Before I say anything else, I would like to thank everyone for the 300 reviews! It actually happened so fast I had no idea what happened, but we reached it and I want to thank you all.
Our 300th reviewer was once again winxclubfan1!
Now, this chapter is from StarcrossedLover! Thank you for the idea, and I hope everyone enjoys!
'Never lay a claw on a kit, for they bring forth the future.' Surely you have heard of that rule of the warrior code.
Yes, how it came to be is a dark story. The queens should have no problem with you kits learning about that. If they do, they can claw my whiskers off after the story,
Standing outside of the warriors den, Spottedmist was well aware that she would not be staying there long. With her belly swelling with kits, she was taking up room in the warriors den and loosing the energy to continue her warrior duties. The cream she-cat was a little worried about having kits, seeing as all her kin had been rumoured to either die after kitting or the kits in some way would turn out unhealthy. Even now, the thought of losing any of her unborn kits, or leaving them without their mother scared her more than anything. As she went to move into the nursery, she noticed one of the queens, a pale gray and white she-cat heavy with kits, step out, casting a careful glance behind her. Spottedmist knew this she-cat as Dovewhisker. The expecting queen was heading towards the fresh-kill pile when she noticed the cream she-cat with white dapples watching her.
"Oh, h-hey, Spottedmist. You moving into the nursery already?" There was some sort of plea in the she-cat's golden eyes that she seemed afraid to say. Though Spottedmist noticed this, she nodded anyway. She noted to herself that she would talk to Dovewhisker later, to see what was bothering the pale gray and white she-cat.
"Yeah. I was told that Lilypaw had added my moss nest before she left with her mentor for training," Spottedmist clearly remembered the young apprentice, who had only moved to the apprentice den with her brother yesterday. She was young and headstrong, but Spottedmist knew the dark gray tabby she-cat had a lot of promise in her. Looking at Dovewhisker, she noticed the queen hadn't reacted to the statement except for a small nod. The cream queen offered a small purr. "I'll see you in the nursery."
"Spottedmist," The sharp tone that came from the pale gray and white she-cat startled the queen, who was already heading towards the nursery. Looking back at Dovewhisker, she noticed the golden-eyed she-cats stern look turn from a warning, to fear. "N-nevermind."
Before Spottedmist could stop her, Dovewhisker took off. Turning back towards the nursery, she noticed a flash of ginger vanish into the bramble thicket where the nursery was. The white dappled queen realized who it was right away. The only other queen than Dovewhisker was Firepoppy, a senior warrior who came off as sharp as a bramble to the other Clans, but Spottedmist had looked up to her for as long as she could remember. Why Dovewhisker seemed so frightened of the dark ginger tabby was a mystery. As she continued onto the nursery, she began to wonder what had gotten into the pale gray and white queen. For her to call a cat out was almost unheard of, since the she-cat was known to keep to herself. As she stepped into the nursery, she saw Firepoppy sitting in her nest, grooming herself, with her two she-kits, Emberkit and Brightkit curled up next to her. Emberkit looked up, the tiny tortoiseshell gave the same troubled expression that Dovewhisker had given her. Next to the little kit, Brightkit barely moved expect for the rise and fall of her hunches. The golden tabby and white kit's stumpy tail bristled in fear for a short moment before calling down again.
"So you're expecting kits now, too, huh?" Firepoppy asked, the thick-furred asked, not even glancing up from her grooming.
"Yes. I'm nervous, though."
"Hm, what's there to be nervous of? She-cats have been kitting since the first cat was born." There was something scary about the way the dark-furred queen had said 'she-cats'. Almost as if she was holding a grudge against her former mate, Redheart, for leaving her after she clearly wanted them to stop being mates. Without really answering the question, Spottedmist went to her nest. As she did, she noticed the remains of a nest in the back corner of the den.
"Whose nest is that?"
"Hollyfrost's."
"Why is her nest still here? Her kits are apprentices now." Firepoppy let out a small, irritated sigh and glanced back at Spottedmist.
"How am I suppose to know? They're probably too lazy to remove it." The harshness in the queen's tone made the dappled, cream-coloured she-cat quiet down. Instead, she glanced over at the dark silver tabby's nest for one more brief second before turning her attention to the nursery. there was a cold feeling here, one that did not make her feel as safe as it was suppose to. Looking down at her paws, she knew it was want Lightfrost would have wanted her to be when she had told him she was expecting his kits. Sadly, the light brown and white tabby was not here to comfort her from the feeling of dread that lingered in the place where queens and kits were suppose to be.
