It has been only two moons. And every cat was constantly hungry, fur clung to bones and muscles thinned. Spiderstar had already lost one life to hunger, refusing to eat until every member of the clan had at least one bite of prey. The last time he ate was a quarter moon ago. Lilyripple urged the black leader to eat, but rarely succeeded. ShadowClan was starving.
Fuzzykit sighed, he, along with his littermate's ever had energy to play. They rested under a small pine tree, sprawled around their father. Recently Whitestripe had been in a sort of sleep. She couldn't be woken up unless she roused herself. Lilyripple said it was from the hunger. Now, hunting patrols were sent out constantly. If they ever got lucky, they'd catch an old crow too weak to fly. Or they'd find prey that wondered across their border. Nightwhisker got up, sending Hollykit tumbling down.
"Kits. I'm on hunting duty now. Why don't you go to the elders den? Hear some stories?"
Fuzzykit rolled his eyes up at him, and lifted up his head. "They're too weak. Lilyripple doesn't want anyone bothering them."
"Right," remembrance flickered in his green eyes. "Then...well...go and find a warrior and try from them."
Tigerkit whimpered in his sleep and curled tighter. He was the scrawniest between the kits. Fuzzykit felt a twinge of worry. He caught Hollykit's eye. She nodded slowly, getting the idea that was forming in his head. He stood up and sat down.
"That's okay Nightwhisker. We'll keep each other company. We'll stay in the clearing where everyone can see us."
His father hesitated then nodded. He gently licked them all on their heads and left to go on his patrol. When he was out of sight, Fuzzykit flashed a look at his sister. She nodded again and nudged Tigerkit awake.
"Wha-? No, I don't want to get up...too...sleepy," he drifted off again. Hollykit nudged him harder. Tigerkit snapped his head up and hissed at her. She hissed back and swatted her paw across his shoulders.
"Come on you great lump. You have to cover for us, okay? We're going to hunt."
Tigerkit's eyes widened, "You're going to-to...to go outside?" He shook his head swiftly. "But that's against the warrior code! Code 5-a kit must be at least 6 moons before they're old enough to become apprentices. We're only 3 moons old, and...and we can't leave camp until were apprentices! Can't it wait another 3 moons?"
Fuzzykit shook his head, "No, we can't wait. For StarClan's sakes, look around you Tigerkit! The clan is dying. Just because were kits doesn't mean we can't help. Even if it means leaving camp."
Hollykit nodded, "Yeah. Remember code 4? Defend your clan even at the cost of your life."
"You can't even get that right! It's code 1," he snorted.
"Oh well, same difference."
"I can testify. Code 4 is about food! 'Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.'" He quoted.
"Here and out there stands between defending our clan and prey we can thank StarClan for! We have to go," Fuzzykit insisted. Tigerkit glared at him. But, Fuzzykit can see uncertainty in his brother's eyes. He wavered and looked away.
"I'll cover for you," he muttered.
"Thank you!" Hollykit mewed softly. Tigerkit nodded briefly.
Fuzzykit and Hollykit stalked silently away into the shadows. They crossed by the clearing without anyone noticing. Fortunately they were still small enough to exit through a small hole near the apprentices den. They squeezed out and finally saw the world outside of camp. It was midmorning, and the huge pine trees gave small shadows as a tiny ray of sunshine filtered through the clouds. Fresh snow that had fallen overnight were in waves across the white ground. The trees were coated in crystals, and the ground littered with hardly visible needles. It was a breathtaking sight. Fuzzykit suddenly remembered something. Snow made paw prints. He told Hollykit.
"Frog-dung! We'll need to do something about that..." Her eyes narrowed, concentrating. Her eyes widened, "I know. We could swish our tails on the ground as we walk."
