Post by Starstar on Dec 27, 2018 13:31:16 GMT -5
Hey, remember me? I doubt it lol it's been a long time. I almost abandoned this project but now I've decided to post it. Idk if anyone remembers my other story Pixieflight, but this is the sequel story Kit's Tail, which is a story about the kit's of the main characters of that story, Ivy and Pixieflight, as well as the kits of the other pairings.
You don't have to read Pixieflight to understand this one, it would just be helpful for background. But I can safely say I'm much more proud of Kit's Tail than Pixieflight. I might post a list of all the characters and pairings I made up in Pixieflight so it's not confusing in this one, idk.
Also, there's a prophecy in this one (found in the prologue), and be prepared because the prophecy sets up how sad the story is lol.
You don't have to read Pixieflight to understand this one, it would just be helpful for background. But I can safely say I'm much more proud of Kit's Tail than Pixieflight. I might post a list of all the characters and pairings I made up in Pixieflight so it's not confusing in this one, idk.
Also, there's a prophecy in this one (found in the prologue), and be prepared because the prophecy sets up how sad the story is lol.
"Hearts lay shattered beneath the paws of innocence. Only through peace can the light return to darkness."
Anyways, here's the prologue, let me know what you think!
“Splashkit, be careful around Robinkit! She’s smaller than you, and you’ll hurt her if you fall!” Wildfire snapped tiredly at her bubbly gray she-kit.
The slender kit was playing moss-ball with her siblings and Pixieflight’s kits in the nursery, and they had inched too close to the nest where Minnowtail’s two-moon-old daughter was sleeping with the gray and white queen. Splashkit mewed an apology to her mother as she went back to her playing.
Pixieflight suppressed a purr at the exasperated look on Wildfire’s face. The small gray queen who had been her apprentice only six moons ago, was looking more and more like an exhausted elder every day. Humorously, it reminded Pixieflight of her experience mentoring Wildfire all that time ago.
Pixieflight had been worried the young cat was too unfit to be a warrior, and had doubted her own ability to train her. All this had caused exasperation and anxiety, and now Pixieflight could only laugh seeing Wildfire going through the same with her kits.
The clumsy young apprentice sure had grown up.
“Pixieflight,” a quiet voice called from beside the fluffy white queen.
Pixieflight looked down into the blue eyes of her smallest daughter, Fluffkit. Pixieflight’s mate, Ivy, told her all the time that Fluffkit was the perfect reflection of herself; the same thick, pure white fur, as well as the same crystal blue eyes.
“Yes, dear?” Pixieflight purred to the shy, precious bundle.
“Are we different?” Fluffkit’s response sent icy chills down the white queen’s spine, as it instantly reminded her of the time she had asked the same question to her foster mother, Dawnflower, and found out she wasn’t clan born.
Of course, what she’d learned that day had turned out to be a lie.
Pixieflight blinked in confusion at her young daughter. “Why would you ask?”
Fluffkit immediately looked uncomfortable. She wouldn’t meet her mother’s eye, and her thick pelt bristled. A cold wave of panic washed over Pixieflight. “Fluffkit, please, tell me what’s bothering you,” she urged the tiny kit.
Fluffkit tensed. “Stormypelt said that all the “misfits” were in the nursery together. She said we don’t belong. What’s a misfit?”
As Fluffkit looked up at her, Pixieflight saw the confusion and hurt in her daughter’s beautiful eyes, and her chest burned with rage. How dare that fox-dung say that about my kits! Pixieflight barely kept her claws sheathed as she silently cursed Stormypelt. The dappled gray she-cat had been Pixieflight’s lifelong rival and bully ever since she found out Pixieflight’s false origins.
Dawnflower had told everyone Pixieflight was the daughter of a kittypet, but in reality she was the daughter of Cloudtail and Brightheart of ThunderClan. Apparently Stormypelt didn’t like that any better.
“Pixieflight?” the white queen was snapped awake by her daughter’s small voice cracking with fear.
Pixieflight realized she hadn’t hidden the rage in her eyes, and now Fluffkit was cowering from her glare. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she mewed quickly, scolding herself. “Now, don’t pay any heed to what Stormypelt says. She’s just a fish-brain, and only Leopardstar gets to decide who’s a RiverClan cat.”
Fluffkit’s eyes widened. “Stormypelt thinks I’m not-”
“Stormypelt is a fox-heart and a fool!” Pixieflight snapped. She knew she was going too far, but she was not about to let Fluffkit experience the same treatment she had gone through as a kit. “Everyone but her accepts you and your siblings as clan-born cats, and that’s what is important,” Pixieflight concluded firmly, waiting for Fluffkit to agree and drop the matter.
The fuzzy kit nodded shortly and looked away.
Pixieflight sighed heavily, wishing she hadn’t gotten so worked up. “Why don’t you go back and join your siblings with Wildfire’s kits, Fluffkit? You six can play together,” she suggested.
Fluffkit nodded again, and Pixieflight stared after her as her tiny white form turned around, and slowly padded away.
Rather than responding, Fluffkit refused the ginger and white she-kit’s eyes as she sat down and began washing. A long, unusual silence stretched, broken only by the playful squeal of the other kits in play. Sunkit’s sister seemed a little more than reluctant to reply.
Confused, Sunkit was about to say something more, when she was interrupted.
“What were you talking to Pixieflight about?” Stripekit inquired as he bounced away from the game of moss-ball with Splashkit, Mousekit and Goldenkit, and over to his sisters.
“I don’t know,” Sunkit replied impatiently, turning to Fluffkit for answers.
Finally, the little white she-kit turned her big blue eyes to her siblings. “Stormypelt called all of us ‘misfits’, and Pixieflight said Stormypelt thinks we’re not RiverClan kits, but Pixieflight won’t tell me why,” she explained miserably, hunching up as if trying to escape into her fuzzy pelt.
“Who’s not RiverClan?” Splashkit suddenly barged into the conversation much like Stripekit had, with her brothers following.
