Took me a lot longer than I expected, but I finally got this done. See you at the finish line!
"That's the third time this quarter moon that you've brought back such a pathetic catch!" I heard a familiar she-cat screech. "How am I supposed to take care of these kits with this meager amount fresh-kill?"
"It's almost leaf-bare," a tom's calm voice reminded her. "Prey is pretty scarce right now. If the kits had come a moon or two sooner then-"
"Don't you dare try to lecture me about kits!" Was the hissing interruption. "Now go out there and catch me a decent meal!"
I slowly opened my eyes as I rose from my place near Mommy's belly. The sight in front of me was very familiar. Mommy was yelling with her fur bristled out on end, while Daddy was trying his best to calm her down. He would fail, though, just as he always did.
"It's already sunset," he reminded her. "All of the prey are heading to their warm dens in their warm dens right now." He didn't say it in a mean way, he was just pointing out a fact. But Mommy, as usual, didn't stop yelling.
"I don't care if you drag them out of their holes by their tails! You're not going to sleep before you bring something back to subsidize for this!" She lashed her tail at the single, tiny mouse Daddy had brought. "Now shoo! I don't want you waking the little ones up!"
"Actually, they are already awake," Daddy pointed out as he flicked a tail in my direction.
Mommy looked down at me and my littermates with widened eyes. As usual, I wasn't the only one woken up by Mommy and Daddy's shouting. My two sisters, Shadowkit and Ebonykit, were staring at our parents with sleepy looks on their faces. My brothers Darkkit and Shadekit were more awake, but unlike me, they still were rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
"Go back to sleep little ones," Mommy cooed to us softly. "Mommy and Daddy are just having a talk."
"You're being too loud," Darkkit grumbled as he rolled over. He was the largest and strongest of our litter, but he was a lazy furball. Even during the day he liked to nap while the rest of us played games.
"That's right," said Mommy with a small grin as she glared at Daddy. "This much noise is bad for little ones. Daddy needs to leave and go catch some prey. Now!"
"Yeah," Ebonykit piped up. "Because toms are supposed to do everything their mates say, right Mommy?" I resist the urge to gag. Ebonykit agreed with everything Mommy said, even when it sounded mean.
"That's right sweetie," Mother cooed as she nuzzled my eldest sister. "And when you grow up you'll be able to order around your own mate too."
Daddy looked at Mommy with disgust while she was focused on Ebonykit. He tended to give her that look a lot when her back was turned. I didn't think it was very nice, but Mommy was mean as well…
"Why are you still standing there?" Mommy asked Daddy angrily. "Get out there and find some fresh-kill!" Sighing and letting his tail droop, Daddy left to go hunt once again.
"Too loud… trying to sleep…" my brother Darkkit mumbled as he tried to settle down again.
Mommy scowled and pushed him away. "Let your sisters settle in first," she cooed. The sweetness of her voice was a big difference from the anger on her face. "Remember, she-cats first."
"Too tired…" Darkkit mumbled as he rolled back towards Mommy.
"Move you big, fat lump!" ordered my little sister Shadowkit as she pressed her paws against his flank. "Mommy said, 'she-cats first'!" Darkkit didn't budge, and then began snoring softly. "Mommy! He's not listening!" Shadowkit wailed as she continuously prodded our sleeping brother.
"Don't worry sweetie, he'll move," said Mommy with small smile. She forcefully pushed Darkkit away, sending him rolling into another queen.
"Hha?" the queen said in surprise as she woke up. She blinked rapidly as she tried to adjust her eyes. "Cloudstream! What did you do now?" she shouted when she saw my brother, a mere mousetail-length away from her side, staring at her with bleary eyes.
"He'll be fine, Leafblossom," Mommy said as flicked her tail lazily. "Toms are tough."
"Not until they're out of the nursery they aren't!" Leafblossom hissed at her. "Honestly, you're going to end up killing one of them one day!"
"Oh, hush," Mommy hissed back. "I know what to do with my own kits! Don't go lecture me when I have the biggest litter!" For some reason Mommy always bragged about how large our liter was, but I never understood why. She didn't even act like she liked Darkkit and Shadekit.
