Here's chapter 3.
Chapter 3: Climbing the Mountains
Darkkit was out of breath by the time they finally got to camp. MountainClan cats were all around, their gray and black pelts blending with the shadows and rocks. There were mostly gray and black pelts, but a few yellows, reds, and whites.
"What is a TreeClan cat doing in MountainClan?" Hissed a golden tabby she-cat. Darkkit winced at her strong words. Most MountainClan cats were acting the same way.
"Has TreeClan sent a spy?" A black she-cat growled, poking Darkkit with a paw. Darkkit glared at her. I can't lash out at these cats too! he thought. But I'd love to shred some of that black fur!
"Graystar's gone mad!" Whispered a blue tom into a dark brown tabby's ear. The tabby nodded. Odd. That cat looks just like me...he thought.
"MountainClan!" Graystar finally meowed. He stood on a tall, slightly pointed rock. Darkkit finally managed to step into the cave that the MountainClan cats called home. There were several tunnels leading off in different ways. Darkkit wished to explore those.
"Today, we have a visitor. His name is Darkkit. He is a TreeClan kit, who is staying with us until he becomes an apprentice. He is staying because he attacked his brother, who also attacked him."
The Clan was shocked, and most cats broke into small chatting groups."Then is he a danger to us?" A very colorful tortoiseshell growled. Several others nodded their agreement.
"TreeClan sent him in to kill my kits!" A stunning white she-cat yowled. Her belly was extremely swollen with the promise of new-born kits.
"Yeah! They trained him to hurt us!" A black and white tom sneered. The MountainClan cats were glaring at Darkkit, who just shrank into shadow.
"QUIET!" Graystar yowled, his green eyes narrowed. Quickly the camp was quiet again, but Darkkit stayed where he was. These cats are NOT very friendly... Darkkit thought. Wonder how Lightkit is doing in FieldClan?
"This kit is to be respected, not treated as a prisoner. He's here to learn about honesty, integrity, compassion, and all the other elements that make our Clan the best. Frostfur, come forward." Graystar beckoned the queen with a flick of his tail.
"Frostfur, I trust that you will take care of Darkkit. Treat him well." Graystar meowed. Frostfur dipped her head, but Darkkit saw anger, hatred, and, a little bit of fear in her blue eyes. She's gonna hate me, I can tell.
"Clan dismissed." Graystar leaped off the rock, and started chatting with some warriors. Darkkit looked at Frostfur, who was glaring at him. He turned his gaze away, and spotted several young cats, most likely apprentices, coming towards him.
"Hi Darkkit! I'm Stormpaw!" A black and gray tom mewed. He had a friendly, bright gaze.
"Hello, Stormpaw." Darkkit replied, feeling every eye on him and Stormpaw. This is awkward...
"Would you like me to introduce you to everyone?" Stormpaw asked. Darkkit looked into Stormpaw's amber gaze, his eyes alight with glee.
"Alright. Thanks. I needed someone to do that for me, so I don't get lost." Darkkit muttered.
"Okay!" Stormpaw meowed enthusiastically. Darkkit let out a soft purr. I like this cat. He's funny and nice! "First, I want you to meet Jaggedpaw, my brother."
"Hi." The white and gray tom mumbled. Darkkit shrugged. They're opposites, like me and Lightkit.
"That's my mom, Blizzardcloud." Darkkit watched as the beautiful white she-cat strode over.
"Hello Darkkit. I hope you're adjusting well to MountainClan life, as I assume it's very different from TreeClan life?" She flicked her tail.
"Yeah it is. There's no trees to climb. But with Stormpaw to help me, I'll soon be the best warrior ever!" Darkkit gave him a playful poke. Stormpaw poked him back. The two toms started wrestling, and another pair of cats came over.
"He's attacking Stormpaw!" The black she-cat from earlier yowled. Both cats sat up, straight as a tree.
"Shut up, Hollypaw!" Stormpaw spat, his eyes narrowed in anger."We were just playing!"
Hollypaw flicked her tail."Whatever." She stalked off. Another cat followed her.
"That's Goldenpaw. Everyone thinks that those two will be mates when they're older." Stormpaw meowed."But Goldenpaw's a lot nicer than Hollypaw."
