Chapter 2
Three moons have passed since StarClan sent Firestar back as a kit and she still hasn't managed to get out of her mothers sight long enough to climb the fence. Although she did get used to the fact that so much has changed including her identity. She was Nutmeg's only kit so she was quite protective of her not even wanting her Two-Legs to get too close yet, growling slightly when they tried grabbing the kit. Peaches appreciated that, knowing she won't ever get as used to it as she was when she was Rusty. Not when she knew what it was like without them always hovering with their lumbering steps chasing after her.
Peaches looked out the window and waited for her chance. Nutmeg had gone to take a nap a little bit ago and now she just needed one of the Two-Legs to leave the door open just enough for her to squeeze through and then she was home free. She still felt guilty leaving her mother all alone but hopefully she won't be lonely long. After all, apparently she hadn't even met Jake, her father as Firestar, yet. That made her wonder if another Rusty would appear or if that would be impossible considering she technically was Rusty. Another question that StarClan refuses to answer.
She swished her fluffy tail as she waited and there- one of the Two-Leg kits opened the door and forgot to close it. She jumped down and kept low to the floor as she scurried outside. She spotted a clump of herbs the Two-legs grew and decided to try to hide her scent a bit and rolled around in it until her scent was almost completely gone, covered up by a strong smell of mint. Knowing her mother wouldn't be able to track her down so fast she felt more at ease. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in as she was finally able to dig her claws into the dirt. She exhaled, opening her eyes and started making her way, sticking to the outskirts, under the bushes that ran along the fence line until she got close enough to the back fence. Now how exactly was she to get out? Ah there! A little tunnel under the fence and from the smell of it used by a small dog. Her whiskers twitched as she imagined her mother chasing it out of the yard.
She had to get to ThunderClan, maybe if she got there early enough she could save Redtail somehow. Peaches crouched down and tried to squeeze her way through the little hole. She was so small that it didn't take much before she popped out on the other side. As she looked out at the forest she hesitated imagining her mother's distress at her disappearance. Peaches took a deep breath to steel herself and took her first steps to her future.
From the smell of it it seemed she was still near to where she first entered the forest all those moons ago as Rusty. At least that didn't change too much, a little further away from the Tallpines but she was close enough. She started making her way trying to avoid any other cats not wanting to be stopped and questioned by concerned kittypets.
Peaches kept to the shadows as she crept closer to the familiar wild, she wanted to sprint there but she knew she didn't have the stamina of her adult self, so she kept a steady pace cursing her small weak legs. She walked until she finally got under the shade of the tall trees lining the border of the ThunderClan territory. She gave a sigh of relief as she sunk her paws into the soft leaves on the forest floor.
She stopped to lick her aching feet. She had never gone this far without Nutmeg hurrying after her. She flattened her ears as she thought of her poor mother; hopefully she won't wake up until after she is long gone. She can always have more kits, I can only hope she assumes the Two-Legs took me away instead of me running off.
Peaches put her paw down and looked up at the sky trying to judge how much time she had left in the day. She wasn't able to leave until almost sunhigh so hopefully she'll run into a patrol soon. After all, it would be better for them to find her rather than her stumbling into the camp.
She hauled herself up and ignored the protest of her sore paws and pushed herself onwards. She thought about how she should act when she was found, I should play up the whole lost kitten bit since that is what I am technically at least what I appear to be. It was going to be hard to act uncomfortable around cats she had lived and fought alongside for so long but it would be too much of a risk for any cat to find out about her.
As she kept going, Peaches stumbled as her body's protest grew too loud for her to ignore. She had never walked this far before and she was still too young to make this journey without help but she didn't have a choice. As she tried to take another step her paw slipped and she collapsed in the dirt. She laid there panting as the day's journey caught up to her, Peaches couldn't get her body to cooperate. She knew she needed to get up but she was so tired, she decided to just drag her body underneath a bush and rest for a while. She didn't even notice when she fell asleep.
"Spottedleaf! I think I found some mint over here." A voice called jolting Peaches out of her sleep. She accidentally brushed a branch and rustled the leaves. It went silent as the noise rang out through the quiet trees. She held her breath as the silence held and then mewed in terror as a paw swiped underneath the bush.
"Oh StarClan, I think there's a cat under there! I thought it might've been a mouse -" The voice was cut off by a female cat growling. "Whoever you are, come out! This is ThunderClan territory and you're trespassing!"
