Scrambling out from the nursery, the fawn colored tom silently observed the snowy clearing. His gray eyes were wide as he watched the warriors and apprentices trot back and forth. They were reinforcing the barriers of camp, with many of the older does calling orders out to the fawns. "A little bit lower, Hazelpaw!" One muscular doe called up to her apprentice, who was precariously balanced on a black hawthorn bush. She was weaving brambles into a nearby yew, her body stretched across the two bushes.   

    Puffing, Hazelpaw removed the branches, then laced the brambles into the lower boughs of the yew. He trembled with excitement, his heart jumping at the thought of being an apprentice. 'Who would be my mentor?' Buckkit wondered to himself, his eyes flicking around camp. If he could even be an apprentice, that is. His joy flattened as he remembered he wasn't even supposed to be in the Clan.

    Let alone be born. He shook his fur immediately at the memory, his eyes growing fierce. 'It doesn't matter,' he tried to convince himself. 'I will make them realize that I should stay, that I can be a valuable member of the Clan!' He was jolted from his thoughts when a peach and gray doe trotted into the clearing. Her head was high as she held a squirrel in her jaws, her shoulders back confidently as she trotted across camp.

    Following her was a large warrior, a light gray doe, and a pale silver warrior. All four cats were laden with prey as they trotted into the center of camp. Many of the does working on the barriers paused to see who had entered camp. At the sight of prey, many of them congratulated the patrol and praised Faith the Divinity.

    "Nice catch!"

    "This is a good haul. Especially for the start of a pile."

    "Thank you, Faith! We'll be able to survive this after all." The patched doe started the fresh kill pile, walking away as the other warriors dropped their prey on top. Several of the working warriors ordered their apprentices to take a break. A couple of them snatched up a piece of fresh kill and trotted back to their den. They chatted excitedly as they settled beside the bramble den.

    The buck stretched onto his toes, shivering as he watched the warriors.

    'I can't imagine hunting in this snow,' he thought. He shivered again as he eyed the thick snow that laid around him. Two moons had passed since Buckkit's kitting, and days after his birth, several snowstorms had hit the forest. They were nonstop and tore up everything in their path, thanks to their high winds. The snowstorms had dragged into spring, forcing the prey to become well hidden in their dens. Along with destroying over half of the camp barriers, leaving the Clan defenseless from larger predators.

    When the storms had finally stopped, and the sun's rays became strong once again, the Clan's hope had risen. However, it was easy to tell, at just a glance, that the harsh winter had weakened the cats. Many of the warriors were scrawnier than was normal for winter. Even some of the apprentices had grown skinnier from those dark and cold days. Buckkit remembered overhearing Larkheart's conversation with Breezesky, a few days before the storms had ended.

《♡》

    "Does Cloudfall think it's a sign?" The tortoiseshell growled to the apprentice, her tail flicking. Sighing, Breezesky slowly shook her head, lowering it to peer at the ground.

    "She thinks everything is a sign right now," she muttered a bitter response. "If only she'd think before jumping to conclusions..." Larkheart snorted with laughter, her tail still flicking side to side.

    "It's her job as a medicine cat to do that," she meowed ruefully. "It's the best thing they're good at." The apprentice grunted in response, her head shaking again as she looked up.

    "She'll have to get over it soon," Breezesky muttered again. "At this rate, Harmonystar is going to either force her to be a warrior, or maybe even an elder. If she doesn't banish her first." Letting out another heavy sigh, the medicine cat apprentice stood and stalked away. Leaving the elder to ponder what she had said.

《♡》

    Squawking, Buckkit was shoved forward as paws pushed his hindquarters. "Move it, Buckkit!" A familiar voice ordered him as the paws continued to push him. He shook out his fur before bounding the rest of the way out of the den. Turning, he watched as the white and red kit stomped out of the nursery. Her thin fur was fluffed up against the freezing cold, and she immediately began to shiver.

