Chapter 3:
Squirrelkit and Leafkit
Sandstorm awoke in the nursery to her and Firestar's two kits, Squirrelkit and Leafkit. She sighed with happiness. Squirrelkit awoke and poked her sister, Leafkit.
"C'mon, Leafkit!" Squirrelpaw mewed. "Let's play Clan vs. rouges again!" Leafkit shifted in her sleep.
"Do I hafta?" she mewled, snuggling closer to her mother. Sandstorm let out a mrrow of laughter.
"C'mon, Leafkit," Squirrelpaw said, poking her sister again. Leafkit grunted and sat up.
"Okay, okay," she mewed dully. "But I don't want to be a warrior, I want to be a medicine cat!" Sandstorm looked proudly at Leafkit.
"Really?" Sandstorm meowed. Leafkit nodded.
"Medicine cat?" Squirrelkit meowed. She thought for a moment, then said, "Well, how about I invite Shrewkit to be a rouge, so then I'll be a warrior. And you can heal me when I get hurt in battle protecting my Clan!"
Leafkit nodded excitedly. "Okay!" she meowed.
Squirrelkit led her sister to where Ferncloud lay with Shrewkit.
"Hi, Shrewkit," Squirrelkit meowed, "You wanna play warrior vs. rouge? You can be the rouge!"
Shrewkit looked up at Ferncloud. "Can I, Mama?" he asked. Ferncloud smiled and nodded. "Just don't leave camp, I'll make sure your father will watch over you."
Sandstorm nodded. "That goes for you, too, Leafkit and Squirrelkit. Firestar will be having an eye on you."
The three kits nodded and hurried out of the nursery.
"Okay," Squirrelkit meowed, "Now, Shrewkit, since you are a rouge, you go over there," she pointed to a bush with her tail tip, "And Leafkit, go somewhere until the battle is over. On my battle cry we'll start-"
"No." Shrewkit mewed. "Squirrelkit, why are you always in charge?"
"'Cause that's how it works." Squirrelkit replied flatly. "Do you want to play or not?"
Shrewkit exchanged glances with Leafkit.
"Shrewkit is right," Leafkit piped up. "I don't want to battle. I want to heal someone with a thorn in their pad!"
Squirrelkit, now angry, retorted, "Okay, Leafkit, I'll be the thorn, and you can be the pad!"
Leafkit cried out in terror as Squirrelkit chased her around camp.
"Stop!" yowled Shrewkit.
Squirrelkit stopped.
"You know what? I don't need you," she meowed defiantly.
Leafkit stopped, panting.
Squirrelkit turned her back to her sister and Shrewkit. She didn't care that her mother told her not to leave camp. She quickly bounded across the clearing, through the gorse tunnel, and into the unknown forest.