Two Birds/Chapter 1

Creekkit's POV
A cold wetness on his nose made Creekkit's eyes blink open. He reeled back, looking around in confusion. He looked up to see the smallest hole in the nursery roof, where water was dripping into the den.
Creekkit relaxed a bit and went off into a doze. It was Newleaf.
He had never seen the forest alive and and green before, he'd get to see it soon enough! He constantly dreamed of what it was like to feel warm for once.
Four moons had passed since he and Talonkit had joined the Clan; PebbleClan.
When they first got to camp, Talonkit had woken up and started hitting every cat she saw, but she soon relaxed when they were given food.
Talonkit had slowly warmed up to her new Clanmates. It took Creekkit sometime to get used to his Clan, but it didn't take *too* long.
The cats of PebbleClan were always nice to him, but over the past few moons they didn't seem as kind as that night in the snowy forest, they acted like he was just an extra mouth to feed now.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit Creekkit's cheek and his tiny body tumbled to the ground from the force. He lie on his belly, staring up with wide eyes at the older kit, Wispkit, at her side was Flightkit.
"Wake up, stupid! It's like..." Wispkit paused, eyes blurring as she thought of a good jab. "Sunhigh!" she finally said, proud of her cleverness, beside her Flightkit nodded his approval.
Creekkit got to his paws as the two kits abandoned him, chasing each other out the den.
He looked around, bewildered with what had happened. He had a feeling why Wispkit and Flightkit didn't like him.
Wispkit and Flightkit's mother, Frostshine, was Creekkit and Talonkit's foster mother, and he and Talonkit were younger, so they got more attention.
Creekkit pulled himself over the ridge of his mossy nest, grunting with effort, then plopped down on the other side, looking so proud. He scampered out of the nursery, so fast he didn't notice what was happening around him.
He tripped and fell face first into a mud puddle. He lifted his head, blinking the muddy water from his eyes.
He sat in the middle of a huge puddle, and when his gaze searched the camp, he realized the whole floor was covered with them.
Creekkit stood up; he was belly deep in the mud-water and half swam, half walked out, fur plastered to his sides. He shook out the dirty water, wrinkling his nose with disgust.
Once he felt clean enough, he looked around with amazement.
The trees that stood tall and strong above the camp had little green buds of life growing on them, water dripped down from their branches onto his forehead from the melting snow.
"Lower your tail."
Creekkit's head snapped over to the boulder where the medicine cats den was.
A few paces away from it was Mountainpaw, with Stonekit, Falconkit, Talonkit, Wispkit, and Flightkit all crouching eagerly. They were practicing the hunters crouch.
Creekkit twitched with excitement and scampered over, splashing through the puddles, louder than a badger.
By the time he reached the bigger cats, they were all staring at him. Falconkit giggled quietly but the mottled gray Stonekit shut him up with a sharp glance.
"...As I was saying...," Mountainpaw began, slowly removing his amber gaze from Creekkit to focus on the other kits. "Keep your -"
"Can I try?"
Mountainpaw's eyes closed tightly and he slowly looked back at Creekkit, who was looking up at the apprentice eagerly. Wispkit and Flightkit let out quiet moans, and Creekkit was curious why they cared.
Talonkit hushed the two kits with a threatening glare and turned a much softer, warmer gaze to Creekkit. "Of course you can!"
Creekkit hurried over the last few steps to join the group, standing next to Talonkit. Rolling his eyes, Mountainpaw began, annoyance making his pelt bristle.
"*As I was saying...* Keep your tail still and just above the ground," Mountainpaw grunted, crouching down and doing exactly as he said with his own tail.
"Remember to bring all of your weight to your hindlegs, then let it flow through you with the pounce, and then in the end, it'll all be in your front paws, smashing down on your prey."
All the kits lowered themselves, and Creekkit followed their lead, suddenly wondering if they were all near the medicine den for a reason... *Maybe we'll hit our heads on a rock?*
He ignored that and focused on trying to keep his twitching tail still, which he failed at as it twitched even more, brushing the dead leaves that still lie on the ground from Leaf-fall, making loud crackles.