    "Sorry, Redkit," he apologized, but he couldn't stop his whiskers from twitching. The youngest addition to the nursery had joined the Clan a moon ago, found abandoned on the outskirts of the Twolegplace. Normally, she would have been left at one of the twoleg dens, for the twolegs to take care of. Instead, Harmonystar allowed Brokendoe to nurse the young fawn, with Appledapple being named as her caretaker. After Redkit was weaned from the queen's milk a few days ago, Appledapple began to take care of the fawn. Secretly, the buck believed that she missed sharing the nest with them, because he would often find her trying to sneak into their nest.

    He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Hollykit slide after Redkit. Her smokey gray fur was smoothed back, but it glinted in the afternoon sunlight. It was as if she had just finished grooming her pelt. She was the eldest of the fawns, at three moons, and was found one moon before Buckkit was born. He watched her with entranced eyes, unable to help himself.

    "You don't need to be so pushy," Hollykit playfully scolded Redkit, cuffing her over the ears. The youngest fawn huffed, shuffling away from the older doe. Buckkit smirked a little at the interaction between the two fawns.

    "I wouldn't have to be pushy if he just moved," she muttered as she shook out her fur. Then, she turned and began to stomp away from the two, towards the Meeting Ledge. Hollykit rolled her eyes at the fawn, flashing a playful smirk at Buckkit. The tom couldn't stop himself from snickering as they eyed Redkit. Heartbeats later, the pair watched as she stormed right into a snowdrift. Her squeal was cut off as the snow enveloped her.

    Buckkit's eyes widened as he witnessed the young doe suddenly disappear into the snow. He was surprised, to say the least, that she of all cats would stumble into a snow drift.

    "Fox-dung!" Hollykit hissed as she bounded towards her denmate, with Buckkit right on her heels. Pausing beside the fawn, Hollykit leaned down and began to dig at the snow. Trotting around to the other side, Buckkit began to pull the snow away from Redkit.

    'Poor Redkit,' he sympathized, noticing her shivering body. 'She must always be so cold. I wish there was something I could do...' When her scruff was finally revealed, the two fawns stopped digging. Hollykit leaned down and grabbed a hold of Redkit's scruff. With a growl, she began to pull upwards while Buckkit pushed more snow out of the way.

    After several seconds, the older fawn managed to drag Redkit out of the snow drift. Buckkit bounded after them as Hollykit pulled the younger fawn away from the drift. Pausing beside the nursery, she gently dumped her denmate onto the ground. The buck trotted around the smokey gray doe and sniffed at Redkit, his bobbed tail twitching wildly.

    "You okay?" He asked as he stepped back beside Hollykit, who began to brush the snow out of Redkit's fur. The, already cold, fawn was now shivering like crazy, her eyes wide.

    "Th-this is t-too c-c-cold for m-me," she stuttered in response as her teeth knocked together. Her pink nose was beginning to almost look white, while her entire body trembled. Buckkit frowned, wanting to help her, but he couldn't think of anything to do.

    "Lick your fur the wrong way," Hollykit suggested as she continued to brush the snow off of her. Dipping her head, the patched fawn leaned down to start licking her fur. However, she struggled to lick it the opposite way, due to her shivering and the angle she was at. Frown deepening, Buckkit began to help Hollykit shove the snow off. When they had finished, he sat back on his haunches and tilted his head. He curiously examined Redkit, then Hollykit, then back to Redkit.

   'There has to be a way to keep her warm,' he thought, trying his best to think of something. 'There's always a way.' His frown deepened again, his mind churning through his thoughts. 'Always...' After several, several heartbeats, his eyes suddenly lit up as an idea came to mind. He jumped to his paws, tail wiggling excitedly, as he puffed out his chest. "I know what we can do," he announced, beginning to prance back and forth, causing both does to look up at him.

    "What? What do you know?" Hollykit asked confusedly, her head tipping to the side. Redkit frowned at him, also confused. Eyes still lit up, he explained,

    "Me and Hollykit can wrap ourselves around you, Redkit. Since our fur is longer, and thicker, we'll be able to keep you warm. And we can keep you protected from the snow." His gray eyes twinkled in the afternoon sun. As they twinkled, happiness buzzed through his body as he bounced up and down. Slowly, Hollykit nodded in agreement, turning to look at Redkit.

