\"Every kit with their eyes open gather here for a Clan meeting!"
A black kit stood atop a moss-covered rock inside the nursery, his head held high and his tail lashing behind him. He had seen their leader stand above their Clan many times, and he was copying his stance the best he could. Below him, the kits gathered with their mothers watching behind them with amused smiles on their faces. The tom-kit smiled down at his denmates and friends, "I, Shadowstar, have an announcement." He paused and his face twisted, showing that he was in deep thought before he spoke again, his brave, but tiny voice ringing across the nursery. "There is a savage OnyxClan kit at the border, threatening to rip our Clan to shreds! I have chosen three kits to go and kill them! They want to hurt our mothers!"
To the side of the group was a bob-tailed brown she-kit, her claws unsheathed and her maw parted, ready to fight. "Oh no!" One of the queens cried, stifling her laughter, "Help me! I can't defend myself!" Shadowkit called out three names and the kits raced towards their enemy, yowling and growling echoed through the nursery. In the kits' eyes, it was ferocious battle of death, but in the queen's eyes, it was an adorable playfight between their kits. They would stop the game if it reached a certain point.
"I will rip you apart, OnyxClanner!" A fluffy white she-kit yowled as she slammed her paw down on the other kit's face, her amber eyes clouding with worry when her friend released a loud yowl. "Harekit! Are you okay?" She asked, examining the brown she-kit carefully. A grey tabby queen's ears perked up at the sound of the yowl and she rose from her nest, quickly making her way over to her kit and giving Harekit's face a gentle washing. "I didn't want to hurt her..." The white kit's ears pinned back as the queen's brown eyes glared in her direction.
"You see?" The queen snapped at the other she-cat's behind her, earning a sigh from them, "This is why kits shouldn't fight until they are apprentices!" This was the queen's first litter, so it was understandable that she was protective of them.
"Streamstep, it's just a small scratch. Echospirit can put some cobwebs on it and it'll heal quickly, it won't scar." A speckled grey and white she-cat meowed to her Clanmate quietly, gesturing for her kits to return to her side. Shadowkit, who was still perched upon his rock, mewed his agreement to his mother, only to receive a hiss in response. His ears flattened against his head and his black fur spiked up, he slowly slipped off of the mossy boulder and trudged to Streamstep's side with his brother, Squirrelkit.
Streamstep lifted her head high and glared at her Clanmate, "Just a scratch? What if your damned Snowkit took Harekit's eye out, what then, Mistleaf?" Mistleaf's fur slowly rose and she hissed at Streamstep, curling her tail around her confused kits. Just as she was about to snap back and explain that her daughter would do no such thing, a silhouette cast over the nursery as the moss draped over the opening parted. A golden tabby she-cat stood there with a small kit dangling from her maw. Streamstep didn't look too pleased to see the new blood joining them, "I thought I smelled something foul around here... A darn alley cat's kit? That waste of fur doesn't belong here!"
"Zip it, mouse-brain!" The golden she-cat set the kit down and nudged it towards Mistleaf, asking the queen to care for the young kit. She could now get a good look at the little one; the new blood was a small calico female with a splotched pelt and a single spot on the back of her neck. Her face was rather unique, orange tabby stripes on one side stretching down towards her paws, and grey tabby stripes on the other side. She had a white underbelly that spread up to her muzzle and between her eyes, stopped by tabby stripes mixed in with the colorful fur.
Mistleaf nodded. "What is your name little one?" She asked the she-kit as Streamstep hurdled her kits away to the corner of the nursery. Snowkit and her sister, Rabbitkit, poked their heads up over the queen's tail to greet their new denmate. Snowkit climbed over Mistleaf's tail and approached the kit, she introduced herself and her sister. The tiny kit smiled weakly, her response was barely audible.
"My name is Whisper..."
