Starrysong likes Snowstorms: Thanks for commenting! I didn't really know how to phrase the first part of the prophecy. There may or may not be RobinXGray, so you'll just have to keep reading to find out. ;)
The sun rose over the horizon and entered the cave. Nightpaw opened his eyes after the sun rays shined on his face. He shook out his pelt, annoyed after being woken up. Shade was still asleep. Nightpaw walked outside to catch some prey for him and Shade. He hadn't thought about what his clan would think about this. Nobody knew where he was. Would they be out panicking and searching for him? Oh well. I did them a favor, so I'll take my time.
Nightpaw quickly caught a thrush and a mouse. Before he could head inside, he heard a yell from behind him. Nightpaw turned to see a small, cream colored cat run up the mountain. Probably Shade's grandkit. Nightpaw jogged over to greet the kit. "Where's grandpa? My father needs him to come immediately! And who are you?" The kit said breathlessly. "I'm Nightpaw. Shade is in his den sleeping. I'll get him right now." Nightpaw said quickly. He could see that something was urgent. Nightpaw left his food there and ran to get Shade.
"There's a little scrap of cream fur saying her father needs you right now." Nightpaw called. Seconds later, Shade walked outside. "Ah, Sunny! It's good to see you!" Shade greeted his grandkit. "Grandpa, my father said the kits will be coming soon and he asked for you to come immediately!" Sunny said urgently. "My, oh, my! I'm coming. Nightpaw, would you mind coming? I'll need help to get to Fog's place." Shade meowed. "Sure. I'll help." Nightpaw replied. He couldn't leave the elder and kit to get there on their own.
Nightpaw helped Shade get down the rocky terrain. The elder slipped twice, but Nightpaw was there to stop him from falling. When they finally reached the bottom, Sunny ran off and said, "Hurry! This way!" Shade followed behind, faster than Nightpaw thought the elder could move.
Nightpaw was a little unnerved the farther they moved. He was farther from SnowClan territory, didn't know his way home, and they were moving closer to Twoleg infested places. I'm following a kit and an elder who clearly doesn't think like he used to. Have I lost my mind?
They finally arrived at Fog's place. It was a small den made out of the hollowed base of an oak tree. It was close to Twoleg place and made Nightpaw uneasy. "Mother and Father are inside." Sunny told Shade. "Wait outside with Sunny." Shade told Nightpaw. The black apprentice nodded and watched Shade step inside the den. A minute later, another cat about Sunny's age came outside. Probably her brother.
"Gramps told me to wait outside." The tom said to Sunny. The gray tom turned to Nightpaw and said, "Oh, you're Nightpaw, right? My name is Yarn." "Yeah, I'm Nightpaw." Nightpaw replied. "Gramps told me about the clans. That's where you're from, right? I could tell by your name." Yarn meowed. Nightpaw nodded. Smart kit. "Yeah, I'm from the same clan that your grandpa was from." "Cool! What is it like over there?" Sunny asked. "It's totally different than this life. You two would probably just have become apprentices like me. Of course, I will be a warrior soon." Nightpaw told them. Well, I hope my little break won't affect that.
"Is your clan strong? Gramps told me it was a really strong clan when he was there." Yarn meowed. "Yeah, my clan is strong. We keep getting better and better too." Nightpaw replied. He didn't want to lie to the little kit, but he wasn't about to tell people that his clan was weak and starving.
At that moment, Fog walked outside. "Did something happen, father?" Sunny asked. "Cream started her kitting. Shade told me he needed room so I'm out here with you three now." Fog explained. "I'm Nightpaw. I was visiting Shade when Sunny came. I hope you don't mind that I'm here." Nightpaw meowed. "I don't mind. Thank you for helping Shade get here." Fog replied. He turned to his kits and said, "I'm going to go hunt. Cream will be hungry later." Nightpaw watched Fog get up and walk away.
"So what kind of food do you guys eat? We eat birds and squirrels!" Yarn asked Nightpaw. Every time Nightpaw answered one of their questions, the other had another questions for him. He didn't mind answering them, Nightpaw always liked showing off to others.
