Prologue
The white and gray tom paced nervously outside a thick, reed den. His thick fur was messy and his green eyes were wild. The setting sun made the entire reed and tall grass covered island orange and yellow. Thick-furred cats yawned and started to enter into tall grass dens. More cats entered through a grass tunnel, meowing about borders. But the tom didn't care, he was was worried about the soft yowling inside the thick reed den.
"Stop pacing, Hollowfur. You're going to wear the ground down."
An elderly gray tabby tom padded up to the pacing tom. While the pacing tom was more lithe and thinner, the elderly tom was bulkier and had thicker fur. His dark green eyes were filled with wisdom and joy.
"Sorry, Father." The white and gray tom muttered, stopping his pacing to sit down.
The elderly tom dipped his head, "It's alright Hollowfur. I understand your nervousness. It's Heronheart's first time delivering kits, no?"
Hollowfur nodded, looking back at the reed den, "It is, Waspstorm."
The elderly tom, Waspstorm, lifted his large head, "I remember your mother, Minnowsplash, giving birth to you and your brother. I just was announced deputy when suddenly Reednose, the medicine cat at the time, said that Minnowsplash was giving birth. I panicked."
Hollowfur rolled his eyes, "I know, Father. You told me the story many times… It's just…"
The white and gray tom looked across the island. Two she-cats, one small brown she-cat with blue eyes and a yellow she-cat with white paws and blue eyes were chatting with each other. Two kits, a gray tom and a brown she-kit, squeaked and chased each other. The cats sat by a smaller, twig woven den. The den was made from twigs and reeds and smelled like plants.
"I heard Nutfur talking to Daisyleaf about Heronheart. They were saying that her delivery must be really challenging if Rowanfur has to be with her that long."
"Or maybe Rowanfur wants to be extra careful since it is her first delivery. Nutfur has already had one kit before. And maybe it's because they're siblings and he wants to look out for her," Waspstorm replied, "Don't listen to those gossiping she-cats. Just focus on one thing… You'll be a father, Hollowfur."
Waspstorm looked up and smirked, "Oh, look, here's comes the medicine cat now."
Hollowfur turned his head to face the thick reed den. A small reddish-brown tabby tom walked tiredly out. His amber eyes showed that he was tired, but there were flecks of joy within him. Waspstorm muttered and goodbye and padded into a large reed den.
"Your mate, and my sister," The brown tom started, "Just gave birth to two healthy she-kits… I can't be more proud."
Hollowfur smiled and dipped his head, "Thank you Rowanfur. You've been a good friend and medicine cat."
The tom's eyes flashes with mischief, "I'd keep an eye on your two daughters, Hollowfur. They're both pretty, which means some toms will start to try and be with them."
Hollowfur nudged Rowanfur, "Hush you! I need to go and exactly see my kits before I start chasing off toms!"
Rowanfur shrugged and padded back to the den that smelled like plants. He started to talk with the two she-cats just as Hollowfur entered the den. The den was nice and warm. It smelled like milk and fresh moss and was very cozy. A thick-furred brown she-cat with white paws and gray flecks in her fur laid on a moss and reed nest. She looked exhausted, but joy still shown in her eyes as she looked down at her two kits.
"Heronheart," Hollowfur smiled with joy, "They're so… Beautiful.."
The biggest one was a dark brown she-cat with light gray flecks in her fur. She had a thin fur coat and large ears. The second she-kit was a smaller, but fluffier, light brown she-cat with black spots and white paws. The kits were suckling milk peacefully.
"I was thinking of naming the small she-cat Leafkit because her fur is the color of a dark brown leaf." The she-cat said softly.
The gray and white tom touched his mate's nose with his, "That's perfect… Our little Leafkit!"
The she-cat, Heronheart, smiled and mewed, "You should name our eldest kit. You are her father after all."
The tom looked down. The she-cat finished drinking milk and had fallen to sleep. Hollowfur nuzzled her gently.
"Because of the gray flecks in her fur, I think she should be named Pebblekit. She will be a small, but tough, little rock that withstands the current of a stream."
Heronheart rolled her eyes, "Thank you for that little speech, dear."
Hollowfur laughed and looked down at his daughters, "Welcome to RiverClan, little ones."
Hello, everyone! I've decided to write a new story! Now the reasons why I've decided to write a story about a 'drypaw' (a drypaw is a RiverClan slang word used to describe RiverClan cats who hate water) is because I found the term fascinating. When I heard Leopardstar of RiverClan was a drypaw, I was curious about this. I wondered if there was a story out there about a RiverClan cat who was a drypaw. I couldn't find any and the one I did find didn't interest me.
I also wanted to write a fanfiction where it wasn't centered around a prophecy. Now I'm not saying all fanfictions about prophecies are bad. There are many stories with prophecies I like. But I am tired of going to the Warriors section of Fanfiction and seeing the first six stories about a cat who has a prophecy centered around him/her. I wanted to write a fanfiction where the main character didn't have a prophecy centered around them and the problems they were having were with themselves and within their Clan, not every Clan at the lake.
With that said, I hope you enjoy Pebblepaw's Wish!