Chapter 8 so soon?! :O, well I couldn't leave you guys hanging! (Really I was just excited to start this one and I'm pretty impatient.) I'm really happy that you guys all like this! Here's some extra info. Who is the cat Honeystar trusts most? Well that cat is Yarrowfeather, they were apprentices together and even though he is very remote, she was able to crack him and found his true colors, as he did her's. Deep down she hopes that they will be mates one day. Also, Honeystar has a bit of an attitude when she's mad if you haven't noticed! Enjoy this next chapter, it's a juicy one! ~EbonyFire
Chapter 8
"It's a... kit?" The cat mewed. For a moment, Dawnkit had hoped it was Fireflypaw since she said she was white also, but this cat sounded much older and had brilliant, crystal blue eyes.
Dawnkit's eyes were stretched wide and her wings were tucked behind her back as she hid them. Behind her was a dark grey tom with darker speckles, like a darker, male version of Speckledove, minus the pretty plus the handsome.
"Who's kit is this?" said the tom, "I don't recognize it." The three kits stood next to him frozen in fear, probably thinking they would be in big trouble, but Dawnkit knew they didn't even know the gravity of how much trouble.
"I know all the kits, maybe this one is from another clan?" the she-cat with blue eyes had one ear tilted towards him, Dawnkit guessed it was probably because she was partially deaf, which was common in white cats with blue eyes.
"And how did it get all the way into our territory and then cross all the rivers to get to camp?" the tom retorted, "We better bring it to Honeystar."
"No!" the kits screeched as they ran in front of Dawnkit, "You can't do that!"
The she-cat sat down and tilted her head at the siblings, "Why? What do you know about this?"
Each of the kits looked at each other nervously and Fawnkit stepped up.
"You can't because she's our sister! Dawnkit will be in HUGE trouble!" the grey tom furrowed his brow.
"Sister?" he scoffed, "She's moons old than you! She looks the size of a new apprentice!"
Turtlekit frowned and stepped up with a growl, "Yes she is! She cares for us and we just wanted to explore camp with her!"
"Yeah! You can't take her away or Rosetail and Papa will get really mad!" Tadpolekit finally piped in.
"Rosetail? Brackenheart? What do they know about this?" the she-cat turned to the grey tom and he shrugged. She looked back down at the kits, "I still have to bring her to Honeystar, I would like to hear what she knows about this. You three can go get your parents, Willowrain too, we need to all speak."
Originally Azuregaze, the white she-cat, supposed that they had adopted the kit and hadn't told the clan yet, Starclan knows why, until she grabbed the kit off the ground.
"Come on you, er, Dawnkit," she mewed as she lifted up the kit up by her scruff, that movement shook Dawnkit out of her dazed fear and she began to mew and struggle in her grasp, all while flapping her wings wildly. The white she-cat stumbled backwards in surprise as she dropped the little cream kit.
"What are those?!" the grey tom exclaimed.
"A-are those w-wings?" stammered Azuregaze.
The tom turned to her, "We have to take her to Honeystar immediately," the white she-cat shakily nodded and nudged the little kit. She looked at her foster-siblings with wide pleading eyes but said nothing and moved along.
Soon enough the three kits had gathered Rosetail and Willowrain, but Brackenheart was on a hunting-patrol. The grey tom strode towards their leader when he spotted her in the dip where meetings were called, she was speaking to Leafwhisker, her deputy.
"Honeystar," he looked at her seriously.
"Hello Drizzlefur, what is it?" she rested her green eyes on him but then she looked at the group of cats behind him First at the queens, then the kits, and then Azuregaze, and finally the little shape at her paws with her head hung low and wings drooped and dragging on the ground. Honeystar's pelt immediately bristled and she opened her mouth to say something but Leafwhisker spoke first.
"Who is that kit?" Honeystar turned to look at him, anxiety plaguing her expression and he then caught on, "Honeystar, is that the sickly kit you spoke of?" his green eyes were narrowed.
"I-"
"You know about this kit!? Why doesn't the clan know!" Azuregaze looked furious and spat out at her leader making Dawnkit flinch.
"I thought it was about time I would introduce her to the clan, but I wasn't sure. I needed time to think."
"Think?! Well you've had six moons to have been thinking!" Drizzlefur padded over to her and wrapped his tail around her's.
"Calm down," he whispered in her ear, she looked into his eyes and let her fur lie flat.
Honeystar closed her eyes and then looked to Leafwhisker, who was just now realizing that the kit had wings and was staring wide eyed. "Go get Speckledove," the deputy tore his eyes away from the kit and nodded before rushing over to the little island that held the medicine den.
"Let me speak to you all behind my den-"
"But!-" Drizzlefur placed his tail over Azuregaze's muzzle but he nodded at her and flicked his ear at Honeystar.
"No," he meowed to his leader, "We want to talk here, we want all the clan here."
She looked at him warily through narrowed eyes, "Fine then."
Speckledove was now padding over behind the deputy with ruffled, messy fur and tired eyes.
"This better be serious, I was just resting after my trip to the Moon-Willo-" her eyes widened and she fluffed out her fur as she spotted Dawnkit, "No..." she spat quietly.
"It was bound to happen Speckledove," the golden she-cat walked over Clan-Branch and leapt onto the fallen log. Rosetail pushed her way through the cats and rushed over to Dawnkit who was shivering in fear.
"Shh love, it'll be okay" She wrapped her tail around the little kit and herded her over the the fallen log that was propped up against a boulder, one of its branches jutting out over the meeting hollow which was called the Clan-Branch.
Soon all the kits were with Dawnkit at her side except Cottonkit and Walnutkit, who were sitting beside their mother with looks of disgust on all of their faces.