After several minutes of answering questions, Shade walked outside of the den with his head held low. "Shade? Is everything alright?" Nightpaw asked. Shade looked at Nightpaw. His eyes were filled with sadness. "What happened? Is Cream okay?" Nightpaw meowed. "Blood. There was so much blood. I couldn't do anything to stop it." Shade muttered. Nightpaw stepped inside the den. He gasped. Shade was right. There was a lot of blood inside.
Nightpaw looked at Cream who was lying on her side with three kits next to her. She had died from losing too much blood. Nightpaw looked at the kits. Two of them had been born still. Only the smallest kit was alive.
Nightpaw headed back outside. "Shade, I'm so sorry." Nightpaw said quietly so the kits couldn't hear. Shade hadn't moved a muscle. "Sunny, Yarn, why don't you go find your father?" Nightpaw suggested. He didn't want them to see what had happened. "Sure." Yarn replied. He and his sister raced off together to find Fog. "There's no way that kit will live. She has no mother and she's a runt." Shade told Nightpaw. "She can't live without milk." "We have to figure something out. I'm not ready to let her die." Nightpaw insisted. "What can we do?" Shade said. At that moment, Fog and the others had returned. "How did it go?" Fog asked.
Shade didn't answer. Fog looked at Nightpaw. "You might wanna go and see for yourself." Nightpaw said quietly, staring at the ground. Fog quickly walked inside the den. Moments later, he came back outside. His green eyes were watery. "I'm sorry, Fog. I did all that I could." Shade apologized. "I don't blame you. I-I-I-I don't know what to say." Fog muttered. "We have to find a way to save the last kit." Nightpaw stepped in.
"I don't know if I can figure something out." Fog replied. "Fog," Nightpaw began. "I know you're upset right now about the loss of your mate and kits, but we need to think of the last one. She needs you right now. I know it's tough, but you have to be strong." Fog picked up his head. "What do you have in mind?" Fog asked. "I don't know. I didn't figure anything out yet." Nightpaw admitted.
"I have an idea." Shade meowed. "I don't think you'll like it, but it's our only choice." "What's your plan?" Fog demanded. "Maybe we should let Nightpaw take her back to SnowClan. There must be a queen willing to take her in." Shade said. "You want me to take her with me?" Nightpaw exclaimed. "You need cats in your clan and she needs a mother." Shade replied. "If that's what's best, then I will take her with me. But it's up to Fog." Nightpaw meowed. He looked at Fog.
Fog was looking down at the ground. He clearly doesn't know what to say. "Fog, it's the only way." Shade repeated. "Fine. I will let Nightpaw take her to his clan." Fog went inside the den. He came back out holding the kit by the scruff. The little she cat was black with white socks. The tip of her tail and ears were faintly white and there was a little white patch of fur surrounding her left eye. Fog set her down in front of Nightpaw.
"Please take care of her." Fog told Nightpaw. "I will. When she's old enough, I'll take her to visit you." Nightpaw promised. He turned to Shade and added, "Do you want me to walk you back home?" Shade shook his head. "I'll stay with Fog and his kits for a while. Thanks anyway, Nightpaw." Shade explained. Nightpaw nodded. "Goodbye, Shade, Fog. I'm sorry for your loss."
He gently picked up the little kit and turned to leave. Nightpaw glanced over to see Sunny and Yarn sitting in front of the den. He felt bad for them. They were young and already lost their mother. I know what it's like, and it's horrible. Nightpaw began to walk back to Shade's place. He wasn't too sure about where he was going, but after a while of walking he found himself back at the clearing. Thank StarClan. I've had enough of walking for one morning.
Nightpaw walked back into Shade's cave. He wanted to bring his fresh kill back, but it would be hard with the kit. Nightpaw set the kit down to grab the fresh kill. The little kit sat up straight and let out a loud meow. Nightpaw smiled at the little she cat. Nightpaw threw the thrush and mouse on his back. He would have to balance it there and use his tail to assist.
