Dawnstar's Legacy chapter 3
Willowshine does not belong to me. She belongs to Erin Hunter.
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Dawnkit was sitting peacefully in a sunny meadow, the gentle breeze rolled up and down the flattened slopes that were hills. The grass was unimaginably green and lush. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. The sun warmed Dawnkit's silver and white fur comfortably. The meadow also overlooked a river that shone in the sunshine like a polished gem. The little, silver kit wasn't quite sure where she was, but she was happy. A smile creped its way on her face as she rolled in the grass purring. The grass covered Dawnkit in a sweet, mossy smell that she recognized on her mother when she was around her, comforting her. Then, a butterfly lazily fluttered by Dawnkit's nose. Instinctively, she swatted at the flying creature. The butterfly dodged accordingly, fluttering its wings rapidly in a response to its own panic. The butterfly floated towards the river and Dawnkit chased after it, leaping and hopping in the process, very determined to catch the winged insect.
The butterfly flew slowly over the clear waters of the river, aware that Dawnkit wouldn't be able to catch up with it. Dawnkit stopped at the sandy river bank, staring longingly at the butterfly with wide, dark amber eyes. The winged insect seemed to mock at her as it floated above the earth.
"Ha ha, you can't catch me." The butterfly seemed to taunt Dawnkit. She scowled in an effort to retort, making the butterfly flutter away over to the other side of the river. Dawnkit padded up back to the meadow. There wasn't any reason to stay by the river. She couldn't swim yet. So she decided to explore instead. The silvery kit trotted up over gently rolling hills of tall grass and lavender colored flowers. More butterflies scattered as she approached, but Dawnkit ignored them. Now she hated butterflies. She hated the way the first butterfly had mocked her. The other butterflies stayed well away from the kit.
Eventually as she kept walking, Dawnkit noticed the scenery started to change. The meadow transformed itself into a forest, then a purple hued moor, and finally a thicket with rivers and creeks slashing through the trees. Everywhere Dawnkit looked; the scenery seemed to be lined with stars as it sparkled. Dawnkit wondered where she was. She definitely wasn't in RiverClan's territory. There was no going back to the meadow now; the kit wouldn't be able to retrace her steps.
However, this place was equally as interesting as the first. Dawnkit settled herself down by a pool of water, dabbing her paws and tongue in the water to cool her body off after the lengthy walk. As Dawnkit peered down at the crystalline water, she noticed that the water was reflecting what looked like the stars. Odd, she wondered, it's not dark enough for the stars to come out yet. Still staring at the starry pool, Dawnkit the stars on the water began to swirl. The light bounced out of the water, illuminating the entire forest around her. An image placed itself on top of the shimmering stars. A vision flashed into the silver kit's mind.
"Willowshine, are you here?" A voice cried out, echoing into the star filled forest. Dawnkit recognized the voice, but she wasn't sure exactly who the voice belonged to. Then, Embersoul's image appeared right before Dawnkit's very eyes! Her father was here! But where was here? The question instilled itself into Dawnkit's mind. Suddenly, a different voice answered Embersoul's call.
"I am here, Embersoul." The voice was clear and soft, a bit like Dawnkit's mother's voice. But this meow was completely new. No one in RiverClan that Dawnkit knew had that kind of voice. The mews continued.
"Over here, Embersoul. We have much to talk about." As if on cue, a pale, grey she cat with dazzling dark blue eyes materialized in front of Embersoul. Her pelt shone brightly, as if her pelt were made of stars. The she cat sat down in near Dawnkit's father, her delicate paws made no sound as she settled.
"Has StarClan approved? Is the prophecy still intact?" Embersoul asked the grey she cat, calmly but at the same time curiosity edged out of his mew. The grey she cat nodded, her blue eyes blazing, but not at Embersoul.
"It is. The rest of the clan approves very much at your efforts, and Blackwing's."
"Blackwing told her the prophecy though; I saw and heard her say it."
"That's ok, she needs to know sometime. She's too young to think much of it. It would hurt her if she understood now. She'll figure out everything when she's older. Everything will work out fine, Embersoul. Just wait and see." The grey cat finished speaking and got back up to her paws. Dawnkit saw worry flash in her father's face.
"I know, but I worry about her a lot. She's my daughter." Embersoul said, looking at his paws.
"Yes, but StarClan is always watching over her, and the rest of your family. Stop worrying so much. The prophecy is kind, and will keep her safe."
