Dappleflower woke to lots of commotion; warriors were all hungry, kits running about while their mothers tried to round them up, and the apprentices tussling and play-fighting all over the place. Shadowstar had evidently had enough, because she shouted, "Enough!" with a wild look in her eyes and her fur was mussed. "Queens and kits- find a den somewhere in this area. I want three or four warriors to go and hunt. Shiningsun, lead a patrol with Oakleaf, Silvermist, and Smokewing. Find whatever you can, but don't eat it! Bring it straight back. Nightberry, Darkstorm, and Ravenwhisker. I need to speak with you. The rest of the warriors- look around for places to make let's see...five more dens! Two can be small, but the other three should be fairly large! Apprentices- stay out of the way."
Brightfeather was holding Mudkit by his scruff, and trying to round up Breezekit and Bluekit but she could only hold one at a time. Feeling sympathy for the poor she-cat, Dappleflower picked her way over and picked up Bluekit. Twisting her head around, she deposited the kit on her back, in the hollow between her shoulder blades. "That should help a bit. Maybe Breezekit can help us find the den now. Come on, it will be a race. Mudkit, Breezekit, Bluekit: whoever can find the perfect den gets a prize!" She looked at Brightfeather, who blinked gratefully at her. "Thank you." She mumbled around Mudkit, then put him down. Dappleflower put Bluekit next to him and said, "Go!" and the three kits scampered away. "Those kits are no easy bit of prey, I can tell you that. But you'll find out soon enough, now won't you?" she smiled.
Dappleflower dipped her head. "In a moon, maybe more. Anyway, let's look for a den, shall we? It will be good to have a quiet place all our own, without the whole Clan around. Though with kits running around, it won't exactly be quiet, will it?" Brightfeather's whiskers twitched. "Not in the least, I'm afraid." Dappleflower shrugged. She saw a likely looking clump of brambles against a pine. Low branches made a roof, and they could drag some of the brambles to the other side. Then it would be perfect. They saw Bluekit stumbling out, and Brightfeather smiled. "You win, Bluekit. This is our den. Go and tell your brother and sister, now." The kit walked away, tail high with pride. The expectant queen sliced some brambles from the side and dragged them around. Delicately, she twisted them into place. For good measure, she tore some moss from the trunk and spread it across the earth. It was lichen, not real moss for nests, but it would make the den floor softer on the kit's tender paws.
"Sparrowstripe! Lichengaze! Kits! The den's over here!" The nursery, Dappleflower dubbed it. Flamepelt came over and asked, "Would you like me to fetch you some moss for nests? I know a good place where I used to live." Dappleflower nodded, surprised at his kindness, but then she saw him brush pelts with Lichengaze on his way out. She wondered why he had spoken to her if Lichengaze was his mate. Then she saw all the queens and kits looking at her expectantly. With a jolt, she realized she was like..The head queen. Very, very odd. "Let's wait for Flamepelt to get back with some moss. But this is the den, in here. It has enough room for all of us, is sheltered in the rain or snow, and is safe. And young Bluekit found it!" She smiled warmly at Brightfeather's kit, who blushed madly. "You can take a look around if you feel like it." She didn't know what else to say, so she padded over to Bluekit.
"So, what shall be your prize?" Bluekit looked up hopefully, "Can I pick out my nest first? For Bright and Mud and Breeze and me? Oops, I mean, Brightfeather, Mudkit, Breezekit, and me?" Dappleflower blinked. It would be hard to get used to your whole family's names being changed around. "Yes, of course." Ina louder tone, she called, "Everyone? Bluekit gets first pick of the nests for finding the nursery!" There was no grumbling or complaints, which surprised Dappleflower. Bluekit charged into the den, and sat slightly back from the entrance, and all the way to the side. "Here I can surprise any kits who come in!" she roared like a badger in example. She twitched her whiskers in amusement, and then Flamepelt showed up, holding the biggest ball of moss she'd ever seen.
