Chapter Four

The soft rustle of grass brushed against Otterkit's whiskers. She let out a squeal of delight as she bounded through the reeds.

Heathershine had finally let her kits out of the nursery after keeping them confined for nearly three moons. Otterkit's eyes had opened long before her siblings. And of course she had been bored out of her mind before exploring the camp.

But now that she was out she couldn't resist running around. Cats were giving her strange looks as she exploded out of her hiding place. Dunekit had been busy grooming himself when she pounced. He let out a huff of frustration when she had him pinned underneath her webbed-like paws.

That was about the only feature of Otterkit that everyone found odd. Her pelt was sleek and smooth like a RiverClan cat's fur would be. But those webbed paws had always frightened some cats. She had never been bothered by them. In fact she often thought they made her unique.

"You're such a slow slug," she purred after letting her brother up. Dunekit shot her a glare before finishing his grooming. His fur was always sticking up unlike Mangokit's. So he spent extra time making sure that it was kept down and clean.

"Yeah well you shouldn't have pounced on me," he muttered crossly.

Otterkit's smirked was wiped away in a heartbeat when he suddenly reeled around and attacked. She quickly moved to the side and dodged a paw strike before sliding next to him. Her webbed paws looked like they would make her clumsy. But Otterkit had learned how to use them to her advantage.

With one quick turn she had already stayed one pawstep ahead of her larger brother. Dunekit's ears flattened in annoyance when he realized that she had the upper paw this time. He was ready to lung again when someone stepped between them.

"What are you two doing?" a new voice demanded. Otterkit felt her stomach drop when she realized it was Sandrush who spoke.

The ginger tom was her father, and one of the fiercest warriors in RiverClan. But around his kits he had a soft spot. Otterkit didn't miss the look of amusement flashing in his eyes. He wasn't angry with them, only concerned.

"Just playing," she replied sheepishly. Sandrush flicked his tail over her ears before Dunekit nearly toppled her over. Otterkit was ready to snap at her brother when Sandrush beat her to it.

"You'll be an apprentice soon enough," he meowed in a calm voice. "Why don't you try that move I taught you yesterday?"

Dunekit's eyes lit up with excitement before he tried practicing the move. Otterkit only rolled her eyes after noticing how her brother had been easily stopped. She wondered for a moment if all toms were like that. She decided to leave the two and explore the camp a bit more.

Everyone was busy working on camp duties. Otterkit knew that it was only a moon away before she and her siblings became apprentices. Soon they would be joining everyone else in taking care of the Clan. Streamstar had reassured them that no matter what they would become apprentices.

She could still remember discovering that she along with Pondripple's litter had been born around the same time. It was still a bit of shock knowing that the other Clans had threatened the lives of other kits. Heathershine had said it was because the Clans were afraid of what the kits would become when they were older.

Otterkit shook her head at the thought. She couldn't imagine her life without mother or father. Or having an entire Clan against her.

"Hey, do you think we'll be apprentices soon?" Mangokit's mew brought her back to reality. Otterkit followed her sister's voice and found her sitting next to mother, tail wrapped around her paws as she watched the clearing.

"In a few more days both you and Pondripple's kits will be apprentices," Heathershine purred. "Whoever mentors you will have their paws full."

She was looking pointedly at Otterkit, whose ears flattened in embarrassment. Otterkit knew she was only joking. And yet her words still stung.

I'll show you! Otterkit told herself. She was ready to lung forward when her paws slipped down the embankment. RiverClan's camp was surrounded by water; the only way to get through was to swim. That was why kits weren't allowed outside the camp.

But it seemed this time Otterkit had no choice. She hadn't realized until too late how close she was to the ledge. With a wail of surprise she ended up tumbling down the muddy bank and into the water down below. She braced herself for the pain that would follow.

Otterkit had heard far too many horror stories of kits and apprentices drowning because they had no experience in the water. Of course most of them weren't true; the elders only told them to scare the kits. Yet here she was feeling terrified of what would happen next.

"Otterkit!" Dunekit's loud yowl caught her attention. Otterkit looked around in shock when she found herself floating in the water. She hadn't sunk in like she was expecting. "Are you okay?" he demanded while peering over the ledge.

"I think so," she purred shakily. Before her brother could say anything else, she ducked underneath the water's surface. She wasn't sure what had caused her to do so. Her brother's yowls could be heard above, but down here it was more like a muffled shout.

She looked around wildly at the new sights and sounds that loomed ahead of her. Small silver fish were swimming past her, followed by a large brown one. The roots of trees could be made out in the murky darkness. In a few seconds her eyes had adjusted to the light, and she realized that she could actually see everything.

Otterkit hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let out a sigh of relief. This was amazing! She could actually breathe underwater! To top things off she was able to swim around like an otter, using her webbed-like paws to her advantage.

Mother and father will be worried, she suddenly thought. Without hesitation she swam towards the surface. To any other cat the water would have been disorienting. It was murky and full of things they weren't used to. But here she felt at home.

Finally she reached the surface, only to find herself a few tail-lengths away from RiverClan's island. Otterkit glanced over her shoulder when she saw the island where Gatherings were held. She could easily slip away from camp and sneak into a Gathering.

"Otterkit, thank StarClan you're alright!" She froze at the sound of Heathershine's meow. Heathershine was standing at the shoreline, pelt standing on end with terror. Otterkit resisted the urge to roll her eyes and swam over to her mother.

"What happened?" Sandrush demanded.

