Chapter 1: New kits and Different dens
"her kits are coming! Mapletails kits are coming!" Ashkit hurtled into the medicine den. Silverwing, the Skyclan medicine cat, jumped up "your sure?" "Applefur told me to come get you!" Ashkit dashed out of the den towards the well sheltered nursery. He teetered around the pounding waterfall that blocked the entrance, Silverwing just behind him. Mapletail lay on the grass, panting and straining. Mapletail was going to have 3 kits, at least. "your doing fine, Mapletail." A massive ripple passed down Mapletails stomach, and a soggy ball of black fur fell into the grass. Silverwing licked its chest hard to get it breathing, then handed it to Applefur. "here. Lick it to get it warm." She turned her attention back to Mapletail. "Take this." She shoved a pile of stale-smelling leaves to her muzzle. "you'll be fine. Your doing great." Another ripple went down her stomach, followed by a tiny, smoky gray kit. "Cloverkit, come over here, please." She handed the gray kit to her, showing her how to lick it to get the blood flowing. "Two more, then your done." Mapletail just nodded weakly. "keep it up, your doing fine" Mapletail groaned, and tiny cream-coloured kit fell into the moss. "Ashkit?" he was by her in a flash. "here. Lick it like your sisters doing." She had no more time to explain, the fourth, and final, kit, this one a dark ginger, had fallen out into the grassy bedding. Mapletail sighed and relaxed, rolling over onto her back. Applefur guided the four kits to their mothers belly to suckle.
"Are they alright! Are they alright!" Stormheart burst into the nursery. Mapletail looked up at the grey and black tabby. "we're all fine, Stormheart" she lay back down, sleepily. "You have four healthy kits, Stormheart. Three she-cats and a tom" Silverwing stepped up beside him. "do they have names?" he asked Mapletail softly. She looked up. "No, not yet." Stormheart lay down by her side. "well, the tom can be smokekit. That's the grey one?" Silverwing nodded. "the tiny cream one can be Moonkit." Mapletail whispered, tiredly. "the ginger can be Dawnkit, and the black one…" Silverwing padded gently too his side. "look. She has her eyes open already." The little black kit looked up at her mother. "Amberkit, for her eyes."
"can we please go explore? The nurserys getting boring. We want to go play outside!" Amberkit pleaded. Smokekit and Dawnkit bounced beside her. Moonkit stood behind them "Okay. But I'm coming with you," Mapletail responded. She heaved herself from the grass and walked slowly outside. It was her kits first time out of the nursery. They jumped and splashed around the waterfall pool. She smiled. They would make fine warriors one day.
"come on Dawnkit, lets go explore." Amberkit called to her sister. Moonkit looked up. Smokekit had long fallen asleep by the pool. She hurried to Amberkit and Dawnkit. They looked around, baffled by everything in the camp. It was a warm day in early leaf fall. The Skyclan camp sat in a tiny gully with thick, tall trees leaning over for a roof. Amberkit strained her eyes "There are cats up in the trees!" she exclaimed. "And over there! Theres a cave partway up the cliff." Dawnkit called from her vantage point on a tall spur of rock. "Lets go up there!" Amberkit called. Dawnkit jumped from her rock and chased Amberkit to the valley wall. Without hesitating, Dawnkit bounced onto the wall and scrabbled for a pawhold. Amberkit followed after her.
Up and up they jumped, until Dawnkit found her paws on level ground again. She scrambled up and looked down over the entire camp. "Wow" Amberkit scrambled up beside her. They stood on a wide, sloping ledge, with enough room for three cats to stand side by side. Dawnkit sniffed the air. She turned around and saw a cat push out of the bushes that lined the edge of the packed dirt ledge. "lets go in there"
Amberkit wriggled through the bushes, Dawnkit following behind her. "Wow." The dirt cave looked like a den, with grass flattened into sleeping places around the edges. There was only one cat in there. Dawnkit snuck further inside, to the edge of the dirt wall. The sleeping cat shifted, then suddenly woke, scaring both kits out of there pelts. The cat sniffed about, then blinked open his eyes. "What are you two doing in here?" he asked sharply "don't you know this is the warriors den? Kits aren't supposed to be in here, you know." Dawnkit and Amberkit, backed up, scared. "we were only exploring, we didn't know, were really sorry," Amberkit said, terrified. "its alright. I'm Barkpelt. I'll take you back to the nursery.
