This is a writing challenge for Soulclan.
Prompt-I've been keeping my feelings locked up in my head, but now I can't help but to let them out.
Silentkit sat with her sister, Echokit, and her best friend Foxkit, and thought about the deal she had made with that cat five moons ago, when she was three sunrises old, when she was called Silverkit. The cat had promised her great things, and all she had to do was not speak until her third moon of being a warrior, when her rage overcame her.
It had seemed to simple at the time. It seemed like just, be quiet. But it was more. It was much,much more. She could only speak to two cats, the two sitting on either side of her. It was so hard for her to not reply when some cat was mean to her, or when they did her a favor.
Echokit's soft white fur brushed against Silentkit's as she stood up to go get some prey for the three of them. Foxkit placed her fluffy ginger tail across Silentkit's shoulders to comfort her. Though they were half a moon apart, Foxkit had grown quickly and was the same size as Silentkit. Echokit got back with a mouse and they all shared it, since they were still kits and didn't have too much of an appetite.
After they ate their mouse, Silentkit and Echokit's mother, Moonleaf, called them to come to bed. They went to bed and Foxkit came along with them.
"Echokit, you have reached the age of six moons and are old enough to become an apprentice. From now until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Echopaw. Your mentor will be Skypelt,"Juniperstar announced. Skypelt, a gray and white splotched she-cat with blue eyes, stepped forward and touched noses with Echopaw. They stepped back into the crowd.
"Silentkit, you are also ready to become an apprentice. From now until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Silentpaw. Your mentor will be Dappleberry," Juniperstar announced, although it was obvious she wasn't as enthusiastic abut Silentpaw than she was about Echopaw.
"Echopaw! Silentpaw! Echopaw! Silentpaw!"the clan cheered. Silentpaw thought she could hear Foxkit and Moonleaf the loudest.
Silentpaw had been an apprentice for a moon. The Gathering was tonight. She hoped she would get to go.
"Mutepaw!" Ravenpaw jeered. Silentpaw growled and resisted the urge to turn and claw the older apprentice. A little bit of rage entered her. The only apprentice other than Echopaw and Foxpaw, who was now an apprentice, who didn't tease her was Berrypaw. She was a kind tortoiseshell with green eyes.
"Well at least we're going to the Gathering tonight!"Foxpaw shot back. Silentpaw was glad she had quickly found a comeback to the black-furred apprentice's rudeness. He had been kept at the camp as punishment for creeping over the border with Rippleclan to hunt.
Silentpaw felt the wind rushing through her fur as she ran across the forest floor with the Gathering patrol. When they got to the Tree Hollow, she was amazed by it. There was a uge willow tree by Currentclan's portion of territory,a large oak by Ivyclan's, and a slightly smaller cedar near Swiftclan. There was also a huge rock in the middle, which Silentpaw assumed was the Highstone, where the leaders made their announcements. Silentpaw scented the air and smelled that Currentclan was there, but Swiftclan wasn't there yet.
"The apprentices usually sit in that tree," Dappleberry mewed, gesturing with her tail towards the large oak. Silentpaw nodded her head in thanks and padded over to the tree with Echopaw and Foxpaw on either side of her.
Silentpaw concentrated on the mouse. It was her final hunting assessment. The pounced, but she didn't go quite far enough to land on it. Silentpaw took a deep breath, remembering her oath not to speak, and slashed at the ground before moving on. She managed to catch a squirrel, but was still upset about the mouse.
She buried her squirrel and continued on. Eventually she came across a rather fat rabbit and pounced on it. She killed it swiftly and decided that the rabbit and the squirrel, along with the two mice she had caught before, would suffice. She picked up the rabbit, the taste of its blood on her tongue, and began heading back to the camp, collecting her prey along the way. As she was about to dig up her two mice, she saw a bird pecking at the ground. A robin! Mistflower loves robins, she thought, thinking kindly of the elder.
She crept up silently on the robin and pounced. She nipped its neck and brought it to here the rest of her prey was.
"Do you need some help carrying that?"Dappleberry meowed kindly, nodding to the rabbit, squirrel, and half way dug up mice. Silentpaw nodded her head and Dappleberry picked up the squirrel, the rabbit, and took one of the mice. Silentpaw padded up and dug out the other mouse, grabbing it by its tail, then grabbed the robin and headed back to camp. Echopaw and Foxpaw were already there, along with their mentors. Echopaw had three mice, a raven, and a squirrel and Foxpaw had four mice and a blue jay.
"You have all done very well and I believe that you will all become warriors very soon,"Skypelt said, looking over the prey the three apprentices had caught. Silentpaw smiled happily and put her prey on the fresh kill pile. Then she grabbed the robin and went to the elder's den. Mistflower, Oakclaw, and Frostfur were waiting. Mistflower's eyes lit up when she saw the robin. Silentpaw set it down and went to eat with Echopaw and Foxpaw. They shared her rabbit and all was merry.
"I, Juniperstar, leader of Ivyclan,call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have worked hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn,"Juniperstar yowled.
"Silentpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?""
Silentpaw nodded her head solemnly, looking deep into Juniperstar's eyes.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Silentpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Silentblaze. Starclan honors your loyalty and strength, and we welcome you as a full member of Ivyclan."
