Chapter Five
Pain of Betrayal

The next morning dawned cold and gray. Flowerkit's moss was damp as he stirred from his nest. Ashenbird was laying beside him, with her head on her paws but her eyes open. She smiled when she saw Flowerkit was awake.

The young tom bared his teeth in a yawn. "Where's the sun?" he mumbled sleepily.

"It's hiding today," Ashenbird replied quietly. "You can stay in your nest if you want."

Flowerkit mulled it over, having not quite reached full awareness. He yawned again. "No, I'm hungry," he mewed finally, standing up and stretching out his legs. The air was cold, and he fluffed out his fur against the chill.

When he emerged from the nursery, he was greeted by a spattering of drops on his head from the brambles. The tom flicked his ears crossly. There was a fine mist in the air, not quite rain, but enough to make everything wet. A few cats moved lazily around camp, but activity was muted.

Flowerkit picked his way slowly across the damp grass towards the prey pile. He was disappointed to see only a couple soaked mice laying there. He didn't want soggy fresh-kill!

"The hunting patrol should be back soon," a voice said from behind Flowerkit.

He turned to see that a broad-shouldered, mostly black tortoiseshell tom had come up behind him. The warrior sat and ran a paw along his whiskers. "At least, I hope so. I'm so hungry I could eat a badger!"

A lean black tom with fur like Flowerkit's came up beside him. "There's still two mice there, Crowstorm," he meowed with a roll of his eyes.

"But they're wet! That's gross! Right, Flowerkit?" The larger tom, Crowstorm, turned to the kit with an expectant look in his bright amber eyes.

"Er... Yeah." Flowerkit nodded. "Who wants wet prey?"

"Exactly!" Crowstorm said triumphantly.

"I don't see how that's any worse than a badger," the solid black warrior replied, wrinkling his nose.

"It's called a figure of speech, mouse-brain," Crowstorm snorted.

Ashenbird came padding up to them. "Beetlepelt, Crowstorm, my sons, how are you?"

Crowstorm leaned over and licked the queen's ear. "We're well, Ashenbird. And you?"

Flowerkit glared. "Sons? But you're my mother!" he protested to Ashenbird before she could reply.

"She's our mother too, kitten," Beetlepelt said with a sneer.

Flowerkit blinked. He knew Ashenbird had other litters, but he hadn't ever really realized that meant he had other kin. "So you're my brothers?" he mewed hesitantly.

"Guess so, brother," Crowstorm said cheerfully. He flicked his tail over Flowerkit's ears, making him flinch. "We're all kin here."

Flowerkit regarded the two warriors dubiously. Beetlepelt's fur was the same color as his, and Crowstorm had the same orange eyes... But Flowerkit didn't know if he wanted these two furballs to be his brothers. He wanted his brother, the one whose name Ashenbird hadn't said.

Flowerkit turned his back on his supposed kin and with slow pawsteps made his way back to the nursery. If there was no prey to be found and nothing to do in this chill he wanted to be back in his nest.

Unfortunately, his wishes weren't often granted.

Just as Flowerkit reached the gap in the bramble walls a sudden weight hit him from out of nowhere. He was sent sprawling, the breath knocked out of him. And then he couldn't breathe with a paw pressing down on his chest.

"Look here, it's the little troublemaker," growled a familiar voice.

"Mosskit!" Flowerkit spat. He glared up into her deep green eyes, narrowed in anger. The she-kit just huffed.

"It's your fault we have to wait an extra moon for our apprentice ceremony," she hissed, for now Acornkit had come up beside them. "You didn't really think you would get away with that, did you?"

Flowerkit hissed and lashed out at her with his paws, but she just put more pressure on his chest. "I'm going to make you pay!" Mosskit growled.

Claws dug into his shoulder, but when Flowerkit cried out in pain he was muffled by thick fur pressed against his muzzle. Acornkit's tail. It was suffocating him. Flowerkit thrashed under Mosskit's weight as pain blossomed from his shoulder and spiked from other various places. He couldn't breathe. Dark spots danced in his vision and his chest screamed for air, and all Flowerkit could feel was pain, pain, pain before he blacked out completely.