"All cats old enough to swim the river and run the moors gather underneath the Clan-Branch for an important meeting!" Honeystar's yowl from atop the Clan-Branch reached all across the island camp and soon all cats had exited their dens and the returned hunting patrol set their catch in the fresh-kill pile to join them. Acornstep sat down next to his mate and asked her what was going on but she just narrowed her eyes and he sat down, confused.
Honeystar scanned the meeting hollow to confirm that everyone was there before she began to speak, "I have important news for all of you that is much overdue," Cats gazed up at her curiosity and she continued, "About six moons ago, a kit had been born on the exact moment of the Sun's going out," a few cats gasped, "When she was born she was obviously, well, different. Her name is Dawnkit and was off Willowrain's litter."
"You're what?!" Acornstep turned to his mate, "This was the lie Speckledove said? You said that it was an excuse! Why wouldn't you tell me we had another kit?!" she turned and spat at him, making him step back in surprise.
"That thing isn't my kit!" Dawnkit started to shake from behind her foster-mother's tail.
"This kit has something that are medicine cat has defined as not a health issue, but none the less never seen before. Dawnkit, please step forward." Honeystar turned to Rosetail.
Dawnkit nervously glanced at Rosetail and she nodded and lifted her tail, nudging her adopted kit forward. As Dawnkit padded forward all the cats grew silent.
"What does it mean?"
"How horrible!"
"Poor kit..."
"Disgusting!"
"Is that thing even a cat?!"
Dawnkit shrank down to the hollow floor, wishing the earth would just swallow her up.
"You can see why we hid her," Honeystar was even glaring at the kit, "We need to decide her fate in this clan."
"Kill her!" screeched Willowrain, "She isn't even a cat! Starclan will have our clan cursed if she stays!" that offset many cats and they started murmuring and glancing at Dawnkit worriedly. Dawnkit started to shiver violently in fear.
"Lets give her up at the gathering! See if any other clan will take her!" one cat added after a long pause of nervous whispers.
"Lets banish her before it's to late!"
"Lets throw her in the river!" even Cottonkit and Walnutkit were crying out what to do with Dawnkit, but their father just stared at them in surprise. But even he looked down at the little cream kit with disgust and anger.
"Silence! Enough! Do you not see that it would be against the code if we did any of those things to her?" Honeystar growled. Suddenly, a familiar voice rose up.
"We can't hurt her! I won't let you!" every cat turned to stare at the cat who had said this, when the crowd parted, Dawnkit spotted the cat with a flicker of hope.
"Fireflypaw?" Duskbird, Fireflypaw's mother, looked at her kit with confusion and worry.
The albino she-cat stepped forward, "You can't harm her! For the past two moons I have been meeting her outside the nursery, I've met her and I know what she is like! She's just like any other cat, she has a kind heart and is funny and curious! I asked Dawnkit to come out and show herself to the clan, but she always said no. And now I know why. Why would you treat her differently? Just because she has, well, wings doesn't mean that she is some sort of monster!"
Fireflypaw never knew about the little kit's wings, but that just shed light onto the situation of why she wouldn't leave the nursery. And within the short time of realization, the white apprentice had already accepted it. Maybe it was the fact she had already been different, being that she was the only albino cat in the clan, or maybe it was just that she had a short dream of a little cream kit with wings moons ago but never understood it.
"This kit is just a weakness to the clan, her difference will bring her down and she will become a burden," Honeystar's response was not of anger towards the kit, but of curiosity of what the white apprentice's reaction would be to this statement.
"Azuregaze is half-deaf!" Fireflypaw said and flicked her ear at the other white she-cat, "But we trained her to be a strong warrior and a great hunter! Why couldn't we do the same for Dawnkit? Sure she is different in an entirely new way, but we are smart! With practice, training, and a ready mind we could over come this hill and she could be an asset, not a burden!"
Some cats murmured in agreement but others stayed silent and glared at the kit with malice. Finally, Honeystar spoke up.
"I find your idea very interesting, young apprentice, and I must agree," some cats yowled out in outrage, but the leader silenced them with a swish of her tail, "This is a kit we're talking about, how could we do something so horrible to her," she looked down a Dawnkit, "The most we could some this up to would be a rare birth defect, and we have had warriors with worse. We would need to have a great, dependable mentor to have her trained, but the aspect of her becoming a warrior is not impossible."
Dawnkit started to raise her head up and she looked a little bit happier but Willowrain's angry yowl made her flinch back down to the ground.
"How could you even think she could become a warrior!? She's an ugly, horrid, unnatural, monster!" Honeystar silenced her with a hiss.
"You may have your own opinions, but this is my decision. So you should be silent and accept my choices even if you do not agree with them. Is that clear?" Willowrain spat and sat back down.
"Then this meeting is adjourned, she will become an apprentice when time comes, and that will be soon. Any who disagree," she glanced down at Willowrain, "are obliged to keep their muzzles shut. This kit will have a place in this clan even if some do not see this as alright. She will not have all the privileges that we do, but enough so that she will be happy. This is finale," Honeystar then leaped off the Clan-Branch and spoke shortly to Rosetail before turning to Speckledove and padding off with her.
Dawnkit felt every stare burn into her pelt as they all got a last look at her and turned away to leave the meeting. Willowrain's eyes were burning with a hatred as she left and she turned to spit one last thing at the family.
"I hope you're happy." Dawnkit stepped back and gazed up at her foster-mother once her birth-mother had gone away.
"Will I be okay?" Rosetail's gaze was kind and hopeful.
"Yes love, you will be," she rested her head on top of Dawnkit's and meowed, "You will be okay..." Dawnkit nuzzled her foster-mother's neck fur and buried her face into it, comforted by the sound of her heartbeat.
Something told Dawnkit this was only the beginning. Of what? That was still unknown, but not far.