In the last chapter, Leafkit was tragically killed by badgers while saving his littermates. I still feel bad for killing him off but Cinderkit and Redkit will survive (for now) don't worry!
Anyway, let's just get into the chapter. Not everything will go to plan…
"No, Leafkit!" Cinderkit meowed in horror, watching as her brother was crushed by the angry badger and crumpled to the ground. No longer alive.
"D-Dawnflower believes in StarClan," Redkit said shakily as he backed away from the badger who had killed their brother. "Maybe he will have joined them already. Maybe he has met our father by now- maybe he will visit us-"
"Nothing will be the same," Cinderkit choked, shaking her head. "But we need to honour our brother's memory. And we can do that by staying alive."
"True," Redkit conceded, stopping to snarl at the badger ferociously, trying to keep the creature away. "I can hear a patrol coming by now. Surely it's Ambereye and Sunheart- some of the warriors are still injured from the fight against ShadowClan."
"Yes," Cinderkit said in horror as the creature came closer and closer. "But will they be here on time? They might arrive and find the dead bodies of three kits, not just Leafkit."
"We're the last hope for Willowfeather, Snowcloud, Graypaw and Sweetbreeze," Redkit pleaded to the badger. "You have to understand, badger. Please let us go."
"Don't be silly," Cinderkit said sharply, but she quivered in fear. Just because both of the kits were smart enough to talk like warriors and Leafkit had understood the meaning of sacrifice didn't mean they were grown up. They were still tiny, useless kits not yet grown into their adult bodies. Perhaps they would have had a chance as apprentices, but they weren't apprentices. They weren't out of the nursery yet, or at least they weren't supposed to be.
"I smell badger!" Sunheart's familiar voice cried. The kits had memorised the voices of all the best fighters, pretending to be them fighting ShadowClan.
"And kit scent. It must be Dawnflower's kits!" Another voice replied- but it wasn't Ambereye's- it was the voice of the clan leader.
"Shadestar is coming to rescue us?" Redkit said in awe, temporarily blinded by shock and too distracted to see the badger creeping ever closer.
"Pay attention, you prat," Cinderkit hissed as Shadestar and Sunheart finally came into view.
Shadestar burst into battle immediately, but Sunheart took a pause, taking in the sight of Leafkit's body, and let out an odd wailing sound.
"We were too late," He breathed. "Leafkit is already gone."
Before joining the battle, he picked up some leaves and sadly wrapped up Leafkit's body.
"You are with your father now," He whispered. "And he will protect you. May you become the warrior you never were in StarClan."
With that, he dropped the little bundle of leaves at the kits' paws and dove straight into battle.
The badger whined and ran before long, but a menacing laugh cut short their celebration and mourning for Leafkit.
It wasn't Mousetail- the voice was female, husky and in the kits' opinions, the scariest laugh they had ever heard. They had heard many cats laugh. Willowfeather's high, clear giggle, the way Darkshadow's was always dripping with self-preservation, and Shadestar's short, rare laugh. None of them was as sinister as the female's laugh.
Breezefur stepped forward, her eyes glinting.
"Now that the badger has weakened you, I attack," Breezefur threatened. "But many lives can be saved tonight by you, Sunheart."
The brown tom let out a choked gasp, clearly still grieving for Leafkit's life, cut short by a single blow.
"Darkshadow? What about Darkshadow," Sunheart whispered hopefully. "Is she safe? And Graypaw? I'm supposed to be his mentor because Darkshadow is gone-"
"Yes, Darkshadow is gone. She refused to listen to us," Breezefur said menacingly, and Sunheart took a step back.
"It may be too late for Darkshadow but I have cats who will kill the kits as soon as I call, and after Leafkit's sacrifice, that would be a shame, wouldn't it? And not just kits. Willowfeather, Snowcloud, Sweetbreeze and Graypaw… all of their lives depend on you. You are a good warrior, Sunheart. You can either join us peacefully and they will remain alive," Breezefur's eyes shone with pure evil. "Or you can stay and you will be killed, along with every other cat in the clan."
Sunheart looked at Breezefur in conflict.
"I will never be truly loyal to you, no matter how hard I try," He fought, trying to weasel his way out.
"Just like you thought you couldn't be truly loyal to Darkshadow but it worked out fine, didn't it?" Breezefur drawled. "You dump a perfectly good mate who practically worships you, then you get another mate a day later- might I add that she worships you too- and then once that one dies, you go back to the first one."
Sunheart flinched.