"Just because you have more kits doesn't make you any better," Leafblossom retorted as her fur began to bristle.
"So you think you're better for having less?" Mommy asked with a sneer.
"No, I'm saying that you're acting like a pompous mousebrain," Leafblossom explained. "If you keep acting like this in from of your kits, they're going to grow up to be just like you. Then what will you do?"
"Then I'll be proud that they finally realized how much better they are than toms," Mommy replied with a proud smile.
"Are you listening to yourself?" Leafblossom asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Remember, Shadepaw and Darkpaw are your kits and they're toms!"
"They're tom kits." Mommy clarified. "Tom kits are tolerable, until they become toms, of course. Then they're just... there."
"I cannot believe we're having this conversation," Leafblossom hissed. "No, now that I think about it, I actually can. You're the most arrogant and immature cat in the entire clan!"
"At least I don't treat toms like they're equals!"
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Well, they aren't! Or do you wish to disagree with that, Leafblossom?" Mommy challenged her. "You know how much Brightstar would love to have a chat with you if you did."
Leafblossom growled but didn't press the issue. "Just take your kit and leave me alone. And for StarClan's sake don't be kicking him around the nursery."
"I'll raise my kits as I see fit!" Mommy snapped back. She curled up back in her nest. When we had all climbed in next to her she cooed, "Good night, my little kits."
Time passed as I listened to Mommy and sisters drift off to sleep. Slowly and carefully, I slipped out from between them and creeped over to Leafblossom's nest. After taking another quick glance at Mommy to make sure she was asleep, I carefully prodded Leafblossom's side twice.
Slowly, Leafblossom rolled over to face me. Then she looked back to check to see if Mommy was still asleep. Satisfied, she nodded in Mommy's direction. Shadekit and Darkkit came tumbling out of the sleeping heap, quivering with excitement.
"You made too much noise," Shadekit hissed to Darkkit.
"Can't help that I'm bigger than you," Darkkit grumbled.
"Mommy says you're going to grow up fat like a kittypet," I giggled.
Darkkit's ears flattened. "Well, Daddy says that I'm going to grow up to be big and strong!" he shot back.
"Yeah, a big and strong furball!" I shot back.
"Better than a spindly mousebrain!" He growled.
"That's enough you two," said Leafblossom firmly. Darkkit and I stopped fighting and flattened our ears. "Apologize."
"Sorry, Darkkit, I shouldn't have called you a furball," I apologized.
"And I shouldn't have called you a spindly furball," he mewed.
"Can we have a story now?" Shadekit grumbled.
"Hold on, where are Spottedkit, Lightkit, and Twilightkit?" I asked. "Don't they want to hear a story too?" Spottedkit, Lightkit, and Twilightkit were Leafblossom's kits, and the only other kits in the nursery. They were two moons older than we were, but we still were great friends.
"My kits are with elders right now listening to their stories," Leafblossom replied.
"I wish we could go to the elders den," I said with my ears flat against my head. Mommy never let us leave the nursery. Too many rotten toms around, she had said. I can't have those nasty foxdu-foxbrained furballs tormenting my precious kits.
"So you don't like our nightly story times?" Leafblossom asked with a pout.
"No!" I shouted. "That's not what I meant!"
"Shh!" hissed Darkkit as he looked back at Mommy. Luckily, she was still asleep. "You almost woke her up mousebrain!"
"No, I didn't!" I protested, though I did it softly enough so that I wouldn't accidentally wake Mommy. "And you're the one who's a mousebrain!"
Leafblossom gave us a stern look. "Kits…" she warned.
We flattened our ears and mumbled apologies to each other again. Leafblossom was usually nicer to us than Mommy usually was, but she could be scary at times.
"Story, story, story!" Shadekit insisted.
"Well, what would you like to hear?" Leafblossom asked.
"I want to hear the one where you and Duskeye met each other, fell in love, and became mates!" I exclaimed.
"That one's boring," Darkkit grumbled. "How about the story of the battle we had with the NightClan? That's an exciting story!"
"Big deal," I huffed. "There was a fight and some cats died. That's sad, not exciting. My story has a happy ending!"
