Cry of the Wilderness
A novel written by Flufflepuff, and her friend, Goldenleaf
"Shush, Darkkit, you're going to wake up your sister" A gentle voice rang out in Hollykit's ears. She blinked her eyes open wearily. Out of the blur in her vision, she could make out the shapes of several different colored cats. She squeezed her eyes shut again, and opened them once more. The blurriness had left her vision, and left her to take a full glance at the cats in her den.
"She's so cute!" A white she-cat purred fondly.
"Thank you. Yup, this is Hollykit" Another voice sounded behind Hollykit. Turning around, she faced a black she-cat with white paws sitting just above her. The black she-cat bent over and gave her a firm lick on the top of her head. Glancing around the den, she noticed the woven vines above her head, creating a dome-like den. The sun shone through the cracks, leaving the light dancing on the moss below.
"I wanna see Hollykit!" a black kit with gray paws and amber eyes stumbled behind the white she-cat. The kit ruffled his nose with confusion.
"This? This is my sister?" he asked, grimacing at the sight of Hollykit. The black she-cat shot him a warning glance.
"Darkkit, this is your sister. Be nice" The black she-cat scolded. Darkkit rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, Shadowstreak." Darkkit approached Hollykit hesitantly, and sniffed her cautiously. Hollykit flinched back a little bit. Darkkit drew back.
"You're OK, I guess" He mewed uncertainly.
"She's so adorable. How could she just be okay?" The white she-cat nudged Darkkit playfully. Darkkit stumbled on the mossy ground, and glared at the white she-cat.
"Softlight! You know I don't like being treated like a kit!" He growled, and unsheathed his claws. Hollykit blinked, and looked up at the Softlight. The beautiful she-cat let out a mrrow of amusement, before flicking her tail towards the entrance of the den.
"You should take Hollykit out to explorer. Besides, we don't want you waking up Meadowsong. A queen needs to rest" Softlight directed her gaze towards a creamy gray she-cat, sleeping soundly at the other end of the den. Her belly protruded, and Hollykit couldn't help but notice how round it was. She looked up at Shadowstreak.
"Is Meadowsong going to have kits, too?" She squeaked. Shadowstreak nodded.
"Yes, darling," she gave Hollykit a brief lick before drawing back. "You two should listen to Softlight. Go explorer the camp with Darkkit and introduce yourselves to your Clan-mates, and Softlight's kits. Hollykit directed her attention back at the gaping hole, leading out to the world beyond. She felt so safe and secure in the nursery, what would it be like out there? Anxiety churned in her stomach as Darkkit leaped to his paws.
"Come on, Hollykit! You're so slow!" Darkkit darted out of the hole.
Well, it can't be that bad, can it?
Hollykit glanced back at Shadowstreak with uncertainty in her eyes. Shadowstreak gave her a nod of approval. Softlight nuzzled Hollykit.
"I promise, it's not that bad. It may seem scary, but I promise you'll love it" Softlight whispered gently to Hollykit. Hollykit smiled at Softlight, before taking a tentative step outside of the nursery.
The warm sun shone down onto Hollykit, and her dark gray coat absorbed the heat, leaving her body feeling soothed. Darkkit was in the center of the camp, glancing in her direction, and flicking his tail impatiently.
He can wait She thought, suddenly annoyed by her brother's lack of patience. She looked around the clearing. Cats of all colors sat and lay in different areas. Some were sharing tongues, while others were chatting away while eating a piece of prey. A tortoiseshell cat laid on top of a large, gray rock that jutted out from the earth. The cat was looking around, proudly. Hollykit got the feeling that this cat was the one in charge.
"Hollykit!" Darkkit cried, annoyance laced in with his high-pitched voice.
"I'm coming!" She replied, her tone matching his. She padded over to Darkkit.
"Alright! The grand tour! Come on, Hollykit! Follow me!" The annoyance left Darkkit's voice, as he led her towards a large tree towards the edge of the camp. Hollykit followed shortly behind Darkkit. He stopped in front of the tree. Looking up, it stood as high as the sky, and loomed over Hollykit, as if it would fall over any second.
This tree is so tall! What if it crashes one day? What if it crashes now? She looked over at Darkkit, who was peering inside a hole that was between the trunks of the tree.
I can't show fear in front of Darkkit. He'll think I'm a frog!
"This, Hollykit, is the Warriors den. Most of them aren't here right now, since they're out doing duties and Warrior stuff. But, if you look in here, you can see Hazeldrop and Asheyes sleeping" Darkkit stepped to the side to let Hollykit look through. Inside the large hole, a light yellow tabby she-cat was curled up next to a dark gray tom. The rise and fall of their chests were rather calming for Hollykit.
"Kits, hm? Make sure to not wake them up" A deep voice rumbled from behind. The two kits whirled around. A large, brown tom stood over the two. His white chest, and lighter brown ears were distinctive. Hollykit flinched guiltily, and Darkkit lowered his head.
Looking up slowly, she saw the amusement lit on the toms eyes.
"My name is Elkheart, I'm the deputy. You must be the new kit from Shadowstreak's litter" Elkheart sniffed her. Hollykit took a step back, and examined Elkheart once more.
"Yeah, my name is Hollykit. One day, I'll be a warrior!" She exclaimed, the bashfulness within her disappeared, and she leaped up on her rear legs and swiped the air.
Elkheart purred.
"I'm sure you will. Welcome to ShadowClan, little one" Elkheart closed his eyes briefly, before turning, and made his way to the nursery. Darkkit snorted.
