Prologue:
Small, little bodies moved and twisted around in the Nursery, their mother's tongue brushing over their pelts. They mewled and squirmed around, kicking and flailing at their siblings.
"Their wonderful Hollyberry," a grey tabby she cat yawned "All healthy too."
Another she cat, Hollyberry, gazed down at them with a smile. Her tail flicked over them protectively and a purr rumbled deep in her throat. Her green eyes swept across them as if she was on a patrol, looking for a flaw in the underbrush. Suddenly the she cat's smile turned to a frown as she stared at one of the little kittens.
"Are you sure they're all ok?" Hollyberry questioned tentatively.
"Yes," the grey tabby said slowly with a cock of her head "Why do you ask?"
Hollyberry hesitated for a few moments before pointing with one of her black paws at a brown and black pawed tom.
"Hes much to small," she stated "I know that kits are tiny but he's smaller than a scrawny mouse!"
The other cat bent down to gaze at the tom. He did look quite small, tiny paws, a nose like a shriveled acorn, even a tail like a grass blade. The little thing gave a mewl as one of his bigger siblings shoved him away.
"He may just be a runt," said the tabby, backing away from the mother and her kits.
"A runt?" Hollyberry said, her voice lined with just the hint of fear "Will he be ok Fernstem?"
Fernstem shrugged and grabbed a mouth full of herbs to her left "As long as you keep him fed and warm he should be fine, though runts are weaker than their siblings so you'll have to give him more milk than the others."
Hollyberry's expression changed to ice "But what if he doesn't make it?" she asked coolly "Then I will have given him extra milk for nothing. I would have deprived my other kits from having proper meals…"
"You might but as long as runts are properly cared for they will most likely survive," Fernstem repeated before placing some herbs in front of the new queen "Eat these borage leaves, they'll help your milk flow."
The brown and black she cat bent down to pick the plants in her jaws, starting to chew them. A rustling sound jolted them both into a alertness. The brambles and briars that lined the nursery exit parted slowly to reveal a russet tabby tom, peeking into the den.
"Welcome Jasperstep," Fernstem meowed to the warrior. Jasperstep gave the Medicine cat a curt nod before turning with a wide smile to his mate and new kits. The tom was huge and muscles coursed through his front and hind legs while his tail was bushy and woolly. He knelt down and sniffed at the tiny kittens.
"They're wonderful," the tabby muttered, placing his tail over Hollyberrys shoulders.
"The black she kit should be Nightkit," he smiled. Hollyberry nodded her agreement and switched her stare from the runt of a tom before her.
"The ginger tom should be Applekit," the queen purred with a twitch of her whiskers.
"How about Ravenkit?" Jasperstep said after a few seconds.
"Ravenkit?" Hollyberry asked "You mean for Nightkit?" Jasperstep gave her a confused shake of his head and bent down to point at the runt of the litter.
"For the tom that looks like you," he replied, giving the small kit a lick between his ears. Hollyberry's face twisted into and expression of conflicting emotions, realization, pity, anger, even sadness. Her head turned to face the the nurseries entrance, cold breeze running through the opening. Fernstem had gone.
"Fernstem says he's very weak," Hollyberry started "He's a ru-" Her words were cut off by the sound of more rustling at the front of the den. Green vines and thorns snagged Fernstems pelt as she sauntered back into the small cavern like space, a clump of green herbs in her jaws.
"I brought you some thyme," the grey tabby meowed through the mouthful of stringy plants "You seemed a bit jumpy about your kits, this should help."
"Hollyberry said that Ravenkit was weak," Jasperstep said hurriedly "Will he make it?" A barely audible sigh came from the medicine cat's mouth and she turned to face the fretful parents.
"He's a runt," she rattled "Yes he's weaker and smaller than normal kittens but he should be fine. The Leafbare winds and frosts haven't come yet, when they do you'll have more to worry about. For now eat the herbs and get some rest, if something goes wrong i'll be sleeping in the medicine den." The tried she cat whipped around and slumped back out of the iced den.
"What if he dies Jasperstep," Hollyberry whispered after Fernstem had left "We would have wasted all that energy, our other kits would be weaker because of him." Jasperstep was silent, lost in thought, his tongue seemingly glued to the roof of his mouth. His muzzle opened but no words came out, the inside of his maw was as dry as sand.
"I'm not going to risk that," his mate continued "All of them could die…" Suddenly a third round of rustling came from the ivy stroun entrance. An annoyed looking Fernstem greeted them with a irritated look. Her paws lifted dust from the floor as she tracked across the den, almost stomping. Her tail thrashed with anger and she took a heaving breath to muster the effort of speech.
"Jadestar wants to speak with all warriors, medicine cats, and medicine cat apprentices," she finally hissed before adding under her breath "Can't even have a moments peace…" Jasperstep nodded, partly glad to be able to get out of the conversation.
As the sound of his paw steps faded away from Hollyberrys ears she sighed. Her head turned to face the ceiling of the den with a resolute, hard look.
"Can't risk it," she muttered before placing her head in her paws.
…
The gathering of cats were silent and almost frozen with apprehension. The air around Jasperstep was thick and almost unbreathable with tenseness that not even Starclan could calm. Amongst the gathered warriors and single, snake like medicine cat was a powerful brown tabby sitting upon a lifted stone. He recognized the feline as Jadestar, the brave if slightly boastful leader of his, their clan. She seemed unphased by the intensity of the group while the bristles of her pink tongue brushed over one of her brown paws. Jasperstep had tried many times before but had never been able to master the calmness and level headedness that she seemed to always be able to summon. He sat down and his flank hit chilled, harshly cold stone. Even the rock appeared to be tense. He forced his fur to lie flat and stiffened his muscles.
"I'm glad that you all could make it," Jadestar meowed. The stillness of the air seemed to loosen at her words, as if the sentence had made the breezes start up again.
"You know i'm not the type to keep my cats waiting," the leader pushed on "So i'll get to the point, Spiralclan has broken the treaty, Troutstar has passed but during his final moments he claimed that Spiralclan will be led by his son: Lizardclaw as his deputy also died. As most of you know making your kin leader breaks the treaty of peace our past leaders made so many moons ago to prevent inside corruption. Lizardstar has declared war, he knows they broke the treaty and are attempting to take our land."
Jasperstep could hardly hear the bursts of outrage and gasps of horror as his own thoughts consumed him. The treaty was broken. He got to his paws at once and started towards the nursery. A mouth grabbed his tail, yanking him back into the clearing with a jolt of pain. The grip belonged to an amber tabby tom giving him a stern though pitying look.
"Sorry Jasperstep," the tom mewed "You're going on a border patrol with me and a few others." Jasperstep felt his fur bristle with anger. His lips curled back into a snarl as he bared his teeth at the cat. He placed his paws a step closer and puffed his chest fur out.
"My mate and kits aren't safe now," he growled "Hollyberry must know otherwise she won't be on her guard…" The tom didn't bother to take the challenge.
"She'll be fine," meowed the amber tabby calmly "Fernstem sent out Antpaw to warn the rest of the clan along with the other apprentices." Jasperstep still prickled with anxiety but grunted and followed the cat. A war… the thought made his stomach twist into knots.
Welcome to the endless war! This is something i've been working on for a while and finally got around to posting it! This is the first book in (whats planed to be) a six book series, with maybe some novellas. I hope you enjoyed!
