Chapter 1
“I don’t understand why I have to be stuck in the nursery with this lump of fur,” Orchidkit woke to the irritable mew.
“Hush, Aspendawn, you’re disturbing the kits!” She felt a warm tongue lap at her fur as the other queen gave her a few comforting licks. Mewling, the little she-kit wriggled closer to nurse.
“I much prefer her brother,” Orchidkit’s mother, Aspendawn, went on, “he takes after me.”
A warm purr rumbled in her mother’s throat as she stroked Orchidkit’s littermate, Tumblekit. Desperate for attention, Orchidkit mewled, and wriggled up to Aspendawn’s muzzle, using her hearing to guide her. But as she got close, she felt a paw push her out of the soft moss of her nest and onto the ground.
“Ow!” Orchidkit squealed. She felt another cat pick her up gently by the scruff, and she was laid in another warm nest.
“Hush, little one. You can share my nest, since my kits haven’t come yet. My name is Whiteflower.”
Orchidkit nestled herself in the soft, warm fur of the kind queen, letting sleep swamp her.
