"Foxpaw! Foxpaw!"
Foxpaw blinked sleep from her eyes and stood up groggily, wobbling slightly.
Nightwhisker, her mentor, stood stiff-legged at the entrance to the Apprentice's den,
tail twitching.
"Nightwhisker? What's wrong?"
Nightwhisker's eyes glinted anxiously. "The loner, she's having her kits, but
Shimmerpelt thinks something has gone wrong."
Foxpaw's stomach lurched. An ungroomed, frail old she-cat had been escorted
into camp after a patrol had picked her up near the Great Sycamore, and she had
begged Frondstar to take her in, claiming that if she didn't she and her kits would die.
Frondstar had relented, but many of the Clan had remained wary of her, and despite
Shimmerpelt's best efforts, her health had deteriorated rapidly and descended further
into fever. Shimmerpelt had been forced to isolate her in her den.
"Does she need help?"
Nightwhisker backed out of the den. "I think so. She sent me to get you."
Foxpaw stepped out of the Apprentice's den and started towards the medicine
cat's den warily. A sliver of the moon peaked out from behind dark, gray clouds,
shedding an eerie light on the ThunderClan camp. As she watched, a slim figure
slipped from the fern tunnel.
A dark sense of foreboding fell over her, and she quickened her pace, but
Shimmerpelt was already padding their way, head hung. "It's too late," she rasped as
Nightwhisker opened her mouth, "She's dead."
"Are her kits alive?" Nightwhisker asked desperately.
"Yes, they're alive and healthy. But ThunderClan doesn't have any nursing
queens at the moment, and I don't know how many cats in other Clans would be eager
to feed a loner's kits, especially those born in another Clan."
"What about WindClan? One of their queens used to be a loner, right?"
Foxpaw mewed.
"WindClan would take too long to reach, and these kits are only newborns."
Shimmerpelt snorted with uncharacteristic impatience.
"Where, then?" Nightwhisker growled.
All three cats fell silent and stared into the medicine cat's den, where a high-
pitched wailing ensued. A few cats, awoken from sleep, grumpily poked their heads
out of their dens.
A cat brushed past Foxpaw and she started, but it was only Frondstar. She was
staring sadly at Shimmerpelt, who sat hunched over with exhaustion. Frondstar
padded to her side and whispered, "It was the loner, wasn't it?" Shimmerpelt nodded.
Frondstar straightened her back. "We have no choice then to ask one of the
other Clans for help. Who would nurse these kits? ShadowClan? RiverClan?"
Shimmerpelt shook her head slowly. "ShadowClan is far too hostile at this
moment for us to send a messenger over there, and RiverClan..."
Frondstar's voice became icy. "What about RiverClan? Could not one of their
queens feed these kits?"
Shimmerpelt winced. "No, Frondstar, but you know RiverClan...they're...they're..."
"They are what?"
Shimmerpelt's personal misgivings about the sleek RiverClan warriors were
not worth enough to debate with her leader. Frondstar's brother was in
RiverClan, after all.
Frondstar waited for her reply, and not getting one, meowed coldly, "We will
send a patrol at sun-high to take the kits to RiverClan and ask Lilystar if one of the
queens could feed them."
Shimmerpelt nodded. "Who will be going?"
Frondstar considered this for a moment. "Nightwhisker, you should go, and
you, Foxpaw," she mewed, "and Yarrowtail and...Petalpelt, too." she beamed;
Petalpelt was her daughter, a pretty tortoiseshell she-cat who had recently become the deputy of ThunderClan. I've never gotten much of a chance to talk to her, Foxpaw thought eagerly, and asked, "Will Juniperpaw be coming, too?"
"No, Foxpaw, the patrol won't be gone all day. Juniperpaw will be assigned to
the evening patrol. Maybe he can hunt with Leopardclaw afterwards."
A thought occurred to Foxpaw. "What are their names?" she meowed. "The
kits, what are their names?"
Frondstar half turned to Shimmerpelt, who shook her head. "I haven't named
them." she mewed flatly. "I wasn't sure if...if they would survive. I'm still not sure.
They look healthy enough, but..."
Frondstar turned to Foxpaw and Nightwhisker. "Will you two name them?"
Their eyes widened. "But why us? Shouldn't you, or Shimmerpelt?" Nightwhisker meowed.
Frondstar's whiskers twitched. "As you were so keen to harass Shimmerpelt
about the kits anyway," she meowed briskly, "I thought you'd be interested enough to
name them."
