Leopardkit squinted as she stepped outside. The stone hollow and peaceful and quiet, few warriors meandering around. Long shadows of evening stretched across the walls of camp, a relief from the burning heat of daytime. She was surprised to see how far the sun had drifted across the clear sky since she and Mousekit had gone into the elders' den.

    Mousekit brushed past her as he headed for the nursery, little tail tip twitching, and Leopardkit turned to follow.

    "See, that wasn't so bad," Mousekit said cheerfully as the she-kit padded up to his side.

    "Wasn't so bad?" Leopardkit scoffed. She shook a stray piece of bedding off her shoulder. "We we're stuck in there for hours."

The black tom-kit grinned knowingly. "I could tell you were enjoying it toward the end."

Leopardkit rolled her amber eyes, but didn't retort. Flanking her brother, they padded toward the nursery. Sandstreak was bound to be resting inside or chatting with the new queen, a loving she-cat called Gingerstorm. Sandstreak acted differently when other cats were around. She didn't speak so harshly, and she would never deny Leopardkit a meal. The little she-kit was eager to eat after going all day without a morsel. 

     "Hey, Leopardkit, Mousekit!"

     Both siblings turned their heads curiously toward the cry.

    Weedkit was staring at them from the center of camp, a challenge in his yellow eyes. Longkit stood close behind him, and supervising both of the kits was a well-known apprentice, Fogpaw. The fluffy, pale gray apprentice was watching the kits brightly, his plumy tail swishing.

    "Come over here," Weedkit called again, spinning around impatiently. There was a taunting lilt to his tone, one that made Leopardkit's ginger fur prick in annoyance.

    Mousekit nudged her shoulder gently. "Come on. Just ignore him," he muttered, knowing that an encounter with their littermates would cause nothing but trouble.

    But Leopardkit was interested. She was itching to confront them. "Wait, I want to see what they want."

     Mousekit groaned as his sister turned around and started toward Weedkit. He had no choice but to turn and follow her.

Weedkit's yellow eyes lit up when he saw that Leopardkit and Mousekit had actually listened to him. The black and white tom-kit spun around to face Fogpaw, tail raised in delight. "Can I practice the flip and twist on them?"

    "Flip and twist? What are you talking about?" Leopardkit demanded as she came to a stop, glancing between her two larger brothers. She looked up at Fogpaw for an explanation.

     "I was just showing your littermates a few battle moves," Fogpaw explained casually, swishing his bushy tail around. His thick coat of fur made him appear large and strong for his age, nearly as large as Sandstreak.

     Longkit and Weedkit weren't far behind him, though. Both the tom-kits were taller and bulkier than their less-favored littermates.

     Weedkit locked eyes with Leopardkit. "You should let me demonstrate this one move on you, Leopardkit. See if you can take it," he taunted. When the she-kit didn't respond, Weedkit looked back at Fogpaw. "See, I told you how helpless she is!"

     Mousekit let out a high-pitched growl from beside her. "He's just trying to aggravate you, Leopardkit. Let's get out of here." The tom-kit's black tail lightly touched her back, urging her to leave.

    But every word out of Weedkit's mouth made Leopardkit boil with anger. She glared at her brother, amber eyes burning. He thinks I'm weak.

    Mousekit's green eyes widened when he realized what she was about to do. "Don't you dare."

    Leopardkit was beyond the point of negotiating. "Fine," she spat at Weedkit. The spotted she-kit lowered herself into a defensive stance. "Let's do this."

     She would show him. Leopardkit was smaller than him, her limbs thin, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. Weedkit wasn't as powerful as he thought he was. She could see herself pinning him to the ground, sinking her claws into his shoulders and him wailing out in pain. The vision sent a rush of happiness through her.

     Delighted, Weedkit strolled forward to meet her, his head held high. His bulky shoulders stretched beneath his black and white fur. He was still just a kit, but nearly double his sister's weight.

