Sharpstar padded into camp, sighing in contentment at the state of his clan. Kits playing, apprentices conserving, warriors entering and exiting the clan, elders sharing stories of a time long ago, queens sharing tongues everything was great. High above him, In the trees, The calming melody of the blue-jays and the thrushes broke through the air, The gentle smell of the salty sea air wafting over the clans' territory. It was the first day of newleaf, And prey was plentiful. Sharpstar walked calmly to his den, laying down and staring out the entrance up at the blue sky.
Sharpstar had apparently fallen asleep, Because he was shaken awake by a gentle looking she-cat. Sharpstar blinked, And looked up again to see it was only Gingersplash, The clan deputy. She had an expression on her face that Sharpstar couldn't quite place. Pain? Anger?
"Sharpstar, You're awake!" She purred. "Ebonydust just gave birth to four kits!" Sharpstar shot up, Racing out of the leaders den, smiling wildly. Gingersplash turned to look inside the leaders den, Scowling. She hissed quietly, Before stalking off.
Sharpstar slowed his pace, padding into the nursery. Ebonydust purred, flicking her tongue across each of her four kits pelts.
"Did you name them yet?" Sharpstar asked. "Only the toms." She replied, Purring. Turning his head, He saw 3 kits huddled together. "What are their names?" Sharpstar asked. Ebonydust wrapped her tail around the first kit, A black pelt shining with white paws. "This is Whitekit." She purred, whilst Sharpstar nodded.
"And this one?" He flicked his tail towards a brown tabby with white stripes.
"Stripedkit~" She replied, Beaming from ear to ear.
"What about that one?" Sharpstar gestured towards a small unmoving white tabby. Ebonydust sighed. "He didn't make it." She muttered, Grief-stricken all of a sudden.
Sharpstar dipped his head in both sadness and respect, Before lifting his head and looking over at the she-kit next to Ebonydust.
"Did you name her yet?" Sharpstar asked, Curiously. When Ebonydust shook her head, Sharpstar got excited and started thinking. :Gleamkit? Glimmerkit? Silverkit?
Spark`kit? I got it! Spark`kit!: "Her name will be Spark`Kit.
"A purrfect name for a purrfect she-kit." Ebonydust said, Before the two fell asleep by eachothers side.
Gingersplash flicked her tail, And began calling out name for the dawn patrol. "Aspenwhisker, Haypelt, Flamefang, Rat`tail, Scarface!" She yowled. "You will be going on a dawn patrol led by Aspenwhisker." And with that, The surrounding cats went back to their dens to sleep, While the cats selected to go on the dawn patrol grumbled and trekked out of camp. Gingersplash, Sighing, Padding slowly over to the prey-pile. Selecting a trout, She walked over, And lay down beneath, the Weeping Willow. The Weeping Willow was a very ancient tree, Whose vine-like leaves were so dense and plentiful that they made up the walls of the deputies den. Inside the tree, A small hollow area was being used as the sleeping area, And didn't need manually placed moss because it was growing its own!
There was always a sweet aroma wafting around the deputies den. Mostly because the floor of the deputies den was made of a rock, Which was the roof of the medicine den. The medicine cat, Petal`heart, Had recently found a large stash of honey somewhere out in the forest, And was always bringing more back.
Gingersplash absolutely adores the taste of honey, And she was pretty sure one of the other clans medicine cat was named Honey`Berry.
She took a bite out of her trout, Purring as the mildly tangy taste reached her tongue. In a few large bites, The she-cat had devoured her meal, delicately licking her claws clean. She got up, Moving out of her den and into the camp clearing. The dawn patrol had returned, But she had only sent them out a few minutes ago, And it was most definitely not time for them to return yet. She hissed, catching their attention.
"Why are you back already?" She yowled. "You should still be out there, Marking the borders, Atleast!" Aspenwhisker looked straight into Gingersplashs eyes.
"Because we have found a dead cat, with no trace of injury at all." He spoke quietly, So none of the clan members got frightened. "It smelt of disease though."