“We’re not, apparently,” Stripekit replied, his head cocked and ears back as if he was still confused himself.
“What?!” Splashkit exclaimed in disgust. “What is that supposed to mean? You were born here, and your parents are loyal RiverClan warriors! Why in StarClan not?”
Stripekit shrugged and now every kit turned their eyes on Fluffkit. A growing lump of concern grew in Sunkit’s throat as she waited for her troubled sister to speak.
At last, the furry kit sighed. “I don’t really know,” she mewed helplessly. “Stormypelt thinks we’re not.”
Sunkit blinked as anger, discomfort and horror mingled in her stomach at Fluffkit’s statement. What does this even mean? She wondered, glancing at her kind, gentle mother, and thinking of her brave and humorous father. The young ginger and white she-kit loved her parents so dearly, and as far as she was concerned, they were the greatest warriors in RiverClan! How could any cat think it was bad to be their kits?
Out of the corner of Sunkit’s eye, she noticed Splashkit glaring at nothing in particular for several heartbeats as the slender gray she-kit seemed to drink in Fluffkit’s words. The silence stretched on until Splashkit spoke. “Well,” she growled. “If that’s what our clan thinks of us, we’ll just have to prove them wrong.”
Sunkit stared at the shimmering resolve in her stubborn friend’s eyes, and was suddenly filled with foreboding. A gnawing sensation grew in the ginger and white tabby kit’s stomach, and Sunkit worried for her friend’s future.
She wasn’t proven right until moons later.
The slender gray she-kit had a mischievous sparkle in her deep blue eyes as she stood close to their brother Goldenkit and Sunkit and Stripekit.
Around them, the camp was bustling with sunhigh activity as the warriors and apprentices went about their business. Mousekit glanced nervously at his mother, Wildfire, but she was busy sharing tongues with their father, Flintstrike.
He would have had easier access to a supervising warrior if Tinybird hadn’t excused herself to the dirt-place and then taken moons to return.
“Nothing,” Splashkit replied unconvincingly. Then she leaned towards him and hissed: “Except going on an adventure!”
Mousekit’s eyes widened in fear. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Splashkit was always looking for new ways to get into trouble, and as a result, he always ended up in trouble too.
Not to mention danger. Mousekit frowned at his sister. “Wildfire says we have to say in camp,” the small gray tom recited the same rule he had many times before to the rebellious she-kit.
But Splashkit took no notice of him. “If you want to, you can come. But no telling Wildfire,” she whispered, ending the discussion.
“I don’t know,” Mousekit was surprised to hear the small voice of Sunkit’s sister, Fluffkit. “It could be dangerous, Splashkit. There could be badgers or foxes!” The fluffy white kit’s blue eyes were wide and concerned.
“Don’t worry, Fluffkit,” Goldenkit assured her, his ginger chest puffing up bravely. “I’ll protect you! I can fight off a thousand foxes!” he bolstered.
“Yeah!” Sunkit cheered.
Fluffkit blinked warmly, suddenly looking a lot less scared. But Mousekit wasn’t convinced. As brave and strong as his ginger brother was, the tiny kit didn’t think six kits stood much of a chance against a fox.
Let alone a badger.
A sinking feeling filled Mousekit’s stomach as he looked at his denmates’ shining eyes. There seemed to be nothing the gray kit could do to stop them.
“Come on, Mousekit,” Mousekit’s ginger tabby friend, Stripekit, purred teasingly. “It’ll be fun! And we have to leave now, or our parents might notice!”
Mousekit sighed. “Fine. Let’s go,” he meowed reluctantly.
“Go where?” a tiny squeak piped up behind them, and all six kits jumped.
They all whirled around to face a puny, ginger, black and white calico she-kit staring up at them with curious amber eyes.
“Robinkit!” Splashkit hissed at the tiny she-kit. “Go away, go find Minnowtail! We’re busy,” The gray she-kit glanced at Wildfire and Flintstrike nervously, as they flashed a look in her direction.
“No! I wanna go where you’re going!” Robinkit complained.
“Shh!” Splashkit, Sunkit, and Goldenkit all hissed in unison.
“You’re too little,” Splashkit insisted distractedly, increasingly anxious about nearby warriors.
The six of them began stealthily making their way towards the entrance of the dirt-place; ignoring Robinkit’s whimpering. Splashkit lead the way, checking left and right for anyone who could spot them. They stood tensely, waiting for the slender she-kit to make the call.
“Go!” Splashkit mewed, scuttling through the entrance.
One by one, they all followed her through the dirt-place path. Mousekit was last, trailing nervously behind Fluffkit while desperately hoping some cat would spot them before they went through with this ‘adventure’.
But nobody did.
“We made it!” Splashkit yelped excitedly, and Sunkit and Stripekit cheered.
“Great,” Mousekit grumbled. “Now let’s go back.”
“No way!” Splashkit declared. “We’re going to be warriors one day, so we’ll have to know the territory well. Let’s start exploring!”
“And we can catch prey for the fresh-kill pile!” Goldenkit suggested boldy.
Everyone but Mousekit yowled in agreement.
“I bet I’ll catch a bigger prey than you!” Stripekit challenged Mousekit’s pale ginger brother.
“Not a chance,” Goldenkit bragged. “‘Cause I won’t stop at one!”
They argued on as the six adventuring kits made their way across the vast RiverClan territory. Trees towered high over all of them, their leaves hanging in the sky like an enormous den. On the way, Mousekit tripped over a branch that that was thicker than both his paws, and landed in a pile of moist leaves. Hooray for adventures, he thought bitterly.
Further along, they came across a large rock, and Splashkit challenged every kit to climb it. In the end, only she and Goldenkit volunteered, and they scrambled up it’s precarious side and stumbled onto its dangerous peak with a cry of victory.
Even though they teased him, Mousekit much preferred his denmates taunting to the insanity of climbing up something like that!
When they arrived near the stream, Sunkit made a suggestion. “Let’s split up! Some of us can hunt mice, some birds, and some fish!”
