Several moons later...

"Come on, Poolcloud! Push a little harder!" Briarheart was mewing from the nursery.

Silverfrost was standing outside, trying to calm and anxious Darkfern. "It ll be fine, Darkfern!" Honestly! She thought to herself. Queens have been kitting since before the Dawn of the Clans!

At last, Briarheart and Solarflame emerged from the nursery. "You have three healthy kits."

Briarheart mewed happily. "Two toms and a she-kit. You can go and see them now".

Silverfrost followed Darkfern into the nursery, where Poolcloud lay next to Dovewish, her belly large with Junipercloud s kits. Poolcloud was suckling a ginger she-kit with white patches of fur, and a light brown tabby, and a gray tom. Poolcloud purred when she saw the two cats enter the den. "What should we name them?" She mewed drowsily. "I was thinking Heartkit, for the ginger and white she-kit."

Darkfern purred. "That's a lovely name. I think we should name the light brown tabby, Hawkkit."

"And the third?" Poolcloud asked, not even tearing her eyes away from her kits for a moment.

Darkfern glanced at his sister. "I think Silverfrost should name the last kit." He mewed to his mate softly.

Poolcloud nodded in agreement.

Silverfrost looked at the gray tom thoughtfully for several heartbeats before replying, "What about Eaglekit?" She mewed.

Poolcloud purred. "That's a wonderful name."

Darkfern looked lovingly at his kits. "Heartkit, Hawkkit, and Eaglekit, our lovely kits." He mewed happily.

Two moons later...

Fawnpaw bounced happily near the camp entrance, waiting for Silverfrost to take her out on a hunting assesment.

Silverfrost emerged from the warriors' den, and was greeted by the lively chatter of playing kits. Heartkit, Eaglekit, and Hawkkit were playing with Dovewish's kits, Emeraldkit, Fernkit, and Willowkit, three adorable she-kits who had just been born a half moon ago. They chirped "Hello!" to Silverfrost, and raced into the nursery.

Silverfrost purred. It had been so long since they had heard the lively chatter of kits. Silverfrost made her way over to Fawnpaw, passing the two newest warriors, Mistyfur and Lionpelt, who had been made warriors about a moon ago.

"Calm down." Silverfrost chided her excited apprentice. "This is just a hunting assessment, not your warrior assessment." She mewed.

Fawnpaw stopped bouncing, but her excitement remained.

"Now then, we should be going." Silverfrost mewed, suppressing a purr as Fawnpaw squealed and raced out of the camp.

Silverfrost slipped stealthily into the bushes, and followed her apprentice carefully. Fawnpaw spotted a vole, and she immediately dropped into the hunter's crouch, and she crept stealthily after the mouse, but just before she pounced, a twig snapped, and the vole skittered away, but Fawnpaw leaped quickly, and killed the vole rather clumsily. She dug earth over her catch, and she continued hunting. Fawnpaw spotted a blackbird, ready to take off, and she leaped, but the blackbird took off too quickly, and Fawnpaw fell to the ground and muttered, "Fox-dung!" Silverfrost looked at her apprentice sympathetically, then followed her towards the three oaks.

At the end of the day, when they returned to camp, Fawnpaw had caught a fat squirrel, as well as a mouse and the vole she had caught earlier in the day. Fawnpaw was bursting with pride as she showed Ivypaw and Doepaw the squirrel she had caught. Putting the mouse and vole on the fresh-kill pile, she took the squirrel over to the elders, for them to share.

Silverfrost proudly reported to Sunnystar how her apprentice had fared, and Sunnystar mewed unexpectedly, "Do you think she should be made a warrior?"

"Well, I think she should work on her battle moves a little more, and if we promoted all three apprentices, we wouldn t have any apprentices for four moons, because Poolcloud s litter is only two moons old." Silverfrost reasoned.

Sunnystar nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, of course. We can wait maybe three moons, and the younger warriors will just have to help out with the apprentices chores for a moon." She purred with amusement at the thought.

Even Silverfrost couldn't help herself from purring at the thought. Sunnystar motioned for the silver tabby to leave, and Silverfrost padded over to the nursery. "Hello, kits." Silverfrost mewed to the five kits. They all mewed hello, and Emeraldkit and Willowkit resumed suckling Dovewish s belly for milk. Fernkit, however, was playing with Eaglekit and Hawkkit, and they were all tussling in the corner of the nursery. Silverfrost realized with a jolt that Heartkit was absent.

"Where's Heartkit?" She mewed to Dovewish, careful not to wake Poolcloud.

Dovewish looked up. "Isn't she here?" She mewed confusedly.

Silverfrost nudged Poolcloud urgently. "Poolcloud! Wake up!"

The queen awoke, and mewed sleepily, "What is it?"

"Heartkit is missing!" Silverfrost yowled.

Darkfern raced into the nursery. "Did you say Heartkit was missing?!" He mewed urgently.

Silverfrost nodded. "Darkfern, check the elders den first, then the rest of the camp, as well as the dirtplace. We don t want to cause an unnecessary panic."

Poolcloud's ears were pricked up in alert, and she jumped every time she heard a noise. Finally, Darkfern returned, his eyes wide with panic. "I checked the whole camp! She's not here!"

Poolcloud wailed in distress at the thought of her kit missing.

"Calm down!" Silverfrost mewed, trying to calm the distressed queen. "I'll send out search parties at once." She mewed.

"I want to join one." Poolcloud mewed at once. "Dovewish can watch the kits."

Silverfrost nodded, and raced out of the nursery. "Heartkit is missing!" She yowled for the whole camp to hear. Warriors and apprentices emerged from their dens at once.

Silverfrost took a deep breath and mewed, "Darkfern, you take Junipercloud, Thistleleaf, and Doepaw over to the WinterClan border; look the entire area between there and the three oaks." Darkfern nodded, and the cats Silverfrost named raced out of the camp.

"Poolcloud, you take Hollybriar, Robinleap, and Lionpelt to search everything in between the three oaks and the training grove." Poolcloud nodded, and called the other three cats Silverfrost had named and headed out of camp.

"I will take Cloudfrost, Mistyfur, and Fawnpaw to search everything in between the training grove and the BraveClan border. Frostpelt, you'll be in charge of the deputy's orders until I return." Frostpelt nodded and immediately began assigning patrols.

Silverfrost called for Cloudfrost, Mistyfur, and Fawnpaw, and she raced out of camp, with the three of them on her heels.