Snowfur had always been an energetic warrior. No matter what, she always seemed to be on the move, whether that meant hunting, assisting with battle training, or going on patrols. The only time she ever seemed to be resting was when it was time to go to bed. For this reason, Lilyspark and the rest of her family had worried that the stress of being confined to the camp all day with a kit would be too much for her to handle.
Admittedly, she had fared better than they had expected. But now, as Lilyspark watched Snowfur tearing at the bracken surrounding her nest, she knew her sister needed to get some fresh air soon. If someone didn't take her out before sunhigh, Whitekit would end up sleeping on the nursery floor for the evening.
"Long day?" Lilyspark asked sympathetically.
"You could say that," Snowfur grumbled, dropping her head onto her paws. "Why doesn't Thistleclaw have to stay here? He's Whitekit's father."
"Well, he can't really do much aside play with Whitekit at the moment," she pointed out. "Besides, you should be glad that he isn't stuck here. Can you imagine what it would be like if Thistleclaw had den fever? StarClan, have mercy on us all if that happens."
"You're probably right," Snowfur agreed, sighing. "I just wish I could get out of the camp once in a while."
"Me too!" Tigerkit piped up from his nest. Lilyspark chuckled as the dark tabby kit bounded over to them. "I want to go outside too. I'll be the forest goes on forever. Right, Lilyspark? Isn't the forest really big?"
"Yes, it is," she purred. "But I don't think it stretches on forever."
At that moment, Bluefur pushed her way inside the den, a clump of dog fur in her jaws. Lilyspark wondered where she had picked it up from. Had her sister been fighting another dog? A quick glance at her pelt quickly dispelled this theory, so she assumed the fur had been blown over by the wind.
"Here, I thought Whitekit could play with this when he wakes up," Bluefur meowed, dropping the clump of fur at Snowfur's paws.
"Thanks, Bluefur," Snowfur purred gratefully.
"Snowfur was just telling us about how she's so dreadfully glum being stuck here all day," Lilyspark informed her older sister, dodging Snowfur's paw as the white-furred queen attempted to strike her.
"Is that so?" Bluefur asked, looking torn between sympathy and amusement. "Well, why don't we go for a short walk? You can stretch your legs and Whitekit can stay here in the nursery with the other queens while we're gone."
Snowfur glanced at her son hesitantly. "I–I shouldn't," she meowed quickly. "What if he wakes up and gets hungry while I'm gone? I need to be around to feed him."
"Come on, Snowfur," Robinwing coaxed from her own nest. "Whitekit will be just fine. If he wakes up before you and Bluefur get back, he can have some of my milk."
"There, you see? Whitekit will be fine, Snowfur," Bluefur meowed, and Lilyspark could tell she was trying hard not to roll her eyes. "And we won't be gone long. You'll be back before anyone even notices you've left."
"Go on," Lilyspark meowed encouragingly. "If you stay here any longer, I think you'll start eating your nest. I'll keep Whitekit company while you're out."
Snowfur hesitated for a few more heartbeats, then nodded and allowed Bluefur to lead her out of the nursery. As soon as her sister's back was turned, Lilyspark shook her head in disbelief. How many different reasons could Snowfur think of to fuss over Whitekit? It was as if she thought he would disappear into thin air if she took her eyes off of him for too long. If being a mother was this anxiety-inducing, she would happily forgo ever having kits of her own.
"You alright there, Lilyspark?" Leopardfoot asked, looking amused.
"Yeah, I'm great," Lilyspark answered, shaking her head. "Snowfur is just..."
"It comes with being a mother," the black-furred molly meowed knowingly. "When you have someone who depends so completely on you, it's hard not to worry about everything that might go wrong. Especially with kits because they're so small and weak. There have been too many stories of kits who were crushed when their mothers accidentally rolled on them...kits who were snatched away by a fox or a badger...kits eating the wrong plant and dying of poisoning..."
"That's awful!" Lilyspark exclaimed, shuddering. No wonder Snowfur is so paranoid.
"It is," Robinwing agreed, curling her tail protectively around Brindlekit and Frostkit. "Fortunately, those incidents don't happen often. Still, though. One kit's death is too many in my opinion."
Lilyspark was surprised that they were talking so openly about death in front of Tigerkit. When she looked around, however, she realized that the dark tabby kit was nowhere to be seen. With a start, she noticed that the dog fur was missing as well. She was about to warn Leopardfoot when she saw the content, unconcerned expression on the older molly's face. Clearly, she already had an idea as to where Tigerkit had disappeared to.
"Look at me! I'm attacking a dog!" Tigerkit's voice yowled from outside the nursery.
Found him, Lilyspark thought, chuckling to herself.
Leopardfoot shook her head fondly. "He'll be a warrior in no time."
Lilyspark decided that now probably wasn't the best time to tell Leopardfoot that she had once imagined a world in which Tigerkit was named Sparklekit. Not for the first time, she was wondering if perhaps she wasn't entirely right in the head.
A soft meow from her left side caught her attention. Glancing down, she saw that Whitekit had opened his eyes and was blinking around sleepily. Lilyspark purred fondly when she noticed a small clump of bracken that had gotten itself stuck to his fur. Gently, so as not to hurt him, she reached over and plucked it out between her teeth. The little white tom looked up at her, then yawned as he stretched his paws out in front of him.
