Hey everyone, it's Shadow. I will be doing Prin Pardus's 100 OneShot Challenge! I really hope that I can do this, because I suck at these things. There are rules, too. It has to be at least 1,500 words. I have to do the themes in order. I can interpret them in anyway I feel like. This is the first one. Please enjoy.
Injured
Sunkit let out a squeak of surprise. He had tripped over a rock that he hadn't noticed, and almost ran into a squirrel. He sighed. He was too little for this forest. "Why are we out of camp again? I'm hungry." As if to confirm, his stomach growled.
"We're going to find some catmint for mommy, remember. She's sick and we have to help her," Flamekit reminded him. "I'm hungry too, but we can eat after we find the catmint."
"I'm hungry though," he whispered, "but we have to help momma." Only two days ago his mother, Froststar, had caught greencough. According to Breezepaw, it may turn into whitecough if not treated. There was no supply of catmint anywhere on the territory. The two kits had decided to sneak out of camp to find some. Unfortunately, they hadn't found any yet.
As they walked, Sunkit made another squeak. "Ow!" He stopped walking.
"What's wrong Sunkit?" asked Flamekit, turned towards her brother with concern.
Sunkit lifted his paw and saw a large thorn protruding from it. "I stepped on a thorn." He grabbed it between his teeth like Breezepaw had shown him. He started pulling on it slowly.
"That's not going to work," Flamekit meowed. "I'll do it." His sister grabbed the thorn between her teeth and jerked on it really hard.
"Ow!" He yowled. He looked at his paw. The thorn was gone, but it was covered in blood. "That hurt..." he mumbled. He started to lick his paw. When he was done, he looked at wound. It was still bleeding. "What now? Do we go back?"
"Of course not!" Flamekit exclaimed, sounding slightly offended. "We need that catmint. First, though, we need to wash off your paw."
"Yeah..." He sighed.
"Quiet!" Flamekit was moving her ears. "I think I hear water. What about you?"
Sunkit lifted his head and turned his ears. His sister was right, he could hear water. "I do too. Great, let's hurry before this gets infected."
Flamekit nodded. She helped keep her brother up as they walked to the water. As they emerged from some bushes, they saw a river. "Sunkit, I think this is the boundary between the territories!" she exclaimed.
Sunkit sniffed the air. "I think so, too." He started forward but stopped when he heard voices. He froze in fear.
"Sunkit, get back in the bushes! Those are the rouges!" Flamekit hissed.
Sunkit didn't move. He couldn't. Something was keeping him there.
"Sunkit!" Flamekit hissed again. As the cats emerged from the other side of the river, Flamekit disappeared into the bushes.
"Well, look at what's on the other side of the river. A kit," one of the cats meowed.
"Don't do anything Night. He's on his side," another cat meowed, obviously a she-cat.
"Shut up Flower!" the cat, Night, snapped. "I'm going to teach this kit a leasson." He smirked at the cat as he stepped into the river and swam across.
Sunkit became unfrozen, suddenly. He started to step backwards. "Run, Flamekit. Get one of the warriors. Hurry!" he whispered.
"What was that kit?" Night snapped.
"N-nothing," he stuttered. He dropped his tail and lowered his head. "P-please don't hurt me."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Night grabbed Sunkit by the scruff. "Clan rules, you aren't allowed out of camp. You are too close to the border. Tell me, what were you doing?"
"Night..." one of the other cats meowed.
"Hush Stone! Come on kit, tell me what you were doing." It was a command, and he had put a lot of emphasis on the word 'kit'.
"I stepped on a thorn looking for catmint so I came over to the river to wash it off," Sunkit quickly explained. He flattened his ears.
"I see. Well, what are you waiting for? Go wash it," Night told him, tossing him towards the river.
Sunkit landed with a thud a few mouse-lengths away from the edge. He got closer slowly.
"Hurry up!" Night told him. "I don't have all day."
Sunkit glanced at him. Night's claws were unsheathed and digging into the ground. He gave a tiny sigh before getting right to the edge and dipping his paws in. As he washed, he realized how fast the river was going. Just as he was finishing up, he was pushed. He gave a yowl.
