I am the Leader of FanClan. I acknowledge my Clan a and thank them for the help they give and will help them in return.
"Good job, Blood!" Ivypaw called to her kit, after she perfectly performed a hunting move. For two seasons, Ivypaw had had waited until the weather was warm. In the mist, she and Bumblestripe's had kits; three, small, perfect kits. But, every time Ivypaw called to one of her children, she was enraged. She was intended no help at birth; nor was she excused from hunting duties. When her kittens were born, she was far into the forest. Herb had expected this, it seemed; she told Ivypaw what to do, and silently followed without Moon knowing. When the kits had been born, their mother had followed Herb's orders; she went to the farthest corner of the territory that only Herb went to, were plenty of dandelions grew.
"Dandelions do many things," Herb had said, "The petals are soft for the kits, the stem is good for milk, and bulb makes the kits stronger."
The grass surrounding was tall enough to mask a small tree den among roots; Ivypaw had trouble squeezing into the small gap. When inside, it was small; cozy, the only light coming from a crack in the roof. Bumblestripe and Herb put bracken, mouse fruit pelts, moss and feathers down for a soft birth. When Moon heard that Ivypaw gave birth, she simply licked a paw. "I'll name them later," she had said. She gave the kits cruel names; Blood, Death, and Scar. Herb told Ivypaw that prisoner cats cannot name their kits long before she'd even given birth, but the neither of the she-cats expected such horrible names.
When her kits were two moons old, she took them into the forest with Herb. She had told Shine, who was taking care of them instead of her, that she wanted them to help the healing cat.
"Prisoners can't mother their kits," Herb meowed.
Bumblestripe came as well, and they slipped into the den where Ivypaw had given birth.
"Do you know who these cats are?" Herb asked the small kits.
"Your Bumble…and Ivy…and Herb," Blood, the most mature of the liter, meowed. Bumblestripe purred at his daughter.
"Yes, but Ivy and I have different names. We are Bumblestripe and Ivypaw. We were from the Clans; Clan, actually. We had formed one; LakeClan. Ivypaw and I are your parents," Bumblestripe meowed solemnly.
"But…Shine and Water are our parents!" cried Scar.
"They lied. Bumblestripe and I are prisoners, and I wasn't allowed to take care of you, nor was I allowed to even name you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But I never regret having you; you're going to be strong assets to the Qulisas," Ivypaw chocked. To LakeClan, soon enough, my kits, she thought.
"But…" Death began.
"Look at your pelt, Death. Look at Bumblestripe's," Herb meowed. Bumblestripe slipped into a beam of light, coming from the crack in the ceiling. Death was a near exact replica of his father, right down to the whisker, but a shade lighter eyes.
"And yours, Blood," Herb meowed, gesturing to Ivypaw. Blood's white pelt had large splotches of grey, with piercing blue eyes like her mother.
"Who do I look like?" meowed Scar. Ivypaw's heart swelled with homesickness and grief.
It was Bumblestripe who answered. "You look like Ivypaw's mother; Whitewing. But she didn't have a grey circle," he said, touching his daughter's side with his tail tip. Scar had an all white pelt, but on her left flank, she had a single dot of grey, as big as a paw, the shade of Dovepaw's pelt.
"When will I see her?" the little kit asked.
The question hung in the air like mist. Finally, Ivypaw meowed, "Not before me, hopefully."
The kits back in camp, Herb, Bumblestripe and Ivypaw returned to the den. Herb started the discussion.
"Sweet came to me today. I-I told her we were going… She said she wishes to come; she'll stay in camp the first day, leading them off our trail, and then come for us to next day. She won't be caught, nor will we, for that matter. May she? Please, she's a good fighter, she'll help!" Herb pleaded.
"Of course," the other two cats responded at once. None of them had fighting training, at least for this territory.
"We all know the plan, right? Ivypaw, you say you're taking Blood out hunting. I'll take the other two kits with me for collecting herbs. We'll meet in this den, cover ourselves in mud to mask our sent, and then set off far away from camp. Sweet is going to lead Moon off our trail. She'll come the next day. I know a good place, far ahead, we could make camp. It will take a while to get there, but I know we can. As for the kits," Herb reached toward the back, where three birds' nests where. Long ivy tendrils where wrapped around it and the next had been stuffed with a soft, creamy dust, mixed with moss, that hardened. Ivypaw remembered when they had made them. They found the birds' nests; they needed large ones. They mixed the dust with moss, packing it in firmly, covering it with mouse fruit pelts. The day before the cats were set to leave, they'd have to put new dirt on, and cover it with moss, bracken and feathers to make them soft for the kits.
The nests would be wrapped around the cats belly and neck securely, then the kits would be placed in them. They then wouldn't have to carry the small cats, and it would be safer.
"They'll stay in these. They won't fall out," Herb reassured the parents, "the nest walls are too high."
"When are we leaving?" Ivypaw asked. Herb gazed at the two cats, unblinking.
"Tomorrow morning."
BTW Guys she's been there a loooooong time, and she was about to be made a warrior, so she's perfectly old enough for kits.
So it's clear this Tribe is geniuses, right?
The "Dirt" they stuffed the bird's nests with was clay, by the way. Hmmm…still not telling you what mouse fruit is xD