Splashkit crinkled her nose in disgust. “Ew, why would you eat mice or birds? Flintstrike says mice are ThunderClan prey!”
Sunkit stepped back, frowning in confusion. “But, Pixieflight and Ivy eat mice and birds. And they shared some with us. It tastes good!” she argued.
Splashkit shrugged. “Well, I want to catch fish. Fluffkit, why don’t you join me? You guys can go in pairs like that, too,” the gray she-kit devised.
Every kit agreed, and they split up to go hunt. Sunkit went with Goldenkit, so Mousekit went with Stripekit.
“Let’s catch birds,” the ginger tabby stated. “I bet I’ll get more than you!”
Mousekit sighed. “Yeah, sure.”
The lithe gray kit purred in amusement. “You worry about everything, Fluffkit! I’m a RiverClan kit, and I’ll be a warrior soon! I can handle the stream,” she said confidently, striding up to the water's edge.
Fluffkit still stayed back. She wasn’t so certain. The fuzzy kit had heard the story of how her mother Pixieflight had first come to RiverClan, and in it she had been thrown into the river and almost drowned. Their mother would have died then if it hadn’t been for Rippletail.
“Come on, Fluffkit. If you don’t get over here, I’ll catch a fish before you!” Splashkit called the fluffy white kit tauntingly, hopping around playfully on the pebbles lining the streambed.
Fluffkit looked away, pretending to find something interesting in the tall, pale trees swaying in the breeze nearby. “Splashkit, I… I don’t think-”
“I see one!” Splashkit cried suddenly, her blue eyes lighting up excitedly and catching the sun’s reflection off the flowing water.
The slight, gray she-kit’s paw shot forward at the silver flash of a fish. But by the time her paw hit the water, the fish had long since disappeared beneath the frothy water. However; the fish was not the only one.
“Ah! Help!” Splashkit squealed desperately as her paws slipped on the wet pebbles and she toppled off balance right into the rushing stream.
Fluffkit watched, frozen in horror as her friend’s slim form disappeared into beneath the water’s surface. “Splashkit!”
Fluffkit snapped out of her trance and bolted along the shoreline, hopelessly searching for some sign of the gray she-kit’s pelt. There had to be some sign among the crashing waves; some hope that Splashkit was still there. She searched and searched, her cold breath aching in her chest. I have to help her! The thought repeated over and over as she dashed back and forth along the shoreline, scanning the dark waters.
But there was nothing.
“Splashkit!” she cried for her friend again in despair. “Splashkit!”
But there was no answer. Nothing. Only the wild current of the empty stream and the wispy wind broke through the unrelenting silence.
Splashkit was gone.
“Fluffkit, what’s going on?” Goldenkit’s voice called out to her, and it was followed by Sunkit’s and Mousekit’s.
But Fluffkit hardly heard them. She couldn’t hear anything over her pounding heartbeat and the blood roaring in her ears. She’s not gone. Fluffkit told herself. She can’t be! The world around the fuzzy white kit swirled and her tiny paws began to sway. Everything was going dark, and the sound of her own breathing muffled out the anxious cries of her denmates. This couldn’t really be happening. It wasn’t.
Come back, Splashkit, Fluffkit silently pleaded. This isn’t funny.
But her bold, cheery friend did not reply.
“Fluffkit! Answer me, please!” Fluffkit blinked as her sister’s breathless words reached her at last.
“S-Sunkit?” she stammered, rapidly scanning the shoreline behind her ginger sister. “Splashkit was just- She was just…” Fluffkit couldn’t remember what had happened anymore.
“What is it?” Goldenkit urged. “Where’s Splashkit?”
Where is Splashkit? The question repeated itself over and over. Fluffkit squeezed her eyes shut. One moment her friend had been their; smiling, playing, happy. Her short, gray fur sprinkled with droplets, and her blue eyes shining mischievously.
And then the next… gone.
Fluffkit took a harsh breath, and looked up at Sunkit, Goldenkit and Mousekit. In a low and solemn mew, she told them: “She’s gone.”
This is a loong first chapter, and starts right off into the chaos, hope you enjoy!Anyways, here's the prologue, let me know what you think!
Prologue
The sun glowed a deep orange-red as it slowly peaked above the horizon. Long, thin clouds hung like still flames in the early morning sky.
A young dark gray medicine cat stood ominously outside the entrance of the nursery. Inside, she looked upon a a den full of soundly sleeping cats. A small, young queen was curled up around her three tiny kits. Two of the kits mingled with the gray of their mother’s pelt while the third one’s bright ginger fur stood out like a burning flame.
The onlooking medicine cat’s eyes drifted past them and the pregnant gray and white queen, to the other side of the den where a furry, pure white queen slept by her three kits. The dark gray cat focused on the small, precious bodies of the kits; chests rising and falling in their deep sleep.
They lay neatly in a line: white, ginger, ginger and white.
Willowshine recalled the dream that had woken her from her early evening sleep. RiverClan’s medicine cat hadn’t been able to fall back asleep afterwards; the nightmare had been far too unsettling. In her dream, the slender gray she-cat had seen each of the gray queen, Wildfire’s, and the white queen, Pixieflight’s, kits.
Each of them facing a terrible tragedy.
The paths these kits would walk was littered with sorrow, heartbreak, and disaster. She had heard agonized screams and mourning, and seen rushing water, violent storms, a cold nest, and pools of blood. There was a great loneliness awaiting many of them, Willowshine could feel it strongly. It filled the medicine cat with a deep sadness, but also an icy fear. Why would StarClan show me this? The thought repeated itself over and over in her mind.
She wondered and wondered about this, staring at the poor young kits who had no idea what was in store for them. Why me? She thought helplessly. Why do I need to know their horrible fate? StarClan, what are you trying to say?
Heartbeats stretched on until the moon rose to the peak of the night sky, and silverpelt sparkled above. “Hearts lay shattered beneath the paws of innocence. Only through peace can the light return to darkness.” Willowshine gasped as she heard clearly the voice that had spoken to her in her dream.
