Why do cats meow?
I hope this one works...
I stood up shakily. Snowberry purred encouragingly. "Well done Birchkit!" She mewed.
I smiled back at her. My mother had tried to make me talk all morning, though I had kept my silence. She seemed upset about it. Anyway, I probably won't be mute my whole life, just long enough to enjoy silence.
I stared out the entrance, into the camp, where cats were busying about, mewing, chatting, eating, making noise.
"Do you want to go out?" My mother asked, sounding slightly worried. I nodded energetically.
"Well…" She looked at Ravenspark, who muttered something about how her kits would be able to talk to her. "Okay, but stay with me. We'll go to the Elder's Den; they always have good stories."
I bit back a purr, hoping Snowberry would see the excitement in my eyes. She did.
"Now, before we go let me clean your fur. It's sticking up everywhere." She ordered. Grudgingly, I obeyed her, and felt her rough tongue caress my long fur.
"There!" She announced happily, a bit later. "Perfect!"
I wasn't sure; everything felt to stuck-down, perfect, in place, and with all that added together, awkward.
"Come on then; the Clan would love to meet you." Snowberry told me, as though she was trying to convince herself. She stepped out of the entrance, and I proudly followed her.
I gazed at all the cats, able to name some of them (Whitepaw, Owl-leap, Thinfoot) but mostly not. Then they all turned to me and made even more noise.
"Birchkit! You're out of the nursery!" Whitepaw purred.
"Birchkit!" Squealed a silver cat who Snowberry told me was Featherwing. "Oh, she's beautiful, Snowberry!"
"Birchkit! Hello! Birchkit!" Some cat called.
Snowberry wrapped her tail protectively around me. I leaned against her gratefully, overwhelmed.
A white she-cat with golden ear-tips, nose and paws, emerged from a den, from on top of the High-ledge. She observed the Clan for a moment, then leapt down and padded towards me.
"Birchkit," Blossomstar greeted. Instantly I liked her; she treated me as a living, breathing Clanmate, not some kit who doesn't know what you're saying.
I looked at her, noting the kind gold-orange eyes, the sweet voice, and the short-yet-thick fur.
Blossomstar looked at my mother.
"She can't talk." Snowberry told her, holding her head up defiantly.
Blossomstar blinked. "Is that true, little one?" She asked me.
The answer was no, I could but chose not to, but that would just confuse things, so I stared determinedly back at her.
Blossomstar shrugged, but when she spoke again it was to me, not Snowberry. "Would you like to visit the Elder's Den? Slatestream's been feeling lonely without a cat to order about." Her eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Oy! Be careful what you say to your elders!" I turned to see a dark grey-black she-cat hobbling towards us.
"I think you'l find that I am your Elder," Blossomstar replied, grinning cheekily. "I was a Warrior when you were a kit."
"Eh, but I have the name of an Elder, and you don't, so you don't count." Slatestream retorted. She turned to me. "Hello, Birchkit. Do you want to hear a story? Cats love listening to the story of Firestar and Tigerstar."
I looked at her, then nodded.
"Come on then." She flicked her tail and hobbled back to her den.
XXXXX
Slatestream sat down on her nest, then looked at me.
"This story takes place," She mewed, her voice changing, drawing me into the plot. "In the Old Forest. The Old Forest is the Forest where the Clans lived before they began the trek to the Lake. However the Lake Story is for another time.
"There was once a kittypet, who lived by the forest. Every day he would venture into ThunderClan's territory, and hunt. ThunderClan let him, because he was a good hunter, never bothered the Clans, and never took more than he needed.
"One day, StarClan delivered a prophecy to ThunderClan. The cats obeyed its prediction, and urged the kittypet into their Clan, and gave him the name Firepaw.
"But there was one cat who disagreed with taking a kittypet into the Clans. His name was Tigerclaw, and he despised the ginger apprentice.
"As Firepaw changed to Fireheart and then became deputy, a position Tigerclaw had always wanted, and had killed to achieve, the Clan-born warrior's anger and hatred grew. When he was exiled from the Clans, on Fireheart's claim of attempted murder to the Clan leader of the time, Bluestar, he didn't become a loner. He joined murderous ShadowClan, and became leader there."
I stared at her with wide eyes. If the story was as true as she says, then some facts must have been wrong, but surely not all of them? Could a kittypet really have been allowed in the Clans? Be allowed to hunt on Clan territory? To have a prophecy about them? No. I decided. ThunderClan would never have let that happen. Not even a long-forgotten ThunderClan.
Just then Snowberry poked her head into the den. "That's enough now," She mewed, strictly. "Time to go back to the nursery for a nap."
I looked at her pleadingly, but she just continued: "Hurry up Birchkit."
I sighed silently, then dragged my paws over to her.
"Don't worry, Birchkit," Slatestream mewed. "You can come back later and I'll finish the story."
Snowberry seemed to fight with herself, then she sighed. "If you aren't tired." She agreed grudgingly.
My spirits rose, and I trotted out the den. It wasn't until I was curled up in my nest that I felt the heavy tiredness, and it wasn't until my eyes closed that I heard Ravenspark mew:
"You know, Snowberry, you should have called her Silentkit. She can't talk, and the other cats should be warned of that."