The dark clouds swirled around in a strange, half muddy blue, half burning orange sky. The two colours clashed, two sides of a stalemate battle for control. The earth was bare, not a single blade of grass grew from it's cracked, burnt surface. Signs of twoleg presence, such as rubbish and the place where a twoleg fire had burned was also present. Huddled in the middle of this frightening place was a tiny cat with light brown fur. Her light grey eyes were wide with fear, and her kitten-soft fur was fluffed up. Where am I? She wondered. I never seen the sky like that before…. The she-cat looked up, flinching a little as a flash of lighting broke through the clouds.
Suddenly there was the yowling of many cats in pain, or maybe in fear… The she-cat couldn't tell. Cat-shaped shadows moved, writhing in the darkness. "What's going on?" The kit cried in terror, leaping up and trying to run from this awful place. But everywhere she went was the same, it was like she wasn't moving at all. Then a voice, clearer than the yowls, broke out somehow louder than the din the cat-shadows made, yet softer than any of them. "Willowkit." It spoke in a females voice, gentle, yet with a hint of panic. "Willowkit, you must help them."
"How can I help them? I am no leader, I'm just a kit!" Willowkit yelled out to the voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I can't do anything to save any cats."
"Do you truly believe this? You are the kind of cat we need, you have the right spirit... A terrible destruction is coming, Willowkit. All clan's will be annihilated." Another shape appeared, but this one glowed with starlight, eyes shimmering a stunning amber. It walked up to Willowkit, standing regally over her. "It has been seen, and it has been spoken. All five will fall. None will come after, none will survive."
"How…?" The little kit stammered. "When-?" She stared up at the shining cat, who's fur colour of black and white could now be seen.
"The burning gust will signal the beginning of the end, then the fi-" All of a sudden the cat broke off, as did the cries in the background, replaced by a muffled noise which grew louder and clearer every second. The cat-shapes all vanished, and everything grew black.
"Willowkit? Willowkit! Wake up you lazy furball!"
Willowkit's eyes snapped open, revealing a blurred image of a black shape with green in the background. She blinked a few times. "Breezekit?" She mewed to the black tom with grey-ringed amber eyes.
"Yep, you have been sleeping in, even more than I did. You were twitching and mewling, are you alright?"
"Ah, yeah! J-just a nightmare…" At least I think it was. That nightmare felt real enough to her, but she really hoped that it was just a dream. She decided to push it to the back of her mind and concentrate on the new day.
"Well, anyway… Rainkit is waiting outside the nursery." The little tom licked his unkempt fur which stuck up in every direction. "We want to play invaders, but we need you to be the deputy."
"Are you playing the leader?" Willowkit got to her paws and stretched her body out, taking care to avoid a sleeping Pukekoflower and her new litter. The black she-cat with blue-grey tints was curled up around her three tiny kits who were only a quarter moon old. They're so cute, and so important… Willowkit's clan; GustClan, was so low on warriors and apprentices that every kit meant twice as more as in normal times.
"Of course. Rainkit is going to be the invading cat." Breezkit peered out the den entrance. "We better hurry, it looks like Rainkit is getting testy." The black tom sniffed in distaste. "Stupid mousebrained bully."
"I know you don't like him, but he's still your brother, so be nice." Willowkit brushed past Breezekit and out the entrance, flicking her tail at him gently. "Even if he isn't nice to you." She added as Breezkit opened his mouth to protest. The black tom shut his mouth again with a disgruntled look on his face. Breezekit was too lazy to start a pointless argument with Willowkit. She stepped out into the bright light of the day. It must already be quite a bit past sunrise. She thought, narrowing her eyes. All around her, cats were going about their business in the camp. A black tom with dark grey stripes and green eyes sat sharing tongues with a long-haired dark grey she-cat with amber eyes, nearby the bush that made the nursery. Willowkit and Breezekit greeted the warriors as they passed by. "Pondwhisker, Nightwhisper. How's the prey running?"
"Lousy, as usual." Pondwhisker spat. "My sister should be doing something about it." The she-cat looked over to the raised earth and fern clump that was the leaders den with a face showing immense displeasure. Willowkit thought she looked like a cat who had just stuck their nose into gullfood.
"Peace, Pondwhisker." Her mate purred, giving her ear a lick. "I am sure that Bushstar will think of something." He then turned to the kits. "Besides, they are too young to listen to adult worries."
