With the exception of Rainclaw99, starstar412, Maxlin997, Guest, darkdreamsXsilentclaw and Warriors Fan1342 (and Patty Hillard and IrisTenebris caz there awesomeeeee) , SHAME ON YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU! Only six reviews? C'mon, guys! We're aiming for 200! Oh, and xScarclawx BECAUSE THE TWO KITS IN THIS CHAPPIE THAT APPEAR ARE HIS! THANK YOU SCARCLAW!
Anyway, here's the newest chappie. I considered punishing the non-reviewers but I figured that would make my fic less popular, soo...CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY!
Disclaimer: I. Am. So. Mad. That. I. Only. Got. Six. Reviews. That. I. Will. Grit. My. Teeth. And. Say. I. Don't. Own. Warriors.
ThunderClan lost.
Amberpaw woke up to the sound of defeated shuffling around the camp. Hurriedly, she scrambled out of the medicine cat's den, wailed in pain when her sprained paw landed on the ground, and hobbled over to the cats that were battling.
Brightheart was limping. Hazeltail had lost so much blood that she had to be carried by Mousewhisker and Foxleap. Mousewhisker and Foxleap hadn't fared so well, either. Foxleap favored his left paw and Mousewhisker had a patch of fur missing (which Amberpaw really didn't want to see). Bramblestar looked as if he was losing a life.
Amberpaw glanced at Sorreltail and Spiderleg. They were the worst of all. Sorreltail lay unconscious between Poppyfrost and Brackenfur, whilst Birchfall and Daisy (she didn't fight, of course) helped Spiderleg limp back to camp.
Then she found a certain white tom.
"Snowpaw!" murmured Amberpaw as she hobbled (at this point, she really hated hobbling) toward him. His fur was scored with deep scratch-marks, but he was alive. Amberpaw could almost jump with joy.
Snowpaw wearily licked her cheek. "They totally overwhelmed us. And..." Snowpaw's voice trailed off sadly. Amberpaw turned and gasped at a body Thornclaw and Graystripe (Amberpaw was surprised he survived the battle) was dragging in.
Millie.
Graystripe's eyes were hollow with grief. Amberpaw couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. He lost his first mate, lost his daughter, won't ever see his son again, and now he's lost his second mate.
Briarlight dragged herself out the nursery den (it was where she slept, now that Seedflower was medicine cat) and began pressing cobwebs to any cat she could reach.
Bramblestar stumbled onto the Highledge. "Cats of ThunderClan!" even his voice sounded hollow. "Many of you have participated in the battle with ShadowClan. Some of you, however, haven't. I shall give the news now. ThunderClan has lost part of our territory to ShadowClan."
Yowls of disbelief and unhappiness sounded throughout the clearing. Bramblestar continued. "ThunderClan has declared war against ShadowClan, and we shall not lose to those mange-breeders!" Bramblestar finished with a yowl.
The cats echoed this yowl.
"For we are ThunderClan!"
Amberpaw looked darkly at them. We may be ThunderClan, but that might not be enough.
Suddenly, a shriek split the air and Daisy ran into the nursery in a frenzy. "Icecloud's kitting!" she announced.
"But it's early!" Briarlight protested. "Her kits aren't due for a moon!"
Another howl sounded.
"Well, too late for that," Daisy sighed. "They're coming now!"
Briarlight attempted to drag herself, but she was held back by Brightheart. "Oh, no you don't," Brightheart mewed. "You can't help kit, remember? If you took the kits with your front paws, then you would fall."
Briarlight sighed. "I guess not," she admitted regretfully.
Screams echoed throughout the clearing.
"Well, don't just stand there!" Mousewhisker urged. "Go help Icecloud!"
Brightheart began running to the nursery, but then stopped. "I need to get Seedflower!" she muttered urgently.
"What?" Mousewhisker panicked. "What about Icecloud?"
Amberpaw sighed, and ran to the medicine cat's den as fast as her sprained paw could carry her. Inside, she heard Brightheart coaxing Seedflower to help Icecloud kit.
"C'mon, Seedflower, you're a medicine cat! Wouldn't you have a great reputation if you helped a queen kit by yourself? In fact, Icecloud's in labour right now! How convinient!"
