Sun Clan
"Hey Honeykit! Catch!" The golden she-cat saw her sister toss the mouse her way, so she jumped up and caught it midair.
"Nice!"
"Guys, maybe playing with fresh kill isn't a good idea..." Their brother Volekit squeaked from the opening of the nursery.
"Oh come on, Volekit! It's so small, it doesn't even matter." Poppykit mewed.
"Doesn't matter?" boomed a loud, familiar voice. Honeykit flinched, dropping the mouse.
"L-Liontail..." she stammered.
"Dawnstripe!" the clan deputy called for their mother, who appeared next to Volekit.
"What is it, Liontail?"
"You let your kits play with food? With leafbare so close?"
Dawnstripe looked confused, then saw the scrap of fresh kill that had once been a mouse, laying at Honeykit's paws.
"Oh... Liontail, I'm sorry. I was just helping Sweetbreeze ready her nest for her kits and I wasn't-"
"Well perhaps you should focus more on your own kits... sister." Liontail growled, then turned to face Poppykit.
"No matter how small, all prey matters. Especially in times of need. We've got many mouths to feed, including little ones like yours." And without another word, he stalked off. Poppykit's tail and ears drooped.
"I'm sorry Momma..." she mewled.
"Oh... it's alright dear. Liontail is just very strict." Dawnstripe meowed, taking the mouse and carrying it off to bury it in the bushes.
"Just be happy he didn't make you eat it..." Volekit murmured.
"Shh!" Poppykit spat. Dawnstripe returned and herded Honeykit and her siblings back into their den.
"Come now, time for a rest. Next time just play with a mossball or some leaves." their mother meowed. The kits nodded.
Later that night while she was sleeping, Honeykit had strange dreams. At first she was running along the riverbank, chasing a rabbit. Then she saw them... the dark shadows of other cats. The rabbit disappeared and Honeykit's nose was hit with the scent of unfamiliarity. This scene dissipated and turned into a den with a group of those cats inside. Honeykit heard the yowl of a cat, which shook her awake.
"Honeykit? Are you okay?" she heard her mother's voice, her familiar smell washing over Honeykit, comforting her. That, mixed with the scent of her two siblings and Sweetbreeze drove away the remains of the strange cats. Honeykit snuggled closer into Dawnstripe's fur, packed between Volekit and Poppykit's sleeping forms.
"Yes Momma. Just had scary dreams."
"It's okay now. You're safe..." Dawnstripe's quiet mew soothed Honeykit, but she still felt curiousity ping inside her.
"Momma?" she mewled.
"Yes dear?"
"Are there other cats in the forest?"
"Yes... you know how we are SunClan? Well over far, far away, beyond our camp, past our hunting territory, there is a river. Past that river, there is another group of cats like us that go by MoonClan. We have meeting every full moon with them at two pointed stones even taller than this den. We are the only groups we know about and many believe there should only be two because they represent day and night, opposites, yet both necessary for the other to exist. Just like sun and moon, which explains the clan names." Dawnstripe whispered.
"Cool..."
"Now go back to sleep, Honeykit. Tomorrow I will show you around camp." Dawnstripe used her tail to wrap around Honeykit and her siblings to warm them. Honeykit nodded and snuggled into her belly.
"But Momma... if there should only be two clans, just like there are two of everything in nature, why are there four seasons? Or four stages of life?"
Her mother was silent for a moment.
"I don't know, dear." she meowed finally. "The elders do speak of a time, years ago, many many moons... of when there was four clans. There aren't any cats living that were ever around then, so these stories that we are told, we may never really know are true."
"But what happened to those four clans?"
"I don't remember... perhaps the elders could tell you their stories tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Night Momma."
She felt her mother's body relax and heard her breath smooth out, signaling that she had fallen back asleep. But Honeykit laid up, wondering more and more about these mysterious cats, both of this clan she had never heard of and of those rumored clans from the past. Maybe if she was really good tomorrow on her tour around the camp, her mother and father would let her visit Mossfern, Blackfur, and Mousetail, the retired warriors of SunClan.
"Wake up, Honeykit! Momma's taking us around camp!" Honeykit awoke to the excited voice of her sister.
"I'm up, I'm up." she mewed, standing and shaking scraps of moss from her pelt.
"Come now kits, your father is waiting." meowed Dawnstripe, standing at the nursery entrance.
"Dad is gonna show us around camp too?!" Poppykit was jumping up and down.
"Come on." Volekit mewed to Honeykit.
The four cats emerged from the den to see a brown and white tom waiting for them.
"Hello Owlfeather." Dawnstripe greeted him with a purr and a nuzzle.
"Hello Dawnstripe, hello kits!" Owlfeather meowed.
"Hi Dad!" Volekit mewed.
"Where to first?!" Poppykit asked.
"Follow me. As you can see, this open area is where warriors and apprentices eat. The stones over there in front of that den there is where the elders eat and that is their den. The fresh kill pile usually is right in that pit in the middle, but it's empty. A hunting party hasn't gone out yet today. Oh look, there they go now." Owlfeather explained, pointing his tail towards a group of four cats leaving the camp.
"Oh! That brown tom, I've seen him before! That's Ferretfoot, Sweetbreeze's mate!" Poppykit bounced around excitedly.
"Who are the others?" Volekit questioned.
"The gray tom is Darkstep. The two smaller gray cats are their apprentices Stormpaw and Smokepaw." Owlfeather told them.
"How long have they been training?" asked Honeykit.
"Only about six moons. They'll probably be your denmates when you become apprentices."