Harekit shoved her head out from under Shadowkit's belly and she smiled, she rose to her paws to greet the new kit. "Hello! My name's -" she was cut off my Streamstep's tail slapping over her maw, silencing her. The she-kit released a small sigh and returned to her brothers' sides, ignoring the worried look Snowkit was sending her. "Sorry, Streamstep..." She whispered to the grey tabby that was her mother, casting an apologetic glance to Whisper.
The calico she-kit sat with her tail curled around her paws and her head drooping, "I'm sorry..." Whisper mewed sadly, feeling as though she'd upset the she-cat somehow, "Pikebreeze said I needed to stay here because my brother is ill."
Streamstep's brown eyes snapped towards the kit and she released a loud, menacing hiss. "Of course, you're an alley cat's kit! Your breed is full of diseases!" She nosed her three offspring to the corner of the den and lay in front of them as if Whisper would approach her babies, "I will not let you infect my little ones!" Her gaze was practically glowing with hatred towards the calico kit.
Mistleaf sighed and stood to her paws, allowing her kits to follow her as she approached Whisper and she gave her a quick sniff. "She smells rather well to me," Mistleaf informed her denmate, sparing an apologetic glance to the expecting queen towards the far side of the den. Poor Dusknose was days away from giving birth and she had to deal with Streamstep's bullshit. "Well Whisper," Mistleaf looked down at her new kit, "consider me your mother and call me Mistleaf. Snowkit and Rabbitkit are your sisters now, you'll never be alone again with all us around here."
Whisper lifted her head shyly to meet Mistleaf's hazel eyes and a worried expression crossed her features, "But what about Jay? He's my brother and he's all alone right now." Mistleaf had caught a familiar whiff of death from the kit's pelt, she'd clearly spent half of her time here cuddled next to her dying brother. The queen's ears pinned back and just as she went to explain what had happened, a yowl outside the nursery caught her attention.
The kits' ears perked up and their whiskers twitched with excitement, Mistleaf quietly whispered to Dusknose that she would gather information for her. The kits gathered at the entrance to the nursery, leaving a very puzzled Whisper sitting in the center of the den. "Come, little one..." The speckled grey queen gave the tiny cat a small nudge, wanting her to join her new denmates. Streamstep reluctantly padded up to sit behind her kits as an attempt to stray Whisper from them.
Leopardstar had called for a Clan meeting, and Shadewhisker was sitting at the base of the rock. Once the Clan was gathered, he began to speak with his raspy and cracking voice. The golden tom wasn't a young cat at all. "As most of you can already tell, we have a new member of our Clan. Spiderfang found two kits out in the alley whilst searching for food and their mother had passed away earlier that day; he brought them back to the Clan and one of the kits, sent to StarClan as Jaykit, passed away due an unknown illness." The tom's eyes landed on Whisper and he beckoned her forward, the Clan's attention turned to the calico as she silently trudged away from Mistleaf.
Whisper's chest was aching and another sharp pain was sent rolling through her when she cast a look towards the medicine cat's den; her brother's corpse was in there... Jaykit hadn't made it. She should've known that with how silent he'd been.
Leopardstar hopped down from his perch to meet her and Whisper's fur spiked up, he offered her a weary, but gentle, smile. "Today I call upon my warrior ancestors of StarClan to welcome our newest member to CascadeClan, from this day forth until she receives her warrior name this kit will be named Whisperkit." The tom's nose touched her forehead and she felt warmth rush through her. "Welcome to the Clan, young one."
He turned to approach his rock again and Whisperkit heard the sound of claws scraping the soil beneath them, she turned to see a trio of kits waiting eagerly. On what... She didn't know. Mistleaf cast a proud smile towards the calico and she couldn't help but to smile back. She returned to the she-cat as Leopardstar summon the trio of kits forward, Whisperkit could see the scowl on Streamstep's face as her three gathered around her.
Whisperkit snuggled into Mistleaf on instinct, proceeding to watch the gathering in silence. She was home...