Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who have already expressed interest in my story, especially since it is only in the beginning stages. You all warm my heart, and it is for you that I keep writing.
"Over here! No, wait! Look out!" Redkit flattened his ears and watched as the moss ball smacked against Lostkit's side, knocking the she kit off her paws and onto the dusty ground. "Sorry Lostkit! I really didn't mean to!" The normally irritable tom scrambled over to his sister, sniffing her to make sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere. He could only imagine how angry Onyxstar, Jadepelt, and Badgerscar would be if he had accidentally harmed his little sister.
"S'all good, Redkit." Lostkit murmured, glancing inquisitively toward her brother. He was an odd little tom. Most of the time, he joined the older kits as they made fun of her. StarClan, he made fun of her when they weren't around! Every now and then, for one reason or another, he would display kindness toward her. Lostkit could not fathom why he would ever suddenly express concern for her, but she never pointed it out, fearful that it would end. If it proved that Redkit loved her, even if only a little bit, she would take that. 'If only Petalheart would love me, too.'
Lostkit turned her golden gaze toward the nursery where the queens sat, gossiping about clan life. Petalheart sat tall and proud, feather-like tail curled neatly around her front paws. Her eyes held an untamed fierceness in them, along with beauty like none other. Her pelt was a lovely mixture of silvers and oranges and browns, and she was a truly magnificent cat to look upon. Lostkit glanced at her own pelt. Though in color it was very similar to Petalheart's, she had nowhere near the shine or grace of her mother; her paws were small, her fur matted, and she held the composition of the clumsy kitten she was.
"Toss it back already, Lostkit!" Sunkit purred, crouching down and wriggling her rump, ready to leap up to catch the mossball. Lostkit grinned and hooked the mossball with two of her front claws. Springing to her paws, Lostkit prepared to launch the ball full force at her sister when a sudden pain shot through her leg. Crying out in alarm, the calico she cat collapsed back onto the ground, eyes wide and watery.
"My leg!" She wailed, ears pinned flat against her skull. Hearing one of her kits cry out, Petalheart was on her feet in an instant, rushing over to make sure everything was alright.
"What happened?" She cried, creating a scene within the camp. Lilacpelt and Featherspirit glanced up from their partially eaten hare to see what the commotion was, while Onyxstar himself emerged from his den. "Oh, my kits! Are you okay? Please, tell me you aren't injured!"
We're fine, mum." Sunkit and Redkit voiced in unison, looking up at their mother. Redkit glanced toward Lostkit and continued, "I think Lostkit hurt her leg. The... the bad one. Does it look more twisted than usual?" He frowned, sniffing carefully at his sister's leg.
"She can walk it off." Petalheart scowled, her voice flat and void of any emotion other than disgust toward her runtish kit. "I thought something was seriously wrong with you two!" She faced the other two kits, concern gleaming in her eyes. "Don't scare me like that ever again!" The graceful queen turned and stalked back to the nursery. Bluesong cast Lostkit a worried glance and leaned over to murmur something to Mothleaf, who shrugged her off and gave Lostkit a less than friendly look.
"I'll go get Howlfur." Sunkit mewed softly. Redkit's familiar scowl returned and he turned on both sisters, eyes narrowed.
"Petalheart would have gotten him if she thought Lostkit needed a medicine cat. Since she didn't get Howlfur, Lostkit is fine. She's just being a kit. Why do you always have to ruin the fun? They might as well start calling you Boringkit." Redkit sneered, turning and trotting toward the nursery with his nose raised.
"I-I'll be right back." Sunkit stammered, knowing something was wrong with Lostkit. She scampered into the medicine den, leaving Lostkit alone with her thought. Some cats in the clan were giving her odd looks. Most of them were unfriendly, but a few, like Bluesong, were kinder and more concerned for the kit. They knew better than to interfere, though. Petalheart would not appreciate someone blatantly insulting her parenting by stepping in, and since Lostkit didn't appear to be in any immediate danger, there was no harm with letting her sister handle it.
"Always a troublemaker." Howlfur grumbled, approaching Lostkit slowly. He leaned down and sniffed the kit, foul breath suffocating Lostkit. "No blood. Good, good." He raised a paw and jabbed roughly at her leg, causing Lostkit to emit a sharp squeak of pain. Sunkit gasped, though remained silent. "No break. Trust me, it'd hurt a lot worse if it was a break. Not a fracture, either. I'd say you just pulled a muscle, Lostkit. You'll have to stay in my den overnight, though, so I can make sure that it doesn't mess up your... deformity." Howlfur was not a cruel cat; not like the rest of the clan. He treated everyone like this, and in his own way was showing kindness to Lostkit by not leaving her by herself to suffer. "Can you walk? S'pose not. Stupid question, that was. Lightstep!" He called to his apprentice. The cream colored tom bounded from the medicine den and hurried over, ears perked forward curiously. Per Howlfur's instructions, he reached forward and grasped Lostkit's scruff lightly, carrying her into the medicine den. Lostkit let out a small squeak of protest as her twisted leg bumped against the ground.
