Hey everyone! So this is the first chapter/prologue thingie... Ummm... (The author shakes her head. "My life... My life...") Anyhoo, sorry it's so short, I'm writing these things out beforehand on a writing app (since I can't write on this website on my tablet... TMI? Sorry), and the screen is way smaller. They will get longer as the story progresses though!
DISCLAIMER! I do not own the Warriors series(s). If I did, I would probably have changed things a bit. (Why do we keep putting these things in here? everyone knows that we don't own the things! Unless...)
Anyways, enough of my rambling, onto the story!
A lone figure crept through the forest, shadows flickering over its ginger pelt as it passed into an area flooded with moonlight, revealing itself to be a handsome tabby tom with bright amber eyes. Glancing around, he paused when he saw a grey and black she-cat coming towards him. Letting out a small purr of relief, he padded over to her and brushed his pelt against hers. "Finally, I was worried you'd forgotten."
Pulling back slightly,he looked at her and saw that her face was clouded with worry. "Are you okay Raven? Has something happened in that silly Clan of yours?"He questioned, watching her as she padded away from him towards a small stream. A bush rustled nearby, but he ignored it.
The she-cat took a small breath, then spoke. "My name is Ravenheart, Ginger, and yes, I could say I'm fine. Except, well..." she turned to him again, "I'm expecting kits, Ginge', your kits." Ginger - as the tom was introduced - froze in place, staring at Ravenheart with something not unlike disbelief.
"Are-are you sure?" He asked, taking a slightly shaky breath as she nodded. "Ravenheart, that's wonderful! Kits are a good thing, you know." He trailed off, noticing the look of shame and worry on her face. "What else is wrong? And don't say nothing, because I know something is."
Ravenheart looked at him, then looked away, having trouble putting the words together. "The thing is, the Clan can't know you're their father. Our being mates is against the warrior code." Ginger narrowed his eyes, he didn't really like some of the rules in this so-called "Warrior Code", even though the cat standing in front of him seemed to agree with them.
"So?" He shrugged, "never stopped you before, has it?" Ravenheart glared at him, then started walking back the way she came.
"This isn't about me, it's about our kits. If anyone else found out, they could be kicked out of the Clan, or worse." She meowed back at him grumpily. Turning back around, her tail flicked against a bush, which then rustled a bit more than usual. "I have a plan, but you have to stay away from now on, from me, and from our kits."
Eyes narrowing again slightly, he looked at the ground in anger and betrayal. Then, heaving a sigh and feeling like this was cleaving him in two, he looked up at her and nodded. "Fine, do what you must... Just take care of them well." He then turned and left, fading into the shadows.
About two moons later...
A dappled ginger tom by the name Oakstorm sat in front of the nursery, his tail flicking across the ground. Looking across the camp, he spotted five small kits playing near a tree, under the careful watch of their mothers, of course. After watching them for a moment, he felt like he was looking at them for too long, and he turned his gaze back at the rock he'd been staring at before. Then, a small noise drew his attention away.
Turning his ears, then his head towards the sound, he saw Amberheart, the medicine cat, leaving the nursery. His pelt bristled with anticipation, hoping for the best. Amberheart stared at him for a moment, as if not expecting him to be outside, but then continued. "Ravenheart is fine, and so are her kits." She meowed, turning away from him and walking back to her den. Oakstorm watched her for a moment, then he ducked into the nursery.
Oakstorm glanced around for a moment before spotting his best friend. Ravenheart was curled around three tiny scraps of fur, looking tired but happy. As he padded towards her, she looked up at him, her eyes slightly wary. "Don't worry," he meowed, "I got in here before anyone else noticed. But we should only have a few minutes." Sitting down, he eyed the kits carefully. One ginger and white tabby, one grey and black calico, and one white with ginger tabby patches. Good, at least two sort-of looked like him, and the other looked like Ravenheart. This could work!
"Two she-kits and a tom." Ravenheart meowed softly, as if reading his thoughts. Oakstorm purred quietly, aware of the fact that other cats could come in at any time. "I was thinking of calling them Flamekit, Willowkit, and Tigerkit." Ravenheart continued as Snowkit and Jaykit suddenly tumbled into the nursery, joined by their sister Pebblekit and mother Cloudclaw a moment later.
Slipping into character almost immediately, Oakstorm licked Ravenheart's ear gently before looking at the kits again, this time with something more fatherly in his gaze. "Those are lovely names, and they're beautiful kits. I'd better go before I get trampled though." Almost as soon as he said that, Snowkit jumped on his paws in his eagerness to see the new arrivals. Next to his parents and littermates, Ravenheart was one of the fluffy kit's favorite cats.
Letting out a small mrrroww of laughter, Oakstorm backed away as the other kits swarmed around Ravenheart's nest, trying to see the new kits. Leaving the nursery, he looked back and caught Ravenheart's eye, giving the tiniest of nods. He could keep a secret for his best friend, and act like the father of those tiny kits, right? He could do it, and no one would be any the wiser. Walking away, he didn't notice a pair of amber eyes - a pair quite like his own - watching him from the brambles surrounding the camp.
No one did.
So how was that? Next chapter should be up sometime in the next week (but don't hold me to it, I forget to update regularly), so until then, read, review, favorite, follow... you guys know the drill.