"I want to rule BloodClan!" The yowl of her sister made Snowkit awake. Snowkit yawned, seeing her sister, Icekit, argue with her brother, Flightkit. The two seemed to fight a lot during their games while Snowkit preferred to stand to the side, watching.

            Snowkit was named after her mother, Snowfeather. Snowfeather was one of the kindest and sweetest cats Snowkit knew. Her mother was kind, caring, and loving. She was different than every other BloodClan cat. Most of the BloodClan cats were fierce, but her mother had softer heart.

            As for Snowkit's siblings, they acted more like her father, Whiteclaw. Whiteclaw was the deputy of BloodClan. To be deputy, you had to kill several cats and make your clanmates scared of you. Whiteclaw would be leader very soon since Shadowstar was on his last life.

            "No, I want to rule BloodClan!" Flightkit hissed, his white pelt standing out in the darkened den. Flightkit looked up, his green eyes flashing at Icekit's blue eyes.

            Snowkit gasped as a flash of white came by. Icekit had pinned Flightkit to the ground and had begun to yowl at her brother.

            Snowkit began to feel cold again when her mother stood up. "Flightkit, Icekit," Snowfeather snapped. "None of you can rule BloodClan in your game. Pick different names."

            "But," Flightkit whined.

            Snowfeather shook her head. She padded back to the nest, keeping Snowkit warm again. Snowfeather turned to Snowkit, her blue eyes staring deep into Snowkit's blue eyes. "Why don't you play with your siblings?"

            "I don't feel like it," Snowkit said. It was that, but she also felt like she didn't deserve to play with them. They were tough cats. Surely they would win any game she played with them. They would grow up to be big, strong leaders while Snowkit, the runt of the litter, would most likely be downsized to a nursery queen like her mother.

            Snowkit looked up at her mother. "How did you react when you were forced to stay a nursery queen all your life until you became an elder?"

            Snowfeather looked at Snowkit. "Well, I wasn't too happy about it. I thought it was an unfair punishment. But, I knew that if I reacted too much, I would be exiled. BloodClan really didn't need me."

            "But you're a great warrior!" Snowkit said. "I heard Daddy tell Icekit and Flightkit all about when you two were apprentices. He said you were the best!"

            "For my final assessment, I was supposed to kill a rogue that had ended up on our territory. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't do it. No cat deserves to die like that. So, Whiteclaw killed it instead," Snowfeather said.

            Snowkit sighed. Her clan was bloodthirsty, always looking for a fight. Snowkit wanted to be just like her mother when she grew up. Snowkit wouldn't kill a cat...ever. She wasn't like her father and siblings. She barely even felt like they were family. The only cat she truly loved and adored was her mother. The rest of her family were strangers to her.

            Snowkit's ears pricked as her father walked into the den. "Where are my lovely kits?!" he yowled.

            Icekit and Flightkit bursted to their father who also had the same pelt color as them. "Here we are, Daddy!"

            "There are my kits! How old are you today?" he asked. Snowkit sighed. Her father hadn't even noticed her. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't even his kit.

            "Three moons!" Flightkit yowled.

            "Hey, I was going to say that," Icekit growled, pushing her brother over.

            While the two siblings fought, Whiteclaw padded over to Snowfeather. "How is my lovely mate?"

            "I'm fine," Snowfeather said. "Did you know that Snowkit was here too?"

            Whiteclaw looked down, finally noticing his third kit. "Oh, Snowkit! I could barely see you. You were hiding in your mother's fur," he laughed, poking Snowkit with his tail.

            Snowkit let out a little laugh.

            "Can I talk to you for a second, Snowfeather?" Whiteclaw asked.

            "Sure," Snowfeather said, padding out of the den with her mate.

            Right when they walked out, Snowkit's siblings turned to her. "Why don't you play with us, Snowkit?" Flightkit asked.

            "I-I don't really feel like it. I'm really tired," Snowkit said.

            " 'I'm really tired'," Icekit said in a taunting voice.

            "Snowkit's too much of a wimp," Flightkit said. "Shadowstar better just exile her now."

            Snowkit growled as anger spiked through her pelt. "I'M NOT A WIMP!" she hissed.

            "Then prove it," Icekit hissed. Icekit and Flightkit exchanged glances, quickly leaping onto Snowkit and knocking her down.

            Snowkit screeched as her siblings tugged at her fur and clawed her pelt. Another nursery queen, Heatherwing, just laughed.

            Heatherwing was a brown tabby she-cat, covered in scars. She was another tough cat. Her kits, Poppykit and Strikekit, were almost six moons.

            "MOMMY!" Snowkit screeched. She yowled as she felt Flightkit pluck some fur from her tail.