Fuzzykit nodded and took experimental steps. He swished his tail behind him as he walked. Hollykit squeaked with delight, "It works!" The two kits stalked through their territory, carefully covering their tracks. They heard paws crunching from one side. Hollykit nudged him towards a tree. The siblings went over with soft paws, hardly daring to make a sound. They crouched, huddled together where the shadows were darkest. A patrol passed wearily in front of them. One warrior, Bluewhisker, went by so close to Fuzzykit and Hollykit that his fur tickled their noses. Fuzzykit stifled a sneeze, next to him he felt his sister stiffen. He froze and knew what she was about to do. With one paw he covered her nose and mouth, he could feel her rigid against him. As she fought to suppress her sneeze. When Fuzzykit saw the patrol nearly out of earshot, he let go of Hollykit. She sneezed loudly, and took deep breaths of air. To his relief he noticed no cat came charging back to investigate.
"That was close," Fuzzykit whispered.
Hollykit nodded and sniffed. "Lets keep going."
The two kits continued their search for prey. They paused every so often so they could listen and scent. So far, the pine forest was lifeless. The only sounds they heard were their own breathing and their steps through the snow. Sharp, cold air and an occasional whiff of needles was the only things they could smell. After a while the two kits began to get discouraged, but the thought of their clan and especially their mother kept them going. Finally Hollykit caught a new scent.
"Hey Fuzzykit, I think I can smell something."
"Let's go look," he answered. Hope rose in his chest.
Hollykit nodded and they set out again. New determination strengthened them. Fuzzykit saw a patch of ginger fur caught on the bark of a tree. He sniffed it. It smelled musty. He pointed it out to his sister, she nodded. The scent grew stronger. But suddenly, there was a new, stronger scent. They grew confused.
There was a snarl from behind them. Fuzzykit felt Hollykit jump. He looked behind and yelped when he saw what it was. A fox. He nudged Hollykit hard, they both ran. But Fuzzykit had the feeling that they wouldn't last long. They were both 3 moon old kits and chasing them was a full grown hungry fox. Already Fuzzykit felt too tired to run much longer, and he had the feeling Hollykit was too. He felt her trip, and he skidded to a stop beside her. He stepped in front of his sister and hissed at the fox. The fox growled back from 8 tail lengths away.
"Stay away from my sister dung-breath! Or I'll shred you!"
The fox kept advancing towards them. From behind him Hollykit tried to get up. He heard her gasp in pain.
"Fuzzykit, I can't get up. My leg is hurting!" There was a trace of fear in her tone. He began to panic, he went to her side and tried to help her up. It was no use. She looked up at Fuzzykit, acceptance in her eyes.
"Go Fuzzykit," she whispered. "Save yourself. Tell...everyone that-"
"No! You can't die like this!" He interrupted, "I'll fight."
"Fuzzykit! No!"
He ignored her, instead he turned around and faced the fox. Fuzzykit concentrated on what limited moves he learned in camp. He thought vaguely on how he and his sister were so young, so young to be facing foxes. To die. He tensed as the fox entered the last few tail-lengths. Fuzzykit lifted his hackles and snarled. He twitched an ear as he heard something in the undergrowth. He shrugged and yelped as the fox attacked him. Now he knew he'd die that day. He gasped when it batted him roughly away. Then he realized it was playing with its prey. Fuzzykit sensed this wouldn't last long, soon it would get bored and eat him. He could hear his sister yelling for him.
"Fuzzykit! No, Fuzzykit... Help someone help!"
Fuzzykit growled in pain when he felt the foxes claws rake his side. He took a random swipe but only snagged the air. He began to feel desperate, and took a frenzy of swipes. The fox only grew more excited and began using its teeth. Finally he decided to give up, all the power was with the dung-faced fox anyway. It sensed his submission, and bent down to give the killing bite.
There was a yowl, and a flash of silver. Fuzzykit saw a glint of claws through the thin foliage of barren trees. He watched, fascinated, by the sight of warriors defeating the fox. A young golden brown she-cat was crouched near Fuzzykit and his sister. Her amber eyes fixed watching the warriors fight, another cat came and sat next to her. Occasionally, when the fighting grew close she'd flick an unsheathed paw and slashed at the fox. Finally a brown tom with a white chest and peircing blue eyes gave the fox one last bite and released it. The fox ran away, faster than Fuzzykit ever saw. A silver she-cat, bloodied around her shoulders came and sniffed at the siblings. He saw Hollykit wrinkle her nose when she came and nosed at her leg, Fuzzykit sniffed back at the tan brown tabby curiously. Wondering what clan these cats were in.
