A small light brown she-cat emerged from the shadows, and into a circular patch of moonlight. She looked up at the glittering stars above her, her amber eyes gleaming with sorrow and shame.
"Oh Starclan, I beg you to forgive these kits, they did not choose me as their mother.." The she-cat murmured up to the stars. Her soft voice was hollow with shame. The queen closed her eyes and winced. When she opened her amber eyes, they were glazed with pain.
She darted into the shadows, till she found a hollow in a tree. She sniffed it. An empty fox's den. Her face turned grim in the pale moonlight. This would have to do. She squeezed herself threw and collapsed in the dusty bedding the fox had used.
"Oh Starclan please!" She yowled in pain as her head fell to the floor of the den.
"Mother, mother look what I caught!" yowled a small kit with a gleaming orange pelt. She had a small tuft of fur under her paws.
"What is it Gingerkit?" An old silver queen meowed tiredly as she squeezed herself out of the nursery. The brambles scratched at her old fur, and her green eyes were dull. 2 kits trailed behind her, one with a tan pelt, the other with a dark brown pelt.
"I caught a mouse." The ginger kit declared triumphantly. She held her small head high, closing her glowing green eyes.
"That isn't a mouse." The tan kit retorted, her amber eyes glaring at the ginger kit.
"Smallkit is right." The brown kit meowed, his green eyes looking straight into his sisters, as he pressed his side up against the tan kit.
"Why must you to be so mean to your sister." The silver queen growled down at the two kits.
"No mother they are right." Gingerkit sighed hanging her head down. She lifted her paw and the soft warm breeze of greenleaf blew it away.
"They still don't have to be so mean to you Gingerkit." The silver queen mewed sympathetically to the kit, padding over to her and touching her tail to her side.
"We were just stating a fact." The tan kit mumbled under her breath. The silver queen shot her a glance then licked the top of the kit's head.
"Why don't you go play with the apprentices or the other kits?" The silver queen offered looking down at Gingerkit.
"But no one likes me." Gingerkit mewed sadly turning away.
"That's not true." came a deep purr.
Gingerkit turned around to see a large jet black tom with deep brown eyes looking down at her.
"Blackpaw," Gingerkit narrowed her eyes at the tom.
"I like you." He mewed pressing his his muzzle against her cheek.
"Hey, hey, hey you to..." The silver queen quickly moved in between them.
"Mom..." Gingerkit retorted.
"Silverpool Gingerkit will be an apprentice tomorrow. Redstar told me so." Blackpaw mewed gently to the queen.
"Are we going to be apprentices to!?" the dark brown kit asked running over to the black apprentice.
"Yes Barkkit." Blackpaw purred with amusement.
"You are so much like a warrior all ready." Silverpool murmured before padding away.
Glowing amber eyes peered from a fern tunnel that led down into the medicines cat den. The shadow that held the eyes emerged into the moonlight. Her sleek light brown fur shined brightly in the moonlight. The camp was sound asleep.
The she-cat crept forward toward the nursery. She poked her head in to see the silver queen and her three kits curled up near her belly.
"Dawnfeather," The queen murmured opening her glowing green eyes. The light brown she-cat sat in the entrance quietly, her amber eyes glowing at the queen.
"Silverpool I want to thank you for raising my kits to the point where they have become apprentices." The she-cat murmured quietly.
"DawnFeather I'm so sorry..." Silverpool whispered flattening her ears.
"It is fine, you have always been a good friend of mine. I trusted you." Dawnfeather mewed, her voice quavering as she looked at her kits.
"Does Redstar know..?" Silverpool asked tilting her head to the side.
Dawnfeather nodded. "Of course, I had to tell him I gave birth to his kits."
"He must be proud.." Silverpool mewed quietly.
"He is." Dawnfeather replied looking away.
Silverpool fixed her gaze on the light brown she-cat. Dawnfeather had given Silverpool the kits when they were only hours old. She had cared and raised them as though they were one of her own. Dawnfeather was close to the same age as her, she was only about a 6 moons older than Dawnfeather. She knew Dawnfeather's entire story.
"You should go get some rest." Silverpool mewed gently, looking sadly at her friend.
"Yes I know, but I have always wanted to sleep with my kits while they were kits," Dawnfeather murmured, then she shook her head and stood up. "But I can't, for their sake I do not wish for them to know I am their mother."
With that, Silverpool watched the brave medicine cat pad out of the nursery in silence.
"Let all cats their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" A large, dark orange tom yowled from a top a large rock that sheltered a den. The entrance was curtained by lichen hanging down before it. The tom's fur gleamed a red color, and his green eyes shone brightly in the morning light.
"Today is the day we becoming apprentices!" Gingerkit yowled jumping up and zipping out of the nursery.
"Not so fast." Silverpool called after her. Dawnfeather looked at the kit from her den.
