Lifekit opened her eyes slowly, looking around the quiet nursery den. From her tiny nest in the corner, she could see Splashleap sleeping peacefully with her two new daughters. She could see Tasha, the former rogue, licking her kits softly. She looked to see Blueocean, the newest addition to the nursery, sleeping away.
Though Splashleap nursed her, Lifekit did not think of Splashleap as her mother. Her family was nowhere in the nursery. There was her father, Patchfur. She saw Mousestripe as her mother-figure. Thornfrost, Stormnight, and Graytail didn't mind hanging out with her too. All in all, she had a wonderful little family of her own.
"Pst, Lifekit," a whisper came.
Lifekit turned, seeing Mousestripe stick her head inside the den. She immediately rose to her feet, bounding out the door to greet the older she-cat.
"Hi, Mousestripe!" Lifekit squeaked.
"Hello," Mousestripe smiled, lightly touching her tail on top of Lifekit's shoulder. The sun was just beginning to rise, and many cats were already preparing for patrols.
"Where's Daddy?" Lifekit asked.
"He'll be along. He's got some patrols to do, as does Thornfrost. Come along, let's walk," Mousestripe said. Lifekit padded by her side, smiling at the she-cat. Mousestripe looked at her intently though, and Lifekit wondered why. She caught many cats doing this from time to time.
"Will Thornfrost be leader soon?" Lifekit asked. Mousestripe's mate, Thornfrost, was the deputy of SnowClan, so there was no doubt he'd be the new leader.
"Cloudstar is an old cat," Mousestripe told Lifekit. "He was a kit when the first leader of SnowClan, Icestar, ruled. He's outlived many cats in this clan. If it weren't for his nine lives, he'd probably have passed by now."
"How old are you, Mousestripe?" Lifekit asked.
Mousestripe giggled. "Never ask how old a cat is, Lifekit. I am an older she-cat, but not as old as the elders. I still have strong bones and keen skills. I could be a warrior for moons to come."
"Daddy says your father was leader," Lifekit told her.
Mousestripe nodded. "Yes, he was leader."
"Was he a good leader?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Mousestripe murmured, sitting down. Lifekit sat down beside the she-cat.
"How come?"
"Smokestar made a lot of mistakes in his life," Mousestripe told her.
"What kind of mistakes?" Lifekit pondered.
"Mistakes I will tell you when you're older," Mousestripe laughed. She paused for a moment, then spoke. "You look so much like your mother."
Lifekit had heard this many times, though she didn't know why cats spoke to her about it so much. She was her mother's daughter. Wasn't she supposed to look like her mother?
"What was Shinypelt like?" Lifekit asked.
"She was a very brave and wise cat, Lifekit," Mousestripe told her. "Just like you," she said, poking the she-cat with her tail. Lifekit giggled as she felt Mousestripe's tail lightly touch her.
"Daddy says she died in battle," Lifekit mumbled.
Mousestripe froze. "She did, Lifekit, but she died bravely defending the clan. It's because of her and all these warriors that SnowClan has remained safe and recovered from the battle. With leaf-bare only a short time away, we need to gather up much prey."
"It seems like everyone misses her a lot," Lifekit said, the subject focused on her mother again. She was so curious about her mother, and her questions never seemed to be answered.
"We all miss cats," Mousestripe told her.
"Thornfrost is not Shinypelt's father, right?" Lifekit asked, vaguely remembering her father mentioning that at one time.
"No," Mousestripe told her. "My first mate, Reedtail, was. He died…defending the territory, along with my father. Nasty MoonClan cats, they are. Thornfrost is the father of Tawnyheart's kits."
"Tawnyheart? I've heard warriors talk to her from time to time," Lifekit mentioned.
"Well, uh, yes. She was quite popular, I suppose. She died awhile ago, and now I'm happy with Thornfrost. I'm sure you'll find a special cat too one day," Mousestripe told her. "Your father is here," she said, pointing to the distance.
Lifekit immediately recognized her father. He stood there with his white and gray pelt, chatting to some other warriors she had seen him talking to before. Leaving Mousestripe, she raced to her father, giggling as she felt the autumn breeze twirl around her.
She ran into her father's side, and as he laughed, she could feel his whole body vibrate. "Hey," he said.
"Hi, Daddy! What are you doing?" she asked.
"Just chatting. Come on, let's sit," he said, sitting down near the center of the camp. Lifekit sat down beside him, glad to be with her father.
"I hear Mousestripe took you out of the nursery this morning?"
"Oh, yes, Daddy, she did!"
"Why don't you play with the other kits, Lifekit?" her father asked. "I'm not sure your daily walks with Mousestripe are good for you."
"What do you mean?" Lifekit asked.
"You're only a kit. You should play around, like a normal kit would," her father told her. If there was one thing she hated about her father, it would be that he liked to lecture her about being a normal cat.
"I am a normal cat!" Lifekit argued, seeing uncertainty flicker in Patchfur's eyes. "And there are no kits to play with!"
"Splashleap just had two kits, Lifekit. Why not play with them?" he suggested.
"They're new kits, Daddy. Splashleap won't let me touch them," she argued.