    "That'll definitely work. Come here, Redkit," she ordered. The lean doe grunted, but she didn't argue as she scooted closer to the oldest fawn. She acted annoyed, but her happy eyes betrayed her. Hollykit pressed in against Redkit's right side, while Buckkit padded up to her left. The three settled down onto the ground, then the pair curled around Redkit.

    Hollykit had wrapped her tail around the younger fawn, so it sat right behind Buckkit. The young buck had known his denmate was freezing, but he didn't know exactly how cold. Her flank felt like pure ice against his side, as if she had been dumped into a stream.

    'Poor Redkit... If only I could give her my thick fur,' he thought dishearteningly. 'Even if it meant not having any fur, I'd happily give up all of mine.' He turned and gave her a lick around the ear, hoping to reassure the fawn that he was there for her. She looked up at him with wide eyes, but he could see them lighting up with a joy he hadn't seen before. After sharing a look, they both lowered their heads to look back at the clearing. Silently, the trio watched as their Clanmates worked on the edges of camp.

    Tilting his head, Buckkit watched as a muscular apprentice shoved a large stick up to Firepaw. The fawn was balancing in a, less than sturdy, holly bush. He watched in awe as she grasped the stick in her jaws and dragged it farther up the bush. It was as if the stick was a small squirrel to the apprentice. 'Will we ever be that strong?' He asked himself as he witnessed Firepaw lower the stick back towards the ground.

    The sturdy fawn shoved the stick into the dirt, and pushed it as far down as she could. When she was done, the muscular apprentice on the ground began to intertwine ivy branches between the stick and holly bush. The idea of being strong like them sent the buck's heart racing excitedly. 'I want to be like them... Strong and confident,' he thought, his gray eyes twinkling. "Do you think we'll ever get to do that?"

    Buckkit whispered in awe as he watched Firepaw expertly leap from branch to branch. Hollykit snorted with laughter, lips twitching.

    "Definitely! All apprentices get to learn how to hunt in the trees." Buckkit and Redkit looked over at her as she raised her chin confidently. "I'm going to be the best tree hunter there's ever been. Even if it means I have to practice in my spare time," she announced, her gold eyes glinting with certainty. A small laugh left his muzzle as he nodded.

    "I don't doubt it, Hollykit. I know you can do it," he encouraged her, gray eyes glowing happily. The older fawn seemed even more certain now, a small smirk gracing its way onto her muzzle. She looked back at Firepaw as Redkit let out a loud grunt.

    "I'm fine with sticking to the ground, thank you very much." she meowed haughtily, wiggling further in between the two fawns. Buckkit couldn't stop his whiskers from twitching in amusement. "In fact, I'm going to be the best rabbit hunter. I'll even chase them through their burrows!" She announced, trying to mimic Hollykit's confidence.

    "I don't doubt that either, Redkit," he purred, giving her another lick behind her ear. Her own smirk twitched onto her muzzle as she glanced up at him, but he had already looked away. A wistful look had taken over his face as he watched the warriors and apprentices. "I'd love to do tree jumping, but I don't know if I'd be any good at it," he admitted, but his voice was strong. "I think I'll be better at hunting in the undergrowth. Plus, my tail is just a bit too short for tree jumping."

    He lifted up his haunches and wiggled his bobbed tail to show what he meant. The two does laughed, with Hollykit shaking her head while Redkit rolled onto her side. He lowered his haunches back down, whiskers trembling with laughter.

    "I know you'll do fine, Buckkit. You just need to have some more confidence in yourself," Hollykit teased him, flicking the buck's ear. Redkit snorted, her own tail twitching, as her ears flattened slightly.

    "I think you have enough confidence for all three of us," the youngest responded playfully. However, it sounded bitter to Buckkit, making him frown slightly.

