fitted it. Ways to make yourself look better. Practice with gracefulness. Even training on the right things to say.
Sometimes she felt so depressed that she thought it should've been her dead littermate, Sankit, to have a place in the Clan.. Other cats, like Sleetstone or Otterstream had said it aloud. At least, for the most part, her living sisters and brothers defended her.
"Hey!" Said her brother Leafkit, bouncing toward her. "Wanna play prey hunt?"
"Sure!" She responded happily. "Who else is playing?"
"Sunkit, Maplekit, and Lemonkit," he told her as she followed him to the nursery.
The nursery was large, like all the other dens in LightClan, because queens flourished. At least, that was what they said. Rowankit suspected it had been made bigger when her mother had kitted.
Inside the nursery, there was a clamor for attention between her littermates. "I want to be the hunter!" Lemonkit growled.
"No, since it was my idea I get to be the hunter," Maplekit responded, sticking his nose up.
"It wasn't even your idea!" Leafkit complained.
"Ok, ok!" Said Rowankit, jumping into the fray. "Leafkit is the hunter first. If you all want to be the hunter next time, you better be the last piece of prey caught!"
"I can do that," Maplekit bragged.
"Ugh," Sunkit groaned, rolling his eyes at their brother
The four other kits lined up in the front of the nursery, ready to dash our when Leafkit started counting. The tortoiseshell and white kit looked at them all for a moment, then spoke.
"Alright prey, I'll be giving you twenty seconds to hide before the best warrior in the Clan will come after you. I can't wait to catch you all- Mouse," he gestured to Sunkit, "Squirrel," he looked at Lemonkit, "Fish," he flicked his tail at Maplekit, "Rabbit," he finished by staring directly at Rowankit.
"Three, two, one, dash!" Quickly the four kits took off running all around different places in the camp. Having not thought through where she was going to hide, Rowankit looked around to see where her siblings were going. Sunkit had scampered into a large crowd of apprentices, Maplekit was pawing a large pile of leaves, Lemonkit was nowhere to be seen.
Rowankit panicked. Leafkit had just called out 15 and she hadn't even come up with a place. She quickly raced back behind the nursery and pressed up her back against the wall, hoping that Leafkit wouldn't think to look there.
"7!" Leafkit called out, and she gulped, holding her breath to stay quiet.
Each of them had prey nicknames for this game, mirroring the prey that they were most like. Sunkit always had clever hiding places but wasn't much of a runner, Lemonkit loved to climb into trees that only she could easily move around in as a squirrel, and Maplekit, instead of running, was more likely to dodge and swerve like a fish. Rowankit was always sprinting away so she got her name as rabbit. Leafkit himself liked jumping up high as he moved, so they called him bird.
"I'm coming to get you, prey!" He called. Rowankit forced herself to be still. The time passed agonizingly slow. How long had it been? A minute?
More time passed. By then she was sure that most of the others had been found. Maybe she would win! She never really liked being the hunter, but it was still a coveted role that the others would be jealous of.
It's completely quiet, she thought, but then realized that she heard soft pawsteps. Rowankit swiveled her head around and caught her brother in the act of sneaking up on her. He froze for a moment, surprised that she had heard.
Then he chased.
She ran away.
"I'll get you, rabbit!" He called out as she led him through the camp, disrupting the warriors that were eating and butter through the apprentices that were mocking a fake battle.
"Don't think so!" She called back and ran into the elders' den, prepared to circle back and make her brother even more dizzy. However, when she tried to turn, a paw clamped on her shoulder and turned her around so she was face to face with Otterstream.
"Just what do you think you're doing, disrupting the entire camp!" The elder snapped.
"Well, we were just playing prey hunt-" Rowankit started desperately.
"Prey hunt, a silly game," she scorned. "Only nasty, imperfect kits act like that. Oh sorry, I meant you. You're the definition of the problem LightClan has!"
"Got you!" Said Leafkit, running in as he tapped her. Then he looked up to see the grumpy she-cat towering over his sister. He looked down to see Rowankit's hurt and angry face. He looked up again to see the elder having not moved at all. Finally she sank down and her frown turned into a smile.
"Look at you, Leafkit," she meowed. "Fun, kind, playing a gentle game with your siblings. You must be so good to make sure to include this disgrace of a she-cat. You're the perfect, caring little tom."
Rowankit trudged angrily out of the elders' den while the nasty she-cat was distracted. It wasn't fair that she got scolded for the exact same thing Leafkit got praised for. Why did everyone think that she was so bad. Just because she wasn't always sweet, or sometimes she got annoyed didn't mean that she wasn't perfect. Or did it?
Stop doubting yourself! She scolded. If that was what they looked for in perfectness, it was hard to imagine anyone being it. Leafkit, or any of her siblings, certainly weren't. It didn't seem like any of the Clan was.
Or maybe they aren't, whispered a little voice in her head. Maybe the idea of being perfect is just a ploy to get rid of the cats they don't like. Maybe it's just a means to shape the Clan however they want.
No! She thought back again. They wouldn't do that.
You know they would, the voice said. You know cats like Otterstream would do it to get rid of the kits she didn't like. Or cats like Sleetstone who find it fun to act superior. Any cat would do it.
I wouldn't! She insisted. Glowingkit or Lemonkit or Leafkit wouldn't!
Would they though, the voice cooed. Lemonkit would change the rules to make her happy. Glowingkit would stop fighting practice. Leafkit would shape himself as a model of perfection. You wouldn't be any different either.
She continued out of the den, walking sullenly through camp. The voice repeated in a sing-song voice, taunting her the entire way.
You wouldn't be any different.
You wouldn't be any different.
It's true, Rowankit told herself. I'm just as bad. I wouldn't be any different.
Please review everyone, it really helps! I'm going away again so it will be about a week and a half til I can get back to writing for y'all!