    Ignoring Mousekit's hisses of protest from behind her, Leopardkit inched forward, haunches lowered. She would not let Weedkit defeat her this time. Whatever stupid move that Fogpaw had taught him, she would stop it and show her arrogant brother that she wasn't the stupid weakling he thought she was.

    Weedkit suddenly charged toward her.

    Leopardkit bared her teeth and lurched forward to face him head on, claws outstretched. But then he was gone.

    Before she could react, a heavy blow came down on her back that made her legs fold and smashed her to the ground, followed by a hot, sharp pain.

    Leopardkit laid there, gasping in the dirt, the wind having been knocked out of her. She hadn't been prepared for the sheer power of Weedkit's attack. Although it wasn't much, the she-kit was simply too frail to withstand the blow.

    The realization hit her with crushing disappointment.

    "Hey, you scratched her!" Mousekit cried out angrily. His shadow fell over her body, and Leopardkit felt his wet nose nudge her fur.

"So?" Weedkit said with a sneer. "She deserved it, thinking she could take me on. It's a lesson learned the hard way."

Leopardkit didn't even want to open her eyes. She could perfectly imagine the smug look of triumph on her brother's face. A warm, stinging feeling arose from her back.

     "Hey, what's going on, Fogpaw?" a new voice said. Leopardkit cracked open her amber eyes to see a small she-cat approaching. She had sleek golden fur and curious hazel eyes.

"Nothing really, Blossompaw," the tom said hurriedly. He sidestepped in front of Leopardkit, his fluffy gray body shielding her from the she-cat's view.

But Blossompaw hadn't missed a thing. Shoving her way around her denmate, she got a good look at the tear on Leopardkit's flank.

"Who did this?" she meowed, brow furrowed.

Weedkit stepped up immediately, his chest puffed out. "I did!" he said proudly, oblivious to Blossompaw's shock.

She rounded on the young tom, towering over him. "You shouldn't be using your claws when practicing!" the apprentice chastised him. Her voice held a motherly tone that reminded Leopardkit of Sandstreak when she was defending Weedkit and Longkit. It sickened her.

Weedkit didn't seem bothered in the least, only annoyed as he glared back up at the golden she-cat. "You're not in charge around here."

Blossompaw ignored the insolent kit. Her gaze turned back to Fogpaw, eyes piercing right through him. "And you should know better than to allow this!"

Fogpaw tried his best to look unbothered, but Leopardkit could sense that he was deeply embarrassed. "But I–"

"No, I don't want to hear your excuses!"

While they were arguing, the wounded she-kit tensed on the ground. Leopardkit forced herself to climb to her paws, the scratch on her back hot with pain, and slunk away towards the nursery as quietly as she could.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Mousekit called, bounding up to her side. His green eyes were wide with concern.

Leopardkit hissed at him when he came too close, ears pinned back. Burning with humiliation, the spotted she-kit stalked away from him. She only wanted to get out of sight as quickly as possible.

"Oh, no you don't," the black tom-kit mewed, stopping in front of her and blocking her way. "You're going straight to the medicine den."

Leopardkit bared her teeth at the wiry black kit. She was so furious that she could attack him right now.

    Mousekit narrowed his eyes, slits of bright emeralds against his dark pelt. "I won't stop bothering you until you agree to go."

     Leopardkit swelled up in fury. She could feel her pelt bristling. "Fine," she suddenly spat.

    With Mousekit guiding her, Leopardkit reluctantly turned around and walked with him to the crevice in the stone wall.

     The she-kit tried to avoid catching the apprentices' attention from where they still argued in the center of camp. Before she and her brother ducked below the brambles of the medicine den, Leopardkit glanced back to see Weedkit peering at her. When he noticed she was looking, he gave her a smug grin.

     Leopardkit felt the familiar hot flame of fury in her chest, but she forced herself to look away and crawl after Mousekit into the medicine den.

    This isn't over.