"Wow! You were amazing! I hope I can fight like that someday," Fuzzykit squealed. He jumped up, ignoring his stinging injury. Then remembered Hollykit and stood protectively by her side.
"So young kits...why are you here on ThunderClan territory and not at camp, like you should be?" the blue-eyed warrior asked calmly.
Hollykit glanced at her brother, "Because our clan needed-"
He glared at her, she clamped her mouth both new, from old stories, of how dangerous it could be revealing a clan's weaknesses.
"It's all right kits," said the she-cat. "No need to tell us." They both breathed a small sigh of thanks.
"Pinepaw. Where's that prey?"
"Oops...I-I dropped it somewhere..." A mud furred apprentice stammered. Fuzzykit and Hollykit involuntarily licked their lips, brown warrior noticed.
"Your clan needs prey." Hollykit opened her mouth to object but Fuzzykit shook his head at her. Just from how skinny they both were should be obvious. Unless ThunderClan warriors were as dumb as the kits pretend them to be when they played.
"Let's take them back to their camp, Onehawk," the she-cat suggested.
Onehawk ignored her. "When's the last time you two ate?" He asked gently.
Fuzzykit shrugged, "Like...2, 3 sunrises ago. I don't know." He ducked his head in guilt. He shouldn't have said that.
"We eat fresh-kill," Hollykit piped. The ThunderClan cats looked surprised.
The golden apprentice asked curiously, "Aren't you only...like, about 3 moons? Or are you naturally that small?"
"Were 3 and a half moons old," Hollykit corrected. Fuzzykit winced. The enemy sure had a way of squeezing information out. The she-cat spoke up.
"Come on, Onehawk. Let's bring them back to their home."
The tom nodded, "Possumpelt and Goldenpaw, come with me. Sageleaf, continue hunting with Pinepaw please."
They all nodded. Onehawk picked up Fuzzykit and the other cat, Possumpelt, gently grabbed Hollykit by the scruff. Fuzzykit felt both relieved and alarmed. Relieved, because he felt to exhausted to walk and he didn't know how he'd get Hollykit home. Alarmed, because now the ThunderClan cat's would see the camp. They walked in a trotting gait.
"Don't you wanna know my name?" Fuzzykit asked.
Goldenpaw trotted up next to Onehawk, "Yeah. Mine's Goldenpaw."
"Hi. I'm Fuzzykit."
"Oh...well, nice job defending yourself against that fox. I didn't think a kit would be able to do that."
Fuzzykit nodded, "Antstep can be really boastful. That usually comes in handy."
The golden apprentice purred. Fuzzykit felt better. He dozed in the rhythmic crunching steps of the warriors and apprentice walking through snow. He snapped awake when he sensed that they were near his camp. Fuzzykit was surprised they hadn't meet any patrols, by now the forest would be swarming with hunting parties.
Fuzzykit opened his jaws and breathed in scents. He could smell Sunfleck, his father, Squirrelfeather, and her apprentice, Leopardpaw nearby. They must be heading back to camp too, he thought. The black kit narrowed his eyes and saw a patch of gold in the shadows, the patrol was suddenly in front of them.
"What are you doing here?" Sunfleck growled.
Nightwhisker came in from behind, Fuzzykit squeaked in excitement and struggled to break free from Onehawk's grip. The warrior bent his head and let him go. He ran to his father, weaving around his legs. Nightwhisker nuzzled his head with his nose, and breathed his scent in.
"ThunderClan territory?... Fox!" He asked sharply, beginning to bristle.
"It's okay, Nightwhisker. These cats saved me and Hollykit. We were chased by a fox, and we crossed the border. I had to fight it! See! I have a scratch. My first battle wound! Goldenpaw said I did good job defending myself for so long, but just before it killed me and Hollykit. These cats came and stopped it! They saved..." Fuzzykit couldn't stop talking.
"Hollykit?" Nightwhisker interrupted, "Where's Hollykit?"
