Runt struggled free from his brother's grip, twisting around onto his back and putting himself into a more defendable position. His brother merely just stepped on his back, holding him down.

"You aren't going to win, Runt. You might as well just give up." his brother Shadow had been bullying him since he was able to sit on Runt. And Runt was getting tired of it.

"Get off of me!" Runt demanded, pushing at Shadow. His attempts, although valiant, were futile.

"Stop fighting." their mother Leopardcry asked them gently. Half of her face was torn off the bone, and that always seemed to scare Runt. He had a strange feeling about it, about how his mother had come to look like that. He never actually knew how it happened since their mother never discussed that with the kits.

"Be more firm with them." the kits' father, Scruff, growled at Leopardcry. The large black tom smacked Runt with a large paw, claws unsheathed. Runt yowled in protest as the claws carved their path through his soft fluffly kit fur. Tears brimmed Runt's eyes, and pain sparked through him like lightning, while his father licked his own kit's blood off of his white chest..

"Scruff-" Leopardcry started to protest too. Scruff smacked her too, the same was as Runt.

"I can punish you as easily as I can punish them." he growled at her. The she-cat had had enough.

"I am not your slave!" she hissed at him, her ears back. Her usually glossy yellow spotted fur was darkened by dirt and blood, and she was half starved. "And I won't tolerate your abuse anymore!"

Scruff laughed at her, towering over the smaller she-cat easily. "You can't leave. I'll kill you." he sneered, his fangs bared.

"Please, Runt, Shadow, Lavender, and Cloud, run." Leopardcry mewed softly to her kits. She stood between the four of them and their father and was in a defensive position to defend them from their father.

"Let's go." Shadow and Cloud were the first to leave. Lavender was a close third. Runt, however, stayed behind.

"Go." Leopardcry pleaded with Runt.

"Mom...." Runt flattened his ears. He didn't understand. Why did she want him to leave her? Why was Dad so angry?

He was confused, but he wasn't about to let his mother get hurt by their stupid dad. 'It's not like he's good for anything anyway,' Runt thought to himself. He fluffed out his golden pelt and scampered between his mother's legs to stand right in front of his father. His amber eyes were full of determination and fury.

"Really?" Scruff laughed, his head thrown back with the force of the laugh. "And what is a little runt like you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to protect my mom." Runt snarled, puffing himself up more. "Stay away from her, you big butt!" His tiny body shook with his fury.

"Please..." Leopardcry begged the kit, reaching for him.

Scruff was faster. He snatched Runt up by the scruff. "Fight me and this scrawny brat dies."

"I'm so sorry...." Leopardcry's eyes were sad, locked onto Runt's. His eyes widened in realization. His mother was going to sacrifice him.

He squirmed as hard as he could against his father's grip, squealing in upset. The tears that were brimming his eyes earlier dripped down his tiny face. "Let me go!" he demanded, unsheathing his claws and unleashing them on his father. Scruff ignored him and laughed, flinging him so hard his neck almost snapped.

His body thumped to the ground and he shook with fear, staying where he fell. After that he didn't see what happened, and blacked out.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Runt woke up in a warm place, feeling fuzzy and hungry. He slowly opened his amber eyes as he stretched out slightly. He found that he was surrounded by his littermates in a strange dark place.

"Mom?" he called softly, stepping around his littermates.

"Baby." Leopardcry padded into the dark space, rushing to him. She licked his head gently as she drew him to her belly. He softly purred in relief and began to suckle hungrily.

He was only one moon old, and he was still dependent on his mother's milk. His other siblings, however, were all already eating fresh kill. Shadow made sure to always taunt Runt about this too, as if rubbing salt in a wound.

"Is Dad gone...?" Runt asked quietly.

"For now, yes." his mother replied. She licked his messy fur down into place. "But for right now, don't worry about him, okay?" Runt nodded and continued feeding.

"Mom?" Runt asked as he finsished feeding.

"Yes?" Leopardcry answered with a gentle motherly tone.

"Can you change my name now?" Runt asked in a tiny voice that matched his tiny body. Normally he was just as loud as his bigger littermates, so this came as a shock to his mother.

"Yes." Leopardcry sighed, looking upward for a moment, lost in thought.

"How about Lionkit?" another voice cut in from across the dark space. Another kit the same size as Runt scampered up to him and his mother.

"Do you like that name?" Leopardcry asked her kit, approval in her gaze. Runt took a moment to think, then nodded slowly.

"I like it. Yeah. I like it, mom." The newly named Lionkit smiled broadly and puffed his tiny yellow chest out. Any cat who didn't see his size may have even mistaken him for a real lion.

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The picture is a picture of Leopardcry.

~Gingerr