Chapter Two
Pale moonlight filtered down into the nettle strewn clearing ShadowClan cats used for training. Olivekit drew in a steadying breath, willing her rapid heartbeat to slow. The air was laced with the sour stench of rogues, intermingling with the positions of ShadowClan warriors.
The two groups formed an ominous circle around her, and just a few foxlengths ahead sat a similar cat, with a tortoiseshell coat that mirrored her own. Letting all of her fears melt away, Olivekit let The Bitterness rise within her. This was the moment she had spent the past six moons of her life preparing for, and she wouldn't allow the opportunity get away from her.
The she-kit before her was named Maple, and she was technically Olivekit's sister by blood, but Olivekit didn't consider her as such. When ShadowClan moved into the lake territory, they hadn't known about a group of bloodthirsty rogues living within the intricate tunnel system deep within the territory.
At first, Blackstar had considered consulting the other three clans to drive the rogues off, but after an initial conversation with the rogue's leader, a cunning she-cat by the name Petal, Blackstar had felt an almost dizzying pull to join with this group. They didn't go by any sort of name—up until ShadowClan had moved in, they'd never needed a name.
Many of their ranks simply considered themselves ShadowClan cats, with how closely the two groups intermingled. Petal and Blackstar had spent many nights together, sharing quiet whispers in his hollow tree den. They imposed a fool proof plan that would guarantee the strength and everlasting success of their two groups.
ShadowClan maintained their forest camp, and the rogues maintained their tunnel camp, but often the two groups met over hunting patrols. Apprentices and young warriors could spend nights in the opposing camps—they were encouraged to find friendship amongst each other's ranks.
But it was this ceremony that Olivekit had dreaded the most. Blackstar and Petal decided that so often, apprentices and warriors grew lax because they had no true driving force to reach greatness other than the silly notion of "being the best warrior I can be!" To counteract this, Blackstar and Petal greatly controlled mated pairs. Never would they insist two cats become mates to produce kits, but when a new couple formed, it was forbidden for them to have kits until a ready couple was present amongst the rogue group.
Two queens would thus bring litters into the world at almost identical times, and these kits were set to be mortal enemies. Each ShadowClan kit was paired with a rogue kit, and at each approaching ceremony, they would have to battle. A win or loss didn't necessarily mean the kit would achieve an apprentice name, but the battles had to be painful and bloody.
The rogues and ShadowClan didn't desire softness or mercy amongst their ranks. If cats died in battle against their rivals, there was no mourning for the life. That cat wouldn't do enough to benefit the clan, so the loss was trivial at best.
Olivekit flattened her ears back against her head, thinking about the worst detail of this rival pairing process. While it was possible to dictate the timing of a litter, it was impossible to control how many kits arrived. If one queen had two and the other had three, one life had to be sacrificed. The rogues or ShadowClan would agonize over which kit was the weakest, and they would quickly expunge the life.
Sometimes there were exceptions. If one queen had three kits, and the other had five, the queen with five could simply give a kit to the other queen, thus evening the numbers. Though deep emotional attachments weren't generally encouraged in ShadowClan, every warrior wanted to save the life of an innocent kit wherever possible.
And this was why Olivekit's life had been spared. She had been born to one of the rogue's queens, who had been gifted with a litter of six. Olivekit's adoptive mother had only two kits, so Olivekit and Redkit ended up in ShadowClan.
Olivekit shifted her gaze amongst the ranks, stopping when she spotted the blue eyes filled with such adoration. They were focused on Maple. The she-cat's name was Hallie. When she gave up two of her kits, she claimed Olivekit and Redkit would never make it through the season; they were so pitiful and weak.
The Bitterness welled up even stronger within Olivekit.
Days before, when the eve of this battle had been announced, Olivekit made Redkit promise her that they would act together on this day. Olivekit had a plan of action, and she knew her courage would immediately land her a position of respect within the clan.
An owl hooted overhead—the first owl call of the night—and every cat tensed with anticipation. That signified the start of the first battle. ShadowClan had decided Olivekit would be in the first battle because she was the smallest (and "feeblest").
Maple slowly got to her paws, taking a few sauntering steps towards Olivekit. Obviously she felt no fear for this battle. To Maple, Olivekit would be dead in a few moments, and Maple could ascend to warriorhood unchallenged.
Letting the whimpering façade fall into place, Olivekit shrank back a few paces, her fur beginning to fluff up in a visage of fear. A sick smile played over Maple's face, and finally she made her move, tackling and pinning small Olivekit to the ground.