"Fetch a poppy seed, would you Lightstep?" Howlfur requested of his apprentice as he set Lostkit down in a nest of moss. It seemed softer than the moss in the nursery, and she wondered if it was a different kind, or if there was just more of it in the nest. The reason didn't matter, she was just grateful to have a comfortable place to rest, away from the prying and judgmental eyes of her clanmates.
Lightstep padded over a few moments later with a single, tiny round seed. It was so small that Lostkit nearly mistook it for a bug and had considered squishing it; it was no bigger than the very tip of her claw. "What's that s'posed to do? I don't get how anything so small can heal me leg."
"It won't heal your leg," Lightstep explained patiently, sitting down beside the kit, "It'll make the pain go away. You'd be surprised what this little seed can do. Just try it, and if you don't think it's working you can have another one."
Unsure whether or not she should trust the medicine cat apprentice, Lostkit reached forward and used her paw to bring the seed closer to her, sniffing at it disdainfully. "Does it taste good?" She asked, nose wrinkling.
"It doesn't have a taste. If you'd like, though, you can have some honey with it." At mention of the sweet, sticky, golden substance, Lostkit perked up, a mighty purr rumbling in her throat. Taking that as a sign of confirmation, Lightstep trotted farther into the den and soon returned with a small piece of honeycomb slathered in the StarClan-sent substance. Purring contentedly, Lostkit lapped up the seed, then turned her attention toward the honey.
"Lostkit! I came to visit you!" Sunkit chriped as she bounded into the medicine den, glad to see her sister was well. "Do you want to come play a game with me?" She invited hopefully.
"She's not to set a single ounce of weight on that leg." Howlfur warned, padding over to the small kittens. "If you want some fresh air, Lostkit, you can have Lightstep take you out for a few moments. No walking, though. Let him carry you."
Lightstep seemed kind enough, she decided, and she allowed the cream colored tom to take her outside with Sunkit close behind. He set her down and sat beside the two sisters, curling his tail around his side.
"Oh, look who it is!" An all too familiar sneer sounded and Jaykit trotted over, followed by his three siblings. Coalkit shoved his way in front of Nettlekit and Rosekit, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his almost identical brother. "Little Limpkit out for some fresh air? She's so pathetic she couldn't even drag herself out. What a kit!" The four siblings erupted into a chorus of laughing. "Why do you even hang out with her, Sunkit? She's a cripple who can't do anything for herself." Coalkit looked toward the prettier of the two, eyes softening.
"Because," Sunkit growled, fur puffing up as she attempted to look intimidating to the kits who were more than two moons older than her, "She's my sister, and I'm not going to leave her all alone. Ever."
At that moment, Shinepaw came waltzing over, eager to see what was wrong with Lostkit. Jaykit took it upon himself to answer, "Cripplekit managed to injure her leg ever more. How pathetic is that?" Shinepaw looked down at Lostkit, the tips of her teeth showing as she laughed.
"Maybe when she's bigger she'll be able to be somewhat useful. I can't see how she'll ever make a decent warrior, and since we already have two medicine cats, she may as well be tossed out to the foxes!"
"I will make a good warrior!" Lostkit piped up, puffing out her chest and pinning her curved ears back. "I'll make a better warrior than any of you mouse-brains could ever even dream to be! You'll see, and when I'm leader no one will be making fun of me!" Shinepaw and the other kits only laughed.
"Sure, sure. I'm sure we'll all be amazed by your ability to limp through the forest faster than any of us!" Nettlekit jabbed Lostkit harshly in the side, piercing her delicate skin with the tip of his claw. In a fit of rage, Lostkit lunged forward in an attempt to retaliate, which only resulted in the small she kit letting out a sharp wail as eh stretched her twisted leg too far.
Lightstep returned to the nursery with Lostkit, but he sent Shinepaw and the other kits, even Sunkit, back to the nursery. A small stream of tears dripped lazily down Lostkit's face, and she was glad the others had not seen her cry. She couldn't decide if she was crying due to the taunting or the pain in her legs, as she wasn't sure which hurt worse.
"Why didn't you tell them to stop being so mean?" Lostkit sniffled, looking bleary-eyed up at Lightstep as he dressed the tiny wound inflicted by Nettlekit.
"What good would it have done?" Lightstep rumbled his reply. "They wouldn't have respected you for having the medicine cat fight your battles, and I won't always be there to tell them to stop. If you want them to respect you Lostkit, you need to show them you're worth respecting."
How in StarClan's name was she supposed to do that? Forlorn and sleepy from the second poppy seed Lightstep had dosed out to her, Lostkit curled up in her nest in the medicine den, eyes watching outside of the den as the clan interacted. They looked so happy. So united. Why couldn't she be a part of that?