Disclaimer: I don't own Warrior Cats!

Title: Resilience

Summary: With a harsh Leaf-bare on the horizon, the Clans are in a bad way. Petalkit is growing up under the stern gaze of her father, Ravenfur, when suddenly everything changes. Stuck in RiverClan until WindClan can produce enough catmint- something no Clan has in these temperatures- she does what any kit would do. She adapts.

Chapter Title: Deja-Vu

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I-really-hope-not- Definitely. =)

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In her dreams, Petalkit was tall and long-legged, mostly grown. Muscle rippled under her black pelt as she ran, feeling a deep exhilaration fill her veins. Fat clung to her chest and belly.

She was in WindClan territory, or what she assumed was WindClan territory, seeing as she had never left the camp. Dusk flitted across the early Greenleaf sky. Wind blew the heather flatter against the ground, shuffling and moving like claws that couldn't pierce you. Tiny little dots lit up the area, and she rose to bat at them with her paws, purring. Fireflies!, she thought joyously, though Petalkit had never been able to stay up long enough to watch them before. She just knew.

She landed back on her paws, laughing. Petalkit felt as if she were not alone, like there were warriors following close behind, but she didn't feel wary. Quite the opposite- she'd never felt safer.

Two flashes of color caught the corner of her eye, and Petalkit looked, whiskers quivering. Two large cats were pelting towards her at top speed; one was black and striped, the other all gray. They looked strong and healthy.

Beekit and Stripekit! They've come to welcome me!

Stripekit- though, at this size, she supposed he wouldn't be Stripekit anymore. Stripepaw? Stripe-something?- hit her first, knocking her onto her back. He was on her in a second, cleaning her face, jumping and rolling playfully. Beekit blinked down at her, and she craned her head so they could nuzzle each other. Relief bloomed in Petalkit's chest. They're so happy to see me!

Stripekit eventually got off her chest. Petalkit sat up as her brother stood, side by side, chattering animatedly. They flashed her glances to make sure she was keeping up.

I can't hear them, she realized, but didn't feel alarmed. Something told her that was just a side effect of it all being a dream. This will all make sense soon enough.

Petalkit glanced up at the slowly brightening sky. A firefly landed on her paw, and she brought it closer to her face. Its antennae twitched at her. How silly! She almost laughed. It's saying hi!

The firefly flapped its wings and flew away. Petalkit-

"Petalkit!"

Something small but heavy landed on Petalkit's back, knocking the air out of her. She lifted her head off her paws, trying desperately to catch her breath as Wolfkit rolled off her, giggling.

"I'm up, I'm up," she panted, tail wagging with irritation. I was almost home!

Wolfkit came around the side to greet her. The white she-cat had proven to be a menace, clawing at tails and pouncing on paws. One time, she tried to climb Ravenfur's back and bat at his ears, then wailed to Brackenheart when he shook her off. Why couldn't it have been Deerkit? He's much more well behaved.

"Tonight's a Gathering!" Wolfkit said excitedly. "Did you know that?"

"Of course I did." Petalkit put her head on her paws and squeezed her eyes shut. Rabbit-dung, I can't fall back asleep now. But the dream wasn't over! "They have a Gathering every full moon."

"Unless clouds cover the moon," Raintail volunteered, nudging Petalkit into a sitting position. "Or the weather is just generally bad."

Petalkit blinked at her. "You usually go for a walk by now."

"Yes, but it's not often you sleep in like this. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Oh. Thank you." Petalkit wobbled a bit, tripping and bracing herself on her mother's belly. Raintail reached out to clean her gunky eyes. "My head feels like my belly does when it's bloated."

"Sleeping in'll do that, sometimes," she agreed.

"Petalkit, Petalkit!" Wolfkit shook her side eagerly, determined to win back her attention. "Do we get to go?"

Petalkit shook her off. "Not until we're apprentices." Hadn't Brackenheart taught her anything? "When you hit six moons old."

