Hello! For people who have already read this, I did not update it. I want more people to read it, because I posted the entire thing at once, and also I accidentally copied chapter nine into chapter eight, so I fixed that.
If you are reading this for the first time, please review it. I only have five reviews. (okay, six, but one doesn't count because I reviewed it, too. I was impatient, okay? This was my first story. I was desperate for a review.)
Also, sorry. The chapters are waaaay long.
So here is my very first fanfic. Scourge of BloodClan.
The small black kit opened its eyes for the first time.
The world was bright. Too bright. The kit closed his ice blue eyes again, shielding them with his paw, and squealed.
"He's awake, he's awake!" An excited purr rumbled through the air contentedly, along with two squeaking mews. A torrent of questions filled the air.
"Why are his eyes blue and ours amber?"
"Why doesn't he like the light?"
"What should his name be?"
"Night!" mewed one of the voices. "His name should be Night, because his fur is so dark!"
The black kit stared around, confused. He was underneath the root of a huge plant that seemed to reach to the sky. It had thin green shapes fluttering on the ends of its branches that would break off with a gust of wind. The kit looked up at the flapping things. He opened his mouth, and scents flooded his senses so quickly that he snapped it shut. Suddenly one of the green shapes broke away from the huge plant and fluttered down towards the black kit's face. The young cat reached up with his paw and tentatively touched the thin object. It brushed against his pad and he batted it away.
"Look at him, he's playing with the leaves!"
The kit started, squinting into the sunlight. There were three cats standing around him; two kits, one gray and one black, and a grown she-cat with fur the color of a storm cloud. He shivered as three pairs of amber eyes rested on his head. The gray kit on the ground mewed happily while the black one jumped around on one of the plant's roots. "He sees us! He sees us, Shadow!"
"I know, Storm!" meowed the black kit to the gray one. She scrambled across the plant's root until she was by the new kit's head. "Hi! I'm Shadow, your sister!" explained the young cat. She flicked her tail at the gray kit. "That's Storm. He's your brother, and mine too. That's our mother, Cinder, and our father is off getting fresh-kill. His name is Raven. We've met him, but you haven't, because you just opened your eyes. Storm and I opened our eyes the other day, and then we got our names. But we don't have a name for you yet. I want to name you Night, because you're all black like me, but Storm thinks that-."
"Slow down, Shadow," murmured the gray she-cat, Cinder. "He'll never understand you if you keep talking so fast." She looked warmly at her kits. "And we will decide what to name him when Raven gets back."
Shadow looked down at her paws, her black tail twitching anxiously. "I still want to name him Night," she muttered.
Storm rested his amber gaze on her. "No, Crow would be better." Shadow snapped her head up.
"Night."
"Crow."
"Night!"
"Crow!"
Shadow launched herself off of the plant's root with a hiss and crashed into Storm. The gray kit gave a yowl of protest and the two went tumbling across the dirt. The nameless black kit watched them, fascinated, as they fell into a pile of leaves, sending dust into the air. Cinder purred fondly. "They'll make great warriors someday." She looked at the new kit. "I'll mentor them, and you too. The she-cats always teach their kits. That is the way of BloodClan."
The black kit's ears twitched at the sound of the name. BloodClan. He was part of some Clan? "BloodClan?" he meowed, trying to work his mouth.
Cinder's eyes shone happily at the sight of her kit's attempt to speak. "Yes," she purred, dipping her head. "That is the Clan we belong to. It is the only way to survive in Twolegplace."
"Twolegplace?"
"Twolegs live here. They travel in the bellies of loud monsters and live in bright caves with straight walls. Some own kittypets – cats who stay with the Twolegs and live in their caves," she explained.
A roar sounded in the distance. "Was that a… a monster?" asked the black kit. Cinder touched her nose to his. "Yes," she meowed. "Never go under one. They have moving black circles that can flatten a cat in a heartbeat."
The black kit shuddered as another monster called. He didn't think he would ever get near one. "I won't."
Cinder nodded and raised her head. "Luckily, monsters rarely come here. Twolegs too, for that matter. Some leave their junk here, so the Twolegs avoid it." She gestured around with her gray tail. "See?"
The black kit staggered to his paws and looked around for the first time. There were leaves all over the dusty ground, as well as thin, colorful shreds of Twolegs stuff. Silvery cylinders with symbols on them also littered the dirt. The new kit sniffed at one nearby while Storm and Shadow got up and licked their fur. There was a sharp tang of a strange scent on the object. Must be a Twoleg smell, he thought. Looking up, the kit stared at the boundaries of the trash area, which were surrounded by a flimsy looking wall that seemed to be made of thin, silver twigs.
"That's a fence," meowed Cinder. It keeps things out." The kit nodded, blinking gratefully at his mother for her advice. He guessed the fence worked. There were no other creatures save for his family in the area. "Can I look around?"
"Of course."
The black kit took a few shaky steps, then reached the plant's root. He tried to climb up on it like Shadow had when he had opened his eyes. Sharp points came out of his paws when he flexed them and he gasped.
