Chapter 1
Ripplekit groaned as a paw prodded his side. Slowly, he opened his blue eyes to see his mother standing over him. "W-what's going on?" he asked sleepily as he sat up in their shared nest.
"Come outside," his mother urged.
Ripplekit stared at her, confused. "It's nighttime!" he argued.
Splashflower let out a small purr of amusement. "I know, but there's something I want the two of you to see."
Ripplekit exchanged a look with his sister, who simply shrugged.
Once out in the clearing, Ripplekit noticed that most of the other RiverClan cats had gathered as well. "What's going on?" he asked once more, hoping his mother would explain why she had dragged him out of bed so late.
"Yeah," Minnowkit squeaked, "why are we out in the clearing so late? Is there a special ceremony going on?"
Splashflower shook her head. "No, little ones. I've brought you out into the clearing because it's going to rain! You have no idea how important this is to us. We haven't had rain all season long!"
Ripplekit's eyes widened. "You mean we'll be getting wet?" he choked out. Just then, a loud rumble of thunder sounded, making the young kit jump.
Splashflower leaned down to give him a small lick on the head. "Don't worry, little one. It's nothing to be scared of."
Ripplekit nodded slowly, before pressing against his mother's side for comfort. Slowly, he glanced up at the sky, wondering when the rain would fall. After a few minutes of waiting, a couple of raindrops began to fell from the sky.
"It's actually raining!" Pebblestripe yowled.
"I can't believe it. I thought I'd never see a thunderstorm again!" Pikeheart meowed.
Ripplekit stared around the clearing as more and more raindrops fell. "Why are they so excited?" he wondered.
"There's been a terrible drought lately," Splashflower explained. "This rain will hopefully end it, and bring the prey back to the forest."
As the rain increased, so did the thunder and lightning. Each time the sky let out a rumble, both Ripplekit and Minnowkit would jump out of fear.
"I don't like the scary sounds!" Minnowkit wailed as she placed her paws over her ears. "Make it stop!"
"I know it's scary," their mother whispered, "but the thunder and lightning is nothing to be scared of. How about I tell you a story to distract you from it?" Splashflower gave both of her kits a sympathetic look as she spoke. She then stood up and lead them back towards the nursery.
Ripplekit nuzzled up against her belly before meowing, "A story would be great!"
"All right then. What do you want to hear?" Splashflower wondered.
Minnowkit settled down beside Ripplekit before requesting, "I want to hear about how the Clans were formed again."
"No way! We heard that story last week," Ripplekit argued. "I want to hear the story about how the warrior code was made!"
"That story is boring!" Minnowkit yelled.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"All right, that's enough," their mother interrupted. "How about I make a story up that you've never heard before?" Before the kits could answer, the clearing outside erupted with shrieks and yowls.
Splashflower leaped to her paws, before racing out of the den. Ripplekit chased after her, scared and confused. To his surprise, he saw a billow of dark clouds rising from the reeds over by Morningstar's den.
"What's happening?" he called out, hoping some cat would explain to him what was happening.
"A lightning strike sparked a fire!" Morningstar yowled as she bolted out of her den. "We must evacuate camp immediately!"
Ripplekit's blue eyes widened in fear. The young tom looked around the clearing for his mother, but due to the sea of cats that was bustling around him in the dark, it was impossible. "Mother!" he called out. "Mother, where are you?"
Ripplekit then headed for a small willow that grew on the edge of camp. Perhaps if I climb up high enough, I'll be able to spot mother! He thought as he scrambled his way up the willow. When he reached a low hanging branch, he gazed out across the clearing, hoping to catch sight of his mother. To his annoyance, it was impossible for him to make out the colors of any of the cats. All of them looked dark in the pale moonlight, and it didn't help that smoke was filling the clearing.
As the kit climbed down, he let out a small whimper. What would happen to him if he never found Splashflower? Surely another warrior would help him escape camp, right?
When he reached the ground, he realized that most of the warriors had left camp. "Wait for me!" he called as he attempted to follow their scent trail. However, as soon as he reached the camp entrance, he was at a loss. From there, the unfamiliar scents of the reeds and territory beyond confused his nose, making it impossible to follow. Not to mention, he could barely see due to the dark!
