CHAPTER TWO
Mothkit blinked against the sunlight coming into the nursery. A peculiar smell reached her nostrils. It was a wet, warm smell. Instantly she realized what it was. Letting out a happy meow, she poked Emberkit.
"Get up, sleepyhead!"
Emberkit rolled over and put his paws over his ears. "Go away."
Mothkit poked him harder. He groaned.
"Can you smell that?" Mothkit asked.
Emberkit arched his back in a stretch. "Smell what?"
"Newleaf!"
"You can't smell newleaf, Mothkit."
"Smell for yourself! It's warmer!"
Just then she felt a tail flick her ear. Lilyheart's mew whispered close to her ear.
"Leopardpelt and Firelight kitted only yesterday. Take Emberkit out of the nursery to play."
Mothkit bounded out of the nursery with Emberkit on her heels. Mothkit headed for the fresh-kill pile. She grabbed a large rabbit.
"I'm going to bring this to the nursery, Emberkit."
She lugged the rabbit to the nursery. Whitefoot was awake.
"Good, fresh-kill," she meowed. "I'm starved!"
Her meow woke Firelight.
"Can I talk to her?" Mothkit asked Whitefoot.
"She's going to need water. Go to the medicine den. There's a pool of water and moss there. After you get the water let her eat some fresh-kill. Then you can talk to her."
Mothkit hared out of the nursery. Following the stench of herbs, she soon found the medicine den. Iceberry was fast asleep in her nest. Mosskit was next to her. She lifted her head as Mothkit passed her.
"Mothkit?" she asked sleepily.
"Yes," she mewed quietly. "I'm getting some water in moss for Firelight."
"It's over there." Mosskit pointed her nose to a pile of moss. "Just soak it in the pool."
"And, Mosskit?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you sleeping here?"
"Iceberry needed me to help her sort herbs. I got tired, so she let me sleep here," Mosskit explained. "Now, I want to sleep some more. Get the water and go, please." She curled up tighter.
Quietly Mothkit got the moss and soaked it in the pool. She lapped up a few drops before she left. It tasted like snowmelt.
When she returned to the nursery Leopardpelt was also awake. She noticed Mothkit's ball of wet moss and asked, "Could I have that? I'm thirsty."
"It's for Firelight."
Firelight's voice sounded from across the nursery. "Falconpelt brought me some while you were gone. She can have it."
Mothkit dropped the moss by Leopardpelt. Then she padded across the nursery to see Firelight. Now that she was closer she could see the kits. The first, a tom, had fur that looked like someone had set it on fire and put it in the rain. It was as if his pelt was burnt. The next was a tortoiseshell she-cat. The last one was a pure black tom.
"The brown-red one is Scorchkit. The tortoiseshell she-cat is Brackenkit. And the black tom is Nightkit."
"They're so cute!" exclaimed Mothkit.
"You can see my kits, too," called Leopardpelt.
A tom with brown-and-white markings nuzzled Leopardpelt's belly.
"That's Splashkit."
Next to Splashkit was a tortoiseshell she-kit.
"That one is Flowerkit."
Next to Flowerkit was a golden tom that looked like Lionstar.
"And the last one is Sunkit."
"Sunkit looks like Lionstar," Mothkit remarked.
"Yes, he does," meowed Leopardpelt.
Lionstar's yowl sounded from outside. The other queens were already leaving. Leopardpelt and Firelight would just listen from the nursery.
Lionstar was standing on the Tallstone. Waterkit, Blizzardkit, and Smokekit were behind him. When all the cats had gathered Lionstar began.
"Waterkit, Blizzardkit, and Smokekit are ready to be apprenticed! Rainclaw," Lionstar beckoned with his tail to a dark gray tom, "you shall mentor Smokepaw." Smokepaw went to his new mentor and touched noses with him.
"Waterkit!" Waterkit stepped forward. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Waterpaw. Graynose," a gray tom stepped forward, "you will mentor Waterpaw."
"Blizzardkit! From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Blizzardpaw. Moonfoot, you shall mentor Blizzardpaw."
"Blizzardpaw! Smokepaw! Waterpaw!" the assembled cats yowled the apprentices' names.
Mothkit cheered along with the other cats. She felt a pang of envy, but she quickly pushed it away. She would join them in two moons!
After the ceremony she met up with Blizzardpaw.
"Congratulations!" Mothkit purred.
"Thanks!" Blizzardpaw purred back. "It was getting too crowded in the nursery. And, Mothkit, you will be joining me soon!"
"Blizzardpaw!" Moonfoot's yowl sounded across the clearing. "Falconpelt's put us on a hunting patrol! I'm going to teach you how to hunt!"
"Yes!" Blizzardpaw jumped straight up into the air. "Bye, Mothkit!"
As the clearing emptied of cats Emberkit met up with Mothkit. "I'm bored. Mosskit isn't fun to play with, Lionstar's busy, the new kits haven't even opened their eyes, and Lilyheart just wants to sleep! Will you play with me?"
