Riverwind woke early to a chilly, late-leaffall rain falling in sheets over the camp. She stretched as best she could without disturbing her sleeping kits, eyeing the tiny bundles with soft eyes. The smallest, a fluffy-furred she-cat named Electrickit for her spiky, flyaway pelt, let out a pitiful mew in her sleep. Riverwind gave the tiny kitten a gentle, soothing lick on the head and wrapped her bottle brush tail around her young children. As she rested her chin back on her paws, she asked herself if all four had been there. Calling herself silly, she tried to convince herself that none of her kits were missing. Unable to quell the feeling that one had been gone, Riverwind relented and lifted her head to recount. Her eyes flew even wider with shock. Electrickit, Gorsekit, and Streamkit were sleeping in a tiny gold and gray pile, but Stormkit, the oldest tom, was nowhere to be found. Panic-stricken, Riverwind leaned forward gingerly and sniffed around her nest, wondering if he'd just rolled out. To her dismay, his scent was slightly stale and led toward the entrance of the nursery. The young, strong tom had been nagging his mother to be let outside. She refused, saying that it was too cold. They'd only been born a moon ago; their pelts were still too thin to be let out this close to leafbare, especially in the that had been falling constantly on the forest for several days. Moving carefully so she wouldn't disturb her remaining kits, Riverwind got up from her nest and wriggled quietly from the den, prepared to scold her disobedient son.
The rain had washed much of Stormkit's scent away, but Riverwind knew her son's smell well enough to be able to pick up a trace. She shook her pelt out as the rain trickled through the thick fur and chilled her skin. Blinking water out of her eyes, she trudged through the mud, breathing deeply as she struggled to follow Stormkit's trail. To her alarm, it seemed to be leading toward the lower edge of camp. Most of the ground beneath the high wall had flooded when the brook near the camp overflowed and sent a stream of water through the mud and over the wall as a small waterfall. The elders had been moved to the medicine den when their den became waterlogged. Riverwind moved faster, splashing mud over her paws as she grew closer to where the water had pooled. Suddenly, she lost the scent, and another wave of panic washed over her. Plodding through the mud, she desperately searched the ground for any trace of her missing son. Moments later, a weak, coughing mew reached her straining senses. Riverwind's head shot up and she dashed toward the source of the sound: the flooded elders' den. The water lapped around her broad paws as she splashed desperately into the hollow tree trunk. Her eyes peered through the shadows, trying desperately to find her mewling kit. Finally, she saw a flash of movement in the corner. Bounding frantically through the water, the anxious mother scooped up her soaking wet, wheezing son and splashed back out again. She could barely hear his faint rattling breathing through the pounding rain as she made her way as quickly as she could to the medicine den. Laying her son on the ground at her paws, she called out for Junipersun in a frantic, choked voice. Stormkit was limp and motionless, aside from the occasional feeble attempt to draw air into his waterlogged lungs.
Junipersun came a few moments later and crouched down by the choking kit, massaging his chest gently with one paw in an effort to expel the flood water from the kit's lungs. Distracted by the frantic pacing of the queen, the elderly golden-pelted tom called out for Eveningpaw, his apprentice. The young she-cat came at once, following her mentor's orders to take the panicking mother back to the nursery.
"No! I won't leave my son!" Riverwind wailed, her voice breaking as the apprentice began to nudge her from the den.
"Your other kits need you, Riverwind," Eveningsun meowed soothingly in response, tirelessly nosing the dripping queen's shoulder. Eventually, with a final anguished look at her limp-bodied son, Riverwind allowed herself to be led back to the nursery. Eveningpaw helped her into the den, where she sat at the entrance, shaking with cold and fear. Rosefoot, a heavily pregnant queen, stirred in the corner. When she saw the glazed look in Riverwind's amber eyes, she cast a worried glance at Eveningpaw, who quickly explained. With a sympathetic glance at her terrified denmate, Rosefoot struggled to her paws and went to lay with the three remaining kits, knowing that Riverwind would not move from the entrance until she received word of her son. Riverwind let out a furious hiss as Rosefoot climbed into her nest.
"Don't touch them!" she spat, her fur fluffed out and her ears flat against her head. Rosefoot backed away and returned to her own nest as Riverwind stalked further into the nursery to guard her kits. She kneaded the moss anxiously, claws plucking at the soft bedding. Rosefoot settled back into her own bed, her eyes watching the gray-pelted she-cat nervously, her own eyes betraying her fear for the young tom.
Junipersun worked desperately for most of the morning, though he could see the life slipping away from beneath his paws. Finally, at midmorning, Stormkit passed on to StarClan. Junipersun sighed, eyes darkening with sadness. Eveningpaw came to her mentor's side and, upon noticing the lifeless scrap at her mentor's paws, let out a long, low moan of grief. With the eyes of the elders trained curiously on them, Junipersun pronounced Stormkit dead and got to his paws regretfully.
"Come, Eveningpaw. It's time to tell Riverwind," he meowed heavily, trudging from the den. Eveningpaw followed slowly, her tail drooping.
The pair squeezed into the nursery a few moments later, dripping wet. Riverwind leaped to her paws, bedding stuck in her claws, and demanded to know what had become of her son. Junipersun looked up at her, his eyes grief-stricken and dark. Seeing this, Riverwind looked frantically at Eveningpaw, hoping for reassurance.
"Tell me he's okay! Oh StarClan, tell me my Stormkit is okay!" she cried, her eyes desperate and pleading. Eveningpaw hung her head as her mentor spoke.
"I'm sorry, Riverwind. He's with StarClan now." Riverwind let out a bone-chilling, heart-wrenching wail of grief and shoved past them, sprinting and sliding through the camp toward the medicine den. Seeing her son's lifeless body, she wailed aloud again, throwing herself on the ground next to him and pushing her nose into his fur.
"No!" she howled again, her voice breaking pathetically as the rain drummed incessantly on the ground outside.
Later that night, the rain finally stopped. Riverwind sat in her nest, eyes staring at nothing. Eventually, Rosefoot managed to coax her outside to pay last respects to her lost son. The once strong kitten looked tiny and helpless as he lay on a bed of dried leaves that had been brought into the camp. Most of the Clan had gathered in the clearing, numb with sadness. A few muttered condolences as Riverwind trudged past. A hush had fallen on the forest, as if everything grieved for the young tomcat whose life had been stolen from under his paws. The mother crouched next to the body of her son, licking his pelt gently. A few of Riverwind's closest friends padded up to sit vigil with her, just as they had when her mate had passed. The rest of the Clan dispersed quietly, leaving the small group of cats to share tongues with the tiny kit for the first and last time.