AN:: Woah okay I haven't updated this in a while whoops. Sorry about that...;; I've been kind of busy with personal affairs (even though summer started last month and I really thought I'd have a lot of free time to write, but whoops real life wanted to throw itself in my face and screw it all up. But, uhh...yeah. I recently got a bunch of baby kitties and they're so cute and made me remember about my Warriors story and gave me the sudden urge to write the next chapter C:
(Btw, there's three kitties, all girls; a white one named Danny [after Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones], a black and gray one named Mildred[named by my brother], and a gray, black, and white one named Vira [named by me :D]. w )
But uhm, yeah. I'll try to work on this and my other stories a little more, but..can't promise much, sorry~ ^^;
Don't forget to R&R~! 3
The trees had a quiet stillness to them, calming the air and the forest it blanketed. Hollykit took a small step forward, crouching so she could get a better view from under the thorn bush. She could hear it now, sneaking through the undergrowth not far away, and she flicked her tail in distrust, running through Firekit's plan in her head once more.
The ferns ahead of her quivered, and out stepped her target; the Shadowclan leader, his gaze flicking about, nose twitching. He turned and started towards the bushes to their right, his tail flicking in frustration. That's right…right into our trap…The moment he'd passed she quickly leapt out of the thorns, dashing to the ferns and making a loud ruckus. She watched as the Shadowclan cat's ears flicked up and he quickly turned, looking around with narrowed eyes, slowly turning in a wide circle.
Anytime now…Hollykit thought impatiently, kneading the ground. She bunched her muscles, waiting…
"Attack!"
Firekit's yowl stung the once quiet air, and Hollykit leapt, landing on the tom's back and pricking him with tiny claws.
"Hey! Wha -" Lionblaze yelled in a mixture of surprise and alarm, swaying as the three kits pummeled him with their small paws. He smiled, letting out a growl of anger and swiping, knocking Nettlekit back with a squeal of surprise.
"Take that, Blackstar!" Nettlekit howled, running under Lionblaze and attacking his stomach.
"You dare attack me, leader of Shadowclan?!" He snarled, turning and throwing Hollykit off his back. She landed with a puff, standing up and shaking her fur out quickly before snarling and swiping at him.
"How dare you attack Thunderclan camp!" She retorted.
"Rawr!" Firekit snarled, nipping the back of Lionblaze's neck. He let out a startled growl, swaying dangerously before falling to the ground. "Ha hah!" Firekit yowled, leaping onto Lionblaze's side. "I have defeated Blackstar, fearless leader of Shadowclan!"
"Hey, no fair! We helped!" Hollykit protested. Before Firekit could reply, Lionblaze shifted, making him fall off with a squeal. "You didn't even kill him! He's still got like, eight lives left!" She said, rolling her eyes and unsheathing her claws.
"Hold up." Lionblaze meowed quickly, smiling. "I can't stay much longer, you three. I'm supposed to be hunting right now."
"Aww, come on!" Nettlekit whined, sitting in front of Lionblaze. "You never play with us!"
"That's because he's one of the best warriors in Thunderclan." Firekit meowed, puffing out his chest. "We should be proud of him!" Hollykit rolled her eyes, looking out towards the trees behind them. Maybe he couldn't play, but…
"Can you take us to see the lake?" She asked abruptly, twitching her ears.
"Yeah, yeah! I wanna see the lake!" Firekit meowed, his previous argument with Nettlekit forgotten.
"Me too! Me too!" Nettlekit agreed, bouncing up and down. "Please?"
"I don't know…" Lionblaze meowed, looking worriedly over his shoulder. "You three should be in camp right now, anyways. Does your mother know you're out here?"
"Yes, she does." Firekit replied defensively. "We came out here with Dovewing and the others."
"Then why don't you play with them?"
"They're so boring!" Firekit whined, rolling his eyes. Cheetahkit is much too small to play anything properly, Moonkit would rather sit and watch Jayfeather all morning, and Sunkit would rather stay by Dovewing's side the whole time!"
