HI, it's me, Icefrost! I just wanted to congratulate Frostfire for making such an amazing start to our story. Enjoy!
P R O L O G U E
"Hey, Orangekit!" Galekit mewed, pawing her sleeping ginger brother.
He awoke sleepily, looking up out of the small pit that was the nursery. The sun wasn't even out yet. "Galekit, what is it? No one else is up."
Galekit wiggled in excitement. "I know!" she pounced on Bark-kit.
Her other brother awoke and growled at her. "What, Galekit?"
She didn't answer, but instead jumped on her sister, Beetlekit. Beetlekit hissed and asked crossly, "What was that for?"
Galekit lashed her tail. "We're gonna have an adventure!"
When the word "adventure" was mentioned, Bark-kit and Beetlekit's expression turned from annoyance to guarded curiosity, while Orangekit still looked doubtful.
"What's the adventure?!" Bark-kit meowed.
Galekit leaned in, looking mysterious. "Well, we're almost apprentices-"
Beetlekit broke in. "We're barely 3 moons old, Galekit."
Galekit kept going, ignoring Beetlekit. "And I know how to make us apprentices now!!"
Orangekit stared. "That's gonna get us in trouble, y'know."
"But you don't even know what we're gonna do!" she wailed.
"Yeah, what are we gonna do?" Bark-kit mewed.
"I heard," the eager kit meowed, "That there was an angry badger that wandered into the poppies in our territory from Roseclan."
Orangekit groaned. "Isn't that the one that killed Leafclaw?"
His sister nodded. "And that's why we have to find it. We need to avenge his death."
Bark-kit gasped. "No way!" his fur was bristling with fear, but soon it started to come down. "No way," he repeated. "We're gonna fight it?"
"No." Galekit mewed. "We're gonna find it, then tell Threestar."
Beetlekit looked nervous, but she growled. "I'll come with you, Galekit. I wanna become an apprentice."
"I'll come with you, too." Bark-kit said slowly.
Galekit blinked gratefully at her two siblings, then turned to Orangekit, who was sitting down, silent. "Well, waddaya gonna do?"
Orangekit took a deep breath. "I'm not coming with you."
"Why not?" Beetlekit asked. "We'll be apprentices!"
"No we won't." Orangekit shot back. "Trouble-making kits don't become apprentices, no matter what they do."
"But it's for the clan!" Bark-kit meowed.
Orangekit growled. "I won't let you go. You'll get yourselves killed."
"We're going whether you like it or not!" Galekit hissed her black fur bristling with indignation.
"I'll stop you." He swished his tail, getting in fighting position.
"You're not the boss of me!" with a yowl, Galekit jumped on her brother, trying to claw his ears, while Orangekit bit her ebony-colored scruff. She spat in anger, and raked her claws over his flank.
"Galekit!! Orangekit!! Stop it right now!!"
Galekit and Orangekit backed away from each other, their ears down in submission, both realizing that their fighting woke up the entire nursery.
Their mother, Willowfur, was standing sternly infront of them, disapproval in her eyes. The other queen, Shellshard was calming down her kit, Talonkit, who was born about a day ago.
"What was the fighting about?" Willowfur asked, looking at the two kits.
Galekit glanced at her Orangekit, waiting for him to reveal heir plan, but he lowered his head and stayed silent.
She couldn't catch his eyes.
Galekit raised her eyes and looked her mother in the eyes. "We were just fighting."
"Well, then, fight somewhere else." Shellshard snapped, pushing Talonkit closer to her.
Bowing their heads, the four kits crept outside, but right when she thought no one but the other kits were looking, she mouthed- we go at dawn.
Two amber eyes shown in the dim light, in the blurry line between night and day. Galekit nudged Bark-kit and Beetlekit, who woke with a start.
"Are we going?" Beetlekit mewed.
Galekit nodded, and started to climb out of the nursery.
"What about him?" Bark-kit asked, pointing his reddish-striped muzzle toward the sleeping form of Orangekit.
