Chapter 3

                Shadekit hurled himself towards the ShadowClan warrior closest to him and his friends followed. The she-cat yelped in surprise, quickly rolling over in an attempt to dislodge her attacker, not realizing Shadekit was the one sinking his thorn-sharp claws into her back.

                Bramblethorn scrambled back to his paws as his opponents suddenly staggered away from him and stared around in bewilderment. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the four kits, two on each warrior’s back. As he reared back and slashed at one ThunderClan cat’s nose, he mouthed the words, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!?

                Shadekit didn’t answer. As the ShadowClan warrior that Firekit and Darkkit were attacking looked over to see if his Clanmate could help him, his eyes narrowed. “What? Sootsplash, they’re kits!” the tom yowled.

                Sootsplash’s head snapped back towards her Clanmate. “What? Ashtail, you’re kidding, right? Why is ShadowClan letting kits fight?”

                Bramblethorn glared at the four kits. “They weren’t supposed to be here. Apparently, they snuck at of camp.”

                Ashtail nodded to his Clanmate. “Teach them a lesson!”

                Sootsplash rose up onto her hindlegs and Nightkit tumbled to the ground with a squeal, but Shadekit desperately tightened his grip. Ashtail followed the dark gray she-cat’s example and Firekit and Darkkit slid to the ground. The black-furred tom heard their cries of terror as they fled.

                Bramblethorn was forced to face both opponents once more. Shadekit summoned his courage. I belong to ShadowClan. I will not surrender and I will help my Clanmate!

                The young kit sliced his claws across the back of Sootsplash’s ear and she screeched in pain. Ashtail rushed over to help his Clanmate. Shadekit felt teeth meet his scruff and he wriggled around fruitlessly, attempting to escape. The ThunderClan tom turned his head and tossed the kit across the clearing.

                Shadekit hit the ground and agony exploded in his head. Everything was engulfed in darkness momentarily but his sight quickly returned. Still, his vision was blurred and pain pierced through his entire body.

                Directly in front of him, he thought he recognized his father battling on fearlessly against a massive white-furred tom. Snaketooth’s pelt was covered with scarlet blood and from his posture, he seemed exhausted. He tried to sidestep out of the way of the ThunderClan tom’s newest attack, but suddenly, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground. Shadekit wanted to hurry over and see if his father was okay, but the excruciating pain made it impossible to do anything other than breathing.

                Shadekit heard a distant yowl. “ShadowClan, retreat!” Maplestar cried. “Poppystar, you can have the territory for now. But I warn you, we will not allow you to keep it for long.”

                Frigid blackness swallowed him. Shadekit drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point, when he was half-conscious and his entire body felt as if it were on fire, he thought he heard voices calling, “Shadekit! Shadekit!”

                The next time he returned from the dream world, the pain had subsided slightly. Pungent odors immediately reached his nostrils and his eyes flickered open. He was in an unfamiliar den and a bluish-gray she-cat he’d never seen before was staring at him with twinkling green eyes. He let out a soft groan. “Where am I?”

                The bluish-gray she-cat padded over and gently rested her tail on his shoulders, reminding him of Cloudfrost. “You’re in the ThunderClan medicine cat den.”

                Shadekit tried to pull away. “Why am I not in ShadowClan?” he demanded.

                The she-cat’s eyes were kind and sympathetic. “We found you when we were patrolling the new territory we gained at that battle.”

                Shadekit bristled at the mention of the terrible border fight and she paused, glancing at him apologetically. “Anyhow, you were unconscious and seemed to be injured so they carried you back to our camp,” the ThunderClan she-cat continued. “I’m the medicine cat for our Clan. My name is Starlingflight, by the way.”

                Why would ThunderClan care that I was wounded? I don’t understand…

                He met her gaze. “My name is Shadekit.”

                A high-pitched squeal came from outside the den. “Can I help, please, Starlingflight?” the she-cat, obviously young, begged.

                “Sure, Honeykit! Grab the smallest poppy seed you can find in our supplies for me, okay?” the medicine cat responded.

                A kit with golden fur and sparkling amber eyes dashed in. “Okay! THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!”

                Starlingflight’s whiskers twitched but she said nothing. Honeykit soon returned with a poppy seed and for the first time, looked directly at Shadekit. Her eyes widened. “Um, hi,” she stammered. “What’s your name?”

                The black-furred tom met her eyes. Great StarClan, she has gorgeous eyes! “Shadekit.”

                Honeykit blinked shyly. “That’s a cool name! It suits you perfectly!”

                “Yours is better,” he purred.

                Starlingflight didn’t look pleased with the kits’ conversation for some reason. “Honeykit, why don’t you go play with your siblings? I bet Lionkit and Stormkit are having lots of fun!”

                “But…” Honeykit began to protest.

                “Go!” Starlingflight insisted.

                Honeykit sighed and her tail drooped as she walked away. Why did Starlingflight make her leave?

                Starlingflight pushed the poppy seed towards him with her paw. “Eat this, and when you wake up, you’ll feel better.”

***

                The ShadowClan kit woke up the next day, feeling refreshed. The pain was almost nonexistent now and Shadekit couldn’t wait to return to his Clan. Starlingflight was sorting herbs on the opposite end of the den. “Starlingflight!” he called. “Can I leave now? I think I’m healed!”

                The medicine cat spun around and looked troubled. “You can leave the den but for now, not the camp, okay?”

                Shadekit was disappointed. “Fine,” he sighed.

                The kit trotted out into the ThunderClan camp, which was so different from ShadowClan’s. Towering stone cliffs surrounded him and not all of the dens were bramble thickets. He now realized Starlingflight’s den was a cave in one of the cliffs. A giant chunk of rock rose from the ground directly across from the camp entrance.

                A tom with dark brown fur marched over to him. “You don’t belong here, you mouse-brained ShadowClan fool!”

                At that moment, Starlingflight emerged from her den. “Leave him alone, Thornpaw!” the medicine cat hissed.

                Thornpaw glared at her and stomped away. Starlingflight sighed sadly. “I apologize for the cats who aren’t very welcoming. You’ll learn to love it here.”

                You’ll learn to love it here? What is that supposed to mean?

                Shadekit looked at her with pleading eyes. “When can I go home?”

                Starlingflight took a deep breath. “Shadekit, you’re not going to,” she meowed shakily. “Poppystar wants you to stay here and become a ThunderClan apprentice.”

A/N: This chapter is much longer than most of what I've written lately, so I hope you enjoyed it! This took me forever!

And I bet none of you saw this coming, did you?

Please comment with your thoughts and as always, thanks for reading. Or in the words of Honeykit, "THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!" :D