Wispkit cast him a sidelong glare from her yellow eyes.
Talonkit glanced at his tail, then placed hers beneath his, so that when it flicked around, it hit her fluff instead of sending leaves flying around.
Creekkit shot her a grateful look, and Wispkit, glancing towards their tails snorted and reeled back. "Creekkit's cheating!"
Mountainpaw let out a sigh. "Why am I training kits? It's impossible! I'm going hunting," he said, briskly, then trotted quickly away from the kits before they could argue, and brushed through the gorse entrance of the camp.
Creekkit relaxed his tense muscles as he lifted himself up from the crouch. What happened?
Flightkit let out an 'ugh', lashing his gray patched tail.
Wispkit whipped her head back to Creekkit, her eyes as cold as ice. "Now look what you've done!"
Creekkit stared at her. "What did I do?" he asked, eyes clouded with confusion. "What happened?"
Wispkit twitched her whiskers. "You were *cheating.* You're supposed to keep your tail still on your own, not have your sister muffle the noise for you," she growled, her marble striped pelt prickled irritably.
Creekkit blinked. "Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't reali -"
"He *wasn't* cheating. I was the one who helped him, so I'm the one who cheated," Talonkit cut him off, her own speckled pelt bristling.
Wispkit studied Talonkit. Talonkit was much larger than Wispkit, taller, and stronger.
After a few moments sizeing the gray she-cat up, Wispkit let her pelt relax.
"Of course. You're right. I guess it's not a big deal... you were just trying to help him," she said, voice as smooth as honey, but her eyes scorched Creekkit's pelt.
She was still angry at him, he was sure.
But she knew she wouldn't stand a chance fighting Talonkit.
Talonkit let her own pelt relax, and her anger quickly faded. "Okay, we're all cool then," she said, sitting down with a splash on the wet ground.
They all sat in an awkward silence afterwards, for about ten minutes, until Stonekit shyly got to her paws. "I'm going to go take a nap..." she said, eyeing the others as if they would be offended.
Falconkit quickly followed his sister. "Yeah, me too, some weird stuffs going down right now," he said, loudly, then hurried to the nursery with Stonekit in the lead.
Flightkit let out a quiet snort. "I'm going to eat," he announced, taking off before anyone could reply.
Talonkit still sat in her muddy place, looking a bit downcast, as if she felt guilty for driving the other kits away.
Only Wispkit remained, who soon nodded coolly and followed her brother.
Creekkit felt guilt biting his fur. If he had never joined in with the training, this would never have happened.
Talonkit could still be playing with her friends right now "I'm sorry," he mewed softly to Talonkit, avoiding her pale eyes.
Talonkit snorted a laugh. "Sorry for what? There's not even such thing as cheating by taking someone's help. It was your first time at the crouch anyway. Wispkit's just stupid and jealous."
Creekkit looked up at her, his sad eyes alight with surprise. "Why would she be jealous of me? I'm the smallest kit in all of the Clans, I'm not a good fighter... I don't have many friends.. I only have you."
Talonkit whipped her tail. "Stop yapping nonsense! None of that's important," she reassured.
"She's jealous that you get all of Frostshine's attention."
Creekkit frowned. "But Frostshine doesn't like me. She only pays attention to me because Ravenstar and Applepad make her," he said, feeling ruffled by how truthful his words were.
Frostshine never liked him that much... he assumed it was because he was a loner kit before, but then again... she didn't seem to have a problem with Talonkit.
Talonkit let out an annoyed hiss. "Frostshine does like you. She just has a hard time showing it... "
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Creekkit put on the brightest face he could manage, which wasn't that good. He didn't want Talonkit to worry about him.
It seemed like all Talonkit ever did was worry over him, or try to protect him...
Creekkit was really thankful for her support, but it seemed like that was all she was when she was with him; a body guard.
He wanted her to focus on her own life... not his... maybe she could give him a chance to defend himself for once...