Chapter Twenty-four

Over the next three moons, the sudden Leaf-bare weather receded, and Newleaf arrived in full, giving way to a warm but bearable first moon of Greenleaf. The promise of new life was everywhere, including in CallistoClan. Both Pebblemoss and Flowershell were staying in the nursery, their kits on the way.

It was in this time, five days after the first Greenleaf Gathering, that Breezesong found herself once more at the front of the crowd of her Clanmates, watching as her apprentice had their warrior ceremony.

Morningstar had just called the Clan together, and was now gazing at the first stars of night, mewing, "I, Morningstar, leader of CallistoClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Rapidpaw, Runningpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

Rapidpaw answered without hesitation, her voice strong and steady. "I do." Runningpaw echoed her sister's mew.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Rapidpaw, from this day forth you shall be known as Rapidriver. StarClan honors your loyalty and your courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of CallistoClan." Morningstar had descended from atop Tallrock, and now laid her muzzle on Rapidriver's bowed head.

When she stepped back, she mewed, "Runningpaw, from this day on you will be known as Runningbrook. StarClan honors your compassion and your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of CallistoClan." The leader repeated the gesture with Runningbrook, and the Clan erupted into a chant of, "Rapidriver! Runningbrook! Rapidriver! Runningbrook!"

Breezesong joined in with pride, but then stopped, taken aback. Rapidriver… the sign! How had Morningstar known? And what did it mean for the future of the Clan…?

The cheering was interrupted by a cry from the nursery. "Shadypelt, come in here!" The call came from Flowershell, who added, "Pebblemoss is having her kits!"

Shadypelt rushed immediately to her den to gather supplies, and was in the nursery moments later, Graytail right behind her. The Clan was buzzing with excitement, and it seemed no one wanted to sleep until they heard the news.

They didn't have to wait long. Soon, Shadypelt pushed her way out of the den, tail held high. "Pebblemoss has three beautiful toms and a she-cat." She announced, then turned to Breezesong. "Could you bring them some fresh kill? Pebblemoss and Flowershell haven't eaten yet tonight, and it looks like Flowershell is going to have her kits soon- probably tomorrow."

"Sure, Shadypelt." Breezesong mewed. "Anything else you need me to do?"

"No, that's it. I need to go get some more borage." The blue-gray medicine cat headed for her den, and Breezesong made for the well-stocked fresh kill pile. Picking up a squirrel and a rabbit, Breezesong padded back to the nursery.

Inside, it was cool and shadowy. Moonfur rested on one side, her kits sleeping against her. On the other side, Pebblemoss lay curled around four tiny scraps, Graytail at her side. Flowershell sat near them, chatting.

Breezesong padded over. "I brought you some fresh kill." She mewed, sitting down the squirrel and rabbit.

"Thank you." Flowershell purred, picking up the squirrel and taking a bite. Graytail pulled the rabbit over for Pebblemoss to eat. The young queen looked tired, and she ate hungrily before mewing, "Graytail, could you introduce Breezesong to the kits?"

Graytail nodded. "Of course. Breezesong, meet the kits. Barkkit is the bigger dark brown tabby, Grainkit is the lighter brown tabby, and Stemkit is the smaller one that looks just like Barkkit. And Inkkit is the she-cat, named so for her inky black fur." Breezestar gazed down at the kits, her eyes resting on Inkkit. She was very pretty. Her fur was velvety black, and when she raised her head and let out a mew, Breezestar saw that beside her right eye, she had a silvery patch of fur in the shape of a crescent moon.

Pebblemoss finished her meal in a few famished gulps. "Aren't they lovely?" she purred, beginning to groom them gently. Grainkit let out a wail, raising his tiny head. "Hush, darling." Pebblemoss purred soothingly.

"Oh!" Flowershell let out a small cry, and everyone turned anxiously to her. Her tortoiseshell and white face was twisted in a grimace, and her breathing was heavy.

"Are you alright?" Graytail asked slowly, rising to his feet.

Flowershell shook her head. "Get Shadypelt…" she panted. Breezesong stood up to go, but Graytail was already out of the nursery. Instead, Breezesong moved to the queen's side.

"Lay down." She murmured, helping Flowershell to her nest. A shiver ran down the length of her body. Shadypelt was in the den a moment later and next to Flowershell.

While the medicine cat worked with the queen, Breezesong padded to the nursery entrance, deciding to and fetch Frostclaw. She didn't take but two steps out when Graytail appeared with Frostclaw from within the warriors' den. The two toms hurried into the nursery, and odd mixture of concern and excitement etched on their faces.

