AN: I'm gonna introduce my cat who, sadly, passed away a couple of months ago. He lived to be 18. His name was Mies, after a famous architect (I didn't name him. My parents did ;~;).
And to preserve his memory into time, I will add him as a character inside my story. Oh, and he does have a purpose.
He'll be 'Peachpelt'.
Emberstar
FlameClan Leader
Ginger/Grey Tabby
25 Moons
Emberstar and his border patrol were on their way to meet a very old friend. The patrol consisted of Sparkglow, Steampelt, and Robinpaw. "Which way is it again?" mewed Robinpaw, the first time on this patrol.
"Near the notail nests. He usually is sitting on the fence, waiting for us," responded Emberstar, using his tail to gesture in the general direction. "And who are we meeting?" continued Robinpaw, endlessly curious. "An old friend of ours – a former FlameClan Warrior," this time, it was Steampelt who answered Robinpaw's question.
"Yes. Steampelt, Sparkglow, and I were all mere kits when he was named a Warrior," meowed Emberstar in amusement, "That's how old he is."
"So why isn't he with the other Clan elders?" Robinpaw kept on threading questions. "Well, from what I remember, he was getting very old, so he went to live with notails," Emberstar replied, his memories from the time fuzzy. He had just been named a Warrior when his friend, Peachpelt, had left the Clan to live among notails.
"Here we are!" exclaimed Steampelt, pulling the leader from his thoughts. To his surprise, they had reached their destination – the fence bordering on FlameClan territory and the notail nests.
"Greetings!" called the rusty and warm voice of his old friend, Peachpelt. "Hello, Peachpelt," nodded Emberstar. The rest of the patrol echoed the same thing. Peachpelt was a very pale ginger tabby, his pelt a very peachy color, therefore his name. He had a white undercoat that reached his paws, giving him sock-like markings.
This time, he wasn't alone. He had a blue-silver kit next to him, which looked barely old enough to leave the nest. "Who's this?" asked Peachpelt, grabbing the kit by the scruff and clambering carefully down the fence. He gestured at Robinpaw with his tail.
"This is Robinpaw, one of our new apprentices," responded Sparkglow, who had been quiet for most of the trip. "Congratulations, young one," Peachpelt nodded. "I'm almost a Warrior though," Robinpaw mewed in a slightly confused manner.
"In other news, who is the kit? A family member?" Emberstar inquired, nodding to the blue-silver kit who was starting to mew feebly. "No. I found him on the side of the street in front of my housefolk's home. I tried getting someone to take him in, but no one wants him, so I was hoping you could take him into the Clan," meowed Peachpelt calmly, nudging the little kit forward. Apart from the fact that a few clumps of fur were missing from the young creature's pelt, he was in perfect condition. Emberstar turned to Steampelt, "I think we should – he won't survive long without milk," the leader mewed calmly. Steampelt responded, "I think Gingerdawn will be able to nurse him back to health."
Gingerdawn was a young queen that rarely ever came out of the nursery, due to the fact that she had two litters and expecting another. That was why Emberstar didn't usually see a lot of the ginger-brown she-cat.
"Excellent," proclaimed Peachpelt, "I wish to see this small kit taken to FlameClan camp."
The FlameClan leader shared a look with Steampelt. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," he mewed hesitantly. "Why not?" Peachpelt's ears perked upwards, confused slightly. "You're an elder, so you might not be able to make the journey, and many of the FlameClan cats won't remember you, so they'll think I brought some random kittypet…" responded Emberstar.
"Excuse me, but some random kittypet?" repeated the elder, ears flattened slightly, "I have served FlameClan endlessly throughout my life."
"Well, yes… but we know you – we were alive when you were named a Warrior. Most of the Warriors and all the apprentices now don't even know who you are if they haven't listened to some of the elders' stories, and they very rarely do," explained the FlameClan leader, staying calm.
Peachpelt's ears went up again and his fur smoothened, "Understandable reasoning, but still. I'd like to see this kit inducted into FlameClan." The elder gave the scrap of fur a little nudge forward, as if willing him to the Warriors.
The little kit gave a few hesitant sniffs towards Emberstar and the other cats, but then meowed feebly and stumbled forwards. "Well… he already seems comfortable with us," Robinpaw pointed out, licking his paws. "I don't see the harm in adding a new kit to FlameClan's nursery – this Newleaf is plentiful and our queens have milk to spare – besides, there is no such thing as too many Warriors," reasoned Steampelt, "And I doubt that anyone would have a quarrel with an ex-FlameClan Warrior revisiting his camp."
Emberstar gave it one last thought, then nodded in agreement. "Very well," he mewed, heading off and flicking his tail to command the other cats to follow.
0-0-0
"My oh my, you've certainly expanded since Ashenstar's time," mewed Peachpelt in splendor. "Wait, I just realized that we never learned your name," meowed Robinpaw. "Mies," responded the elder. "Actually, his Warrior name was Peachpelt, but I'm going out on a limb and saying that's the name your house-folk gave you," remarked Steampelt. "Correct," Mies carried the small scrap of fur in his mouth by the scruff, garnering a lot of attention from the gathered Clan.
Once they reached the Highstone, Emberstar clambered to the top, and yowled the standard gathering command. This was next to useless, though, as most of the Clan had already gathered around to watch the newcomer Mies.
"Though Clans do not often do this, we are bringing in a new kit from the Notailplace," mewed Emberstar, his voice powerful. Nightshade spoke up from the crowd of cats, "He reeks of the Notails and is most likely a kittypet. We do not need kittypets inside our Clan."
"May I remind you that our leader before Ashenstar was Cinderstar, one of the most powerful warriors in the history of FlameClan wasn't Clan-born? He was born in a Notail next, but craved for the scents and sights of the forest," responded Emberstar coolly. With that, Nightshade was quieted.
"So, if anyone else won't object, I hereby name this kit Wavekit, in honor of his sleek fur that runs like water," the leader mewed, grabbing the small scrap of fur by the scruff. The Warriors of FlameClan were hesitant to call out his name. As if on que, Wavekit let out a loud, prideful mew. Swiftwillow then started shouting "Wavekit! Wavekit!". The rest of Clan joined in, and finally, it looked like every cat, including Nightshade, was shouting the young tom's name.
"Gingerdawn will take care of this young kit," meowed Emberstar to the FlameClan deputy, "I've to prepare for the Gathering tonight."
