Chapter 1

(Dustkit's POV)

Dustkit bounded out of the nursery, his tabby fur fluffed up with excitement. Tabbypool had shooed him and Shykit out of the nursery so Dapplebreeze could get some rest after her recent kitting. She had had three kits the night before and named them

Talonkit, Driftkit and Grasskit.

"You're it!" Dustkit yowled, tagging his sister, Shykit, with his paw and darting away, his long legs propelling him swiftly across the camp, "Can't catch me!"

Shykit giggled and ran after him, her fluffy kit fur flattening against her sides in the wind that raked across the camp.

"No fair!" she protested playfully, "I wasn't ready!"

Dustkit laughed and darted away from her paws, glancing over his shoulder to see how far behind she was before he slammed into a wall of fur and muscle, falling back with a yelp of surprise.

"Stupid runt!" the large tabby tom spat, his fur bristling with annoyance. "Get away from me!"

Dustkit nodded and scrambled back to his paws, darting back over to Shykit. "Stupid furball." he muttered under his breath. "Who made dirt in his nest?"

Shykit shrugged, "I dunno. Whatever, let's go to the elders. Maybe they have a story for us!"

Dustkit grinned, "Okay! I'll race you!" he threw the words back over his shoulder as he darted away, laughing.

"Hey, no fair!" Shykit wailed, bounding after him, "That's cheating!"

"Is not!" Dustkit called back, laughing as he ran into the elders' den, "Sparrowleaf!" he called to the grizzled old she-cat, the oldest in WindClan, "Can you tell us a story?"

The she-cat nodded, her white-streaked muzzle breaking into a small smile, "Alright Dustkit, settle down with Shykit. What story would you like to hear?"

Dustkit looked thoughtful for a few moments before meowing, "I wanna know why Splinterscar is such a grouch."

Sparrowleaf nodded, a sad look passing across her old face. "Ah, you wish for a story about my son. Be warned, it is a sad story."

"Splinterscar is your son?" Shykit asked, her eyes wide with wonder and surprise.

Sparrowleaf nodded solemnly, "Indeed he is the son of Lostclaw and I. I only wish his story could have been a long, happy one like ours." she smiled at the black tom who lay on the moss near her and the old tom smiled back. Dustkit shuddered slightly. Even though Lostclaw was a nice, kind cat, the missing toes on his paw always creeped the younger tom out.

Sparrowleaf took a deep breath before going into her story, "Splinterscar had a sister, a she-cat named Kinkkit. They were very close as kits and when she died of greencough he was crushed as were we. She would have grown up to be a fine warrior and probably a fine mother but we were forced to watch her body waste away to nothing because of the greencough." Tears were glistening in the old she-cat's eyes as she paused to collect herself before continuing. "Now Kinkpaw had had a friend, a beautiful she-cat named Featherpaw, who later became Featherfluff, and Splinterscar loved her with all his heart and she loved him back. When mourned Kinkpaw together and were very close until they became warriors and then, mates."

"Who's Featherfluff? She's not here now." Dustkit meowed in a small voice.

Sparrowleaf nodded sadly, "She died Dustkit. That is part of the story. When Featherfluff was expecting Splinterscar's kits, she grew sick with the same greencough that had taken Splinterscar's sister. She survived just long enough to give birth to one small tom before she gave in to StarClan's summons. That tom's name, surprisingly, was Dustkit, just like you. He was very weak but he had inherited his father's strong will and he lived to become a warrior named Dustwhisker. Splinterscar was so proud of his son. Then, greencough struck again. Dustwhisker wasn't strong enough and he had always been small and weak. Splinterscar's name perhaps wasn't as appropriate as it should have been as the scars on his body are not what mars him but the scars on his heart from his loss. That, Dustkit, is why he does not like kits or happy families, as it reminds him of his own unhappy life of loss."

(Shykit's POV)

Shykit listened carefully, her amber eyes wide as she listened to Splinterscar's sad lifestory.

No cat deserves a life like that. she though, secretly vowing on that day to make sure nothing like this would ever happen again to a member of her clan.

"Shykit." Dustkit meowed bordely. "Shykit, come on! Let's go play some more!"

"Okay." Shykit whispered, dipping her head in thanks to Sparrowleaf before following Duskit.

As they walked out of the elders' den, Shykit eagerly looked through the crowd of cats for Splinterscar. Dustkit payed no attention to her as he weaved through the cats in the clearing. "Shykit, are you coming?" He called over his shoulder, and Shykit ran to catch up.

"Dustkit, by any chance, have you seen Splinterscar since you ran into him?" She asked, hoping to keep her voice from sounding eager.

"What do you want with that beetle-brain?" Dustkit hissed as he swatted at a moss ball.

"Nothing." She mewed, flicking her tail.

"What's wrong?" Dustkit, asked, passing the moss ball to her. "You seem... sad."

Just then, Shykit saw Splinterscar walk past the nursery. As the moss ball flew towards her, she hit it with her front paws and sent it sailing over Dustkit's head, and straight at the bitter tom behind him.

Shykit ran up to Splinterscar, "I'm so sorry!" she mewed quickly. Splinterscar took one long look at her.

"Watch where you throw that thing, rabbit-brain." He hissed at her and kept walking.

Shykit followed him, purring softly. "You know, your mother tells excellent stories."

Splinterscar growled something under his breath and kept walking, hoping to get away from the tiny nuisance of the she-kit.

"Oh! She told me a story about you today, too!" Shykit purred harder.

Splinterscar stopped and sat down. "Did she now?" He muttered with narrowed eyes.

"Yep! She told me about Kinkpaw and Featherfluff and why you're so bitter."

Splinterscar slowly leaned forward and looked Shykit straight in the eyes. "Don't ever mention that name to me again!" he snarled and darted out of camp, leaving Shykit with a startled look on her face.

Dustkit ran up to her. "What were you thinking?" He exclaimed, pawing her in the shoulder. "He's a fox-heart!"

"No, he's not." Shykit said softly, looking at the ground. "He's just a cat, a wonderful cat. Not a fox-heart! I'll prove it to you!" She hissed before stalking into the nursery.

Dustkit didn't follow.