"What's going on?" Frostclaw mumbled as her approached Breezesong.

"I- I'm not sure, but I think Flowershell is having her kits now." Breezesong replied, moving aside to let them pass. She followed Graytail back in and over to Flowershell's nest. One kit lay in the moss next to Shadypelt, and another soon joined the first. Shadypelt moved the two kits closer to their mother, and she and Flowershell began licking them vigorously. One of them soon let out a wail, and Flowershell tucked it into the curve of her body while Shadypelt continued to lick the other kit.

"Is she okay?" Frostclaw asked in alarm when the small white and cream tabby kit still didn't move after a few minutes.

Shadypelt didn't respond. She kept on licking the tiny scrap, her eyes fixed on the kit. Finally, it wriggled under Shadypelt's firm tongue and let out a tiny squeal. Everyone in the den had been holding their breath, waiting, and they now let it out in a relieved sigh. "She's going to be alright." Shadypelt murmured, nestling the kit next to her sister.

Frostclaw curled up next to his mate and murmured, "What do you want to call them?"

"Sorrelkit. One should be Sorrelkit." She mewed quietly, watching the kits as they began suckling.

"Sorrelkit… I like that. Why don't we call the tortoiseshell Sorrelkit? And we could call the other… Snowkit."

"Snowkit… yes, it suits her. Perfect name with her white coat." Flowershell was obviously getting drowsy. She ate the borage Shadypelt gave her, and slowly drifted off to sleep, her flank gently rising and falling.

Breezesong padded out of the nursery with a yawn. She was tired, and her warm nest was welcoming.

The following morning, Breezesong was out with Rapidriver, Featherflight, and Muddytail on dawn patrol. They were in the southern part of CallistoClan territory, past the stream, when Rapidriver picked up an odd scent on the air. "Do you smell that?" the young silver warrior asked, sniffing.

Breezesong stopped beside her and did the same. "I… yes, I think I do…"

"What is it?" Muddytail, who was a few pawsteps ahead, had also picked up the odd tang on the air.

"Smells like… kinda like milk, but also like cat and fox and… crowfood. Yuck." Featherflight wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You're right… let's have a look." Breezesong led the way slowly through the undergrowth, her mouth open slightly to better pick up the faint but distinctive odor. The trail grew more pronounced as they padded along it, and it faded away at a large clump of boulders on the southeastern border. "What in StarClan…?" Breezesong mumbled. The trail had simply vanished, but the thing that had left it wasn't in sight.

"Hey, I think I found- Oh!" Muddytail's surprised mew came from the other side of the boulders.

Breezesong rushed around to his side. "What is it?" the words had barely left her mouth when she let out a gasp. "Great StarClan!"

A young kit was huddled fearfully in a crevice in the boulder. His fur was fluffed out, and he let out a miniscule hiss. "Go away!" he half-growled, half-pleaded. "I'm not bothering anyone! I'll… I'll fight you if I have to!" He tried to sound brave, but his mew wavered. "Please don't hurt me!" he added.

Breezesong crouched down and moved closer to the kit. He reeked of fox and crowfood, but he had the distinct smell of cat- rogue, Breezesong realized- and milk. "It's all right." She murmured soothingly. "We aren't going to hurt you. My name is Breezesong. What's yours?"

The kit eyed her as if judging whether or not she could be trusted. Finally he mewed guardedly, "Gold." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "At least, that's what I call myself. I don't have a real name."

"Oh, well Gold, how did you come here? Do you have any family? A mother or father?"

The kit shook his head. "I did have a mum, but she's gone. A mean cat chased her away when I was born. He said she was worthless. Instead, he gave me to this other rude cat. She called me Termite, and sometimes Fungus. But I ran away from her!" The little kit seemed emboldened by this accomplishment, and went on with less hesitance, "I made it all the way from the dusty hills! And I found this place- all on my own!"

"Where are the dusty hills?" It was Featherflight who asked the question. The kit eyed her suspiciously. "Down that way. But you can't see them from here. They're too far away." Gold gestured with his tail to the south.

"So how old are you, Gold?" Breezesong questioned. He looked to be about four moons old, but Breezesong couldn't be sure.

"I dunno." He mumbled darkly. "No one ever bothered to tell me time."

"Well how many full moons have you seen?"

"Three, I think." Breezesong nodded. That made sense- it would make him about three moons old.

"So where are you from?" He asked curiously.