Foxpaw stared, aghast, until she realized that Frondstar's eyes held a teasing
glint. Foxpaw scuffled her paws nervously, not knowing what to say, and not daring
to ask any questions, and was relieved when Shimmerpelt stepped between them and
beckoned with her tail towards the fern tunnel. "I think we ought to be...I mean, the
elders will have to bury her. Should we wake them?"
Frondstar's eyes lost their glow. "No," she sighed, "We should wait until
morning before waking them. I will sit vigil with her until sunhigh; then I'll send out
Petalpelt's patrol."
Shimmerpelt nodded wordlessly, and she and Nightwhisker rose and padded
into the fern tunnel. With a glance at her leader, Foxpaw followed.
As they came into the den, the reek of blood and death was settling in around
the loner. Foxpaw couldn't help staring at her warily, but she did not move. In death,
she looked even smaller and weaker then she had before, and her dark tabby fur was
clumped and covered in mud, as if she hadn't bothered grooming herself in her last
days. Her body was twisted at a grotesque angle, her sightless, half-closed eyes staring
at something just out of reach. Foxpaw realized she had been looking at her newborn
kits just before she had died, unable to touch them. Foxpaw's throat tightened. "Will
she...will she be in StarClan? Watching us?"
Shimmerpelt said nothing, but turned into her den with Nightwhisker. The
wailing inside grew more pronounced as the kits heard them, and Foxpaw tore her
gaze from their dead mother and sprinted toward them.
Inside the den, the two kits lay against each other, their wet heads raised and
staring in her direction blindly. Their tiny pink mouths opened in mewls of fright and
hunger, and they echoed off of the den's walls. Foxpaw flinched. She had never heard
anything sound as helpless.
Shimmerpelt bent down to the smaller kit and gave it a soothing lick, but she
only succeeded in increasing the volume of its squeals, and it let out another ear-
shattering wail, this time pleading for milk. Shimmerpelt turned to Nightwhisker.
"The larger one is a female, and the smaller one is a male." Shimmerpelt
meowed wearily.
Nightwhisker approached the larger kit, whose dark tabby pelt was starting to
show through. Much like her mother's, Foxpaw thought, and she cringed. The kit's
large head began to sway in its effort to crawl towards Nightwhisker, mewling.
"Cherrykit," Nightwhisker meowed suddenly, "After her mother, Cherry."
Shimmerpelt nodded appreciatively, and she twisted her head towards
Foxpaw. "And the smaller one?"
Foxpaw stared at the kit. He had a lighter brown color. Foxpaw glanced
around at the herbs in the den, unstruck by inspiration. Juniperkit? No, there's
already Juniperpaw, she thought. Catmint? No, that's too much of a
mouthful...Yarrow..? No, there's Yarrowtail... Her eyes fell on a shriveled, damp
looking root. "Burdock. I mean, is Burdockkit all right?"
"Yes," Shimmerpelt mewed, "Cherrykit and Burdockkit." Her eyes drooped,
and Foxpaw realized how exhausted she must have been. She, Foxpaw knew, had
fought day and night to keep the old cat alive, putting her health before her own.
"We'll organize the patrols soon. Foxpaw, wake the elders before you leave,"
Shimmerpelt curled her body around the kits and rasped her tongue over them. They
squealed and burrowed their muzzles into her fur in search of milk. "I'll tell you if I
need you."
"No, you don't need any traveling herbs," Shimmerpelt mewed, "RiverClan
isn't very far away. You will have to wade out to Sunningrocks, but the stepping
stones are near there and should take you close to the RiverClan camp. The river is
unusually low this year, so it should be safe."
Foxpaw nodded. "Thanks, Shimmerpelt."
"And have you woken the elders?"
"Yes," Foxpaw mewed, "They're burying her outside of camp."
Shimmerpelt stared at her intently for a moment, and Foxpaw felt unnerved.
She looked as if she'd like to say something, but couldn't find the right words. Finally,
she meowed, "Go join the patrol, then."
Foxpaw walked out of Shimmerpelt's den, across camp towards Petalpelt's
patrol, which had already been assembled. Frondstar twined tails with her daughter
and purred, "Be back soon." Petalpelt murmured something inaudible in Frondstar's
ear and stepped away from her, then turned and padded towards the waiting patrol. "Is
everyone ready?"
"Yes. Dawnheart is getting the kits now." Nightwhisker replied.
Dawnheart stepped out from the medicine cat's den with the tom. He danged
in her jaws helplessly as she set him down beside Nightwhisker, who scooped the tiny
kit up in her mouth. Yarrowtail emerged after her, holding the tabby kit, and meowed, "I'm ready to go."
