Erin Hunter owns the Warriors series. Every character, setting, etc in this story belongs to them - the story in question is mine. Enjoy.
A half moon passed, and Mapleshade was deemed well enough to continue her duties. Snakepaw was relieved; he'd looked forward to her stern, critical way of mentoring rather than Mistpelt's encouraging one. Being treated like a kit during practice had opened his eyes to how important Mapleshade's no-nonsense attitude was. They went out to hunt the morning she'd gotten released from the medicine den. They caught two sparrows, a thrush, and a plump squirrel combined. It had been enjoyable with her at his side, and that's coming from someone who usually finds it boring.
Snakepaw dragged his sparrow and squirrel into camp, then placed them on the fresh-kill pile. The sun's warmth beat down gently on his fur, and he wished he could lay in it. He knew, however, that he needed to take care of his duties. Just as he was about to go get some mouse bile for Bloomheart's ticks, he saw Petalwhisker leading her four kits out. There was a dark brown tabby tom with ginger patches and green eyes, a golden brown tabby tom with amber eyes, a dilute tortoiseshell she-kit with a white undercoat and green eyes, and a pale golden-and-white mottled she-kit with green eyes. Petalwhisker had named them Sproutkit, Rootkit, Lilykit, and Shinekit respectively.
"Hello!" he greeted, padding over. He was surprised to see them out; they were weak from being kitted slightly early, even though they'd opened their eyes a few days ago.
"Hello," Petalwhisker purred. "I know you have your duties, but can you give my kits a tour of the camp? It won't take long." Her amber eyes gleamed hopefully.
Snakepaw nodded. He looked at the kits, not used to looking down at cats. It was no surprise that they were all small, but he knew they'd likely grow up to be largely-built; both of their parents were, after all. He led them to the apprentices' den while their white-and-ginger tabby spotted mother laid down in a patch of sunlight.
"This is where I sleep, and where you all will too in about five moons," Snakepaw meowed.
"Can we go in?" Lilykit asked.
Snakepaw thought for a moment. He was the only one in there, so surely it wouldn't bother anyone if they took a peek. He nodded his approval, and all four scampered inside with delighted squeals. He poked his head in, watching as they sniffed all around. After they were done, he introduced them to the warriors' den. He was much more hesitant when they asked to explore it as well.
"There might be cats in there," he explained. "You can go in when you're warriors yourselves." That's when he realized he hadn't even been in there; he'd only had a slight glimpse as a kit.
They all pouted, but he carried on anyway. He showed them the fresh-kill pile and the stump where every apprentice ate before moving to the medicine den. Patchberry greeted them.
"I'm your mother's littermate," he informed them. He supervised as they explored his herb store, saying, "No, don't touch that" or "Be careful" whenever they almost messed something up.
The elders' den went well. Bloomheart was disappointed to find he'd have to wait before getting his ticks removed, but he spoke to the kits kindly and promised them a story later. Snakepaw led them to the final destination: Highrock. He explained the purpose of it to them.
"Beestar's den is on that slope that leads up to the top," he added. "And even though he can just walk up it, he chooses to skip it and jump up. Most leaders do."
"Can we see his den?" Rootkit asked.
Snakepaw shook his head immediately. "Only cats who can go in there are the leader and the deputy, unless you're asked to go there," he meowed.
They all pleaded. "I'll help you with your duties!" Shinekit begged.
"Can we go out of camp then?" Sproutkit mewed hopefully.
"Yeah, out of camp!" Lilykit agreed.
Snakepaw shook his head again. "Go to your mother," he ordered them. "That's all there is to see."
After they left, he quickly completed his duties and went to find Mapleshade in hopes of training some more. "I guess some more hunting practice couldn't hurt," she meowed.
"Can't we battle train instead?" Snakepaw asked her.
Just as Mapleshade was about to speak, Petalwhisker raced up to them. "Snakepaw!" she gasped.
"Yes?" he mewed.
"My kits... what did you tell them?" she demanded, her eyes blazing.
He bristled defensively. "I showed them the camp!" he replied.
"And the entrance?" she hissed.
He nodded. "I told them it leads to the rest of the territory."
"Did they ask to go outside?"