"I don't see what's so great about you that all the cats love" Darkkit said, his eyes narrowed.
"Well, maybe because I'm cuter than you" Hollykit shot back. Darkkit rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Come on, let's go meet the medicine cats" Darkkit started towards another gray rock, this one not as tall as the other one she saw the tortoiseshell on. It stood a good few badger-lengths away from the High Rock. Darkkit shouldered his way into the crevasse, and Hollykit watched his black tail disappear into the darkness. With uncertainty, she followed him. The smell of herbs sang in her nose, and blended together to make a beautiful aromatherapy. The scent enticed her greatly.
"That's right, Redpaw. You got it" A feminine she-cat purred in praise. Looking past Darkkit, she saw a light gray she-cat with bright blue eyes, and beside her stood a smaller, reddish tom with green eyes.
"Oh! Hollykit, Darkkit! Nice to see you both" She took a step towards them.
"How do you know my name?" Hollykit asked politely, tilting her head to one side.
The gray she-cat stood up a little straighter.
"I helped your mother kit you guys! It's finally nice to meet you. My name is Pebbleheart, and I'm the medicine cat. This is my apprentice, Redpaw" She meowed, and flicked her tail towards the red tom, who looked at them shyly.
"Hi!" Hollykit and Darkkit mewed in unison. Redpaw gave them a nod of acknowledgement. Pebbleheart looked back at the dried leaves at their paws.
"We really need to be getting back to our training. It was nice to meet you guys, though!"
The cats meowed their goodbyes as Darkkit and Hollykit exited the den.
"Now, do you see those cats over there? The copper-colored one is Copperleaf, the light gray tabby is Featherstorm, and the blue-gray cat is Moonbreeze, okay?" Darkkit raised his tail in the direction at the other end of camp. Sure enough, there were three cats huddled under a patch of shade. The three looked over in their direction, and waved their tails in greeting. The kits did the same gesture back.
"They already know who you are, though" Darkkit added. Darkkit glanced over by the High Rock. Three, frail looking cats sat below it.
"And those three are Springwater, Bouncefoot, and Brighteyes. Let's go say hi" Darkkit bounded towards the aged cats. Hollykit followed hastily.
As they were making their way towards the old cats, a meow interrupted them.
"Ah, there you two are!" Hollykit turned around, and saw a red tom, just a few inches taller than her. A smaller, petite white she-kit emerged from beside him. Darkkit purred with delight.
"Firekit! Smallkit!" He greeted them fondly. Firekit snorted, and Smallkit gave a small mewl of greeting.
"Hi! I'm Hollykit!" Hollykit took a step forward proudly. Firekit glanced at her, before wrinkling his nose. He paused.
Oh my. What if he hates me?
"Interesting" He finally said.
Arrogant little furball
"I'm Littlekit" The white she-kit meowed quietly.
Hollykit purred. Firekit rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Let's go, Littlekit" He led her towards the nursery. Hollykit glanced at her brother, who shrugged.
"Let's keep going"
"I remember that. It almost seems like it was yesterday" The weak voice of the old gray tom sighed.
"It's okay, Bouncefoot. At least we have the memories" A white she-cat with orange patches assured Bouncefoot. While her body seemed worn and tattered, her orange eyes were bright and filled with life.
She must be Brighteyes.
The three cats looked up at Darkkit and Hollykit's arrival.
"Ah! The new kit is out!" The rain-cloud gray tom, announced.
"Isn't she lovely, Springwater?" Brighteyes asked fondly, her eyes brightened at Hollykit. Hollykit shied away with embarrassment.
"Hi, I'm Hollykit" She mewled, her fur warming up quickly. She could feel the embarrassment rise within her pelt.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Bouncefoot, and these two are Springwater and Brighteyes. We're ShadowClan's elders" Bouncefoot introduced the other two, and they nodded. However, they didn't realize Hollykit already knew who they were. She pretended she didn't know them.
"Nice to meet you two" She replied.
"Well, you two should go back to your mother. It's sun-fall, come by and see us tomorrow" Springwater croaked.
"What?" Hollykit asked, confused. Looking up at the sky, it was painted a vibrant orange, with yellow highlights. The trees silhouettes gently dappled the beautiful sky.
But it doesn't feel like sun-fall! The day passed by so quickly!
"You're right. Come on, Hollykit. Let's go back to Shadowstreak" Darkkit dipped his head respectively, and Hollykit copied the odd action.
The two kits padded back to the nursery. The queens were talking quietly among themselves, and they perked up as Darkkit and Hollykit entered.
Shadowstreak sat up, and her tail crossed her paws neatly.
"Welcome back! Did you get to meet everyone?" Shadowstreak's voice held pride.
Hollykit shook her head.
"Not yet, there's so many cats in ShadowClan" Hollykit replied, before her jaws split apart into an uncalled for yawn.
"She hasn't met the apprentices, Brindlestar, and a few of the warriors" Darkkit interjected. Shadowstreak lowered herself until she was laying on her belly, with her legs folded under her.
"We have a big Clan" Hollykit let out another yawn.
"Come on, my dear kits. It's time to sleep" Shadowstreak's voice was soothing, and sounded like music to Hollykit's ears. Darkkit and Hollykit didn't have to be told twice. The two curled up beside Shadowstreak, and she wrapped her tail around them. Hollykit looked over by Softlight. The white queen was gently stroking Firekit and Littlekit with the tip of her tail. They were already fast asleep. Hollykit lowered her head. With one more breath, she fell asleep, soundly, and contently.