Better Than Them All

I sat, my fluffy tail curled tightly around my paws, staring so hard at the ground, the world faded out of focus.

Tucked under my tail was a raven feather.

The bluejay one Forestkit took from me was sitting tossed onto her pile of treasures; an acorn here, a pretty stone there, anything and everything she took a liking to went straight into that corner.

I had gotten the cobalt feather from mother, after she went briefly to get something for us to eat.

The shining black feather, however, was different.

I had found this one by myself. I had gone out of the nursery and spotted the magnificent bird perched in a tree, and climbed up the tree to get it.

The trip back down was scary, the prize clutched tightly in my mouth, but at least nobody saw me.

The feather itself was nothing to look twice at. It's sleek, shiny look was shattered from the split in the little feathery things, and it had broken at the bottom.

But it was mine.

Right now, I had watched the unmoving ground for so long I could make out every single grain of dirt, and the small twig pieces scattered around.

Occasionally, I glanced up, checking to see if everyone else had left so I could sneak out of the dark corner and properly hide the feather. But it seemed like nobody had any intention of leaving yet.

The ear that father cuffed still throbbed faintly from the harsh attack of seasoned claws. Because it was 'just a scrape from the thorns,' mama didn't take me to the medicine den to get the ear checked out.

Just as well. I'd probably get fed poison berries to be put 'out of my misery.'

"Hey Weirdkit!" Mewed a voice somewhere off in a distant plain, in another world, across the den. I looked up to see a victorious smirk on Forestkit's face, even though she hadn't won anything yet.

"What is it?" I replied, tired and simple. Mama looked over at the sound of my meow, and I could instantly see the guilt written on her face. Even I could hear how dead I sounded.

"Come play with us!" She called. I stiffened.

Forestkit NEVER invited me to play with her. Like, never. Like, 'over my dead body when badgers rule the world' kind of never.
This was something special.

But I couldn't let them see the feather.

I quickly scanned the wall, looking for anything that could help me, before finding a small niche at floor level.

Expertly swishing my tail along with the feather, I moved it into the hidden spot, getting up and stretching.

"Alright," I replied , opening my mouth in a yawn, "what are we playing?"

"Warriors and rouges," she mewed daintily, her position elegant and poised, like a cobra preparing to strike; "I'm the warrior, and you're the big, bad rouge I have to stop from killing everybody."

"Wait," I began to say, stepping out into the clearing, "can't we..."

But before I could finish my sentence, Forestkit pounced on me, pining me down to the ground, and dragging her claws along my back. Unsheathed.

I yowled in pain, attempting to flip myself over, or drag out from underneath her heavy paws, but she had the advantage of size.

InI tried going a different route, curling into a ball, before flipping her off of me.

I then began circling her, trying to use speed to my advantage, nipping at her hind leg, or swiping at her side. That way, she couldn't get ahold of me and pin me down again.

The problem was, speed wasn't on my side. I wasn't supposed to be fighting so hard out here. My small, frail body couldn't handle it.

Forestkit, on the other hand, looked like she could've fought forever and ever and ever, on into the nothingness, long after there was nothing to fight over.

She swiped at my hind leg, trying to get me out of sync, nearly missing, except for a single claw that tugged harshly on a knot in my fur, and slowed my for a heartbeat, before I was fleeing on my paws again.

Lucky for me, my thick, tangled fur made it hard for Forestkit to get a good hit on me, while her sleeker, shiny look was simple to penetrate.

That didn't mean it was easy to get close enough to her.

She as well kept her distance, knowing if I got close enough, she could attack me before I got hit her.

For a moment, I saw her trip on her own paws, stumbling from a dip in the ground. I saw a chance there, and I took it, diving close to her and scratching my claws against her flank.

She howled in pain, and stoped running, collapsing to the floor, convulsing violently, as if she couldn't breathe.

I was instantly horrified and regretful, quickly rushing over to her side, apologizing as fast as the words could leave my mouth.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay? I'm so, so sorry! I'm sorry Forestkit, I'm sorry!"

Father ran over to her faster than I've ever seen anything move in my life. He knelt down to check on her, soothing her and licking her wounds.

My own scratches were throbbing painfully, and I bet they hurt a lot more than hers, since Forestkit was stronger and had bigger claws.

She let out a small whimper, which I'm assuming was meant to be something she was saying, and suddenly, Father turned sharply to me.

"Look what you did!" He hissed, his own claws sheathing and unsheathing into the ground, "you terribly injured your sister!"

"But she hurt me!" I meowed back, my hackles rising, and feet planted firmly on either side of me, "she started the game and she was the one who went claws first!"

"You are nothing but a liar and a brat!" Father said again, coming close to throwing me into a wall, "I cannot believe you would hurt your own sister like that and not even say anything to her."

"But I-" I tried to say, my heart wilting.

"Silence." He said in a way that made it clear to me that his word was absolutely final. Father then turned to his precious daughter, clasping her gently in his jaws and bringing her to the nursery.

Mama slowly came over to me, a crestfallen look on her face.

"Mama! Did you see that?"

"I did. Emberkit, I am severely disappointed in you." She said, looking down at me, "I thought you knew better than to hurt your own sister like that."

"But mama, she also hurt me. She hurt me worse. My back really really painful and I said sorrys so many times to her, but she didn't say anything to me."

"You could've killed your sister." Mama said solemnly, "I need to check up on her now."

"But mama..." I whispered as she walked off.

My heart split in two.