"When we got to Highrock, yes."
Petalwhisker growled, her pelt bristling even more. "Well, they're gone!"
"We'll find them," Mapleshade promised. "Come on, Snakepaw. We need to find a scent trail."
Snakepaw raced after Mapleshade, sniffing around the nursery. After they found a fresh scent, they followed it carefully. Suddenly, they heard pawsteps behind them. They stopped to see that it was Yarrowclaw.
"I'm coming," he demanded.
Mapleshade nor Snakepaw protested; the more paws, the better. They continued until they came across Lilykit. She was covered in blood and slumped over, yowling out of pain. Mapleshade rushed over and, using her natural mother's instinct, began licking the wounds. Yarrowclaw checked to make sure she would be alright, then he led Snakepaw on.
"What do you think did that?" Snakepaw asked as they moved.
"Your nose is as terrible as a Twoleg's brain," Yarrowclaw snapped. "Couldn't you smell the rank? It was a fox!"
Snakepaw growled, "No need to insult me!" Then he realized that the usually mature warrior was driven by grief and worry. He said nothing else, only focusing on the path.
They came to Sunningrocks and saw the other three kits on RiverClan's border. There was a patrol sniffing them over. That's when Snakepaw realized all of the RiverClan cats were wounded. Did they really protect our kits from the fox? he wondered. Yarrowclaw led him to the stepping stones, but neither cat jumped onto them.
"What have you done with the fox?" Yarrowclaw asked coldly.
The RiverClanners looked over. The leader, a brown tabby tom with green eyes, was the one who answered, "We chased it off. These kits here must've come from your Clan, so take them."
Yarrowclaw growled, "As long as you'll take me crossing the stepping stones into your territory and not report it as trespassing."
"Why would we?" Toadfrost hissed. "We're not ShadowClan. Just come over and grab them!"
"I'll go with them to make sure the kits get back safely," the brown tabby declared. "Shyheart, lead the patrol back to camp."
The ginger-and-white she-cat nodded and led the other two cats away. The tom grabbed Sproutkit and crossed the border into ThunderClan territory. Yarrowclaw and Snakepaw crossed, grabbed Shinekit and Rootkit respectively, and came back over. They began walking back to their camp. When they returned back, Petalwhisker rushed over.
"Mapleshade's brought Lilykit to Patchberry," she breathed. "I was so worried the other three wouldn't make it." She snarled at the RiverClan warrior. "What're you doing here, Appledusk?"
Appledusk! Snakepaw's heart jumped from surprise. "He helped us," he told the queen, setting a shaking Rootkit down.
Petalwhisker narrowed her eyes at Appledusk, who placed Sproutkit on the ground. "You probably just wanna spy for RiverClan," she accused.
"I may be deputy, but I still have a heart," Appledusk retorted coolly. "Where's Beestar? Surely a witness should tell him how my patrol saved those three kits from a fox."
"I'll take you to him," Yarrowclaw meowed.
Appledusk glanced at Petalwhisker again before following the senior warrior. Petalwhisker heaved a sigh of relief as she began grooming her terrified kits.
"The fox got Lilykit, but we kept running," Sproutkit whimpered. "Then it stopped hurting her and followed us."
"She's seriously wounded, you know," Petalwhisker growled after finishing with Shinekit. "She's close to dying. Would you three want to be responsible for your sister's death?"
The trio shook their heads as she began grooming Rootkit. "We're sorry," Shinekit mewed. "We'll never leave camp again!"
"You'd better not," Snakepaw spoke up.
Surprisingly, Petalwhisker nodded in agreement. "Never again," she murmured in between licks.
Mapleshade approached Snakepaw and brought him away from the others. "Why'd Appledusk come?" she whispered.
"He helped us bring the kits back," Snakepaw replied.
Mapleshade was quiet for a moment, then she meowed, "Fine. That's fine. Now let's go hunting, shall we?"
But Snakepaw's enthusiasm for training was erased to make room for suspicion. As he trailed after his mentor, he thought, Surely Appledusk's only intention wasn't to help? It seemed like he had more on his mind. But what?
Not a very good chapter, but this is a build-up for what's to come. Sorry if the wait for this wasn't worth it.