Story Part 5 *A Game?*

Snowstar awoke in the nursery, only to find that her kits were gone. She sighed, so young, and yet so very adventerous, she thought admiringly. She yawned and stretched, then exited the den to find the culprit kit who had led the others astray. She noticed the kits as soon as she had poked her head out of the den. Making nuisances of themselves, as usual, she noted dryly. The kits were tumbling over each other in the middle of the camp clearing. It seemed like they had tried to exit the camp, via the gap between the nursery and a large clump of bushes, but had gotten pricked by the thorns, and were now fighting over who was to blame.
"Kits!" she scolded severely, "Don't fight in the middle of the camp where warriors and apprentices, who unlike you, make themselves useful every day travel through. They have enough to worry about besides tripping on small kits like yourselves."
Snowstar watched the kits react to her scolding. Lilykit and Winterkit looked very ashamed of themselves. Etharkit wouldn't meet her eyes, and Eaglekit looked downright angry at getting caught. All the kits' fur prickled with embarrasment.
"We're sorry." the all chorused together.
"You should be." she mewed. "If you want to play, play outsides the nursery. You could even play inside, since we're the only ones in there besides Stormbringer. But be warned, if any other queens come into the nursery expecting kits, you will have to do all your playing outside, so as not to disturb them."
The kits trailed into the den, but imediatly livened up as soon as Eaglekit pounced on Winterkit, and the two of them fought. Etharkit leaped onto the peak of a nest, and squeaked, "I'm the queen of the nest!"
Lilykit leaped up, pushing Etharkit off the nest and proclaiming, "Not anymore! I'm the queen of the nest now!"
This brought Winterkit and Eaglekit to attention at the new game Etharkit had started. They both leaped up and over, onto the side of the nest that Lilykit was now queen of. The force of them knocked her off the nest. Then, they turned on each other and wrestled for a bit, until Eaglekit succeeded in knocking Winterkit off the side of the nest. "Now I'm KING of the nest!" he boasted. "And none of you can knock me off!" Etharkit and Lilykit leaped up, but Eaglekit dug the tiny thorn-sharp claws of  his hind legs through the mossy covering of the nest, and into the firm bracken, stabilizing himself, while his front paws battered them away. By then, Winterkit had recovered, and took a leap at Eaglekit, but the "king" batted him away easily, with his hind claws stuck in the nest.
After a while, the kits got bored of trying to knock Eaglekit off the nest. It wasn't as easy as they had thought it would be. "Told you you couldn't knock me off the nest!" he boasted to the other kits. "Now you have to call me the king!" None of the kits wanted to call Eaglekit the "king", so Snowstar came up with another idea for them to sink their teeth in.
"Why don't you kits go to the elder's den?" she told them, figuring it would keep them out of trouble. The kits loved that suggestion, and scampered off the elder's den, for the very first time ever. They entered the den, and met the elders.
"Hello." said Leafdapple and Dawnshadow kindly to the kits.
"What are your names." asked Shortwhisker, the cranky elder, who had just woken up from her nap.
"I'm Eaglekit," mewed Eaglekit.
"I'm Etharkit."
"I'm Winterkit."
"I'm Lilykit."
"That's nice." Shortwhisker replied.
"Don't mind Shortwhisker," Leafdapple mewed kindly to the kits. "She's quite cranky, especially after just waking up from a nap."
"So..." replied Shortwhisker. "Why are you young kits here, disturbing your elders?"
"Snowstar told us to come here." mewed Eaglekit. "She's our mother."
"That's right, you're the leader's kits." Shortwhisker mewed in reply. "Well, I've got something to tell you! Don't ya expect any special treatment from me, just 'cause you're Snowstar's kits. That aint how I work around here!"
"Umm..." mewed Etharkit.
"REALLY?" exclaimed Lilykit.
"Oh..." Winterkit muttered softly.
"Humph." huffed Eaglekit.
At that moment, and not a moment too soon, Blackslash padded softly into the den. "Hello," he mewed to Shortwhisker. The kits winced, waiting for her to get mad at him, but she seemed to calm down at his presence. "Come out, kits." he mewed to them. When they were all out of Shortwhisker's hearing range, he told them, "Shortwhisker was about to have one of her crazy fits. She's very cranky because she's so old. I'm one of the few who can calm her."
Etharkit looked at him admiringly, "You're great! Thanks!"
Blackslash sighed. "Next time, go in when she's asleep. The other elders are fine."
"We sure will." she answered. Then added, "Bye." as he padded off. "Come on," she told her siblings, "Let's play outside the nursery."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Snowstar was dreaming. She stalked the mouse deftly through the forest. It was heading towards the thunderpath. She frowned, Better catch this soon, before I get squashed. She crouched down, ready to spring. A cry pierced through the calm. The mouse ran off, startled. Snowstar searched for the source of the cry. She pounded into the clearing, where she had heard the cry come from. A monster loomed on the thunderpath, coming her way. In the middle of the thunderpath was a kit. Snowstar shot forwards, pushing the kit to the other side of the thunderpath.
"There, you're safe now." she told the kit. It was only then, that she realized this. The kit she had saved was Winterkit!