Birdkit raced across the clearing as fast as her short legs could carry her. Only a moon away from being an apprentice, she still was very small for her age. Her littermates, Quickkit and Mothkit outpaced her, running to the elders’ den.
Largekit, Lightningkit, and Frogkit stood outside the den, hissing loudly. Considering they were a whole moon and a half younger than Birdkit and her littermates, they weren’t very intimidating “ShadowClan warriors”, but they would have to do. After all, the other five kits in the nursery were too young to be playing with them.
Birdkit skidded to a halt beside her littermates, her sides heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She may have been outpaced, but she was just as determined as her bigger siblings.
Quickkit, a sleek black tom, flicked his tail in impatience, the only sign that they had noticed her falling behind. She sent a glare her brother’s way- it wasn’t her fault he was so fast!
Lightningkit stepped forward, “I am the leader of ShadowClan! You stole our prey!”
“ThunderClan would never steal prey!” Birdkit protested, shaking her head, “We aren’t foxhearts like you!”
“ShadowClan, attack!” Lightningkit yowled, leaping onto Quickkit, the two rolling over in a flurry of paws. Largekit, the biggest of his littermates, leapt at Birdkit while Frogkit went after Mothkit.
The big white tomkit struck, missing Birdkit’s naturally-curled ears by a whisker-length. She pounced onto him, squashing him against the ground. Despite being smaller than her siblings, she was still bigger than Largekit.
Largekit hissed in protest, trying to roll over, but Birdkit hooked her claws into the ground, “Give up?”
“ShadowClan never gives up!” Largekit snarled, but the fight slowly went out of him. Birdkit looked around to see that Quickkit and Mothkit had also defeated Lightningkit and Frogkit.
“ShadowClan, retreat!” Lightningkit panted, squirming out from underneath Quickkit and running for the nursery. Birdkit stood up and let Largekit run after his fellow “ShadowClan warriors”.
“So this is the future of ThunderClan, huh?” a voice purred from behind them. Birdkit turned around and immediately felt warm under her pelt.
“I feel much safer,” Rabbitpaw continued with a wink, “If ShadowClan really attacks, I don’t think they’ll be stealing any kits.”
Birdkit was practically glowing until Rabbitpaw’s brother, Sunpaw, spoke up, “They’re just stupid kits- they’ll wet themselves if they see so much as a ShadowClan cat’s whisker tip!”
She and her siblings glowered at the rude apprentice, but said nothing. Mothkit stuck her nose in the air and stalked off towards the nursery, Quickkit following behind. Birdkit, on the other hand, snapped, “You were kits a moon ago, too! Why do you always have to be so mean?”
Sunpaw sneered at her while Rabbitpaw gave her an apologetic look.
“Kits are nothing but trouble,” Sunpaw scoffed, lifting his nose into the air, “Stay out of my way. You’ll only slow me down.”
Birdkit’s pelt bristled, “One day, I’ll be a warrior too! And I bet I’ll be even better than you!”
Rabbitpaw nudged his brother, “Come on, give them a break. They’re only playing, just like we used to.” He winked at Birdkit, whiskers twitching as he said, “Besides, they might be the next cats to save ThunderClan from ShadowClan!”
Birdkit puffed out her chest at his words, but Sunpaw just rolled his eyes and said, “Whatever.”
Birdkit glared at Sunpaw as he padded away, her tail lashing, “I’ll show him!”
“Ignore him,” Rabbitpaw said softly, giving her a warm smile, “He’s just upset I beat him in training. If you ever need someone to show you some moves, let me know.”
Her fur grew warm again and she nodded, “Thanks, Rabbitpaw, I’d like that!”
Rabbitpaw trotted off after his brother, leaving Birdkit standing in front of the empty elders’ den, her paws tingling with determination. One day, she’d be a better warrior than Sunpaw ever could and, boy, would he be jealous then!
Birdkit tossed and turned in her nest, stopping only when she heard Quickkit hiss for her to stop. She shot a jealous look across the nursery at the three queens, each with peacefully-sleeping kits cuddled up to their bellies.
