Prologue:
The Kits
One greenleaf night, yowls of pain split the air in the MoonClan camp. A she-cat was having her kits.
Outside the nursery, an amber-eyed white tom paced anxiously, occasionally casting frustrated glances into the nursery. A gray-and-cream queen, her three half-moon old kits, and a tortoiseshell she-cat came to wait with him.
"Bearstar, don't worry. Runningrain is a young, strong, healthy she-cat. Everything will be fine." The queen assured him, her kits tussling next to her.
Bearstar sighed, pausing his pacing for a moment, his amber eyes betraying his worry and fear as the pained yowls continued. "I hope you're right, Flowershine."
"As do I. Runningrain is my older sister. After our father, Cloudripple, was killed and our mother, Lightblossom, died a season ago, she's all I have left." The tortoiseshell said.
Bearstar looked at her for a moment, and then resumed his pacing as Runningrain's yowls continued to fill the air.
Though Runningrain was a half-clan cat, born of a WaterClan father and a MoonClan mother, he hadn't let that stop him from falling in love with her. Now, she was having kits…their kits…
As the dawn arrived, a white tom with blue eyes emerged from the nursery. It was Snowpelt, SpottedClan's medicine cat.
Bearstar looked at him. "How is she?" He demanded.
"Don't worry. She's fine. There was a problem with her milk, but the borage leaves should take effect soon." Snowpelt said. He motioned to the nursery with his slender tail.
"In you go, now." He said with mirth in his eyes.
Deep in a nest of moss and bracken laid his mate and deputy, Runningrain. She was a sleek gray she-cat with emerald-green eyes.
She looked up to see him and smiled lovingly. "Come in. They don't bite…At least, not yet."
He walked over to her and looked at them. Six tiny, sleeping kits, one tom and five she-cats, were nestled in the curve of her milk-swollen belly. Their eyes and ears were sealed shut.
"Six kits…We're going to have a pawful with them!" Bearstar said, grinning. He was a father!
"That we are." Runningrain agreed with the happiness clear in her voice as they gazed at their new kits for a few moments.
The eldest, the tom, looked just like his father, except he had a black tail tip. The second-born kit was a beautiful golden she-kit. The third-born was a brown she-kit. Fourth-born was a silver-blue she-kit. Fifth-born was a she-kit that looked just like her mother, except she had a white tail tip. The youngest was a black she-kit.
"What about names?" Bearstar finally asked.
"I like Northkit for the tom, Petalkit for the golden she-kit…after my mother, and Cloudkit for the silver-blue she-kit…after my father." Runningrain mewed softly.
Bearstar looked at the remaining three without a name. "They could be Fankit for the brown she-kit, Fleetingkit for the gray she-kit, and for the black she-kit…Angelkit."
Runningrain nodded. Laying her head down, she was soon fast asleep, exhausted by the birth.
Bearstar smiled and gave her ear a gentle lick before going out and about his daily life.
Across the deep, cold river, in WaterClan's camp, a moon-old tom-kit was exploring the camp. He was golden-pelted with icy blue eyes. He pounced on a beetle then made to let it go when a voice startled him.
"Goldenkit, what do you think you're doing!" His father, Riverstar, a longhaired blue-gray tom with icy blue eyes, asked. Over his right eye, a puckered pink scar showed.
"P-p-p-playing with a b-b-beetle?" Goldenkit stammered.
His father squashed the beetle and spat, "Weakness has no place in this world, something YOU clearly don't understand!"
Goldenkit quivered in fear. His father kicked him away. Goldenkit then went over to his sisters, Streamkit, Songkit, and Sunkit, and began to tussle with them.
Their mother, Riverstar's mate, Mistsong, was a dark gray, almost black, she-cat with green eyes. Sighing, she padded to Riverstar and asked, "Why are you so hard on him? He's just a kit!"
"He's the key to Bearstar's death! But he needs to learn endurance! If not, he's of no use to me!" Riverstar hissed, his fur bristling.
"Riverstar..." Mistsong said, sadly. She was heartbroken at how her mate was treating their son. He used to be so kind and loving. She doubted he even knew what love was anymore.
"Riverstar!" A black tom with green eyes rushed up to the family.
"I saw everything." He said panting.
"Well, Reedsplash, what did you see?" Riverstar growled.
"Runningrain gave birth to six kits. A tom and five she-kits!"
"Six kits? Well then, we'll just have to train harder, won't we?" Riverstar went over to the playing kits. He would have his vengeance on Bearstar! He had no doubt about it!
Mistsong quickly led Streamkit, Songkit, and Sunkit away to save them the pain that their father would surly subject them to if they remained in his way.
Riverstar glared icy daggers at Goldenkit, who was shaking with fear at this point.
