User:~Shoon~/Hazelstar's Destiny

''This story is Hazelstar's life, before she became leader. Most of the things in this story are true, though they have been changed to fit cat terms. ''

Prologue
Birchleaf hissed at her medicine cat, face twisted into a snarl. "How can you say I'm having 2 kits?! I only wish for one!"

"Birchleaf." The medicine cat's voice was cold. "You do not decide how many kits you are to have. Honestly, I don't see what you're so upset about. Kits should be cherished by every breath you take. Being a mother is the greatest gift of all." He stared into the amber eyes of the she-cat in front of him, who was still growling defiantly.

Another tom slipped into the den, licking his mate's ear. "How many? There better be only one."

"Darkfur!" Birchleaf wailed. "There's two!"

"Two?!" The dark grey tom hissed in rage. He turned to the medicine cat. "Windheart, kill one immediately."

"I will not!" The medicine cat growled back. "I refuse to take an innocent kit's life, because the two of you can't love it as much as you love the other one. Both kits will be born. And both kits will survive. You both disgust me. Get out of my sight!"

The two cats rose, and padded outside, to a clearing in the middle of camp.

"Don't worry," Darkfur murmured. "We will only care for one kit. The other could be stillborn, for all I care. I love you, and that one kit, more than I love my life."

"What about the other?" Birchleaf asked.

"Oh, don't fret. The other kit will never succeed. At anything. It is a mistake, a kit that shouldn't have been born, and we will remind it of that forever."

Chapter One
Hazelkit heard her mother's harsh call, and sighed. From the day she was born, her parents had been nothing but harsh. Mistkit, her sister, always got whatever she wanted. She couldn't understand why. Had she done something wrong? She didn't think so. Why did they hate her? Why didn't anyone want her?

"HAZELKIT!" Her mother's call was rage now. She knew she was about to get yelled at. As much as she wanted to avoid it, she couldn't. Sighing, she rose to her paws and stumbled toward the nursery. As soon as she entered, she felt her mother's icy glare rake her small body.

"Finally," Birchleaf snarled. "You little brat! Go to the fresh-kill pile and get something for Mistkit and I to eat. And, if I find out you took any for yourself, you will be sorry." Hazelkit sighed and nodded, trudging out of the den and toward the freshkill pile. She shivered. Leaf-bare was a cold time.

"Hazy!" A light gray tom padded up to her. Hazelkit's brother. The only one of Darkfur and Birchleaf's first litter.

"Thank StarClan, Ashpaw," Hazelkit breathed a sigh of relief, casting her eyes at the ground.

"What's wrong, lil' sis?" Ashpaw pressed his flank against her tiny one, making her shiver a bit less.

"Mom's being rude and hurtful, and I'm cold, tired, and hungry, but no one seems to care." Hazelkit yawned, swaying on her paws.

"I care, Hazy. Come on, let's go to my nest. I'll take care of you," her brother replied.

"What about mom's and Mistkit's fresh-kill?" Hazelkit sighed, remembering the job her mother sent her to do.

"I don't care. She has paws, she can get her own fresh-kill. You are coming to my den, and sleeping for a while. Come along," he replied, leading her to the apprentices' den.

Chapter Two
"S-Stop," Hazelkit whimpered, as her father stood over her, his face twisted in a snarl, his eyes narrowed.

"Shut up, you little nuisance!" Darkfur hissed, unsheathing his claws. "Or I'll hurt you."

"Is t-that a threat?" Hazelkit replied boldly, pushing herself to her paws.

Darkfur grinned evilly. "Why yes, yes it is. Now, are you going to listen to me, or am I going to have to teach you a lesson?" Hazelkit stared defiantly at her father, managing to slip under his paws and race away. She ran as fast as she could, until she crashed into another cat. She looked up. ''Birchleaf. ''

"And where do you think you're going, pest?" Birchleaf's voice was strangely calm, a tone she didn't normally use with her younger kit. Hazelkit stood, frozen in fear, as Darkfur finally caught up.

"Well, well, well," He sneered. "Someone's being difficult today. Birchleaf, would you like to give her a punishment, or shall I?"

"You may, Darkfur. I've got to find Mistkit," Birchleaf replied, getting to her paws and padding away.

Darkfur turned to Hazelkit. "Alright, you foxheart. Let's have some fun."

"Please, daddy! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" Hazelkit begged.

"How many times have I told you not to call me daddy?!" Venom coated the words, scaring the tiny kit.

Chapter Three
"When are you and Mistkit going to be apprentices, Hazy?" Ashpaw asked, nudging the grey and white she-cat. Hazelkit didn't answer. She was staring at Soaringkit, who was playing with her sister. Hazelkit wished she could play with them. Soaringkit...she really liked him, but she had no idea how to tell him that. He was sweet, smart, and a really good friend. She just...liked him more than a friend.

Hazelkit blinked and looked at him. "A moon, I think."