"Hey there," she meowed cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah," Whitekit meowed, nodding.
"Snowfur's out on a walk right now, but she's coming back soon. Tigerkit's outside if you want to play with him," Lilyspark told him. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on you until your mother gets back, so if you go outside, don't go wandering off."
"Okay." Still blinking sleep from his eyes, Whitekit rose to his paws and tottered unsteadily out of the nursery.
Lilyspark shook her head and stood up as well. "I should probably go outside and make sure they don't get into any trouble. I'm sure Tigerkit won't hurt him, but if anything happens to Whitekit, Snowfur will probably never let me watch him again," she joked.
She padded outside, taking a seat in a shaded area just outside the entrance as she watched Tigerkit and Whitekit play-fighting. The tabby kit was considerably larger than his littermate, and Lilyspark stiffened when she saw Tigerkit pin Whitekit down. Almost immediately, however, she relaxed again as he got off, allowing Whitekit to gain the upper hand. From there on, the two kits rolled about playfully, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world.
Despite herself, Lilyspark couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy as she looked at the two kits playing happily together. Once, a long time ago, she had been just as carefree. Now, however, it seemed that her days were filled with endless patrols and border skirmishes. She wasn't one to complain; she knew it was an honor to serve her Clan as a warrior. Lilyspark just wished that she could find the time to play again as she had when she was a kit.
Then again, I'd probably get bored of the games pretty quickly, she realized, twitching her ear.
Finally, Tigerkit raced over to her, followed closely by Whitekit. "We're tired," the dark tabby announced. "Tell us a story."
"Please?" Whitekit added, looking at her hopefully.
Lilyspark laughed. "Of course, little ones. Come on inside and get yourselves comfortable, and I'll see if I know any good ones."
Turning around, she walked back inside the nursery and settled herself down on the stone floor. Whitekit bounded back over to Snowfur's nest while Tigerkit settled in with Leopardfoot. Once they had gotten themselves comfortable, Lilyspark began to rack her brains for any good story ideas. Eventually, she settled on one that had always been a favorite of hers–the tale of the ancient Clans.
"Long ago," Lilyspark began, well aware of the way Whitekit and Tigerkit's gazes were fixated on her. "Before the time of Thunderstar, Riverstar, Windstar, and Shadowstar, before StarClan itself, there lived three ancient Clans. The warriors in these Clans had fangs sharp enough to pierce through bones and claws that could slice open rocks. They were known as LeopardClan, LionClan, and TigerClan."
At the mention of TigerClan, Tigerkit's eyes brightened. "Am I named after TigerClan?"
"Perhaps," Lilyspark replied. "Anyway, as I said before, the three ancient Clans were known as TigerClan, LeopardClan, and LionClan. LionClan warriors had long golden manes while LeopardClan warriors had spots as dark as the night. And TigerClan had jet-black stripes. It is said that TigerClan warriors got their stripes after being forced to spend a moon in darkness as punishment for stealing a LionClan kit."
As she continued on with her story, Lilyspark felt a twinge of contentment. It was a beautiful newleaf day; the sun was peeking in through the entrance to the nursery, warming the inhabitants. Whitekit was staring at her with rapt attention, while Tigerkit appeared to have fallen asleep. She could have stayed there forever, recounting ancient tales that had been passed on for generations before she was born.
It wasn't until Lilyspark paused to take a breath that she noticed the shadow that had fallen over the nursery.
Whatever damage had been done to Snowfur's body by the monster, Featherwhisker had covered it up by the time the Clan was ready for her burial. Her expression was peaceful and her pelt was sleek and unmarked. Indeed, if Lilyspark hadn't known any better, she would have assumed that her sister had decided to take a nap in the middle of the camp and someone had played a prank and decorated her pelt with flowers. Admittedly, this was a rather strange thought to be having at her sister's burial, but she didn't know what to think, so she was content to let her mind wander wherever it pleased.
How can she be gone? She was just here this morning!
Part of Lilyspark wanted to believe that her family was playing a cruel prank and that Snowfur would pop up any moment now, laughing. But as she took in the grief-filled expressions of Moonflower and Sunstar, the blank stare of Bluefur, and the raw, unadulterated rage of Thistleclaw, she knew it wasn't a prank. Snowfur was dead. She was dead, and Whitekit was without his mother now.
All because we wanted her to take a walk, Lilyspark thought bitterly. We thought we were doing what was best–wasn't that enough?
She wondered if Snowfur had felt any pain when the monster hit her. Was her death instantaneous, or had she managed to hold on for at least a little while longer? For her sake, Lilyspark hoped it was the first. A quick death was always better than a long, drawn-out one, at least in her opinion.
At last, it was time for Snowfur to be buried. Unable to watch, Lilyspark turned and padded away to the warriors' den as the elders carried her sister's body out of the camp. Bluefur was already asleep in her nest by the time she arrived, and Lilyspark curled up in her own immediately as well. Try as she might, however, she couldn't seem to make herself fall asleep, her mind plagued with images of Snowfur's limp, lifeless body.
If she had been paying attention, she would have noticed that the absence of snores from Bluefur's nest meant that she wasn't the only one lying awake.