Seedflower whispered, "I know you want me to help Icecloud kit, Brightheart, but I'm not. Not after Dustpelt's dead. Now that he's dead, nothing matters to me anymore. I just want to die so I can join him."
Amberpaw exploded in frustration. "Seedflower, you worthless piece of fox dung!" she snarled. "Could you actually think of cats other than yourself? I mean, every cat has a sense of duty. Just go out and help Icecloud kit!"
"That's not all," Seedflower responded, sounding as if she didn't care that Amberpaw had just brutally insulted her. "Icecloud is Dustpelt's daughter. Dustpelt and Ferncloud's. Not mine." she continued to whisper, "Not mine. Not mine. Why should I help her?"
"Because every cat has a sense of duty," Amberpaw repeated. "If you don't acknowledge that, you don't deserve to be called Seedflower, medicine cat of ThunderClan. If you abandon ThunderClan at critical time like this, then you will be simply Seed, rogue."
Amberpaw's words sunk in and Seedflower widened her eyes and sighed. "Well, I guess I'll help."
Brightheart had permitted Amberpaw to help with the kitting. "Thanks to you," she whispered. "ThunderClan has a medicine cat again."
As they entered, they were relieved to find that none of the kits had been kitted before. Amberpaw watched as Seedflower pressed a paw against Icecloud's swollen belly, ignorant to the white queen's howls of pain. "Two," she reported.
Seedflower turned to Icecloud. "Your muscles are working to push the kits out. After this strain, you'll have to push along with it," Amberpaw was amazed at how calm Seedflower sounded. She was truly a skilled and gifted medicine cat. ThunderClan was lucky to have her.
After Icecloud's belly convulsed again, Amberpaw could see Icecloud strain and she saw a sack connected to a cord that plopped out.
Amberpaw watched as Seedflower nipped the cord and delicately licked the sac until it popped, and a white-gray shape fell out. Seedflower quickly shoved it to Amberpaw. "Lick her fur the wrong way until she starts breathing," she ordered, before turning back to Icecloud.
Hesitantly, Amberpaw leaned down and licked her. The kit was soaked to the bone, and Amberpaw covered her in licks, trying to warm her. It seemed to take an eternity, but, finally, the kit squeaked and started breathing. Amberpaw placed her next to Icecloud's belly, where she latched on and started suckling.
Meanwhile, a second gray kit had come out, and Brightheart was licking her to life as Seedflower fetched borage from the medicine cat's den.
As the second kit started breathing, Amberpaw finally got a good look at them. The first one was white and gray she-cat, and the second was gray spotted with white.
Seedflower came back with a mouthful of borage. "Here," she mumbled, dropping the leaves near Icecloud's muzzle. "Eat. They'll help your milk come." She glanced at the two energetic kits, and commented, "Well, even though they were born early, they're unusually healthy." Seedflower sighed. "Well, I guess that's good."
As Icecloud licked up the leaves, Brightheart padded out the nursery and yowled, "Okay, Mousewhisker, you can see your kits now!"
Amberpaw quietly watched as the gray-and-white tom entered and almost immediately started licking Icecloud's face. "Oh, wow," he murmured. "Two beautiful she-kits!"
"They look like you," Icecloud added. "A lot like you."
Mousewhisker prodded the first she-kit; The gray-and-white one. "Her name could be..." Mousewhisker's mew trailed off as he paused, searching for a name. "Windkit," he finally finished. "Because, with her pelt merging together, it almost looks like wind, that is, if we could see it."
Icecloud nodded. "And this one will be Petalkit," she muttered, licking the head of her second daughter, the gray spotted-white one. "The spots that she has on her fur could be the tiny seeds that fall out of petals~or flowers, for that matter."
Mousewhisker nodded. "Windkit and Petalkit."
Three one-moon old kits looked at their new arrivals. "Wow, Windkit's pretty," Lightningkit commented before his eyes widened and his tail slapped over his mouth as his two sisters purred with amusement.
"Are they old enough so that we can fight them? Can we, can we?" Whitekit mewed energetically.
Daisy purred. "No, kits. They aren't old enough yet."
"But when will they be?" Whitekit whined.