The kit squirmed as Nightpaw picked her up by the scruff again. As the two made their way down the mountain, the kit wouldn't stop crying and meowing. "Shut it, kit." Nightpaw muttered, but the kit muffled his voice. The fresh kill on his back started to fall off but his tail kept it steady. The two had finally made it down the mountain with their fresh kill. Nightpaw felt relieved to be back on SnowClan territory.
Hopefully his clan wouldn't be too annoyed about his disappearance. He was hoping that his discovery of new hunting grounds and a new member would make his clan mates forget about that. As Nightpaw made his way back to camp, he bumped into a patrol.
"Nightpaw! Where on earth have you been?" The patrol leader, Waspstrike, exclaimed. "Who's the kit?" Darksky demanded. "Here, I'll help you carry the prey." Cinderpaw offered. She took the thrush and the mouse off of Nightpaw's back. Nightpaw set the kit down to talk. "It's a really long story and I'd prefer to tell Owlstar. I'm only telling my story once." Nightpaw replied. He grabbed the kit and followed the patrol back to camp.
"We found Nightpaw!" Waspstrike announced as they walked back into camp. Cats immediately looked at the black apprentice and the kit he was carrying. Owlstar and Spiderfang walked over to the patrol. "Where have you been?" Spiderfang hissed at the apprentice. Owlstar quieted her down with a flick of his tail. "Nightpaw, I'd like to speak with you in my den. Bring the kit." Owlstar meowed. Nightpaw followed the leader back to his den.
"I need to know where you went, where you got the fresh kill, and where you got the kit." Owlstar said. Nightpaw nodded and set the kit down next to him. "You see, I knew that we couldn't find prey on our territory anymore. I went hunting with Mousepaw and we couldn't find anything. So I decided to go find somewhere else to hunt. And I did." Nightpaw began. "I found this clearing in the mountains that is great for hunting. There's a cat there, Shade, who said we could hunt there as long as we caught him something." "Shade? Who's Shade?" Owlstar asked. "He said he used to be a warrior in SnowClan." Nightpaw explained. Owlstar's eyes opened wide a little, as if he was surprised to hear that Shade was alive.
"His son's mate died giving birth to three kits. Two of them died. She's the only survivor." Nightpaw went on. "They asked if I could take her back to the clan since nobody could care for her." Owlstar thought for a minute. "Our only queen right now is Icestorm. If Icestorm will nurse the kit, she can join." Owlstar said. "As for the new hunting grounds, I will send a patrol to investigate. You can lead it. If it's safe, we will hunt there." "Thank you, Owlstar." Nightpaw meowed.
"I am not happy that you left without telling anybody, but I understand and I'm grateful for the new member and hunting area." Owlstar replied. "I'm sorry about that, Owlstar. It won't happen again." Nightpaw told him. At any other time, Nightpaw would have had an attitude. Nightpaw didn't have an attitude now because he didn't want it to affect him getting his warrior name.
"That's good to hear, Nightpaw."
"Owlstar, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"When will I get my warrior name? I've been working hard all the time, passed several evaluations, and I'm the oldest apprentice here! I also got us more territory and a new kit! I think I deserve my warrior name, sir."
Owlstar paused for a moment. "I would like to apologize to you, Nightpaw. I've been busy ever since I became leader, worrying about not enough food and losing members. I haven't had the time to give you and your brother your warrior names. You'll get them soon, I promise." Owlstar meowed. Nightpaw dipped his head in respect. "Thank you, Owlstar."
Nightpaw picked up the kit and headed for the nursery. He knew that Icestorm would take the kit in. Icestorm was a very loving cat and an experienced queen. She only had one kit right now, Honeykit. Before Nightpaw reached the nursery, there was a wail from the medicine cat den. He looked to see Scorchfur's limp body and his mate, Addertooth, was crying close by. Nightpaw looked closely. He could see the warrior's ribs.
