A/N: Hello, everyone, I'm Lichenstar! After months of writing, I've actually put a story on! Hooray! -ahem- Okay, one thing to keep in mind is that this story is on the old map, not the new one that the cats moved into in Starlight. Alright, enjoy!


The Kit

Prologue

A soft moonlight filtered through the leaves of the forest. Once, then again, the silence was broken by the hoot of an owl. Even the tall, dense trees of the forest seemed to sleep peacefully.

Suddenly, a soft rustling of ferns broke the sleepy atmosphere. Two heavily muscled cats appeared through the bushes, one coated with dark brown fur, whose amber eyes glinted in the moonlight. The other cat had a light gray coat, speckled with snow white patches. The two cats stepped into a clearing with a single fern plant in the center.

The gray cat panted heavily, her stomach was swelled so much it brushed the ground. The other cat didn't seem to notice, he strode forward purposefully, his nose in the air.

"Here." The male cat padded forward towards the fern bush, stroking his nose down the spine of one leaf. "Just as Branchfur said."

"Eaglestar, what's that smell?" the she-cat asked tiredly. Her kits were coming soon, she could feel it. She sniffed at the fern and her breath caught in her throat. "Eaglestar, is that…?"

Her question was answered as Eaglestar reached into the center of the bush and lifted a small bundle of brown fur. The kit was limp in Eaglestar's teeth. The she-cat's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "Oh StarClan…"

"Branchfur had a vision that we'd find something of great importance in this part of the Tallpines, Fogtail. I believe this is what she meant," Eaglestar mewed thoughtfully after he had set the sleeping kit on the ground. Fogtail looked at the kit, her eyes full of surprise and worry. She ambled closer to the ball of messy fur and gently brushed it with her rough pink tongue.

"You'll take care of it, right?" Eaglestar asked suddenly, referring to the kit. Fogtail looked up and suddenly smelled her leader's fear scent.

"Where do you think its mother is?" she asked instead of answering Eaglestar's question.

Eaglestar kneaded his paws almost impatiently, "She was probably a rogue," he mewed. "Perhaps there wasn't enough milk to feed the kit."

"But we don't know for sure," pressed Fogtail skeptically. "Rogues will attack the camp if they find out we've taken one of their kits."

Eaglestar's tail lashed from side to side, Fogtail had gone a bit too far. "I never said its mother was a rogue, I was just answering your question. Look…Fogtail," his voice softened a bit, "I know you're about to have your first kitting, and you're a bit scared, but this kit needs you. It will die without you to help it. Besides, Branchfur had a vision about this kit, and she told me to bring you with me when I found it. That must mean StarClan wants you to be the mother."

Fogtail looked at Eaglestar for a heartbeat, then turned her gaze to the small kit. The small animal looked only a week old. It shivered in its sleep, and its stub of a tail wrapped around it. Fogtail felt a softness plant itself in her heart.

But she had to know something. She looked up at Eaglestar's amber eyes, "Eaglestar…" she paused for a moment, wondering how to phrase her question. "Why do you want to let this kit into the Clan? You should be just as suspicious as I am."

Fogtail was sure she saw a flicker of guilt in her leader's eyes. "I just don't want it to die," he answered.

Fogtail felt a flutter of impatience in her chest. That wasn't the answer she'd wanted. She opened her mouth to rephrase the question but Eaglestar was already standing on his four paws. "Look, are you going to take it or not?" his eyes told the soft gray she cat she'd better make her decision now.

A soft breeze ruffled the fur on Fogtail's swollen belly. She could sense the kits moving inside of her. How many would she have? Would it be too much to raise another?

There was a soft mew from the kit. Its scrawny tail uncurled itself. It mewed again and started to wiggle towards Fogtail's paw. The pregnant she cat bent down and inspected the kit more closely. The thin creature was a female, with light brown fur, like the bark on a tree.

Fogtail knew she wouldn't be able to turn the kit away. Tenderly, she bent down and nosed the kit affectionately. "We'll have to get back to camp if we want her to make it," Fogtail mewed briskly. She looked up.

Eaglestar's ears lay flat and he licked Fogtail's shoulder gratefully. "Thank you," he mewed, his voice relieved.

Fogtail shrugged, not wanting Eaglestar to see how quickly her heart had melted for a kit she had just met. She bent down, and picked up the kit, but she winced at the squeamish feeling in her stomach. "I'm fine," she insisted to her leader's worried face. "I've been dealing with a swollen belly for moons, this is nothing. Really!"

"Well…okay," Eaglestar mewed hesitantly. "Let's go." He turned and motioned to Fogtail with his tail and disappeared into the brush. The young queen followed with stubborn determination.

As she struggled through the forest, a thought came to Fogtail. Why would StarClan tell Branchfur, the Medicine Cat, that there was something of great importance in the woods, while it was against the Warriors Code to steal from other Clans, even Rogues. Why would StarClan want ThunderClan to break the Warrior Code that had been used for generations?

Fogtail shivered. She knew that there was more to the kit than what Eaglestar had told her. But why would Eaglestar lie about something like this? Fogtail took a deep inhale, trying to smell the kits fur, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, only the smell of the forest, and the kit's own fur.


A/N: Well, that's the prologue! What do you think? REVIEW. Contructive critisism is great. This is early morning, my only time for Zelda videogames, so gotta go!