The shivering tabby she-cat stumbled a few steps from the nursery entrance, her breath suddenly ragged. What was that? Fear and confusion clouded her judgment as she shook herself.
Was that… a prophecy? The young medicine cat had never received one like that before, and it was terribly frightening. What does it mean, ‘paws of innocence’? And what is the light and the darkness? Is it a metaphor for something?
Question upon question piled up in Willowshine’s mind until she felt horribly nauseous. She needed to get some sleep. Once more before she left, Willowshine glanced at the six kits in the nursery; although something told her it would soon be seven.
Pity flooded her again as she gazed at their tiny, naive forms. They have no idea what awful storms they’ll soon face. StarClan, give them strength. And with that, the dark gray medicine cat turned and padded to her den.
The sun glowed a deep orange-red as it slowly peaked above the horizon. Long, thin clouds hung like still flames in the early morning sky.
A young dark gray medicine cat stood ominously outside the entrance of the nursery. Inside, she looked upon a a den full of soundly sleeping cats. A small, young queen was curled up around her three tiny kits. Two of the kits mingled with the gray of their mother’s pelt while the third one’s bright ginger fur stood out like a burning flame.
The onlooking medicine cat’s eyes drifted past them and the pregnant gray and white queen, to the other side of the den where a furry, pure white queen slept by her three kits. The dark gray cat focused on the small, precious bodies of the kits; chests rising and falling in their deep sleep.
They lay neatly in a line: white, ginger, ginger and white.
Willowshine recalled the dream that had woken her from her early evening sleep. RiverClan’s medicine cat hadn’t been able to fall back asleep afterwards; the nightmare had been far too unsettling. In her dream, the slender gray she-cat had seen each of the gray queen, Wildfire’s, and the white queen, Pixieflight’s, kits.
Each of them facing a terrible tragedy.
The paths these kits would walk was littered with sorrow, heartbreak, and disaster. She had heard agonized screams and mourning, and seen rushing water, violent storms, a cold nest, and pools of blood. There was a great loneliness awaiting many of them, Willowshine could feel it strongly. It filled the medicine cat with a deep sadness, but also an icy fear. Why would StarClan show me this? The thought repeated itself over and over in her mind.
She wondered and wondered about this, staring at the poor young kits who had no idea what was in store for them. Why me? She thought helplessly. Why do I need to know their horrible fate? StarClan, what are you trying to say?
Heartbeats stretched on until the moon rose to the peak of the night sky, and silverpelt sparkled above. “Hearts lay shattered beneath the paws of innocence. Only through peace can the light return to darkness.” Willowshine gasped as she heard clearly the voice that had spoken to her in her dream.
The shivering tabby she-cat stumbled a few steps from the nursery entrance, her breath suddenly ragged. What was that? Fear and confusion clouded her judgment as she shook herself.
Was that… a prophecy? The young medicine cat had never received one like that before, and it was terribly frightening. What does it mean, ‘paws of innocence’? And what is the light and the darkness? Is it a metaphor for something?
Question upon question piled up in Willowshine’s mind until she felt horribly nauseous. She needed to get some sleep. Once more before she left, Willowshine glanced at the six kits in the nursery; although something told her it would soon be seven.
Pity flooded her again as she gazed at their tiny, naive forms. They have no idea what awful storms they’ll soon face. StarClan, give them strength. And with that, the dark gray medicine cat turned and padded to her den.
Chapter 1
-Misfits-
The slender kit was playing moss-ball with her siblings and Pixieflight’s kits in the nursery, and they had inched too close to the nest where Minnowtail’s two-moon-old daughter was sleeping with the gray and white queen. Splashkit mewed an apology to her mother as she went back to her playing.
Pixieflight suppressed a purr at the exasperated look on Wildfire’s face. The small gray queen who had been her apprentice only six moons ago, was looking more and more like an exhausted elder every day. Humorously, it reminded Pixieflight of her experience mentoring Wildfire all that time ago.
Pixieflight had been worried the young cat was too unfit to be a warrior, and had doubted her own ability to train her. All this had caused exasperation and anxiety, and now Pixieflight could only laugh seeing Wildfire going through the same with her kits.
The clumsy young apprentice sure had grown up.
“Pixieflight,” a quiet voice called from beside the fluffy white queen.
Pixieflight looked down into the blue eyes of her smallest daughter, Fluffkit. Pixieflight’s mate, Ivy, told her all the time that Fluffkit was the perfect reflection of herself; the same thick, pure white fur, as well as the same crystal blue eyes.
“Yes, dear?” Pixieflight purred to the shy, precious bundle.
“Are we different?” Fluffkit’s response sent icy chills down the white queen’s spine, as it instantly reminded her of the time she had asked the same question to her foster mother, Dawnflower, and found out she wasn’t clan born.
Of course, what she’d learned that day had turned out to be a lie.
Pixieflight blinked in confusion at her young daughter. “Why would you ask?”
Fluffkit immediately looked uncomfortable. She wouldn’t meet her mother’s eye, and her thick pelt bristled. A cold wave of panic washed over Pixieflight. “Fluffkit, please, tell me what’s bothering you,” she urged the tiny kit.
Fluffkit tensed. “Stormypelt said that all the “misfits” were in the nursery together. She said we don’t belong. What’s a misfit?”
As Fluffkit looked up at her, Pixieflight saw the confusion and hurt in her daughter’s beautiful eyes, and her chest burned with rage. How dare that fox-dung say that about my kits! Pixieflight barely kept her claws sheathed as she silently cursed Stormypelt. The dappled gray she-cat had been Pixieflight’s lifelong rival and bully ever since she found out Pixieflight’s false origins.
Dawnflower had told everyone Pixieflight was the daughter of a kittypet, but in reality she was the daughter of Cloudtail and Brightheart of ThunderClan. Apparently Stormypelt didn’t like that any better.
“Pixieflight?” the white queen was snapped awake by her daughter’s small voice cracking with fear.
