History Rewritten: Brokenstar Chapter 4

Brokenkit stopped outside of a den made of a dip in the ground surrounded by thick weeds that grew in the marsh around ShadowClan territory. He sniffed the air. It carried the heavy scent of medicinal herbs and fresh moss. Brokenkit walked right in, Yellowfang had to be there if Raggedstar sent him to see her. All around the walls of the den lay neat, little piles of herbs, roots, berries and other medicines Brokenkit recognized from Dawnstar's memories. Underneath the scent of all the items in the den, Brokenkit detected a scent similar to his own. Yellowfang! But, what should I say to her? Brokenkit stepped in further, treading on a dried piece of root that made a snapping noise as his paw hit it. He flinched, wondering if Yellowfang would hear it. Sitting near a pile of moss, a dark grey she cat sat hunched over and absorbed in her work. She turned around to see Brokenkit attempting to clear away the bit of dried root he stepped on.

"Hello, Brokenkit. Are you ill," the grey she cat said, her orange eyes sparkling in the light with some amusement. There was something else in her eyes that Brokenkit could see, but what was it? Pride? Pain? Love of a mother cat for her kits? That was it! Love. Brokenkit saw love in her eyes. Of course! I'm her biological son.

"No," Brokenkit mewed, "I came to meet you." He chose his words carefully; he didn't want to reveal all that he knew about her and himself to Yellowfang.

"That's sweet of you. Little kits are welcome in my den only if they don't mess anything up." Yellowfang showed her teeth with a purr. Brokenkit smiled back at her. An idea hatched in his mind.

"Why do you smell like me?" He asked.

"Why? I check on you frequently." Yellowfang replied, her wit showing in every word.

"But why do you do that? Aren't I the same as any other kit in the clan?" Now it turned into a competition. Brokenkit's wit against Yellowfang's.

"You were sickly when you were born. I want to make sure it doesn't spread or you don't get sick again." Yellowfang meowed simply. Slight worry flashed in her face for a brief second, Brokenkit wasn't sure if he actually saw it or not.

"Raggestar told me to visit you."

"Oh, he didn't come with you? I guess he's busy." Yellowfang said, her voice trailing off as she started to get back to her medicine cat work. Brokenkit heard her sigh as he left.

"Why didn't I just tell him?" Yellowfang snarled after he left.

"What?" Brokenkit squeaked, peering back into the den.

"Nothing, nothing. I just said I wished Raggedstar would lend me a warrior to get herbs. Come back later and visit me." Yellowfang mewed, covering herself. Brokenkit headed towards the center of camp. The sun sat high in the sky. Lizardstripe would be returning soon, so he had to enjoy the rest of his time without her. Who should I visit next? Brokenkit scanned the camp, looking over random dens. The elders! Maybe I can listen to a story or two. The brown, tabby kit scampered off towards a den with several cats lying down in it. They had some grey patches of fur along their muzzles along with old scars on their bodies. They just looked old. This must have been the elder's den.

Brokenkit ducked under a few thorns that lined the outside of the den and padded inside. A ginger tom cat with a large scar down his back noticed him first. His eyes seemed younger than the rest of his body, still giving off the youth of a warrior.

"Hello. What's your name little kit?" He asked. His deep voice crackled with age.

"My name is D-! I mean, it's Brokenkit. Son of Raggedstar and Y-! Lizardstripe." Brokenkit quickly said. He forgot to watch is words, or else this cat might think something was up.

"Pleased to meet you, Brokenkit," The scarred cat replied, whiskers twitching with amusement. "I'm Flamescar. I'm sure the other elders would like to meet you. Go introduce yourself. Oh, and bring a vole for Wingstrike. I'm sure she'd love to trade a story for one." Brokenkit left the den in search of a vole. He had no idea who Wingstrike was, but she had stories and that's all that mattered right now. A few steps into the clearing that was the camp, a pile of fresh kill sat out in the open. A tortoiseshell pelted warrior placed a squirrel on it, and then started to walk to the warrior's den. What do voles look like? In RiverClan we don't eat voles. So, Brokenkit decided to ask the next cat that came to the fresh kill pile. Another warrior soon appeared and grabbed a frog.

"Excuse me, uhh, what does a vole look like?" Brokenkit asked the warrior. The cat stopped, and turned to face the kit.

"They have brown, wiry fur and teeth bigger than a mouse's. The teeth are orange, kind of like a ginger cat's fur."

"Thanks!" Brokenkit squeaked. The warrior took his frog and walked away. Brokenkit then started scouring the pile for what the warrior described. There was one left! He dove for it and was covered in a cornucopia of pelts. Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted up. He clung on to his vole, hoping not to lose it. Then the weight of the pelts slipped off. He was dangling in the air!

"Help!" Brokenkit squealed. As if on cue, he was dropped to the ground with a thud. Dust flew into his face and his vole plopped to the ground next to him.

"That was my vole!" A she cat's voice hissed at Brokenkit. A few apprentices who were passing by snickered.

"What a mousebrained kit!" A black she cat apprentice laughed, "Wingstrike, go easy on him."

Wingstrike glared down at Brokenkit so close, he could see every little piece of fur on her white and silver tabby face. Her green eyes showed her anger the most.

"What are you doing to my vole?" Wingstrike hissed at him.

"I was going to get one to give to you." Brokenkit meowed as a reply, hot with embarrassment and frightened of her wrath. But instead of hissing at him again, Wingstrike laughed.

"I'll forgive you little kit. At least you had enough manners to think of bringing me something." The white and silver tabby she cat smiled at him. "This is definitely worth a story. Come to the elder's den with me." Brokenkit bounded after the elderly she cat.