Thornkit

"Brokenkit? Thornkit? It's time to go."

Thornkit lifted his head, his brown tail flicking in confusion and irritation. "What do you mean? I thought only Brokenkit was going.."

Darktail entered the den and turned to cast a confused glance at the kit before turning to Brokenkit. "You didn't tell him?"

"No," Brokenkit shook her small head regretfully, "I forgot..." She glanced at Thornkit carefully, her mismatched eyes strained and sorrowful, as though she was a starved fox looking at the only piece of prey across a huge cliff in which she could never reach.

Darktail gave her a frustrated sigh before flicking his tail for them to follow. "It's fine, I guess. Now lets go."

"Fine," Thornkit hissed under his breath while he stood up, turning to his brothers, he mewed. "Stay here; I'll be back soon." I think, Thornkit murmured the last part inside his head as he followed Darktail and Brokenkit outside.

The rain had turned to a light drizzle, the dark clouds only a light silver color now. The cold winds had eased to a lazy breeze, and the camp was returning to normal. At the entrance, Thornkit saw Goldenwing, Falconblaze, Gingerpaw, Frostleap, Thornstep, and a RiverClan she-cat.

What is she doing here? Thornkit wondered suspiciously, keeping one eye on the rival cat, he padded up to Frostleap.

"Hello," Frostleap purred when she noticed Thornkit, "Mudstar already informed us of your company."

"Yeah," Thornkit touched his tail to her shoulder in greeting, in fact he was about the size of an apprentice now.

"I wonder who'll be your mentor when the time comes," Frostleap spoke his thoughts as she looked him up and down. "You and your brothers will be apprenticed soon. Then Brokenkit will too."

At the mention of the younger kit's name, Thornkit searched the patrol of cats for her patched pelt and found her a little ways away, sitting with Gingerpaw and her father, Falconblaze. Brokenkit was staring at him and when their eyes locked, she turned away to murmur something into Gingerpaw's ear. The only hint Thornkit got was when Gingerpaw curled her tail in amusement.

"You know, I've been waiting for an apprentice of my own," Frostleap muttered under her breath as Darktail passed by, his ears perked as he caught her mew and he paused to give them a swift nod.

"I'll see to it that you get an apprentice," he promised to the dusty white she-cat.

Frostleap nodded, gratitude clear in her blue eyes. As Darktail took his leave, the she-cat turned back to Thornkit. "Your almost six moons?"

Thornkit nodded proudly, puffing out his chest and catching an amused glance from Brokenkit and Gingerpaw.

"Good." Frostleap meowed cheerfully.

A loud yowl rose above the buzz of conversation, quieting the waiting cats. "Time to go," Darktail ordered, turning, he vanished into the forest with the other cats at his heels.

After a moment, Darktail dropped back slightly to stay by Thornkit and Brokenkit's sides.

"So," Thornkit meowed, "What are we doing again?"

"Saving some water - I mean RiverClan kits." Brokenkit mewed swiftly before Darktail could say anything, but she refused to meet Thornkit's dark gaze.

Darktail and Thornkit shared a confused glance.

"Yes," Darktail murmured dryly, "That's our mission."

Thornkit just nodded, thousands of thoughts fluttering inside his furry head.

Brokenkit suddenly gasped and, before anyone could stop her, she darted into a thorn bush to their left. She let out a suppressed shriek of pain before she vanished from sight.

Thornkit immediately dove in after her, the sharp thorns catching his fur and scratching his pelt until he felt as though he had been sleeping in a pile of rabbit teeth. He heard Darktail and Goldenwing screech both his and Brokenkit's names before a crash echoed behind him and he knew someone had dove in after them.

Then he tumbled out from the bush into a clearing and he saw a hill with a cave in it's side. Brokenkit's tailtip was just disappearing into the cave when Thornkit scrambled after her, his pelt still burning from the thorns.

When Thornkit entered the cave and came around a bend, he froze. Before him stood a massive white and gray tom, two frightened kits, a limp body of a kit, Brokenkit bristling, and a large glowing stone.

"Get away from those kits!" Brokenkit spat at the tom bravely, her mismatched eyes filled with such fury that sent shivers down Thornkit's spine.

The tom just released an insane laugh, "For what? Another helpless kit?" He growled, stepping forward and raising unsheathed claws.

Before any cat could move, a ginger pelt flashed across the ground that separated the cats and a hiss of fury echoed in the cave. Gingerpaw bowled the tom over, digging her claws into his shoulders roughly.

Another spitting cat entered the cave, only a streak of gold as Goldenwing sank her teeth into the tom's back leg.

The tom thrashed and kicked, hissing and spitting, half in pain and half in anger. The tom was too much for the she-cats and he fought himself free. Crouching, the tom raked his claws over Goldenwing's flank and, at the same time, bit into Gingerpaw's ear, tearing it.

Brokenkit looked about ready to pounce on the tom, forcing Thornkit to take action. He raced to her side and rubbed his head against her cheek in a rough nuzzle, hoping to calm her.

Another cat raced into the den, it was that RiverClan she-cat, but instead of helping the ThunderClan cats battle, she stopped to check on the three unknown kits. The one in which was still limp on the ground, it's blood flowing around it's silver body and staining it a dark red.

"Silverkit - Silverkit is dead!"