Pixieflight realized she hadn’t hidden the rage in her eyes, and now Fluffkit was cowering from her glare. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she mewed quickly, scolding herself. “Now, don’t pay any heed to what Stormypelt says. She’s just a fish-brain, and only Leopardstar gets to decide who’s a RiverClan cat.”
Fluffkit’s eyes widened. “Stormypelt thinks I’m not-”
“Stormypelt is a fox-heart and a fool!” Pixieflight snapped. She knew she was going too far, but she was not about to let Fluffkit experience the same treatment she had gone through as a kit. “Everyone but her accepts you and your siblings as clan-born cats, and that’s what is important,” Pixieflight concluded firmly, waiting for Fluffkit to agree and drop the matter.
The fuzzy kit nodded shortly and looked away.
Pixieflight sighed heavily, wishing she hadn’t gotten so worked up. “Why don’t you go back and join your siblings with Wildfire’s kits, Fluffkit? You six can play together,” she suggested.
Fluffkit nodded again, and Pixieflight stared after her as her tiny white form turned around, and slowly padded away.
***
“Fluffkit, what’s wrong?” Sunkit mewed as she watched her plumey sister quietly leave the nest where their mother lay, with her head down and tail drooping.Rather than responding, Fluffkit refused the ginger and white she-kit’s eyes as she sat down and began washing. A long, unusual silence stretched, broken only by the playful squeal of the other kits in play. Sunkit’s sister seemed a little more than reluctant to reply.
Confused, Sunkit was about to say something more, when she was interrupted.
“What were you talking to Pixieflight about?” Stripekit inquired as he bounced away from the game of moss-ball with Splashkit, Mousekit and Goldenkit, and over to his sisters.
“I don’t know,” Sunkit replied impatiently, turning to Fluffkit for answers.
Finally, the little white she-kit turned her big blue eyes to her siblings. “Stormypelt called all of us ‘misfits’, and Pixieflight said Stormypelt thinks we’re not RiverClan kits, but Pixieflight won’t tell me why,” she explained miserably, hunching up as if trying to escape into her fuzzy pelt.
“Who’s not RiverClan?” Splashkit suddenly barged into the conversation much like Stripekit had, with her brothers following.
“We’re not, apparently,” Stripekit replied, his head cocked and ears back as if he was still confused himself.
“What?!” Splashkit exclaimed in disgust. “What is that supposed to mean? You were born here, and your parents are loyal RiverClan warriors! Why in StarClan not?”
Stripekit shrugged and now every kit turned their eyes on Fluffkit. A growing lump of concern grew in Sunkit’s throat as she waited for her troubled sister to speak.
At last, the furry kit sighed. “I don’t really know,” she mewed helplessly. “Stormypelt thinks we’re not.”
Sunkit blinked as anger, discomfort and horror mingled in her stomach at Fluffkit’s statement. What does this even mean? She wondered, glancing at her kind, gentle mother, and thinking of her brave and humorous father. The young ginger and white she-kit loved her parents so dearly, and as far as she was concerned, they were the greatest warriors in RiverClan! How could any cat think it was bad to be their kits?
Out of the corner of Sunkit’s eye, she noticed Splashkit glaring at nothing in particular for several heartbeats as the slender gray she-kit seemed to drink in Fluffkit’s words. The silence stretched on until Splashkit spoke. “Well,” she growled. “If that’s what our clan thinks of us, we’ll just have to prove them wrong.”
Sunkit stared at the shimmering resolve in her stubborn friend’s eyes, and was suddenly filled with foreboding. A gnawing sensation grew in the ginger and white tabby kit’s stomach, and Sunkit worried for her friend’s future.
She wasn’t proven right until moons later.
***
“Splashkit, what are you doing?” Mousekit asked his sister nervously.The slender gray she-kit had a mischievous sparkle in her deep blue eyes as she stood close to their brother Goldenkit and Sunkit and Stripekit.
Around them, the camp was bustling with sunhigh activity as the warriors and apprentices went about their business. Mousekit glanced nervously at his mother, Wildfire, but she was busy sharing tongues with their father, Flintstrike.
He would have had easier access to a supervising warrior if Tinybird hadn’t excused herself to the dirt-place and then taken moons to return.
“Nothing,” Splashkit replied unconvincingly. Then she leaned towards him and hissed: “Except going on an adventure!”
Mousekit’s eyes widened in fear. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Splashkit was always looking for new ways to get into trouble, and as a result, he always ended up in trouble too.
Not to mention danger. Mousekit frowned at his sister. “Wildfire says we have to say in camp,” the small gray tom recited the same rule he had many times before to the rebellious she-kit.
But Splashkit took no notice of him. “If you want to, you can come. But no telling Wildfire,” she whispered, ending the discussion.
“I don’t know,” Mousekit was surprised to hear the small voice of Sunkit’s sister, Fluffkit. “It could be dangerous, Splashkit. There could be badgers or foxes!” The fluffy white kit’s blue eyes were wide and concerned.
“Don’t worry, Fluffkit,” Goldenkit assured her, his ginger chest puffing up bravely. “I’ll protect you! I can fight off a thousand foxes!” he bolstered.
“Yeah!” Sunkit cheered.
Fluffkit blinked warmly, suddenly looking a lot less scared. But Mousekit wasn’t convinced. As brave and strong as his ginger brother was, the tiny kit didn’t think six kits stood much of a chance against a fox.
Let alone a badger.
A sinking feeling filled Mousekit’s stomach as he looked at his denmates’ shining eyes. There seemed to be nothing the gray kit could do to stop them.
“Come on, Mousekit,” Mousekit’s ginger tabby friend, Stripekit, purred teasingly. “It’ll be fun! And we have to leave now, or our parents might notice!”
Mousekit sighed. “Fine. Let’s go,” he meowed reluctantly.
“Go where?” a tiny squeak piped up behind them, and all six kits jumped.
They all whirled around to face a puny, ginger, black and white calico she-kit staring up at them with curious amber eyes.
“Robinkit!” Splashkit hissed at the tiny she-kit. “Go away, go find Minnowtail! We’re busy,” The gray she-kit glanced at Wildfire and Flintstrike nervously, as they flashed a look in her direction.