Maple certainly had the advantage when it came to size, but Olivekit used Maple's cockiness to outwit her. She didn't struggle in Maple's grip—instead she let herself grow limp. Triumph flashed in Maple's gaze as she reared back to deliver the killing blow, but that was when Olivekit came to life.
She wrenched free from Maple's grasp, landing a stinging blow on the tortoiseshell's cheek. The clearing exploded into caterwauls of shock, cats yowling at Maple in disappointment. As Maple struggled to regain her bearings, Olivekit landed another harsh blow on the she-cat's shoulder. Maple whipped around to face Olivekit, but the ShadowClan cat was prepared for her.
She ducked rolled underneath Maple's belly. Olivekit kicked up violently when she had rolled into position, all of the air leaving Maple's lungs in a choked whimper. Maple collapsed onto the ground. She struggled to right herself, but Olivekit was on her in an instant. Olivekit's front paws shoved Maple's shoulders into the ground painfully, and then she lunged forward, sinking her kit-sharp teeth into Maple's throat.
Her tortoiseshell sister struggled for a few moments before she fell entirely limp in Olivekit's grasp. Olivekit drew away and cleaned the blood from her muzzle. She dipped her head to the crowd that had been shocked into silence and padded over towards her adoptive mother, Snowbird.
The white she-cat looked down at her with pride. She gave Olivekit an affectionate lick on the head, murmuring words of praise. "They will never doubt you again," she promised.
And Olivekit knew her mother was right. Hallie's mournful wails poured into the air, while the rest of the rogues seemed shocked by the small kit's performance. Olivekit did her best to look proud and unaffected, but on the inside, Olivekit felt chilled to the bone. Ever since the day she learned of her true heritage, she wanted to change the way the clan was run.
One day, she swore, she'd lead ShadowClan. And together, the four clans would drive away the rogue's threat forever. Through elder's stories, Olivekit had learned about the treachery of Brokenstar. If ShadowClan hated him so much, how could they kill uneven kits and force these brutal fighting rituals on the clan?
Olivekit whispered a few words of apology to Maple's now-still body. This had been the first step she'd needed to take to ensure ShadowClan could be freed from these bloodthirsty tyrants. She watched her brother pad forward to face his rival, and her breath caught in her throat. She knew Redkit would be okay, but that didn't calm the nervous energy that raged through her veins.
"Oh look! The scaredy cat is coming to fight! Maple's blood a little too much for you to handle, huh, scaredy cat? How about you run on home to your mommy, and I can kill you during your warrior ceremony. No one wants to see a kit cry!" Came the jeering taunts of Skunk.
In any other case, Redkit would've written Skunk off as a bully, but the black and white tom was spot on in everything he said. As Redkit padded forward, he could feel every one of his lips trembling. If he responded to Skunk's jabs, Redkit knew his voice would waver, and no one in the clearing wanted to see a terrified kit.
Olivekit's display had chilled him to the bone. He loved his sister dearly. She was the only cat in the clan who truly understood him. To ShadowClan, he was the sickly kit who would most certainly die during his first rival battle. Redkit hated the feeling of his claws tearing through skin and fur.
If he could have his way, Redkit would spend the rest of his days in the comforting shadows of the medicine cat's den. From all the long leafbare nights Redkit had spent with Littlecloud, Redkit valued Littlecloud's wisdom enormously.
He could feel that his true purpose was to heal rather than to inflict pain, but with a bitter thought, Redkit knew he would never accomplish his dream. Snowbird was the only mother he had ever known, but Littlecloud simply could not accept an apprentice who wasn't clan born. He spoke in low tones of a RiverClan medicine cat who would certainly bring doom upon her clan because she lacked faith in StarClan, so Littlecloud had instead offered the position to Flamekit.
Redkit wanted to tilt his head back and wail for the unfairness of it all. He had absolute faith in his warrior ancestors. It shouldn't matter that he drew his first breaths in a dank tunnel—he was a ShadowClan cat through and through. Even more, ever since he was a tiny kit, he'd been having strange dreams about cats with stars in their pelts. A small part of him wanted to draw attention to the fact that Flamekit wasn't even pure ShadowClan, but it was Olivekit's plan that had coaxed him into a better place.
From the way his sister talked, he could feel her passion about changing the clan. Unfortunately for Redkit, ShadowClan and the rogues worked very much on the premise of respect and power. If he and Olivekit couldn't prove themselves as worthy, no one would give them a second glance. Cats who weren't his adoptive parents or siblings rarely gave him that now.