   'What is she upset about?' he asked himself, eyeing the fawn. No answer came to him as he watched her stretch out her forelegs. The stretch made her push up against the older fawn, who looked down to glare playfully at her. Despite his thoughts, Buckkit couldn't stop himself from laughing at the looks the two fawns gave each other. The smokey gray cat sent him a glare of his own, but she also started to laugh.

    Soon enough, all three of them were giggling. As their snickers subsided, Buckkit looked back at the pair of apprentices. They were now weaving ivy and brambles between the stick and a vine maple, which was on the other side of the stick. Holding in his giggle, as an idea came to him, Buckkit peered around the front of Redkit to look at Hollykit.

    "Hey! We're the fluffy buddies!" He declared amusedly, his eyes twinkling. Turning to stare at him, Hollykit's whiskers began to tremble with glee.

    "The fluffy buddies?" She repeated, the laughter evident in her voice. He nodded rapidly, more giggles leaving his mouth.

    "Yep! We're the fluffy buddies. We're fluffy, and we're buddies." He snickered even more, rolling onto his side. Hollykit finally let out her cackle, a noise that sounded like gentle waves of a stream, to Buckkit. She nodded in agreement with what he said, struggling to control her laughter. Even Redkit's whiskers were twitching in amusement as she stared down at Buckkit.

    "I like it!" Redkit purred, her chin high. "Fluffy buddies!" The three fawns fell into another giggle fit, struggling to get themselves together, when a shadow fell over them. Immediately, they all looked up as they continued to laugh to their heart's content. Buckkit blinked up at the cat, head tilted, as he giggled. A large doe stood in front of them, her head tilted to the side as she examined them with curious, gold eyes.

    "What.. are you three doing?" Harmonystar asked after several heartbeats. Buckkit could see the wariness in her eyes whenever she glanced at him. However, he ignored it as he continued to laugh joyfully, rolling back onto his belly.

    "We're the fluffy buddies!" Buckkit explained, his tail waggling back and forth in merriment. Slowly, the leader blinked, looking over at the other two fawns. They looked just as happy, their bodies trembling all over as they tried to stop themselves from giggling to death.

    "Fluffy buddies," the leader echoed, turning her head to look back at the young buck. He rapidly nodded his head, shuffling his paws into the snow.

    "Fluffy buddies, fluffy buddies, fluffy buddies!" Redkit giggled suddenly as she sat up, wiggling her whole body. The slightly stern look on Harmonystar's face broke, a soft joy taking it over. She nodded slowly, her eyes gentle.

    "Hmph. Good. Just make sure to stay out from under the warriors' paws, okay?" she ordered them. They all nodded in sync, eyes lighting up even more. As she walked away, she meowed over her shoulder, "Have fun, fluffy buddies." They all seemed to pause, jaws dropping and eyes widening. They all shared surprised looks with each other, unsure of what to say or do.

    Heartbeats later, they fell into another giggle fit and began to whisper to each other excitedly.

    "Do you think other cats had a group name?" Redkit asked.

    "Who knows, but even if they did, I bet their leader didn't call them by it." Hollykit responded excitedly.

    "I wonder what their names would have been. Ooh, what if Harmonystar gives us fluffy when we get our warriors name?" Buckkit laughed. All three of them continued to giggle, when the buck suddenly looked up. He spotted his mother slipping out of the nursery, the queen not noticing the trio at the side of the den. Looking back at his denmates, he told them, "Hey, I'll be right back, guys." Then, he scrambled to his paws and eagerly bounded after Brokendoe as she padded towards the fresh kill pile.

    "H-hey! I'm gonna get cold again!" Redkit squeaked after the fawn.

    "It's okay, Redkit. Just scoot closer to me and you'll warm up." Hollykit soothed her. Their voices faded away behind him as he stopped beside his mother.

    "Hi Mama!" He announced loudly, eyes bright as he stared up at her. The queen's ears perked up as she looked down, her orange eyes full of love as she gazed at her son.

    "Hello, my sweet fawn. What are you up to today?" She asked him, leading the way towards the, now decent, fresh kill pile. Buckkit excitedly followed at her heels, tripping and stumbling in the thick snow.

