Chapter 4
A piteous wail rose up among the oak and maple trees of the dense forest. Nightcloud squeezed her eyes shut, sending a silent prayer to StarClan not to let a patrol find her. Surely no Clan cat would attack a she-cat in her most vulnerable state, but after what the queen had endured in WindClan, Nightcloud didn't think she could trust anyone.
Glancing around wildly, the she-cat found a stick laying in the brush just a few fox-lengths away. If I could just reach that stick, I could bite down on it instead of crying out. Then maybe ThunderClan won't hear me, she thought. Pushing herself to her paws, the black she-cat laboriously dragged her heavy paws over to the thin stick. She dropped down on the ground next to it, out of breath and shaking from the fierce pain. Nightcloud grasped the stick in her jaws and bit down hard.
Please, please, please don't let a ThunderClan patrol find me like this! she thought desperately as a spasm ravaged her body. Pushing with all her might, a tiny body slithered onto the long grass. The dark-colored kit lay still, hardly moving. Nightcloud nudged the bundle with a hind paw, earning a high-pitched squeak from the kit. Relieved, the queen leaned back took a deep breath before another spasm took hold. The pain was unbearable, but Nightcloud didn't dare cry out as her second kit was born.
Two dark-colored kits now lay squirming on the forest floor, moving slowly on the grass as they tried to find the mother's warm body As they reached the edge of Nightcloud's thin stomach, another spasm shook her violently, knocking the kits backward. Unhappy cries came from the tiny mouths as the kits landed harshly on the ground.
Nightcloud heaved a sigh of relief when her third kit arrived. Knowing this was the last one, the queen closed her eyes, thanking StarClan that she had not yet been discovered. Releasing the stick from her jaws, Nightcloud turned her attention to her kits. She reached out and grasped the first dark-colored kit and pulled it toward her. She began licking the kit the wrong way to warm it up, and soon the kit stopped its shrill cries. What a beautiful little tom, she thought to herself. He looks just like Breezepelt did when he was born.
The queen the lifted the second dark-colored kit and pulled it closer. She rapidly licked the kit's soft fur to warm it up. The kit squirmed uncomfortably under Nightcloud's tongue, unhappy to have its fur being tugged the wrong way.
"It's okay, little one," Nightcloud soothed. "You'll be warm soon."
The kit stopped its writhing and squeaked pitifully. Nightcloud knew the tiny kit must be hungry, so she placed the kit next to her brother so she could suckle. The black she-cat then turned toward to the third kit. The tiny brown tabby was lying ominously still, and it did not appear to be breathing. Nightcloud pulled the kit up close, a feeling of dread welling up inside her. She began washing the kit furiously, trying to warm it up and stimulate movement. The kit did not react, and the mother wasn't sure whether the kit felt her mother's tongue at all.
"Come on, little kit," Nightcloud begged, staring down at the tiny tabby. "Stay with me. You'll be alright. Please be alright. StarClan, let her be alright!"
At long last, the kit's chest began to rise and fall steadily. Seeing the movement, Nightcloud heaved a sigh of relief. After a long moment, the kit began to squirm and let out a quiet squeak. She was alive!
"Thank StarClan!" Nightcloud breathed. Placing the tiny kit next to her littermates, the queen suddenly realized how tired she was. Worn out from the chase with Crowfeather, which now seemed like moons ago, and the exhausting birth of her kits, Nightcloud felt like all the energy had been drained out of her. Closing her weary green eyes, the queen laid her head down on her paws, hoping sleep would come quickly.
"What's that smell?" a shrill voice meowed, pulling Nightcloud from her deep sleep.
Another voice echoed the first. "WindClan!"
"WindClan's trespassing on our territory?" the first voice gasped. "Shall I run and warn Bramblestar that there's an invasion?"
The WindClan queen leaped to her paws, shaking the feeling of drowsiness away. The three kits squeaked their unhappiness at suddenly being exposed to the cold leaf-bare air. "Shh!" Nightcloud hissed, straining her ears toward the sound of the ThunderClan patrol.
