Rushkit yawned, she had wanted to help Shadepaw do her apprentice duties. The dark gray she-cat hadn't asked for help, but Rushkit liked to think they were friends. That meant she helped Shadepaw a lot, but this time she traveled across camp as many times as Starpelt's length across the sky. Sprucekit had been sleeping, One of these times it's going to get him in trouble, she thought crossly. He always overslept when it felt like Rushkit always underslept.
       "Shadepaw!" A call rang out through the camp, it was her mentor, Beewhisker, the golden; dusty tom, meaning she had to go.
       "Thanks Rushkit!" She purred and raced off. Rushkit sat and watched, until she got bored. Rushkit decided to go and wake up her brother, she had to practice for when she will become an apprentice in three moons. 

       "Sprucekit?" she called quietly, so she wouldn't wake up Songkit and the tiny Tinykit. Rushkit padded forward, and prodded her brothers shoulder, he looked up, blinking heavily. 

       "What Rushkit?" he yawned, clearly annoyed, "just because you always wake up early doesn't mean I have to too," Sprucekit nudged himself deeper against Burnfur's belly. Rushkit sighed and rolled her eyes.

       "Sprucekit, Come on! I just want to play with you! What else is having a sibling for?" Rushkit whined and tried to put her paws between her brother and her mother, without waking Burnfur up. "Stop being so lazy!" she cried, "This will become a bad habit! When and IF you become a warrior everyone will think your lazy and--," she got cut off by Sprucekit's tail in her mouth.

       "Hey--," Sprucekit jumped up.

       "Okay! Okay! I'll play with you!" he sighed and Rushkit purred, "but only because you are super annoying!" he grinned and Rushkit knocked into him. He let out a grunt, but got a paw free and cuffed his paw over her ear. Rushkit let out a squeak and pushed herself up, she then pattered her paws on his belly, he let out a rumble of a purr, but squiggles around so he wouldn't be tickled anymore.

       Sprucekit then revolted and spun up and around, skidding a little on his paws before standing up and hooking his paw around her paw so she slipped and landed on her back, she let out a huff as she hit the ground, but before Sprucekit could pin her down, she got back up. They both lunged forward, in a ball of fluff and dirt, and paws. They stopped when they heard a rough chuckling behind them, tearing themselves apart and sitting down in front of their father,Thistleface, he bent down and licked some dust from atop of Rushkit's head.Knowing better than to pull back, she stay stiff, but when he goes to lick Sprucekit's head he recoils, hissing, and wipes his head with his paw, giving Thistleface a dirty look. Thistleface growls and Sprucekit stops with his paw on his head realizing.

    "I-I'm sorry!" he cries, but it's too late, Thistleface takes Sprucekit and Rushkit to the corner. He blocks anybody's view, that they might be able to see. Sprucekit cowers back, surely trying to disappear, Rushkit follows. Rushkit's heart beats twice for every normal time, her father's light blue eyes flashed.

"You'll be sorry," he growled, swiping a unsheathed claw over both of their ears, Sprucekit let out a small whimper, she looked over, but didn't see anything on his ear, but she felt a warm trickle of... blood!  

       "Y-Y-You used unsheathed claws!" she said, not helping but let the hurt in her voice, "Normally it's just a painful cuff over the ear!" she whined, letting out a whimper, with a little defiance. As she continued her little, explosion, he shook his head, whimpering, trying to get her to stop, but she just continued.

       "You know! You shouldn't even be cuffing us unless we do normal bad thing kits do! because when we just, be us! You hurt us!" she cried, shaking, in a mixture of fear, sadness, and anger. When Thistleface turned his face toward his daughter, his light blue eyes burned with anger, "Where's your RESPECT!" he snarled, his face inches away from her's, his terrible breath seemed to burn her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut as he continued to spit unkind words in her face, seemed to fill her ears and in her head, Not good enough, Useless, Waste of space. -If I could, I'd  close my ears- She thought sourly. 

  *******

       Rushkit walked away lucky,he had pushed her into the thorn protection wall, and the swiped ear. She walked limply along, head down in shame as eyes collected on her. The right side of her body and her tail where covered in thorns that refused to come out, making each movement painful. She scooted herself all the way to the medicine cat den, when she walked in Woolpaw was sorting through good and dry, unusable herbs. Rushkit let him know she was here by dragging her paws more, Woolpaw looked over his shoulder. Without even realizing it he looked her up and down, checking her condition then going back to his herbs. 

       "Falconsight," he said, "Will be back momentarily, s-s-she should be returning with some Marigold.. Curl up in one of those nest's..... u-until then..." he pointed with his tail to the nest and she limped over, falling onto her left side, all spread out. Rushkit felt a certain lull when in the medicine cat den, the dry leaves crackling and breaking apart against the hard floor, and the water that had created the river into the ground that always rushed past. 

       Rushkit liked to believe she was named after the crazy river that ran through the medicine cat den, If she wasn't, Rushkit was just fine with her. Not long after she had fallen into a light sleep did she feel a little nudge on her head, she woke, blinking heavily and looking up at Falconsight, her sharp amber eyes that never missed anything, looked down at her.

       "Good, your awake," Falconsight said, looking at all her scratches.

       "Well yeah, you just woke me," she grumbled, still dazed from her little nap. Falconsight pretended she didn't hear this and kept checking Rushkit's smaller then average body. When she touched with her paw, pain seemed to pulse on her flank. 

       "Hmm.... Woolpaw? Get me-," she stopped and thought, sighing. "Okay, get Rushkit here some Goldenrod and Comfrey, so she won't come back complaining to me," She threw a look at the kit. Rushkit was about to interrupt that she could take the pricks and pains, but thought better of it. She felt a prick in her side, and muffled a yelp, she looked up and around, Falconsight had just taken a thorn from her side. She decided to close her eyes, letting sleep take her. 

(Sorry It took so long guys! -or you know, who's reading-  I was finding myself with temporary writers block? Well... I hope you guys enjoyed!)