I feel as though the last chapter was a bit rushed, so I apologize if anyone else felt the same way!
Enjoy!
P.S. I plan on winding up this story soon, so this will be one of the last chapters.
Chapter 15
Two dawns after the birth of her kits, Kite began to settle into the nursery permanently. She did not leave except to make dirt on occasion, since Sootfur would bring her prey two or three times a day. On the third day, just when Kite thought she would be alright, Glacierpelt turned up in the entrance to the nursery.
"Hello, my love," he meowed, leaning down and licking Kite's ears. She flinched, and her kits started. Snowkit mewled angrily, having been shaken from her spot in the curve of her mother's belly, where she had been feeding.
"Don't touch me," Kite snarled.
"Oh, come now, my love," Glacierpelt meowed, purring. "Don't be like that. I've come to see my kits."
"They're not your kits," Kite meowed.
"Why, of course they are, silly she-cat!" Glacierpelt mewed. "Are you going to keep me from seeing my own kin?"
"Yes," Kite snapped.
"I thought I'd taught you not to disobey me," Glacierpelt meowed, narrowing his eyes. "I suppose I was wrong."
"Leave her alone!" Sootfur's all too familiar voice sounded from behind Glacierpelt's muscular frame. He shoved his way into the den until he stood at Kite's head, then turned to face Glacierpelt. "She told you to stay away, so stay away."
"Step off!" Glacierpelt ordered, baring his teeth in the beginnings of a snarl.
"She doesn't love you!" Sootfur cried.
"She doesn't love you, either!" Glacierpelt countered.
"Yes she does!" Sootfur insisted. "Don't you, Kite?" he asked, turning to face the she-cat. Kite shrugged, let out an irritated grunt, and turned away.
"Now, don't be like that, dear one," Glacierpelt meowed smoothly. "Didn't I ever teach you how to respect toms? Sootfur," he went on, turning to the tom. "I think you could have some fun with this one. I'll give you her for tonight and tomorrow if you wish. There's enough of her to go around."
"Who will give her kits milk?"
"We'll figure it out."
"Wait, wait, wait," Kite cut in. "So you're just going to toss me around like some…some kitten toy? That's outrageous! Sootfur, I thought you were above that kind of behavior."
But the toms ignored her completely. "It's a deal then," Sootfur meowed. He turned to Kite. "Come along, dear."
"No!" Kite screeched. Barleykit's head shot up, and he looked around, though his eyes were still shut. "I am not going with either of you. In fact, I'm leaving. And I'm taking Barleykit with me." She reached down, grabbing her youngest kit by the scruff, and bounded out of camp.
--X
It was sunset when Kite finally came within the vicinity of Ravenpaw's barn. She had greatly regretted leaving ThunderClan on a whim. She was aching all over from the pain of traveling a great distance without food or water just after giving birth, and it was obvious the strain of the journey was equally shared with Barleykit. But as soon as she saw the barn, she sped up, darting across the open moor, and ducking into the door.
As soon as she entered, Kite set Barleykit on a bale of hay and called out, "Ravenpaw? Ravenpaw! It's me, Kite! I'm here now! I'm back!"
"Kite?" Ravenpaw's familiar head shot out over the ledge of the hay loft, and in an instant he was down on the barn floor beside her. "Oh, Kite! How have you been? It's been so long, hasn't it? How's the Clan? Did you have your kits?"
"I'd rather not talk about my Clan life," Kite replied. "But here. Look at this." She stepped aside, revealing Barleykit, who was squirming around on the bale of hay, whacking the air with his paws.
Ravenpaw gasped in wonder. "Why, is this your kit?"
"I have four more back in ThunderClan," Kite replied. "But I couldn't leave Barleykit behind."
"You named him after Barley?" Ravenpaw asked.
"Well, yes," Kite replied. "I feel like Barleykit has a bit of Barley in him, though they're not related. I brought him here so you didn't have to lose your friend forever."
"Thank you," Ravenpaw sighed, bending down and licking Barleykit's tiny pink nose. "So, are you just going to leave?"
"Of course not!" Kite replied. "He's only a few dawns old. I'm not just going to leave him behind."
"He sure looks hungry," Ravenpaw observed. "Why don't you feed him? I'll go hunting for the two of us."
"That would be great," Kite mewed, crawling onto the bale of hay, where Barleykit immediately snuggled into the curve of her belly and began feeding. Ravenpaw purred, his eyes full and bright with joy, and ducked out of the barn door.
