"I'm so tired, Mom." A small cry came from behind Hazelfur and she turned around, looking at the small tom kit that was laying close to her body, shivering. She wrapped her fluffy tail around him in an attempt to keep him warm.
"I know, Crowkit." She said in a gentle voice. She turned her attention to what was around her again. The pair sat in a small crevice, between two rocks that barely offered enough room. The air around them was silent, but she knew that it wasn't safe to come out.
Being the only nursing queen in her clan, Hazelfur had been among the top priorities when her clan, Stoneclan, had learned that tonight they would be attacked by the rival Brineclan that lived along the nearby beach. The whole clan had done their best to hide her and Crowkit, fearing losing the only kit in the clan.
"Can we go back to the nursery now? It's not comfortable here. There's no moss to lay in. My paws hurt." Crowkit continued to whine. He had done nothing but whine since they had been here. But she knew he couldn't help it. He was only a couple moons old and the rocks were hurting his mother, too. She was just tougher.
She reached down to give her kit a few rough licks, trying to calm him down. He let out a small mew and shifted to get comfortable, done complaining for now. Suddenly, a sharp wail pierced the air and caused Crowkit to jump. It was the battle cry of a cat. Soon, many more sounds pierced the air and Hazelfur knew that the battle had started.
"Hush now, little one. You have to be quiet for me so they don't find us." Her kit just nodded, knowing for the first time that this was serious. He had never heard a battle before and it was frightening. He nestled as close to his mother as possible, but he could still hear the screeches.
"Is this what clan life is going to be like?" He could barely grasp it. The Warrior's stories had always seemed so much better than this. But the sounds… it was terrible. That's the only way he could think to describe it. He couldn't imagine wanting to go into battle. Was something wrong with him?
The yowls went on into the night, and Crowkit couldn't block them out no matter how hard he tried. He pressed himself to his mother, trying to focus on her milky scent. Suddenly, the sounds stopped and he lifted his head, looking out into the night.
"Why—" He tried to speak, but his mother's tail was suddenly over his mouth, silencing him. Annoyed, he spat, but then he realized why she had done it. A foul smell like salt and fish hit his nose and it curled. He knew this smell from the stories he'd heard. Brineclan!
"We can't just go back without anything." A sudden voice hissed. It was a tom, but one that Crowkit had never heard before. He flattened himself to the rocks as if he was hiding from the close voice and his mother did the same.
"Silverfang, we lost." Another tom answered, his voice sounding younger. "There's nothing we can do about it. Littlestar will understand."
"No!" Silverfang growled. There was a sound like claws being scratched on rock that hurt Crowkit's ears. "We have the bigger clan! She won't accept our failure."
"We can't afford to get any more of our warriors injured." The second tom replied, hesitant-sounding. "Otterpelt was limping, Honeytail got slashed, and Darkpaw's eye was injured. What if he never sees again!"
There was silence for a long time, and Crowkit wondered why. He un-flattened himself after a second, hesitantly leaning forward when suddenly a dark face appeared, looking into the little hole that Hazelfur and her kit were hiding in. Even in the moonlight, his green eyes shone with a strange glow.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Crowkit backed up against the rocks as his mother's fur fluffed and she stood up in front of him. She hissed a warning but Silverfang didn't back off.
"We were told to get rid of the small black kit." She spat. "Seeing that you're the only queen we've found, I'm going to assume that kit back there is the right one."
"You'll never lay a claw on my kit!" Hazelfur growled with a deep hatred that only a mother would know. They would have to get through her before they touched him.
Almost instantly, the two cats were engaged in battle. Crowkit shook with fear as his mother leapt onto the enemy cat, and all he saw was a blur of her golden fur and his silver shining in the moonlight.
But the tom was much bigger, and it wasn't long before the fighting began to die down. Crowkit feared that his mother wasn't winning. She was too busy trying to fight Silverfang that she didn't notice the other Brineclan cat, the tom from before, slip into the hole.
Suddenly, Crowkit found himself gripped by the white enemy cat, being taken from the hole. He let out a sharp mew from being handled so roughly. The cat carrying him began to run, and he heard a screech as his mother broke away from her fight and tried to follow, but her leg caused her to limp and she fell behind quickly.
"What's going to happen to me?" He thought, fighting hard to keep his eyes open but the bitter wind stung them. Suddenly, they came to a stop and he dared open his eyes. Instantly his heart fell when he realized that he was being dangled over a cliff by the white Brineclan cat.
He tried to struggle free, but suddenly, he found himself falling through the air. His tiny claws gripped the air, trying to find something to hold him but there was nothing. Suddenly, he hit the water under the cliff with a painful thud.
The water was suddenly all around him, sweeping him down the river that went out to sea. His instincts told him to paddle, but his kit-sized legs were no match for the current. He gasped for air when he had the chance, but he was pulled under the water. It filled his tiny lungs as he was painfully pushed around. Several seconds later, he started to black out. He could still feel the ache, but it was distant and a weird feeling swept over him. Was he going to go to Starclan? He wasn't ready yet!
The next thing he knew, the kit felt a rough tongue at his side. As he came to, he coughed. A feeling like a thousand thorns hit his chest and he shivered badly. He opened his eyes and they focused on a black and white she-cat. But thankfully, it was one he knew.
"Ravenfur." Crowkit rasped his clanmates name, but then fell into another series of horrible shaking coughs. The other cat's eyes were full of concern, which was really strange. Ravenfur definitely had a reputation in the clan for being mean at times and a little bossy.
"We need to get you to Emberpelt." She spoke of the clan's medicine cat, saying the name with a strange tone. Crowkit was suddenly picked up again, shivering badly as the air pierced through his fur. Ravenfur walked quickly, but was much more gentle. Swaying back and forth in her jaws, he managed to fall asleep again, too weak to stay awake for more than a couple minutes.