One is the loneliest number~ {Open}

Flashkit sat at the entrance of the nursery lost in thought did he make the right choice ? Was it to late to change his mind? Why had Magpiewing just banished his mother and siblings like that it wasn’t their fault! And his siblings and him were only kits?! He was pretty sure he could Remember one of the apprentices reciting the warrior code on how it was against the code to abandon kits . He took a deep breath watching his other clan mates silently, feeling a darkness smoldering inside him, he was young so young but already could feel the smoldering embers Of hate fester inside him.



He wouldn’t let Magpiewing get away with this.. despite making his choice to stay, this was his home after all these were his clan mates, he felt loyalty to them and the code, but Magpiewing was another thing all together . The little kit hid his emotions and walked towards the fresh kill pile .

Toadspeckle slid out from the warrior’s den with a long stretch, her jaws parted in a hearty yawn. The unrest in camp had unsettled her deeply; it had been no small secret that Coal had been exiled for her… Indiscretions. Almost all of her kits had decided to follow their mother-- all except for one.
The mottled she-cat froze as she caught sight of Flashkit’s bright pelt shuffling from the nursery, a sharp thorn of pity stabbing her heart. He had once been so playful and now his youthful exuberance seemed like it had been snuffed out.  
Shaking her head to clear away the worst of the depressing thoughts, Toadspeckle made her way over to the poor scrap.
“Hello, Flashkit,” she mewed gently, giving the little tom a friendly wave of her tail. “How have you been holding up?”

Mistythorn had been watching Flashkit intensely. At first, she'd regarded him with loathing as he was the only remainder of Coal's disgusting betrayal of the clan. However, the more she watched him, the more her cunning mind worked. Flashkit had stayed behind, which he meant he was at least somewhat loyal, and he was likely feeling upset and angry at being left behind. Perhaps Mistythorn could mold those young emotions.

The ebony female grinned as she stood and approached the kit, not at all concerned that she was interrupting Toadspeckle. "He's fine," she snapped at the other female. "Flashkit is a true Shadowclan cat, not like Coal and the rest of her traitorous spawn." Mistythorn sat down and and pulled Flashkit close to her chest like she'd seen other queens do with their kits. "Listen to me, Flashkit. It's not your fault that your mother and siblings abandoned you. They were traitors, but you... you stayed loyal to your clan. Here, you're safe and loved. Coal left you behind, so now you must leave then behind. Don't worry, I will look after you," the queen said soothingly, like a snake lulling her prey into submission.

"Mistythorn's right," Halfpaw meowed between the freshly-killed prey in his jaws, having just returned from a hunting patrol. He dropped the kill into the pile, stark blue eyes narrowing as he surveyed the scene. He had only caught the tail end of the conversation; at least, that was the only part he cared enough to listen to. With a calculating glance towards Flashkit, the young tom sat back on his haunches and began cleaning the gore and blood from between his claws.

"Coalspark chose her loyalties very clearly. Frankly, I'm glad she was punished for her actions, because I would have chased her out of camp myself if Magpiewing hadn't stepped in. Magpiestar, excuse me." His tone held an air of nonchalance but just under the surface, a heavy note of venom could be heard. Halfpaw paused in his cleaning and stared down his nose at the kit before flicking an ear and continuing. "Coalspark and her traitorous spawn, as Mistythorn so aptly put it, are dead to ShadowClan. Forget them, Flashkit, and work on becoming a true ShadowClan warrior. Unless...you're having second thoughts?" Halfpaw's pupils narrowed into dangerous slits and he flexed his claws threateningly, keeping a close eye on the kit.

Flashkit looked up with blank look in his eyes his emotions swirling inside his head and heart, he was about to answer when another cat came up to him, Mistythorn, she had always seemed cold
To him and his siblings before but now she was actually comforting . He let himself relax into her fur like a kit with its mother . His mother .. his mother did abandon him.. he had expected her to put up more of a fight to stay with the clan they were born into .. but she had left him and his siblings .. tigerkit, NightKit, they had all just left him so easily... why .. why did magpie star allow this?! Couldn’t they have had stayed ? He never even met his father why was he being punished for being loyal?!


He unsheathed his claws when Halfpaw glared at him, he had stayed behind Didn’t he?! Didn’t that prove enough he was loyal! And everyone else was wrong?! The little kit hissed and despite the lack of training tried to take his anger out on the larger apprentice . “This is my home! I was born here! I’m a shadowclan cat!” He mewled and jumped on him telling himself the tears in his eyes were of anger not of hurt at being left behind and forgotten.

Halfpaw's ears pinned back as Flashkit leapt at him and he swatted at the kit with sheathed claws, not enough to hurt but enough to get him to back off. His tail lashed angrily at the kit's outburst and he struggled to regain his composure, eyes flashing. Despite his obvious anger, he couldn't allow himself to hurt a kit. That would impede on his training and ruin his reputation. So, instead, he laughed. It was chilling and cold, a laugh without mirth entirely.

He ignored Mistythorn's glare and focused his attention squarely on Flashkit. "Ah-ah, so quick to anger! Reminds me of myself. Listen closely, kit, I never said you weren't a ShadowClan cat. I was just simply making sure you weren't secretly a traitor like the others. But I believe you, of course. You are a ShadowClan cat through and through. That doesn't mean you shouldn't prove yourself more. It's true, other cats won't trust you, that just means you need to work harder to prove yourself." Halfpaw wasn't a smiley cat but he offered one now, flashing sharp teeth in a smile more reminiscent of a fox than a cat.

Flashkit tumbled back into Mistythorn the swat was light but enough to roll him over, he got up quickly shaking himself off his bright orange fur poofing out . His large ears swiveling back and forth. He was still angry but thought twice about trying to jump
On the apprentice again.

He curled around his new adoptive mother’s leg trying to seek the same comfort as he once did from Coalspark. A pain in his chest as he thought about his mother and siblings perhaps in time
The pain would die down. “.. I’ll prove it nine times over! I’ll do whatever it takes.. I promise..” He told Mistythorn and Halfpaw, feeling a little better at the smile (if it could be called that) he had gotten from the scary apprentice . Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad staying in shadowclan .

The fur on Toadspeckle’s neck began to rise-- Mistythorn had already rubbed her the wrong way when she butted in and started speaking for Flashkit, and now Halfpaw wasn’t helping ease her nerves by provoking the poor scrap to a fight. “Enough,” she hissed firmly, dragging an amber glare between Mistythorn and Halfpaw. “Needling him about a sore spot won’t help it heal!” She lashed her tail from one side to the other in agitation. “I for one trust Flashkit and his decision to stay. He’s old enough to speak for himself,” she shot another glare at Mistythorn before lowering her gaze to the ginger tom kit. She could hardly believe the little bundle of fur she’d seen tucked up in the nursery had turned into the poor scrap huddling at the paws of a she-cat like Mistythorn. She shook her head and let out a small sigh as she turned to snatch something from the freshkill pile before turning and stalking away to eat in peace.

Flashkit was surprised by Toadspeckle’s belief in him, she trusted him?.. she wanted him here? He watched after her as she left feeling a growing ember of warmth in his suddenly cold heart . If some cats trusted him then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad staying here alone ... well he wasn’t alone anymore he had Mistythorn with him now, maybe she’ll lay with him in the nursery so he wasn’t alone .