"Hurry up Thrushkit!" I yelled over my shoulder.
My light gray tabby sister stumbled behind me. We were racing across camp, and Thrushkit was always so slow. Lilyfoot (my mother) was sharing tongues with Rosefur outside the nursery, so she wasn't watching us right now.
Then suddenly I yelped and ran straight into Dawnpool.
"I'm so sorry," I mewed to the elder.
"It's quite alright little one. I did the same thing to my elders when I was a kit," Dawnpool replied as she continued walking.
I couldn't even imagine Dawnpool as a kit. She was so frail and unexciting.
"Ooh Lightningkit you ran into an elder," Thrushkit taunted from behind me.
Then suddenly Goosestar (my father) cuffed me over the ear.
"Show some more respect for your elders," he said.
"Yes Daddy," I replied, my head bowed in respect.
As Goosestar padded away I heard Thrushkit stifling mrrows of laughter. I cuffed her over the ear.
"Shut up!" I muttered as I ran over to the medicine cat den.
Sweetflower and Birdsong were inside, sorting herbs all over the den. Leaf-bare was going to be here soon, and they needed to stock up on as many herbs as they could.
"Oh hello you two," Birdsong greeted us. She always seemed to enjoy kits, especially us for some reason.
"Have you seen any frogs lately?" Thrushkit asked.
A purr rumbled in Sweetflower's throat," Why would frogs be out on the moor?"
"Because Dawnpool said when she was a kit a frog snuck into the medicine cat den and she chased it around camp and caught it," Thrushkit replied.
"Well I doubt a frog would make it up here now. They are going to start hiding in their burrows soon," Birdsong said.
"Lightningkit can you hand me those spiky leaves by your paws?" Sweetflower asked.
I picked up the bitter tasting leaves and put them down next to Sweetflower. She nodded her thanks and leafed through them, making sure they were all usable.
"This is boring," I moaned as I padded away.
Thrushkit followed me as we dashed over to the warm rocks. There, Adderpaw and Windpaw were lying out in the sun.
Thrushkit bounced up to them, while I hung back.
"Hey Windpaw! You said you would teach me a fighting move you learned!" Thrushkit squeaked.
Windpaw opened an eye and muttered," Maybe later."
Thrushkit walked away disappointed. I flicked my tail over her lips, telling her to stay quiet. I crouched down, and began slowly crawling forward. I creeped along the sandy floor, making sure not to wake the apprentices. When I was only a few mouse-lengths away from the rock I let out a yell and pounced on Adderpaw. The tabby apprentice screeched in fright and jerked to his paws. I rolled back onto the sand, my eyes beaming with pride. Thrushkit was rolling on her back, howling with laughter.
Maplewhisker came running out of the warriors den towards us, her eyes glowing with fear.
"What happened?" she yelped.
"I jumped on Adderpaw and scared him. He didn't hear me stalking or anything!" I exclaimed.
Maplewhisker squinted her eyes and glared at me.
"It's fine Mom. He just startled me that's all. And besides, I promised him and Thrushkit I'd teach them each a battle move," Adderpaw replied.
"Not now you're not. You scared the heck out of me with that yelp of yours," Maplewhisker said as she wrapped her tail protectively around Adderpaw.
"Mom! I'm not a kit anymore!" Adderpaw complained.
"You will always be my kit to me, even if you grow bigger then me," Maplewhisker purred as she licked a tuft of fur standing up on his head.
"Mom!" he moaned.
Maplewhisker stopped and finally padded away to join Brackenclaw who was eating a blackbird.
"So what about that battle move?" I urged.
"Oh yah," Adderpaw said.
He turned to face me, and then I realized how big he had grown. I gulped and a shiver ran down my spine.
"Don't worry Lightningkit, Adderpaw won't hurt you. Right?" Windpaw assured me.
Adderpaw nodded.
"Alright, now the move is you dash towards me, and then spin in the air and slam your paw down on my muzzle. And make sure to keep your tiny claws sheathed," Adderpaw exclaimed.
I may be small, but I have very tiny, thorn-sharp claws that could draw blood as easy as a warrior's claws.
Adderpaw demonstrated, and it looked like a devastating move. I practiced the jump spin, but I always got too dizzy and totally missed my target.
"Okay let's start with just a jump and a paw slam," Adderpaw decided.
So I jumped almost as high as Adderpaw's shoulders and then slammed my paw as hard as I could on his muzzle.
"Good job! But since you're a kit, that move is almost worthless since it is necessary to have strength to do that move. So if you had to for some reason fight of a warrior or apprentice, guess what your greatest advantage is," Adderpaw asked.
"My power!" I mewed.
Adderpaw swung his paw very lightly at me, and I went tumbling. I shook the sand out of my fur and padded up to Adderpaw again.
"No, power is not your advantage. A cat could kill you with a single blow to your head. Your advantage right now is your nimbleness, speed, and swiftness. The smaller you are, the smaller a target you are. So a warrior has to be more precise in order to hit you. Your best attempt at hurting a warrior is to dive in and out of his legs, nipping them as you go. You could be so fast, a warrior could not focus their timing enough to catch you," Adderpaw explained.
"Now Lightningkit, try it on Adderpaw. Thrushkit, try it on me. And don't nip us. Just press your nose to our fur," Windpaw said.
Thrushkit and I nodded and faced the two apprentices. I dashed forward, and then swerved to the right. Adderpaw was correct! I was moving so fast I didn't feel his paw touch me, until he suddenly landed on me. Oof! I was flattened by him, and after a few seconds he got up and I scrambled out of his tabby fur.
"What was that for?" I asked.
"A warrior can never do the same move over and over again, or else your opponent will figure out a way to block the attack, or hurt you instead. So before you ever go into battle, you must know several battle moves to keep from killing yourself without getting a few bites in. But that's enough for now anyways. It's almost sundown, and I'm sure you need to get a bite to eat," Adderpaw said.
"Wow Adderpaw! You teach me so great! I hope when you become a warrior you get to be my mentor!" I exclaimed.
"Can we do this again tomorrow?" Thrushkit asked.
"Well, we have busy lives too ya know. Maybe every few days we can do it," Windpaw replied.
We nodded as the two apprentices retreated to their dens. Lilyfoot walked over to us and lifted Thrushkit up by the scruff.
"Come on. Time for bed. Both of you," she ordered.
I sighed and followed her obediently. It was no use arguing. Even though I was 5 moons old now, it wasn't worth the fight.
We went in the nursery, and there Blossomkit and Turtlekit were curled up in Rosefur's nest. They were only 2 moons old, and had snuck out of camp yesterday, so for today they were confined to their dens. Lilyfoot lay down in her nest and I snuggled up close to her belly to stay warm. It was mid leaf-fall, and it was getting chillier every night. I was lucky though that I had gotten Goosestar's long fur, while Thrushkit had gotten Lilyfoot's short fur.
"What did you guys do today?" Turtlekit asked as he bounced excitedly in his nest.
"We learned a battle move from Adderpaw!" Thrushkit mewed.
The two tortoiseshell kits gasped and fidgeted even more.
"Aw! Lucky!" Blossomkit complained.
Rosefur entered the den and quieted her kits before curling up in her nest. Blossomkit and Turtlekit still drank milk from her sometimes, so they drank their fill.
I curled closer to Thrushkit and Lilyfoot before closing my eyes and falling asleep.