"Please?" Nettlekit begged, swatting at Lionblaze's tail. "We promise we won't get into trouble!"
"And we'll do whatever you say!" Hollykit chimed in. Lionblaze looked unsure, his gaze flicking back towards camp, and Hollykit felt her stomach drop a little. Maybe he would say no…?
"You must promise me that you'll do what I say, when I say it." Lionblaze finally meowed, sighing.
"We promise!" Hollykit squeaked, shifting from paw to paw.
"And if I say we go home, we go straight home, no arguments." He continued, giving each of them a stern look. The three nodded excitedly, exchanging a quick glance between each other before turning back to Lionblaze. Lionblaze, still looking unsure, nodded, turning and walking back towards camp with a flick of his tail.
"Where's he going…?" Firekit asked, looking shocked. "I thought he said he was -"
"Dovewing!" Lionblaze called, trotting forward a few paces and disappearing into a nearby patch of ferns. The three kits followed, stopping at Lionblaze's heels and watching Dovewing and her kits. "I'm going to be taking these three down to the lake for a little bit." He meowed, gesturing towards them. "Would you mind telling Cinderheart if you see her?"
"Not at all." Dovewing meowed, smiling.
"I want to go to the lake, too!" One of Dovewing's kits, a golden speckled one piped up, stumbling forward a pace.
"Me too!" A silver one with a gray mask and tail mewed, falling over his feet. The last one, a golden tabby with darker stripes and a lighter stomach, said nothing, instead snuggling closer to Dovewing's side and peeking out nervously.
"We'll go whenever you three are bigger." Dovewing promised, licking the first one over the ears. She shied away, bounding up to Hollykit and stopping a whisker length away from her nose.
"You have to tell me about it when you get back! She squealed, almost falling forwards into Hollykit's chest. With a small smile Hollykit stepped back, nodding.
"I promise."
"Let's go, let's go!" Firekit meowed impatiently, turning in a circle. Lionblaze smiled, rolling his eyes and nodding to Dovewing.
"Thank you." He meowed, turning and starting through the bushes. Hollykit nodded to Dovewing's kits before bounding after Lionblaze, Firekit and Nettlekit at her side.
"How big is the lake?" Nettlekit asked, looking up at Lionblaze.
"Uh, pretty big." He meowed, smiling a little.
"Can you see the other side?" Firekit asked, blinking slowly. Lionblaze nodded and answered, but Hollykit wasn't paying much attention; her thoughts began to wander again, and she could faintly remember seeing the lake before…on the four-wheeler. But I was interrupted by Hollykit's- err, my memory…She thought, twitching a little.
"Oh, oh! What about the other clans? Will we be able to see them on the other side of the lake?" Nettlekit asked, bumping into Hollykit and bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Why not take a look for yourself?" Lionblaze asked, twitching his ears towards the rise just ahead of them. Without hesitating, Firekit and Nettlekit dashed ahead, Hollykit scrabbling after them hastily. The three stopped at the top of the rise, staring down with wide eyes.
"Woah!" Hollykit breathed, her previous thoughts gone. The ground sloped down gently, the grassy forest floor changing to a stretch of pebbles that disappeared into the edges of the lake. The sun sparkled on the water, sending glares this way and that, the cloudless sky reflected on the still surface. Across the water, a short ways away was a lone island, a fallen tree running back into marshy grounds. It looks even better than when I was human…Hollykit thought.
"Look! I can see Riverclan!" Firekit squealed, jumping up onto his back legs and craning his neck to see. Hollykit scanned the far side of the lake, looking for any signs of movement. But…I don't see anyth- her thoughts stopped abruptly as something surfaced in the lake, sending ripples through the still surface once more. It was…It's a cat!
