Willowkit grinned and wiggled her tail. She leapt up and tumbled into the brown kit named Acornkit. Acornkit struggled to get out of her grip and finally managed. They both faced each other, small smiles on their faces.
            "I'm the leader of ThunderClan and you will never beat me!" roared Acornkit. 
             "Well I'm the leader of RiverClan and you will never beat me!" retorted Willowkit. They crouched and Willowkit got ready to pounce. Suddenly, she felt her feet lift of her ground and teeth in her scruff. She wriggled and looked down as the ground lift off. 
            "Your mum's calling you," came a gruff voice from above. Acornkit frowned.
            "Hey! You're not playing with me anymore?" he said disappointedly. Willowkit made a face.
           "Sorry," she murmured. Her father, Beetlejaw dropped her off at the entrance of the nursery. He licked her. A sign of affection. She smiled a little. 
            "What did you do now?" he said under his breath then padded away. Willowkit trotted into the nursery. Her mother was there. Mintspot. Mintspot had tired eyes and lay spread on the soft grass in the nursery. Besides her mother and Willowkit, the nursery was empty. Willowkit padded towards her mother.
            "Mintspot?" she asked in her small sweet voice. Mintspot's eyes snapped to her. 
            "Willowkit, what were you doing?" she asked. 
             "I-I was playing with Acornkit," Willowkit replied innocently. She didn't know what she had done wrong. She didn't like upsetting her mother. 
             "What did I tell you about that?" asked Mintspot, her eyes cold. 
             "You said he was a bad influence," mumbled Willowkit. 
              "Yes," nodded Mintspot then she sat up. "So why did you play with him?" 
              "I was bored," cried Willowkit. "I'm sorry." 
               "Don't do it again," Mintspot said sharply. Willowkit nodded. Mintspot closed her eyes. Willowkit knew why she was sad. Willowkit's brother had disappeared. She didn't know how or why. She didn't know any of the details except that her brother, Stormkit had disappeared and it had sort of destroyed something in Mintspot. Mintspot shook herself. 
              "Stay in here. I don't want you to get in trouble going out. Or get hurt," Mintspot said, then she limped towards the nursery entrance. Her left hind leg dragged behind her. It was a sort of unnecessary limb, floppy and ugly. Willowkit couldn't help but stare. 
             "What are you staring at?" snapped Mintspot. She hated it when cats stared at her legs. She hated the pity that filled their eyes. She knew that Willowkit meant nothing bad with it but she couldn't help it. She gave a small sigh and limped out of the nursery. Willowkit watched her go. She didn't know how Mintspot's leg got hurt. Nobody had ever told her. Only once, Russetfur had wanted to tell Willowkit but Mintspot had interrupted them and changed the subject. Willowkit had not talked to Russetfur since. Willowkit sat down on the grass and pondered. She wondered about her brother. She wondered what he looked like. She wondered what he was doing. She wished he would come home so they could just be a proper family. Not the weird family in the Clan. the family with a missing kit. She also wished Stormkit was there because she'd be able to play with him. She knew Stormkit would be the only kit Mintspot would be alright with letting her play with. There was some shuffling. Willowkit pricked her ears. Then a small face appeared in the nursery. Acornkit smiled. 
              "Hey," he said. Willowkit glanced around as if Mintspot was lurking in the shadows. 
               "What are you doing here?" whispered Willowkit, tilting her head. 
                "It's the nursery. I'm allowed to be here," pointed out Acornkit. "But anyways, Snailkit and I are here to save you." Another head poked into the nursery. It was Snailkit, Acornkit's sibling. Snailkit had brown fur with dark brown stripes which swirled slightly at his stomach. The markings had reminded his mother, Wrencry, of a snail's. 
               "But you're not supposed to be here," pointed out Willowkit. 
               "Why not? We sleep her as well," Snailkit shrugged. 
               "but Mintspot doesn't want me to talk to you," Willowkit said dejectedly. 
               "Why not? What's with her?" snorted Acornkit. "Who cares? Let's go!" Suddenly, a cat padded into the nursery. Acornkit and Snailkit looked up. Busted, thought Willowkit. But it was only Acornkit and Snailkit's father, Pigeonflight. 
                "Come on kits!" Pigeonflight said with a smile. "I'll show you both some moves!" Snailkit's eyes lit up and he trotted out of the nursery. Acornkit gave Willowkit an apologising look then bounded after his father. Willowkit sighed. She huddled into a ball. She wished Beetlejaw would do the same with her. She wished he would spend more time with her. He seemed distant. Sometimes, Willowkit thought he was going to ask her to play with him but then he'd turn away as if something had dawned on him. Willowkit would sometimes get an affectionate lick or bite from Beetlejaw but when she turned around to look at him, to see if it really was him, he would turn away and quickly walk off. She didn't understand. Willowkit took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her mind was reeling. She forced her breathing to slow. Then she forced herself to go to sleep. She had done it many times. She could force herself to sleep anywhere. She had to do it. It kept the thoughts from racing through her mind whenever she was alone. Which was a lot.