Petalpelt beckoned with her tail. "Then we're leaving," she mewed, and she
padded towards the gorse tunnel. Nightwhisker and Yarrowtail followed, ducking
their heads as they went through the gorse tunnel. Foxpaw padded after them.
"We should probably go down to the Sandy hollow. If we keep heading in that
directions, we'll be at Sunningrocks in no time."
"We're going to have to swim to actually get to Sunningrocks, though, aren't
we?" Yarrowpelt mewed.
"Yes," Petalpelt mewed, "but the river is lower right now, so we'll only get a
little wet."
"Why is it getting lower?" Foxpaw meowed.
Nightwhisker shrugged, and her voice sounded muffled from around the kit. "I
don't know. But if it gets much lower Sunningrocks will technically be in our
territory. That'd be good news for us, though. It's a pretty good spot."
"But will RiverClan just give it up to us? Especially if the river gets lower?"
Foxpaw asked doubtfully.
"Probably not," Nightwhisker admitted. "But we can fight them."
Petalpelt half turned to them. "We're friendly with RiverClan now, and there's
no reason for cats to get injured, perhaps even die, over such a small piece of land.
We don't need to start any wars."
"Besides, the river will probably rise again. Then Sunningrocks will be just as
wet as it always was," Yarrowtail mumbled, adjusting his grip on Cherrykit.
Nightwhisker shrugged. "You're right. There's no reason to fight over some
wet rocks."
Foxpaw glanced over at the Sandy hollow. Nightwhisker was going to take
her there to train her fighting skills, but it occurred to her that she didn't want to have
to use them. It'd be just fine if the Clans didn't fight with one another.
A few seasons ago, RiverClan and ThunderClan had been at war, and many
ThunderClan and RiverClan cats had died. No cat was eager for them to become
hostile again.
A large group of rocks, piled on each other messily, came into view. "Is that
Sunningrocks?" Foxpaw mewed.
"Yes. It's on the far side of the river, but RiverClan cats can be seen sunning
themselves there often in Greenleaf," Petalpelt answered. "Obviously now isn't a good
time for sunning, so I doubt we'll see any RiverClan cats on the rocks."
"Does this mean we're close to the river?" Foxpaw asked.
"Can't you hear it? We're almost there," Nightwhisker replied.
Foxpaw pricked her ears. And rushing, bubbling sound reached them. It was
nothing like the gentle stream near the Sandy hollow. This was much stronger. As
they got closer, she was able to see it. Reeds clogged up the banks, and water trickled
through them. The river was much louder than she originally expected them to be.
And much larger. Sunningrocks wasn't too far from this side of the river. She glanced
up at it warily, but there were no cats on it.
Sunningrocks was more impressive than she imagined. There were cracks all
in it where prey could hide, and smooth surfaces where the cats laid. Probably the
whole Clan could fit up there, and in some places there were rocks they could sleep
under. There were no trees here, so it'd be directly in the sunlight. For a moment, she
shared her mentor's hope that the river would become lower.
"It's much lower than when I last saw it," Petalpelt admitted worriedly,
stepping into the water.
"We won't have to actually swim," Yarrowtail noted. "It's shallow enough to
walk there."
Foxpaw was slightly relieved. She hadn't been looking forward to a swim in
the freezing, rushing waters.
The patrol stepped into the water, and she gasped. It was the closest she'd get
to being submerged in ice. She recoiled from it, then as Nightwhisker threw her an
inquisitive look, she stepped back in and flinched. At least it wasn't far to
Sunningrocks.
Yarrowtail and Nightwhisker lifted their heads slightly to keep the kits far
above the water. With them as weak and hungry as they were, for them to get sick
would be an awful blow on them.
Petalpelt leapt onto the first rock. Yarrowtail and Nightwhisker followed, and
with no little relief, Foxpaw climbed the rocks as well. From the top, she could see
the other side of the river. "Are those RiverClan cats over there?" she mewed.
Petalpelt peered past her. "They are. They must have seen us. They're coming
this way."
"What about the river?"
"They're RiverClan cats. They can swim better than any other Clan in the
forest."
The patrol swam their way with ease towards Sunningrocks. They climbed
onto the rocks, and Foxpaw suddenly felt nervous. What if they attacked them,
mistaking them for a war party?
"What are you doing here?" A silver tabby was at the head of the patrol, eyeing them with curiosity. Three other cats, a small yellow tabby, a white tom, and a black and
orange tom made up the rest of the patrol. The yellow tabby bristled.
Petalpelt stepped forward. "Rushpelt! I'm glad it's your patrol that found us.
Frondstar has a favor to ask of RiverClan."
Rushpelt sighed and watched the squirming kits warily. "There's always
something with you ThunderClan cats. What does she want?"