"I live in the forest here, in a Clan called CallistoClan. Why don't we head back there now? There's this really nice cat named Shadypelt- she'll clean you up and treat that infected scrape on your ear." Breezesong had just noticed the tear in the kit's ear. It was an irritated red and encrusted with dried blood.

The kit seemed to contemplate this for a minute. "I guess so." He finally agreed. "But will there be food? Because I'm really hungry."

"Sure there will be. I have to talk to Morningstar first- she's the leader of my Clan- but I think that if you want to, she'll let you join our Clan. You'll get to train to be a warrior when you're six moons old. That means you'll learn to hunt and fight, and you'll learn all about StarClan and the Warrior Code."

"StarClan…" a distant light had entered Gold's eyes, as if he was thinking back to some past time. "My mum once told me a story about StarClan. She said they were our ancestors, and that the stars in the sky… Silverpelt, I think she called it, were really them, watching over us."

A stricken silence followed his words. Finally, Breezesong regained her composure. "Well your mum was a very smart cat. She was right." Breezesong stood up and stretched. "C'mon, we need to get back to camp. Gold, can you walk?" The kit nodded. "Good. Then follow us."

The four warriors and the young kit made it back to camp around sunhigh. While Featherflight and Rapidriver went to tell Morningstar about the kit and Muddytail headed out to hunt, Breezesong led Gold into Shadypelt's den.

"Shadypelt!" Breezesong called. The young she-cat poked her head out of the storage alcove.

"Yes?" Then she spotted the kit. "Oh! What have we here?" she hurried out, looking bewildered and slightly concerned.

"Shadypelt, this is Gold. My dawn patrol found him at the Boulders. Gold, this is Shadypelt. She's CallistoClan's medicine cat."

"Medicine cat?" Gold looked at Shadypelt thoughtfully. "Hello." He mewed.

"Hi there." The blue-gray medicine cat responded. Her gaze swept the kit, taking in everything from his messy fur to the cut on his ear. "Here, why don't you come with me, and I'll get you cleaned up? I can fix that ear of yours."

The kit hesitated, looking to Breezesong for consent. She nodded, and Gold followed Shadypelt over to a flat-topped rock near the spring.

"I'll be back in a bit. I need to go talk to Morningstar." Breezesong called, heading out of the den.

"No rush." Shadypelt called back. Breezesong padded towards the Leader's den, where she found Morningstar outside. Rapidriver and Featherflight were just padding off towards the fresh kill pile.

"So I hear you've found another kit." Morningstar mewed as her deputy approached.

"Yes, we have. He's about three moons old, and strong. He knows about StarClan." Breezesong added as an afterthought. "So what do we do with him?"

Morningstar contemplated for a moment. "Knows about StarClan, huh? Odd." She shook herself. "No matter, it's all for the best, if he's to be a Clan cat. But before we can decide whether or not he should stay, we need to see if there's a queen willing to take him. He needs looking after for the next three moons, and he needs to be taught all about Clan life."

"I'll see if maybe Moonfur will. Her kits are three moons old."

Morningstar agreed. "I'm going to go have a look at him while you do that." With an understanding flick of her tail, Breezesong headed for the nursery. She ran into Moonfur on her way in, Lavenderkit and Rowankit scampering under her paws to get out into the clearing to play.

"Oh, watch it, you two!" Moonfur called out good naturedly as her kits flew past. "Sorry about that, Breezesong." She mewed. "They're a bit hyper. What do you need?"

Breezesong explained about the kit as the two sat down in the sunlit clearing a short distance from where the two kits played in the dust. "And I was hoping that maybe you'd be willing to look after him." Breezesong finished.

"Sure I will, as long as these two are willing to let him in, and they all get along." Moonfur mewed, and Breezesong let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you, Moonfur. Thank you so much! He shouldn't be too much trouble, but he does need to be taught all about Clan life, and StarClan, though he already knows some."

"He does? How?" This fact seemed to surprise Moonfur more than anything else about the kit's story. "Of course I'll teach him, though."

Breezesong shook her head. "I'm not sure how he knows, exactly." Quickly, she explained about his mother.

"I wonder if she was a Clan cat…?"

"I dunno. Maybe she was at one time, or her mother was… I guess we'll never know for sure."

"Okay, well, however he knows, I want to meet him, so bring him over soon."

"I will. I just need to go let Morningstar know you agreed." Breezesong bid her friend farewell and made her way back to the medicine den. The kit she found there was not the dirty one she'd seen before. He was now clean and well groomed, and his ear had a poultice on it.