    "Well, when I first left the den, I watched Darkberry and Hazelpaw work on the barrier. But, then Redkit shoved me so she could get outside. After that, she fell into a snow drift, so me and Hollykit dug her out," he started, tail wiggling happily. "But after that, she got really cold, and we tried to get the snow out of her fur. Though, that didn't help much." He took a deep breath and went on.

    "So, I came up with the idea for us to wrap around her, since we've got longer fur than her and we can keep her warm. Then, I thought about how we've got fluffy fur and so I called us the fluffy buddies." He paused to take another breath as they reached the prey, looking up at Brokendoe with joy filled eyes. Once he had his breath back again, Buckkit continued. "Oh, and Harmonystar asked what we were doing, 'cause we were laughing really hard. So we told her, and she ended up calling us fluffy buddies, too!"

    He bounced around, his eyes full of excitement and joy. Brokendoe, however, had started frowning when he mentioned Harmonystar. Noticing the look on her face, Buckkit began to wonder if his mother had a problem with the leader. Though, when she realized he was looking at her, she wiped the frown away and replaced it with a gentle look in her eyes.

    "That sounds like a lot of fun," she purred lovingly, before turning back to the prey. She began to pick through the pile, her ears pricked as she listened to Buckkit. He was nodding rapidly, bouncing on his toes.

    "It was. It was a lot of fun!" He shuffled his paws, eyes still lit up. As he watched Brokendoe, he slowly stopped shuffling his paws. He remembered the way Harmonystar had looked at him, the way that she often gave him the cold shoulder. The merriment fell away from his face as he stared up at his mother. "Hey, Mama..?" he asked softly, his ears drooping a little bit.

    He trembled, but this time from anxiety as he felt his heart begin to race. 'Is this a good idea? Would this even help at all?' he asked himself. Too late.

    "Yes, dear?" She hummed as she finally picked up a small pigeon from the pile. As Brokendoe turned and made to step away, Buckkit scrambled after her and responded,

    "Why does Harmonystar always look so.. upset when she sees me?" The queen stopped in her tracks, fur bristling, and she twisted to stare at her son. Putting down the pigeon, she asked softly,

    "What do you mean, Buckkit?" Embarrassedly, he looked down at his paws and shuffled them, his ears drooping down farther.

    'Can't turn back now,' he told himself, taking a deep breath. "Well... I've seen her look at me with these really angry frowns. I-it's like she just.. wants to swat me over the head. Everytime she sees me..." he mumbled, his tail twitching. Brokendoe's face became crestfallen as she listened to her son, her ears flattening in what one could imagine was annoyance and worry.

    "Oh, my little fawn. I'm so sorry... I don't know why she's doing that," she murmured as she stepped back towards her fawn. The queen wrapped her tail around the buck, pulling him in close. He felt warm and comforted by her gesture, burying himself into her fur. "But, don't worry Buckkit.

    "I swear, I'm going to talk to her about it. Okay?" She promised, looking him directly in the eye. The fawn nodded in agreement, a relaxed and happy look taking over his face. A cough behind the pair made both of them turn to see Grayflight standing beside the fresh kill pile. Her one blue eye was full of scorn, glaring harshly at Brokendoe. Buckkit's fur bristled at the look, and his heart swelled with apprehension.

    All that he wanted to do was take his mother's place, to protect her from the sneering elder. Sadly, he knew he couldn't. He wasn't big enough to shield her from the glare.

    "You don't know why, huh?" The elder rasped, her voice full of venom. She shook her head at the queen. "You're smarter than that, Brokendoe," she sneered, tail lashing. The queen's fur bristled, her own tail tightening around the fawn. The buck's ears drooped again, and he flinched at the way the elder spoke.

    He shuffled into his mother's flank, wanting to disappear into her warmth, but also feeling the need to defend her.

    'Why is she like this?' He asked, hunching his shoulders as he watched the furious looking elder. 'And is there anything I can even do..?'