He fell into the water. The water was pulling him down, and he could hear the voices of the rouges still.
"Night, how could you?" Flower yowled.
"How couldn't I?" He shot back.
Sunkit couldn't hear the voices anymore. They were getting quieter, meaning he was being pulled farther. He hit a rock. His claws dung into it, but he couldn't hold on, and was pulled into the river again.
He tried swimming. Everytime his head came above water he either breathed or yowled for help. He hit rocks and waterweeds. He couldn't hear anything anymore, except for the pounding of water in his ears.
He eventually got tangled up in some water vines. He tried to break free, but he couldn't. As he blacked out, he could hear a voice calling his name.
"I think he's waking up!" a voice he recognized as his sister's meowed excitedly. "Scarkit are you awake? Please be awake."
Scarkit? he asked himself. He opened one eye, and saw his sister. He fell straight back into unconciousness.
As he came back into conciousness, he could hear voices outside talking. "Clovertail, are you sure the wounds won't heal any better?" a voice asked.
"I'm positive, Froststar. I'm sorry, but your son will be scarred forever," Clovertail meowed, sadness in his voice.
"But-" a fit of coughing interrupted Froststar.
"Come back inside. You still have greencough, and the catmint Flower gave us isn't enough yet."
Scarkit opened his eyes as Clovertail and Froststar walked in. Froststar noticed this and ran over to him. "Oh Scarkit, I'm so happy that you are awake."
"Momma, why are you calling me Scarkit, and why did Flamekit call me Scarkit?" he lifted his head with strain.
"Y-you had a bad accident. You were badly hurt in the river. You had many deep scratches and cuts, and you were unconcious. When I found out that you're wounds may be scars, I renamed you, so that your name seems more warrior-like, even though you are a kit," Froststar explained, then went into another fit of coughs.
Clovertail took Froststar away from her kit. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked when she had stopped coughing.
"Of course. Ask me anything."
"Did Flower really bring catmint?" he asked.
There was a pause. Clovertail answered this one, though. "Yes, she did. She came into my den and began to explain what her clanmate had done. She said that she had snuck out, and this catmint was to make up for it."
"I see. If you see her at the next Gathering, tell her I say thank you," Scarkit meowed.
"Of course I will. Now rest, and we'll explain more things tomorrow when you awaken," Clovertail meowed.
Scarkit smiled. He placed his head back down onto his paws, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The next day he woke up, and was permitted back to the nursery. Scarkit played like any normal kit, but he could feel the stares of the other Clan cats. One was especially strong. That stare came from Shadowstorm.
Near the end of that day, Scarkit walked over to the black-and-white she-cat. "Why do you stare at me differently than every other cat?" he asked.
"I feel pity, because I've been hurt really badly once," Shadowstorm told him.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Well, when Wolfsky, Blueheart and I first came upon this territory, we were three loners called Wolf, Sapphire, and Shadow."
"You were loners?" Scarkit asked, surprised.
"Yes we were. Well anyways, we were looking for a good spot to hunt when my brother was attacked by a fox. He fought it, but the fox was too much for him. My sister soon joined in. I was the smallest, so they told me to hide. When they were both hurt to the point of unconsiousness, I finally realized that it was my turn to attack.
"I went after the fox. I attacked it with all my might. I did a lot of damage to the fox, but not enough. Before I was killed, a patrol saved me. I couldn't train for awhile, and when I was finally assigned a mentor, my first day was a tour from Skypaw, then Skykit. We were in the nursery when a cat came in and yowled that we were under attack." Shadowstorm finished, a smile on her face.
Scarkit was wide-eyed. "Wow! Tell me about the battle!"
"Maybe another time Scarkit, maybe another time." Shadowstorm smirked and walked away.
Scarkit flattened his ears. He had really wanted to hear the story. He gave a frown as he walked back to the nursery.
Inside, Flamekit was playing with Blueheart. Scarkit looked at the to-be queen. He just couldn't believe that she would be a fierce fighter. He smiled and curled up, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Word count: 1,526. I have to say, that was harder than I expected. Oh well, I can still do this. How was it?