            "KITS!" Snowfeather hissed, running into the nursery den. She scooted Flightkit and Icekit aside, picking Snowkit up by the scruff. Several tuffs of Snowkit's fur were missing, due to the violent actions of her siblings.

            "You do not treat your sister that way," Snowfeather growled.

            "We were just having fun," Flightkit lied.

            "You always treat her like she's your favorite," Icekit murmured.

            "What, Icekit?"

            "Nothing," Icekit replied.

            Whiteclaw had gone, taking Snowkit's siblings with him. They were going to go around the territory for fun. Snowkit was stuck in the nursery with Snowfeather once again. She would always be stuck in the nursery.

            "Why do they hate me?" Snowkit whimpered.

            "They don't hate you," Snowfeather said, stroking Snowkit with her tail.

            Snowkit pushed her mother's tail away. "Yes, they do. I see it when they look at me. They attacked me today. They hate me so much."

            Snowfeather sighed, putting her tail down. "I don't know why they hate you, Snowkit. You are a lovely she-cat who will grow into a lovely warrior. Your siblings don't see it," she paused and then whispered, "Your father doesn't see it either."

            "That too!" Snowkit said. "Daddy doesn't even know I exist."

            "Of course he knows you exist, Snowkit. It's just...he takes more pride in Flightkit and Icekit than you because they're tough," Snowfeather said.

            "So I just need to be tough to fit in?! That's all?!" Snowkit asked.

            "Darling, you don't need to be tough. If you would rather act like your normal self, I'm sure the clan could find something for you," Snowfeather said.

            "So I could be stuck as a pathetic nursery queen like you?" Snowkit groaned. She gasped, realizing what she just said.

            Snowfeather looked into her kit's eyes, shocked and hurt by her kit's words. Snowfeather got up and exited the den, leaving Snowkit behind with Heatherwing and her two kits.   

            "Ah, who cares about her," Heatherwing groaned. "She's too emotional. Forget about your mother. One day, you'll be a strong warrior."

            Snowkit didn't reply, quickly following after her mother. She gasped to see Shadowstar standing on the fallen tree where he made announcements. Lightpaw, Hailpaw, and Rainpaw stood with him.

            "Lightpaw, Hailpaw, and Rainpaw are ready to become warriors, but first they must prove their strength by killing the rogue we have captured!" the old black tom hissed.

            Yowls of triumph came from the crowd. Snowkit scooted around her clanmates, frantically trying to find her mother.

            Snowkit looked up to see Whiteclaw and Featherlily scooting a small ginger tom over by the fallen tree. The tom looked like he was about fifteen moons, but he was fairly small, probably the runt of his litter. "Just like me," Snowkit whispered.

            "Please, don't kill me," the tom cried. "I'll do anything!"

            Shadowstar laughed. "You shouldn't have stumbled into our territory. Lightpaw, Hailpaw, and Rainpaw, when I say 'attack', you may begin."

            The three siblings nodded, ready to kill the tom.

            "ATTACK!" Shadowstar hissed.

            The ginger tom winced as the three leapt on him. Yowls and hisses came as fur flew into the air. Snowkit winced as she heard the tom scream. As Snowkit came closer, she saw Rainpaw bite the tom's throat, killing him immediately. Snowkit gasped as the dead tom fell at her paws. His ginger fur was stained with blood, his throat was a bloody mess, and his eyes...his unseeing green eyes stared longingly at Snowkit as if he was asking why she didn't save him.

            Snowkit let out a screech. "MOMMY!"

            Gasps came from the crowd. Snowfeather quickly picked up her kit. "Snowfeather! You know that kits are not supposed to witness this event until they are an apprentice!"

            "I'm sorry, Shadowstar. It won't happen again. I promise," Snowfeather said.

            Shadowstar dipped his head as Snowfeather ran back into the nursery with her kit. Icekit and Flightkit sat, looking wide-eyed at Snowkit.

            "You got to see the ceremony?!" Flightkit gasped.

            "You're so lucky! I've been wanting to witness that for moons!" Icekit said.

            "Hush, kits," Snowfeather said. "Get some sleep."

            Snowkit finally let the tears slip down her face. "I'm sorry I said that stuff to you, Mommy. I was trying to find you to say sorry and then that tom...he died. It's my fault. I-I should've saved that tom."

            "No, Snowkit, it's not your fault that tom died. BloodClan has nasty ways of showing how to be a warrior. You're a kit, Snowkit. There wasn't anything you could do to save him," Snowfeather said.

            As Snowkit curled up next to her mother, Heatherwing's words echoed in her ears. Be tough. Snowkit shook her head. No, she would be a nursery queen. She would never kill a cat. She couldn't kill a cat. She finally understood what her mother meant now. After witnessing a kill, Snowkit would never be the same.