Morningstar and Shadypelt were talking next to him. "Morningstar?" Breezesong mewed. "Moonfur agreed. She wants to meet him."

"Good, good." Morningstar looked down at the kit. "There's a nice queen with two of her own kits, and she's going to look after you." The leader explained. "But first, if you're going to be a Clan cat, you need a Clan name."

"Clan name? Can I still be Gold?" The kit seemed nervous at the prospect of having his name changed.

"Well, in a Clan, when a cat is a kit, their name ends in 'kit.' And then when they're made an apprentice- that means they're training to be a warrior- their name ends in 'paw.' When they become a warrior, the 'paw' changes to something else, like 'fur' or 'pelt' or 'heart,' something like that. And that is their true and final name, unless they become leader, when the last part changes to 'star.'"

"So I would be Goldkit?" The kit scrunched his nose. "That sounds funny. How about… Goldenkit? Yes, I like that better. Goldenkit…"

Morningstar let out an amused purr. "Okay, then Goldenkit it is. Welcome to CallistoClan, Goldenkit!"

Breezesong purred. "Come with me. We'll go meet Moonfur and her two kits. Their names are Lavenderkit and Rowankit, and they're your age." The newly named Goldenkit followed Breezesong eagerly into the clearing and over towards the nursery, where Lavenderkit and Rowankit were still scuffling in the sand.

Breezesong padded up to Moonfur, and Goldenkit eyed the silver queen shyly. "Moonfur, this is Goldenkit. Goldenkit, this is Moonfur, the queen that's offered to look after you."

"Hello." Goldenkit mewed timidly.

"Hi, Goldenkit." Moonfur mewed pleasantly. She called over to her own kits, "Lavenderkit, Rowankit, come over here and meet Goldenkit!" The two young kits scampered over eagerly, and stopped beside the small golden tom. "He'll be staying with us." Moonfur explained.

"You don't smell like a CallistoClan cat." Rowankit mewed, sniffing at Goldenkit.

"That's 'cause I'm not. Well, I am now, but I wasn't." Goldenkit mewed evenly.

"Yeah, you smell like… something else. Kinda like fox." Lavenderkit chimed in.

"So where do you come from, if not from a Clan?" Rowankit eyed the new kit curiously.

"Rowankit, don't be rude!" Moonfur chided her son, and he gazed at her earnestly.

"I'm sorry, Goldenkit." He mewed. "I wasn't trying to be rude."

"But where do you come from?" This time the question came from Lavenderkit.

"I used to live in some hills far out past the forest. The cats I remember were mean. They chased away my mum and the cat that cared for me was rude. But I ran away from her." Goldenkit spoke with fierce pride, and the other two seemed to be in awe of this gold kit.

"Wow. You must be brave." Lavenderkit murmured.

"Not really. I was scared."

"So were there other kits where you come from?" Rowankit asked.

"Not that I can remember… except, at one point, I think there was this one… she was really pretty and really sweet. But one day, she left with the tom that chased my mum away and never came back." Goldenkit spoke softly, his voice tinged in sorrow.

"So where'd she go?" Lavenderkit asked in a hushed mew. She and her brother were clinging to Goldenkit's every word.

Goldenkit shook his head. "I don't know. She just… left. Like mum."

"What did she look like? What was her name?" Rowankit seemed enchanted by Goldenkit's previous life, and wanted to know the details.

"I called her Honey. She was so pretty… she was white with a honey colored flower-shaped spot on her head and a gray spot on her back with brown around it."

"It's time for your nap." Moonfur interrupted. There were whines from Lavenderkit and Rowankit, but Goldenkit only yawned and nodded.

"I'm tired." He mewed. "And hungry."

"Okay, well let's go in and you can all have some food, and then nap." Breezesong watched the three kits follow Moonfur into the shady nursery. She was relieved that they seemed to get along.

"Hey Breezesong! What's going on?" Oakpelt came padding over from the entrance tunnel.

"Hey Oakpelt." Breezesong quickly filled her brother in on the day's events.

"So Moonfur's taking care of him?" The dark brown tom asked. Breezesong nodded. For a moment, she though he might be angry, but then he mewed, "That's cool. I'm going to go say hello to her and meet Goldenkit."

"Okay. See you later." Oakpelt padded happily into the nursery, and Breezesong made for the entrance tunnel. As she padded back into the trees to hunt, a shiver that had nothing to do with cold, but everything to do with the day's events, passed down her spine. It was just so weird, that another kit had been found. And how could he know about StarClan? It was all so strange… Breezesong shrugged it off.