We're entering our last two stories, all of which will be published before New Year's. This story revolves around Icestar's kits and their experiences growing up in ForestClan.
!SPOILER WARNING! This story contains major spoilers for Icestar and Blossom. I recommend reading Icestar and Blossom beforehand. There are minor spoilers for The Cat and the Fox and Mosskit Book 1: Skycloud, but this story only really spoils the prologues of both those books.
…
The apprentice den, though full of many cats, felt cold and empty to the three abandoned kits. Even with their nests pushed together, even with their fur brushing against each other, the two sisters and one brother felt that this large den lacked the homely space of their old home.
Jetpaw was quietly crying. Pebblepaw was silent. Rosepaw, however, was furious, digging her claws into the moss of her nest as she attempted to comfort her sister.
"She said she would come back. Mom will be back," Rosepaw assured Jetpaw.
One look from Pebblepaw, and Rosepaw knew he also did not believe this. No one was in their right mind to cope. They had just lost their father, and now, their mother had left them. For what? To build her own clan. Why couldn't they have been a part of that? Instead, they were ushered to this clan far away from the home they knew.
The positives went through each of their minds. They'd finally have a real clan experience. They would have the chance to meet new cats. But it still couldn't fill the home-shaped void within each of their hearts.
Yes, ForestClan had been kind to them so far, allowing them in, allowing them to train, but for now, their hearts were too broken to look ahead at the fond futures they may have. And for a moon or two, it stayed that way. They remained together, afraid to lose any more of their family, too afraid to make new friends.
Slowly, but surely, ForestClan life became more regime. They each trained separately with mentors they all enjoyed, and soon enough, they found themselves forming social circles. But for each, it was hard to remain attached, as they wondered...would their mother come back and fetch them one day?
...
Rosepaw happily pranced alongside her brother as they returned from their afternoon training.
"Did you see that bird I caught? Thistlefoot didn't think I could climb that tree, but I sure proved him wrong," she said.
"You have been getting better," Pebblepaw admitted.
"Well, of course I am. I'll be a warrior in no time!" Rosepaw exclaimed. She glanced ahead, noticing Jetpaw was returning from her training as well. She quickly ran to her sister, Pebblepaw following behind.
"Guess what, Jetpaw?! I caught a bird today!" Rosepaw exclaimed.
"The whole forest must have heard by now with how many times you've said it," Pebblepaw grumbled.
"Congrats, Rosepaw," Jetpaw said, giving her a weak smile. Rosepaw frowned, wanting at least some friendly competition between her and her sister. But Jetpaw had dealt with losing the family the hardest, and because of that, it was hard for her to break out of her shy shell.
"Well, I know someone who would appreciate me," Rosepaw said. She turned and walked away with her tail high in the air. She found Thistlefoot conversing with another tom of the clan and happily ran up to her mentor.
"Were you impressed by the bird I caught?" Rosepaw asked him.
"Yes, yes, of course," Thistlefoot said. "But it is past training hours, and we don't need to keep talking about today's hunting lesson."
"No one cares I caught a bird," Rosepaw pouted. She glanced up, staring at the tom accompanying Thistlefoot. She'd seem him around camp before, and from what she was aware, he was a good warrior. Olivetail, she remembered suddenly. That was his name. She knew so because cats liked to joke he was the male version of her, as he had the same white and gray coloring as she did.
"That's pretty impressive for an apprentice that's only nine moons," Olivetail said.
Rosepaw jumped up. "Just you wait! I'll catch ten more birds! That's a promise, Thistlefoot," she said. Olivetail chuckled heartily in response, and Rosepaw felt her heart beat suddenly for some reason. She suddenly realized how handsome of a tom Olivetail was, and why she had noticed him before. She found herself beginning to stutter, and not wanting to lose her vivacious spirit, she took off before she said anything embarrassing.
...
"How are you doing, Sandpaw?" Pebblepaw asked quietly. He found her near the edge of camp, picking at a squirrel. He was doing his best to make sure her appetite kept up these days. Her and her sister.
"Some days are harder than others. Snowpaw was in a good mood today though," Sandpaw admitted.
"You should finish that squirrel."
"I'm not hungry," she said, letting out a sigh.
"How about we split it?" Pebblepaw offered, taking a seat beside her. Sandpaw nodded, and he felt himself let out an exhale as she finally began to take some larger bites. He understood it was hard for her. He had felt it himself once.
