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Guest: Sometime between chapters 12 and 14.


Chapter 5

"Dovewing, are they here yet?"

"Dovewing, I want to play!"

"I'm hungry!"

Dovewing sighed. While Cinderheart was kitting, she was in charge of watching Snowkit, Amberkit, and Dewkit, along with Daisy's new litter, Smokekit and Barkkit. It had been three moons since Sorreltail's death now, and Daisy's kits were almost a moon, and Brightheart's kits were three moons. Smokekit was a smoky-gray tom with pale blue eyes, and Barkkit was a brown tom with a white tail tip, black throat, and leaf-green eyes.

"Dewkit, I don't know when the kits are going to get here; Smokekit, what do you want to play; and Snowkit, if you're hungry get something from the fresh-kill pile," Dovewing answered. Snowkit ran over to the fresh-kill pile and picked up a plump squirrel about the same size as himself. He dragged it over to the other kits and mewed, "Hey Smokekit and Barkkit! Have you ever tried fresh-" Snowkit was cut off from a yowl from Cinderheart in the nursery. "Is Cinderheart okay?" Amberkit nervously asked. "I'm sure she's fine," Dovewing replied, trying to convince herself as much as the kits.

Barkkit reached a paw forward to poke the squirrel, and then squeaked, "Am I supposed to eat that?" "Yup! It tastes really good! Do you want the first bite?" Snowkit offered. Barkkit shrunk back, but Smokekit reached forward and took a large mouthful from the tail. He chewed it for a second, then spat out a mouthful of fur. "How can you like this? It's too fluffy!" Smokekit frantically ran around in a circle, looking for a puddle where he could rinse the fluff out of his mouth. The other four kits thought this was hilarious, and rolled on the ground, purring. Once Smokekit got the fluff out, he repeated, "How can you like this?" Snowkit finally stopped laughing long enough to answer, "You're not supposed to bite off the tail, mouse-brain!"

Smokekit's eyes darkened with anger, and he pounced on Snowkit. Snowkit, unprepared, was flattened under Smokekit's weight. Dovewing, realizing the skirmish was getting out of paw, mewed, "Who wants me to listen to a place far away?" The kits instantly stopped tussling and Smokekit mewed, "See what RiverClan's doing!" "No, ShadowClan!" Dewkit argued. "WindClan!" declared Snowkit. The kits argued about this until Barkkit blurted out, "StarClan!" The other kits stopped and stared at him. "She can't spy on StarClan, silly," Smokekit told his littermate. "Well, if she can spy on the Dark Forest, why not StarClan?" Barkkit argued. The other kits looked thoughtful, until Snowkit finally said, "Spy on StarClan, Dovewing!"

"I don't think I should," Dovewing mewed uncertainly. "Why?" Dewkit asked. Dovewing was saved from an awkward conversation by Jayfeather. "Two toms and a she-kit," he informed his brother Lionblaze, who had been pacing outside the nursery. When Lionblaze dashed in, Snowkit declared, "Come on guys! Let's meet our denmates!" Dovewing was trampled by a stampede of kits, and mewed, "Wait!" too late. She found the five kits standing by their mothers when she came in the nursery. The kits were gazing at three small bundles of fluff suckling at Cinderheart's belly. Lionblaze stood beside her, gazing proudly at his offspring.

"That one looks like a hedgehog," Dewkit giggled, pointing to a fluffy cream tom with a brown back and a lighter front paw and a light dash above his nose. "Then that's what we'll call him," Cinderheart decided. "Hedgehogkit."

"How about we call the brown tabby tom with cream paws and muzzle Mudkit," Cinderheart suggested. "I like Mudkit," decided Lionblaze. Lionblaze then looked at the she-kit, which was a black tabby. "Hollykit," Lionblaze and Cinderheart mewed at the same time. "So Hedgehogkit, Mudkit, and Hollykit," Lionblaze meowed. "Can the kits take a closer look at them?" asked Daisy, whose fluffy tail was wrapped around Bakkit and Smokekit. "Okay, but tell them to be careful," Cinderheart warned. "We will," the kits promised. Amberkit looked at Hollykit and squeaked, "Finally another she-cat!" "Can I teach them how to like squirrel when their old enough?" Snowkit asked. "If you want to," Cinderheart answered. Dovewing, feeling cramped in the small nursery, went outside for a breath of fresh air.

"Did you hear the news?" her mate Bumblestripe asked. "What news?" "Cherrypaw and Molepaw are having their warriors' assessment today," he announced. "Good for them. Where are they going to do it?" Dovewing wondered. "They already did the fighting part. Now they're going to practice hunting near the abandoned Thunderpath. And it's a team hunting assessment. Bramblestar wants you to be on Cherrypaw's team, since you'll find a lot of prey," he explained. "He wants you to wait by the camp entrance with the others," Bumblestripe flicked his tail to the entrance where Foxleap, Rosepetal, Blossomfall, Graystripe, Cherrypaw, and Molepaw were waiting.

"Whose team am I on?" Dovewing asked Foxleap. "You're with me, Cherrypaw, and Lionblaze once he comes out of the nursery." Just then Lionblaze bounded over and said, "Squirrelflight told me to come over here. What are we doing?"

"We're doing team hunting near the abandoned Thunderpath for their warriors' assessment," Rosepetal explained, gesturing to the two apprentices. "You will be on Cherrypaw's team along with Foxleap and Dovewing. Blossomfall, Graystripe and I will be on Molepaw's team. The apprentices are in charge of the patrol, but the warriors can help find prey," she glanced at Dovewing. "But we must do what the apprentice says and not help them with clues," Rosepetal finished. "Let's go."

Once the cat arrived at the edge of the Thunderpath, Molepaw mewed, "My team will hunt near the lake." "We'll go near the abandoned two-leg nest," Cherrypaw licked her lips. "It's always crawling with mice."

Dovewing gazed at the two-leg nest, and felt shivers go up her spine like it always did. Cherrypaw signaled with her tail to circle two plump mice eating seeds in Jayfeather's garden. She pounced on one, and the other one ran right into Foxleap's claws.

Cherrypaw was making progress, since she had already caught five mice. Then Dovewing's ear twitched and she heard the Thunderpath rumbling. But it's an abandoned Thunderpath, Dovewing thought. "Let's head for the bushes," Dovewing mewed. "But I decide where to go. This is my warrior assessment," protested Cherrypaw. "I hear something," Dovewing snapped. Cherrypaw, knowing of Dovewing's power, didn't hesitate to dash toward the bushes, her mentor and Lionblaze following. She remembered her time in the two-leg place looking for the beavers, and knew that was the sound of a monster.

It was so loud Dovewing was sure the other cats could hear it by now. "I hear something," Cherrypaw mewed, confirming Dovewing's thoughts. Dovewing crouched lower as the sound grew louder, and a white monster with a back that seemed to stick out zoomed on the gravel Thunderpath, a large trail of dust behind it. Dovewing coughed, and Foxleap commented, "Well that was unusual." He looked at Dovewing, expecting her to say something, but she heard something else. With alarm, she thought, is that a kit?


Teehee! Cliffie!

This will be the last chapter where I'll be accepting OCs. Once I post chapter 6, I won't be accepting Ocs. Thanks!

~Petalsplash

Please review! (And if anyone can guess who/what the kit is. . . virtual brownies! :)