Shadowkit Is Right Again
I sighed and leaned up against Shadowkit. I wanted some of her warmth. There's a heavy wind. It comes through strong, even with the trees keeping it at bay. The night was cold and my teeth were chattering. Both me and Shadowkit had wondered off to go explore near the borders of LightningClan. I can't imagine what it's like for ForestClan. But we need to keep moving. The sun's already setting and we are completely lost.
"Hey, where exactly are we?" Shadowkit asked, scanning the area with her sharp green eyes. I sighed and rolled my eyes at my friend in playful exasperation.
"I don't know fuzzball, but I think it's going to rain soon," I muttered quietly as I looked up at the quickly darkening sky. Shadowkit huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Are you kidding me?" Shadowkit scowled and curses under her breath. "Stupid storm clouds," she growled.
"Ugh! I hate rain, it makes my pelt fluff out and stick to my sides!" Shadowkit complained with a low his and an angry flick of her tail.
Luckily, the rain doesn't bother me much. Rain dribbles off the side of my pelt. I have fur so short that it seems nothing can soak into it. Shadowkit however is not so lucky. She has long black fur that glows beautifully in the moonlight. But such beauty comes with a price. Now, her fur is plastered to her sides, green eyes beady and dilated. And I have a hunch she isn't all too excited.
"I don't really mind the rain that much, but it's getting harder and harder to see anything anyways."
"Well you have fur as short as a tortoiseshell cat. Nothing sticks to your pelt! Gosh dang it! I wish I had short fur just like you, and then it wouldn't stick to my sides like this!" Shadowkit muttered under her breath. Her eyes slitted at the continuous downpour of rain that soaked through her pelt and her ears laid flat against her skull in discomfort.
"I am NEVER sneaking out of camp, especially with you little weasel again, you hear me Nightkit?" Shadowkit mewed while giving me a playful shove. I frowned slightly and replied after a moment.
"I'm not a weasel," I frowned and flicked my tail from left to right. "And Why wouldn't you want to sneak out of camp with me again?" I quickly retorted back with a small glare on my face.
Her father had been on the patrol that found me. I was no more than a few hours old, and even PineClan wouldn't turn down a kit as helpless as I was. He gave me to his mate, and me and Shadow have grown up together ever since.
Shadow and me are almost complete opposites, but absolutely inseparable. She's smart and enjoys herbs, with gentle words. Though, don't be too quick to judge her, because she's blunt and head on. I, am, however, much more evasive. I'm wily and lean, with short black and white fur, and neon yellow eyes.
No one knows where I come from, though Shadowkit's dad, Wolfstar says I smelled faintly of LightningClan. But I'm PineClan through and through. Does it matter where I come from? Most cats would say it does. Some are even suspicious, but that's all theory.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts away as I zoned back in to my conversation with Shadowkit.
"We are going to be in so much trouble" Shadowkit says with an exaggerated sigh.
"Yeah I know we are," I quietly muttered under my breath. "And I'm not a stupid mouse-brain you know, I'm a skilled clanborn cat!"
"And if mom asks why we did what we did., I'll tell her that it was your idea" Shadowkit grumbled with an angry flick of her tail.
"I think it's safe," I call her over, and we trot into the den. Its warm and earthy smelling. But what I'm happiest about, is it's dry. We both shake to dry off, though her fur is still stuck to her sides and soggy.
I sighed and shook myself dry once we had found a cave to stay in for the night. I dug a small whole in the dirt to lay in, and she does the same, right next to mine. We both curled up next to each other to sleep.
I awake to Shadowkit licking the tuft of fur on my head. I don't know when we fell asleep, but sunlight was streaming in through the entrance of the den. We stand up, and quickly orient ourselves for the daytime and finding our way back to PineClan. We had wandered all the way into a birch forest, but it wasn't LightningClan's. Maybe ForestClan? ForestClan would be better. PineClan and ForestClan have a sort of alliance, while PineClan and LightningClan are always at each others throats.
"Follow me." We trot out of the den. The new leaf air is warmer today, and only a gentle breeze drifts by. It ruffles Shadowkit's fur, and makes it dance around like little fairies.
We travel for a bit, and finally make it to the pine forest. I sighed in relief as I turned to Shadowkit who grinned widely at me.
"We did it Shadow," I told her with a bright smile forming on my face. "We made it back home."
We walk past the border marks, and finally come in site of camp. We both let out excited squeals, and run into camp. I do, rather awkwardly, due to my limp, but I'm just as excited. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Moonfeather comes stomping up to us, and I get a lump in my throat.