"I can see why." Darkkit muttered. Stormpaw continued his tour, and Darkkit met Stoneclaw the Clan deputy, Emberfire the medicine cat and Goldenpaw again, and the elders.
"Can you tell me a story?" Darkkit asked. Stormpaw had to go off to training, and Darkkit was interested in hearing some stories. He'd brought a giant bird, which he learned was an eagle.
"Well, with a big juicy piece of prey like this, sure." The black tom, Nightshade meowed. He was the second youngest in the elders' den."But Jaggedpeak does the best ones."
"Okay." Darkkit sat on the dusty cave floor and stared at Jaggedpeak. The old tom lifted his head.
"Well, I'll tell you how MountainClan was formed. I remember as a young cat the tom himself. He was a large dark tawny colored cat, with a black stripe running from head to tail. We were very powerful. As the first Clan to settle in the mountains, we were not only the strongest, but the only group of cats living here. Mountainstar was our leader, and he had been a kittypet."
"What's a kittypet?" Darkkit asked.
"A cat that lives with two-legs. They're often chubby, rude, and annoying." Nightshade answered.
"Oh." I wonder what they look like..."Wait...what's a two-leg?"
"A cat that-" Nightshade was interrupted by Jaggedpeak.
"Anyway," Jaggedpeak snorted in annoyance,"Everyone thought Mountainstar, or Stripe, was nothing but a lame, stupid kittypet. He wanted to explore the wild, find some new turf to explore, and just get away from his busy life.
"So we began our long trek into the wild, running through the long field grasses that would one day belong to MeadowClan, splashing through LakeClans' lake, and then going through the dark forests that would be TreeClans' home one day."
There was a loud shriek, but none of the elders seemed to pay much attention to it. Except Flowersky, who muttered something into Brokenfangs' ear. The dappled she-cat stood and padded out, Brokenfang following.
"Anyway, we explored each terrain, but none seemed to fit us. And then Stripe announced we would be going to the mountains, that they were our home. Well, not everyone agreed. Meadow and Red preferred the rolling meadows, but they came anyway. Cedar, Misty, and Storm liked the lake best, and Lightning wanted the trees.
"But everyone came with Stripe, and soon, the group of cats spent their first season in the mountains. But-" Another shriek, and Darkkit thought it came from Frostfur. Great. Now she's gonna hate me even more.
"But there was another long, cold, and very hard leaf-bare ahead of them. The cats had nearly starved to death the previous leaf-bare, and many were not happy. Lightning announced he was moving elsewhere, to the trees. Meadow and Red dashed to the meadow, Cedar, Misty, and Storm all left for the lake. Now, I don't know how those other cats got their ranks so big, but MountainClan grew, and soon, Stripe, became Mountainstar, leader of MountainClan. EternalClan had guided his paw steps, and now he was the first leader."
"So...Graystar was his deputy..." Darkkit muttered.
"Yes. Now you go run along now. Go find some rock to entertain you. I need my sleep." Jaggedpeak dismissed him with a flick of his tail.
Darkkit dipped his head."Thank you." He got up to leave, just as Flowersky and Brokenfang returned.
"Four she-cats and a tom!" Flowersky meowed."I think that's pretty impressive, for my daughter."
"Frostfur is your daughter?" Darkkit asked, confused. They look nothing alike!
"Yep." Flowersky mewed."Her father was named Snowdrop, and he was pure white. He died, a long time ago." Her eyes clouded with sadness, and she slowly turned and went back to her nest. Darkkit shrugged and left. Better go and see my new den-mates.
Darkkit found the darkness of the nursery rather calming. It was quiet, and a warm milky scent came from the back. The tunnel was large enough for a cat to slip through, but nothing more. It was pitch black, and Darkkit could feel that Frostfur was close.
"Get back!" Frostfur hissed."These are my kits! Go find your own!" Darkkit blinked.
"I just wanted to know their names." he meowed quietly.
"I'm not naming them until Stoneclaw returns, now get out!" Frostfur had risen to her paws, and Darkkit felt waves of anger rolling off of her pelt.
"No!" he retorted, feeling rather awkward fighting with her."Why don't you want me in here?"
"How am I to know if you're going to attack my kits?" Frostfur slashed at his cheek, and Darkkit felt blood start to well.