"In a few moons, I'd say."
"A few moons!" Whitekit exclaimed. "That's gonna be a long time!"
Featherkit playfully bumped Whitekit. "Loosen up, old hag!"
"Old hag?" Whitekit asked. "Who are you calling old hag, old hag?"
Purring with amusement, Amberpaw exited the nursery.
When Dovewing woke, it was early in the morning~at least she thought so. She stretched out her senses to ThunderClan (she was able to reach it, surprisingly) she realized that the nursery was even more crowded.
Icecloud's kitted!
Dovewing couldn't help but purr. The kits looked no older than one day. One was white-and-gray and the other one was gray with lots of tiny white spots.
She realized that the other cats were beginning to stir. Lionblaze raised his head and yawned loudly, while Halfpaw, still half-asleep, gingerly tested her paw.
"It's a little better," she mewed, surprised. "I can put a little weight on it now."
Jayfeather nodded. "Good." Dovewing noticed that the normally cranky medicine cat looked tired, as if something bothered him. She shrugged. Probably nothing important.
Leafpool flicked her tail at Tigerheart. "Wake up," she gently ordered. "We're moving."
Soon enough, the seven of them started trotting through the tunnels. Leafpool hoisted herself up to look aboveground, every now and then, to check that they were still on track.
"The branches are bare. There aren't any leaves anymore~they've all fallen. Pretty soon we'll have snow." she reported.
Suddenly Dovewing stopped. "The paths are going to split in to two." she muttered, and turned to Leafpool. "Which way will we go?" she asked.
Leafpool shrugged. "I might have to check."
As Dovewing predicted, the single tunnel suddenly split into two.
"Wow. Really, Rock?" Jayfeather murmured. "The softpaws are already really far from the exit. It really doesn't matter which one they'll choose. They're gonna die either way."
"Unless they turn around and go back," Halfpaw meowed.
"Which we aren't going to do." Leafpool said firmly. She sniffed the air, then tried clawing at the earth, to no avail. Oddly, it was now over four fox-lengths in the air. Even Lionblaze, with his powerful leg muscles, couldn't jump to reach it.
Tigerheart sighed. "Are we gonna die? 'Cause I don't wanna die."
Leafpool scented the air. "There's more of a breeze that way," she mewed, pointing into the right tunnel with her tail. "So let's try that way."
As the cats continued on, Dovewing was aware of an underlying stench. She drew out her senses and almost immediately she drew them back. What are these?
"Stop!" she shrieked, but it was too late. Three shady figures~bigger than cats~leaped out. Dovewing knew it was probably just her imagination, but she swore their eyes were bloodred.
Is it a...groundhog?
Dovewing had never seen a groundhog so big. It was longer than she and Halfpaw combined. And it's eyes, as she saw, were red.
The enormous groundhog roared and thrashed about, leaping on the plumpest meal~Cinderheart.
"You aren't touching a hair on her pelt, dirtface!" Lionblaze snarled as he leaped to fight.
"When groundhogs have no predators nearby, they can grow really big... At least that's what Midnight told me." Leafpool mewed.
"Nice to know," Jayfeather scowled sarcastically.
Keep your attacks quick and short, Dovewing reminded herself, going back many moons, when Hollyleaf had taught her to fight in the tunnels. If you back up against the wall, then leap over, or else you're cornered.
Spitting, Dovewing pounced on the groundhog and tried to get a grip, but the groundhog's pelt was thick and sleek~a bad combination if you're trying to hold on. She fell over with a squeak as her claws scraped harmlessly across the pelt. Beside her, she glimpsed Tigerheart being thrown back with a hiss and felt a pang. Why did he hate her for liking Bumblestripe, anyway?
Lionblaze wasn't faring well, either. He darted here and there, trying to find a weak spot, and Dovewing could barely keep track of the flash of golden fur.
Suddenly, another rank stench filled the tunnel and Leafpool, about to attack the groundhog, had a sharp intake of breath.
Badger!
Another looming shape appeared; The large, hulking form of a badger. Dovewing's heart crumbled. How were they going to get out of this?"
Tigerheart let out a squeak and suddenly disappeared from view. Dovewing resisted to roll her eyes. The groundhog and badger can still scent you, mousebrain!