Barkpelt helped them back down the cliff, climbing down easily. He nudged them towards the waterfall pool, where Mapletail waited, her tail lashing crossly. "I found these two in the warriors den." Barkpelt explained. "Exploring, they said. "thank you, barkpelt. I'm glad you found them." She looked crossly at the two kits. "Into the nursery"
Moonkit peeked into the den. It smelled of herbs and fresh, calm water. She sniffed the air. There wasn't anybody in there. Moonkit carefully padded through the swaying willow that sheltered the medicine den. Through a curtain of willow branches at the back was an overhang that sheltered Silverwing's herbs and where she slept. A tiny stream ran through the clearing and pooled around the willows roots.
Moonkit peeked under the overhang. It went back much farther than she expected. Silverwing slept just under the overhang. A cave went farther back, with dirt walls pocketed with holes stuffed with roots, seeds and leaves of all sorts. She sniffed. The air was so full of scents she could hardly discern one from another. A pile of large dark green leaves smelt… tangy. a bunch of tiny seeds on a large leaf smelt seductive, kind of sleepy, if sleep had a smell…
"What are you doing in here!?"
Moonkit spun around. Silverwing was marching towards her. She had never guessed that such a gentle cat could look so threatening. "Did you eat anything!" Moonkit shook her head no. "You're sure?" Silverwing calmed down when Moonkit nodded. "Alright. You shouldn't be in here anyways. This is the medicine den. Its where cats come if they get hurt or sick. If some cat is hurt in battle, they come here. Medicine cats can stop the bleeding, or keep it from getting infected.
Moonkit looked questioningly at her, eyes shining. Silverwing smiled, wondering if she had found a future apprentice.
"Moonkit! Where have you been!" Mapletail yelled at the cream-furred kit. "I-I went exploring." Moonkit shrank back from her mothers scolding. "Where did you go exploring! We looked everywhere!" "I-I went to the medicine den." Moonkit replied. "Really! What was it-" Mapletail silenced Amberkit with a flick of her tail. "All three of you will stay in the nursery for the rest of today and all of tommorow." "but-" "Two days!" and she stalked away lashing her tail.
"great. It was your idea, Amberkit! Not what are we going to play!" Dawnkit shouted, stomping her foot. "Yeah. I didn't even go with you, and were stuck in here. On our first day out of the nursery!" smokekit shouted
"we can teach you some battle moves we learnt from the apprentices" Cloverkit and Ashkit bounced into the nursery. They were nearly six moons old, almost apprentices themselves now. "Sure!" all four of them yowled.
Cloverkit ran at an invisible enemy, dived, and flicked out a claw as if slashing a rival clan cat. "did you see! I clawed the fur off that mangy riverclan!" "Riverclan?" Dawnkit asked. "Who are they?" Cloverkit looked at her. "Oh. You wouldn't know yet. There are 5 clans. Riverclan, who live down the river that way," she pointed with her tail "windclan, who live up on the moors, Shadowclan, who live in the marshes past fourtrees, and thunderclan, who live that way, just before fourtrees. All the clans have been competeing for food and territory forever. Oh I can't explain. Lets go to the elders. Littletails the best storyteller ever!" "We should tell Mapletail" it had been nearly a moon since the exploring incident, but the kit's mother was still wary
"Its okay. Your with us. None of the warriors mind us going to see the elders. It keeps us out of their pelts, for one, and the elders aren't nearly as grumpy when kits are around. Lets go!"