"Sure. Whatever you say, Nightwhisper." The dark grey cat stood. "Come on, we must meet up with Sheepfur for the hunting patrol."
As the two cats left, heading towards a thick-pelted white she-cat with black paws that was waiting on the edge of camp, a dark grey tom-kit with ginger patches appeared from behind them. "Excuse me, but I believe we were going to play a game?" He growled.
"Oh, sorry Rainkit. We were talking with some of the warriors." Willowkit sighed inwardly. Here we go…
"Talking? Well I'd hate to interrupt your little chat session. Please, don't mind me. I'll just play by myself if you two are too busy for your own kin."
And now he's of in a tangent…
"Look, just shutup and come play Rainkit." Breezekit flicked his ears at him and walked over to the grassy area in the middle of the camp.
"What did you say?" Rainkit's fur began to rise.
"Just leave it." Willowkit gave Rainkit's shoulder a lick. "Let's just play and forget, eh?"
"Fine." Rainkit didn't look like he wanted to leave it, but he grudgingly padded over to Breezekit.
Willowkit yawned. Keeping her brothers in line and the nightmare from before was stressful. Plus, she and her brothers were six moons, they would be made apprentices soon. I wish I could speed that up… then those two would have mentor's to watch them. Then a thought struck her. She raced over to her brothers, excitement bubbling through her. "Hey! Breezekit, Rainkit! I've had the most amazing idea!"
"What? Do you want to be leader?" Breezekit mewed lazily, he was lying on his side in the sun, not even bothering to look up.
Rainkit swatted his head. "Quiet you slug." He hissed. "We're waiting, Willowkit."
"I think we may be able to get Bushstar to make us apprentices faster. We just have to get her attention."
"How?" Breezekit's interest had now been caught.
"Everyone has been talking about the lack of prey, right?" Willowkit was almost bouncing up and down, the thought of finally being an apprentice was amazing. "So what if we go get some, lots of it! Then Bushstar will be so impressed, she will have to make us apprentices."
"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Breezekit leapt to his paws. "But where to go?"
"Not inside our territory, that's for sure. All the warrior's are complaining about there being nothing to eat since the drought this greenleaf." Rainkit said. "You heard Maplestreak the other day, whinging like he was still as young as Pukekoflower's kits."
Willowkit laughed at the thought of the giant, tough guy russet warrior crying to his mother and father; the elders Runninghorse and Pinefoot, receiving a comforting lick. "Yeah, your right. But where is there prey?" The thought of a long trek both frightened and excited her. The kit's pondered possible locations for a few heartbeats, before the sound of approaching paws distracted them.
"You want to know where there's prey? What for?" A ginger she-cat with dark grey spots and smoky grey eyes came up behind the kits. It was their mother; Wildstorm. "Well, kits?"
"Ummm, we're just interested. You know…?" Willowkit said quickly, trying not to arouse suspicion.
Wildstorm narrowed her eyes. "Sure kits, I tell you where there's prey. It'll be good for you to get some understanding of our home before you become apprentices."
"Thanks mother!" The kit's said in unison.
"There is prey in our territory, but no a lot of it… especially at the moment with this drought. The grass is so dry that mice, rats and rabbits haven't got much to eat, so there's less of them. We do get seed-eating birds here because most of the grasses on our hills are seeded ones. However they are small and hard to catch without cover." Wildstorm spoke slowly, thinking that her kits would be taking in every little word. "For other prey… well, there is the Gathering place."
"Where the clans go for Gatherings?" Willowkit asked. "We can hunt there?"
"Well, that's a complicated question, Willowkit darling. Technically there is nothing that says we can't hunt there, but-"
Is there lots of prey?" Breezekit interrupted.
"Yes, the area is by the lake and is heavily forested, so there is plenty of birds and other prey." Wildstorm's whiskers twitched in amusement at Breezekit's excited tone, clearly assuming that he was only concerned about filling his belly. "But it's not that simple. No clan hunts at the Gathering place, no cat ever has."
"Why? If the clan is hungry, and there's nothing in the warrior code that says we can't hunt there, then we should." Rainkit protested. "If other clan's don't, then there's more for us."