Wolfkit's face fell. "Six? But that's five whole moons of nothing! That's longer than I've even been alive!"

By a factor of five, even, Petalkit found herself thinking. It's weird to think I'm three moons old now. I'm halfway there.

"You'll manage," Raintail meowed curtly. She stood and stretched, relieved to be up and moving. "I think I'll go for that walk now."

"Okay." Petalkit shuffled closer to Wolfkit so her mother had extra room to squeeze out of the den.

Wolfkit's nose scrunched up. "Raintail is weird."

Something defensive flared up in Petalkit's chest. Deep down, she knew the kit was commenting on how she was raising her and her brothers, how she went for walks and left them alone and didn't mind that they'd never called her 'mom'. Just because she doesn't fawn over us doesn't mean she's a bad mother! "Well, we can't all be like Lichenfang."

Wolfkit blinked at her owlishly. "I guess not."

Petalkit stood and left the den. At first it felt like she had no destination in mind, but she found herself turning to the medicine den. I should talk to Birdleap. He'll know what my dream means. Something odd pricked at her. Why do I feel like it means anything? I'm a kit with a big imagination; it could've been a weird piece of fresh-kill. Her pawsteps didn't falter.

"Birdleap?" She called into the den.

"Come on in!" Birdleap's voice sounded muffled.

Petalkit slipped inside, mouth open to tell him about her dream, when she suddenly realized she wasn't alone in seeking his help. Beetlestar sat patiently in the spare nest, holding a paw off the ground. She looked bigger and more intimidating than any warrior Petalkit had ever met.

Petalkit backed away. "Sorry. I didn't know-"

"It's fine, Petalkit," Beetlestar rumbled soothingly. "Come sit with me?"

She hesitantly plopped down at her side. Petalkit had never been this close to the white and brown she-cat before, nor had Beetlestar ever addressed her. Petalkit was mildly surprised she even knew her name. Of course she does. I'm Ravenfur's kit. Her deputy's daughter. "What happened?"

"Thorn in my paw," she meowed, shrugging.

"Alright, all done." Birdleap pulled his head out of the stocks. A scrap of something clung to his whiskers. "Good morning, Petalkit. I was just fiddling with the herb placements."

Why is he talking to me? Shouldn't Beetlestar come first?

Birdleap must've noticed the look on her face. "Would you like to help?"

Why is he always asking me that? "How?"

"Thorns are fairly simple to get out. You could pluck it yourself."

"I don't mind," Beetlestar added, sensing her hesitation. "Good thing for any cat to learn."

Petalkit took in a deep breath. Birdleap knows what he's doing, and she doesn't mind. I can do this. "Okay."

Beetlestar held out her paw. Petalkit crept closer, sniffing the area. It felt warm.

"Lick it until the thorn comes out a bit," Birdleap urged. He had taken a seat next to her; close, but not enough so to feel suffocating. "I'll tell you when to pull."

Petalkit swallowed, then rasped her tongue over the puncture. Beetlestar watched her quietly. She made no noise nor suggestions, quietly suffering with the annoying prickle. Am I doing something wrong? Somebody would tell me if I was, right?

"Just relax, Petalkit," Birdleap murmured close to her ear. "Right now, she's not your leader. She's a cat who needs your help."

She needs my help. The words stuck in her mind. Beetlestar was looking to her to get the thorn out. She trusted her to do so. She couldn't let her down.

"Do you feel it?"

Something hard but slightly pliable brushed her tongue. Petalkit started to close her teeth around it, forgetting to wait for Birdleap's command, but found herself pricking the skin of her pads and drew away. Beetlestar said nothing. "Not really."

"Bit more licking, then."

The next attempt was a success. Petalkit felt ridiculously proud of herself, thorn in her jaws. I did it!

Beetlestar stood, placing her pad firmly to the dirt. "Great job, Petalkit. It feels much better now."

