Smokekit was coughing again. Batkit lifted her head and blinked her eyes then peered at her littermate with troubled eyes. Since birth the little tom had been weak, he was a sickly kit and too many times the little one had heard the murmurs...that Smokekit may soon join StarClan one day, not matter how many herbs her 'mother' gave him.
Batkit stood on unsteady legs and carefully pulled the moss over her brother, like how she had saw Sorreltail and Brightheart do with their kits. It must kept him warm or something, but Batkit didn't know for sure. She hated it. She hated hearing the rasping coughs that shook Stormkit's body and how frail he seemed despite being older by five mousebeats.
A gentle tongue rasped over Smokekit's form which calmed its shivers and the tom-kit gave a sigh of content or relief. Batkit felt Daisy lick her across the head, purring. "You did a fine job," the creamy queen purred gently, her voice lowered to not disturb the other residents. Batkit looked up at her, her eyes blinking and wide, she didn't want Smokekit to die. "Will he be alright?" The tiny she-kit asked as Ferncloud joined them, her green eyes warm and kind. The gray speckled queen licked her ears. "He will, he just needs to rest and StarClan will guide him."
Batkit didn't know if that was true, but she turned circles in the moss then laid down and went back to sleep.
Snowkit nudged Batkit with his nose, successfully pushing the smaller kit out of the nest she shared with Daisy and Smokekit. The white tom blinked his amber eyes, pleased with his success. "You have to watch them," Lilykit scolded the white kitten. Lilykit and Seedkit were five moons old and would soon be made apprentices, they seemed to think that being the oldest kits in the nursery meant they had to be responsible and they did.
"Well she needed help," Snowkit defended himself, licking his chest fur indignantly. "She's smaller than a flea and couldn't do it herself." "Could too!" Batkit spoke up, her golden-tinted gray fur fluffing up until she looked like a little cotton ball. Snowkit was a pain in the tail, but he meant well and she knew that, but the comment on her size stung.
"Don't mind him," Dewkit soothed her, running his small dark tail down her flank. "He's a mousebrain." Batkit let out a purr of laughter at that while Snowkit scowled. Amberkit had been quiet, but her gaze was back on the nest. "What about Smokekit?" she asked and Batkit scampered back to it, resting her tiny forepaws on the mossy cushion.
"Come on, Smokekit," she mewed to her littermate, "Let's go out into the clearing!" she chirped, kneading the moss with her paws. Daisy purred and gently nosed her away. "Let him sleep, he's had a rough night." She meowed. Batkit's ears drooped but Seedkit nudged her flank and the kits darted out of the nursery.
The clearing was an array of activity and it wasn't even sunhigh yet. Patrols were leaving and returning and those who that were not on patrol was either resting in the clearing or in their dens. Over where the apprentice den was, Molepaw and Cherrypaw were play-fighting, their pelts blending in the morning light.
Batkit watched them with a hint of longing and envy. What it would be like to be an apprentice, to be able to hunt and fight. Then again she liked being just a kit and not having to worry about getting up early for patrols. How could any cat decide what made them happy? The two older kits scampered over to the apprentices, leaving Batkit with the three kits.
Snowkit let out a snort. "Smarty-paws," he grunted, his amber eyes holding both contempt and envy as he watched Lilykit and Seedkit beg the two older cats for a lesson. Amberkit rolled her eyes at the comment then smiled at Batkit. "Come on, let's show you around." Batkit nodded quickly and trotted after the three kits.
Batkit's paws were sore and her legs felt heavy as she trudged after her denmates. Now they weren't doing much, but the kitten wonder how any cat could bear doing this all day. They had explored the warriors den, then the elders den where Purdy engaged them with one of his very long tales while Mousefur was curled up asleep. They were able to explore the apprentice den finally and now were just sitting. Or at least Batkit and Amberkit was, Snowkit and Dewkit were playing.
Batkit peered around the clearing, taking note of the strange sounds, but her paws were tugging her in the direction of a den. The medicine cat den where her 'mother' was. Batkit glanced at her denmates then turned and darted over behind the bramble barrier.
A dark brown she-cat lifted her head from the nest. "Hey Batkit!" Briarlight purred and dragged herself over to where Batkit was standing and touched noses to the young kitten. Batkit had been in this den plenty of times before and she understood why Briarlight was here and not out patrolling or doing normal warrior stuff.
Batkit peered around the den, feeling comforted almost immediately. This was a place of quiet and healing, where Jayfeather tended the cats of illness or injuries. Briarlight was his helper and helped him sort herbs or tend injuries. It was something that she had to do as she couldn't be a normal warrior.
She tasted the air, detecting the pungent scents of herbs and the faint odors of her Clanmates who had visited. She detected Foxleap and Cloudtail was fairly fresh, he must had just left. As for her 'mother'...she didn't see him...but jumped feeling a bump from behind and turned quickly.
Jayfeather loomed over her, his eyes were looking at her, but unseeing. She knew that Jayfeather could never see, but that never upset her, neither did the fact that she had two toms were parents, though the case of how that happened...is fuzzy. Jayfeather left the Clan one day and a few days later stumbled back into camp with two tiny kits, one thing was known that these kits were Lionblaze's, who was now actually Jayfeather's mate.
"Hi," Batkit chirped and rubbed against his legs, purring. Jayfeather's whiskers twitched and he leaned down to rasped his tongue over her head. "Are you being good?" he asked her, warmth obviously in his voice even if his eyes could not show the emotion. "Yep," Batkit replied and closed her eyes, but they popped over as she nearly fell over, her exhaustion finally starting to overcome her.
Jayfeather chuckled a little and gently nosed her around the barrier to where Lionblaze was standing, a vole in his jaws. Batkit blinked up at her other father and purred a sleepy 'hello' before she was exchanged for the dead mouse and taken back to the nursery. Batkit yawned. "I'm not sleepy," she protested as she was sat in Daisy's nest. Lionblaze twitched his whiskers in amusement. "A good warrior must get plenty of rest," he told her.
"You have plenty of time to explore."
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