“No! I wanna go where you’re going!” Robinkit complained.
“Shh!” Splashkit, Sunkit, and Goldenkit all hissed in unison.
“You’re too little,” Splashkit insisted distractedly, increasingly anxious about nearby warriors.
The six of them began stealthily making their way towards the entrance of the dirt-place; ignoring Robinkit’s whimpering. Splashkit lead the way, checking left and right for anyone who could spot them. They stood tensely, waiting for the slender she-kit to make the call.
“Go!” Splashkit mewed, scuttling through the entrance.
One by one, they all followed her through the dirt-place path. Mousekit was last, trailing nervously behind Fluffkit while desperately hoping some cat would spot them before they went through with this ‘adventure’.
But nobody did.
“We made it!” Splashkit yelped excitedly, and Sunkit and Stripekit cheered.
“Great,” Mousekit grumbled. “Now let’s go back.”
“No way!” Splashkit declared. “We’re going to be warriors one day, so we’ll have to know the territory well. Let’s start exploring!”
“And we can catch prey for the fresh-kill pile!” Goldenkit suggested boldy.
Everyone but Mousekit yowled in agreement.
“I bet I’ll catch a bigger prey than you!” Stripekit challenged Mousekit’s pale ginger brother.
“Not a chance,” Goldenkit bragged. “‘Cause I won’t stop at one!”
They argued on as the six adventuring kits made their way across the vast RiverClan territory. Trees towered high over all of them, their leaves hanging in the sky like an enormous den. On the way, Mousekit tripped over a branch that that was thicker than both his paws, and landed in a pile of moist leaves. Hooray for adventures, he thought bitterly.
Further along, they came across a large rock, and Splashkit challenged every kit to climb it. In the end, only she and Goldenkit volunteered, and they scrambled up it’s precarious side and stumbled onto its dangerous peak with a cry of victory.
Even though they teased him, Mousekit much preferred his denmates taunting to the insanity of climbing up something like that!
When they arrived near the stream, Sunkit made a suggestion. “Let’s split up! Some of us can hunt mice, some birds, and some fish!”
Splashkit crinkled her nose in disgust. “Ew, why would you eat mice or birds? Flintstrike says mice are ThunderClan prey!”
Sunkit stepped back, frowning in confusion. “But, Pixieflight and Ivy eat mice and birds. And they shared some with us. It tastes good!” she argued.
Splashkit shrugged. “Well, I want to catch fish. Fluffkit, why don’t you join me? You guys can go in pairs like that, too,” the gray she-kit devised.
Every kit agreed, and they split up to go hunt. Sunkit went with Goldenkit, so Mousekit went with Stripekit.
“Let’s catch birds,” the ginger tabby stated. “I bet I’ll get more than you!”
Mousekit sighed. “Yeah, sure.”
***
“Are you sure about this, Splashkit?” Fluffkit mewed nervously, her thick white pelt prickling as she stared at the running water.The lithe gray kit purred in amusement. “You worry about everything, Fluffkit! I’m a RiverClan kit, and I’ll be a warrior soon! I can handle the stream,” she said confidently, striding up to the water's edge.
Fluffkit still stayed back. She wasn’t so certain. The fuzzy kit had heard the story of how her mother Pixieflight had first come to RiverClan, and in it she had been thrown into the river and almost drowned. Their mother would have died then if it hadn’t been for Rippletail.
“Come on, Fluffkit. If you don’t get over here, I’ll catch a fish before you!” Splashkit called the fluffy white kit tauntingly, hopping around playfully on the pebbles lining the streambed.
Fluffkit looked away, pretending to find something interesting in the tall, pale trees swaying in the breeze nearby. “Splashkit, I… I don’t think-”
“I see one!” Splashkit cried suddenly, her blue eyes lighting up excitedly and catching the sun’s reflection off the flowing water.
The slight, gray she-kit’s paw shot forward at the silver flash of a fish. But by the time her paw hit the water, the fish had long since disappeared beneath the frothy water. However; the fish was not the only one.
“Ah! Help!” Splashkit squealed desperately as her paws slipped on the wet pebbles and she toppled off balance right into the rushing stream.
Fluffkit watched, frozen in horror as her friend’s slim form disappeared into beneath the water’s surface. “Splashkit!”
Fluffkit snapped out of her trance and bolted along the shoreline, hopelessly searching for some sign of the gray she-kit’s pelt. There had to be some sign among the crashing waves; some hope that Splashkit was still there. She searched and searched, her cold breath aching in her chest. I have to help her! The thought repeated over and over as she dashed back and forth along the shoreline, scanning the dark waters.
But there was nothing.
“Splashkit!” she cried for her friend again in despair. “Splashkit!”
But there was no answer. Nothing. Only the wild current of the empty stream and the wispy wind broke through the unrelenting silence.
Splashkit was gone.
“Fluffkit, what’s going on?” Goldenkit’s voice called out to her, and it was followed by Sunkit’s and Mousekit’s.
But Fluffkit hardly heard them. She couldn’t hear anything over her pounding heartbeat and the blood roaring in her ears. She’s not gone. Fluffkit told herself. She can’t be! The world around the fuzzy white kit swirled and her tiny paws began to sway. Everything was going dark, and the sound of her own breathing muffled out the anxious cries of her denmates. This couldn’t really be happening. It wasn’t.
Come back, Splashkit, Fluffkit silently pleaded. This isn’t funny.
But her bold, cheery friend did not reply.
“Fluffkit! Answer me, please!” Fluffkit blinked as her sister’s breathless words reached her at last.
“S-Sunkit?” she stammered, rapidly scanning the shoreline behind her ginger sister. “Splashkit was just- She was just…” Fluffkit couldn’t remember what had happened anymore.
“What is it?” Goldenkit urged. “Where’s Splashkit?”
Where is Splashkit? The question repeated itself over and over. Fluffkit squeezed her eyes shut. One moment her friend had been their; smiling, playing, happy. Her short, gray fur sprinkled with droplets, and her blue eyes shining mischievously.