A third voice answered the other cat's question. "I don't think it's an invasion, Sorrelpaw. I can only scent one cat."
"You're right, Brightheart," the second voice responded. "I don't think this is an attack party."
"Then what is it, Cloudtail?" Sorrelpaw asked.
Nightcloud waited silently as the sound of the ThunderClan cats' pawsteps got closer. She braced herself as the patrol pushed through the undergrowth, hoping they wouldn't be too angry to see her and her newborn kits.
Four cats shoved their way through a thick bramble thicket, their eyes widening as they saw the black she-cat standing before them. Nightcloud instinctively crouched low and arched her back, hissing at the patrol. "Stay back!"
A long-haired white tom stepped in front of his patrol. "Nightcloud? What are you doing here?" His voice didn't sound threatening, but genuinely confused and curious.
A smaller golden tabby she-cat bounced in front of the senior warrior toward Nightcloud. "You're on ThunderClan territory!" she announced. "You need to leave!"
Cloudtail glared at the smaller cat. "Sorrelpaw, get back!" Glancing back at a white-and-ginger she-cat, he added, "Can't you control your apprentice, Brightheart?"
Sorrelpaw didn't listen to the white tom. She stepped closed to Nightcloud. "So are you going to tell us why you're here or not?"
The black she-cat didn't answer the apprentice. She lashed her tail furiously, placing herself protectively in front of her kits. "Get back!" she snarled.
"Not until you tell me why you're here!" Sorrelpaw growled, trying to sound threatening.
Brightheart let out an exaggerated sigh. "Sorrelpaw, honestly! Can't you see she has kits?" The older she-cat padded up to her apprentice and pushed her gently with her tail. "Go stand back by Snowtail."
Nightcloud glared up at the ThunderClan she-cat. "Stay away from me," she warned, not trusting the patrol.
The white-and-ginger she-cat glanced sympathetically down at the WindClan cat. "Nightcloud, tell us why you're here. We won't hurt you."
The queen turned to look back at her kits, who were beginning to squeal. "I have kits," she murmured.
"I can see that," Brightheart mewed. "But why are they here? They should be safe in the WindClan nursery."
Nightcloud whipped her head back to face the ThunderClan queen. "They aren't WindClan!" she snarled. "I wouldn't raise my kits in that wretched Clan for all the prey in StarClan!"
Cloudtail padded up to stand beside his mate. "Tell us what happened. Did they kick you out? Are you having problems with Crowfeather?"
The black she-cat squeezed her eyes shut, but she only saw Crowfeather's murderous blue eyes glaring back at her. "He…he tried to kill me," she whispered, barely audible.
Brightheart and Cloudtail exchanged horrified glances. The she-cat turned back to face Nightcloud, her one green eye shining with anger. "Then you must come back to the ThunderClan camp with us. No decent Clan turns away a queen with newborn kits."
Nightcloud opened her eyes, scarcely believing her ears. "You'd give shelter to a WindClan cat?"
Cloudtail nodded. "ThunderClan would not allow innocent lives to suffer. You will be safe here."
"Thank you," the WindClan she-cat mewed. She stood up slowly, still eyeing the patrol cautiously. Not taking her gaze off of the cats, Nightcloud bent and lifted one of the kits off the grass.
Brightheart reached to take the kit from her. "Let us carry them," she meowed softly. "You're barely able to stand, let alone carry your little ones."
Sighing, Nightcloud allowed Brightheart to take the tiny black kit from her jaws. Cloudtail and Snowtail both padded up to the queen and took the final two kits.
Sorrelpaw bounced around the black she-cat excitedly. "What are their names?"
Nightcloud thought for a moment, realizing the kits didn't have names yet. "Eaglekit, Swallowkit, and…" she paused, distracted by the events of the day. She thought of the one thing that had saved her from Crowfeather's rage- the stream. It seemed only fitting to name her last kit after the thing that saved her life. "Streamkit."