"Thank you very much, Flamepelt, I can take it from here." He nodded and deposited the big ball on the ground. Dappleflower worked quickly, using the least moss for her own, since she didn't have any kits yet. Under Bluekit's careful eye, she set up the perfect nest for Brightfeather and company. "A little to the left, Bluekit said, directing from atop Dappleflower's head. "Good, now a teeny bit closer to the wall -no, that's too close. Just the tiniest tiniest bit forward. Perfect!" she pronounced, and jumped into the pile of moss. "Nests are ready!" called, and the kits and queens filed in. Mudkit and Breezekit ran over to Bluekit and leaped in the nest. Brightfeather joined them, but a tad more calm.
Sparrowstripe and her kits took the nest just off-center of the den, with the most moss. Lichengaze took the one in the far corner, leaving the one near Brightfeather's for Dappleflower, the one she'd intended to use. She nodded, and turned to leave. "Where ya goin'?" chirped Nightkit. "I'm just going to see how the warriors are doing finding other dens." Nightkit looked at Sparowstripe. "Can I come too? Pretty please?" Sparrowstripe nodded. "If its alright with Dappleflower." The queen smiled. "Of course. Hop on!" She knelt to the ground so Nightkit could climb on.
She padded out of the den, Nightkit clinging to her scruff, and Darkstorm walked over. "You have a kit on you." he teased. Dappleflower played along, "What? Where? Not a kit!" she turned in a circle, Nightkit squealing in delight. "You're really good with them." he purred. "Guess what?" His mate purred. "What?" Darkstorm told her, "Shadowstar made me head warrior! She said StarClan wanted me to do it. Who are these StarClan anyway?" He snorted and rolled his eyes. "They say StarClan is all of the cats who have died, and that their spirits can still talk with us. I would love to talk with Spots once more." She said wistfully. "Who's Spots?" squeaked Nightkit. Dappleflower sighed. "She was my mother." Nightkit's eyes were round as the moon. "You mean she died? Sparrowstripe's never going to die, is she?" Dappleflower told her gently, "All cats die, when they're ready, Nightkit. But don't worry, Sparrowstripe will live a long, long time. My mother was ready when she died. She loved Shiningsun and I, just as Sparrowstripe loves you. Now, lets help the warriors!"
Darkstorm looked at her questioningly. "Finding dens." She said as an answer. "Okay, I'll help you." Nighthawk looked busy excavating a promising looking hollow, so Dappleflower mentally counted: one! Echofoot and Aurorasong had found a den similar to the nursery, but with soft ferns for walls, and it was much larger. Ravenwhisker, Birdflight, and Nettletail were all working on one humongous den- probably for the warriors. Nightberry was peeking into a ledge in the crack of an enormous rock- nearly as big as the one between the four oaks. Shadowstar was next to her, and Dappleflower remembered that Nightberry was her kit. The three walked over (Well, two walked, and Nightkit rode) to the two black she-cats. "Shadowstar," Darkstorm dipped his head. I copied him automatically, making Nightkit squeal again as she slid forward a bit.
The ShadowClan leader's whiskers twitched as she looked at Nightkit on Dappleflower's back. "Yes?" Darkstorm replied, "It looks like we have a warriors den, an apprentice's den, and an elders den." He waved his tail at the groups of cats working on the dens. "And a medicine cat's den, here." Nightkit asked, "What's a medicine cat?" Shadowstar said, "A medicine cat is a cat that helps cats heal from injuries that they would otherwise die from. They use plants and the power of our ancestors to make it happen. They are very special members of the Clan. Nightberry is our medicine cat." Nightkit wrinkled her nose. "I would much rather fight than heal." Nightberry said calmly, not rankled at all, "That's why you're going to be a great warrior someday." Dappleflower added, "We have the nursery all ready, as well, Shadowstar." She smiled. "Very good. Now all we need is a den for me." The tortoiseshell she-cat looked around and saw where two fallen trees crossed. "With some brambles, that might be a good place." She flicked her tail toward the trees.