Wildstorm sighed. "It's just not done. I can't really explain… You'll understand when your older." She turned to leave. "I'm must be going now kits. Your father, Frostrain, Takahepaw and I are going on another hunting patrol." She looked over at the dawn patrol who had just returned. A massive grey tom carried a skinny rabbit in his jaws. He was accompanied by a brown and white tom with green eyes and a young black she-cat with a tan marking on her neck, both of whom carried nothing. "Rockshatter, Ferretblaze, Huiapaw! You went hunting as well?" Wildstorm called to the cats.
"Yes." Replied Rockshatter, putting down his rabbit on the pathetically small fresh-kill pile. "On our way along the southern border."
"Please tell me there's more and you just left it behind." Wildstorm gazed sadly at the others empty mouths. Willowkit knew the answer already, the faces of the patrol said it all.
"There is nothing more." Ferretblaze meowed. He sounded completely defeated. "At this rate we will all starve." He slowly picked up the rabbit and made his way to the nursery to feed his mate Pukekoflower and see his kits. Earthshatter whispered something to the apprentice Huiapaw, who then snatched up a mouse and headed over to the hebe bush that held the elders den. As her mother departed, Willowkit could feel the sorrow and despair hanging in camp. They had lost an elder already, and frail Wrenwing was becoming weak from lack of food. This isn't right. I won't watch my clan die like this… Her mind was cast back to her terrifying dream, it's prophecy of doom and the screeches of dying cats. I may just be a kit, and that dream may not of been real, but I can still help my clan like any other cat!
"We have to do this! I don't care if we are breaking the code or whatever." She hissed quietly to her brothers, full of determination. "We leave now, we're going to hunt in the Gathering place."
Breezekit flicked his gaze around camp. "How are we going to get out with no-one noticing?"
"We sneak out, genius." Rainkit sneered.
"I meant how do we sneak out?" Breezekit lashed his tail. "You want a fight? You got one."
"Bring it on, weak little slug."
"Stop it the pair of you!" Willowkit growled, shoving her way between them. "We are doing this for GustClan, and to be apprentices!"
"Right, sorry." Breezekit dipped his head.
"Hhmph." Rainkit huffed after a pause. "Let's just go."
The three kits, following Willowkit, crept behind the nursery. They left the hollow that was GustClans camp, and headed off over the hills. The sun-blanched tall grass was higher than them in some places. The wind that almost always blew over the territory had cause the grass to grow bent over in one direction, as it was making the kits fur sweep the same way. Other than grass, the territory contained rabbit holes, dirt, rocks and the occasional bush. There was only one tree, and that was in camp. The sun had risen high over their heads by the time they had gone far enough downhill to see the forest. "Which way is the Gathering place anyway?" Breezekit groaned from a few cat lengths behind the other two. "We've walked so far already…"
"I've heard Frostrain and Swiftbreeze talking about it. We look for the biggest tree you could ever imagine. A giant oak, I think." Rainkit scanned the land below the hills. Willowkit followed his gaze, all she could see was trees and a corner of the lake. None stood out as being particularly enormous due to the sheet of green, Willowkit couldn't tell where one tree began and the others ended. Nor did she know what an oak tree looked like.
"What does an oak look like?" Breezekit voiced her question for her as he finally caught up. "Are those oaks?" He pointed his tail to tall, pointed dark green trees directly in front of the cats.
"I don't know. Rainkit, did Frostrain and Swiftbreeze say what oak tree's look like?" Willowkit turned to her brother.
"No. I was eavesdropping, remember?" He snapped back. "I couldn't just ask them."
"Sorry I asked." Grumpy hedgehog… Willowkit turned back to Breezekit. "Let's just go find out. Once we're closer, we'll be able to tell which is the biggest tree." She took a few paces forward and looked back over her shoulder. "Okay?" She asked her brothers. Breaking the rules or not, Willowkit had made up her mind.
"Whatever." Muttered Rainkit. "You do what you want anyway."
"Yeah, then we can hunt for the clan and be made apprentices!" Breezekit mewed enthusiastically. He bounced forward, tail high. "Let's go!"
So what do you guys think? Are the kits going in the right direction? Will they find prey for the clan, or will something else find them?
Like I said before, I'm not very good at early chapters, so sorry!
P.S, in case you didn't see, Rowanpaw is the POV for the next chapter, so we will be coming back to the kits later.
See ya!