He rolled his eyes. "It's a love story; they always have happy endings," he pointed out.
"As much as I would like to tell both stories, you kits need your sleep," said Leafblossom. "I can only do one story tonight and you'll have to choose fast."
"Love story!"
"Battle story!"
"Can you two please stop arguing so we can have at least one story tonight?" Shadekit growled.
"He wants us to hear a sad story," I complained.
"She wants us to listen to a boring story," he countered.
"Since you two can't seem to do anything but argue, Shadekit will get to choose tonight's story," Leafblossom decided. Darkkit and I opened our mouths to protest, but she cut us off. "I'm telling the stories here so what I say goes. Shadekit, what story would you like to hear?"
Shadekit thought hard about this for a few heartbeats. "How about… where the clans came from?" he suggested. "It's been awhile since you told us that story."
Leafblossom looked up at the nursery walls. That's what she did when she was thinking a lot. "That story is a little hard for me to remember," she said after a few heartbeats. "Despite it being about our clan history, I actually learned it from the elders of the RoseClan. I'm not sure I can remember all the details, but I'll try my best."
My brothers and I settled down in Leafblossom's nest as she began the tale.
Many moons ago, before our clans even existed; this valley was not a very friendly place. There was lots of prey, plenty of water, and many sheltered places to sleep in. However, large beasts called badgers and foxes ruled the area. The few cats that lived in the area were always living in fear of being eaten. This valley was a paradise all right, but not one for cats to enjoy.
Then, one day, StarClan guided two cats to this valley. They formed a camp in the center of the valley, and started recruiting cats into their clan. StarClan had favor on them, for the first few cats they managed to find in the area were eager to join their budding clan.
However, this did not sit well with some of the other valley dwellers. Dangerous beasts called foxes and badgers were in an outrage as they saw the clan slowly branching out its territory. Though the two species usually competed over territory, they temporarily were able to have a losse alliance that hinged on destroying the new completion. The battle was terrible. The new clan was still smaller than the size of our clans nowadays. They had no choice but to retreat, losing some of their lives and their home in the process. They found refuge in a cave behind a small waterfall. For moons, they lived in fear, only leaving their new camp to hunt for prey and new members.
The badgers and foxes quickly turned on each other once again, and this time their bloodlust was unmatched. From their hiding places the cats observed as the two species battled day after day with the sole goal of exterminating the other.
One night, after the night of the full-moon, the clan was surprised to see a second full moon. In all their lives they had never seen anything like it. The clan cats took this as a sign for their attack. They left immediately and started with the foxes. Despite being outnumbered and outmatched they managed to hold out against the wily beasts. The badgers took notice of the fighting and also joined into the fray. The clan then pulled away from the battle and let their two opponents battle each other, while they plucked off injured beasts from both sides. In the end, the foxes and badgers were both destroyed. They few of them left alive ran off soon after the battle, leaving the valley to the clan cats. However, this victory came at a price. Over half of the clan's warriors had died, leaving the clan's number to just a paw-full. The clan decided to retake their old camp and expand it, and left the old cave as a place of refuge for emergencies. As the moons flew by the clan swiftly took control of the entire valley, chasing off any straggling predators or rouge cats that did not wish to join them.
Despite the clan's success, they soon found that they had a new problem. They were having trouble patrolling their entire territory, and camp had grown overcrowded over the generations. Soon they had to split themselves into two camps: their original camp and their refuge hideout. However, this only worsened the problem. New deputies and medicine cats were appointed to take care of the duties of the two camps, and leadership positions and authority were heavily disputed. Then, the unthinkable happened.
Civil war.
The clan divided themselves into three groups and tore each other apart. Many moons of battle followed, until the leader of the formerly united clan decided that they should be officially divided into different clans. This quelled the fighting, and the three clans were given names and territories that suited them best.
The NightClan was made up of cats that were usually large and bulky, but surprisingly light on their paws. They made their territory on the northeastern rocky grounds that few cats dared venture in due to the amount of snakes and raptors.
The RoseClan cats were very lean and swift. They had their territory stretch over the sparse landscape in the west of the valley.