Kite waited until nightfall for Ravenpaw to return. During this time, she napped, played with Barleykit, and watched the stars through the holes in the roof of the barn. While she was sitting on the bale of hay, Kite thought of her family and friends, the ones she had left behind when she had run from Glacierpelt.
She wondered how Tabitha was, and if she had had a litter of kits. She had told Kite that she was a housecat that was used for breeding. She would have a litter of kits, and then they would be sold. Then there would be another, and within two dawns they were all gone. According to Tabitha, she had delivered five litters so far, and the total amount of kits she had given birth to was seventeen: Five in the first litter, three in the second, four in the third, two in the fourth, and three in the fifth.
And then there was Odin. How was he? Had he finally found a she-cat to call his? Odin had always told Kite stories of how he longed for a mate, but could never find one. Even now that he was too old to have kits, he longed to be with someone for the rest of their lives.
And Rain. Had she gone to live with a Clan? Kite thought she might fit in best with ShadowClan. She was best at hunting when it was pitch black, and she was the best hunter in the Twolegplace. She slept all day and stayed up all night, and she was always getting into some wacky scheme that usually ended up being foiled by one of her seven brothers, who had been moved to another Twoleg's home some time before Rain had escaped to ThunderClan's territory. Maybe…
"Kite?" Ravenpaw's soft call broke off Kite's train of thought. The black tom with the white-tipped tail padded into the barn, his whiskers twitched. The only prey he carried was one scrawny mouse.
"You're back," Kite sighed in relief.
"This was all I could catch without straying onto Clan territory," Ravenpaw murmured sheepishly. "See, since it's getting close to leafbare, all the rats in the barn have gone back to their burrows. Here, you can have the first bite." Ravenpaw placed the dead mouse on the bale of hay. Kite leaned down and took a small bite, then gestured for Ravenpaw to help himself. The two of them shared the prey bite by bite until, all too soon, it was gone.
"Thank you," Kite murmured as she licked her lips, searching for any scraps of leftover mouse.
"No problem," Ravenpaw replied. "How's Barleykit?"
"I think he's fallen asleep," Kite replied, looking down at her youngest kit.
"Well, I'll let you two get some rest, then," Ravenpaw meowed. As he turned to go back up into the hay loft, he waved his tail in farewell. Kite mewed a soft goodbye after him, and closed her eyes to rest.
The next morning, Kite was awoken by two tiny paws kneading her jaw. The queen opened her eyes slowly to see Barleykit, his eyes wide open, sitting in front of her. His eyes were a clear, almost glassy blue, just like his father's. Kite hated the resemblance, but was overjoyed that her kit had finally opened his eyes. The kit opened his mouth and mewed one soft word.
"Play,"
"You want to play?" Kite asked. The kit's blue eyes lit up with joy, and he nodded his head vigorously.
"Isn't he cute?" Ravenpaw meowed, padding in through the door of the barn. Kite jumped. She had been unaware of the tom's presence. "I taught him some basic words this morning, while you were still sleeping."
"That's
wonderful!" Kite cried. "Thank you so much,
Ravenpaw!"
"Barleykit's a fast learner," Ravenpaw meowed.
"Barleykit!" Barleykit mewled, pointing to himself with his tail.
"That's right!" Kite mewed. "You're Barleykit! And I'm your mother."
"Kite!" Barleykit cried, leaping toward the queen. She gasped, feigning shock as the kit rammed into her side, and she fell onto the ground to maintain the illusion.
"I think we've got a great fighter on our hands!" Ravenpaw purred.
Barleykit purred, too, licking his paw and drawing it over his ears as he sat back down on the hay-covered ground. "I win," he said, his tiny chest swelling with pride.
"You did win, didn't
you?" Kite meowed, licking Barleykit's ear gently. "I'll bet
you could take on anyone in the forest! Even ShadowClan doesn't
stand a chance against you!"
"ShadowClan! ShadowClan!"
Barleykit chanted.
"Ravenpaw?" Kite meowed, looking back to the loner. "Would you mind watching Barleykit while I take a quick stroll? I won't be long, I promise."
"Alright," Ravenpaw replied. "But be careful. There's been a sighting of a group of rogues on the edge of WindClan's territory. They haven't made any moves to advance on them, but I'd still be cautious if I were you."