"They actually like swimming?!" Nettlekit gasped, scrunching up his nose in disgust. The thought of getting her fur wet made Hollykit shudder in dislike, shaking her head with a sniff. That has to feel weird…
"Can we go down to the water's edge?" Nettlekit called, turning and looking down towards Lionblaze, who was slowly making his way up the slope. He stopped beside Hollykit and looked around, huffing a little before nodding.
"Alright, but we need to head back soon, alright? Just a quick look around the water's edge, then we head back." He said, giving them all a stern look. Firekit opened his mouth to argue, snapping it shut and nodding. Lionblaze nodded too, winding his way around a bush and heading down the slope slowly. Hollykit, despite herself, bounded ahead of him, skidding to a stop at the water's edge and staring out over the water. I wonder how they can tolerate having water in their fur…she thought, watching another cat head bob out of the water before disappearing under again.
The water moved forwards again, washing over her paws with a swirl and sending a shiver down her back. She backed out of it, shaking her paws with a sniff and almost falling over Firekit. "Watch it!" He meowed, jumping out of the way. Hollykit rolled her eyes, shaking her paws out again.
"See that island over there?" Lionblaze meowed, motioning towards it with his tail. "That's where we meet for Gatherings."
"Can we go over there now?" Nettlekit asked, jumping to his paws.
"I'm afraid not; we'd have to pass through Windclan and Riverclan's territories to do so." Lionblaze replied, shaking his head. "And I'm sure you three are old enough to know that clan cats don't trespass onto another clan's territory."
"Well, can we go to Windclan's boarder, then?" Firekit asked.
"You can do that when you three are apprenticed." He meowed, standing up. "It's about time we head back, though. Your mother will start to worry."
"Aww, just a little longer!" Hollykit's brothers pleaded. Hollykit was about to protest, stopping as something caught her eye; three cats were making their way around the edge of the lake, heads and tails high, watching the four of them as they approached. One of them was a slim, gray cat, another was dappled golden, and the last was a gray tabby.
"Who's that?" Hollykit asked, watching them curiously. Lionblaze followed her gaze, shooting to his paws once he caught sight of the three.
"Stay back, you three." He ordered, bounding forward to meet the three cats as they came within earshot. "Greetings, Mistystar." He meowed, dipping his head to her and the other two quickly, turning his gaze back to the gray she cat.
"That's the Riverclan leader!" Nettlekit gasped, his tail quivering. Hollykit blinked, cocking her head to the side a little bit.
"What do you think she's doing here?" Firekit asked, but Hollykit shushed him with a flick of her tail.
"Just listen!" She snapped, twitching her ears towards Mistystar and Lionblaze again.
"Greetings, Lionblaze." Mistystar meowed, her eyes flicking back to the three cats behind him before turning back. "Training some apprentices?"
"No, merely taking my rowdy kits to see the lake." He replied, his tail twitching a little. "May I ask what you're doing here?"
"Yes, I wish to speak with Bramblestar." She replied, her warm tone fading. "It's important."
"Ooh, what do you think it's about?" Firekit asked, turning and looking at the other two.
"Maybe somebody stole prey from them." Nettlekit suggested.
"Maybe she's mad at Bramblestar about something!" Firekit shot back, excitement flickering in his eyes.
"Maybe someone invaded her territory." Hollykit murmured, watching Mistystar. She looked tense, her tail flicking back and forth worriedly, while the other two cats exchanged quiet words with one another. One of them, the gray tabby, looked up suddenly, meeting Hollykit's eyes for a few long seconds before turning away again.
"Hollykit, Firekit, Nettlekit!" Lionblaze's voice made all three kits jump, turning to see him starting up the slope, watching them from over his shoulder. "We're leaving." He meowed, gesturing up the slope again. Firekit and Nettlekit ran after him, scrabbling over one another, but Hollykit hesitated, casting another glance towards the three Riverclan cats, who hung back a little. Again, the silver tabby locked eyes with her, holding her for a few seconds before she shook her head, running after her brothers. Maybe it's just me, but something feels wrong…very wrong.