So with a trembling breath, Redkit prepared himself to face Skunk. The tom was so focused on churning out insults that he didn't notice the bunching of Redkit's muscles or the unsheathed claws until they had struck him across the face.
Skunk made a spitting noise of anger and threw himself at Redkit fiercely. But anger was clouding Skunk's vision. The black and white tom lumbered about the clearing, trying to pin little Redkit down with his superior weight. From night sessions out in the woods, Olivekit had taught Redkit about all of the key blood sources in a cat's body.
Redkit was too much lighter than Skunk to ever pin him to the ground, so Olivekit's strategy would never work. Instead, Redkit kept himself light on his toes. Every time Skunk made a crushing attack, Redkit would swiftly dodge to the side and claw at one of Skunk's blood sources in the blink of an eye.
Skunk was nearly spitting he was so mad, but that did nothing to lessen Redkit's resolve. As the black and white tom lumbered towards him once more, Redkit smirked. Maybe it would've been more fitting for Hallie to name him Badger, for all the grace he moved with.
With a yowl of fury, Skunk put in one more legendary attack. Redkit hesitated for just a moment, wanting Skunk to think he would finally seize victory, but the brown and ginger tom sprang away just moments before impact. Skunk hit the ground, hard, and Redkit knew this was the end. Blood was pooling on the ground around them, making the nettle floor sticky and hard to walk across.
Skunk didn't have the energy to get back to his paws, and he spent his last few moments screeching at Redkit before he finally fell still, his amber eyes hazy from death. Redkit did his best to not let his terror show. The next round was picking up immediately—Scorchkit against Snake—so Redkit had the chance to get away. He weaved through the crowd. No cat was going to pay attention to such a little kit.
As soon as he had broken away from the main line, he vomited behind a tree. The rush of nerves and guilt had hit him like a monster. It wasn't until a tail rested comfortingly on his side that he was able to shake away the feeling. Redkit looked up to see his sister smiling gently at him. "Thank you," her words were soft, but he could feel the sincerity in her tone. "I can't imagine how hard that was for you, but thank you for helping me. I promise you won't regret it."
And Redkit believed every one of her words. One day, she'd gain the respect of her clanmates and make ShadowClan great once more. And when that day came, he'd lead beside her as her faithful medicine cat. The thought made his vision hazy.
Olivekit nudged him lightly on the side. "Come on," she whispered. "Shrewkit's fight is almost over. Blackstar's going to give us our apprentice names now!" Her own tortoiseshell coat was gleaming under the moonlight, and she stopped for a few moments to clean the blood and debris out of Redkit's pelt until he looked the same.
They quickly sat down next to the four kits already in the clearing, their hasty entrance seemingly unnoticed. Shrewkit and Scorchkit's pelts were missing clumps of fur, and Redkit could see blood oozing from their wounds, but their eyes shone proudly. They hadn't killed either of their rivals, Blackstar and Petal instead decreeing the battles a tie, but they had still won their names.
Shrewkit pressed her nose into Redkit's cheek gently. Aside from Olivekit, she was the sibling who cared for him the most. Though the words had never been spoken, she had always sensed his gentleness.
"Cats of the Shadows!" Blackstar's yowl boomed through the clearing. "These six kits have fought valiantly, and I don't think anyone here can say that they don't deserve their names! Shrewkit, Scorchkit, Olivekit, Redkit, come forward!"
The siblings took a few steps in unison, while four ShadowClan warriors emerged from the darkness beyond, obviously told of their impending mentorship in advance. "From this day, until you receive your warrior names, you four shall be known as Shrewpaw, Scorchpaw, Olivepaw, and Redpaw."
Shrewpaw was given Ratscar as a mentor, while Scorchpaw was assigned to Scorchpaw. Redpaw smiled at the glitter of happiness in Olivepaw's eyes as she touched noses with her new mentor: Crowfrost.
And finally, Blackstar leveled his gaze on Redpaw. "Redpaw, I think you shocked us all today with your display of bravery and strength today. For this reason, I entrust you to Whitewater. She beat all the odds by making it to warriorhood, and I know she'll instill the same abilities within you."
Redpaw couldn't help the excitement in his step as he touched noses with the white she-cat. The path to being a warrior was not one he wanted to follow, but for the first time in moons, he felt a sense of hope.
A/N: All right, so this chapter is a little bit longer! When I finish this story, I definitely want to experiment with this idea and ShadowClan some more, but I wanted to set these two up as some very bitter protagonists. This was a really fun chapter to write, but please leave me a review! They make me want to write more haha
Also, Something to Say-which older story of mine do you mean?