Warriors (c) Erin Hunter
Cats/Clans (c) Me
October
Smack! Cracklekit stifled another snarl as, once again, a fish bone smacked into his backside. The sound of snickering soon followed afterward. Cracklekit whirled around and wasn't surprised to see two kits giggling behind Thistleberry. It was Barkkit and Waspkit. Ever since Stormshine had given birth nearly three moons ago, she and her rambunctious litter of three kittens have despised Cracklekit. They claimed that he was a monster sent by StarClan to torment them and told the said tale to any cat who'd listen. Waspkit as especially villainous; the pale gray tabby tom was Barkkit's little devil sidekick. He agreed with everything that Barkkit preached and if Barkkit was around, you could be sure that Waspkit wasn't far behind.
Splat! Another fish bone flew onto Cracklekit's head. He shook his head to free himself of the leftover bones. The other kits would constantly bully him so much, that he felt like he didn't have any real friends in the Clan.
Treepaw's my friend, he thought stubbornly. However, the light brown tabby she-cat was made an apprentice last moon. Cracklekit could see her now leaving through the reeds with her mentor, Perchfall, as they went on another fishing expedition.
Smack! Another limp tangle of bones was flung on his head. This time it landed between his ears with the rotten tail fin resting on his nose, the rude odor flowing into his nostrils. Gross! He once again shook his head free of the dead fish. That's it! I'll skin them alive! Cracklekit let out a growl and charged at the laughing Barkkit and Waspkit. The two denmates suddenly stopped laughing when Cracklekit swerved around Thistleberry and caught sight of them.
"Run!" Barkkit laughed as he shoved Waspkit. He dashed away towards the medicine cats' den. "He's going to eat us!"
"Are you sure his mouth is large enough for that?" Waspkit joked as he dashed after his denmate. Cracklekit was hard on his waving, pale gray tabby tail.
"Ooh, are we chasing Barkkit and Waspkit?" Lilykit squeaked as the three toms barreled past her and Shellkit. The two she-kits giggled as they gave chase after Cracklekit.
"I love playing chase!" Shellkit giggled.
"I've got you now!" Cracklekit roared once the two toms ran into a burrow underneath a tall tree with arching branches. Cracklekit halted at the entrance of the den, unsure whether or not to enter. He recognized it as the medicine cats' den, but he couldn't detect any fresh scents of either of the two medicine cats. He could also hear the laughter of Barkkit and Waspkit emanating from the cavern.
"What's the matter, Cracklekit?" Cracklekit could hear Waspkit taunt from inside. "'Afraid of a dumb medicine cat and where he lurks? Is it because he foretold that you would destroy the Clan?"
Cracklekit suppressed a growl. Those two definitely knew how to get under his pelt. Before he could respond, however, Cracklekit was shoved forward as Lilykit and Shellkit accidentally slammed into the older tom. The nearly six moon-old kit slid down the slick entrance way and skidded to a halt inside the den. It was dark and dusty and the scents of Skippool and Lakesplash were strong here. There weren't any patients inside, but several nests littered the ground. A large tree root that blockaded half of the cavern protected the scents of strong-smelling herbs and the sound of whispering kits.
The kit crouched down and practiced his hunter's crouch that he'd seen his father show Barkkit. He stalked towards the large root and, based on the scampering of paws behind him, judged that Shellkit and Lilykit were quietly following him.
The voices grew louder as Cracklekit silently approached. Once he was next to the root, he bunched up his muscles and leapt over the wood, right onto Barkkit's back.
"Get off, Cracklekit!" Barkkit hissed as he swatted at his brother. Cracklekit continued to playfully dig his claws into his brother's pelt and bit his ear. Finally, Barkkit rolled onto his back, getting his brother off his pelt. He raked his paw over Cracklekit's ear. "Weakling," he spat.
Cracklekit was about to retort when Lilykit spoke. "Wow! I've never been back here!" she awed. She padded up to a pile of reeds and gently shoved them aside. "There are herbs down here!" she explained after checking out the hole. The other kits gathered around her and saw fuzzy, three-nubbed green leaves.
"This one has flowers!" Shellkit noted as she peeked into a different hole. She gently pawed out one golden flower head. "I wonder what it's for."
"Hey, Barkkit," Waspkit called over from a different hole. He pointed to it with his long tail. "These seeds look like tiny mouse droppings!"
Cracklekit peered over their shoulders to see tiny black seeds. He decided to find his own hole. He spotted a lone pile of reeds in the far back corner where no one had explored yet. Judging on how dusty it was there, no cat, not even the medicine cats, had been there in a long time. He removed the reeds and found a pile of plump, red berries. He was about to take one out when Lilykit meowed about something.
"I found berries!" Lilykit chirped from a tail-length away. She pawed out a pawful of blue and purple berries. They were different from the ones that Cracklekit had found. "They look tasty."
"Waspkit, I dare you to eat one," Barkkit dared as he shoved his younger Clanmate forward.
"Why?" Waspkit asked. He looked a little intimidated.
"Are you too scared?" Barkkit sneered.
"You're too scared!" Waspkit shot back as he licked up one berry. "There!" he growled as he swallowed. "Now you eat one."
"Fine." Barkkit swiftly licked up one berry as well. "Not the best thing in the world to eat." He glanced at Cracklekit and the green leaves they found earlier. "Cracklekit," he meowed as he picked up one leaf. "Eat this, or are you too scared?"