If only their mother hadn’t died shortly after they were old enough to eat freshkill, maybe Birdkit could sleep peacefully. Although Oaktree, their father, did so much for them, he slept in the warriors’ den instead of the nursery.
She could hear the quiet voices of warriors gathering outside for the dusk patrol and she imagined herself out there with them. Her fur ruffled by the evening breeze, her eyes heavy with sleepiness, but her claws ready to skin any cat that dared to cross ThunderClan borders!
The voices of her Clanmates raised enough for her to overhear, and she strained to hear one voice in particular: Rabbitpaw.
Even though Rabbitpaw was only an apprentice, he was everything Birdkit aspired to be. She admired him so much- the way he encouraged the other apprentices and how he seemed to be excelling in his training. He was brave, smart, and kind- and Birdkit wanted nothing more than to follow in his pawsteps.
Birdkit slipped out of her nest and went to the edge of the nursery to peer out into the clearing. She spotted Rabbitpaw among the warriors on the dawn patrol and she held back a purr. Moonlight bathed the clearing in its pale light, making the short-tailed apprentice look almost mystical, like a StarClan warrior.
“Enjoying the view?” a knowing voice came from beside her, making her jump. Birdkit swiveled around to see her father, Oaktree, sitting beside the nursery. He gave her an affectionate lick and settled beside her, his thick tabby fur brushing against her lighter pelt.
“I wanna be on the dawn patrol too!” Birdkit whispered.
“You’re too young, little bird, and the other clans are too fierce,” despite turning her down, Oaktree’s tone was gentle and understanding, “ShadowClan’s always giving us too many issues and I’m afraid they may not realize you’re a kit if you come along...”
“Why do we always have to fight them?” Birdkit wondered, her gaze drifting to the trees towering over the gorse tunnel.
“That’s just how it’s always been,” Oaktree replied, “ThunderClan and ShadowClan don’t see eye to eye. They’re stubborn, like us.”
Birdkit stared into the distance, wondering what ShadowClan cats were like. She pictured them as dark, shadowy figures with eyes that glinted with malice. “Do you think… that there may be a ShadowClan cat who’s just like me?”
Oaktree blinked in surprise. Then, he touched his nose to her forehead, “Maybe there’s a kit over there right now, asking the same thing about ThunderClan.”
She was nine and Aunt Kate had been gone for weeks. When Allison recognized the car flying down the street, she all but flew off her swing at the playground and made a mad dash down the street to home. All orders from her parents to stay at the park until they came to get her were instantly forgotten.
It was still a work in progress, getting her to open doors without a big production of it. When she came flying through the back door, the screen jingling in its hinges, slapping the wall with gusto, four pairs of eyes and two crossbows were directed her way before she’d even come to a complete stop. Even her mother had a knife in each hand, one poised to throw.
“Allison!” she yelled but even the threat of an imminent scolding did nothing to dampen her excitement.
“Aunt Kate!”
Kate’s face lit up in a grin and she crouched to catch Allison’s hug, handing Chris her crossbow as she did so. Kate’s hair was wild and uncombed and smelled faintly of smoke, which was odd because Allison was fairly certain Gerard had told her to quit smoking the year prior.
When she pulled back, Kate looked tired, bags under her eyes, her cheekbones slightly more pronounced, and her smile was strained.
“We told you to stay at the park, young lady!”
Allison had cringed at that, not because getting yelled at was unpleasant but because she loathed that term: young lady. She would have preferred her mother using her full name, which she only did when she was absolutely at her wits end with Allison.
“I saw Aunt Kate driving by,” Allison began.
“So you ran down the road during rush hour traffic all alone?” her father had said softly. It was ten times more painful than her mother’s yelling.
“There weren’t many cars on the road,” Allison mumbled.
“And you’re sure you weren’t followed?” Gerard said.
Allison began to reply, confused, before she realized the question had been directed at Kate.