"One of our queens, their mother, died, and we don't have any nursing queens. Frondstar wants to ask if any of your queens would be willing to feed them," Nightwhisker mewed.
Rushpelt looked thoughtful. "Stormfeather lost her litter, and she's taking care
of a kit whose mother also died. I'm sure she'd be willing to feed them. It's the least I
can do for my sister after she got me out of that badger mess," he meowed.
The white tom took Burdockkit from Nightwhisker, who mewed gratefully, "Thanks, Breezescale." Breezescale shrugged and mumbled around a mouthful of kit,
"Sure."
The yellow tabby groaned. "Why are we taking these kits? They're not our
problem."
"Slashpaw! The warrior code says that no one can neglect a kit in need, even if
they're from a different Clan! And anyway, it'd be wrong to turn them away," the
black and white tom added ruefully.
"Slashpaw! Sappaw! Stop bickering. We're going to ask Stormfeather if she'll
nurse these kits." Rushpelt turned to Petalpelt. "Sorry about that. Shall we go?"
"Sure," Petalpelt mewed. "There's no use waiting any longer. They're just
going to get hungrier."
Rushpelt nodded. "I'll hold the tabby kit. No offense, but ThunderClan aren't
the best swimmers, and we're going to have to swim a little to get to the camp, even if
we use the stepping stones. Don't worry, though, the water will be shallow enough."
Petalpelt grimaced, and Yarrowtail passed him Cherrykit.
Foxpaw sighed. Water. Her pelt absorbed it like moss, and she stayed dripping
and cold for a long time after. Already her pelt was damp and soggy from getting to
Sunningrocks. And with it being leaf-bare, the water would be freezing.
Rushpelt stepped onto the first of the stepping stones, gripping the rock so he
wouldn't slip off. He had to leap slightly to get to the next one, which was partially
underwater. Petalpelt leapt after him, and Yarrowtail and Nightwhisker hesitantly
stepped on.
"Come on, Foxpaw. It's not that bad, really," Nightwhisker huffed,
struggling to stay on her stone.
"Alright, I'm coming," she mewed, and hurriedly got onto the first stepping
stone. Too hurriedly, apparently, and she slipped and partially fell into the freezing water and yowled in surprise, clinging to the stone.
"Foxpaw!" Nightwhisker pulled her back on the wet stone. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she panted. "Just cold. And wet."
Nightwhisker gave her a lick. "When we get to the camp, we'll see about
drying you off a little. The last thing we need is for anycat to get sick."
Foxpaw nodded, shivering. "Let's hurry."
At the last of the stepping stones, which was slightly larger than the rest, there
was a narrow stretch of water leading towards the shore. A cat on its own could jump
across to the shore, but Breezescale and Rushpelt would have to swim.
Rushpelt and Breezescale waded into the water, paddling towards shore, and
Petalpelt took the kits from them and set them on the bank while they climbed out.
Foxpaw, Nightwhisker, and Yarrowtail joined them.
"It's only a little ways to the camp," Rushpelt meowed, water pouring off of
him.
"Yes, but we're going to take the kits now," Petalpelt mewed, eyeing their
dripping pelts. "You and Breezescale are both sodden, and that can't be good for these
kits." Rushpelt nodded, and Yarrowtail and Petalpelt took the kits in their mouths.
Rushpelt walked in front of them, leaving a thin trail of water on the ground.
As they neared the camp, cats stared at them from the entrance. Their sodden
deputy consoled them. "We know they're here. They're not here to invade us. We need
to see Stormfeather."
Slashpaw let out a quiet snort of disgust in their direction, and mewed, "Come
on, Sappaw. Let's go back to the den."
Sappaw meowed, "I'm going to the nursery with them.. If that's okay,
Rushpelt?" Rushpelt nodded.
Foxpaw shook herself, water droplets flying off of her in every direction.
Nightwhisker watched sympathetically, then leapt back. "Couldn't you have done that
somewhere else?"
Foxpaw didn't answer, and the patrol stepped inside the nursery. A dark gray
she-cat raised her eyes sleepily as they walked in, then widened them. "Rushpelt?
Who are these cats?"
"They're ThunderClan cats, Stormfeather," Rushpelt explained. "One of their
queens died giving birth, and they didn't have any cat to nurse these kits. Could you
take them on?"
Not exactly one of our queens, Foxpaw thought, but I'm not going to tell them
that.
Stormfeather shook her head doubtfully. "They're so small...they probably
won't survive...but I'll take them," she added as Rushpelt stared at her. "I have plenty
of milk, since..."
