Snowkit emerged from the nursery and gazed around the clearing of ThunderClan's camp. He could see cat's lips moving, but he couldn't hear them. He shook his head, flattening his ears then raising them again. Almost as if he thought that's all it would take to gain his hearing.
A cat patted their paw on the ground, sending vibrations through the earth that Snowkit could detect. He turned around, his small fluffy tail held up high in the air. He spotted his mother, who was waving to him with her tail. She gestured with her paw for him to go to her.
"Mama?" Snowkit knew what he wanted to say, though he didn't realize how loud he was.
Snowkit realized at that moment that he didn't even know his mother's name. His heart sank. If I don't even know my mother's name, will I ever be a warrior?
A gray-furred she-cat sat hunched in front of a den. Snowkit recognized the scent of herbs, and noticed that the she-cat's fur was matted with herb leaves sticking to her fur. He ran up to his mother, then looked around the clearing again, taking in the beauty of the camp.
A pale, golden, tabby she-cat padded out of the nursery and sat beside Snowkit's mother. The beautiful she-cat said something to the speckle-furred queen. The she-cat looked at Snowkit with a thoughtful look in her amber eyes. He guessed that she would have her kits soon based off how swollen her belly was.
Then she gestured to his mother's tail, also at the cluster of speckles on her fur. "Speckle?" Snowkit asked. The pale she-cat nodded her head, motioning with her paw for him to go on.
"Speckle . . . tail? Speckletail?"
Snowkit understood what the golden queen was trying to do. She was trying to teach him each of his Clanmate's names just by motioning to something that indicated their name. And she had started with his mother - Speckletail.
She gestured to her pale golden fur. Then at the sun, ending with a flower. "Sunflower?"
She shook her head. Snowkit thought for a moment. Well... the sun is yellow, but it can be golden at times. Golden... Golden what? Goldenflower?
"Goldenflower?" he guessed. She nodded her head, joy filling Goldenflower and Speckletail's eyes.
I did it! Snowkit thought happily. I learned my mama and sisters's names!
Snowkit finally realized that he might never become a warrior because he couldn't hear anything. But now that he could learn each of his Clanmate's names? Maybe. Just maybe. He could become a warrior like he'd always wanted.