“No one followed me, Dad. No one was left.”
“How many?” Chris asked from the living room. He was standing in front of the television.
“I don’t know? I didn’t stop to count first.”
“Does eight sound about right?”
“I can’t believe you did this without consulting us first,” Victoria said. Allison had a moment of relief, sensing the anger and tension shifting directions before Victoria turned and pointed a finger at Allison. It meant I’m not done with you. Allison cringed.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Kate said and Allison backed up against a wall. She could take yelling from her mother, soft words of disappointment from her father, but when it came to an argument between her mother and Aunt Kate, Allison got skittish. It could have something to do with the time Victoria had thrown a knife at Kate and her father had gotten caught in the crossfire.
“I am the mother of the little girl you just put in danger,” Victoria said, though it sounded like a growl. Kate glanced over at Allison before going back to Victoria. “If even one survived and followed you, they could have picked her up as she ran down the street after you.”
“I wasn’t followed,” Kate repeated.
“How do we know we can trust… what are their names?” Victoria said.
“We can trust them,” Kate said.
“Are they family?” Gerard asked from across the room.
“No,” Kate said, scoffing at the idea.
“Then we can’t trust them.” Then he left the room, upstairs to where he’d been staying the last few weeks.
“Derek and Laura were at school,” Chris said from the living room.
“And Cora,” Kate said, slamming the fridge door shut as she twisted the top off a beer.
“No mention of Cora.”
The three of them walked into the living room to join him and he put his arm around Allison’s shoulders when she got close.
“Laura is next in line to be the Alpha,” Victoria said.
“She’s reckless,” Kate said. “She’ll be dead in a year anyway.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” Victoria muttered, “and yet, here she is. Still alive.”
On the screen was a boy, a few years older than her, his face hidden in his hands as the Sheriff patted his back. In the background, firefighters were battling flames licking out of a house in the middle of the woods. The bottom of the screen read, 8 Dead.
“You have a soft spot for him,” Chris said before Kate could retaliate to Victoria’s words.
“Who?”
“Derek. You could have done it, should have done it, in the middle of the night. Maximum damage. But you waited until he was in school.”
“Nah,” Kate said, dropping onto the couch and putting her feet on the table. Allison could see her mother’s lips purse but she said nothing. “Reddick said daytime was better. More activity, more chances of electrical issues. Besides, little Frannie and Ed’s kids were only staying the night, until Gail arrived tomorrow, and then our chance of maximum damage would be gone.”
“You couldn’t have waited until the last two Hale brats were home?” Victoria sneered.
“Look, snark all you want but I did more tonight than you’ve done in the last year for this family. Allison is safer than she has been since she was born now that Talia is gone. Just because I missed two doesn’t mean anything. I bet another pack is going to move in on their territory any minute now and either absorb the two brats or kill them off. Either way, they’re not a problem anymore. So can it.”
“Did you really just tell me to shut up in my own home?” Victoria hissed.
Allison pushed her shoulder into her father’s hip and his fingers tightened on her other shoulder.
“I’ll just let you two ladies talk this through on your own,” he said, stooping briefly to scoop Allison up with one arm. She was bordering on too big to carry, he’d said so several times over the last few weeks, so whenever he allowed it, she reveled in it, knowing it wouldn’t last forever. “I’ve had my share of familial knife stabbings for one year, thank you.”
“I don’t like it when they fight,” she said softly a few minutes later. He hadn’t mentioned where they were going, only strapped her into the car before hopping into the driver’s seat and taking off.
“It’s in their blood. They’ll fight, they’ll get it out of their system. Kate will pass out on the couch, Victoria will clean the house around her. It kind of works out for the best, actually. Now neither of them can take their anger out on us.”
“Mom’s always angry,” Allison muttered.
“True. Well, she has a lot to be angry about.”
“Like what?” Interest piqued, she stopped playing with the window button to turn and look at her father.
He was quiet for a long time before answering her. “That’s her story to tell, sweetheart. Not mine.”
