Hey guys! First off, I'd like to thank Lovmark for allowing me to continue this story in their place. Secondly, I will hopefully be able to post maybe 2-3 times a week. If not, well, most of you should know why lol. Also shout-out to Snowcrystal of ThunderClan for the name suggestions. I really liked the name Delilah. But I haven't decided yet.
Anyway, on with the story! I hope you all enjoy. Don't forget to follow, favorite, and read review!
Night of Shadows
Chapter 1
A dark figure ran through the forest. In its mouth was a tiny bundle: a kit. But he did not want it; It was the kit's fault that his mate had died. She had died giving birth to this vile thing, and therefore he wanted nothing to do with it.
The tom paused and sniffed the air. He could smell cats, a lot of them, in the clearing a few fox-lengths ahead. He burst into the clearing to see a bunch of cats grooming themselves.
The cats jumped up as he entered the clearing, hackles raised and hissing. A white she-cat stalked forward and hissed, "What are you doing in my camp?"
The tom dropped the kit, causing it to squeak in indignation and pain. "Take the kit. I do not want it." He mewed. Without waiting for an answer the, he spun around and sprinted off into the forest. The white she-cat flicked her tail at two cats. "Flamepelt, Mistfall. Make sure that rogue leaves our territory for good." The two nodded and bounded off after the rogue tom.
The she-cat sighed and called to her medicine cat. "Yes, Froststar?" mewed a white she-cat.
"Swanfeather, I want you to take this kit to Silverleaf. I know she is grieving the loss of her own kits, but this one needs her. And as a queen of a Warrior Clan, she knows that you should never turn away an innocent kit, no matter their origins."
Swanfeather nodded and picked up the kit before retreating to the nursery.
Inside the nursery, a silver-and-black she-cat with green eyes was laying in a nest of moss and bracken. "Swanfeather?" she murmured, eyes glazed with grieve and sadness. "Is that you?"
The white she-cat set the kit down gently by the queen's side and meowed, "A rogue left this kit here, without a mother. I know you still grieve for your kits, but she needs your milk."
The queen leaned over to sniff the small kit, then nudged her closer to her belly. The little kit immediately began to suckle, causing the queen to purr in amusement and affection.
As Swanfeather turned to leave Silverleaf murmured, "Nightkit."
"Hmm?"
"Her name will be Nightkit, after her pelt. It's as black as a night with no stars." She purred, leaning down to nuzzle her foster daughter. "My little Nightkit."
Suddenly, a ginger tom poked his head in. "Mother?" he called. "Are you awake?" Silverleaf mewed in greeting, "Yes, Lightningpaw, I am awake." The tom padded over to her nest and sat down beside her, silent as stone.
After a few moments of silence, he looked down at the queen. "Are you sure your okay with feeding this kit?"
Silverleaf nodded and meowed, "Yes, I am. After the loss of my kits, I did not think I'd ever want to be a mother again. But seeing Nightkit, in need of milk, my milk, to survive, my motherly instincts kicked in. I can't abandon her, not now, not ever."
Lightningpaw dipped his head. "Alright," he murmured. "I'll leave you to it then." And with that he turned to leave, only to be trampled by the other kits.
"ShadowClan invader!" a voice hissed, though it sounded more like a squeak than anything. "How dare you attack us?"
"Stormkit!" exclaimed the kits mother. "Lightningpaw is not here to play. He has more important business than to play right now."
"Sorry, Lightningpaw." Stormkit mewed, dipping his head. His siblings followed suit. Stormkit bounced over to Silverleaf. "Hi, Silverleaf," he chirped. "How are you today?"
"I'm well, Stormkit," Silverleaf purred. "How are you tod--" She broke off as Stormkit looked down at Nightkit. "Who's this?" he asked, sniffing her fur. "She smells funny." Then he licked her. "She tastes normal though."
"Stormkit!" called his mother. "You do not go around licking random cats! Apologize to Nightkit right now!"