"Those are claws," explained the kit's mother. "They are extremely sharp, so you can scratch things with them. But don't cut me or Shadow, Storm and Raven. Only use them to catch fresh-kill, climb trees or attack cats who are trying to hurt you."
The black kit twitched his tail in acknowledgement, fascinated by his claws. He gripped the plant's root and heaved himself onto the top. Storm and Shadow clambered up beside him.
"This is a tree," meowed Shadow, flicking the rough pelt of the plant with her dark tail. "They can become really tall!"
"They are taller in the forest," mewed Storm.
Cinder gave him a hard look. "Never go into the forest. There are cats who would steal the fur off your back for a mouse-tail or two."
"Oh, mice," purred Storm. "I hope we get some fresh-kill soon."
"Me too," agreed Shadow. "When do we learn to catch our own prey?"
Cinder sighed. "Kits," she muttered. "Always hungry, always impatient." She glanced at the young cats. "I'll start your training at sun-high tomorrow, but don't be surprised if there is no prey to hunt. There isn't a lot of fresh-kill in Twolegplace." She looked almost longingly at the tips of the trees that showed in the distance. "Unlike the forest."
The nameless kit stared at the gray she-cat. "But I thought you told us we could never go in the forest."
His mother erased the emotion from her face. "Oh, um, yes. It's just that when there is little prey then it can be a temptation to go there, but avoid it. Those scoundrel cats would kill a kit like you." Cinder tried to sound strict, but the longing for plentiful fresh-kill still showed in her amber eyes.
Suddenly Storm yowled as a new cat pushed it's way through a hole under the fence. The new kit tensed, feeling his black fur bristling. This cat, a tom, was dark-furred like him, with shining amber eyes like the other cats. "Wait," murmured Shadow to the new kit. "That's Raven, our father."
The black cat touched noses with Cinder, his mouth full of prey. The black kit suddenly realized how hungry he was.
"Mmmm, fresh-kill," purred Storm. He leaped down from the tree root and padded over to his father.
"She-cat's mates hunt for them when they are taking care of kits," meowed Shadow. "But otherwise every cat hunts for themselves in BloodClan."
Raven looked up. "The kit opened his eyes!" he exclaimed.
"I want to name him Night," mewed Shadow. "But Storm wants to name him Crow." Storm's gray fur bristled, his tail high in the air.
"Don't start fighting again," warned Cinder. "Anyway, we'll decide after we eat what his name will be."
Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Fine." She turned to the black kit. "Are you coming, or not?"
The kit jumped off the tree root and followed his sister to the small collection of fresh-kill. "That's a mouse," she explained. "That's a squirrel, and that's a, a…"
"Blackbird," meowed Raven. Storm examined the creature, prodding at two thin folds hanging off the prey. "Those are wings," purred his father. "Birds fly with them. Those things, the furry twigs, are feathers." Storm took a cautious mouthful of the fresh-kill, and spat out feathers.
Cinder shot him an amused look and Raven gave a mrrow of laughter. "You don't have to eat the feathers."
The gray kit nodded, narrowing his amber eyes, and decided to have a mouse instead. Shadow took a small squirrel, while Cinder and Raven each choose a blackbird. The nameless kit sat by the only prey left in the pile – a scrawny mouse. He sniffed at it.
"Eat it!" mewed Storm. "They're really good."
The black kit bit a small piece of the flesh off the mouse. It was good. He tried some more.
"Better than milk?" asked Cinder. The kit blinked.
"Kits drink milk when they are still blind," meowed Storm.
"Oh." The black kit watched as his brother finished his mouse. Storm eyed the black kit's mouse. "Are you going to eat that?"
"I guess not."
The gray kit shifted on his paws. "Can I have it?"
"No." Cinder interrupted, looking at him. "You already ate, and your brother needs the food more than you do. He's only had two mouthfuls, and you devoured a whole mouse. "
"I'm still hungry," Storm protested.
Raven fixed his amber gaze on his kit. "You'll be hungry enough if you live in Twolegplace. We're lucky that I caught this much prey. There isn't a lot, and some cats have to eat leftover Twoleg food from silver cans. Of course, you'll have to learn to hunt for yourself – and fight. Other cats might try to steal your fresh-kill."
Storm flexed his claws, looking anxious at the prospect of attacking any cat who tried to steal his prey. He hissed and leaped onto an imaginary foe, slashing at the ground with his short claws. Cinder put a paw out to stop him.
"We need a name for the kit," she meowed. Shadow finished her squirrel and sat down, glaring at Storm. Her brother returned her gaze but said nothing.
"Don't be that upset over a name," exclaimed Raven. "It probably won't be either Night or Crow, anyhow." He looked up thoughtfully at the darkening sky, amber eyes fixed on something in the distance. No cat made a noise for a few moments. Then Raven got up and murmured something in Cinder's ear. Storm's and Shadow's ears twitched, trying to understand what was being said.
Cinder nodded, and she padded over to the black kit, whose eyes were wide with anticipation. The she-cat lowered her head and licked the kit's ear.
"Welcome," she murmured. "Scourge."