An assassin was after her family, a tom that Sandpaw's mother had once rejected. It had only been a few sunrises since Sandpaw's mother and brother had been found dead. Birchstar had stepped up patrols, but Pebblepaw knew Sandpaw still felt uncomfortable with the killer lurking nearby.
"Feel better now that you've eaten?" Pebblepaw asked.
Sandpaw nodded. "Sometimes, our siblings are the only ones we have, right?"
Pebblepaw nodded, though he knew it was more difficult for her. Because unlike Sandpaw, he had only lost his parents, and there was the possibility his mother was still alive. He couldn't imagine losing one of his siblings.
"I think Rosepaw and Jetpaw are the only ones who've kept me sane," Pebblepaw admitted. "I was so upset when we first came here, upset that my mom had left me."
"But she said she'd come back, didn't she?" Sandpaw asked.
"I don't know anymore," Pebblepaw murmured.
"When you're big and strong, you can go out and find her," Sandpaw encouraged.
Pebblepaw laughed a bit and shook his head. "No. I don't care that much anymore. Rosepaw pretends not to care either, but I know she does deep down. And Jetpaw...well, she's a mystery. I never quite know what she's thinking."
"If you had the choice, would you go?" Sandpaw asked.
Pebblepaw tilted his head. "I don't know. Maybe."
"I would like if you'd stay," she said.
Pebblepaw's paws began to tingle. Sandpaw had been one of his earliest friends, but lately, he had been viewing her in a different way.
"Okay," he said quietly. "I'll stay."
...
"Pst, Jetpaw," came a hiss near the apprentice den. The sun was descending, and Jetpaw had been sitting out front, watching the sun sink behind the horizon. Her ears lifted as she recognized Darkpaw. She slowly got up and walked toward him. It only took him a second for him to begin nuzzling her.
"Let's get away from all the other cats," he said, leading her away from the dens, toward the edge of camp. "How was your day?"
"Same old," Jetpaw admitted. "Blossomfern thinks I'm getting better with my fighting moves. I thought I'd never see the day."
"That's because you've got IceClan blood running in you. One of the ancient clans," Darkpaw told her.
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm that talented," Jetpaw admitted, shuffling her paws. She glanced up, staring into Darkpaw's bright eyes. She had fallen in love with him quickly, maybe too quickly, but he was one of the few cats that had made her time at ForestClan worthwhile. It had only been a moon or so ago that they'd both confessed to each other, with Darkpaw promising to ask her to be his mate when they became warriors.
Jetpaw almost declined at first. Because, for the longest time, she thought her mother would come get her. That they'd go home. But seeing her siblings adapt more to ForestClan life, seeing the disbelief in Rosepaw and Pebblepaw's eyes that their mother would ever return, made her think that maybe the best, most comfortable thing to do, would be to start a life here.
Her siblings did not know about her and Darkpaw. She liked to keep that private. They knew that she and Darkpaw got along well, but...
"Why the long face?" Darkpaw questioned.
"When I napped earlier, I dreamt about my mother and my father. I felt so happy, being with them, but I know it's all false. My father is dead, and I won't see my mother anytime soon," Jetpaw admitted, slouching her shoulders.
"Who needs them? Because you have your siblings, and me," he assured her.
"You're right," Jetpaw told him. "I do have you." She raised herself on one paw to lick his cheek and them smiled at him. Yes, it was becoming easier to leave behind her old home.
...
It was a proud day when all three were made warriors. The clan cried out the names of Rosefur, Pebblefoot, and Jetpelt. They all knew their father was watching them from StarClan. Maybe their mother too, if she had not survived. But something told all of them that Iceblossom was still out there, even if she had no intention of collecting them soon. And by this point, none of them wanted to return. They had been in ForestClan for the same amount of time as they had lived with their parents as rogues. They had no intention of leaving their new home, especially with the new bonds they had formed.
Rosefur and Pebblefoot had appeared surprised when Jetpelt ran down to greet Darktail with a lick on the cheek. He had become a warrior two moons before her, and true to his word, he had asked Jetpelt to be his mate the day she became a warrior. Rosefur and Pebblefoot wondered why they had been so oblivious to Jetpelt's lovesickness, though she was shy, and they had been a bit too preoccupied themselves.
Rosefur had taken a liking to Olivetail. They were not mates, not yet anyway, but Rosefur suspected it may happen soon. She had begun hunting with him in the freetime, learning more about him. He had come to ForestClan as a warrior. She realized they had a lot in common, both not originating in the clan.
