Something's not quite right! (open)

Tiny paws scrambled furiously as a golden kit emerged from the nursery opening, a certain destination in mind. Blazefang had told her that the 'Shrew' in her name wasn't made up, it was also the name of prey! Shrewkit made for the fresh-kill pile at a break-neck speed, almost stumbling over her own paws multiple times before finally reaching the prey. Green eyes scanned the prey assembled before her. She stared for a long while before a thought finally popped into her head. Ah. I don't know what a shrew looks like! It had to be the cutest looking piece of prey, right? Why else would Blazefang name her after one? None of the prey looked cute though. Well, if there were no cute shrews on the fresh-kill pile, she would change that! Shrewkit flopped to the ground, rolling slightly so that she was next to all the prey and closed her eyes. She was dead! A part of the pile, just waiting for someone to come and pick her for their meal!

Copperkit had been quietly watching her sister from afar, and had been shocked when Shrewkit dropped onto the fresh-kill pile. What in the name of Starclan was going on? The tortoiseshell quickly got away from her spot and rushed to her sister's side. A bit of blood from the still-warm bodies on the fresh-kill pile has stained Shrewkit's pale coat, and now it stained Copperkit's paws as well. Shrewkit was very much alive, from the way her flanks rose with each breath and her tail twitched every so often.

"Hey, Shrewkit?" Copperkit tried getting her sister's attention. Her eyes were filled with confusion and the slightest hint of impatience, which she quickly pushed away with a wave of guilt. It's not like Shrewkit did anything wrong, you're just being unfair because you don't want to deal with this, but you must because she's your sister and you have to at least try to be a good cat, she scolded herself. The she-kit once again tried to give her sister a smile, but this one didn't quite reach her eyes, leaving her feeling even more guilty than before.

Paw steps, she could hear paw steps! The young kit's heart began to race as she waited for whoever it was to pick her up and carry her to some far off corner of the camp. There, she would reveal her true identity not as a piece of prey, but as a cute kit! It was a good plan, so good that it made her smile. No, stop that! You're gonna blow your cover! Too late. A single eyelid raised as her name was called. "Copper?" The she-kit meowed. In an instant Shrewkit was on her paws, returning her sister's smile with an even bigger one. Though she was smiling, something seemed wrong with Copperkit, almost like she was worried about something... Was she wondering where the daisy had gone? "Don't worry, sis. I put that flower somewhere safe for now, I didn't want to get it to get hurt or dirty. I promise I'm taking really good care of it!"

Shrewkit's large smile only served to tear apart Copperkit's confidence even more. Why can't I smile like that? And the mention of the flower... she couldn't help but think if Shrewkit had given her a flower, she wouldn't have taken nearly as much care of it. It would probably be crushed under someone's paw in some corner of the camp by now... Still, Copperkit leaned forward to give Shrewkit a lick on the cheek. She could at least act like she was trying, even if she wasn't. I'm sorry, Shrewkit, that you think I love you. If I truly did, you would have all the flowers in the camp by now, and you would never have flopped down here because I would have always been at your sight...

"What are you doing here?" Copperkit continued, trying to keep her mind off her constant failures. Her thoughts didn't matter that much, she was treating them as if she were leader. Her insides swimming with guilt, the tortoiseshell kit nosed Shrewkit away from the fresh-kill pile and began cleaning the bits of blood off her. The blood tasted foul on her tongue, and Copperkit almost stopped, but that voice in her head once again reminded her not to be selfish for once; she shouldn't be disgusted by her sister, she wasn't any better herself.

Shrewkit could feel a rumbling purr erupt from her as Copperkit offered her a lick, which she of course payed back with an enthusiastic lick of her own. If it had been anyone else, Shrewkit would have fought for the right to remain with all the prey, but this was Copperkit. Shrewkit let herself be pushed from the pile, though it didn't stop her from staring at all of them longingly. "Mama said there's a shrew on that pile. I wanted to see what they looked like, since she named me after them and all that. They have to be super cute, but I didn't see anything that looked cute over there, did you?" Even while Copperkit was cleaning the blood from her pelt, Shrewkit continued to stare at all the prey. It had to be there somewhere. Should she wait for the next hunting patrol to come back and ask them about shrews?