"Come back if there's any signs of infection," Birdleap said sternly, then added; "and keep walking to a minimum."

Beetlestar dipped her head, thanked them, and left, tail high. Petalkit spat the thorn out. Birdleap went back to his herbs, gesturing for her to sit beside him. "Now, what is it you wanted?"

"I had a dream."

Birdleap glanced at her. His face gave nothing away. "A dream?"

"Yeah. Since you're the medicine cat, I thought you might know more about it."

"If only it were that easy!" He sighed, then laughed at himself. The medicine cat moved to sprawl out on the dusty floor. "Tell me about it."

She did, from the firefly on her paw to the way she couldn't hear her littermates speak. It seemed so surreal, and splotches of darkness had already begun to fill in what was once a delicate patchwork, but Petalkit wanted to go back. Claw her way into the dream and find the ending. I've never felt like this before. Normally, I don't even remember my dreams.

Birdleap's eyes flickered shut as she spoke, contemplating, finally opening when she finished. "And you said you were in WindClan?"

"I think? It's not like I've been on a walk through WindClan. It looked like how I always imagined the territory to be."

"Hmm, fair enough." He shrugged, ear flicking. "Sounds to me like you had a deja-vu dream."

Petalkit blinked at him. "A deja-vu dream?"

He nodded. "Sometimes, cats have dreams, or visions, about things to come. How and why tends to fade over time. You probably won't even remember it by tomorrow. But there'll come to a time when you'll go running and meet up with your brothers and play and it'll be familiar. You'll know you've seen it before."

"But it wasn't like I just went out running," she tried to explain. I hadn't been home in a long time. I just know it. "I was just coming back from something."

"Maybe you went on a journey, or a long hunting patrol," he suggested. "These things happen. Either way, there's nothing we can do but wait."

Petalkit felt a bit uneasy, but nodded anyway. The more she thought about her dream, the more off she felt about it. I was moving a little funny- like I was hurt. And what about Beekit and Stripekit? They were thin as twigs, even with all that muscle!

If this is deja-vu, what does that mean for us?


Petalkit said a quick goodbye to Ravenfur before the Gathering patrol left before curling up between Stripekit and Beekit in the nursery. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to fall asleep, desperate to dream that dream again. Something told her it wouldn't come.

"I tried to catch a minnow today, mama," Wolfkit whispered to Lichenfang. Petalkit heard a shuffling.

"Did you, darling? That's amazing!"

"Was there even any water puddles out today?" Deerkit broke in hesitantly.

Wolfkit gave a little 'hmph!' "Why do you think I said tried?"

"Oh. Okay." A pause. "I caught a leaf today."

"Congratulations, darling. I'm so proud of you both."

"You did good, Deerkit," Wolfkit added. "We'll be the best hunters in WindClan if we keep this up!"

Petalkit shifted awkwardly. It felt like a spotlight had lit up, shining down on them. Raintail wasn't asleep- she never slept well on Gathering night. I could tell her about the thorn. It was a bit weird, helping the Clan leader like that, but I felt really proud when I was done. She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth. But if I did that, we all know what would happen. Raintail would say she's proud of me, and Beekit would get jealous and cranky because all he did today was play climb the hill. It's not his fault, really- Birdleap only needs one helper, and there's no one else to help. He can't get moss for the elders or use mouse bile, and Lichenfang and Raintail can take care of themselves.

It felt a bit like keeping a secret. No one would ever know how she felt right then- sure, Birdleap could tell them about it, but he didn't feel it. It felt personal. It felt respected. Petalkit found she preferred it that way.

Author's Note: Lemme tell ya, deja-vu dreams are few, far between, and typically about the silliest of stuff. But they can happen! And you'll forget the dreams, but then something will happen and that feeling'll sink in and you're like 'wow, so THAT'S the context to this.' and you shrug it off and move on.

(My dreams are weird, is what I'm saying.)

Final Petalkit chapter for the weekend! I might write some more next week.

-Mandaree1