Fatal Whispers and Scarlet Stars
Prologue
The tender and fresh feeling the nursery exude made a young she-cat purr with contentment. Rainstripe's tail rose as she gazed around her temporary home. The luscious moss nests were the softest in camp and clear of thorns for the newborn kits. Unlike the nest in the warriors' den, Rainstripe thought ruefully as she placed a paw in one of the nest.
"Thank you," the queen said softly to Mosswhisker. The brown medicine cat nodded solemnly and padded out of the nursery, leaving the Rainstripe in peace. With a grunt, the queen shook her head toward the medicine cat. Rainstripe never appreciated her very much, let alone cared ever since she made the leader agree to an outrageous new code.
"You don't like that new rule she made either?" another ginger queen with a round belly hissed. "StarClan sign or not, a kit is a kit and will learn only from its mistakes."
The awful words fluttered in her ears as though Rustlestar was whispering them next to her, 'Mosswhisker says StarClan had sent a sign. She said that a small kit shall do nothing but cause danger to the Clans. In order to stop it we must not let that small kit be. All kits that are born small or runt shall be killed immediately.'
Rainstripe shuddered at remembering her leader's words that were spoken mere suns ago and unsheathed her claws. "No kit could end the Clans, let alone one cat."
"Is Rustlestar's words still bothering you?" a golden furred, white throat queen mused as she glanced at my unsheathed claws. Her whiskers twitched with compassion.
The Rainstripe raised her head a bit, as she spoke, "Not at all."
Suddenly, the queen crumbled over, her eyes wide with shock with the sudden pang that stabbed at her belly. "Great StarClan," Rainstripe whispered, her paws twitching feebly. "Can they really be coming already?"
However, the golden queen recognized what had overcome the small queen and was already racing for help. Only then, did the Rainstripe realize that there was another cat in the nursery. It was a tom, his face was narrow and his body was slender, even his ears and tail were long and sleek. He looked like a WindClan cat. The queen hardly had anytime to recognize his face before another pang rippled through her body, more violent than the last.
Rainstripe began to panic, it was her first time kitting and her kits were coming too soon, her eyes widened toward the stranger as he stepped forward. "Stay away," the she-cat yowled as the tom approached.
xoxox
"Hurry," Raywhisker pleaded toward the old brown medicine cat. "It's Rainstripe!"
The elderly medicine cat ignored the bickering queen and spat, "Go tell Rainstripe that she needs to stop her warrior duties until her kits are born…"
With an angry spit, the queen grasped the medicine cat's scruff and dragged her toward the nursery. Her withering fits and thrashing claws did not faze the queen. Yet when they approached they nursery, Rainstripe's yowl could be clearly heard. Mosswhisker struggled free of Raywhisker's jaws and dashed into the nursery.
Once inside, Mosswhisker saw a large black tom standing over Rainstripe unmoving body, muttering soft words in her ear. "Sootfeather!" Mosswhisker recognized the WindClan medicine cat immediately. "What in StarClan's name is going on?"
Sootfeather's eyes dilated into small slits as he hissed, "It's the prophecy, Mosswhisker." Lowering his head, he stepped aside with heavy paws. "She gave birth to it. She died giving birth to it."
As the WindClan cat moved away from the motionless queen, Mosswhisker revealed a white kit, its tiny jaws opened and closed as it made no sound. The two queens in the nursery held back yowls of terror as it struggled toward its dead mother. Mosswhisker knew the queens where yowling with sadness but Sootfeather thought he felt the she-cats were yowling in fear over the kit. "Without regret, death will be born, small and feeble, growing stronger with each fatal whisper," Sootfeather repeated the prophecy that has haunted every medicine cats' dreams for the past moon. With a heavy voice he added, "StarClan called for me to come here today. It was because of this. I am here to support you."
The RiverClan leader appeared in the nursery at that moment. Holding his head high and arching his back, his face twisted with horror as he stared at what squirmed beneath him, Sootfeather felt a rumble of satisfaction rise in his throat that the RiverClan leader supported them. "Is this it?" Rustlestar spat with disgust.
"We believe so," Sootfeather sighed.
Rustlestar's lips curled as he snarled, "How does StarClan wish of us to dispose of it?"
Mosswhisker stepped forward, "I will kill it. It is a medicine cat's duty to protect the clans by listening to StarClan's wishes."
"I will go outside with Rustlestar and the other two queens," Sootfeather murmured. "And we shall bury this queen-"
Raywhisker bristled in distaste at the way the WindClan cat addressed her dead friend and spat, "Rainstripe."
"-Rainstripe," Sootfeather continued, eyeing the golden queen. "Separate from the kit. But first we will let the Clan morn."
When the queens, RiverClan leader, and WindClan medicine cat left the nursery, the tiny kit's squeals became louder. The warm air the room once held fell upon an icy breath. Closing her eyes and curling her lips, the medicine cat drew her claws.
"For the sake of the Clans," Mosswhisker murmured to herself.
Quickly, she ranked her claws down onto the kit and heard its sharp squeal. Opening her eye she saw that she stuck its belly. As the little kit began to gasp for air, deep in ThunderClan territory a queen began giving birth. Ever breath the wounded kit struggled with, the closer the ThunderClan queen came to giving birth to her first kit. Finally, when the last breath left the small kit's mouth, it shuttered and died. While the other queen's first born, took its first breath of life.
With a shudder toward the deed she just committed, Mosswhisker's fur raised. The words that repeated in her nightmares came forth.
"Without regret, death will be born, small and feeble, growing stronger with each fatal whisper."
Mosswhisker's heart sank to her belly as she heard the all too familiar phrase. Her eyes widened with fear as she realized she killed this kit without remorse. "StarClan," she murmured staring down at the small kit of the fulfilled prophecy. "What have I done?"