The LilyClan-
"The best clan ever!" Darkkit interjected.
-held the smallest but fiercest cats of all of the clans. They lived in the forests, where the undergrowth could conceal them from their opponents.
Ever since then—Leafblossom hesitated a moment before continuing—the clans have lived together in harmony. Sure, there had been a few battles and skirmishes. But for the most part, we have been happily in our own parts of the valley.
"Now is everyone satisfied with that story?" Leafblossom asked.
"It had battles," said Darkkit with a nod.
"And it had a happy ending," I agreed reluctantly.
"That's good to hear," Leafblossom said with a smile. "Now you'd better get back to your nests. You'll be ending up like your brother in a few heartbeats." She indicated Shadekit, who softly snoring next to us. Gently, she picked him up and herded us back to Mommy. Darkkit fell asleep the second he curled up in the nest.
"'Night Leafblossom," I said with yawn as I curled up with my littermates.
"Good night, Frostkit," said Leafblossom as she gave me a gentle lick behind my ear.
Sorry everyone, but I have to post the allegiances.
LilyClan:
Leader:
Brightstar: grey she-cat with amber eyes
Deputy:
Treefall: brown she-cat with golden eyes
Captain:
Stumptail: brown tabby tom with green eyes and a short tail
Medicine cat:
Lilacbreeze: reddish-ginger she-cat with green eyes Apprentice: Hawkpaw
Warriors:
Tansyfoot: light brown she-cat with golden eyes
Flametail: ginger she-cat with a tabby-striped tail and amber eyes Apprentice: Ebonypaw
Violetheart: grey she cat with blue eyes Apprentice: Spottedpaw
Robinwing: dark tortoiseshell tom with a ginger belly and green eyes Apprentice: Twilightpaw
Shortclaw: grey tom with blue eyes and strangely short claws Apprentice: Shadepaw
Duskeye: black tom with amber eyes Apprentice: Darkpaw
Fernfoot:: slim grey she-cat with green eyes Apprentice: Shadowpaw
Blackclaw: black tom with green eyes
Fuzzyleaf: : brown she-cat with green eyes and long, soft fur
Mousestorm: white and grey tom with blue eyes
Snowfern: white she-cat with blue-green eyes Apprentice: Lightpaw
Blossombreeze: White she-cat with ginger spots and blue eyes Apprentice: Frostpaw
Grasspool: grey she-cat with brown patches and green eyes
Ivyblaze: brown tabby she-cat with green eyes
Apprentices:
Hawkpaw: mottled brown she-cat with amber eyes
Twilightpaw: dark ginger tom with golden eyes
Lightpaw: white she-cat with golden patches and green eyes
Spottedpaw: tortoiseshell she-cat with emerald green eyes
Darkpaw: : large black tom with blue eyes
Ebonypaw: black she-cat with white patches and blue eyes
Shadepaw: grey tabby tom with green eyes
Frostpaw: white she-cat with blue-green eyes
Shadowpaw: grey she-cat with blue eyes
Elders:
Stormclaw: grey tabby tom with golden eyes
Tansyflower: tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes.
Whiskerflower: white she-cat with grey tabby markings and blue-green eyes.
Queens:
Twigstripe: lean brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes
Cloudstream: gray tabby she-cat with a white underbelly and blue eyes
Leafblossom: white she-cat with ginger patches and green eyes
Kits:
Volekit: grey she-cat with brown paws and amber eyes
Mousekit: brown tom with hazel eyes
Sunkit: light ginger she-cat with golden eyes
Rowankit: tortoiseshell she-cat with hazel eyes
RoseClan:
Leader:
Juniperstar: blue-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Deputy:
Darkfall: dark grey and black tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Medicine cat:
Grassblossom: white she-cat with silver spots and bright green eyes
Warriors:
Rowanstripe: ginger tabby tom with green eyes
Greycloud: grey tom with a white under belly and blue eyes
Snakefrost: grey tom with green eyes
Lightstreak: light ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Brookleap: white she-cat with long silky fur and hairless patches of burn scars and one sky blue eye
Amberflower: sleek black she-cat with deep amber eyes
Ripplefur: large, short-haired blue-grey tom with amber eyes
Sandfeather: slender cream colored tabby she-cat with pale green eyes
Longstripe: black and grey tabby she-cat with green eyes and a long tail
Swiftfoot: small white tom with blue eyes black ears and paws
Redstreak: long-furred ginger tom with amber eyes
Whitefur: white she-cat with light blue eyes
Apprentices:
Ripplepaw: silver tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Goldenpaw: golden tabby tom with amber eyes
Blazepaw: ginger tom with amber eyes and black paws
Mousepaw: light brown she-cat with amber eyes
Sagepaw: black cat with pale green eyes and white ears.