Silentblaze stepped back into the crowd of cats and Echopaw stepped up to take her place.
"Echopaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do."
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on, you will be known as Echomoon. Starclan honors your kindness and bravery,and we welcome you as a full member of Ivyclan."
Echomoon stepped back into the crowd and sat down beside Silentblaze. Foxpaw stepped up excitedly to where Echomoon had been.
"Foxpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do."
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on, you will be known as Foxpool. Starclan honors your thoughtfulness and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full member of Ivyclan."Foxpool stepped back into the crown and sat beside Silentblaze.
"Silentblaze! Echomoon! Foxpool!"the clan cheered. All but one. Raventooth, who had mocked them several moons ago. Silentblaze decided that he would probably be trouble in the future.
Silentblaze, Echomoon, and Foxpool had all been assigned different places around camp. Silentblaze was guarding the camp entrance, while Foxpool and Echomoon were guarding a few holes in the barrier.
At about moonhigh, Silentblaze heard something in the bushes. She pricked her ears, as she was keeping a silent vigil and she had made the promise to that cat, all those moons ago.
"Don't worry, it's only me,"the cat from her kit-dream meowed silkily as she stepped out of the bushes. Silentblaze glared at her. "Oh come on, you'reallowed to talk to me! Oh, I forgot, loyalty,"she sneered. A bit more rage built up inside of Silentblaze. She was sarting to be quite angry all the time, but knew she couldn't talk until three more moons were over with.
"Well, since you have a new name, Silentblaze, I thought perhaps it was time for me to tell you mine,"she mewed. Silentblaze only then took the time to notice her fur and eyes. She had amber eyes and sleek black fur. "I,"she began,"am Blackheart."
Silentblaze gasped. She had heard elder's stories about a horrible cat named Blackheart. She was cunning and deceitful. Silentblaze didn't want to keep her promise to this cat anymore.
Blackheart sighed. "You accidently feed a cat deathberries and now everybody's afraid of you."
Silentblaze eventually began to talk a bit, so they talked and actually became quite good friends, despite Blackheart being a Dark Forest cat. They talked until dawn, when Blackheart had to leave. Silentblaze didn't tell anybody about the mysterious black cat's appearance, not even Echomoon.
She was almost three moons into being a warrior. Just a few more sunrises, and it would be leaf-fall, as well as Silentblaze,Echomoon,and Foxpool's third moon as warriors. Silentblaze almost couldn't bear her rage. Cats crossing borders, troublesome apprentices, Raventooth. She got angry about the smallest things now, her anger was so great.
But she had a little grotto, hidden from the rest of the territory, which had a rather large tree in it, and also had a stream flowing through at one side. Silentblaze had a nest there for when she wanted to escape her clanmates. Her claw marks were gouged into the tree. Her, Echomoon, and Foxpool were the only ones who knew about the place. It was where Silentblaze went to let out her anger.
Leaf-fall. Three moons of being a warrior. A dead mother. Raventooth had killed Moonleaf then blamed it on a cat from Swiftclan. But the whole clan knew what had happened. Except Juniperstar, who refused to believe that her only son would do such a thing. But the deputy, Oakfang, had watched it happen.
It happened at sunrise, her body was brought back to camp.
"No!"Silentblaze and Echomoon cried when they saw Oakfang bring their mother back to camp. They had never known their father, and were very close to Moonleaf. As if the clan wasn't surprised enough at Moonleaf's death, they were even more surprised at Silentblaze's sudden outburst. There was a lot of murmuring, some about Moonleaf, some about Silentblaze.
Oakfang gently set Moonleaf's body down and Silentblaze rushed over to it. Silentblaze and her mother had never spoken, but they were very close. Echomoon padded over more slowly, for she was in shock. They laid down beside Moonleaf's body and stayed there all day, as well as for the majority of the night.
When the elders came to bury her, Silentblaze refused to let anyone except herself, Echomoon, and Foxpool to carry her. The elders went along and followed them, although they weren't sure where to.
Eventually, they came to Silentblaze's grotto. They buried Moonleaf by the small stream that wound through it, then went back to camp.
A few sunrises later, Silentblaze's anger got the better of her. She figured out that Raventooth had killed her mother, and made him pay for it. She found him out in the forest alone near the Rippleclan border and pounced on him. Killed him like a piece of prey, without any regrets. She made it look like Rippleclan had done it. Any cat who walked along and saw his body would think he had drowned after being attacked by Currentclan.
Silentblaze had made sure none of her fur was on him, washed her paws of his blood, and padded away silently, leaving his body in the stream between two large rocks.
The clan grew accustomed to Silentblaze speaking, although Juniperstar didn't change her name. They never found out who had killed Raventooth. They all assumed he just drowned. They didn't even see the bite marks! Eventually she became deputy, then leader. She made Echomoon her deputy, and Foxpool was a cat of great importance.
Eventually, she found a mate in a cat called Emberpelt. They were happy, and they had kits. One was a ginger she-cat, the other a she-cat that looked exactly like Silentstar did. They named the ginger kit Applekit, and the silver tabby they called by the name Silentstar had so many moons ago. Silverkit.