And then the next… gone.
Fluffkit took a harsh breath, and looked up at Sunkit, Goldenkit and Mousekit. In a low and solemn mew, she told them: “She’s gone.”
Chapter 2
-Taken-
-Taken-
“Wildfire, where are the kits?” Pixieflight felt a panic coming on as she inquired the small gray queen about their missing kits.
Last Pixieflight had seen them, they were playing in the clearing outside the nursery, and Wildfire and Flintstrike had been watching them.
But as Wildfire’s eyes widened in horror, Pixieflight became painfully aware that this was no longer the case. “I asked Tinybird to watch them!” she squeaked.
Pixieflight whirled around and scanned the camp for her denmate Emberheart’s small, jet-black daughter, but Tinybird was nowhere to be found.
“When did you last see them?” Pixieflight demanded, getting more stressed every heartbeat.
Wildfire closed her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, not too long ago, after sunhigh.”
Pixieflight glanced at the sky and her heart sank. That was seasons ago! “Leopardstar! Mistyfoot! Help! The kits!” Pixieflight yowled desperately across the camp, hoping to catch her leader’s attention.
Instead, she caught the attention of every cat in the camp, and a crowd was in the making around the two hysteric kitless queens.
“What happened to the kits?” The fluffy white queen felt a rush of emotion as she heard the voice of her beloved mate, Ivy.
Pixieflight turned and faced the normally playful ginger tom and found the sparkle in his emerald eyes to be dulled with dread.
Pixieflight blinked desperately, glancing swiftly around camp as if she would suddenly find her kits there. “They’re missing! Tinybird was watching them, but she’s gone!” she wailed helplessly.
“The stream!” Every cat turned, expecting to see that Leopardstar had spoken.
But to their surprise, young Willowshine stood in the centre of the clearing; eyes wide and sides heaving. The slender dark gray medicine cat turned her wild eyes from Pixieflight and Ivy to Leopardstar and Mistyfoot, who were shoving their way through the crowd.
“The stream,” Willowshine repeated quieter. “They’re at the stream, StarClan told me-” Before she finished her sentence, Ivy whirled around and dashed out of camp in the direction of the stream.
As Pixieflight tried to choke off the panic rising in her throat, she turned to Wildfire and watched her pupils shrink to the size of a gnat. “No!” the small gray queen protested hoarsely, echoing Pixieflight’s feelings. Flintstrike, Pouncetail and Mistyfoot followed quickly after him as Pixieflight took a moment to regain herself. The white queen forced her paws to move towards the stream as her anxious mind spun out of control.
Please, StarClan, let them be alright! Pixieflight couldn’t let herself imagine what she would do if any of her kits- any of the kits- fell into the stream. The panting she-cat closed her eyes and sent another prayer to StarClan. Oh, please don’t take my kits away!
***
“Stripekit!” Ivy yowled between breaths as his paw-steps neared the stream. “Fluffkit! Sunkit!” The ginger tom’s heart was clutched in the gold grip of terror as he scanned the horizon for his kits.
“Mousekit! Goldenkit! Splashkit!” Flintstrike called out his kits’ names as the gray tom’s unsheathed claws unearthed the dirt he tread across.
Pouncetail and Mistyfoot joined in their shouting as the four of them reached the shoreline of the stream at last. They searched alongside the crashing waves of the newleaf stream, and the sick feeling in Ivy’s stomach grew every time his stumbling paws were splashed with icy water.
“Ivy!” the ginger tom turned to see his fluffy white mate racing over to him.
Pixieflight’s shoulders were tensed, and her eyes were exhausted and terrified. “Where are they? Have you found them?” she demanded, surveying the stream.
Before Ivy could answer, he heard Pouncetail holler: “Over here!” Instantly both cats sprinted towards the gray tom’s voice. Ivy’s heart was beating faster than a squirrel and it was jumping up his throat.
Suddenly it stopped as Ivy heard the tiny squeak of his daughter, Sunkit. “Ivy! Pixieflight! Thank StarClan, Fluffkit won’t tell us what’s wrong!”
Relief washed over Ivy in a heavy sigh, but it immediately dissipated when Goldenkit spoke next. “Yeah, Fluffkit. What do you mean, ‘gone’?”
With a gasp, Pixieflight realized it first. “Where is Stripekit?!” she shrieked. Ivy nearly doubled over in fright as he, too, realized his ginger tabby son was not present with the other kits.
Then right after, Flintstrike’s yowl cried: “Where’s Splashkit?”
Sunkit, Mousekit and Goldenkit stood still; their eyes helpless and confused. Every cat froze as Fluffkit glanced nervously at the rushing stream.
No… The word was not only whispered in Ivy’s mind. His claws dug into the earth. The ginger tom felt horrible for the thoughts that came next. StarClan, don’t let it be Stripekit. Don’t let him be the one… If his prayer was answered, Flintstrike; the father standing next to him with a chilling stare of fear, would lose his only daughter.
Oh, StarClan, Ivy closed his eyes suddenly as another, horrific thought entered his mind and made his stomach lurch violently. Please don’t let it be both!
The answer came a moment later.
Mousekit stepped forward and said, “I don’t know where Stripekit went, but we were hunting birds over there,” the small gray tomkit gestured to the territory away from the stream. Mousekit looked up at the warriors anxiously. “Splashkit was catching fish with Fluffkit,” he mewed softly.
“Oh StarClan, why…” Flintstrike whispered as the devastated gray tom shut his eyes and collapsed to the earth. “Why…?”
Ivy turned his solemn gaze to Fluffkit, feeling both empathy for his friend’s loss, and distress when he realized how easily he could have lost his own precious daughter.
“Ivy,” Pixieflight’s anxious whisper rang in the ginger tom’s ear. “We have to find Stripekit. Now.” The white queen’s voice was thick with emotion, and her eyes were stinging with regret at being dismissive of the loss of Splashkit, but she was determined.