"Never loyal to your she-cats, are you?" Breezefur completed. "No matter, I'm sure you'll find another mate when you watch Willowfeather crumple, free of life. There will be many she-cats in our new and improved ThunderClan…"
Sunheart swore, and Breezefur started swearing too, when Cinderkit's nervous little voice broke the string of rude words.
"Actually, Breezefur, I think you are jealous of Sunheart," She said unhelpfully. She was just a kit- but the fact that she was right just added salt to the wound.
"Why exactly would I be jealous of a disloyal, ugly old tom like Sunheart?" Breezefur challenged, ready to strangle an answer out of the kit. Fortunately for the she-cat, the kit was perfectly happy to reply.
"Because Sunheart has the life that you always wanted," Cinderkit said simply, not knowing that she was insulting Breezefur to the face. She was simply stating the facts. "He had two she-cats who both loved him, he had the respect of his clan-mates, he was happy. Almost every cat you took is related to him in some way. Willowfeather, Darkshadow, Graypaw. I think you were just taking your revenge on ThunderClan when you took Sweetbreeze, Snowcloud, my brothers and me, but the others, you wanted different revenge. Revenge on the cat you thought had the happiness you think you deserved."
"He doesn't have it any more though, does he," Breezefur snickered, happy that something was going her way at last. "Darkshadow is long dead."
"That doesn't mean you're satisfied," Cinderkit challenged, knowing very well that Breezefur would lose her patience any moment now. Just as the cat ordered Cinderkit to be killed, Shadestar, bleeding badly and horribly injured, flashed in front of them. A rogue nobody recognized attacked, and Shadestar dropped to the ground, unable to fight with her injuries. She still has a few lives left, doesn't she? Cinderkit thought desperately, but many leaders lied about their lives to prevent panic. To her relief, after a few heartbeats, Shadestar struggled up. Her wounds hadn't healed, but four cats came running in, unrecognisable because of their speed. A lithe grey cat pushed the tom who had killed Shadestar away, while another cat stopped to help Shadestar up. To Cinderkit's surprise, the cat was Sweetbreeze. The fighting cat was Willowfeather, while Redkit exclaimed that the two others were Snowcloud and Graypaw.
"You escaped," Redkit gasped. "You got out."
Snowcloud sneered at Breezefur.
"Your idiots put all of us in the same cave and posted one guard," He said, smirking widely. "Not the best decision, I tell you."
Aaaand… we switch back to Willowfeather!
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting," Shadestar called, Ambereye sitting uncomfortably next to her, Willowfeather noticed.
Willowfeather, Snowcloud, Dustfoot and Wildwind sat at the base of the tall rock, looking up at their leader. Wildwind and Dustfoot nestled together, knowing that Finchkit was going to be apprenticed- but the question was who the kit would be apprenticed to. Sweetbreeze was far too inexperienced and though Graypaw would become a warrior, Sunheart still wouldn't get an apprentice. She had just finished mentoring Sweetbreeze herself, and Snowcloud was still grieving for Goldberry. Mousetail's treachery had been revealed, and Dustfoot and Wildwind couldn't mentor Finchkit. Perhaps Ambereye was the best decision.
"Graypaw, step forward," Shadestar announced. "I, Shadestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He fought bravely in the battle with ShadowClan and fought the Rogue Clan well. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in turn." She looked down at Graypaw solemnly. "Graypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I-I do," Graypaw said shakily and looked to his warrior sister for support.
"Then, by the powers of StarClan," Shadestar continued the ceremony. "I give you your warrior name. From now on, you will be called Graydust. The clan honours your strength and bravery, and we welcome you as a full member of the clan."
As the clan chanted Graydust's new name, Shadestar called Finchkit forward, her eyes scanning the crowd below quickly.
"From this day forward, until he receives his warrior name, this kit's name will be Finchpaw. Ambereye, you will be his mentor. You have skill, dedication and you passed many skills onto your past apprentices- I trust you will do the same with Finchpaw."
Ambereye nodded respectfully, jumping down to touch noses with Finchpaw.
It was almost- almost- as if nothing had ever happened.
This was a pretty long chapter by my standards! I am trying to pack more action into my chapters- I hope I'm going about it the right way. From now on, I'll try to make every chapter longer than 1000 words!
Anyway, don't forget to review. The only rule is please, no swearing. I can handle criticism (I hope) but I feel like there are so many different ways to express your feelings other than swearing. Thanks!
Now that we've gotten that (probably useless) paragraph out of the way, thanks for reading!
