Turtlekit's Guardian

TURTLEKIT'S GUARDIAN

Starlingspeck, Shadowclan's tortoiseshell medicine cat, pawed different herbs together into bundles. She actually thought she needed to eat some feverfew to help with the headache from concentrating to hard! So, she stopped from her work and decided to get some fresh-kill and watch the camp. She padded over to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a frog, which was her favorite kind of prey because it tasted like rabbits and fish mixed together. As she sat, tearing the skin off the frog, she watched as three kits tumbled out of the nursery, play-fighting. But as she looked closer, she thought she saw another tortoiseshell she-cat with orange and black splotches, with green eyes and a stumpy tail.  ''Who is that?? ''Starlingspeck thought, trying to remember any of the queens in the nursery. But there was no she-cat that she remembered that looked like this! Starlingspeck blinked, and as she did so, the she-cat disappeared. Starlingspeck fought the urge to go over and peek inside the nursery to find out who it was, but Starlingspeck knew she probably just imagined it.

xxxxx

Turtlekit giggled and squealed as she and her siblings tried to find a way out of camp. They really wanted to be apprentices, and the only way they could was by showing Shadowclan what they could do. So, they decided to go hunting, and they wanted to get a newt, or something hard to get, so that their clan would know how hard they tried to catch it!

As they crept away from camp, Turtlekit's brother, Marshkit, cried out,"I think I see a newt!"

They all ran to where Marshkit said he saw the newt, but as they did, Turtlekit said,"Wow! Look at that! We should go over there, maybe we can get rats!" She flicked her tail over at the Carrionplace, and the three young cats padded over, sniffing the air. But as they got closer, they smelled a disgusting scent, and Puddlekit wanted to go home.

"Go ahead, Puddlekit. We won't be cowards, and we'll catch prey and become apprentices before you!" Turtlekit said dismissively.

Puddlekit sighed, and he padded back to camp, with only one glance over his shoulder. Ignoring him, Marshkit sprinted at the Carrionplace, wanting to catch the plentiful rats there. Not wanted to be left behind, Turtlekit followed.

"Ahah! Look what I got, Turtlekit!" Marshkit yowled, a dead rat hanging from his jaws.

"Nice catch!" Turtlekit congratulated, but just as they were about to leave, Turtlekit saw a swarm of rats hurrying after them, scurring over flashing silver cans, and diving through mud. But,before Turtlekit could do anything, the swarm catched up, and the kits were attacked. Pain shot up Turtlekit's leg as a small, pesky rat bit her, and another pang shot from her tail, as she and Marshkit struggled to be free. All of a sudden, it was as if she ran so fast, she couldn't stop, because she landed  in the medicine cat's den!

"Marshkit?" She mewed, alone in the den. But there was no reply. As she looked around, she saw the medicine cat walk in, and she kept quiet, as to not have to answer any questions.

"What happened?!" Starlingspeck mewed.

"I..uh..strayed from camp and got...uh...bitten by rats," Turtlekit said.

"We better warn the queens! We wouldn't want all the kits to be bitten like that!" Starlingspeck yelped, already chewing burdock root into a pulp to add to Turtlekit's wounds. But, as she looked up, she saw the same glittering tortoiseshell she-cat staring after Turtlekit, who was flexing her sore muscles, until she finally faded away.

the end