    "Enough, Grayflight," Brokendoe pleaded desperately, carefully pulling Buckkit farther away from the fresh kill pile. Instead, the large doe tilted her head back and let out a barking laugh. The raspy sound brought the attention of the other Clan cats, who all twisted to stare curiously at the two does.

    "Enough? It's never enough. You broke the code, and now you've stained the Clan with that.. buck. You don't deserve to be here... Harmonystar should have banished you the instant she found out," Grayflight hissed. The elder took a stop towards her, her fur bristling. Brokendoe stood there, dumbfounded, unsure of what to do as all eyes landed on her.

    Buckkit looked up, catching Hollykit's gold gaze with his own gray one. All he wanted to do was go to her, with his mother, but they couldn't. Not without making an even bigger scene. Hollykit's ears were partially flat and she had opened her jaws to say something, but she was interrupted. Whipping his head around, he blinked in surprise. Even Brokendoe looked shocked, taking another step back with Buckkit.

    "That is enough, Grayflight." A large orange tabby had stepped in front of the queen, her ears flat as she glared at the elder. Brokendoe blinked, slowly shaking her head. Buckkit glanced up at her, wondering why she was shaking her head.

    "Runningtiger, you don't have to do this," she whispered to the tabby. Runningtiger, however, ignored her as she faced off with Grayflight. When he saw movement out from the corner of his eye, Buckkit turned his head and peered around Brokendoe. The camp entrance shook, and then Harmonystar slipped into the clearing. She stopped, gold eyes flicking between the cats as she assessed the situation. It was as if she had been rooted to the spot she stood in.

    'Right on time, I guess,' Buckkit told himself ruefully. However, he saw the look on her face and made a quick judgement. 'We can't expect much help from her, can we?' He looked back at the elder and warrior, ears partially flat. Grayflight was frowning deeply at Runningtiger, her blue eye full of fury.

    "We've all made mistakes," the tabby meowed loudly, gathering the attention onto her. "All of us have broken the code at one point. Whether it was big or small. None of us are perfect, and we never will be." She paused to take a breath, narrowly glancing at Harmonystar. "That is why we, as warriors, do not get to judge each other for it.

    "Faith, and our leader, make that judgement call. Because they are the ones who will do what is right by the Clan." Runningtiger stopped to glance at Buckkit with a warm look. Afterwards, she turned back to Grayflight and continued. "Harmonystar said to treat Brokendoe and Buckkit like they are our Clanmates. For however long they stay with DoeClan, that is what we will do.

    "To treat them like our own, because they are our own. So, yes, Grayflight. It is enough." Silence settled over the Clan, all eyes trained on the four cats. Buckkit felt relief flood through his body at the warrior's words.

   'At least someone has our back... Maybe she'll become my mentor.' He shivered as he imagined being the apprentice to one of the cats who didn't approve of him. 'Good thing Grayflight is an elder now,' he added to himself. That's when he peered around his mother's legs again, watching the leader. Harmonystar's eyes met with his and she slowly looked away, her expression unreadable.

    Brokendoe must have just noticed the large doe, because she also twisted her head to watch the cat. Slowly, all heads turned or lifted to stare at Harmonystar. Her eyes flicked back to the cats as she realized that they were watching her. 'What's she going to do?' he wondered to himself, trembling as the snow began to penetrate his fur. 'I hope this is over soon...

    'I just want to go play with Hollykit and Redkit.' Raising her chin, Harmonystar connected her gaze with each individual doe. Her eyes skimmed over Brokendoe and Buckkit, the pair staring back unwaveringly. 'She won't stand up for us,' Buckkit realized bitterly. 'Why doesn't she like us..?' Instead of addressing the Clan, Harmonystar walked past all of them, and into her den.

    Grayflight and Runningtiger watched her as she walked away, eyes calculating as they did. After she disappeared, the elder turned and glared at the warrior with an angry blue eye. However, she remained silent as she snatched up a mouse from the fresh kill pile. Grayflight whipped around and stalked back towards the elder's den, growling. Buckkit felt a peaceful calm flood through him, relieved that the fighting had stopped. When Grayflight walked away, Runningtiger turned to Brokendoe.