"Kite!" Barleykit called as Kite padded out the door. Kite turned as Barleykit bounded up to her, a bit wobbly on his short, knobby legs, and nuzzled her leg. "Love you," he mewed.
"I love you, too." Kite whispered, licking Barleykit's ears once more before turning and striding out the barn door.
Kite wandered along the Thunderpath by Ravenpaw's barn until sunhigh, then turned and headed toward WindClan's territory. She trotted through the dry moorland grass until she came to a small hole in the ground that smelled of dirty cats.
"Hello?" Kite called, poking her head into the hole. In an instant, two toms darted out of the hole and dragged her in before she had a chance to scream.
Once she was inside the hole, she was immediately flipped onto her belly, and seven toms encircled her. One jumped on top of her, holding her by the scruff. Kite yowled in protest as he dug his claws into her back.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded. "You don't smell like you belong to WindClan."
"I…" Kite stammered. "I was just talking a quick walk. I didn't mean any harm in coming in here!"
"Then you don't tell anyone about this, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
The cat on top of Kite let go of her, and she darted out of the hole in the ground and raced back to the barn, not slowing her pace until she reached the door.
Once she arrived, she took a moment to calm herself and catch her breath before padding in to meet Barleykit and Ravenpaw, whom she found wrestling together on the floor of the barn.
"Kite!" Ravenpaw cried happily, immediately stopping his play fight with Kite's youngest son. He sat up, and Kite tried hard not to laugh at the sight of him. His eyes were wild with excitement, and hay was stuck in his fur. The parts of his fur that weren't tangled up in hay stuck up in different directions. "I think Barleykit might just be the best fighter I've ever seen." The loner winked slyly, then turned back to Barleykit. "Kite's back! Are you hungry?"
"Hungry!" Barleykit mewed, his head bobbing up and down happily.
Kite padded over to the bale of hay on which she had slept the night before, and jumped up onto it. Barleykit rushed after her, running headlong into the hay. He stuck there, his head submerged in hay, his body hanging in the air like a dead bird tied to a tree by its neck. His tail flicked back and forth in frustration. He braced his forepaws against the bale of hay, trying to free himself from the hay bale, but instead, his paws sank in, too.
Ravenpaw purred, padding over to the kit. He grabbed Barleykit gently in his mouth and pulled him out. Barleykit squealed in fright, trying to squirm out of Ravenpaw's grasp. But as soon as he was set down beside Kite, he licked Ravenpaw's nose.
"Ravenpaw," he mewed. Then he turned and wandered over to where Kite lay, and began suckling. Kite sighed, resting her head on her paws and closing her eyes.
"We missed you," Ravenpaw meowed.
"Hmmm," Kite replied.
"I'm glad you decided to come back when you did," Ravenpaw went on. "I was starting to run out of things to do with a kit like Barleykit."
"Mmhmm," Kite sighed, shifting slightly.
"I think I'll let you nap, then," Ravenpaw murmured. Kite didn't open her eyes, listening to Ravenpaw's footsteps as he padded away. After a while, she dropped off into a light sleep.
Kite opened her eyes. She stood in ThunderClan's camp, surrounded by cats. Was she dreaming? There was Ashfur, Sootfur, Rainwhisker, Firestar, and Graystripe. Each of them were staring at Kite, and all of them had one blue eye and one green eye. They were all chanting something unintelligible, though none of them were moving their lips. Kite snapped her eyes shut, trying to block them out.
After a while, another cat shoved his way into the circle. It was Odin, his deep brown eyes greatly contrasting the blue and green eyes.
"Odin!" Kite cried, leaning forward to rub muzzles with him, but he disappeared into the air quite suddenly. "Odin?"
"Kite," Odin's voice rang loud and clear through the air, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Odin!"
Kite's eyes flew open. She was lying on the bale of hay on which she had fallen asleep. Barleykit was curled up asleep in the curve of her belly. Ravenpaw was sitting in front of her, gazing longingly at her figure. She noticed him before he noticed her. When he finally did realize that she was awake, he looked away sheepishly, clearly embarrassed.
"I got worried," he murmured. "You were mewling in your sleep. Did you sleep alright?"
"I was dreaming," Kite replied. "But I'm not sure what it was about."
"Well, was it a nice dream?"
"No. It was…horrible." Kite shuddered.
"Well, I think I'll go hunting for you, so you can calm your stomach, too." Ravenpaw rose to his paws before Kite could reject, and bounded out of the barn, leaving her all alone.