LIGHTCLAN CHALLENGE!

Word Count: 1,802 words

Theme: Snowflakes

Hope it's okay! (So sorry it's late!)


Newborn kits cuddled at their mother's belly. One was gray like his father, the other pure white like her mom- with one gray dot on her forehead.

A flash of dark gray darted from the entrance, ivy tendrils thrashed towards him, threatening with a useless smack on his neck. His icy eyes filled with joy at the sight of his kits. "Beautiful." He whispered, nuzzling his mate affectionately. "Good job."

She glanced up at him with dull yellow eyes. Her jaws stretched in a long yawn. "We should name them now."

The gray tom nodded, sitting with his tail wrapped around his white paws. "Ashkit for the tom?" He suggested, licking the fur that belonged to him.

"Yes. And- Flakekit for the she-cat?" Her white and black tabby fur was rumpled and unclean, covered in moss and dirt.

"Snowkit." The father mewed.

Wind whistled from the entrance, and a single snowflake fluttered in, then landed on the white kit, right on her forehead.

"Snowflakekit?" The mates stuttered in unison. They saw eachothers' eyes, and grinned.

"It may be long, but it works." The gray stifled a cough, turning so his kits weren't disturbed. "Snowkit for short."

"I love you, Graystar." The tabby queen rested her head, encasing her yellow orbs.

"Well done, Rosetuft." Graystar stretched and padded from the den, moonlight pouring over his gray fur.

The great willow tree's leaves swished in the growing breeze, but there was no sign of snow. A small pond under the tree glimmered with broken rays from the moon's light. The water swirled and created a delicate pattern. Six sticks sprouting from the middle of the pond evenly, designed holes and nicks in them. Snowflake. The form turned pure white, bursting out snow and icicles. In two moons, new-leaf was coming.

...

She stumbled on her paws, huffing a breath of irritated air. "I can't do this!" She kicked at the stone floor of the den, her almost six-moon old paws giving in. Her foretold pure white fur was covered in dust, moss, and bracken.

I wish I wasn't sick for four moons! And that I wasn't blind! Snowflakekit thought, flattening her gray-tinged ears to her skull. Her mom, Rosetuft, said that her fur was white, one gray dot on her forehead. She had one blue eye, the other gray. But she couldn't see out of either.

Ashkit ran in, sliding on his paws next to Snowflakekit. "Hey, blind-sista!" He exclaimed, standing and shaking his pelt.

"Hey." Snowflakekit grumbled, she stood and walked to the source of fresh, greenleaf air.

She felt the ivy tendrils touch her face, and she nudged pass them with no effort. She scented herbs drift by her. "Hi, Sorrelheart!" Snowflakekit meowed.

The medicine cat stopped in her tracks, turning. "You're getting better, Snowflakekit!" She commented, returning to her den.

Snowflakekit walked carefully, dragging one forepaw on the ground to check for something she may stumble upon. Nothing yet. She thought, gaining more composure.

Graystar's fur brushed Snowflakekit's, and she giggled. "Hi daddy."

"How's my Snowkit today? Finding your way around camp?" Graystar meowed, licking Snowkit's forehead.

"Okay, and no." She retorted, wishing no one would bug her about how she was doing.

A warm breeze ruffled her fur, and leaves stirred high in the treetops. Snowkit walked until warmth struck her pelt, and she basked there.

...

She woke up, and felt the cold air of night. An eerie wind broke through the branches of the trees, whipping them back and forth. Snowkit stood on shaky paws, opening her jaws. No scents of other cats bathed her tongues.

Fear clawed along her spine and she felt the wind whip her fur. I thought it was Greenleaf!

The wind had a sudden stop- a hush. A whisper broke through her ears. "Snowflakes have been born!"

A white particle floated down from the sky, landing near Snowkit's paws. She gasped. How can I see it? Her foretold blue eye narrowed, and it focused on the flake. Her silver eye saw the surroundings.

A willow was in front of her, its branches looming down. Moonlight flickered from in between the leaves, casting rays onto the earth. Near the trunk of the tree was a blue pool.

She drew her attention back onto the snowflake, and saw it's detailed patterns. It was like six sticks, coming from the middle. They had been carved by the smallest of claws into precise detail, and then turned clear and frosty.

Snowkit took in a deep breath, her tail twitching. I- I can see snowflakes! Snowflakekit... She thought of her name, and sat as more snowflakes fell gently.

"Go into the leaves, to the pool of truth. Receive!" The voice wandered through her ears, drifting through the windless sky. It seemed to echo.

Snowflakekit thought long and hard, the mew still running in her mind. "The willow!" She murmured, racing through the draping leaves.

She was shielded from the snowflakes, and she yearned to go back out.

Snowflakekit looked into the pool, and saw her reflection. A pure white kit, one gray dot on her forehead. A silver and blue eye. She grinned. I'm cute!