Rushpelt brushed against her. "Thanks, Stormfeather."
Petalpelt sighed in relief, and set they set the kits down near her. Burdockkit
squirmed up to Stormfeather's belly, next to a silvery-gray she-kit, and Cherrykit
beside him. They suckled gratefully.
"Thanks, Rushpelt," Petalpelt mewed. "We'll come back in a moon to take
them back to ThunderClan. We won't forget this. Are you sure Lilystar won't mind?"
Rushpelt shrugged slightly. "She encouraged Stormfeather to take on Rainkit.
I don't think she'll have a problem with it, but I'll go talk to her anyway. I think she's
in her den. It was nice seeing you, Petalpelt."
"You too, Rushpelt," Petalpelt purred. Stormfeather glanced at her
suspiciously, and she added, "It's all right. He's my mother's brother," and Stormfeather
nodded.
"I think we should get back to camp," Petalpelt went on.
Breezescale padded up beside her. "Are you sure? You can take some fresh-
kill, if you want. You must be hungry from traveling here. I doubt my father or
Lilystar would mind. After all, ThunderClan have been good to us in the past,"
Yarrowtail looked like he'd very much like to take Breezescale up on his offer,
but Petalpelt mewed, "No, it's alright. We can feed ourselves when we get back to our
camp."
"I'd like to get back to camp, too," Nightwhisker meowed. "I'm kind of tired,
and I have to do a hunting patrol with Leopardclaw later."
Foxpaw was tired, too, and eager to get away from these fishy smelling cats.
She felt chilled to the bone and wanted nothing more than to curl up in her den and
have a nap.
Breezescale shrugged. "All right. Bye, Petalpelt."
When they got back to camp, Shimmerpelt was already padding towards them,
Frondstar at her side. "How did it go? Did they take them?"
Petalpelt nodded. "One of their queens is nursing them."
Shimmerpelt's shoulders sagged in relief. "That's good."
Frondstar purred. "How's Rushpelt doing?"
"Just fine. He's still grateful you helped him when that badger attacked, and he
seemed happy to see me." Petalpelt replied.
"So we're going to send a patrol back in about a moon to take them back to
ThunderClan?" Shimmerpelt mewed.
"Yes."
"Are you sure RiverClan will give them back?" Shimmerpelt meowed
doubtfully. "They might want one kit for their troubles. It wouldn't be the first time…"
she went on.
Frondstar bristled. "Both kits will be given to us."
Shimmerpelt realized that mentioning it hadn't been a good idea, and she
mewed, "I'm going to go back to my den now...Foxpaw? You're wet. Do you need any
herbs?"
Foxpaw shuddered. "No, I'm fine. Really."
Shimmerpelt shrugged. "If you say so. But if you start sneezing or coughing,
you'd better get in my den. We don't need the entire Clan to become sick just because
you were too stubborn to take some herbs."
Foxpaw watched her go back to her den, and she suddenly realized how tired
and hungry she was. "Want to go get a mouse from the fresh-kill pile?" she mewed to
Nightwhisker.
"I could eat a badger," she replied.
Foxpaw nosed her way into the fresh-kill pile and snatched a vole out for
herself and a mouse for Nightwhisker. Nightwhisker and Foxpaw ate quickly, and
when they were finished, Nightwhisker mewed, "I'm going to go to the warriors' den
now. I'm going on a hunting patrol later. Want to join me?"
Foxpaw's eyes sparkled enthusiastically. "Sure! I'd love to!"
"I'll wake you up when we leave," Nightwhisker's jaws stretched in a massive
yawn. "We both need some sleep."
Foxpaw nodded. "I could sleep for a moon," she mewed, and she climbed into
the apprentices' den. Juniperpaw stirred from his sleep and moaned. "You're back
already?"
"RiverClan took the kits in. And yes, we're back," Foxpaw mewed.
"I have to go on patrol as soon as you get back, Frondstar said," Juniperpaw
grumbled. "I guess I have to go on now, or Fallspirit will have my tail. Are you
coming?"
"Are you kidding? I just got back from RiverClan!"
"You do smell fishy," Juniperpaw mewed, standing at the entrance and
peering out warily. A brown cat appeared there. "Sometime today would be nice,
Juniperpaw!"
"I'm coming, Fallspirit. Bye, Foxpaw," he added, and left with Fallspirit.
Foxpaw stretched and curled in her nest of moss appreciatively. A weight had
been lifted from her shoulders, she realized. She'd been worried about Burdockkit and
Cherrykit, too, and looked forward to them coming back in a moon. Maybe they could
train together. She purred, and fell into a tired sleep.