Ivy nodded, but before he could move, Mistyfoot burst onto the scene.
The RiverClan deputy barely took a breath before speaking. “I found Stripekit’s scent and followed it to the horseplace and past WindClan territory, but he wasn’t alone,” the gray she-cat paused, her gaze hardening. “A ThunderClan cat was with him. Their scents intertwined two tail-lengths from the shoreline across WindClan territory and into ThunderClan territory.”
“Those frog-brains!” Ivy spat venomously. “Firestar gave us his word!”
Pixieflight’s ears flattened and her face contorted in disbelief. “How could they? They took him! They took my kit!” The fluffy queen snarled, standing up straight. “Cloudtail would never allow this,” she continued assuredly. “Some cat is acting on their own, and I’d like to claw their face off! Take the kits home, Ivy.” And with that, Pixieflight stormed off toward Horseplace, her pelt bristling.
Ivy watched his mate leave with Mistyfoot and wondered how he was going to explain all of this to their kits.
Then Ivy glanced at Flintstrike and realized he had the easy job.
***
Stripekit glanced up at the brown tom who was guiding him through the unknown terrain around him, and remembered gratefully how kind he had been. Stripekit had been chasing a thrush and had suddenly found himself lost and alone. He had uncertainly wandered through the territory until not a single scent was familiar to him.
Stripekit had run into an enormous brown beast which had freaked the tabby kit out of his fur so much that he had kept running and running until he was discovered by Dustpelt, the helpful brown cat who smelled funny.
Dustpelt said he was taking him home.
“Are we almost there?” Stripekit meowed. “I still don’t know these trees.”
Dustpelt nodded and murmured something under his breath. “Don’t worry, we’re nearly there. You’ll know your home soon.” There was something odd about the way the old tom spoke, but Stripekit chose to ignore it.
Suddenly, Dustpelt’s ears perked up, and he stopped in his tracks. The brown tom turned quickly to Stripekit and whispered, “Come this way.” And he ducked hurriedly into a dark, dirt tunnel.
Confused, Stripekit followed the tense old tom through the odd, musty burrow. Stripekit smelled fresh cat-scent similar to Dustpelt’s all along the floor of the tunnel.
The tabby kit paused. He smells different, and he’s taking me somewhere I don’t know that smells like him… Stripekit’s eyes widened. “Wait... Are you from another clan?”
Dustpelt glanced back at the small ginger kit and smirked. “Don’t worry, young kit. All will be made clear soon. The truth is yes, I am a ThunderClan cat, and this is our camp. You belong here, trust me.” the old tom explained mysteriously.
Stripekit blinked nervously. “I thought you were taking me home…” he mewed uncertainly, glancing back towards the exit of the tunnel.
“No, you don’t understand,” Dustpelt corrected him hurriedly. “I am taking you home. You were lost on your own in a dangerous forest. You don’t want to go back there, do you?”
Stripekit gulped at the thought of going back out to the big and scary forest on his own, and decided to trust the ThunderClan tom. Besides, Stripekit thought. He’s a clan cat. He won’t hurt a kit.
Stripekit shook his head, and Dustpelt nodded in appreciation. He gestured for the tabby kit to follow him and Stripekit suddenly found himself in a whole new world.
A clearing opened up before him that looked similar to his own camp, but everything looked and smelled a bit different. He could barely see the sky through the towering trees overhead, and the whole camp was surrounded by a giant, looming rock wall.
Stripekit gaped in awe at his new surroundings, and almost didn’t notice when Dustpelt motioned with his tail to follow.
“Come over here, kit,” Dustpelt meowed gently. “Meet a new friend. This is Ravenkit,” the old tom stepped aside to reveal a slim, yellow she-kit with a dark brown tail, legs, ears, and mask. Her dark mask looked like a bird stretching its wings out.
The ThunderClan she-kit fixed her pale green eyes on him curiously. “Hi!” Ravenkit mewed enthusiastically. “What’s your name? And why do you smell funny?”
Stripekit blinked, so startled he couldn’t remember his own name. “Uh… Stripekit! And it’s you that smells funny!” the tabby kit suddenly retorted, self-conscious.
Ravenkit let out a mrrow of laughter. “You’re funny! I don’t have any cat to play with. Want to play moss ball with me?” she proposed hopefully.
Stripekit’s eyes lit up. “I love moss ball!” he exclaimed happily.
The thick-furred ThunderClan shekit’s pale gaze danced with challenge as she skipped a few paces back, skidding into place by a green piece of moss. Ravenkit snatched the moss into the air in one swift move with her tiny paw, yowling as she prepared to send it at Stripekit.
Stripekit tensed, swiping his tail excitedly as Ravenkit batted the moss ball towards him. The slender ginger tom leapt forward, swiping the moss back down at his new friend. But Ravenkit was ready, and she took two large leaps forward and whacked the ball directly at Stripekit’s face.
Stripekit blinked as the moss bounced harmlessly off his nose, leaving him startled. Suddenly, the young kit reared back, and let out a small sneeze. Ravenkit froze for a few heartbeats, looking as if she had a purr caught in her throat. Then she practically rolled over, purring loudly with laughter.
“Your face!” she squealed, out of breath. “Oh, Silverpelt, you’re so silly!”
Finally Stripekit recovered from the shock and began laughing with Ravenkit. This ThunderClan she-kit was so much fun to play with! It made the tabby tom wonder why Leopardstar always said all the other clans had to be enemies; they made such great friends! Couldn’t they all get along like him and Ravenkit?
“Let’s go again!” Stripekit mewed, poking his cream and dark brown friend as she wriggled on the ground in hysterics.
Instantly, Ravenkit scrambled to her feet again, swiping the moss ball forward with her tail once more. “Let’s see you catch me off guard!” she teased.
“Oh, just wait!” Stripekit replied energetically, falling to a crouch. “Before you know it, you’ll be the one with the silly face!” he declared, and Ravenkit purred giddily.
And so the two kits ran off in their naive game, unaware of any of the horror going on all around them, or what worse things awaited them in the future.