"He can congratulate us from the nursery after we become apprentices." Galekit meowed shortly.
Swiftly climbing out of the nursery, they set out of Poppyclan territory and ran off to the field of poppies.
They were still small, and their ginger pelts blended well to the blood-red poppies that were all over their territory.
GRAWLH!!!!
The three kits jumped with fright. "What was that?!" Bark-kit mewed, his silver fur bristling.
Beetlekit growled. "I'm not scared!" she crept forward into the poppies.
Bark-kit was trembling. "Where did she go?!"
"Hey, guys! Look what I found!" Beetlekit's ginger pelt was standing on end from excitement. She rushed off again. Galekit and Bark-kit followed.
Galekit gasped at what she saw. It was a huge badger, sedated by the poppies seeds that were famous in Poppyclan territory. He was sleeping, but what really scared the kits were its eyes.
Its eyes were open although it was sleeping. They were red and black, with bloodshot whites. Froth drizzled from its huge jaws. Yellow fangs showed when it snarled in its dreams. Its dirty white and black head was covered with blood. Galekit didn't want to know where the blood came from.
"Is that it?!" Bark-kit asked, his fear-scent coming off in waves that sent shivers down Galekit's spine.
"It is it, right, Galekit?" Beetlekit mewed, her rump wiggling in excitement.
"That's it, all right. And I knew that you guys would be out here." A cold voice replied.
The three kits turned around and gasped. It was Orangekit.
"So the little scared kittypet comes back and decided to become an apprentice with us." Galekit sneered at her brother.
He lifted his orange head high. "I came back to look for you before you kill yourselves."
Bark-kit and Beetlekit looked at each other nervously, while Galekit shot a retort back. "I think that you just realized what a good idea we had about become apprentices that you just decided to come with us to get the badger."
"Galekit..." Beetlekit mewed uncertainly, glancing between the fuming siblings.
Galekit ignored her. "Well you know what? You won't become an apprentice with us. You're just jealous and you want us to stay kits forever. When we become apprentices, I'll tell Threestar what you tried to do."
Her brother growled. "I don't care if I become an apprentice or not! Beetlekit and Bark-kit know I'm right! This "adventure" is gonna get you all killed!! You're my sister, Galekit. It's my responsibility not to get you killed! So no matter what you do, no matter where you go, I'm not gonna leave you in danger!"
Amber eyes met amber eyes in anger. Galekit growled. "How many times in StarClan's name do you I have to tell you that you're not the boss of me?!?" The resenting kit jumped on her brother, claws outstretched.
Orangekit snarled, leaped and met her in the air. The two kits tumbled to the ground and snapped at each other's ears.
The badger twitched, as it bloodshot eyes moved. It stared at the kits.
"ORANGEKIT!!! GALEKIT!!! STOP IT!! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" Bark-kit yowled, his claws unsheathed. "THE BADGER'S AWAKE!!"
With a roar, the dirty, bloody beast lifted itself off of the dirt and poppies and slashed its blunt claws at the four kits.
Beetlekit squeaked and jumped back, barely missing the deadly claws. Her own claws outstretched, she jumped bravely at the beast.
The badger bellowed and hit her with its paw in mid-air. The small kit tumbled to the ground and laid still.
"BEETLEKIT!!!" Galekit cried, her tail lashing in fear. She ran toward her sister, but suddenly something blocked her way.
It was the badger.
She was swallowed up with fear. She was going to die. All because she wasn't patient enough. Just because of that. The badger's huge paw was coming up to strike the terrified kit, when-
A ginger streak of fur barreled into her, wrenching her shoulder painfully, knocking her away from the beast.
"Are you alright?" Orangekit gasped.
"I'm fine!" Galekit snapped. "Now go away!"
Orangekit flinched, and turned to her. His amber eyes burned into Galekit's, and she knew that she had said the wrong thing.
