Chapter Two

Chapter Two - Starburst

Foxkit trotted along the blacken dirt of the foggy forest. It had been moons since he dreamt of

the mysterious she-cat, and finally she called him for another meeting. As he followed her through the shadows, he could hear the low hissing of other cats. Their gazes bore into his pelt making him shiver. For the first time, he felt self-conscious.

“Pinetail will show you the way to become extraordinary, Foxkit. He will be your mentor in this land.” The faded warrior spoke with a low

voice.

Foxkit waved his tail in anticipation. Finally! Some training! He couldn’t wait to brag about his extra skill to the others once he was apprenticed.

Both cats emerged from the dark into a chilly clearing. Perched on a boulder was a ragged white Tom with brown freckled fur. Foxkit could guess from his hollow gaze and glassed eyes that he was blind.

He stared at the Tom, for once he was afraid to speak his mind. Instead he bowed his head, his pelt prickling under the Tom’s gaze.

“This is the one you brought me? He’s so.. small.” Pinetail growled.

Foxkit’s tail swished crossly from side to side, all fear dissolved. He looked over to the she-cat, green eyes blazing. “This is the cat I’m training with? He’s so withered and frail-looking.” The young Tom spat sassily.

Before Foxkit could relish his own remark, the blind Tom leaped from his rock and tackled Foxkit, pinning him to the ground. Foxkit could smell his own fear scent wafting around them. “That was foolish of you, kit. Such a pity considering how clever Echostar has been describing you. You may be smart but you don’t think before you act, you’ll die here if you continue that behavior.” The ragged warrior bared his teeth a mouse tails length from Foxkit’s face. He felt as if his heart were in his throat. He looked at the she-cat. Echostar. She’s a leader?

Pinetail backed off the young Tom. “Get up, we don’t have long.” The old cat grumbled. Foxkit scrambled to his paws. “Attack me.”

Foxkit blinked in surprise. “You mean-.” “Shut your muzzle and attack me, snake-heart!” Pinetail yowled loudly. Foxkit cast a pleading look at Echostar, but she had distanced herself to watch. He could hear her muffled laughter in the distance. “Pay Attention!” Pinetail’s growl launched him into the panic of reality. He turned his head as claws raked his cheek.

Foxkit gasped at the sting of the claw marks on his cheek. His eyes shot open. He was in the nursery again, Cherrykit and Firekit stared wide-eyed at him from the other side of the nursery.

“What happened to your face?” Firekit whispered.

Foxkit rubbed a paw on the warm scratches. He looked down to see blood, the ground seemed to disappear and the world went dark.

Muffled words drifted incoherently through the blackness. He could make out his mother’s frantic yelps, the concerned jumble of whispers from warriors, and the sneers of Wolfpaw. Light drifted back into his eyes lazily.

“Foxkit?” A timid whisper called him from a blurry figure.

“Am I dead?” The kit groaned, his mouth was dry.

He heard a cautious attempt at laughter. “I hope not, I’m not that bad at treating cats.”

Foxkit blinked the blurriness away to reveal Eclipsepaw, the medicine cat apprentice. “So if I didn’t die, then what happened?” Foxkit groaned.

The apprentice sighed. “You fainted, because you saw the blood from this.” His white tipped tail grazed the scratch of Foxkit’s cheek, he batted it away defensively. “It’s not uncommon to be afraid of blood, you’ll get used to it little one.” The apprentice looked down on the kit warmly. His hazel gaze drifted to the scratch when he realized something was off. Foxkit stared into his eyes defensively.

“Where did you get that scratch?”