WarriorCat99, I like your kits, but there is already a Thunderkit in EarthClan. However, I will be using at least two of your cats. I'm so glad you like my story!
Zestia240, thank you for the kit. I will almost definitely use her in Nettle's Path. Plumkit is really cute :) He has never told a lie or hid his true emotions. That's led to quite a few awkward moments…
Blackpoppy101, thanks for the praise and support, I really appreciate it. : )
Nettlepaw, Redpaw, Mushroomfoot, and Poolripple, not to mention Plumkit, who was dangling from Mushroomfoot's jaws by his scruff, trudged through DawnClan's watery territory, leaping over the streams and brooks that often appeared and making their way through the clusters of trees that were slightly less common.
"Why'd I have to come?" Nettlepaw complained, the leaf-fall wind making her shiver. Unlike her sister and mother, who both had thick, warm pelts, Nettlepaw had thinner fur, good for keeping cool in green-leaf, but not as effective at protecting her from the cold breezes of leaf-fall and leaf-bare.
"Because," Poolripple mewed, "If a group of senior warriors came charging into our camp with a missing kit, what would you think?"
Nettlepaw hesitated.
"I'd think it was an invasion," she admitted, "or a hostage negotiation."
Poolripple nodded.
"But two medicine cats, a warrior, and a young apprentice aren't as much of a threat," she mewed. "And also-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence because just then an enemy patrol ran right into them. Literally.
The four patrolling cats were knocked off their feet by the collision. But in a split-second, they were back up again, snarling. There was a moment when all was still, then:
"Aunt Ghosttail!" Plumkit wiggled out of Mushroomfoot's jaws. He scrambled over to a skinny black she-cat with a white tail-tip. Plumkit tackled her. He purred in delight, knocking the she-cat over, and causing the whitish gray tom, apricot she-cat, and the silver tabby she-cat that she was patrolling with to blink in surprise.
She got back up, her face set in a stern expression.
"Plumkit, do you have any idea how worried your mother was? How worried I was! What were you thinking, going off at night all by yourself? Thank StarClan a fox didn't get you! Once we get back to camp, I'm sure that Barkstar will decide to postpone your apprentice ceremony!"
Plumkit practically shrank before his fuming aunt. But Nettlepaw could see the relief, the joy in her eyes.
She turned to the EarthClan cats.
"Thank you for returning Plumkit to us. Flickertail will be overjoyed." She shook her head in wonder. "But why he is almost six moons old, and acts like a two-moon-old will forever be a mystery."
The four DawnClan cats departed, vanishing into the night.
"That was easier than I expected," Redpaw mewed, "I really thought we would have been attacked by now."
They heard hissing, and five rouges erupted from the bracken.
"You really had to say something," Nettlepaw snarled, unsheathing her claws.
The biggest rouge, a huge black tom yowling a fearsome battle-cry, all five pounced.
Nettlepaw's opponent was a scrawny brown she-cat, about her age. As they struck and dodged, Nettlepaw detected a scent like Rat's, but not exactly his. She forced the she-cat back into the cluster of trees where she had emerged. She pinned her down.
"Okay. I just want to talk."
The she-cat snarled.
"Cowards talk. Warriors fight."
"I'm a friend of Rat's."
The she-cat blinked, the hostility fading from her eyes. Nettlepaw let go, allowing her to get up.
"I see my foolish brother has now made friends with the enemy," she mewed. "My name's Shrew by the way."
Brother? Nettlepaw thought. That would explain her scent.
"Can you get him to meet me at the border between EarthClan and Twolegplace?"
Shrew sighed.
"I can make no promises, but I'll try. But wouldn't you get killed if you were found?"
That last question took Nettlepaw by surprise.
"No, I wouldn't get killed. EarthClan doesn't put ten-moon-old apprentices to death."
"Forgot," Shrew muttered. "You're a forest cat."
"Do you mean to tell me that Rat will likely be killed if we are discovered?"
"Yep. If Iceshade is feeling merciful, then maybe he might get exiled instead."
"But that's so cruel."
Shrew's green eyes locked with Nettlepaw's amber ones.
"There is no place for traitors in ShadeClan," she mewed ominously. Her ears pricked. "Quick, fight me!"
She leapt at Nettlepaw, claws unsheathed, just as the huge black tom from earlier burst into the small clearing.
"C'mon, Shrew, strategic retreat," he mewed quickly, pulling his head back as soon as the words escaped his jaws.
"Gotta go," Shrew mewed. "I'll tell him to meet you at the new moon."
Her pelt disappeared into the dark night, leaving Nettlepaw with a sinking feeling in her heart.
I'll have to choose, Nettlepaw thought glumly. Wingpaw, or Rat?
Poor Nettlepaw. Which will she choose? Also, those who want to give me a kit: this is your last chance. By the time the next chapter is posted, it will be too late to give me a kit. If you want to give me a kitten, you can give me up to five cats. Please put their appearance and personality. Thank you.