Elders:
Morningshade: black she-cat with golden paws and yellow eyes.
Shadecloud: blind dark grey tom with pale yellow eyes
Daisypool: silver she-cat with ginger patches and blue eyes
Queens:
Greywhisper: gray she cat with light grey paws and underbelly.
Tigerpetal: ginger she-cat with black tabby markings and bright blue eyes.
Kits:
Gingerkit: ginger she-kit with black ears and paws.
Tinykit: black she-kit with tan belly, legs and face.
Beekit: pale orange tabby tom with light green eyes.
Stripekit: pretty brown she-cat with amber eyes.
Badgerkit: black she-cat with amber eyes.
Mintkit: light gray she-cat with blue eyes.
NightClan:
Leader:
Hazelstar: grey tom with hazel eyes
Deputy:
Cloudstripe: light grey tabby tom with blue eyes
Medicine cat:
Willowflower: tortoiseshell she-cat with pale blue eyes
Shadow:
Paleshadow: grey tom with pale blue eyes
Warriors:
Emberfur: dark ginger she cat with one black paw and green eyes
Stoneflower: pale grey she-cat with green eyes
Coalpelt: dark grey tom with amber eyes.
Tigerflame: dark ginger tom with bright amber eyes
Blackstorm: muscular black tom with green eyes
Runningstorm: large ginger cat with one white paw and green eyes
Skyfur: large white tom with green eyes
Scarstorm: small silver she-cat with white paws, a white tail tip, blue eyes and a scar running from her right eye to her right foreleg
Frostshine: pretty white she-cat with silver paws and deep blue eyes
Batflight: dark brown tom with amber eyes
Badgerclaw: dark brown tom with hazel eyes
Wildstorm: dark brown tabby tom with green eyes
Petalflight: sleek dark grey she-cat with light grey flecks on back and dark green eyes
Apprentices:
Amberpaw: small ginger tabby she-cat with white underbelly
Wingpaw: sleek dark tortoiseshell she-cat with one blue eye and one amber eye
Poppypaw: long furred cream colored she-cat with amber eyes.
Grasspaw: light brown tom with green eyes
Jaypaw: blue-gray she-cat with green eyes
Elders:
Applebreeze: light brown tabby with blue eyes
Ravenshadow: black tom with amber eyes
Rainfur: grey she-cat with amber eyes
Foxfang: ginger tom with black paws and green eyes
Queens:
Mistglade: silver she cat with blue eyes
Cloudbreeze: grey she cat with hazel eyes
Kits:
Shimmerkit: dappled silver she-cat with blue eyes
Silverkit: small silver she-cat with amber eyes
Pinekit: brown tom with hazel eyes
Nettlekit: brown she-cat with light brown eyes
Grasskit: grey tom with blue eyes
Brownkit: brown to with amber eyes
This story is a rewrite of a story I wrote and published here about 3 years ago. I decided that it needed some improvements and I need a break from the site, so I took it down. Now, here's the edited version.
Special thanks to: Scarstorm2000, Otterhope, Spottedfire-star, Espeonstar of Hyruleclan, Icefall, Rache123, Amberflower, Lightstreak, Greywhisper, Noir's Revenge, Sunleaf13, Orbit, and Blazzer12! You all gave me so many OCs to work with in the original version of this story, and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been able to do this!
Also, the allegiances may look strange, but I'll explain everything over the next few chapters. Constructive criticism highly wanted!