"What about Tasha's kits?"
Lifekit froze. She had heard everything going around about how the former rogue had become mates with a MoonClan cat and had given birth to his kits. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "They're MoonClan cats!"
Patchfur froze. "How did you hear of that?"
"I hear everyone talking about it," Lifekit explained.
Patchfur sighed. "It isn't fair to judge a cat by their heritage. Tasha didn't know the rogue was a MoonClan cat at the time. So yes, they are MoonClan cats, but they are not vicious or brutal like everyone makes them to be. I'm going to tell you a story."
Lifekit sighed. Another lesson-in-a-story.
"When I was a kit, we'd go to the elders den and hear lots of stories. This is one of my favorites. When MoonClan first attacked, before I was ever born, before Mousestripe was ever born, there was a kittypet tom who joined the clan. His name was Blaze, you see. Icestar, the first leader, renamed him Foxpaw. Now, later on, two MoonClan she-cats showed up on SnowClan territory. Their names were Petalpaw and Tinypaw.
"No one wanted to trust the cats. Icestar was getting old, and she was beginning to lose it. It took some convincing, but Icestar let them join. The cats were rejected from the time to time, but Foxpaw, the young tom, didn't seem to notice or care.
"When Petalpaw was a warrior, she was named Petalstream. She got into a fight with Icestar, and Icestar, who had completely lost it by then, exiled Petalstream for simply arguing and being a MoonClan cat. They fled to FoxClan, but Foxpaw ran after her. Eventually, he was able to bring the two sisters back and convinced Icestar to let them stay, all because he saw them as equal."
"Boring," Lifekit muttered.
"Go play with Tasha's kits, then," Patchfur instructed. "Even if they are MoonClan cats, they are surely as sweet and kind as Tasha."
Lifekit nodded, still ignoring her father's words. How could someone trust a MoonClan cat? As she made her way to the nursery, she froze, watching as Splashleap emerged in a fit.
"WATERFALLKIT IS GONE!" she shrieked.
Cats began to panic, racing around the camp. Lifekit fled back to her father, watching as Cloudstar yowled from the top of the rock.
"Calm down! We will send out a patrol immediately!" he yowled.
"You go to Graytail and Stormnight," Patchfur instructed, shoving her towards the warriors den. Lifekit slowly entered, nearly running into the two silver-blue toms.
"Sorry, Lifekit. We can't play. Cloudstar's going to send us out on patrol," Stormnight told her.
She watched as Patchfur marched up to the two. "I need you here to watch Lifekit."
"But isn' the nursery going to let her stay?" Graytail asked.
"The nursery is an investigation zone right now. Just watch her," Patchfur instructed, hissing at the two brothers. He ran off, leaving Lifekit alone with the two. She didn't really understand why Patchfur even trusted them. He seemed to yell at them constantly. Lifekit wasn't even really sure why. She just knew that Stormnight and Graytail were her mother's brothers, technically making them family.
"Well, this is boring," Stormnight groaned, leaning against the den. Lifekit sat beside him, watching as cats quickly scurried.
As the day passed on, Lifekit paced around the empty camp, Stormnight and Graytail chatting near the warriors den. She wondered when anyone would come back, when her father, when Mousestripe, when Thornfrost would return.
As the sun's rays began to set, Lifekit was about to give up and go to sleep in Graytail's nest, when she saw cats coming up from the horizon.
"They're back! They're back!" she shouted.
Immediately, cats raced out of dens, watching as cats slowly came back.
"My baby!" Splashleap cried, racing towards the cats.
Lifekit could see the small Waterfallkit walking, but as she looked up, all the cats seemed to have a sad, mournful expression on her face.
She felt Stormnight tense beside her. "Oh no," he murmured. "Come on, Lifekit. Let's go into the warriors den," he said, bringing her inside.
Confused, Lifekit sat in the den with Graytail. "What's going on?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Graytail told her.
"But you must know!"
"Cats of SnowClan!" Thornfrost's yowl rang across the rock this time, not Cloudstar's.
"Why can't I see?" Lifekit asked, edging forward.
"Stay in here!" Graytail hissed.
"Though I am pleased to announce that Waterfallkit is back, we have lost a great cat today. Cloudstar."
Cats mewed in confusion, and Lifekit tilted her head, confused. She hadn't thought Cloudstar was on his last life.
As Thornfrost continued, she was shocked to learn that his lives had been repeatedly taken. Apparently, some tribe cats had planned to sacrifice Waterfallkit, and Cloudstar had valiantly taken her place. She gagged as she heard of how he had been set on fire and had died. As the message ended, she watched as Thornfrost went off with Sandheart to receive his nine lives.
"Come on. Let's take you back to the nursery," Graytail said, slowly walking her back. She turned, watching as grave was being dug, but Graytail shook his head.
"No, don't look," he said, shoving her into the nursery. "Sleep tight, all right?"
Lifekit nodded slowly, padding to her nest. She hoped her father had been all right out in the woods. Was Cloudstar the only one dead? Who would Thornfrost appoint as deputy? All these questions ran through her head until she eventually fell asleep.