Warriors: Crow's Carrion

Chapter One

     "Is that an Ospreykit I see?" a yellow tabby tom gave an exaggerated gasp and trotted up. His stripes were strikingly dark, and he had blue eyes that matched the blue segments of their mother's, yet Ospreykit could only stare at him in confusion.

     "Um . . . ." Their ears burned with embarrassment when their response was only a syllable. There was a hint of recognition dwelling beneath the confusion; unlike their siblings and mother, however, they couldn't think of his name, or who he even was.

     "That's our uncle, Sticklefur!" Crabkit quietly hissed into Ospreykit's ear. "And the one coming up behind him is his mate, Daceclaw!"

     "No, don't tell me—" Sticklefur mewed suddenly as a light brown tabby joined them. His voice was tight with distraught, but the cheerful glimmer in his eyes made Ospreykit doubt his tone. "You don't recognize your only uncle! My heart, it shatters!"

     "Sticklefur, you're going to scare the poor kit off," the brown tabby said, his yellow eyes fixated on Ospreykit. "They spent the last few moons in the medicine den, it's only natural for them to be confused."

     "Don't spoil my theatrics, Daceclaw!" Sticklefur purred before stepping toward Ospreykit. After touching his nose to their forehead, he added, "I gave their littermates equally memorable introductions; I couldn't leave them out of the fun!"

     "Yeah, well, you're drawing attention," Daceclaw muttered, nudging the yellow tabby meaningfully. "Eelmask and Webheart are looking, and you know my sister won't be far behind if this keeps up."

     As if on cue, two more cats approached the kits. Ospreykit eyed them both—like Sticklefur and Daceclaw, they could feel a hint of recognition hiding somewhere in their memories. However, the only reason they managed to name them was thanks to Daceclaw announcing both names. Eelmask, a fluffy grey molly, introduced herself quietly while Webheart, a slender dark brown tom, introduced himself more eagerly as one of RushClan's best swimmers.

     Ospreykit didn't say anything; instead, they grew uncomfortable as they were spoken to. The words sounded strange to them. Before they realized, the warriors were gone and they could hear the sound of yet another pair of footsteps rapidly approaching.

     "Osprey!"

     Ospreykit turned around at the call and saw two more kits racing toward them. One was dark blue, like Riverflower, and the other was bluish-grey with brownish tabby patches.

     "Do you remember us?" the darker tom asked once they neared. Even though his voice was steady, they could see his whiskers twitching with curiosity.

     "Er . . . ." Ospreykit mumbled and glanced at their brothers. When Splashkit and Crabkit only blinked encouragingly at them, they frowned and shook their head in defeat. "No—I mean, everyone seems familiar, but I haven't been able to place many names without help . . . ."

     "I didn't think you'd remember us," the blue-and-brown tom chirped quickly, apparently unbothered. "That's okay! We came prepared to introduce ourselves."

     "That's Currentkit," the first kit nudged his brother meaningfully when no names were offered. "I'm Poolkit. We're Riverflower's kits, if you didn't notice."

     "Oh, right, sorry!" Currentkit said quickly. "Osprey, wanna play?"

     Ospreykit perked up at the offer and nodded quickly. "Sure—"

     "Riverflower said they can't yet," Splashkit interrupted before offering a quick apology. "Sorry, Osprey, but River knows best. Hopefully she'll let you play with us tomorrow!"