Chapter Three
Spiritkit reluctantly followed the other kits through the hole in the back of the nursery. She wrinkled her nose as they entered the Dirtplace. "It stinks," she complained.
"Shh!" Streamkit flicked her tail across Spiritkit's mouth, effectively silencing her.
Spiritkit sighed and held her breath until they were suddenly outside of camp. The forest was massive, and she trembled in awe.
A wonderful scent distracted her, and she turned away from the other kits and began trotting toward the smell. It enticed her closer, and she soon saw the source of the lovely scent; a small mouse.
Spiritkit crouched down and began stalking forward. She kept one eye on the ground and the other on the mouse, making sure that it didn't know she was there. If it did, she knew it would bolt. She stepped carefully over branches and twigs, not wanting to make a sound. She was almost upon the mouse when it looked up and saw her.
The mouse turned and immediately began running off. Spiritkit hissed and raced after it. She wasn't nearly as fast as the mouse, but she had been close when it had started running, and she pounced, landing square on it. She wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to kill it, so she bit in various places until the mouse's heart stopped beating.
Purring, she picked up her fresh-kill and scampered back to where her friends had been. The problem was, they weren't there anymore. Frowning, she sniffed the ground until she caught their scent, and she followed it to a small stream.
Okay, so they crossed here, she thought. She looked behind her, and although she couldn't see the camp, she hadn't wandered too far; she would be able to find her way back.
She stepped into the stream and waded out until the water was up to her shoulders. The mouse was soaked; there was no getting around that. Spiritkit looked over and saw that the stream got deeper before it got shallow. With a firm resolve, she decided she would swim.
She paddled out until she could stand again. The stream was very shallow- an apprentice wouldn't have had to swim. However, she was just a tiny kit. She shook out her fur once she was on the other side. She dropped the mouse so that she could sniff out her fellow kits once again.
She couldn't scent them on the ground, but a breeze came through at that moment and she couldn't sworn she caught a whiff of Streamkit's scent. Encouraged, she grabbed her mouse and raced after the smell.
The sun was going down, and still she hadn't found her friends. She was cold, tired, and hungry. She was tempted to eat her mouse, but she knew that you weren't supposed to eat before the clan. That was the only thing stopping her.
She finally gave up on walking and curled into a ball. She had realized, long ago, that she was going in circles. She could smell her clanmates, but their scent was faint and going stale. Apparently, they didn't patrol this area often.
Spiritkit knew she'd have a better chance of being found if she went to a more-traveled area, but she didn't know where that would be, and she was too weak to try and find out. She missed the warmth and security of the nursery, and her mother's warm voice. She even almost missed Shadowkit's attacking of her tail.
She had almost fallen asleep, right there on the ground, when she heard voices. She sat up groggily and looked around. The scent on the wind was undeniably Deathclan, but who? She trembled at the idea of Foxstar or Deathclaw finding her. They would be furious for sure.
She was lucky, however, when the cats came into view. It was a small patrol of three; Furytail, Hateshadow, and Painflower. She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding when she remembered that all of them had had kits before, therefore, they wouldn't punish her as harshly.
Furytail came up to her. "Where've you been? Your mother was going crazy when she found out that you were missing."
Spiritkit figured she'd be honest. "Silentkit, Streamkit, Shadowkit, and I went into the forest to hunt." She nudged her mouse.
Hateshadow spoke next. "The other kits were all there when we checked."
Painflower nodded. "There was no sign that they'd left."
Spiritkit opened her mouth to protest, but Furytail cut her off with a look. "We can deal with this later; right now, we need to get you back. You look pretty worn down." She picked up Spiritkit's mouse and Painflower grabbed Spiritkit, despite her insistence that she could walk.
Hateshadow turned back to camp. "Let's go back. I'm sure Foxstar will want to speak with you."
can you do the next chapter?
