One of Us (Originally written May- July 2013)

Chapter 1

"Redkit, toss it here!" a tiny gray she-kit's shrill voice called.

The red tortoiseshell tom hooked his claws around the ball of moss his brother had just thrown his way. With a strong forepaw, he tossed the ball at his sister, who jumped high in the air to catch the moss.

"Great catch!" Oakkit cheered, watching the she-kit fall back to the ground.

Redkit ran over to his sister. "You are so good at jumping! You'll probably be the best tree climber in the Clan someday!"

Featherkit's blue eyes sparkled. "I'm going to be the best warrior in the whole Clan!" she mewed excitedly.

A half-grown black tom padded over to the kits. "I doubt it, Featherkit. I'm going to be the best!" he meowed nonchalantly.

Redkit blinked crossly at the apprentice. "Just because you're Bramblestar's son doesn't mean you're better than us!" he growled.

Ravenpaw narrowed his amber eyes. "My sisters and I are all going to be terrific warriors. Bramblestar even comes on our patrols every day to see how good we are at training. He says we'll be warriors in no time!"

Oakkit and Featherkit sighed. All three kits knew Ravenpaw was right. Ever since he, Frostpaw, and Dapplepaw had been made apprentices, Bramblestar had been more active than ever, patrolling with his kits and participating in their battle training. He thought the moon and the sun of his kits.

Redkit glanced at his unhappy brother and sister. "Don't listen to Ravenpaw! We'll be great warriors even if our father isn't the Clan leader!"

Oakkit nodded. "Yeah, Ravenpaw. We've got a good father, too. Swiftbreeze is the best!"

Ravenpaw laughed. "But Swiftbreeze isn't Clan leader! My father is!" The black tom turned away from the kits and stalked away, going over to join his mentor, Snowfang.

Featherkit turned to Redkit and Oakkit. "Isn't he cute?" she gushed, her eyes shining.

The tortoiseshell tom gasped at his sister's words. "Cute? He's the most stuck up tom in the whole Clan!"

His brother agreed. "Featherkit, there are plenty of better toms in this Clan. Go moon over one of them!"

A dark gray queen pushed her way out of the nursery. "Are you three fighting again?" their mother asked, narrowing her blue eyes.

Redkit shook his head quickly. "No, Mother. We were just talking about Ravenpaw and how he thinks he's better than us!"

Rainsong wrapped her tail around her son. "Why don't you play with the younger kits instead of arguing with Ravenpaw? Nightkit and Cloudkit are driving Dovewing crazy!"

"Fine," Redkit sighed, sending one last bitter look toward the black apprentice.

"Fine," Oakkit and Featherkit echoed as they followed their mother back to the nursery where the younger kits were wrestling together.

Oakkit turned to face his brother. "Someday we'll be great warriors. We won't have to play with all these little kits then!"

"Redkit! What are you doing?" A white she-cat snapped, her sharp meow making the tortoiseshell tom jump. Fernbreeze was not the nicest cat in ThunderClan, and was frequently scolding the kits for getting in her fur.

"Sorry, Fernbreeze. I was just playing with my moss ball," Redkit squeaked, crouching down in front of the angry she-cat.

"Well do it somewhere else!" Fernbreeze hissed. "The warriors are trying to eat. Let us have some peace! Some of us actually have to work during the day!"

Redkit nodded and padded away from the warrior sadly. He never got to do anything fun. Redkit and his littermates were the oldest kits in the Clan. There were plenty of younger kits, and it seemed like Redkit was just supposed to entertain them all day. Every time he, Oakkit, and Featherkit tried to play with the apprentices or play by themselves, they were always yelled at. It stinks being a kit. I can't wait until I'm an apprentice and can do more important things!

Redkit walked over to the nursery slowly. His brother and sister were playing with Tawnykit and Mistkit, Lilycloud's litter. Their play didn't excite Redkit. He didn't want to spend his days playing with kits. He wanted to patrol, hunt, and fight.

He watched as a patrol of cats came into the camp. Hazeltail, Lionblaze, Cinderheart, and Silverpaw had returned with jaws filled with prey, yet Redkit noticed they didn't seem very happy. Instead, they looked a little bit worried. Bramblestar, who had been play-fighting with Ravenpaw, Dapplepaw, and Frostpaw, immediately stopped his game to see what was wrong.

"Hazeltail? What happened?" the brown tabby tom asked, his amber eyes darkening.

The gray- and- white warrior looked grim. "We caught a strange scent inside our territory. It was definitely cat scent, but it was not one of the other Clans."

Bramblestar nodded thoughtfully. "It could have been a rogue passing through."

"I don't think so. The scent was all over the territory. Whoever it is has been here awhile. It looks like the cat may be trying to make a home here," Hazeltail meowed.

"Hm...that could be. Most rogues don't usually make their homes so close to the Clans, but this could be an exception, I suppose. I'll have the patrols keep their eyes open for anything out of the ordinary," Bramblestar meowed.

"Thank you," Hazeltail replied before going to put her prey on the fresh-kill pile.

Redkit, having overheard the conversation, raced over to his littermates. "I've got an idea!"

Oakkit instantly looked excited. "What?"

"You know how we're always treated like little kits?" Redkit continued, barely able to contain his excitement.

Featherkit nodded. "It's so annoying. We're almost apprentices!"

"Then let's do something to get ourselves noticed!" the tiny tom meowed.

"Like what?" his brother questioned.

Redkit took a deep breath before announcing his grand idea. "Let's find the rogue and chase him out of ThunderClan territory!"

(Revision date- March 21, 2014)