    The warrior dipped her head to the queen before walking away as well, leaving the light chestnut doe staring after her. Now that the drama was over, the cats began to get back to work, orders being yowled to each other just like before. Sighing heavily, Brokendoe turned to Buckkit and nuzzled him. He leaned into her touch, soaking in her scent, until she stepped back and picked her pigeon up. Silently, she padded back towards the nursery, her head low. Buckkit felt his heart thrum with worry, but he did his best to squash it down.

    Now that he was no longer shielded by his mother, he trotted back towards Hollykit and Redkit, who were still by the nursery side. The pair of fawns were watching him with owl-like eyes, shock on both of their faces. Their eyes were equally full of worry as they bounded up to him. His whiskers trembled with some laughter at their looks, but he didn't feel giddy like before.

    "Are you okay?" Hollykit hissed as she rushed over to him, Redkit chasing after her. Numbly, he nodded, his gray eyes having lost their spark. He stopped and sat down in the snow, ignoring the cold that bit at his haunches.

    "Yeah... I just feel bad," he murmured, his shoulders hunched in like before. The older fawn's ears drooped, but then she pressed her muzzle against his. He was comforted by the gesture, leaning into her touch.

    "What do you feel bad about?" She asked softly, curling her tail over his shoulders, while Redkit pressed against his left side. Buckkit ducked his head, letting out a raspy sigh.

    "I feel like it's my fault that Mama is being treated this way..." he admitted, forcing his voice to sound even. "Grayflight, Cloudfall, Oakpaw, Moonblaze, Icelilac. They all treat her like fox-dung... Maybe even worse than fox-dung... Heck, even Harmonystar does it!"

    He looked up at Hollykit, his eyes full of hopelessness. "I-I don't think I should feel bad, but I do," he whispered, his eyes desperately searching her's. Redkit stared up at him with a caring look on her face. Gently, she pressed her head against his shoulder.

    "It's going to be okay, Buckkit!" She purred, in an attempt to make him happy. "It's not going to matter when we're older, because we're going to become the best warriors we can be! Then, we'll show them that you're just like every other cat. We'll be fluffy buddies forever!" Buckkit looked down at her, ears drooping.

    "Like every other cat..?" he echoed. "But those are the ones that have been treating my Mama like this. I don't want to be like them!" Redkit's joy fell as she realized what her words had meant. She opened her jaws to respond, but Hollykit beat her to it. The smokey gray fawn stood up, gaining Buckkit's attention.

    Gently, she reassured him,

    "That's not what she meant, Buckkit. She means that, when we become warriors, we're going to show them that you are deserving of being a part of the Clan. That both you and your Mama are deserving. Okay?" The younger fawn visibly relaxed, his ears perking back up, and he nodded. "It's going to be alright, Buckkit. Especially when you think about how, without Brokendoe, Redkit wouldn't have been able to stay with the Clan.

    "So just keep your chin up!" Hollykit kept a happy look on her face as she raised her left forepaw. Carefully, she used the back of it to push his chin up. Her whiskers flicked in a cheerful way, and he felt his heart swell with happiness.

   'She's right,' he told himself. 'We can get through this. And we will.' The light in his eyes returned, and Hollykit pressed her forehead lightly against his. Heart racing excitedly, and butterflies fluttering in his belly, Buckkit let his eyes drift close. Beside the buck, Redkit's ears flattened and she stepped away from him.

    Her bright yellow eyes, that once were joyous, glittered almost maliciously as she stared at the pair of older fawns.

~•《♡》•~

Author's Note

Another chapter is out! What did you guys think?

I hope you enjoyed it!

Why do you think Harmonystar is ignoring Brokendoe & Buckkit?

What do you guys think is going to happen in the next chapter?

What are your opinions on the following characters:

-Grayflight

-Runningtiger

-Hollykit

-Brokendoe

-Redkit

For a word count, I got 5,381.

~Dragon