Suddenly, Dawnkit's vision started to blur. The images that played themselves in front of her eyes started to fade to blackness. Now she was alone. The silver kit whimpered, fear setting into her mind. Then, she opened her eyes.
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Dawnkit opened her eyes. She was back in the nursery with both of her parents lying nearby. Dawnkit thought they curled around each other like little worms. She laughed to herself at the thought. Dawnkit padded over the nest her parents were napping in. She prodded her mother's ears with a paw, making them twitch with annoyance. Stoneheart blinked open her eyes to see her daughter awake and staring back at her.
"How late it is, Dawnkit," Stoneheart said yawning, "I guess I can sleep more tonight. Get up, Embersoul." Stoneheart poked her mate's face with her paw. Embersoul stirred, and awoke.
"You didn't have to be that demanding you know." Embersoul meowed to his mate, making a face. Stoneheart twitched her whiskers in response.
"Did you take Dawnkit to meet the apprentices earlier?"
"No, I forgot. She wanted a nap before we could go."
"You should go soon; you might be neglecting your apprentice, Embersoul."
"He only has a couple moons left. He knows everything about being a warrior, honestly, Stoneheart. He deserves a day off." Dawnkit's parents laughed at themselves. They argued all the time, but it never about anything serious or important. Dawnkit never made much of their arguments.
The little family of cats stepped outside the nursery. The thorns that surrounded the den tugged at Dawnkit's fur as she slipped out. She stepped forward and stood by her mother. Stoneheart lead her and Emberheart over to the apprentice's den that resided under a bush that was covered with red berries. Dawnkit saw cats coming in and out of the den, some sat outside and shared tongues. Embersoul padded forward and roused awake a brown tabby tom apprentice. He was curled in a tight ball in his mossy nest. Embersoul had to try a second time to wake him.
"Hey, Timberpaw, it's time to get up." Embersoul said, with an edge of sternness. The brown tom opened his eyes. To Dawnkit, they shone an emerald green color, much like the plants that grew by the puddles outside of the nursery.
"Are we going out to train?" The brown cat asked, panicked that he had slept so long. Embersoul chuckled.
"No Timberpaw. I wanted you to meet my daughter. Her name is Dawnkit."
Timberpaw looked down at Dawnkit. She stared back at him equally, meeting his dazzling green eyes.
"Welcome, Dawnkit. You're lucky you'll be growing up in RiverClan. I heard ShadowClan forcer their kits to serve the warriors and are left out in the woods if they don't do what they're told." Timberclaw mewed, smiling a little at his own joke. Dawnkit didn't realize it was, though.
"They wouldn't really, would they?" Dawnkit squeaked, horrified. Timberclaw nuzzled her.
"No, I was just kidding."
Dawnkit made a face at the brown tabby apprentice. Timberpaw stopped his behavior when he got a sour look from Embersoul.
"Why don't you introduce her to the other apprentices, Timberpaw?" Embersoul said. He nudged his apprentice along out into the camp. Timberpaw stepped out of the apprentice's den. Dawnkit followed him as her parents started off in a different direction together. She guessed they were going hunting.
Timberpaw led the silver kit towards a rock that sat a few tails lengths from the apprentice's den. Four new cats were chatting, and eating prey. One cat was looking up at the sky. They turned their heads towards the pair of cats approaching and mewed their hellos.
"The blue-grey she cat is Rainpaw. She's the newest apprentice, she's been training for a half a moon now," Timberpaw explained to Dawnkit. He continued to introduce his denmates, "The light brown tom with white paws is Sparrowpaw. He's an awesome hunter. He's the oldest. Tomorrow is his warrior ceremony." Timberpaw then turned his attention to a slim, black tom. "This is Darkpaw. He's Sparrowpaw's brother. And last but not least, the white she cat over there is Icepaw. She's my sister."
"You know your father is my mentor, right?" Timberpaw asked, facing Dawnkit. The silver kit nodded.
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The sun settled down to dusk. The moon rose, taking the sun's place in the sky. Dawnkit flopped down in her nest with Stoneheart. She met the entire clan within the course of a day! It was exhausting to the little kit. She shut her eyes, as her father entered the den for the last time before going off to sleep in the warrior's den.
"Embersoul, you came a good time. I have news," Stoneheart's voice heightened with excitement. "I'm having another kit!"
Embersoul stared wide eyed at his mate. He leapt at her and licked her face over and over.
"Dawnkit! Dawnkit! You're going to have a littermate!" Stoneheart yowled to her daughter.
I'm going to have a what?!