"I'm never scared!" Cracklekit insisted. He leaned down and sniffed the leaf. It had a faint rosy-scent. He licked up the leaf, which tickled his tongue because of its fuzzy texture. He didn't feel too bad afterwards, but his stomach felt odd and calm. "There." He glanced over where he found his strange berries and made his way towards them. He gently rolled out three berries. "Shellkit, I dare you to eat these!"
"Three berries?" Lilykit gasped.
"Unless she's too scared," Cracklekit insisted. Barkkit and Waspkit nodded in agreement. "If you eat them, then it'll prove that you are braver than all of us!"
Shellkit looked unsure, but then nodded in determination. "How bad can it be?" she agreed. She then proceeded to chew on the three berries. A few heartbeats afterward, Shellkit's paws gave away and she fell limp to the ground.
"Shellkit!" Lilykit yowled as she tried to rouse her sister up. Shellkit didn't speak, but let out a high pitched moan. Her eyes were wide and her body twisted around in agony. Lilykit glared up at Cracklekit. "What did you feed her?"
"Just some berries!" Cracklekit insisted. He glanced at Barkkit and Waspkit, who were staring with wide eyes.
"Stormshine!" Lilykit cried. Shellkit's condition seemed to grow worse and worse by the second. "Whisperwind!"
The sound of quickening pawsteps alerted the kits that someone was coming. The gray and white face of Skippool appeared from behind the root. His pale blue eyes widened as he gazed upon the poor kit.
"What did she eat?" Skippool demanded as he examined her condition. Shellkit's twisting and turning soon began to die down and foam began to appear on her lips.
"Cracklekit let her eat something!" Lilykit squealed in terror.
"What did he do?" meowed the approaching Whisperwind and Stormshine, the latter let out a loud wail when she rested her eyes on her daughter.
"What did you feed her?" Skippool promptly questioned Cracklekit.
"J-Just some berries, from over there," Cracklekit stammered as all eyes fell on him. He pointed with his tail over to the far side of the den to the open hole. Skippool left the kit's side as the approaching Lakesplash appeared to take his place.
"Deathberries!" Skippool shouted in horror. "She ate deathberries!"
"Why would she do that?" Whisperwind growled. He turned his deadly gaze on the three toms.
"C-C-Cracklekit dared her to," Waspkit whimpered under the gaze of his father.
"How could you?" Skippool gasped as Whisperwind let out a hiss.
"It's too late." Lakesplash took a step back from Shellkit's body. "The poison is too deep in her system. She's on her way to StarClan."
"No!" Stormshine sobbed as she ran forward to comfort her daughter. Shellkit's movements were slowly dying down. Her moans began to soften and her eyes began to glaze over. Whisperwind gently joined his mate and gave her cheek a comforting lick.
Skippool went to usher the kits outside the den, but Waspkit and Lilykit protested ardently.
"I can't leave her!" Lilykit wailed.
"She's my sister! I'm supposed to take care of her." Waspkit managed to escape Skippool's grasp and he dashed towards his parents and dying sister. "I'm the worst brother ever…"
Lilykit joined him and crouched down to comfort him. "We'll see her again, in StarClan. She'll be waiting for us." Waspkit briskly shook his head in disagreement, burying his muzzle into his sister's flailing body.
Cracklekit couldn't see anymore because Skippool finally ushered him and Barkkit outside. He could still hear the comforting mews of Stormshine and Whisperwind as they shared one more moment together as a family. What have I done?
"What's going on in there?" Mistflower asked. A small gathering of cats that congregated outside the medicine cats' den after hearing the sudden commotion.
"Shellkit is dying," Skippool murmured somberly. "She ate deathberries."
Several cats gasped. "Why would she do that?" Mistflower yowled.
"Lilykit insisted that Cracklekit fed her the berries," Skippool explained.
"Do you not have any common sense, Cracklekit?" Antwhisker snarled. He turned angrily towards his brother. "Stoatshade, does your son not have any sense?"
Stoatshade furiously huffed. "It's not my problem if Thistleberry can't keep an eye on him properly," he explained.
"You look after Barkkit," Antwhisker argued.
"One of my kits has potential."
Skippool leaned into Cracklekit's ear. "Come along; let's go see Thistleberry." The medicine cat apprentice gently ushered the two toms forward, Cracklekit being forced to listen to the gossip of his Clanmates.
"It's horrible!" Blackspring whispered to her mate, Willowburr.
The gray tabby tom nodded. "One might even say down right cruel!"
"Do you think the rumors about what Lakesplash said are true?" Vixenspeck asked.
"Only time will tell," Tinydapple replied.
"Surely he didn't mean it!" Salmonfin insisted.
"What kind of minnow-brain willingly feeds another kit deathberries?" Harvestclaw growled.
"What's going to happen to us?" Cracklekit whispered to Barkkit.
"Us?" Barkkit snorted. "There is no 'us'. You were the one who killed Shellkit."
"You're the one who started the game in the first place!" Cracklekit argued.
The three WaterfallClan cats had finally arrived at the nursery. Skippool gingerly pushed them into the nursery, where a displeased Thistleberry lurked.
"Great. One of my kits is a murderer," the spiky pale gray she-cat huffed as she grabbed her kits into her paws. "That's just what this Clan needs; another 'great cat' like Sparrowheart."
As Thistleberry roughly groomed Cracklekit's messy pelt, he surprisingly couldn't help but feel horrible about Shellkit. He didn't mean to kill her; how was he supposed to know that those berries were poisonous? How long would she continue to suffer? He didn't have to worry about that for very long, however, for a loud wail from Stormshine signaled the death of her daughter.
The medicine cats suck at their jobs. XD
Food for thought: Did Lakesplash mean for Shellkit to die?