A/N: This may be a little late… but Happy New Year's everybody! I am tired, but decided to go ahead and write a chapter. After this chapter, there will only be three chapters left (two chapters and an epilogue)
Reviews
Shadowfox (Guest) – I don't know, I still have to decide, but if your kit doesn't get chosen, I sincerely apologize
Guest- Nice
Guest- Thank you and no there would not be a sequel, I see this as a one-book story, so it would be difficult to come up with a plot for a sequel… sorry
Thanks to everybody who reviewed/followed/added this story as a favorite
ON WITH THE CHAPTER
…
Fang's POV
It was dawn already by the time one of the medicine cats padded out of the nursery. I lifted my head and sheathed my claws, lifting up my paws that were sore from pressing them against the ground too hard. Most of the warriors had gone back to sleep, but there were a few still outside. When they saw Leafstone, they began padding to their den. Bluestorm, who was sitting with Whiteheart and his kits, looked just as nervous as I felt. I stood up anxiously and blinked at Leafstone.
"Everything is fine, they all need their rest though," she said with a purr and nodded to me, "you could go see them now." Without waiting another second, I walked pass the medicine cat and rushed inside, nearly colliding with Redflower on the way. She gave me a small smile before padding outside as well. I took one more step forward and stopped in my place when I saw Snow curled around four little kits. Our kits. She was staring at them with an exhausted, yet warm smile. A purr erupted from my chest and I padded forward hesitantly.
Snow lifted her head and met my gaze. I saw my vision blurring, not from blindness but from tears. I smiled and padded up to her, nuzzling her gently. Both of our purrs filled the nursery and I licked her cheek. "They're here," I whispered and looked at our kits. I blinked the tears of happiness away, causing some of them to fall. "They're here," Snow said in confirmation and looked back down at our kits. There were four of them, each curled up against Snow's stomach.
"There are two she-kits and two toms," she murmured and looked back up at me. I looked at each of our kits. One of them had black fur with a white stripe down her back, along with white paws, muzzle, and tail tip. The one next to her was a light grey tom with white stripes on his face and tail. Next to him was a pure white she-kit, and the last tom was white with a darker underbelly and paws. I sat down beside the nest and curled my tail around my paws. "What should we name them?" I asked Snow and looked at her with a smile.
We both look at the squirming figures, a steady purr rumbling in our throats. "How about Badger for this one?" her tail hovered over the black she-kit. I smiled to myself and glanced at her. I remembered the time when I saved her from being killed by a badger. I nodded slightly and flicked my ear. I looked at the pure white kit. "We can name her Frost," I purred, motioning to the she-kit.
"We can name him Cloud, after my old mentor," Snow said with a small smile, flicking her tail over the white tom-kit. I glanced at her and smiled with her. I looked at the light grey tom. "We can name him Shade," I said and looked at Snow. She met my gaze and her smile grew. Despite the exhaustion clear in her eyes, I could see how happy she was. I pressed my muzzle against hers and purred loudly. I curled up around her, resting my head on her shoulder as she laid her head down. Snow fell asleep almost immediately, her breaths coming in even.
I flicked my ear and lifted my head when I heard pawsteps. The other kits walked in quietly, their eyes holding nothing but curiosity. Wolfkit was near the front; his ears perked and gaze on the four new kits. All of them were surprisingly quiet, probably because Whiteheart and Duskcloud told them so. My sister stood behind the line of kits, her gaze landing on mine.
"They're so tiny," Swampkit whispered, practically towering over all the others. His tail swayed and he tilted his head. "You were like that," Duskcloud purred quietly before going over to her nest, looking towards me again. "What are their names?" she asked and curled her tail around her paws. I smiled at my sister before looking down at my kits again.
"This one is Badger, Frost, Shade, and Cloud," I flicked my tail to each of them. They were all asleep as well; their flanks moving evenly with each breath they took. Whiteheart had curled up in her nest, calling Wolfkit, Mistkit, and Snowkit over to her. With one more glance at my kits, they each ran over to their nest. I purred and looked over at Duskcloud. "I told you they will be fine," she purred teasingly with a smile before curling up, "congratulations."
