Frostflower- possibly. I think I already have one of them planned out, but if you pm me the description of the cat, I might use it.
Redwind2000-thank you. Originally, I was still going to have her be a little mean, but not this bad.
Beechkit blinked rapidly as bright, golden-tinged rays of new-leaf sunlight poured into the WindClan camp. Beechkit looked around the camp with awe, the pain on her face entirely forgotten.
I never imagined it to be so big! Where are the warriors?
The camp was simply an indentation in the moor, with five tall boulders stacked haphazardly around the perimeter. There was a thin, black slit in the center of two boulders that sat leaning against one another, and Beechkit watched as a thin black tom slipped into the crack.
That must be a den! I wonder if it's a warrior den or maybe the apprentice den...
Beechkit paused to watch a cream she-cat and a black tom wrestling in the clearing, yowling in delight as they rolled into the fresh-kill pile. Rabbits and small birds scattered across the clearing, an the two cats leapt up innocently as a black-and-white tabby tom stomped toward them.
She stifled a purr as their eyes widened until they looked like kits begging to leave the nursery. Did my eyes look like that mere moments ago? Is that why Foxflame let me leave the nursery?
Beechkit bounded forward, scrambling over the rabbits and mice, and ducking between warrior's leg and tails as they worked. She spotted Foxflame's bright ginger fur near another crack in the weathered grey rock, his eyes raking across the clearing.
"Foxflame!" She mewed, scrambling forward to lie under his paws.
"There you are! I thought you found an interesting scent and followed in halfway across the moor." Foxflame's eyes shone in amusement as he scooped up his daughter in his jaws and ducked into the crack.
Beechkit blinked rapidly in the dim light, attempting to get her pupils adjusted to the darkness. She wrinkled up her nose and winced at the sharp, bitter scent of the herbs. This must be the medicine cat den.
She felt the ground rise up to meet her paws, and Foxflame's teeth released their grip on her neck. She dug her claws into the sandy ground, stabilizing herself in the darkness.
"Foxflame, who have we here?" Beechkit blinked again, and the darkness slowly filtered away into orange light. Cobwebs hung down from the roof, giving Beechkit the feeling that the den was very old and little-used. That must be because WindClan is the best. We never get hurt.
Dust danced through the slanted beams of amber-gold and russet light that squeezed into the den through the doorway. A hollow wooden shell of what must have once been a tree branch lay horizontally against the far stone-and-dirt wall. The floor was covered with huge, dried leaves and bits of moss.
Standing beside the branch was a lithe, silver she-cat. The she-cat's pale eyes glowed amber in the weak sunlight, and the dust in the air seemed to form a golden halo around her tabby pelt.
"Hello, Pepperfog. This is Beechkit. She got in a little...accident in the nursery and I was hoping you could check it out." Foxflame's deep mew startled Beechkit, cracking the dense silence like pawsteps over a brittle reed. Foxflame dipped his head down to where Beechkit sat by his paws. "That's Pepperfog, the medicine cat apprentice." He told her softly.
The silvery cat stepped lightly through the dust of the den, the sunlight rippling over her perfectly-groomed pelt, shining like moonlight reflecting over a silvery waterfall. Pepperfog's grey eyes reflected blinding yellow and bronze as she dipped her head to look down at Beechkit.
"Hello, dear one. What happened? Was there a thorn in one of the nests that Sweetpaw forgot to get out?" Pepperfog whispered, leaning down to eye the three tiny pink scratches on Beechkit's cheek that wept tiny drops or scarlet blood.
Beechkit shook her head, eyes wide. "Oh no. Our nest is nice and soft. Swiftbrook tells us that as long as we are there in the nursery, by her side, nothing can hurt us." She paused, pondering how to tell Pepperfog what had happened. "I'm okay...I think. It doesn't hurt bad."
Pepperfog shook her head in disagreement. "But you're wrong, dear. That wound is deep. I'll have to put something on it." with a swish of her tail, the mottled apprentice leaped onto a flat slab of wood and padded gracefully toward the hollow tree branch. She dipped her paw into the branch and lifted it back up with herbs hooked onto her gleaming crescent-moon claw. Pepperfog nipped the leaves off her claw and began chewing them up. She pulled out more leaves and roots and repeated the process, mixing them into a salve.
Beechkit watched with wonder, and wrinkled up her nose as the sharp scent clawed through the air.
"What is that?" Beechkit asked, wincing as Pepperfog smoothed it over the sore on her cheek.
"I put some cobweb onto the wound to stop the bleeding, then I added a mixture of comfrey, dock, goldenrod, and horsetail." Pepperfog stepped back from Beechkit and rummaged through her stores again. "And here's a poppy seed. It will ease the pain and send you to sleep." Pepperfog dropped a tiny black seed onto the floor of the den. Obediently, Beechkit licked it up and swallowed it.
"Take her back to her nest." Pepperfog commanded Foxflame, swishing her tail and returning to the back of the den, cloaking her pelt in ashy black shadows. "Let her sleep for a while." The medicine cat apprentice flicked her tail and slid away through a crack in the back of the den, leaving Beechkit and Foxflame alone in the golden dust.
Beechkit blinked open her eyes and swept them over the walls of the woven gorse den. Purple-grey clumps of moss were scattered around in the indigo darkness, looking like tiny leafy trees in a miniature world. The golden and grey she-cat stretched out her legs, careful not to rouse any of her littermates from the sleep.
Tentatively, Beechkit's tongue darted out of her mouth and swiped along her cheek. She winced at the bitter taste of the cobwebs and herbs that stung her tongue.
Beechkit rose to her paws and tilted her head back to look up at the roof of the den. Bright, shimmering silver-and-white stars poked through the branches that clung closely overhead. She scrambled to the doorway of the nursery and poked her head out. She spotted the furry bodies of the warriors curled around the entrance, enjoying the warmth and quiet of the late new-leaf night.
A shining figure slid into the corner of Beechkit's vision, gliding smoothly through the camp on silent paws. The cat's pelt glowed silver with moonlight as it bounded up the slope and out of the WindClan camp, disappearing into the heather and gorse of the moor.
Who was that? Why were they leaving camp in the middle of the night? Beechkit wondered, narrowing her eyes. A part of her wanted to wake Swiftbrook and tell her what she had seen, but another part of her said not to.
Don't be a kit! Whoever it was knew what they were doing. WindClan is loyal...completely...to Leafstar...right?
Well...who do you think is sneaking out of camp? Heatwhisker? Crowleap? Sweetpaw? Rabbittail? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out!
Please leave me reviews...they make me happy. And the happier the author, the sooner I get the next chapter up.
*Shocked expression* Of course I wasn't threatening you! How could you even suggest such a thing!?