"Let's go on a walk in the woods," Rosefur said after her ceremony.
"But you have to keep watch," Olivetail warned.
"For just a little bit!" she said, slashing her tail. Olivetail laughed in response. He seemed to like her spirited personality more than the other ForestClan cats. The others often found Rosefur annoying, but Olivetail seemed to see something special in her.
"Where are we going?" Olivetail asked.
"Let's stop here," she said. She turned and faced him. "I like you. I want to be your mate."
Olivetail blinked. "Well, that was said matter-of-fact."
"Sorry. Did you want some over-the-top confession? So I'll ask again. Would you be my mate?"
"You know, it's not very traditional-"
"Olivetail!"
The tom chuckled. "Yes. I'll be your mate. But don't let Thistlefoot know. He may think I was trying to distract you during your apprentice training."
Rosefur rolled her eyes now. "But I'm a warrior, so it doesn't matter."
"You're right," he said, leaning forward to nuzzle her.
...
"Sandpaw, please, can we just talk?" Pebblefoot asked, stalking toward her.
"No, because I know what you want to talk about, and the answer is no!" she exclaimed.
"Sandpaw, please. Just hear me out," he begged.
Finally, she spun around and glared at him. "What?"
Pebblefoot gulped. "Well, um, as you know, you'll be a warrior in a moon, and when the time comes, I wanted to ask you-"
"The answer is no, Pebblefoot! I've told you before. I-I didn't want this to happen," she murmured, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Sandpaw," he said lightly.
"Of course I like you, Pebblefoot. Of course I want to be your mate. But I can't. Because...because, well, you know what will happen," she said, sniffing some.
"But Snowpaw-"
"Snowpaw can do what she likes! But I'm afraid for her. And I'm afraid for you, too, Pebblefoot. Because if Barkface comes back-"
"I can take him," Pebblefoot said, puffing out his chest.
Sandpaw couldn't help but giggle at that. "In all seriousness, you know you couldn't, Pebblefoot. Even my father, matched in skills with him, couldn't defeat him, because he plays dirty."
"You're letting him win. You know you are," Pebblefoot told her.
"I don't want you getting hurt. And I don't want a mate. And I don't want kits because-" Sandpaw began to break down into tears. Pebblefoot lurched forward and licked her face and ears. "I love you, Pebblefoot," Sandpaw whimpered.
"Then, please, be my mate. There's no one else I'd rather be with. Birchstar will send out patrols. We'll be extra vigilant. I won't let you go out into the woods alone," Pebblefoot said. "Because I don't want you to suffer because of this cat. Birchstar will find him soon. I don't want you to regret this life."
"Okay," Sandpaw breathed, nodding again and again. "Okay."
...
Jetpelt was trembling in the medicine cat den, having learned the news. She was pregnant with Darktail's kits. They had barely been warriors together for a moon. She was a bit let down at first, she had to admit. She had been excited for all the new experiences that would come with being a warrior, but she also knew there were even more exciting experiences for her as a queen. As a mother.
I don't want to let this kit down, not like my mother did to me, she thought.
Darktail burst into the den, out of breath.
"Reedriver, what's wrong? I was told to come to the medicine cat den-"
"Nothing's wrong," Reedriver, the medicine cat, assured him. "Jetpelt, would you like to explain for him?"
"It was a simple check-up, see. I'm pregnant," she said.
Darktail paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up in excitement. "That's great news! Oh my StarClan! We're going to be parents!"
Jetpelt nodded, finally allowing a smile to creep across her face. Of course, the news reached her siblings fast. They were both excited, with Rosefur declaring that she would come visit the kits every day as part of her auntly duties. Pebblefoot seemed to sense Jetpelt's worry.
"What's wrong?" he asked her aside one day as she laid in front of the nursery with her swollen belly.
"I just don't want to mess up," she admitted. "Darktail is so excited, but we had such a poor relationship with our mother that I'm afraid...I won't know what I'm doing."
"That's not true. You'll do a fabulous job being a mother, Jetpelt. It's Rosefur I'm really worried about," he joked. "But in all honesty, feel lucky. Soon, you will have a beautiful family."
Jetpelt nodded and smiled at him. She could not imagine the pain he felt, not knowing whether a wild tom might attack him or his mate. She knew they were putting off having kits because of it. She hoped one day, she might see him as a father.