"I'm here!" Hollykit yelled. Possumpelt came from behind Crowstorm, revealing the smoky black kit.
"Possumpelt can't put Hollykit down," Fuzzykit explained, "she tripped and hurt her leg."
Squirrelfeather spoke up. "Leopardpaw, fetch Lilyripple," she commanded her apprentice. The spotted apprentice nodded and went into camp.
"I guess we should thank you for helping our kits," Sunfleck murmured. Squirrelfeather glanced from Fuzzykit to Hollykit, and nodded. Nightwhisker dipped his head towards the ThunderClan cat's, gratitude in his green gaze. Leopardpaw came rushing back with Lilyripple at her heels. The medicine cat blinked when she saw the ThunderClan cats.
"Well...bring them into camp, pine brains. I suppose this is how you thank these cats for saving the kits. Besides I can't exactly treat them out here." Sunfleck looked sharply at the medicine cat, alarm clearly on his face. Squirrelfeather, Nightwhisker, and Leopardpaw bristled slightly. Lilyripple remained unflustered. She turned and led the way into camp, the ThunderClan patrol came next, and lastly the ShadowClan cats. Fuzzykit could see shock in the other clan cat's eyes as they scanned the camp. Cat's were huddled in groups, their eyes shallow and fur matted. Hardly taking any attention at the new cat's. A few raised their heads, interest sparked their eyes for an instant. Fuzzykit could see the deputy making his way from the leaders den towards them.
"What's going on here?" he growled, hostility clear in his expression.
Lilyripple stepped up, and flicked her tail at Possumpelt and Fuzzykit. Indicating for them to follow her.
"Hold it," he said, "who's injured?"
Lilyripple pointed with her muzzle at Fuzzykit and Hollykit. Fuzzykit could read what was going through the medicine cat's eyes, honestly. Doesn't he notice Hollykit in Possumpelt's jaws and Fuzzykit bleeding?
Fuzzykit glanced at his side. For the first time he noticed the pain that was throbbing. He limped the rest of the way to the medicine cats den. When they came into the herb smelling den he sat down, exhaustion threatening to make him fall asleep while sitting. Possum set Hollykit down on a moss bed, she was already sleeping. Then the ThunderClan cat left. Lilyripple went to work, getting her few herbs together to make a poultice.
"Don't you have to get marigold and cobwebs?" Fuzzykit asked drowsily, "And...comfy?"
Lilyripple purred, "Comfrey little one. Yes, I do. How'd you know?"
"Graypaw kept meowing it all day yesterday and today."
She came over to him first, "You bled a lot today Fuzzykit. You'll need to rest as much as you can and plenty of water." She got the chewed up marigold and applied it on his wound. He winced as the herb made it sting slightly and relaxed when it went away. Lilyripple got the cobweb and stuck it on to his pelt. Then she got a herb pulp and spread it onto Hollykit's leg.
"It's not broken?"
"No, little one. Now go join your sister and get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up," the tan she-cat soothed. Fuzzykit relaxed and padded wearily towards his sleeping littermate. She stirred when he curled up beside her but didn't wake up. He closed his eyes, and blinked. He saw the medicine cat sitting at the entrance, watching the clan with her motherly gaze. Like Whitestripe...except different. Fuzzykit sighed and got comfortable again. Then he remembered Tigerkit, he didn't remember seeing him.
"Where's Tigerkit?" Fuzzykit asked, lifting his head again.
"He's in the nursery, resting with your mother."
"Did she wake up yet?"
"Not yet, but she will. On her own time." He felt a twinge of concern. Lilyripple read the emotion in his eyes. "It's not time to worry yet. It's still the middle of leaf-bear. But new-leaf will come again, like it always does."
Fuzzykit relaxed again, he could hear the medicine cat's lulling purr. He closed his eyes and dreamt of a place where it was always warm and there was always plenty of prey. A place where there was countless stars, and cat's he never met...
A/N: So, um... Yea. As you can see the beginning of conflicts is just beginning. I hope it got even a little longer than my previous ones. These are all about 4-5 pages in pages on MacBook. Please review!