"He died from starvation." Nightpaw heard Patchface whisper to Waspstrike. Patchface was Scorchfur's brother. The warrior looked upset as he sat next to Waspstrike. Waspstrike licked his ear to comfort the mourning brother. If only I had come back sooner. Maybe then Scorchfur wouldn't have died. Nightpaw looked down at the kit. He didn't want that to happen to her. He got up and made his way to the nursery.
"Icestorm?" Nightpaw called. Two seconds later, the beautiful white tabby popped her head outside. "Nightpaw? What is it?" Icestorm asked. Nightpaw set the kit down in front of her. "She doesn't have a mother. Owlstar said if you would take her in, she could join our clan. Can you take care of her?" Nightpaw meowed. Icestorm looked down at the little kit. "Of course I'll take her in. This isn't the first time I've done this." Icestorm said.
Nightpaw understood what she meant. Nightpaw's mother had died not long after he and Thistlepaw were born. Icestorm was the queen who had nursed them and looked after them. Even though he knew she wasn't his real mother, Nightpaw felt like she was. Icestorm had always been kind to them and loved them as if they were her own, and Nightpaw loved her as his own mother. She was the only cat other than Thistlepaw that Nightpaw truly loved.
"Thank you, Icestorm." Nightpaw sighed, relieved. "What's her name?" Icestorm asked. We completely forgot to name her! "Um, well, she wasn't named." Nightpaw admitted. "Very well. We'll have to name her ourselves." Icestorm meowed. "How about Spottedkit or Moonkit?" Icestorm suggested. "Or Hollykit? Maybe Echokit?"
Nightpaw wasn't satisfied with any of the names. They didn't really fit her. "What about Shadowkit?" Nightpaw meowed. "Shadowkit sounds cute. I like it." Icestorm said. Shadowkit let out a loud meow, making Icestorm laugh. "You're probably starving. Come on, say goodbye to Nightpaw." Icestorm purred. "I'll see you and Shadowkit later." Nightpaw told them. As Icestorm picked Shadowkit up, Shadowkit meowed even louder. Maybe I should have named her Loudkit. She's pretty talkative.
"I've asked Nightpaw to lead a patrol to the clearing to make sure it is safe." Owlstar was saying. He had called a meeting to report everything that Nightpaw had told him. Some of the cats weren't very approving of taking in Shadowkit, but Nightpaw didn't care what they thought. If they make her go, I'll leave with her. I know what's she's going through. Besides, I made a promise to keep her safe, and that's what I'm going to do.
"Are we seriously going to let an apprentice lead a patrol? Especially the one that ran off?" Darksky challenged. "Hey I didn't run off! I'm not a coward like you!" Nightpaw spat. "I'm no coward, you little punk!" Darksky hissed. "Someone should teach you some manners!" "Someone should teach you not to pick a fight you can't win!" Nightpaw growled.
"Enough!" Spiderfang shouted. "Both of you are mouse-brained! Fighting amongst yourselves? How pitiful!" "Thank you, Spiderfang. Nightpaw, I want you to take Blackheart and Thistlepaw with you on your patrol. Darksky, you can join them." Owlstar ordered. Great! A patrol with Darksky! Just what I wanted. This is why I'm always grumpy. I have the worst luck.
Nightpaw gathered the cats for the patrol and started to lead them. "I can't believe Owlstar made Darksky join the patrol." Nightpaw muttered. "Don't worry, I don't think he'll want to talk to you." Thistlepaw whispered. "Thank StarClan." Nightpaw replied.
"So did Blackheart talk to you about the extra training?"
"Yeah, he did."
"Did you say yes?"
"Of course!"
"Cool! We can finally train together!"
"Can you tell me more about this 'extra training'?"
"Sorry, but Blackheart told me not to."
Nightpaw couldn't help but roll his eyes. Why would his brother trust Blackheart so much? I don't understand you sometimes, Thistlepaw. The patrol had finally arrived at the clearing. "So what are we calling this?" Thistlepaw asked. "Well I found it, so I guess I should name it." Nightpaw said. Nightpaw saw Darksky roll his eyes. And they say I've got a big ego.