When the day of birth came, Jetpelt was in great pain. The birth was difficult, and Jetpelt almost regretted having kits that day. She gave birth to one tiny, sickly black tom. Darktail was immediately worried, but Reedriver assured the kit would grow strong in no time. They named him Blackkit, and though Jetpelt had imagined their family as a little bigger, she was happy to have her son by her side.
True to Reedriver's word, Blackkit was fine. In a few moons, he was as big as the other kits and getting along fine. Jetpelt, meanwhile, was still frail. The birth had done something inside her body that had made her more fragile than normal. She was beginning to worry if she'd even be able to return to the warrior den when Blackkit became an apprentice. Of course, she kept this from Darktail, afraid he'd worry. She didn't want to ruin his vision of a perfect family.
The days were growing cold, and with leaf-bare, came greencough. Jetpelt tried to ignore the cough growing inside her, but it was hard to contain, and the other queens, worried of their health and their kits', alerted Reedriver. Jetpelt was separated from Blackkit and taken to the nursery, and within a few days, she knew the situation was grave. She could barely stay conscious, her body ached, and every time she saw that alarming look on Reedriver's face, she knew the end was near.
Her last moments were blurred, with Darktail weeping over her, Blackkit pushing at her torso, begging her to stay. Then...blackness. She thought maybe her father was walking down from the sky to greet her and bring her home.
...
Rosefur and Pebblefoot quietly stood near Jetpelt's grave, whimpering. They had experienced loss before, what with their father's death and mother's abandonment, but this was a new kind of grief. Jetpelt was young, with a new kit, and so much life to live.
Rosefur tilted her head, seeing Blackkit yawn beside his father. The weight of his mother's death did not seem to entirely set in yet.
"Daddy, can I go inside? It's cold."
"Oh...yes," Darktail said, breaking out of a trance.
Rosefur watched Blackkit head to the nursery and narrowed her eyes. She was worried for Darktail. He had not been the same since Jetpelt's death, and she could tell already that Blackkit was growing lonely.
"He's grieving," Pebblefoot told Rosefur when she brought up the situation, but even she could tell Darktail had reached his limits.
And she was exactly right. She wanted to be there for Blackkit, to check in on him, but she was busy herself with warrior duties, not to mention...she had a secret to tell Olivetail too. She found Olivetail in the woods one day, during one of his solo hunting sessions.
"You scared me!" he exclaimed.
Rosefur chuckled. "Guess what?"
"What?" he asked lovingly.
"I'm pregnant."
Olivetail broke out of his lovedazed trance. "You are?!"
Rosefur nodded excitedly, though fear still held ahold of her. What if the same fate of Jetpelt was in store for her? For the time being though, she was happy, and she and Olivetail headed back to camp in high spirits, ready to share the news.
Instead, they learned the worst. Blackkit had taken off at some point in the early morning. One of the queens had noticed his disappearance, and though patrols had been sent out, they had lost his scent.
"Well, you have to send out more, don't you?" Pebblefoot demanded Birchstar.
Darktail was standing in a corner silently. Rosefur narrowed her eyes, knowing what had caused it. Darktail had been neglecting Blackkit since Jetpelt's death. She knew his grief prevented him from being a caring father, but also, how could he let himself be swayed by grief that much? This was Darktail's fault, and she knew it. She almost marched up to the tom, ready to blame him for her nephew's disappearance, but Olivetail stopped her with his tail.
"We can send out more tomorrow, but I can't send out cats across forests to find him," Birchstar admitted. "He left on his own volition, and if we do find him, I'm afraid he might not want to return. I sensed Blackkit was unhappy, even with his apprentice ceremony coming up."
"Aren't you going to say anything?!" Pebblefoot said, turning to Darktail.
The tom only hung his head and walked away in shame. Rosefur figured that would be the last time she and Pebblefoot spoke to him.
Rosefur had to wait a few days to tell Pebblefoot the news. The patrols had found no sight of Blackkit, and the mourning process began again. Blackkit was assumed dead, as no one would expect a five moon old kit to survive out in the woods alone with no training. But Rosefur somehow suspected that maybe, if he had his mother's fighting spirit, if he had his grandmother's fighting spirit, he might still be alive.
When Rosefur did tell Pebblefoot the news, it was quietly in passing. He gave her the normal congratulations, but Rosefur could tell he hurt deep down, that he wanted kits more than anything, but Sandnose had forbade it at the moment until she felt safe. She assured him he could visit the kits as often as he wanted.