Distracted, careless. Shrewkit placed a paw on her sister's shoulder and pushed gently. She loved being cared for by Copperkit, but this was her fault. She had sullied her pelt, so she would clean the rest of it herself. Shrewkit got to licking the blood from her pelt, trying her best not to gag as she did. It was so bitter, nowhere near as flavorful as her mother's milk. "Are you mad at me, Copper?" The kit asked between licks. Since arriving, Copperkit hadn't said much at all, and while she wasn't being mean there was definitely something off about her today.

A shrew...? That's right, hadn't one of the warriors brought one to the nursery the other day for Blazefang? Copperkit recalled the dark brown creature, about her size, with fuzzy fur and lips curled back to reveal sharp yellow teeth. She shuddered, thinking that Shrewkit would not want to know what a shrew actually was at all. She peeked at the fresh-kill pile, trying to find the prettiest piece there was to find. There was one or two rather pretty-looking birds, but even Shrewkit would know that a shrew was not a bird, right? Copperkit's gaze landed on a rather cute-looking mouse. That'll do for now.

"I think that might be a shrew," She mewed, jabbing at the small thing with her paw. "I might be wrong," She added quickly, in case Shrewkit actually asked someone else about it and found out Copperkit had lied. She didn't want to appear stupid in front of her sister, after all. Copperkit blinked at Shrewkit's next question. "No, of course I'm not mad at you," The she-kit answered instantly. Her heart dropped to the bottom of her chest. Sorry that you are getting affected by my bad mood... as if I didn't cause enough trouble, taking out all this space and attention I don't deserve, and now I take out my anger on you... I'm sorry you have me for a sister, Shrewkit. Copperkit sighed softly to herself.

A mouse? She knew what a mouse was, and surely Copperkit knew too, she was the smartest kit in the whole nursery! Shrewkit examined the mouse for a while before nodding her head in satisfaction. "I don't think you're wrong, this is sufficiently cute." Even if it wasn't a shrew, Copperkit had still picked something cute out for her. Rather than being upset about not knowing what a shrew looked like, Shrewkit would be happy that her sister would compare her to something cute... Even if it was a piece of prey. What did you expect? If Copper could have picked from anything at all she'd have probably picked the cutest most prettiest think you've ever seen! Shrewkit smiled sweetly at the thought. Yep, no doubt about it!

Copperkit was quick to answer, which was a good sign. No hesitation at all meant she wasn't lying, which could only mean... "Good. I don't know what I would do if you were mad at me. You know that you can talk to me about anything, right Copper? We're sisters. That means we should be close and tell each other if we're feeling down, right?" Shrewkit just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Copperkit, and if that were true she wanted to help. As sisters they shared a bond more special than her bond with Cloudykit, and maybe even more special than her bond with Blazefang! It seemed like such a mean thing to admit, but her love for Copperkit felt near infinite. "If something's wrong I wanna help out, even if it just means listening."

Copperkit breathed a sigh of relief once Shrewkit was finally satisfied. Her sister was so sweet and naive, Copperkit felt that she had no choice but to lie. Even if Shrewkit never understands... that's okay, because they're sisters, and Shrewkit would care enough that even if Copperkit couldn't love her the same, it would be okay, right? Wrong. Even Blazefang would be horrified and disgusted to learn what a mistake she had birthed. Copperkit gave Shrewkit a big smile and purred, "Of course! We're sisters, and we'll do everything together!"

Maybe she had been imagining her sister's anger. The Copperkit in front of her was clearly happy, Shrewkit had been worrying for nothing! "Yeah, we'll do everything together! When you get sad I'll get sad too, promise! And when you become an apprentice I'll become one too!" And if Copperkit did become the first apprentice between the two, Shrewkit would make sure her sister knew to save a spot next to her in the apprentice's den. That was only fair. Never one without the other, that's how Shrewkit wanted them to be, even if it did seem like she was being overly clingy. She wanted to share every aspect of her life with her sister. "Hey, Copper. I did something really crazy, wanna hear what it was?" Would this be considered breaking her promise with Cedarkit? No, she wouldn't mention the bird nest, that was one secret she wouldn't tell anybody, not even Copperkit.