Lightfrost, please look over me and our kits from StarClan... For a moment she thought she felt the warmth of his long, thick fur and that alone was enough to make her feel calmer. As the day passed, Dovewhisker spent as little time in the nursery as possible. Around sunset, Emberkit and Brightkit went outside for a little bit to play mossball. Watching the tortoiseshell and her golden and white tabby littermate, Spottedmist felt a little envious. It was obvious the two kits were full of energy and she was only hoping her kits would be as well. Despite Emberkit being awfully small for a kit, she could obviously keep up with Brightkit, though the tortoiseshell would suffer from injuries a lot more easily than most kits. Meanwhile, despite Brightkit being a normal size for a she-kit, her stumpy tail made her more clumsy and it was painfully obvious that she was a little slower at learning than kits would be at a moon and a half old. Despite this, they were healthy kits and she was sure Firepoppy would be proud of them when they became warriors. As night arrived and all the cats in ShadowClan fell asleep, Spottedmist was awakened by the sound of pawsteps leaving the nursery. Opening her eyes, she noticed Firepoppy leaving with Emberkit and Brightkit. Despite the fact she didn't want to get involved with the matters of another queen, the cream she-cat got to her paws and quietly followed. The dark ginger queen's trail went past the dirt place and into the forest. Now worried, Spottedmist followed their scents. When she finally found them near the lake, she arrived just in time to see Firepoppy knock Brightkit to the ground with a powerful swipe of the paw. The kit was trembling, but too afraid to even make a squeak.
"You frog-brained kit! If it wasn't for the fact the Clan would find out, I'd drown you in the lake right now! You can't even speak correctly, how are you ever going to be a warrior?" Firepoppy's words were harsh, and the thick-furred she-cat had unsheathed her claws at her slow-learning kit. "You're an awful kit and you should feel bad for how frog-brained you are."
W-what is she doing to her kits?
"And you," Firepoppy's attention was now on Emberkit. The tortoiseshell flinched and tried to shrink away. "You're to tiny to even be a good medicine cat! I can't believe I had to have worthless kits like you two!"
This is awful! Spottedmist tried to take a step back, but Firepoppy had spotted her. Leaving her kits trembling in fear, she rushed at the cream she-cat and pinned her to the ground. The dark ginger tabby's green eyes burned in hatred.
"If you tell anyone what you saw, I will turn you into mousemeat! Understand?"
"Y-yes, I understand."
"Good. Now help me bring my useless kits back to camp. Do not comfort them. They need to learn a Clan needs strong warriors, not a runt and a frog-brain." Without even trying to argue with the queen, Spottedmist helped bring the kits back to camp. As Firepoppy fell asleep with her two kits, Spottedmist found that she was too troubled to even close her eyes for a long period of time.
A moon and a half passed and Emberkit was now three moons old. Brightkit, however, had passed away a quarter moon after Dovewhisker had given birth to her two sons, Smokekit and Waterkit. Firepoppy had said she had just passed away in her sleep. The only ones who knew the truth were Dovewhisker and Spottedmist, but both were too afraid to call the dark ginger she-cat out on her lie. To keep the queen silenced, she would harm either of the toms every time she felt like the pale gray and white she-cat was going to tell. Because of Firepoppy's abuse, Waterkit had become more sickly, the dark gray and white tabby had to spend most of his time in the medicine cat den. Meanwhile, Smokekit got more aggressive. The mist-coloured tabby tom would get into fights with other kits and even apprentices and was often hurt because of the fighting. As this went on, Spottedmist almost didn't want to give birth to her kits. Fate, however, had different plans. Just before sunrise, the cream-coloured queen let out a sharp cry of pain. Her kits were coming. Hearing the cry, Dovewhisker rushed to get Sandywhisker. The pale ginger and white she-cat had arrived with herbs right as the first kit had been born.
"Hang in there, Spottedmist." A voice whispered in her hear as the cream she-cat nearly blacked out from the torturous pain she was going through. She could have sworn it was Lightfrost's voice. It felt like moons before she had finally given birth to her kits. It was somewhat past dawn when the exhausted she-cat found herself with four squirming shapes at her belly. She clearly remembered what Sandywhisker had told her they were: Three she-cats and a tom. Looking down, she began to wish her mate was alive to help name them. The first one she looked at was a brown she-cat with darker tabby stripes.
"Duskkit," She murmured lovingly. It felt like a fitting name. Next was a golden brown tabby she-kit with long legs and a white muzzle.
