Willowkit bit into the mouse and tore off a chunk of meat. She chewed slowly, relishing the succulent taste. Acornkit approached her. She was sitting underneath the shade of a bush, watching the going ons of the Clan. Every member of the Clan had been nice to her when she was younger but Mintspot had scolded her when she had happily chatted to warriors, asking about what it was like, to be a warrior. Willowkit had slowly just redrawn herself from the rest of the Clan and cats just gave her pitying or sad looks. Willowkit was used to being looked over. 
            "Is mouse your favourite food?" asked Acornkit.
             "Yeah," shrugged Willowkit. She had only ever tried mouse. "I've never tried anything else." 
             "Why not?" asked Acornkit. 
             "I don't know," shrugged Willowkit. A few days before Willowkit would be old enough to eat real prey, Mintspot had given her a mouse. Willowkit had not liked it but Mintspot had refused to give her milk. "You need to learn to eat real food", her mother had said. Willowkit knew her mother was only doing it for her own good. After that, she just ate mice and she liked it. 
            "Well, how about you give the rest of your mouse to your dad?" suggested Acornkit. "I'll go get us something great to eat." Willowkit shrugged. She didn't want to do that. Beetlejaw was chatting with Lizardpelt. 
            "go on," urged Acornkit. "are you scared of your own dad?" Willowkit's eyes widened. Of course not! How dare he suggest such a thing? With determination, she took the rest of the mouse in her mouth and trotted over to her father. To her delight, when he looked up from the conversation and saw her, his eyes lit up. She beamed brightly. This was what a real father did. That was how Pigeonflight looked at his kits. Beetlejaw stopped talking to Lizardpelt and padded over to his kit.
             "Hey," he said.
              "Hi Beetlejaw," said Willowkit. "Do you want my mouse?" Beetlejaw looked at the half eaten mouse. 
              "Sure," he said. "Do you not like it?" 
              "I'm going to try something new with Acornkit!" exclaimed Willowflight. She waited in anticipation for his answer. To her delight, he chuckled. 
              "That's good," smiled Beetlejaw. "I suggest trying lizard. They're very crispy but soft inside. Maybe next time, I'll hunt one for you." Willowkit's eyes lit up. She could not have asked for more. She wanted to jump for joy. She wanted to leap at Beetlejaw but she didn't want to ruin this moment either. She felt as if it was balancing precariously. 
             "Yay!" she exclaimed happily. "Thank you!"  He took it delicately from his daughter. Then his face changed. Something seemed to have dawned on him. His eyes flickered to the nursery where Mintspot was probably laying. "I have to go." Then he swivelled around, the light fading from his eyes. He joined Lizardpelt once more and they walked off. Willowkit watched them go, wondering what she had done wrong. Then she headed for the fresh kill pile where Acornkit was. He searched through it. Finally, he found squirrel and brought it back to the bush for Willowkit. 
               "It's a squirrel," said Acornkit. "It's my favourite." 
               "I know what a squirrel is," replied Willowkit, slightly hurt but then added, "thanks." She took a small bite. It was much more different than a mouse. For one, it had so much more taste. She couldn't believe that something could be so succulent. More more succulent than the mouse. Her eyes lit up. She took another bite. It was soft and delicious.
                "I love it," she mumbled through a mouthful. Acornkit smiled victoriously and they nibbled the squirrel together. Willowkit knew she wasn't supposed to be hanging out with Acornkit but she couldn't help it. Acornkit and Snailkit were the only kits in the Clan. And she was glad she had not brushed Acornkit away for her mother's sake. If not, she would never have tasted squirrel.