But even then, ForestClan was becoming threatened by other clans, and Rosefur herself was beginning to fear for her kits' safety.
The day of her birth went smoothly. She gave birth to three kits, two she-cats and one tom. She named them Skykit, Petalkit, and Cloudkit, respectively. All were healthy.
But Olivetail pulled her aside shortly after the birth, begging her to take the kits away for a few moons. She thought it might have something to do with the assassin that threatened Sandnose's family, but Olivetail explained instead that he had got word from Birchstar about the threats the clan was receiving from other stronger clans. Birchstar was apparently going to announce shortly that ForestClan would be participating in a war.
Rosefur argued with Olivetail, thinking he was acting like her mother, but she knew Olivetail simply cared about her deep down. His past was a bit of a mystery, but she suspected he had felt some strong loss in the past, and that was why he wanted to protect his kits. So it was agreed she would leave for three moons and care of the kits. He would fight in the meantime. And if all was well when she returned in three moons, then she would remain in ForestClan.
Rosefur did not plan to tell Birchstar, but she knew she could not leave without telling her brother. She whispered to him from the sleeping warriors den, unsure if he would awake, but he did.
He stepped outside confusedly.
"Why aren't you and your kits all sound in the nursery? I know it's new-leaf, but the night air is still cold, and the kits-"
"I'm leaving," Rosefur told him.
Pebblefoot's eyes widened. "What?!"
She shushed him and quietly explained her and Olivetail's plan. She had hoped he would agree in some respect, but he only shook his head.
"What do you think you're doing, Rosefur? You've just had kits, you're in no condition to travel. You'll have to hunt for yourself but also still care for them. ForestClan is strong. We can get through this," he said.
"I want to make sure my kits grow up with both their parents, and I think this is a way to assure this," Rosefur told him.
"But it's not fair! Jetpelt just died, Blackkit is gone, and now you're leaving with your kits. I have no family left besides you, Rosefur," Pebblefoot lamented.
"You have Sandnose," Rosefur told him.
"I worry for her. I worry for our futures," he admitted.
"I'm sorry, Pebblefoot. I'll be back in three moons, just as Olivetail told me. And I will survive. I'm strong. I'm not like Jetpelt. I coped the best when we were left here, and I'll cope with this, too."
"Where will you go? For three moons?"
Rosefur shrugged. "I don't know. But there's someone I'd like to see."
"Who's that?" Pebblefoot wondered.
"Ah, nevermind. This isn't good-bye. It's simply, see you again," Rosefur told him. She could see the tears in Pebblefoot's eyes, but she wouldn't let him sway her. Because, despite all that had happened today, this was a great opportunity.
For moons now, memories of Rosefur's mother were resurfacing, and she suddenly felt more determined to find her mother than ever. If Olivetail was going to send her away for three moons, then she figured she'd make use of it. Yes, she'd raise her kits and keep them safe, but in the meantime...she was going to find her mother.
…
Dear Reader,
Thank you for sticking along on this four-year journey's worth of Warriors short stories. I did not expect for this collection of short stories to continue for so long, but I put out nearly all of the stories I planned, plus a few requests, and feel that with all these stories now completed, I can finally retire from Warriors Cats writing.
Although I did have one more story planned, I found that I really wrote my heart into the last story and that it makes a better end to this collection, so I will be ending with "A New Home." The other stories I had planned that I cut were small, irrelevant stories that required a lot of creative thinking that I had no longer had the brainpower for. I hope you understand that cutting these stories was for the benefit of putting out longer, more heartfelt works.
This will end my Warriors Cats writing. A saddening day for some, I'm sure. However, I did retire from writing Warriors novels in 2016, and I did not expect to keep this book going for so long. I have written Warriors since 2011, which has grown quite tiring over the past decade. I have been wanting to move on from this realm for a long time, considering I have not picked up a Warriors book in probably seven years and that there's a lot more out there I want to write.
I want to thank you and your support for all the Warriors works I've published on Wattpad. They, no doubt, have contributed to my fame. This is not the end of my writing. I still plan to publish my original works and other fanfics on Wattpad, they just will not be Warriors-based. I encourage you to please check out some of my other non-Warriors stories. They are as exciting, if not better-written, than my Warriors fanfics that are increasingly growing outdated.
Thank you again
~Maeve