"Excellent eyes, Dappleflower!" She blushed. "I'll go set up." She and Nightkit trotted off, Darkstorm trailing behind. Flamepelt padded over. "Whatcha doin?" he asked. "Fixing up Shadowstar's den. Could you be so kind as to show Darkstorm where you found that moss? We'll need lots for all the cats in the Clan." The two toms set off and Nightkit chirped, "How come everyone does as you ask? You're not leader." Dappleflower shrugged, knowing she wasn't trying to be rude. "If you ask nicely, that usually happens. Besides, I wasn't asking for something unreasonable. It would have to be done sometime, anyway. Okay, Nightkit, ride's over. Do you want to stay and watch me fix up the den? Or you could go play with Dewkit if you'd like." The dark gray tabby kit with white spots shook her head. "I want to help! Dewkit's a mousebrain. And no fun."
Dappleflower chuckled. "Alright. Well, stand back for just a minute while I get some brambles. You can check the trees for any lichen, though since they're dead there might not be any. The kit obeyed quickly and jumped on the fallen tree on the right. She kept one eyes on the kit as she tugged and sliced brambles in thick swaths and dragged them over. Nightkit found a few bits of lichen and dropped them in a pile, slicing them off the tree with her miniature claws. When she'd gotten all the lichen from those two trees, she moved to a nearby tree and scrambled up it with ease to get even more lichen.
"That's plenty, Nightkit!" Dappleflower called and the kit raced down the trunk of the tree with a bunch of the light moss in her jaws. She dropped it and swiped her tongue over her lips in distaste. "Yuck." But she carefully helped the tortoiseshell to arrange the brambles and spread the lichen on the den floor. She yawned with tiredness when she heard Dappleflower yelp. "What is it?" The queen replied, a bit embarrassed, "Just got a thorn in my pad. Don't worry." She sat and lifted her paw up to her muzzle, quickly pulling the thorn out and spitting it on the ground. She licked her paw, which was bleeding a little. "Okay. Back to the nursery for you, miss. It's time you got something in your belly. Maybe a nap, too." She nudged the kit toward the nursery and she stumbled over, tired, but content.
Flamepelt and Darkstorm arrived, each with another huge ball of moss. She bounded over and mewed, "Thanks so much! I'll be right back; don't move!" They were happy to oblige, and sat. She sliced a swath of moss for Shadowstar's den. She put the moss in the center of the den, patted it into a more comfortable shape, and went back to the two toms. "Darkstorm, could you show me where the moss is so I can bring some more? Flamepelt, you're free to do as you wish." She felt a bit guilty for ordering them around, but it looked as if they were waiting for instruction, after all. The ginger tom dipped his head and padded over to Nightkit, who was halfway to the nursery.
As the mates walked out of the camp, Darkstorm said, "Maybe you'd be a better head warrior than me." She shook her head. "Nope. I doubt it! Besides, I'm a queen now. Remember?" she teased, and he chuckled. "How could I forget your mighty position in the Clan? After all, queens are the lifeblood." he grinned at her and led her to a very old tree, partially decaying with age, that was covered in what seemed to be endless piles of moss. The remnants of what must have been Flamepelt's previous den lay scattered about. "This is amazing. Let's call it the Moss Tree. She sliced chunks off and rolled them into a big ball. Next to her, her mate was doing the same.
Out of the seemingly peaceful, darkening trees, two scrawny foxes appeared from the shadows, fangs glistening in the dusk light.
A/N: Okay. I lied. This was another boring introductory chapter like the first. But it was necessary! Besides, it has a cliff-hanger and I introduced more information on the ShadowClan cats. Like Lichengaze and Flamepelt are mates, and Flampelt's a real softie sweetheart. And Nightkit's purty awesome. Shadowstar isn't a total corn dog, either, plus she has a kit! gasp! Lol. Anyway, I promise it will get more interesting from here! Pinkie swear ;)