"No! Wait! I didn't-", she stammered, but it was no use. Orangekit was already racing away from her. "No!" she called. "Come back, you mouse brained kitty!" She was getting scared and angry. "Fine!!!" She screamed after him. "Fine!! Go and leave us like the coward you are!!"
"Galekit!" Bark-kit was running toward her, his long fur streaming out around him. "The badger! Look out!"
The monster bellowed and stomped toward her, while Galekit cried in terror. This was just a really bad dream. It had to be!
"AURGH!!!" Bark-kit yowled. Galekit gasped. Her brother was attacking it!
"NO!!" She howled. "No!! You'll just get killed like Beetlekit!"
"Not if I can help it!" A voice cried.
It was a patrol!
Seven strong warriors formed the Poppyclan attack position that made them so famous. The leader of the attack, Shadowstone, the deputy, was running up to the badger.
"Attack!!" She yowled, and the Poppyclan cats jumped.
Green, grey, and amber eyes flashed as they attacked the beast. "C'mon!!" a cat exclaimed, and then Galekit felt herself get grabbed by powerful jaws. Galekit squeaked with fear. "Don't worry, it's me, Whitefang." Her rescuer meowed, and the two raced away from the bloody field of poppies.
"Where are you taking me?" the terrified kit mewed.
"Buk tug cupm." Whitefang said through a mouth full of her black fur.
Galekit was about to protest, but suddenly all of the emotions she'd felt collasped down at her, and she knew no more.
Galekit woke to her mother's gentle tongue rasping her fur. "M-m-mom?" she stammered. Guilt crashed down at her. Because of her, Beetlekit died... "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"It's okay." Willowfur mewed back. "I still have you."
"Mom," she looked around. They were the only one in the nursery except for Shellshard and Talonkit. "Where's Orangekit and Bark-kit?"
Willowfur looked down. "We need to go outside." She meowed, picked up her kit, and climbed outside of the nursery.
Two small bodies layed among the blood-red poppies. One was light ginger, and the other was silver with reddish-brown stripes. Oh, no. Galekit thought despairingly to herself. Oh, no. Both Beetlekit and Bark-kit died... she remembered her brother running at the badger and attacking it fearlessly. He must've gotten hurt. And it's my entire fault...
"Galekit." A cold voice said. The kit turned. It was Shadowstone. "Orangekit is in the medicine cat's den. He wanted to see you." She meowed.
Galekit trotted to the medicine cat's den. Inside was a dusty mass of fur that was Orangekit. His eyes were closed and his pelt was torn and dirty. "What happened?" Galekit whispered.
Rosepetal padded noiselessly behind her. "He raced back to our camp. Faster that any kit his age should be able to do. He really tired himself out, along with the wounds that he got from the badger." She murmured.
Suddenly he shuddered, and his eyes opened. "Galekit?" he growled.
"Yeah." Galekit mumbled. "I'm sorry I didn't thank you for saving us and coming for us."
The brave kit's eye's blazed. "I don't know who you are. You did this to us. Beetlekit and Bark-kit died because of you. I only cared about them. I only went to protect them. I don't give a twig to you."
Galekit gasped and hung her head. She knew it was reality. She knew that it was her fault. And that Orangekit was telling the truth. Galekit looked back at her brother, but his eyes were closed and his limbs were stiff.
Forever.
"I heard what he said." Galekit turned around. It was the deputy. "And you know what? He's right." Shadowstone gazed at the kit. "You need a punishment."
"What?!" Galekit's mother hissed. "Isn't the guilt of her sibling's death's enough?!"
"No, it's not." Shadowstone snapped back, and then returned her gaze to Galekit. "You will have a new name. It will symbolize who you are now. You will be named Silentkit, for from now on, you will not talk. You will not speak. You will be silent. Now go!" The deputy swiftly turned and stalked away.
Silentkit's eyes filled with tears and she ran. She ran away from the medicine cat's den. She ran away from her past. She ran away from her mother and ran into the nursery.
She ran away from her voice.