"How about Shade's Clearing?" Nightpaw suggested. "Sounds good to me." Thistlepaw replied. "Well, we should focus on making sure it's safe before we name it." Blackheart said coldly. The skinny tom walked to the far side of the clearing. The patrol continued to investigate the clearing.
"We will hunt before we head back. Nobody leaves without catching something." Blackheart ordered. "I'm in charge, Blackheart." Nightpaw reminded him. Blackheart glared at him. "And I'm in charge of you. Or did you forget that, apprentice?" Blackheart snapped. Nightpaw didn't back away. Blackheart may be his mentor, but this was Nightpaw's patrol. He was to going to let Blackheart control it.
Nightpaw was the first to catch something. Before he could take his mouse back to camp, Darksky snatched it. "Hey!" Nightpaw exclaimed. "Back off!" "Or what? Are you going to fight me?" Darksky growled. "Enough!" Blackheart shouted. "I'll take it back to camp. Nightpaw, I want you to hurry up. I need to speak with you. Alone." Nightpaw rolled his eyes and went back to hunting.
After a couple of minutes, he managed to catch a wren. Nightpaw didn't want to walk back to camp with Blackheart, but he didn't exactly have a choice. "So what do you want to talk to me about?" Nightpaw meowed. "I thought you were more ruthless than that. You took in a kit for our clan!" Blackheart began. "You should have just killed the little mite. It's just another mouth for us to feed. We just lost Scorchfur, so we wouldn't have to hunt as much, and now you bring in another member!" "Hey, Shadowkit didn't deserve to die! Why would I harm a helpless kit? That's against the code!" Nightpaw argued.
"Who cares about the code? It just holds us back!"
"If we didn't have it, there'd be chaos!"
"Do you want extra training from me or not?"
"I do!" Not really, but I need to know what you're doing with Thistlepaw.
"Then start acting like you deserve it! Because right now, you aren't worthy."
Blackheart jogged off towards camp. Nightpaw was seething when he got back to camp. Darksky was being annoying as always, Thistlepaw was keeping secrets, and Blackheart showed how big of a jerk he really was. He decided to bring his squirrel to Icestorm, as a way of saying thanks for taking in Shadowkit.
"Nightpaw!" Nightpaw turned to see Mousepaw running up to him. "Mousepaw? Where have you been?" Nightpaw asked. "I've been busy with apprentice duties. Cinderpaw filled me in when I got back to camp." Mousepaw explained quickly. "I'm fine with talking, but I'm getting food first. I'm starving." Nightpaw told his friend. He grabbed a squirrel to share with Mousepaw. The two joined Cinderpaw to talk.
"So Icestorm took Shadowkit in? That's great!" Cinderpaw exclaimed happily. Nightpaw took a bite of his squirrel and nodded. "Did you talk to Owlstar about your warrior name?" Mousepaw asked. "Yeah. He said if get it soon." Nightpaw replied. "What about Thistlepaw? He's your brother and he's worked hard too. Did he say anything about him?" Cinderpaw meowed. "He'll get it the same time I get mine." Nightpaw said.
"If you ask me, I think you should have gotten it already. I mean, you got us new territory and a new member. That seems pretty worthy to me." Cinderpaw told them. "Yeah, but he did break the code a little bit. He left the territory without anyone knowing." Mousepaw pointed out. "I know, but it's still frustrating that I'm still an apprentice." Nightpaw admitted. "Don't worry. You'll get it soon." Cinderpaw told him. Nightpaw stood up. "Well, I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Nightpaw said. He turned around and walked off towards the apprentice den. It feels good to be back in my old nest.
Hopefully you guys enjoyed! I'm going to start leaving questions here for fun, so do send your answers in! I will post them with every new chapter.
Whos your favorite character in the story so far? What do you think about Shadowkit? And what do you think Nightpaw and Thistlepaw's warrior names will be? (I may take suggestions for their name btw).
Thanks for reading!