"Thank you," I whispered before laying my head back down on Snow's shoulder. I stayed awake, watching my kits. I would've never expected that one day; I would have some of my own. I purred quietly and sighed.
"I will treat you better than Shard treated me, and I would protect you with my life," I whispered and then looked at Snow's sleeping figure. I cleared my throat silently.
"All of you," I murmured and licked her neck before laying my head back down, letting out a contempt sigh and falling asleep soon after with a purr.
…
Ashpaw's POV
"Come on, we'll go exploring the territory before we do anything else, understood?" Silversnow said to me with a friendly smile before we began padding out through the thorn tunnel. I followed her as quickly as I could, my smaller size coming in handy through the tunnel. I shook out my pelt and my eyes widened once we were outside. The forest seemed so huge! The trees stretched up as high as the sky itself and the different scents floated around my nose. I sneezed slightly, earning a small chuckle from my mentor.
"I'll show you the borders we do have, as well as the Training Meadow and Owl Tree Clearing. Try not to get too distracted," Silversnow said before walking forward and disappearing in one of the bushes. I shook my head and practically ran after to keep up. All the leaves and branches above us seemed to intertwine with one another, making it seem endless. I saw some movement behind one of the bushels of leaves, but I tripped over a tree root that was protruding from the ground. "Oof," I puffed out and sat up slightly, rubbing one of my paws against my muzzle.
"What did I say about getting distracted?" I looked up and met my mentors green eyes. Instead of a scolding look, they held nothing but amusement. "Come on," she simply said before turning around and continuing down the pathway. I stood up quickly, sending a glare to the tree root, before running after her again.
…
"That tree is ginormous!" I exclaimed, looking up at the thick-trunked tree in front of us. "This is the Owl Tree, I'm sure you remember what happened to Wolfkit with the owl. Well, this is where they live, although, I'm not sure if it is here right now," Silversnow explained and looked at me before opening her mouth slightly to scent the air. I did as well and cleared my throat when multiple scents rushed into my senses. I coughed slightly and smiled before walking up to the tree. It had claw marks going up it, but I couldn't see how far up someone went up there.
"Let's continue, we will have multiple chances to train here," my mentor said before walking in a direction somewhere to the left. I gave the tree one more glance before following her, huffing slightly from the trek here. We walked for what seemed like forever until she casually stopped. I looked at her in confusion and she met my gaze.
"Now, tell me what you could hear," she said and sat down slightly, curling her tail around her paws. I flicked my ear and raised my head slightly, closing my eyes to focus more. Behind the distant sound from the chirp of a bird and the leaves rustling in the wind, I could hear a small trickle. Water. "Are we close to a river?" I asked and opened my eyes, looking at her.
"Very good, yes, we're close to the Streamclan border. Now stay alert and stay by my side," Silversnow praised before walking forward again, her ears perking up. I copied my mentor's tactics and looked around, trying not to get distracted by the sound of something crunching on an acorn nearby. The air smelled fresher and the sound of the trickling water turned to a steady and constant sound.
Silversnow stepped out of the forest line, stepping lightly onto the grains of dirt that was near the creek. I followed her confidently, jumping slightly at the unfamiliar texture of the ground before growing accustomed to it. The river ahead was rushing with clear water. It rolled smoothly over the stones at the bottom of it, and I could see moss dotting the ground closest to the water. The sunlight made it sparkle, and I could even see some fish swimming through it.
"Wow," I murmured quietly, keeping in mind to stay quiet. "It's nice isn't it," I whirled around at the sound of a different voice. Before I could even see who it was, I was thrown aside and sent skidding closer to the river. My paws scrambled to cling onto anything, but the loose dirt just rolled away from me. I unsheathed my claws out of panic and sunk them into the mud, finally hanging on. My back paws were hanging off the creek side, and I could practically feel the water flowing underneath me, spraying at my back paws and legs.
My breathing grew heavier and I looked up, gritting my teeth. Silversnow was fighting with someone, but there movements were so much faster. I blinked multiple times and let out a low growl before pulling myself up. Once I was on a steadier surface, I stood up and ran over to help my mentor. Before I got close enough, the cat that she was fighting swatted their paw at her head, knocking it against the ground and knocking her out. I skidded to a stop and stared wide-eyed at the cat.
