Warriors: Crow's Carrion

Chapter Four

     Ospreykit dragged their paws as they padded over to the elders. Riverflower finally let them return to the nursery with their littermates, and while they were glad, they still felt a bit left out. Despite Splashkit's promises, Ospreykit hadn't had a chance to play an important role in any of their games. At least Reedtuft always includes me, they mused.

     "Hello, Osprey," Reedtuft greeted them with a nod.

     "Hi, Reedtuft!" Ospreykit chirped, immediately perking up.

     Beside Reedtuft, Sleekthistle blinked at them in surprise. Most occasions when Reedtuft had told them stories, his sister would sleep—because of that, Ospreykit couldn't recall meeting her personally until now.

     "Oh?" she asked. "Who's this scrap of fur?"

     "Sleek," Reedtuft said and nudged her, "that's one of your grandchildren."

     "Oh. Oh, yes, one of Wavedance's!" Sleekthistle blinked again before a look of realization crossed her muzzle. Then, she lowered her voice to a mumble and said, "They look rather frail, don't you think?"

     Reedtuft quickly—loudly—cleared his throat and shifted a bit. "Osprey, how come you aren't playing with the other kits?"

     For a moment, Ospreykit considered telling him how the other kits weren't including them. Instead, they decided to say, "I don't wanna right now, so I'm exploring instead!"

     "Well, aren't you an active one!" Reedtuft let out an amused purr.

     Ospreykit purred back and glanced at Sleekthistle again. The old molly fell quiet—she didn't appear to be paying attention anymore. Instead, she gazed blankly ahead. Before Ospreykit could ask if she was okay, pawsteps sounded nearby.

     "Reedtuft, Sleekthistle; I hope this kit isn't bothering you two?" Ripplestar's stern voice startled Ospreykit, despite her noisy approach.

     "Sister, you know better than to be so formal with us," Reedtuft chided. He laughed a bit when Ospreykit backed away sheepishly. "Osprey isn't bothering anybody, don't worry."

     "Of course—sorry," Ripplestar said and nodded stiffly. "Eveningshell and I were speaking with the senior warriors, and I wanted to come check on you two. Sleekthistle, are you feeling better?"

     Silence followed Ripplestar's question. Ospreykit looked at Sleekthistle and saw that she still stared sightlessly across the clearing. They frowned at their grandmother and glanced between Reedtuft and Ripplestar.

     "Is she sick?" they asked softly. "I can fetch Riverflower! She always comes running if I ask for help."

     Ripplestar shook her head. "No, there's no need for that. She's just been tired lately."

     The leader stared at her sister steadily; she seemed sure enough of her words. Reedtuft, however, became visibly worried. He shuffled closer to Sleekthistle and ran his tail along her side before turning toward Ospreykit.

     "Osprey, why don't you go play with your denmates now?" he suggested abruptly. Before they could respond, he reached out and nudged them toward where the other kits played.

     Ospreykit glanced at their denmates and saw them tumbling about—they looked and sounded like they were in the middle of another game. With a reluctant grumble, Ospreykit trudged back over to them. They didn't really want to interrupt their game, but it seemed like they'd overstayed their welcome with the elders.

     As Ospreykit approached, they realized that their denmates were finishing up whatever they were playing this time. Poolkit and Splashkit both tackled Crabkit, and Currentkit struggled to pull them off.