Peaches slowly slid out from under the bush and blinked up at two shockingly familiar cats. One with a beautiful spotted coat and the other a pale tabby with dark stripes. Spottedleaf! Longtail! They're alive! She hadn't been quite prepared to see the dead cats in front of her looking so healthy and well. She forced herself to feign fear and stayed close to the ground and trembled slightly.
"Oh my, it's just a kit." Spottedleaf meowed, softening her voice. She took a step forward and the kit shrank back causing her to stop in her tracks, "Don't worry I won't hurt you little one."
"Shouldn't we drive her out?" Whispered Longtail not quite low enough to avoid the kitten hearing him. "Drive her off? She's just a kit barely old enough to be without her mother. Step a few steps back I'll go try to talk to her," Spottedleaf muttered to him her pretty amber eyes never leaving the little kit.
Peaches tried to make herself even smaller as the she-cat stepped closer. "What are you doing all the way out here little one? Where's your mother?" Spottedleaf softly questioned crouching down trying to make the kit feel safer.
"I-I don't know.. She told me that we were going to play hide and seek but she never found meā¦please don't hurt me" she mewed. Peaches felt a pang of guilt as she lied to the pretty molly but she knew if she didn't they would just try to take her back to the Two-leg place.
Spottedleaf shared a glance with Longtail and looked back at the kit. "Do you know where you are? Did you come from the Two-leg place?" She questioned sounding even more sympathetic.
"I- I don't know. What's a two-leg?" Peaches asked, faking kitten-like ignorance.
"She doesn't even know what a two-leg is. Do you think her mother was a rogue then? What should we do Spottedleaf? Take her to the two-leg place?" Longtail questioned quietly. Spottedleaf sat for a moment and looked at the kit before shaking her head.
"No, we'll take her back with us. She's covered in mint. I can't even make out her actual scent, let alone her mother's. She must have left her here on purpose. She won't make the night out here, an owl could get her. She can stay at least tonight in camp. I'll handle it." She quietly whispered, trying not to let the kit hear her, then in a louder voice she said, "Would you like to come with me? It'll be hard to find your mother right now but we can try tomorrow? I don't want you to fall ill sitting out here all night. It's dangerous in the forest at night too."
Peaches shivered and hesitated before nodding her head looking warily at the older cats in front of her. Spottedleaf breathed a sigh of relief and approached the kit before nudging her softly, "What's your name, little one?"
"My mother called me Peaches." The kit mewed, finally straightening up a little. She looked up at the pretty cat and hesitated again before saying, "I don't know if I can walk very far. My paws hurt. Mother made me walk so far already."
Spottedleaf was quick to say, "Don't worry I can carry you if you need me to. We'll be at the camp before you know it."
The she-cat turned to Longtail and said, "Would you gather the herbs I was carrying Longpaw? I'll make sure the kit gets home," she flicked her tail at the bundle of herbs a few steps away and the tom nodded before padding towards them. So Longtail is still an apprentice? That means I've come even earlier than I thought.
"Well then Peaches we'll have you settled at ThunderClan camp in no time at all now," She purred trying to soothe the frightened kit.
"What's ThunderClan?" Peaches asked as the tortoiseshell cat nosed her a little checking for injuries in a subtle way.
"ThunderClan is our home. It's a group of cats that all live together and work hard to protect each other. I'll tell you all about it when we get there," she paused, "Is it alright if I carry you there? I don't want you to hurt yourself on the way."
The kitten nodded looking a little relieved at not having to walk on her sore feet anymore. Spottedleaf swooped down and gently picked her up by the scruff flicking her tail at Longtail - Longpaw now- for him to follow her.
The small group of cats padded through the forest for a while before they came to a very familiar path. Peaches looked in awe at her old home, before the fire, before the Two-Legs destroyed it, before it all started. She quickly hid her expression and put on a faint look of fear as they climbed down the ravine and pushed through the gorse tunnel.
When they entered, cats were everywhere, strewn about grooming each other and sharing food. Some turned to see who came and paused when they noticed Spottedleaf carrying a little bundle of fur. "Is that a kitten? Where in StarClan did you find that?" a cat meowed in surprise drawing all eyes towards the new arrival.
Spottedleaf flicked her ear towards the medicine cat den and Longpaw walked over to drop off his mouthful of herbs. Peaches looked around trying to place names on all the familiar cats from her beloved Clan trying to keep a fearful look while doing so. Spottedleaf calmly padded towards a blue-gray she-cat, Bluestar! Peaches thought, before she lost her faith. She looks so strong now.