It was a tom, with light brown fur that was covered in black spots. Its yellow eyes stared at me menacingly and my fur bristled with unease. "Since you're so tiny, you must be a new apprentice," his snarl was low with dark humor. He stepped away from my unconscious mentor and he padded closer to me. Without even thinking about it, I took a step back for every step he took closer.
Before I could even react, he suddenly leapt at me and pinned me down. I let out a small whimper and felt the rock grains digging into my back. He easily kept me pinned, his claws pressing lightly against my skin. "I want you to tell your leaders that there will be a battle between us, here at Sunhigh tomorrow. If your clan fails to show up, then we will invade your camp," he lifted one of his paws off of my chest and traced my chin with his claws, "and I am sure they won't like that."
A grin crossed his muzzle before he stepped away from me, walking closer to the river. "Oh, and tell Fang that I will be waiting for him," he said with a small growl. For a second, I thought I saw his yellow eyes flash a dark amber color. He then turned and leapt into the rushing river, creating a splash. I watched him swim across and finally remembered to breathe when he disappeared on the other side.
"Silversnow," I gasped and turned around, standing up quickly and running over to her. To my surprise, there weren't any wounds, besides one that was on her cheek. I looked around and nudged her shoulder gently. I was too small to even try to drag her back to camp. I cleared my throat and stayed sitting beside my mentor, letting out a small sigh of relief when I still saw her flanks move with each breath she took.
"Ashpaw, is that you?" I turned around at my sister's voice. Brightpaw was standing near the edge of the forest, her ears perked up. "Shadestone!" she called to her mentor once she saw Silversnow. She padded out of the forest and rushed over to me. "What happened? Are you okay?" she began asking questions and I just sat there silently. Shadestone trotted over to us and looked at Silversnow.
His eyes narrowed slightly and he padded up to her. "She's still alive, just unconscious, Brightpaw, I want you to run back to camp and tell the medicine cats to prepare for a patient," the deputy spoke and walked around Silversnow, grabbing her scruff and maneuvering around until she was on his back. My sister, with a reluctant nod, ran off in the direction of camp.
"Ashpaw, let's go," Shadestone spoke and nodded to me, "just focus on calming down for now." I nodded shakily and followed him as we began padding back to camp.
…
"I-I don't know who he was, but he had an unfamiliar scent," I finished explaining to Icestar and Toadstar. They shared a look and sighed softly. Leafstone and Redflower were checking me for any wounds. "His name is Spottedstar, the leader of Streamclan," Toadstar said to me in a calming voice. "This must be the battle," he murmured and looked at Icestar. The older leader nodded in agreement before looking at me.
"Will Silversnow be okay?" she said to the medicine cats, but her gaze remained on me. "Yes, she was just knocked unconscious, no serious damage," Leafstone spoke up after passing me a small seed. Without an order, I crouched down and ate the seed, wrinkling my nose slightly at the bitter taste.
"We'll discuss this more, Ashpaw; you need to rest for a little," Icestar said, even when I began feeling slightly drowsy. I nodded at her words and crouched down in my nest, curling my tail around myself.
The last thing I saw before closing my eyes were those yellow eyes.
…
A/N: A little shorter than usual, but ayy the battle is coming up. Poor Ashpaw, he is going to be haunted now because of Spottedstar/Shard. And hooray for Snow's and Fang's kits! Again, I am sorry if your kit wasn't chosen. It's always difficult to choose the kits for my main characters. Trust me, I would add all of them, but that's just too many kits for one cat XD
QOTD: Well, since the story itself is almost over, why not put this; overall, who is your favorite/least favorite character here (dead or alive)?
My favorite character would probably have to be Fang, Duskcloud, or Wolfkit and my least favorite would probably be Bluestorm or Shard.
*Countdown to final chapter; 3 more chapters to go*
If you have time: it would mean a lot to me if you can check out my other stories as well. They are temporarily stopped to finish this one quicker, but still.
Stolen: s/10699119/1/Stolen
A Silver curse: s/11181428/1/A-Silver-Curse
Please review, favorite and/or follow.
Thank you and peace out.
~Wolfcreations16
#TheAlpha