Warriors: Skytail's Reckoning (COMPLETED)

Chapter 1

A paw toppled Sky over onto her back and she let out a little squeak. Above her, Juniper pinned her to the ground, a smug expression on his ginger face. Sky groaned and kicked her brother off with her hind legs.

"Steady on, will you?" She meowed crossly, glaring angrily at her older brother. Juniper looked down at her with a snicker. "You keep knocking me over!"

Her other brother piped up from behind her as he slid to Juniper's side. "That's the point," Marsh sneered. Sky flattened her ears to her head, anger bubbling beneath her pelt.

"That doesn't mean you have to," Sky retorted, her tail bushing in annoyance. She glared at her brothers, frustrated that she was the one they always picked on. I might be the only she-cat, she thought angrily, but that doesn't mean they need to pick on me!

"Calm down, Sky." Meowed the voice of her mother and all three kittens turned at her voice. Sky peered up at Cherry as she laid on the hayloft that overlooked the barn. "They're just playing."

Sky's whiskers twitched in irritation and she stamped her paw to show it. "But they're intentionally trying to get a reaction out of me!" She meowed, her voice a high-pitched whine.

Cherry waved her paw dismissively. "They're toms," she meowed sternly, as though that explained everything. Sky's ears fell and she stared down at her dark paws in shame. "Don't overreact."

Sky grumbled in response and turned away from her mother and brothers and stalked away. Her ears burned with anger and shame as she exited the barn through the large doors. Her paws tingled as the grass ticked her pads and she looked up, staring at the trees beyond her family's territory.

A pang of emptiness hit her as she looked over her shoulder, seeing Juniper and Marsh wrestling while Cherry encouraged them. Where are you, Father? She thought as she sat down, staring up at the clear blue sky. The bright yellow sun glowed, warming her pale fur and making her purr.

"Enjoying the sunshine, sunflower?" Mewed a familiar teasing voice as Maple rounded the corner and approached his daughter. "You always seem to be out here."

Sky turned, excitement shooting through her as she saw the juicy prey between her father's jaws. Two mice and a squirrel! She charged at him as he dropped the prey. At once, the musty scents of the forest filled her nostrils and bathed her tongue. Her mouth watered at the thought of taking a bite of the plump prey. Craning her neck to look up at her father, she grinned. "Good catch?"

Maple leaned down and licked her head, making her stick her pink tongue out. "You would've loved it out there," he purred as he hunkered down, letting her clamber onto his shoulders with her paws on his head. "The prey was practically falling into my paws." Grasping the prey between his teeth, he headed into the barn with Sky on his shoulders.

Juniper spotted him at once and released Marsh's ear, eyes sparkling. "Dad!" He meowed, trampling over his brother to get to Maple.

"Dad!" Marsh scrambled to his paws and hurried after Juniper, tail sticking high over his back.

Maple dropped the prey and crouched, readying himself for the two toms to crash into him. Even though they were about six moons old, they were about the size of Maple and they towered over Sky, who was smaller but the same age.

Sky slithered off her father's back as he was tackled by Juniper and Marsh. She grasped the squirrel's tail between her jaws and hauled it toward the wooden ladder that led up to the hayloft. Sinking her claws into the soft wood, she climbed up the ladder and scrambled up onto the loft. Panting, she dragged it towards Cherry, who was dozing and unaware of Maple's return. She adjusted her grip on the squirrel's tail and trotted towards her mother.