"What is this, Spottedleaf?"Bluestar narrowed her eyes as she looked at the medicine cat and her precious burden. "Where did this come from?"
Spottedleaf gently lowered the kit to the ground, placing Peaches between her paws before replying to the noble looking molly. "Longpaw and I found her while gathering some herbs for my stock. I couldn't find her mother but I didn't want to leave her there all alone so I decided to bring her home with me." She spoke calmly, looking her leader in the eyes, "I figured I could watch her tonight and maybe get a warrior to come help me search for her mother tomorrow. She's covered in mint and I couldn't get a clear enough scent to track."
Bluestar looked down at the kit before glancing around the clearing. The cats all seemed rather curious as to what was going on. Peaches cowered against Spottedleaf's paws as the leader gave her a long look. She had a hint of pity in her eyes, "She can stay for tonight but that's it. I'll assign a warrior to help you look around tomorrow. Will she be able to eat fresh-kill? Or is she still too young?"
Spottedleaf sighed in relief before nodding, "I'm pretty sure she's old enough to eat solids. I'll share something with her. I'll also keep her in my den tonight. I don't want to bother the nursery when they have enough kits to deal with."
Bluestar nodded, accepting her plans for the time being and went back to her mouse. "If you can't find the mother then we shall have to discuss this with the rest of the Clan."
"Of course, Bluestar." Spottedleaf nodded respectfully before picking the kit up again and making her way to her den. She pushed through the fern tunnel and set the kit down in her nest. Peaches looked around in awe at the den, reliving her old memories of Yellowfang and Cinderpelt, always pushing around even the most senior warriors with their sharp tongues as they tried their best to help the Clan. She also recalled the day Spottedleaf died and her expression went from curiosity to grief. Spottedleaf looked on before asking with a soothing purr, "Do you want something to eat? I'm sure you must be hungry after you had such a big adventure today."
Peaches almost couldn't bear it any longer and hurriedly nodded hoping for anything to ease both the hunger and hopefully distract her from the bad memories. I can't keep thinking about what happened. I need to focus on preventing it from happening again. That's the reason they sent me back. Not to reminisce on painful memories.
Spottedleaf looked sternly at the kitten before saying, "I can get you something but you absolutely must not go digging around into any of these plants. Some could get you very sick, and I'm sure you don't want that. Okay?"
Peaches nodded and tried to look as sincere as she could, sitting up and making eye contact with the beautiful tortoiseshell cat. Spottedleaf gave her another warning look before turning and exiting through the crack in the wall. Peaches gave her chest a comforting lick as she peered around from where she was dropped. She closed her eyes and just took in the soothing scent of all the herbs mixed with Spottedleaf's unmistakable sweet scent. You guided me for so long while in StarClan. I hope that this time around I can protect you better. A rustle of the ferns announced Spottedleaf's quick return with a plump looking mouse.
She set it gently on the ground, "You didn't run around! Good job, Peaches! Come let's share and then after I'll check your paws to see if you have any damage."
Peaches scampered over to the medicine cat and took a bite. The taste of fresh-kill filled her mouth and she had never tasted anything better. Her mother had started to wean her off of milk onto kittypet food, and kittypet food had nothing on a nice piece of fresh-kill. She was so into scarfing down her share that she didn't notice Spottedleaf's pitying look.
After they finished eating, Spottedleaf had her lay down so she could check each paw. Her gaze turned a little sad as she saw the cracked and swollen pads. She walked over to her store and fished out some coltsfoot and before she started to chew it up she turned to Peaches, "You have cracked paws. I'm surprised you were able to keep quiet for so long. I know cats even older than me that complain every time their paws get a little sore. You have been so brave this entire time. Hopefully, we'll find your mother soon, I'm sure she must be worried sick about you."
Peaches flattened her ears as she felt guilt sweep through her, knowing that Nutmeg was indeed going to frantically worry the longer she couldn't find her. Spottedleaf chewed up the leaves and brought the pulp over to the kit, "Now you must be careful not to lick it off so that it can do its job and help with your paws."
Peaches nodded and held her paws out one at a time until Spottedleaf decided she had enough. She put the excess away and carried the kit to her nest in the back of the den. She set her down and started to gently lick the kit's fur, cleaning her up. Peaches was soothed by the rasp of the molly's tongue and started to slip into sleep, the last thing she noticed was Spottedleaf's quiet purring.
