Whee! New chappie up!


Chapter 8: The Kits

Icestar lay in her den with her kits. It had been three days since they were born, and they were already scrambling over her. Her new deputy, Darkpelt, padded into her den with fresh-kill in his mouth.

He set the fresh-kill down beside her. "What are their names?"

"The ginger tom is Firekit, the tortoiseshell she-kit is Willowkit, and the gray tom is," Icestar took a deep breath. "The gray tom is Singekit."

"Those are beautiful names, Icestar. I bet Singefur would be proud," Darkpelt murmured, giving her and the kits a lick. His eyes were trained on Firekit, who bore the pelt of Firestar. "Have you seen the other kits in the nursery?" he asked, changing the subject dramatically.

"No, what are their names?" Icestar was slightly annoyed with this.

"There's six them. Mudpoppy's kits are Pinekit, Wavekit, and Fogkit, and Swiftflower's are Thrushkit, Berrykit, and little Foxkit, and Brindlefur will have to move to the nursery soon because she's going to have Runningstep's kits."

"Wow! There will be some amazing apprentices when they're six moons!" Icestar remarked.

"Did you talk to Moonriver?"

Icestar's smile vanished and her happiness went with it. "Yes, I am very disappointed in her."

"Why? She can have kits if she wants to!" Darkpelt growled.

"Wants to?" Icestar echoed. "She is a medicine cat apprentice! She can't have any kits!"

"What about you? You're a leader!" he retorted.

"I know that! I had no choice!"

"Then you're no leader! Jaggedwind was right! You're too young and you haven't had enough training to be a true ShadowClan leader! You'll always be half-Clan!" Darkpelt stopped. He had crossed a line. She wasn't angry, she was sad. "Icestar, I'm sorry, I didn't know…Please forgive me."

"Sometimes 'sorry' isn't enough," she choked. She rose, leaving the den and her sleeping kits behind.


Moon Creek was where she went. Silverpelt was out by the time she got there. She needed to talk to him. She needed guidance.

"Singefur, my Clan hates me. I don't know what to do, can you please help?" Icestar whimpered.

A small, ghostly shape slid out of the thick gorse. His fur was a ghostly gray, his eyes dull and painless. He padded over to Icestar silently. Once he was beside her, he sat down and curled his tail around his paws.

"They don't hate you. You need to look at little Firekit and decide whether to follow Firestar or Tigerstar."

"Why do I need to decide?"

"…sigh…Firekit will grow to be a leader, a wise one at that. He will follow you for the rest of your life, he makes no decisions, you do." His fur started to fade.

"Don't go! I…I love you, I need you!"

"You know I am always with you. Look at your reflection and you will see…"

"See what? See what! Singefur! What will I see?"

"I love you too."


(A/N: This is a sad part, it's a sad song I found that suits Icestar and how she feels about Singefur's death. Lux, I am not going to become like you!)

Got a date a week from Friday with the preacher's son

Everybody says he's crazy

I'll have to see

I finally moved to Jackson when the summer came

I won't have to pay that boy to rake my leaves

I probably going on and on

It seems I'm doing more of that these days

I probably wouldn't be this way

I probably wouldn't hurt so bad

I never pictured every minute

Without you in it

Oh you left so fast

Sometimes I see you standing there

Sometimes it's like I'm losing touch

Sometimes I feel that I'm so lucky to have had the chance to love this much

God give me a moment's

'Cause if I'd never seen your face

I probably wouldn't be this way

Mama says that I just shouldn't speak to you

Susan says that I should just move on

You ought to see the way these people look at me

When they see me 'round here talking to this stone

Everybody thinks I've lost my mind

But I just take it day by day

I probably wouldn't be this way

I probably wouldn't hurt so bad

I never pictured every minute

Without you in it

Oh you left so fast

Sometimes I see you standing there

Sometimes I feel an angel's touch

Sometimes I feel that I'm so lucky to have had the chance to love this much

God give me a moment's grace

'Cause if I'd never seen your face

I probably wouldn't be this way

Probably wouldn't be this way

Got a date a week from Friday with the preacher's son

Everybody says I'm crazy

Guess I'll have to see

--LeAnn Rimes, Probably Wouldn't Be This Way


As Icestar padded back to camp, she thought of the good times she had with her friends. But when she thought of Singefur and her kits, it began to rain. Thunder crashed overhead and lightning flashed through the sky. The rain made her pelt stick to her; by the time she got back to camp, she was soaking wet.

She heard her kits crying softly in her den, and she rushed to them. "Shh, it'll be okay. I'm here, I'm here." She nudged the kits to her belly, sniffing each one in turn. Firekit squeaked when she sniffed him. He had Darkpelt's scent on him. Willowkit had his scent too. Singekit didn't.

Then Darkpelt walked into the den. Icestar hissed and spat at him angrily. "What did you do to them?" she demanded, rising to her paws.

"I-I didn't do anything. Why do you ask?"

"My kits have your scent on them!"

"It might have been from earlier."

"You didn't get close enough to them!"

Darkpelt stared at her. "I didn't hurt them or do anything, I've been hunting."

Firekit and Singekit began to wail, Willowkit squeaked angrily. Icestar returned to them, still hissing curses at Darkpelt. He put a paw forward, but withdrew it. She was still very angry from earlier, when he had said those things. He decided to leave her alone instead of try talking to her again.


Icestar yowled for the Clan. It was time to give the other kits their names. When the Clan had gathered, she gazed upon the queen Swiftflower and her kits. Thrushkit, Berrykit, and Foxkit were well groomed, their pelts gleaming in the sunlight.

"Dawncloud, you are ready for your first apprentice. I hope you will pass down everything you learned from Tigertooth, and you will be training Thrushpaw."

Dawncloud nodded. She stepped forward, bent her head to Thrushpaw's level, and touched noses with the apprentice.

"Blacktail, you are also ready for your first apprentice, I hope every ounce of knowledge you learned from Singefur gets passed down to Berrypaw."

They did the same as Dawncloud and Thrushpaw.

"Runningstep, I think you are ready for a second apprentice, you had a very good mentor in Spottedpelt, and were a great mentor to Brindlefur, and you will be a great mentor for Foxpaw."

Foxpaw's nose crashed against Runningstep's. The young apprentice was extremely hyper. His eyes were shining as he padded off behind his new mentor. The meeting ended, and the cats went back to their dens. Only Icestar stayed awake to talk to Singefur.


Me: Did you like that chapter?

Icestar: Yeah…kind of… But the song was sad!

Darkpelt: Don't put me in a stupid situation where Icestar is trying to kill me!

Me: Sorry.

Next Chapter preview:

Chapter 9: The Moon's River

Moonriver…has her kits…another SHOCKING surprise and DEPRESSING surprise comes up.