Above her reflection a large snowflake formed in the water, it's beauty taking her breath. She focused more on the carvings, and out of the corner of her eye was her reflection.

Her blue eye was narrowed in study, while her silver was wide, looking at her image. She lurched back in fear. I look worse than crow-food! She yowled silently, flattening her ears. She bounded out of the willow's encasing. Snowflakes flurried down now, filling her vision with details and carvings of the frosty sticks.

Nothing else was visible, and the details became blurry, turning into white fluff. She turned, seeking her den. It's greenleaf, not leaf-bare! She remembered, panicking. Her sight was pure white, filled with powder and flakes. Snowflakekit yowled, "Help me! I can't see!"

The snow stopped pouring, lessening it's fall. The white kit could see the details now, but only that. She couldn't see any of the landscape behind or around her.

Blackness engulfed her eyes once more. Every-so-often a flake would drift into it, magnifying and revealing wonder.

She heard Ashkit tumble from the den. "Whoah! Snow in greenleaf?" His next actions she couldn't make out.

Rosetuft scrambled towards Snowkit. Her vision once again was overwhelmed with white.

Her mother grabbed her scruff and carried her to the nursery. "Snowkit! What were you thinking?" She huffed, licking her pelt free of flakes.

Snowkit saw nothing. I like it better being blind! She thought, it just distracted her having snowflakes scurrying across her sight.

"You would have seen in due time, Snowflakekit! Fighting would have been your skill, and now it'll be medicines!" The voice hissed.

She flinched, then ran back out. She felt snow falling around her, but saw nothing. "No! please!" She cried.

Her mother tumbled from the den.

Snowflakekit felt engulfed, and realized she was in a snowy den with no exit. It packed onto her and she whimpered. The ground fell beneath her, along with the snow.

...

Her eyes opened to blackness. Her nose was filled with snow, unmelted snow. Shivers racked her body, and her teeth chattered. She quickly recognized that was from fear, not cold. Snowkit puffed the snow out, and attempted standing.

A mew startled her. "She's here." It was the same that had spoken to her before.

"What?" Snowkit whined, spitting snowflakes out.

"The Snowflake has arrived!" Another cheered.

Snowkit stood, and with effort- burst from the snow encasing. She sensed the presence of three other cats.

"I am Strike." A deep voice rumbled.

"I am Soul."

"And I am Feather." The most familiar voice sounded.

Her eyes saw their glimmering pelts- snowflakes dappling them. "W-where a-am I?" Snowkit stuttered.

Feather stepped up. "Where you belong! We are a different segment of StarClan, but long forgotten. Tell me, Stars- or Snow?" She explained.

For some reason Snowkit knew. "Snow!" They were talking about what was on their fur.

"To you. To normal cats they are stars, they are blind! You have the gift of a Snowflake, little one." Strike growled.

Snowkit looked back, and saw the snow-den. "I can see now?"

"Only near snow!" Soul yowled, his cheery voice pitchy.

"You will be a medicine cat, with gifts!" Feather began to fade. "Soul, Strike. Our time is done. We must fade into nothing- she's forgetting us soon." They padded away.

...

Snowlight exited the den blindly, and snow fluttered down. Her surroundings appeared, and the snowflakes didn't turn detailed until she narrowed her blue eye.

She padded silently through the falling snow, and stood up on her hind legs. She reached one paw out, unsheathing her claws.

One snowflake landed on her claw, and crumpled. Another landed, and she clasped it between two claws. It became bigger under the pressure, showing the detail it was born with.

Kits stumbled around, looking at the flake- dumbfounded.

"How'd you do that?!" A brown tabby she-kit asked.

"Would you all like one?" Snowlight quizzed.

Even apprentices and the medicine cat came, asking for a snowflake. Snowlight laughed. Thank you for the continuous knowledge, Feather. She imagined the old cat's pelt becoming more visible- she hadn't been forgotten.

Snowflakelight licked the flake, that's what made it indestructable. She handed it to Sorrelheart, smiling. "Thank you, too. For your faith in me."

She did the same thing for each of her clanmates. Each snowflake was around the size of a normal-sized cat head. Snowflakelight made one for herself, it had a hole in the middle. It was the most beautiful flake she'd ever seen.

She put it in her nest and got a stick, dug it into the wall above her nest, and hung the snowflake on it. She took a feather from her nest- a feather of a snowy owl- and twined it into her snowflake. I will never forget you, Feather! Even if I am a medicine cat rather than a warrior.

...

Feather appeared near Snowlight's nest, and nudged her awake. The white she-cat looked up, and grinned. "Hi."

"Hello!"

Snowlight closed her eyes once more, yearning for sleep. Feather pulled her out of her nest.

She walked out into the snowy landscape, under the willow. The identical snowflake that she had hung up glistened in the blue pool. Feather faded. One cat makes no difference.

Snowlight's eyes welled with tears, and she looked at the pool. The snowflake glistened brighter than before. She whispered; "Snowflakes are my destiny."