"I slipped and fell over the bank," Otterkit admitted, embarrassment washing over her once again. "But it's okay; I think I can swim in the water!" She let out a purr as she pictured how easy it was.

"Come on, we still need to take you to Sweetbriar just in case," Heathershine murmured. She gave her daughter a careful sniff before leading the way.

Otterkit couldn't stop thinking of how she was able to swim through the water. How was that even possible? And did she have this power for a reason? She supposed only time would tell...

...

Camp was buzzing with excitement when Hailkit peered outside the nursery. She had heard the story of how Otterkit survived falling into the water. Everyone thought that StarClan was with the kit at the time. But she knew otherwise.

She has a power, Hailkit thought. Is her power like mine? Can she control it? Hailkit was left wondering these thoughts as the Clan started to disperse. She often found it difficult to keep herself from freezing those close to her.

Just one touch of a paw could leave the victim frozen solid. Hailkit had learned that the hard way when she was playing with a mossball. She could still remember tossing it around until she touched it with her pad. That was when the mossball had become frozen solid. She was still terrified of what might happen when she hurt a Clanmate.

"Otterkit, that's so awesome!" Hailkit rolled her eyes at the sound of her sister's voice. Smokekit had a way of making cats always listen to her. Hailkit knew for a fact that her sister had no powers, but she did have a way of always annoying her.

"Heathershine's angry with me though," Otterkit admitted with a duck of her head. She sounded more worried than anything else. "She said if I do that again I won't become an apprentice." Hailkit couldn't help but sympathize with her.

I'd be so angry if my ceremony was held off, she thought with a lash of her tail. Fortunately Streamstar had reassured them all that they would become apprentices. Everyone else had considered the kits freaks because of the fact that they were born at the same time.

Hailkit never understood why cats were so afraid of them. There were other kits out there like her. And maybe the Clans were afraid these kits would overpower them one day. She had a feeling that was exactly the reason cats were afraid of them.

"Yeah, at least you have a power that could be useful," Smokekit meowed with a grin. Hailkit shot her a glare but said nothing as Otterkit's ears flattened. "Imagine being able to breathe under the water," she sighed almost longingly.

Hailkit would have laughed had she not drawn everyone's attention. Smokekit would never last five heartbeats with her powers. She had a hard enough time trying to control them. Smokekit on the other paw would have to learn how to control hers all over again.

"Does anyone else have powers?" Otterkit mewed. She looked between Hailkit and Smokekit uncertainly. It was possible that even her littermates could have powers as well. Only StarClan knew why the kits were born with such powers and who would have them.

"I don't know," Smokekit replied with a shrug. "Hailkit here can get awfully cold towards others." She grinned at Hailkit, whose eyes narrowed with annoyance.

Faster than her sister could react, Hailkit had lunged forward and pinned her to the ground. Smokekit let out a wail of surprise at the sudden attack. Otterkit in the meantime backed away when she realized what was happening. Hailkit could almost see the fear in the other kits' eyes.

"Why can't you just shut up already?" she hissed in a scathing tone. "I'm not the only one in this Clan who's made mistakes! And I'm not going to let you keep picking on me all the time!" To prove her point she made sure that Smokekit would remember this conversation.

"Hailkit, what are you doing?" Hailkit hissed in frustration at the sound of Pondripple's screech. Mother sounded furious, more than usual at the young kit. "Smokekit is your sister; you should not be treating her like this," she scolded.

Hailkit's only response was a curl of her lips as she glared at Pondripple.

"When she stops teasing me, than I'll stop attacking her," she retorted. She didn't care how fishbrained she sounded in front of her mother. She just wanted to be treated equally like her sister. Right now it seemed like Smokekit was the one who always got all the attention.

"Smokekit, is that true?" Pondripple glanced at her other daughter, whose eyes widened in shock. Hailkit's fur bristled when she realized what Smokekit was doing. She did this all the time and ended up blaming Hailkit for all of the trouble she had caused.

"I-I don't know what she's saying," Smokekit stammered. "I was talking with Otterkit when she suddenly attacked me out of the blue." She gave their mother a pitiful look before smirking at Hailkit. Hailkit's eyes narrowed with outrage when she saw that Pondripple believed her sister.

"Hailkit, I think it's time you faced proper punishment this time," Pondripple growled. "Because of the way you behaved, I believe that cleaning out the elders' den would be good enough for you." Her eyes narrowed as Hailkit got ready to argue. "Or I could just hold off your apprentice ceremony."

You heartless fox! Hailkit wanted to shout the words as loudly as her lungs would allow. Instead she fumed at her mother's words and followed the path towards the elders' den. Pondripple may have loved them both at one point, but it was obvious she loved Smokekit more.

AN: I'm really sorry it's taken so long to update... both this and Sharpest Thorn have kind of been put on hold, at least until I get my life sorted out. I will update them, but the updates won't be as often as they used to be. And again, I apologize for that :(

QOTD: So, thoughts on Otterkit and Hailkit? Personally Hailkit's a bit too much like Thornpaw XD

Skyfrost14 - Yep, though I'm not telling you what her gift is until the next few chapters ;)

Frostdawn - I'll see what I can do. Maybe one of the future kits can be given that name :)

Silverbird22 - I love 'em both, honestly :P I got the demo a couple of weeks ago, and I love it! I also got the Trading Card Game from '98; that game was part of my childhood! And only one more week until Omega Ruby and Sapphire! :D