The little kit curled up in a ball, scared and confused. "Don't let me die," he prayed to StarClan as he glanced over at the growing flames. By now, Morningstar's entire den had caught fire. The elders den was also starting to catch fire, and before long the whole camp would be up in flames.
Ripplekit glanced back at the camp entrance. Perhaps I should try to follow their scent trail anyways, he thought. Puffing out his chest, the little tom scampered through the entrance and through the forest of reeds. Every couple of steps, he would pause to scent the air. At first he thought he had caught scent of his Clanmates, but the further he got, the less confident he felt.
After walking for what felt like seasons, Ripplekit plopped down on the ground with a sigh. He then let out a few loud wails, hoping some cat would hear him. To his disappointment, no cats came to his rescue.
Alone and scared, Ripplekit crouched down on the ground, waiting for his impending doom. As he watched the flicker of flames rise in the distance, his heart beat quickened.
"I don't want to die," he whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. The little tom desperately wanted to get away, but he didn't know how. No matter how far he ran, he would just get deeper and deeper into the reeds.
After a while, the air around him began to grow thick and unbreathable. What's happening, he thought as he struggled for a breath. The air just grew thicker and thicker, causing the little tom to chock. Suddenly, he blacked out...
"He's waking up!"
Ripplekit slowly opened his eyes. Immediately, he realized that he was in an unfamiliar den surrounded by strange scents. "Am I dead?" he asked groggily.
"Of course not," an unfamiliar voice murmured gently. "You're in the ThunderClan medicine cats den."
"ThunderClan...?" Ripplekit trailed off, too weak to speak.
"Shh... You need to relax. I promise your mother will explain to you later," the voice continued on.
Ripplekit nodded and shut his eyes again. After a few minutes of laying there in silence, a cat came bursting into the den, alerting him.
"Nightsky told me he woke up!" the familiar sound of Splashflower's voice filled Ripplekit's ears, causing him to purr. A few seconds later, his mother was at his side, covering him in frantic licks.
"You have no idea how worried I was!" his mother wailed. "I-I thought you were dead for sure."
"I'm fine," Ripplekit coughed as he opened his eyes once more. As he looked over his mother, he saw how upset she looked. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's not your fault. You're alive and that's all that matters," Splashflower said, nuzzling him.
"What happened to me?" he wondered. "And why are we in ThunderClan's camp? Aren't they our enemy?"
"After the fire, we quickly headed to Sunningrocks. It was there I realized you weren't beside me, so Morningstar sent out a search party for you. It was then your father found you unconscious in the reeds. From there, we went to ThunderClan's camp seeking shelter and help for you," his mother explained. "But there's no need to worry now. Everything is okay."
"Why did I go unconscious?" he asked, feeling his chest tighten.
"You passed out due to the smoke," the unfamiliar ThunderClan she-cat explained.
"Oh," Ripplekit squeaked. Slowly, he began to sit up in his nest, before breaking out into a coughing fit.
"Will he be okay?" Splashflower wondered, her blue eyes round with fear.
"I'm sure he will be," the she-cat replied as she sorted through some strange leaves. A second later, she dropped a bundle of them down in front of Ripplekit. "Eat those," she ordered, "they'll help you breathe better."
Ripplekit nodded and gobbled down the leaves. As he ate, he grimaced at their sour taste. "You never told me they would taste bad!"
"If I told you, you wouldn't have been so willing to eat them," the ThunderClan cat replied, before cracking a smile.
Ripplekit frowned, before curling back up in his nest. "I think I'm going to go back to sleep," he confessed, looking up at his mother.
Splashflower nodded. "All right, little one. If you need me, just know I'm right out in the clearing, okay?" The gray tabby she-cat stood up and gave him a lick on the forehead, before backing out of the den, leaving Ripplekit alone with the she-cat.
"Thank you for helping me," he told her. "By the way, what is your name?"
The she-cat gave him a sympathetic glance. "It's nothing. And I'm Acornleaf."
"Acornleaf," he murmured softly to himself, before closing his eyes and settling down in his nest. Within minutes, he was fast asleep.
Thank you so much for all of the reviews everyone! You have no idea how much this means to me. I will try my best to update as frequent as possible, so please look forward to future updates. Anyways, I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter.
Thanks for reading!
Edit: Thanks to the guest who pointed out the mistake! Fixed.