"I'll play with you if Mosskit plays too," Mothkit tried. She didn't want to leave her sister out.
"No, I've decided to explore the forest!" Emberkit suddenly decided.
"Lilyheart won't let you," Mothkit reminded Emberkit.
"Who cares? She's sleeping. You can come too…unless you're a scaredy mouse."
"I'm not! I just don't want to get in trouble."
"Guess what? I'm going anyway. Bye." He walked off, his tail held high, heading for the entrance to the camp. Mothkit stared after him. A patrol was leaving. Mouseclaw, his apprentice Willowpaw, Applepelt, and his apprentice Ashpaw were being led out of the camp by Pebblewhisker. Pebblewhisker stopped abruptly, sniffing the air. Then he turned around and shouldered his way through the cats following him. He picked up Emberkit, who was hiding in a bush near the entrance, by the scruff. Emberkit squeaked indignantly as Pebblewhisker padded to the nursery and set Emberkit down by the entrance.
"What were you doing, Emberkit?" Pebblewhisker asked.
"I was going to explore the forest," Emberkit gloated.
Pebblewhisker twitched his whiskers, amused. "You're a little young to do that."
"How'd you know where I was?" Emberkit asked.
"I've been to the nursery plenty of times. I know your scent. Now, how about you explore the camp for now?" With that, Pebblewhisker led his patrol out of the camp.
"Hmph." But Emberkit couldn't stay mad for long. His eyes lit up. "I know! I'll get the elders to tell me a story!"
Mothkit had an idea. If she told Emberkit, he would not like it. So she wouldn't tell him. After Emberkit went to the elder's den, she headed to the medicine den. Mosskit was sitting by Iceberry, helping her prepare herbs. Mosskit looked up when Mothkit walked in.
"Hi, Mothkit!"
Iceberry noticed Mothkit's arrival and asked, "Do you need anything?"
Mothkit explained her plan.
"That sounds like a good idea. Here, I'll get you some mouse bile," Iceberry mewed, darting to the pile of moss. "Don't lick your paws when you're done, or you'll taste mouse bile for a moon!" She pawed a ball of moss and a twig towards Mothkit. As soon as Mothkit grasped the moss in her jaws, she dropped it, recoiling.
"It's stinky!"
Mosskit let out a mrrow of laughter, and Iceberry's whiskers were twitching. "I had the same reaction when I first used mouse bile. Be glad that you won't be using it," said Iceberry.
Wrinkling her nose, Mothkit again took the moss in her mouth. She headed for the elder's den.
A white tom was speaking to Emberkit. Behind him, a brown tom had his head on his paws, one of which was gray. His nose twitched.
"Good, mouse bile. Willowtail's been complaining of a tick that she claims is as big as a blackberry!"
At his voice, a light brown she-cat raised her head. "Birchfoot, I am not claiming anything. I feel it digging into my fur! Now, will you get started?"
Now Mothkit had her brother's attention. "What's that? It smells horrible!"
"It's mouse bile. Put a bit on a tick and it drops right off." A white tom padded up to Mothkit. "Removing ticks is a chore done by apprentices. I had to do it constantly."
"You must be Eggfoot!" Mothkit exclaimed. "I heard that you were the medicine cat before Iceberry. You caught greencough, and you got better, but you moved to the elder's den."
"That's right," the white tom by Emberkit meowed. "And I'm Whitewhisker. I assume that you brought this here for Emberkit to do." Upon hearing his name, Emberkit lifted his head. "Do what?"
"Why, take care of my tick, of course," Willowtail rasped. "And while you're at it, you can get rid of my fleas." She lifted a hind leg to scratch her ear. "They're driving me crazy!"
"How do I get rid of your tick and your fleas?" Emberkit questioned.
"Dab a bit of mouse bile from the moss onto the tick. It'll drop off right away. As for fleas, you just comb through her fur and, when you find a flea, crunch it between your teeth," explained Eggfoot.
"Why don't you do it, Mothkit?" Emberkit groaned.
"Because if you don't do it, the elders might not finish the story," interjected Willowtail impatiently. At that, Mothkit dropped the moss at Emberkit's feet and left the elder's den.
The sun was going down when Emberkit emerged from the elder's den. Mothkit was by the fresh-kill pile, scarfing down a thrush with Blizzardpaw beside her.
"Guess what? Whitewhisker got caught in a flood when he was an apprentice and he had to be rescued by StreamClan warriors!"
"I bet he did," a voice mewed behind Mothkit. "That sounds like Whitewhisker."
Startled, Mothkit whirled around to find Lionstar standing behind her. "I became leader when Whitewhisker had been a warrior for only a moon or two."
"Wow!" Emberkit exclaimed.
"He did many unusual things as an apprentice," Lionstar meowed. "Now, finish up your fresh-kill and get back to the nursery. It's getting late!"