Her fur almost looks like leaffall grass.
"Grasskit," Next was a dark cream she-cat. Even though the kit was just born, her pelt looked thick and no matter how many times the queen groomed it, it was almost always tangled. She began to try to think of a fitting name, but for some reason it was hard.
Tanglekit or Wildkit would feel like a cruel name that Firepoppy could use against her... If she had been more ginger, Cherrykit would work. Unable to think of a name outside of that, she decided to go with it.
"Cherrykit," Finally she looked at the tom. He was almost completely white except for the light brown tabby patch between his ears and his light brown tabby tail. He was the one who looked closest to Lightfrost. She wanted to honour the memory of her mate with the only tom.
"Frostkit." She decided after Sandywhisker had already left the nursery.
"Lovely names." Dovewhisker tried to purr, but it was cut short when Firepoppy entered the nursery. She looked from Spootedmist to her four kits. The dark giner tabby narrowed her green eyes at the four. Frightened, Spottedmist wrapped her tail around the nursing kits protectively. However, Firepoppy didn't respond to this action. Instead, she went to her nest without another word.
I will protect you, She promised her helpless kits. No matter what, I will protect you from her.
A half moon later, Spottedmist was woken up by the found of a helpless cry. Jolting awake, she noticed Firepoppy had her son, Frostkit, clamped tightly in her jaws the point she could easily snap his neck if she had so desired. Seeing this, something snapped within Spottedmist. Letting out a sharp yowl, she slashed at Firepoppy's ear with unsheathed claws. Surprised, the dark ginger tabby dropped the mostly white tom. He hit the grounf with a small thud and Spottedmist quickly moved him over to his sisters. She stood between the other queen and her own kits. Firepoppy let out a shriek of anger, but before the thick-furred queen could do anything, a pale gray and darker gray she-cat stepped into the nursery. It was Dawnstar, the elderly leader of ShadowClan.
"What's going on?" The she-cat asked as her deputy, Patchfish, stepped in behind her.
"Firepoppy was trying to harm my kit, just like she hurt Dovewhisker's kits and her very own daughters." Dawnstar carefully looked between the three queens.
"That's a dangerous thing to say. Is this really true?"
"Yes! I can even tell you that right now Emberkit has a scar under her thick fur on her chest. Dawnstar stepped forward and sure enough the tortoiseshell's scar was still there. Outraged, the elderly leader turned towards Firepoppy.
"Why would you dare do this to kits?"
"It's none of your concern." The dark ginger tabby snapped, glaring at the leader.
"You will tell me now." But instead Firepoppy lunged at the leader and sank her claws into the leader's throat.
"I have no room for the weak or the flawed." Firepoppy whispered to the dying leader. When Dawnstar didn't come back to life, Spottedmist realized the cold reality. Dawnstar had just lost her last life. Patchfish let out a deafening yowl. Outside, cats of ShadowClan groggily gathered to see what was going on so late at night.
"Warriors! Chase this fox-heart out!" The brown tom with darker patches ordered, glancing behind him at the cats gathering. Behind her, Spottedmist could hear Cherrykit squeaking in fear and the sounds of Grasskit sobbing. However, she couldn't hear anything coming from Duskkit or Frostkit, despite the fact she knew they were alive. A cry of fear from Cherrykit made Spottedmist realize that Firepoppy was lunging at her. The dark ginger tabby slashed open Spottedmist's throat and belly.
"I told you not to tell." She spat as the yowls of realization sounded from ShadowClan's warriors outside. As the world faded, she watched as Firepoppy snagged Grasskit and took off, away from the ShadowClan warriors. Cherrykit, Duskkit, and Frostkit gathered around the dying queen, sobbing for her to be okay. In the corner of her eye, Spottedmist spotted Dovewhisker.
ShadowClan and Dovewhisker will keep you safe, my lovely kits. Stay safe... I love you...
What happened to all of them?
Patchfish grew to become Patchstar. Cherrykit learned of her skills as an empath. Duskkit and Frostkit turned their bad experiences as kits as an excuse to pick on other cats. Emberkit and Waterkit passed away from illness. Smokekit was killed in his first battle as an apprentice. And Grasskit was never found, despite the fact that they had found Firepoppy's dead body three days after the death of Spottedmist.
Now, there will be more stories later. Go and enjoy the safety all kits are promised because of Spottedmist.
A quick note: I have a forum. It's my first time running a forum. It's called We Are The Night. You don't have to join, it's just an offer.