"Cool! Hopefully they'll like us." Poppykit meowed.
"I'm sure they will. Now this is the apprentice den. It's where you will be sleeping soon. That over there is where the warriors sleep. Then all the way over there is the medicine cat den. If you are ever hurt of ill you can go to see Whiteberry. And on the rocks near the edge of camp there is the leader, Brightstar's den. She also makes announcements from up just outside there. Now Volekit, your mother and I wanted to take you to talk with Brightstar about something important. Come along. Poppykit, Honeykit, you two go say hello to the elders. They always love when curious kits visit." Owlfeather meowed. Poppykit and Honeykit nodded and watched their parents take their brother up the stones to Brightstar's den, then bounded to off to the elders' den.
"Well hello there, young ones." meowed a gray tabby tom.
"Hello! Would you tell us stories?" Honeykit asked. The gray tabby twitched his ears.
"What was that?!"
"They want to hear some stories!" a gray she-cat with odd looking green eyes meowed loudly. "You must excuse Mousetail. My brother has grown hard of hearing."
"What's wrong with your eyes?" Poppykit asked. Honeykit smacked her sister with her tail. But the old she-cat purred a rusty, surprising purr of laughter.
"My eyes are shot, sadly. But I can still sense a lot. My name is Mossfern and that grouchy tabby in the corner is my mate Blackfur. And like I said, this gray tabby is my brother Mousetail."
"You know what they look like?" Poppykit questioned, head tilting to one side.
"I used to have my sight, dear. Unless Blackfur took a bath in honey and got cotton stuck to him, his fur hasn't changed. And same goes for Mousetail." Mossfern laughed. "Besides... I'd smell the cotton and honey."
"So what would you two like to hear?" Blackfur stood in his nest and stretched. "Oh and whose kits are you and what are your names?"
"We're Poppykit and Honeykit, Owlfeather and Dawnstripe's kits." mewed Poppykit.
"You'd know that if you'd paid attention to the gossip moons ago." Mousetail teased Blackfur. The darker tabby scoffed.
"Gossip! All it was was the birth of the deputy's sister's kits. Liontail himself will never get a mate with his attitude."
"That's a lot, coming from you Blackfur." Mossfern meowed.
"I thought there were three of you?" Mousetail inquired.
"Our brother Volekit is talking with our parents and Brightstar." Poppykit explained to them.
"So what stories would you like to hear?" Mossfern asked.
"About when there was four clans." Honeykit piped up.
"Oh! Well none of us were truly around for that, but we heard stories from our elders when we were young. Long ago there were four very different clans. But one clan had evil cats and turned against the other three. One of the remaining three rose up and fought bravely against the evil clan. These strong willed cats gave their lives to destroy the other and the two that were still there were forced to change their lifestyle and get used to there just being two clans. But rumor has always had it that several cats from the other clans survived, hid away, and had kits. These kits were said to make their way into the remaining clans." mewed Mossfern.
"So there may be blood from those clans in SunClan and MoonClan." Blackfur added.
"Whoa..." Poppykit whispered.
"Wow." Honeykit was in awe.
"Honeykit, Poppykit. We have to go back to the nursery now." Their mother popped her head in the den.
"Aww... Okay!" Poppykit hung her tail.
"Hello Mossfern. Blackfur, Mousetail!" their mother greeted the older cats.
"Afternoon Dawnstripe." Blackfur replied.
"Lovely kits you have. Very intent listeners." Mossfern purred.
"Why thank you. Come now kits."
Honeykit and her sister followed Dawnstripe outside after saying goodbye and Honeykit saw Owlfeather and Volekit waiting by the nursery.
"Hey Volekit, what's up?" Honeykit asked.
"What did Brightstar want?" Poppykit added.
"Whiteberry wants me as her apprentice!" Volekit purred excitedly.
"Cool! Does that mean you won't be in the apprentice den with us though?" asked Poppykit. Volekit nodded.
"Yeah... but you can always come say hello."
"We knew you'd do well with Whiteberry." Owlfeather spoke up.
"You always seemed so interested in helping cats and doing what's right." Dawnstripe added.
"Owlfeather! You're on dusk patrol! Come on!" Honeykit looked up to see Liontail looking impatient near the camp's entrance.
"Coming Liontail! Gotta go... bye kits! Bye Dawnstripe." he mewed and nuzzled their mother. He gave each kit a quick lick on the top of each of their heads before taking off after Liontail and two gray she-cats.
"Momma?" Honeykit decided to ask, even though she was afraid of the response her mother might give.
"Yes dear?"
"Does Liontail not like us?"
"Oh... no, it's not that, little one. I don't believe he's always been this way. Being deputy has put stress on him and I think anger may just be how he copes."
"Blackfur was right... he'll probably never get a mate." Poppykit whispered.
"Shh!" Honeykit spat, but their mother had heard Poppykit.
"At this rate... no. Liontail has pushed many cats away. He really does need to change his attitude." Their mother lowered her voice to a whisper. "But I do know before Liontail became deputy, he had his eye on a certain she-cat. And I believe she liked him as well."
"Who?" Poppykit asked in disbelief.
"One of those she-cats, the one with the white splotch on her chest. Her name is Rippleheart."
"Ooh!" Honeykit giggled.
"We need to help them..." Poppykit twitched her ears thoughtfully.
"No. You won't go meddling in your uncle's love life. Now come." Dawnstripe led them inside.
A.N.: Thought I'd post a longer chapter! Hopefully some people find this interesting and want more. So if you do, please review so I know! Thanks for reading! ~12HockeyChick21