Hopekit gazed up at the sky, dark ginger pelt sleek and smooth. Her green eyes were distant, showing she was thinking deeply. The she-cat wanted to serve her Clan as a medicine cat because Eaglecry was going to retire soon, but she also wanted to be a mother, and when you are a medicine cat, you can't have a mate, let alone kits. A rain drop fell onto her nose and the kit blinked, watching as the rain started to pour down. Hopekit stood, ripped out of her thoughts, and turned to the nursery, where Tigerblaze was hustling Lionkit and Leopardkit inside.
Shaking her fur, Hopekit calmly padded to them, tail raised high. The rain never bothered her; in fact, she enjoyed the cool water sliding through her fur. Tigerblaze gave her a quick nudge and Hopekit stumbled into the nursery, shaking her fur again. Seeing her two siblings curl up into the nest and her mother lying around them caused a small sigh to come from Hopekit. The other queen, Emberbriar, slept soundly in the corner.
Hopekit curled up in a nest beside her family, preferring to be alone, so that way she could think. Closing her green eyes, the kit drifted to her earliest memories… but it didn't make sense. Hopekit could clearly remember smelling blood and a different queen, and a familiar scent that she can't remember who it belongs to now as it picked her off the cold ground. That always made her question her true parentage, for she caught her Clanmates multiple times staring at her warily, as if they saw her as a different cat.
"Hopekit, wake up!" A paw jabbed her in the side and the dark ginger she-kit stirred, yawning widely. She squinted her green eyes up at Lionkit who meowed, "Come play with us!"
"No thanks," Hopekit murmured, sitting up and grooming the moss out of her fur. Lionkit huffed and padded out of the nursery to join his sibling. Hopekit sighed and padded out of the nursery as well, shaking her fluffy kit down. She spotted Scarspirit padding out of her den and heading to Frozenpool, and immediately slunk off to hide, unsure what the leader thought of her.
"Hey look! It's the little flea-brain!"
Oh no… Hopekit turned, ears flat as she saw Brightpaw and Aspenpaw approaching, sneering.
"Hey, flea-brain, catch any good illness today?" Aspenpaw sneered, reminding the kit of when she caught kitten-cough once and then caught white-cough.
"Leave me alone," Hopekit hissed, backing away with a twitching tail and holding out an unsheathed paw at them.
The apprentices faked whimpers, widening their eyes in mock fear. "Aspenpaw, we better run before the big warrior comes and kills us," Brightpaw cried, both snickering at the kit.
"Leave Hopekit alone," a voice growled and Hopekit whipped around, startled to see Hawkpaw stalking over. The small gray tom lashed his tail and glared at Aspenpaw and Brightpaw.
"Loser," Brightpaw hissed but the two apprentices stalked away, their tails lashing, almost in sync.
Hopekit turned back to Hawkpaw and blinked. "Thank you, Hawkpaw."
Suddenly, the gray tom rounded on her and he hissed, "Next time, stay with your siblings, Hopekit! Then maybe next time I won't have to save your sorry hide again!"
Hopekit watched him go, head tilted to the side in confusion. What did he mean, save my sorry hide again?