"Uh-oh, we're so dead," I say in a small squeak.
"Yeah, no kidding," Shadowkit says, rolling her eyes and flicking her tail. I sigh and mentally prepare myself for the outburst that was to come any second now.
"WE'VE BEEN SEARCHING EVERYWHERE! AND YOU'RE HURT! DID YOU JUST GO AND HAVE A SLEEPOVER IN A FOXES DEN? STARCLAN, I THOUGHT I RAISED AT LEAST SLIGHTLY DISCIPLINED KITS, BUT NOPE!"
"Mom. Chill." I tell her.
"I don't normally agree with Nightkit, but she's right. You seriously need to chill." Shadowkit says, walking up beside me.
"Well, look at the runaways" Dustpaw says, joining the conversation. Dustpaw is a mean disrespectful tom with dark brown and white fur with Calculating green eyes. Dustpaw is only a moon older then me and Shadowkit.
"Dustpaw, go stick yourself up your own butthole" I say, already exasperated with him.
"Well hello, miss snarky!" He says with a sneer.
"Shut up. Just shut up." I say, baring my teeth and glaring at him.
"Nightkit, that's no way to treat your future mate!" Moonfeather says. I sighed and dug my paws into the dirt with a frustrated hiss. I hated that PineClan was a fan of arranged mates. So was ForestClan and RainClan. But even though no one knows where I come from, I'm PineClan through and through.
"Hi Shadowkit! Hi Nightkit!" Came a familiar voice, me and Shadowkit turned to see Wildkit and Willowkit running up to us.
Wildkit and Willowkit had been found outside of the borders of PineClan about two months ago, they were only a moon younger then me and Shadowkit.
"Why are you so mad at Nightkit and Shadowkit Moonfeather?" Willowkit asked while looking up at Moonfeather with wide and curious dark green eyes.
Moonfeather sighed softly and turned to both Wildkit and Willowkit. "I'm mad because Nightkit and Shadowkit snuck out of camp AGAIN! StarClan, I thought I raised at least two disciplined kits!" Moonfeather mewed, turning back to both me and Shadowkit with a sharp glair.
"Hey, Wildkit? Where is your mate?" Dustpaw asked, looking down at Wildkit, who hissed at him and turned her head away.
"UGH! You mean Sunpelt? No thank you! He can go fall in a river for all I care!" Wildkit snapped angrily, clearly pretty irritated about the thought of the gold-colored tom that was two or three moons older than her.
"Nightkit! Wildkit! What is with you two being rude to your future mates?" The dark-furred she-cat questioned, blinking ceriously and looking directly at both me and Wildkit.
"I don't like being arranged to be mates with a tom who's rude and mean to everyone!" I sighed, giving a simple answer. Wildkit's answer was the same.
Moonfeather sighed and flicked her tail in exasperation. This wasn't the first time that me and Wildkit complained about our disrespectful mates.
"Nightkit, Shadowkit, you two will go speak with Wolfstar and he'll decide what your punishment will be from here until StarClan-knows-when," Moonfeather mewed, once more glaring at me and Shadowkit. I sighed softly and with nothing else to be said, me and Shadowkit made our way to Wolfstar's den underneath the Highrock.
As me and Shadowkit made our way to Wolfstar's den, Shadow kept glaring at me. "What?" I asked, "It's not my fault we're in trouble for sneaking out of camp."
"Yeah it kind of is," Shadowkit replied, huffing and turning her head away from me.
"I heard from Moonfeather that you two snuck out of camp AGAIN! I thought we raised you two better then this." Wolfstar says, staring at me and Shadow with narrowed blue eyes.
"We're really sorry, Wolfstar," Shadowkit meowed softly while looking up into Wolfstar's dark blue eyes with her sad green gaze.
"As punishment, you two will help Leafcloud and Cinderpaw clean up the medicine den for a moon." He then turned to me and I gulped and lowered my gaze. "And Nightkit, as for you, your apprentice ceremony will be pushed back two moons," Wolfstar meowed sharply, his dark blue eyes narrowed as he stared at me with a disappointed look on his face.
"But we're not medicine cats!" I silently retorted once we had left Wolfstar's den. Shadowkit sighed softly and nodded her head in agreement.
"No we're not, but no thanks to you, we both have to help Leafcloud and Cinderpaw clean up the medicine den for a moon!" Shadowkit bitterly replied while shooting me an icy glare over her shoulder. I sighed again for what felt like the twentieth time that day as I patted to the medicine den with Shadowkit right beside me.