Silverkit's End
A young kit was born in the nursery as leafbare began to plummet onto the LightClan camp. The exhausted mother craned her neck to greet her newborn.
"A small one isn't she, Echoleaf?" the medicine cat commented.
Heaving a great sigh, Echoleaf agreed, "She's small, but the Clan needs to give her a chance to reveal what she got inside."
Gently pushing forward borage leaves, the medicine cat questioned, "What will you name her?"
Echoleaf hesitated, observing her squirming, squeaking kit. "Her pelt shines like the moon. I shall name her Silverkit." Then she twisted her head to accept the borage leaves.
"Rest now." The medicine cat bowed her head and backed out of the nursery, giving a nod of acknowledgement to the other happy, proud queens.
"Look! A new denmate!" a tortoiseshell she-kit bounded forward.
The other was a gray with darker flecks. He was tripping on his own paws, overly excited.
"Shush! She's not old enough to be played with! Besides, it's nearly moon high. " their mother scolded, pulling them away.
They groaned but obediently followed their mother.
* * *
A moon has passed and the full moon shone brightly overhead as Silverkit snuggled against Echoleaf's warm belly, purring contently. Suddenly, screeches of sheer horror from LightClan and screams from the rival clan filled the air.
Just then, a warrior came, thrashing into the nursery. His sharp, long claws glinted from the moonlight. He bared his teeth at the queens who were backing up their frightened kits.
"Silverkit! Quick! Come here!" Echoleaf's voice seemed nervous and far away.
Silverkit shouldered blindly through the moving queens when she bumped into a huge leg. Silverkit clung onto it, thinking it was one of the queens.
"Get off stupid kit." It took Silverkit a while to notice she had hit the warrior's leg. The warrior shook her off and kicked her out into the battlefield, with a cry of distress from Echoleaf.
Silverkit shivered and scrambled between warriors' legs, under clashing cats, and on the sides of screaming cats.
"Out of the way kit," a gruff warrior grunted. He picked her up by the scruff and thrashed her against the warrior den. Silverkit opened her jaws in a silent wail. She was bleeding badly now. Where is Echoleaf? I can't die! I want to live! Thoughts zoomed through her little silvery head.
The little kit passed out. When she came to, Silverkit scented the air but flopped back down as if it was too much effort. The battle was gone now and the clearing was full of exhausted, bloody warriors.
"Silverkit! Oh my Silverkit!" Echoleaf's wail was worried and very anxious.
"I'm sorry Echoleaf, but she is going to join the ranks of StarClan. I cannot do anything to stop it," the medicine cat murmured.
"But she was only a moon old!" Echoleaf sputtered, trying not to believe it was happening.
The medicine cat's reply was only a solemn shake of her head.
Sure enough, her life was ebbing away. "Mother?" she croaked.
Echoleaf's head jerked up her eyes shone with hope.
"I-I just want to say-" Silverkit gulped, "don't worry about me…I'll…be…watching…you……from………StarClan." She gave a last sigh before her flanks stopped heaving.
Echoleaf gave a distressed wail, piercing the air. She bent over her dead kit. "I will never forgive FireClan. Ever," she vowed.