"Go back to your mother Gingerkit." Dawnfeather ordered grimly. Gingerkit turned tail high as cats filed out of their dens, yawning and stretching in the dawn light and gathering beneath the Highrock.
"Oh come on mom..." Barkkit complained as Silverpool's pink tongue rasped against his head.
"Hold still, let Dawnfeather check you out." Silverpool ordered to Smallkit as she bounced up in down before the medicine cat. Silverpool purposefully messed up patches of the kit's fur so their real mother could help prepare them for the meeting.
"There, there." Dawnfeather mewed gently fixing Gingerkit's fur.
"Okay we are all ready." Smallkit complained.
"Alright go."
"Yay!" The kits yowled out in unison and raced out of the exit in the bramble walls. Dawnfeather watched them go with pride and sadness in her eyes.
"Go on Silverpool I'll wait here." Dawnfeather mewed quietly. Silverpool nodded and nuzzled her friend's cheek as she passed, along with touching her tail to the sad she-cat's shoulder.
"Smallkit," Redstar began, looking down at the his daughter, pride swelling in his chest. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Smallpaw. Your mentor shall be Moonsong. I hope Moonsong will pass down all she knows to you."
Smallpaw's face lit up with joy as Redstar called Moonsong up. The white she cat stood tall and proudly her fluffy fur shifting in the gentle morning breeze.
"Moonsong, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Tigerheart, and have shown yourself to be strong and trustworthy. You will be the mentor of Smallpaw, and I expect you to pass all you know to her." Redstar declared looking down softly at the two.
Yowls sounded from the group of cats below, as apprentice and mentor approached one another and touched noses. Once Moonsong and Smallpaw were seated and the Clan had calmed down Redstar cleared his throat.
"Barkkit," Redstar watched carefully as his son stepped forward and looked up at him. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Barkpaw. Your mentor will be Ravenfeather. I hope Ravenfeather will pass down all he knows to you."
Barkpaw looked at the sleek black tom stepped forward.
"Ravenfeather you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Lilyclaw, and have shown yourself to be loyal and strong. You will be the mentor of Barkpaw, and I expect you to pass all you know to him." Redstar announced proudly.
The sleek brown tom approached the small brown apprentice and touched noses with him purring. Barkpaw followed his new mentor as they went back into the group to sit. Once the yowls had died down again, Gingerkit was standing boldly before the Highrock. Redstar couldn't help but smile down at her.
"Gingerkit," Redstar meowed clearly. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Gingerpaw. Your mentor will be me."
A gasp arose from the group of cats, and Gingerpaw's eyes widened with surprise and joy. It was rare when a leader chose an apprentice to be their mentor.
"I will pass down to you all I know," Redstar continued glancing down at his daughter and mate. "I have felt as though it is time I take on yet another apprentice. My previous mentor Hawkwing taught me well, and I have learned great many things. I also learned from our previous leader Dovestar, a great many things about being the clan leader. Hopefully one day Gingerpaw will be known as Gingerstar."
Gingerpaw smiled triumphantly as Redstar leaped down and touched noses with his daughter whom was unaware of their relations. Barkpaw and Smallpaw glared at her from their apprentices, and the Clan yowled their names, but Ginerpaw's name rang out the loudest. Silverpool hung back with Dawnfeather as she sat in the shadows.
"You should have requested one of them to be your apprentice." Silverpool murmured to her.
"They have wanted to be warriors from the days they could stand." Dawnfeather mewed, her eyes glowing with pride and sadness.
"I understand." Silverpool nodded, looking at the kits as they talked with their Clanmates.
"I am glad Redstar chose Gingerpaw out of them all. I was taken aback when he choose her still." Dawnfeather murmured.
"Yes, they both have the same gleaming red coat and stunning green eyes. Plus she was the largest and strongest of the litter." Silverpool agreed.
"She has always reminded me of her father." Dawnfeather mewed looking down at her paws.
"Why don't you go congratulate your kits Dawnfeather?" Came the deep meow of Redstar. Dawnfeather looked up in alarm.
"They do not know I am their mother." Dawnfeather meowed surprised.
"Why can't we tell them?" He asked, desperately wishing to comfort her.
"They would be ashamed that their mother was a medicine cat and that they were only accidents and against the warrior code. They would never feel like real warriors after that. They would know Starclan would never truly like them as much as the others because they were not suppose to be born." Dawnfeather meowed sadly.
Redstar sat beside her, wrapping his tail around Dawnfeather's. "I understand."
"Hey!" A light brown tom looked at the pair wide eyed, his fur bristled. The white stripes on his back were high above his head, and his white paws had their claws extended.
Redstar's eyes widened. For a moment the couple sat their fur bristling with fear that they had been found out, then the tom yowled something that was even worse.
"Badger!"