Leafpool let out a yowl of joy, startling the rest of the cats. "Midnight!" she exclaimed, before the badger snarled at the groundhog, grabbed it's neck between her teeth, and shook. The groundhog howled and squirmed, and when the badger dropped it, it scrambled away, eager to leave the pain.
Leafpool bowed her head. "Thank you, Midnight. How did you know we were here?"
Midnight grunted, "Midnight hear whispers of stars. Prophecy Midnight heard long ago. Groundhog cannot stop destiny." Midnight sighed suddenly, sounding despressed.
"What is it, Midnight?" Lionblaze asked. Dovewing remembered that Midnight had helped in the final battle against the Dark Forest. Well, not-so-final anymore, she thought.
"You have hard journey ahead." Midnight's eyes suddenly locked on Cinderheart, blazing and intense. "You especially suffer pain."
A flicker of worry momentarily descended among the eight.
Midnight turned to Jayfeather. "You recieve dream?" she inquired.
Jayfeather bleakly nodded. "Did it actually happen?" he asked.
Midnight snorted, to every cats' surprise. "Is sun bright?" she retorted.
"Wait," Dovewing heard herself ask cautiously. "What dream?"
Then she had to listen to Jayfeather explain the contents of what he dreamed. When he was finished, Dovewing's jaws were hanging open and she couldn't close them, like other cats. They were every bit as speechless as she was.
"I assume you aren't dazzled by my beauty?" Jayfeather asked sarcastically.
"Hardly," Tigerheart was the first to mumble.
Lionblaze rolled his eyes. "Jayfeather, is it really that hard to tell us what happened in your dreams/visions/signs/signs from the Dark Forest/signs from StarClan after you recieve them?" he asked.
Jayfeather struck a mock thinking position. "Let me se~no." he shot back.
"So, Midnight, what was the crystal orb?" Leafpool questioned, ignoring her sons' lighthearted quarrel.
Midnight shook her large head. "It made not of crystal. It made long long ago, by very wise cat name Cognitor Omnia Quae."
"That's a long name." Halfpaw mewed. "Did he shorten it to Co...Con...Cog..."
"Cognitor?" Midnight asked. "Cognitor Omnia Quae did not. He went by Cognitor Omnia Quae."
"We can see that," Tigerheart muttered.
Midnight continued, ignoring Tigerheart. "Cognitor Omnia Quae was blessed. He know many, many things and incantations that even Twolegs no not. He very kind and look out for weak, too. He live at beginning of time, where evil was very little. He take ancient stone, name lapidem. Cognitor Omnia Quae carve lapidem and make it smooth and round. He say that million moon later cats will need." Midnight briefly closed her eyes. "Very long million moon indeed."
"Did Cognitor Omnia Quae possess our...abilities?" Cinderheart asked.
Midnight nodded. "That and more. Powers that cat here have are thanks to Cognitor Omnia Quae."
"Did you know Cognitor Omnia Quae?" Leafpool queried.
Midnight nodded. "Yes, very much."
"Did you call him Cog...did you call him by his name?"
"That I did not," Midnight softly growled.
"Then what did you call him?"
"I call Cognitor Omnia Quae mate."
Well, a badger and a cat. Interesting. Anyway, Cognitor Omnia Quae(or Cogy for short because his name is loooong) was sort of like a god to most cats, and he will be referred to many times. Maybe I'll even give him a brief appearance.
Quote:
"I have traveled far, and many tongues have learned. Tongues of other cats, who speak not same as you. Of foxes and rabbits also. They speak not of intrest. Fox talk is all of kill. Rabbit has thistledown for brain."
-Midnight, explaining her knowledge of speech to Brambleclaw in "Midnight"
Blech. It's hard imitating Midnight-speech. Anyway, if you review THIS TIME I may forgive you...oh, and 'Cognitor Omnia Quae' means 'Learning All' and 'lapidem' means 'stone'. Try to figure out (if ur a member of FF, not anons, sorry) what language they're in! If you get it right, you'll get a hint (by PM, and answers will also be by PM, NOT review, caz ppl might look there for answers) who the seventh cat is!
AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON THE POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE!
-Sky