Brokentail's Ambition

Chapter One

     "It's Thunderclan! Attack!!" 

     Brokenkit watched as the other kits--Deerkit, Tanglekit, and Runningkit--played warrior while he just sat there, watching them. He wanted to play with them, but it was hard to get a word in. Luckily, they took a break and Brokenkit walked up to them, hope gleaming in his eyes.

     "Hey! Could I play with you?" Brokenkit asked.

     The three kits glanced at each other, unsure, and then looked back at Brokenkit.

     "We don't want to play with a stinky kit," Deerkit taunted, his nose twisted as if an awful smell had hit him. 

     "Yeah, every cat thinks you're a kittypet, just like your father," Tanglekit added.

     "My father is not a kittypet!" Brokenkit yowled, outraged at them. If he was clan deputy, how could he be a kittypet? At his rage, he lashed out at Tanglekit, but she had jumped back just in time. She's lucky she's quick, he thought. He was bigger and stronger than the others now, so he could definitely beat them up if that's what he needed to do, and he wasn't afraid. Glancing at Deerkit and Tanglekit, he could see them backing up a bit. 

     "My father is the deputy! He's the strongest cat in Shadowclan!"

    "But do you even know who's your mother? It seems very strange that you don't even know!" Runningkit taunted with a sniff.

    "Yeah, she could be anyone. A loner, kittypet, even a badger! Badger-stinky! Badger-stinky!" Deerkit meowed. Once he started chanting it, the other two kits joined in.

      Not sure of what to do, Brokenkit flattened his ears. It's not his fault he didn't know his mother! Why did they have to rub it in?

     "That's enough!"

     The three kits stopped their chanting and Brokenkit looked over his shoulder to see the medicine cat, Yellowfang, running up to the group, glaring at the three kits. "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! How dare you treat Brokenkit like this!? He's part of this clan too!"

     Brokenkit glanced back at the other kits to see Runningkit looking at the ground, ashamed, while the others looked back at Yellowfang defiantly. 

     "Brokenkit, come with me," Yellowfang meowed. While he was glad they had stopped taunting him, he was still mad that he had to get help. I'm not weak! He thought.

     "Now they'll think I'm scared of them! I could have beaten them up if you didn't help me! They're so weak that i'd give them wounds that'll last for months!" Brokenkit spat, looking up at Yellowfang. Suddenly, he could feel something odd in his chest, looking into the eyes of the medicine cat. He could see pain and compassion mixed together in her eyes, but he didn't feel ashamed for telling his feelings. Once the odd feeling subsided, Yellowfang responded to him, as if she knew he had dismissed the feeling.

     "Fighting isn't the answer to everything," she meowed, "those kits need to learn how to behave. I'll tell Lizardstripe and hopefully they'll be punished."

     Brokenkit's eyes widened and he instantly ran in front of her and faced her. The last thing he needed was another reason for his foster mother, Lizardstripe, to hate him! "Please, please don't do that! Lizardstripe will blame me! She thinks i'm stealing milk from her kits! It's obvious she hates me!"

     "Of course she doesn't think that!" Yellowfang exclaimed, astonished at the kit's words.

     "She does, though!" Brokenkit meowed. When would she get the point? "I heard her saying that to Amberleaf. No one likes me.." He said the last sentence softly, looking at the ground.

     "I like you," Yellowfang said with compassion in her voice. But Brokenkit didn't believe her. "Your clanmates will too, once they get to know you." She added. "So... Why don't you help me collect some herbs and feathers and then we can carry them to my den? You're so strong, you could do this all on your own!"

     Brokenkit looked up, glad with the opportunity to prove he wasn't weak. Yellowfang lead him to the areas they needed to go to, and he proudly collected the feathers and herbs, scattering a few as he delivered them to the medicine cat den.

     As Brokenkit peered inside, with Yellowfang at his tail, he could see it was dark and cozy, and the mixed smell of herbs lingered in the air. He noticed the other medicine cat, Sagewhisker, lifting her head in suprise once Brokenkit had entered the den entirely. 

     "Shouldn't he be playing with his littermates?" She asked, making Brokenkit angry at the thought of his stupid littermates.

     But, to his surprise, Yellowfang didn't respond. She just showed him where to put the herbs and feathers. Once he had set them down, he felt as though he had to respond; the silence was making the atmosphere awkward.

     "My littermates are stupid," Brokenkit spat. "Yellowfang's my only friend."

     When Brokenkit looked over at Sagewhisker, he could see her staring at Yellowfang. Are they fighting or something? Brokenkit thought a bit worriedly. Who would think these two close medicine cats would fight?

     "Brokenkit," Yellowfang meowed, "would you like to help me get some clean moss now?"

     Another chance to be useful! He thought and nodded enthusiastically. "I can carry more moss than any cat in this forest!"

     Yellowfang smiled and led him to a spot behind the elder's den. As Brokenkit was led, he could see startled glances from a few cats. What would they want..?

     Behind the elder's den, there was a good amount of moss growing and Brokenkit was excited to show his moss handling skills.

     "Now, you hold up the bark," Yellowfang instructed. "Then, I will peel the moss from underneath."

     Brokenkit nodded and burrowed under a piece of bark. Once he was almost completely under it, he sat up and balanced it on his head. "Like this?" He asked.

     "Nope," Yellowfang said, purring in amusement. "A squirrel might think you're a tree and try to climb you!"

     Brokenkit laughed and jumped up and down excitedly. "I'm a tree! I'm a tree!" He repeated until the bark fell off his head.

     "Okay, so this is how you're actually supposed to hold it up," Yellowfang explained, holding up the bark with a paw while she gathered the moss. Brokenkit nodded and held the bark up exactly as she had done, while she gathered the moss from underneath. Once they had collected a good amount, they bundled it together and carried it back to the medicine cat den. When they entered, they set it down, both aware of Sagewhiskers stares that were occurring once again.

     "I feel so strong!" Brokenkit exclaimed, pride in his eyes. "I held up that bark like a warrior!" He meowed, so glad that he was almost spinning. Yellowfang just smiled and looked back him, nodding at most comments. Aware of this, Brokenkit calmed down a bit. "What's wrong?" He asked. He could tell there was something else on the medicine cat's mind.

     Yellowfang shook her head. "It's nothing, no need to worry." She meowed confidently, and Brokenkit's enthusiasim returned. "Now, what do you want to do?" She asked.

     "Uhm... Let's play warrior!" Brokenkit said, remembering the game he wanted to join. He didn't care that they were playing, he just really wanted to play it. So, him and Yellowfang headed out into the camp and began to play fight with each other, just outside the medicine cat den.

     Today is so great! Brokenkit thought happily. I don't even care about those other kits! Spending time with Yellowfang is so much funner!