Hey, reviews, reviews! How awesome! *gives plushies* Well now... I bet you're a bit confused by the chapter title. "Mousekit? I thought she said Hawkkit was next!" Yeah, well... I forgot that there had been a manga including Hawkkit's early kithood. And since I haven't really read that manga yet, I can't really do his sotry yet. Sorry! So we have Mousefur instead! Please enjoy... :)
I couldn't believe it.
Blinking the hot summer dust from my eyes, I stared as Runningkit shot around camp, racing against one of our denmates.
He had to be the fastest kit ever!
And he was my brother.
"I win!" Runningkit's yowl broke out expectingly as he reached the apprentices' den- the finish line.
The denmate gave Runningkit a gentle cuff before scampering off.
"I'll beat you some day!" the young kit called over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd of ThunderClan.
Runningkit laughed and padded over to me.
"Hi, Mousekit," he said calmly, flicking his tail as if nothing had happened.
He almost acted bored.
"That was awesome!" I exploaded into a flurry of praise for my brother.
"You're like a WindClan cat! I hear they're super fast." I explained, my eyes shining.
Runningkit just smiled.
He was so modest about everything.
What I would pay to be as fast as him...
"Hey," he said after a moment of silence. "I can teach you."
"Teach me to... to run like you?" I sputtered with joy.
"Sure." Runningkit shrugged as if he would about to share a piece of prey.
I couldn't hold in my excitment.
I charged into the clearing's center with a yelp of eagerness.
"Oof!"
"Hey, watch it."
I scrambled to my feet to stare at the tall warrior I had bumped into.
"S-sorry..." I ducked my head, feeling mouse-brained for taking off like that.
I hurried back to Runningkit who let out a purr of pleasure.
"Nice try," he admitted to me. "But keep control. Deal?"
I nodded, still flushed from the embarrassing moment with a senior warrior.
We waited until the clearing thinned out a bit, then Runningkit led me near the apprentices' den.
"Okay," he started. "We'll do a sprint from here to the nursery."
"Got it!" I replied, raising my tail.
Crouching low, I prepared to take off.
My eyes stared towards the finish line.
My heart pounded.
"Go!" Runningkit cut into the silence of the hazy evening.
I took off like an eagle, striking prey.
Or atleast I felt like it for a moment.
I tripped (maybe over my own paws) and skidded into the dirt which clouded up around me.
Runningkit's pawsteps could be heard approching me.
I leaped to my feet, anger sizzling like the summer's hot sun.
I had failed!
Never could I be like Runningkit.
Marching off without another word, I retreated to the nursery.
Inside, it was stuffy and supplied even more boil for my temper.
I curled into my nest and started to groom my sand-covered pelt.
Runningkit ducked in, looking a bit nervous to be confronting me during one of my moods.
"You did good, Mousekit."
I didn't reply.
"We can try again tomorrow."
I looked up. "I'll never be as good as you."
Runningkit sat down next to me and helped with my grooming.
Once we were finished, he gave me a tiny smile.
"Maybe you'll never be a fast runner... But I bet you'll be a fantastic hunter!" he insisted.
"What makes you say that?" I replied tartly.
"I've seen you tackle leaves before- Those claws can rip anything! And you pounce like a cat from LionClan."
I couldn't help beaming at my brother's praise.
"I guess so..." I suddenly felt like Runningkit, a bit shy to admit my skills.
"Come on," Runningkit nudged me. "Let's go play before Mother calls us in for the night."
Feeling much better, I got to my paws and followed my brother out of the nursery.
I might never be as fast as him, but atleast I had my own future ahead of me.
And that was enough to make me happy any day.
Mousekit.... hehe, she's got a temper. Hasn't changed much as an elder, has she? ;) Hm... let's see... review and get a Mousekit plushie. Next chapter will be about Littlecloud (Littlekit) and how he was made an apprentice early on. Seriously, you've gotta love him.
Review peoples!