"Sorry, Nightkit." he meowed. No reply. "Sorry." he repeated. Again, no reply. "Is she alive? Because if she is, she's very rude."
Silverleaf quickly checked Nightkit's breathing. "She's asleep, Stormkit." she sighed. "Not dead, or rude. Now go on back to your nest. It's about time you lot got some sleep."
Stormkit was about to protest when his jaws split in a massive yawn. "Okay." he mumbled drowsily, before trudging back to his mother's met where his siblings were already fast asleep.
*stars*
"Is she okay?" asked Silverleaf. Currently sitting in the medicine cat den were Silverleaf and Swanfeather, along with little Nightkit. Half a moon had passed since Nightkit join ThunderClan as a newborn kit, but she had yet to open her eyes. "She hasn't opened her eyes yet. What if she never does?" Silverleaf fretted.
Swanfeather quickly checked over Nightkit's eyes. "She will open her eyes in due time." The medicine cat mewed.
Some of the Clan had quickly begun to warm up to Nightkit, despite being rogue-born, and some still had their concern. Even though Nightkit had yet to open her eyes, she had made a few friends among the other kits, especially Stormkit. He was with her right now, talking to her about possible warrior names. "What do you think my name will be?"
"Stormcloud." Nightkit meowed.
"What about you?" Stormkit asked. "What do you think your warrior name be?"
"I don't know." Nightkit murmured. "I don't know what I look like."
"Well, open your eyes."
"I've tried, but I can't!" Nightkit squeaked.
"Something is covering my eyes!" Stormkit leaned forward and licked her eyelids, trying to get the 'something' off of her eyes. "Try now."
Nightkit blinked open her eyes with a gasp. "I can see!" she chirped. Silverleaf looked over at her foster daughter and gasped, "You're eyes. They're beautiful!"
Nightkit bounded out of the medicine den to greet the other cats. She showed Sunfire, Flamepelt, and the elders, and now she was talking to Lightningpaw.
"Why are you eating alone?" she asked. "You usually eat with the other apprentices."
"I'm just doing some thinking." Lightningpaw meowed. Nightkit tipped her head to the side and mewed, "I can help. I think smartly!"
Lightningpaw purred in amusement. "Well, I was thinking about what would happen if that rogue came back to get you." he murmured. Nightkit looked at the tom, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You weren't forest-born." Lightningpaw meowed. "You were dropped off by some rogue who didn't want you." He broke off as he noticed the kit looking crestfallen. "But don't worry," he added. "If that mange-pelt does come back for you, I'll giving a thrashing he won't soon forget!" Nightkit purred, however, her eyes were still glazed as she murmured, "That's why some cats look at me like I'm crow-food. That's why most of the elders don't like me. Because I'm not forest-born. Well, that's mouse-brained! I'll show them that I can be a valuable asset for the Clan!" Then, her eyes lit up, as if she'd come up with an idea. "Can you teach me how to hunt?"
"You're too young." Lightningpaw meowed, shaking his head. "Plus, you must be tired."
"No, I'm not." But the yawn that split her jaws said otherwise. "I guess I am a little tired." Mewing a quick goodnight to Lightningpaw, the black she-kit padded towards the nursery, ready to get some sleep.
*more*stars*
In the medicine den, Swanfeather paced back and forth. She had just woken from a strange dream. She padded to Froststar's den. Mewing a quick greeting, she entered and began sharing her dream with her leader.
"The Night holds shadows, but you can use them to hide from the darkness." Swanfeather repeated the prophecy, as she finished explaining her dream.
Froststar looked thoughtful for a moment before she meowed, "Thank you, Swanfeather. I shall travel to the Moonstone to share with StarClan. Hopefully, I will be able to find something else that will be useful."
So yeah! That's chapter 1! Hope you all enjoyed. Don't forget to review! And I will be changing certain things. Mainly how the story is written and how certain scenes play out, but all of the plot, characters, etc, will be the same.
Anyway...
Peace!
~Ravenfrost of RiverClan