"I only attacked my brother!" he wailed, desperate to gain her trust."I would never hurt anyone else the same way!" Or would you? A voice in his head meowed.
"I don't care!" she hurtled herself at him and tried to bite his shoulder. He dashed out, terrified of Frostfur. The light didn't seem to come quick enough, and finally, he came out, running into a cat. Fireshade. He ran into Fireshade?
"What?" Darkkit meowed. The orange she-cat was just as surprised to see him as he was to see her."What are you doing here?"
"Fireshade!" Goldenpaw dashed out."It's Emberfire, he's..." The tom glanced at Darkkit, then gasped in horror."What happened to your cheek?!"
"Frostfur happened." Darkkit muttered. He was still frightened by the way she had acted. Fireshade shook herself.
"Goldenpaw, get cobwebs on that scratch right now. And put some burdock root on it as well. It looks nasty. And maybe some dock, too."
"What about Emberfire?" he meowed softly.
"I'm going to deal with him in a second. Darkkit, I am here to help Emberfire get better. He collapsed on the ground, and he's very sick. I brought a special poultice to help him heal."
"How's Birchkit? And Applepaw? And my mother and father?" Darkkit asked her.
"Look, I'll chat when I'm done, okay?" Fireshade dashed off, and almost as soon as she was gone, Goldenpaw appeared.
"Hold still. Let me look at that scratch." Goldenpaw meowed softly. He quickly applied some sticky paste, and cobwebs."Don't touch that. It could get infected if it comes off."
Darkkit shrugged."Okay. Say, uh, do you have any idea about why Frostfur might've done this?"
"Other than the fact that she hates you, no, not really. Though I've heard rumors you remind her of her first mate." Goldenpaw replied.
"And why would that upset her?" Darkkit cocked his head.
Goldenpaw shrugged."I don't know. She never had kits with him, he died too soon." The golden tom spotted Hollypaw, and got up to meet her. Darkkit clawed the ground, waiting for Fireshade. She soon appeared, but spoke with Goldenpaw. His eyes suddenly clouded with grief, and his head drooped. Darkkit pricked his ears to pick up the conversation.
"...named by EternalClan. Don't worry about anything, just focus on healing your Clan." The two cats briefly touched noses, then Fireshade came over to Darkkit.
"Everyone is fine, but I want you to know why I left. It's not just because of Emberfire, but Eaglestar brought Lightkit home yesterday. He was naming him an apprentice when I left."
"What?!" Darkkit screeched. Fireshade shook her head.
"I know. I warned Eaglestar that he would get in a massive load of trouble, but he waved me off. And, to top it off, Fallingmeadow isn't your mother, and Lightkit nor Birchkit are your siblings."
Darkkit sat in shock, his eyes widening in shock."No...no..."
"Fallingmeadow confessed, and believe me, your father-no, Sharpfang was shocked, as were Birchkit and Lightkit." Fireshade meowed.
"I am your father." Owlnight meowed softly into Darkkit's ear."I've been watching you grow for awhile now."
"NO! I AM NOT HALF-CLAN!" he yowled to the MountainClan cats."I'm only a TreeClan cat!" Darkkits' chest was heaving, and his mind spun. How could all these cats have lied to him? He spun around and stomped into the nursery tunnel. He didn't care if Frostfur clawed his eyes out.
"I just want to die..." Darkkit muttered, circling his nest and closing his eyes. He felt warm fur around him, and he smelled Frostfur.
"I know how you feel. My mom lied to me as well. I didn't know Flowersky was my mom, only Brokenfang. Snowdrop was still my father, but still..."
"If Fallingmeadow isn't my mom, who is?" Darkkit asked softly.
"Anyone with a white pelt that's not me." Frostfur mewed."This is my first litter. Maybe...Meadowdusk? She's a warrior of MeadowClan...or Pinknose of LakeClan...ask Owlnight. If lies to you, I'll shred him myself. I never liked him anyway."
"But think about it; ANY cat with even a hair of white on my pelt could be my mother." Darkkit growled. He called Owlnight in.
"Who is my mother?"
Owlnight sighed heavily."I knew I should've told you long ago. She is..."
CLIFFHANGER! MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!XD
Love y'all!
~Night
