Chapter 2

Wildkit stretched, letting the sunlight warm her fur. It had grown sleek in the past five moons, and other cats began to comment on how much she was shaped like her mother. Her eyes had turned a beautiful moss-gold. Ashkit had grown as well, but was much smaller than her sister, with sturdier limbs and hazel eyes. Wildkit yawned loudly, then turned back to her mother. Silverfeather looked so peaceful… would it be right to wake her? If she just played outside of the nursery…

"Hey, Wildkit!" Ashkit called. Wildkit jumped, her fur on end with surprise. Ashkit laughed and nodded in the direction of the clearing. "Come on! Let's go explore!"

Wildkit rolled her eyes and trotted out of the den after her wayward sister. Ashkit had already knocked over a stack of herbs when Torncloud wasn't watching, managed to spill water she had collected in a leaf all over Bluestripe, who had barely recovered from his injury with his life, and was caught trying to climb the ravine.

"Explore what? We've played in every corner of this camp, even the medicine den, thanks to you." Wildkit replied, bored. It was true, there was nothing to do anymore. They'd be apprentices in a moon, and they had played every game they could think of.

"Yeah," Ashkit mewed with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "And? What haven't we seen yet?"

"If you're talking about the forest—"

"Oh, yes!" Ashkit replied, barely containing her excitement. She glanced into the den, then continued, in a much lower voice, "We'll only be a minute!"

"But what if a fox gets us? Or worse, a WindClan cat?" Wildkit fretted. The threat of war had cast an ominous shadow over the Clan, even the youngest apprentice, Goldenpaw, was dealing with a workload of fighting training. ThunderClan received no further threats, though, from the rival Clan, only bits of half-eaten prey were found. Even at Gatherings, the WindClan cats avoided the others, and their haughty leader, Burntstar, refused to speak of the prey-stealing and the attack on Bluestripe.

Clan life still continued; however. Shrewpelt had given birth to three healthy kits two moons ago, Emberkit, Icekit, and Robinkit. Emberkit, a bright ginger tom, was constantly trying to imitate Ashkit, much to the Clan's dismay. Icekit, a pure white she-cat, was much more controlled, obviously trying to impress the warriors. Robinkit, a brown tabby she-cat with white paws, was the klutzy one, always tripping over her own paws and tail. Maplekit, Russetkit, and Owlkit had become very playful, often batting other cat's tails around, trying to see who can run away from an angry Clanmate faster.

Goldenpaw had become an apprentice around the same time Shrewpelt's kits were born, given Poppyleaf for a mentor by Falconstar. Cherryfur seemed elated to be back in the warrior's den. The elders fretted over the coming leaf-bare, much to the annoyance of the Clan deputy, Yewleaf. Wildkit was a little grateful for Yewleaf's name, at least Wildkit wasn't the only one with an odd name.

Wildkit glanced around the camp. It was sunhigh, and cats were milling around the camp, sharing tongues. Wildkit saw Goldenpaw playing with another apprentice who looked much older, a cream she-cat. Goldenpaw and the cream she-cat were play-fighting noisily, attracting the attention of many of the warriors. The other cats were either wrapped up in gossiping or napping.

"But it's sunhigh! Don't you think someone will hear us leave?" Wildkit meowed.

Ashkit's eyes flashed again. "I found a secret exit behind the nursery! No one will know, we'll be back before anyone notices!"

"Knowing you, we'll stay out there until sunhigh tomorrow." Wildkit sighed. "No, I'm not going."

"Please? C'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" Ashkit pleaded.

"Aside from getting mangled by a fox? Or a badger? Or getting bitten by an adder? Or getting lost? Or getting found and getting into huge trouble?" Wildkit replied.

"Okay, but what're the odds?" Ashkit laughed, "We'll stay within sight of the gorse wall!"

Wildkit looked at her paws. It was tempting to go into the forest, but what if they were caught? Or worse, killed? "You promise we'll stay near the wall?" She asked warily.

Ashkit nodded. "Yep, I promise. Come on! It'll be fun!"

"I don't know…" Wildkit hesitated. She still remembered the elder's tale of Fuzzykit, who strayed away from camp and was eaten by a fox before the warriors could save her.

"If you're thinking about that dumb elder's tale," Ashkit snapped, "Then don't worry. We'll outsmart any old fox that comes our way."

Wildkit flinched; sometimes Ashkit seemed able to read her mind. Looking around, she could see that several of the warriors had left for patrol, and the few remaining were chatting or napping. Turning back to her sister, she mewed grudgingly, "Alright, but we'll be back before nightfall, promise?"

"Promise!" Ashkit meowed, looking pleased with herself. "Come on, I'll show you the exit I found!"

Wildkit glanced around once more, no one was looking. She stared into Ashkit's excited, hazel eyes evenly and replied, "Show me."

~*~

Pebbles clattered down the slope as Ashkit hauled herself up the boulder. Wildkit followed, glaring after her sister. Ashkit's pelt was thick and clumped with dust, and Wildkit's fur was clogged with grime from trekking through the dusty Greenleaf forest. Ashkit had promised they'd stay within sight of the gorse wall, but they had strayed farther and farther from the camp until they had reached a dry, barren clearing dotted with boulders and caves.

Wildkit had tried to go back, but after a while she realized she was lost. The forest, though alive with sounds, sights, and smells, seemed dark and dangerous, as if something was waiting to pounce in the darkness. Wildkit flattened her ears and backed over to where Ashkit was trying to climb onto a boulder.

"Ashkit…" Wildkit muttered, "Can we go back to camp now? I don't like this place."

"You worry too much!" Ashkit laughed, managing to haul herself onto the rock. "We'll go back after I reach the top."

Wildkit's fur began to bristle. "Please, Ashkit! I really don't like this place!"

Ashkit was already three boulders up, laughing. "Wildkit, lighten up. We're on an adventure!" Wildkit glanced behind her at the forest, then followed her sister up the rocks, uneasiness making her throat feel tight. Ashkit was climbing clumsily onto a boulder, on which sat an odd tan coil. Wildkit blinked, why was that thing familiar? Suddenly, Wildkit remembered a story Meadowbreeze had told her only a half-moon ago.

"Fuzzykit made it to Snakerocks, where she was about to step on an odd coil. The coil unfurled, revealing it to be a deadly adder, whose glittering fangs glinted in the sunlight," Meadowbreeze had said, "One bite could kill a kit instantly."

Wildkit jolted back to reality, staring up at her sister. Ashkit's paws were right next to the coil, one end of which was rising slowly, revealing a diamond-shaped head and dark, cold eyes. Wildkit yowled a warning, and Ashkit's head swiveled in the adder's direction. Ashkit screamed and reared, raising her paws out of reach of the adder's fangs as it lunged. The snake's mouth closed over air, and Wildkit breathed a sigh of relief.

Then her heart lurched. Ashkit's hind paws were too close to the edge, and as she leaned back, she began to unbalance. The ground beneath Ashkit's hind paws crumbled, and the gray kit was sent plummeting down to the hard, dry ground.

"No! Ashkit!" Wildkit yowled, leaping over to the edge of the rock she stood on, lashing her forepaws desperately, trying to grab her sister as Ashkit fell. Ashkit's paws brushed Wildkit's, but the gray tabby was gone before Wildkit could get a grip. Yowling, Ashkit crashed into the dirt with a sickening crack.

"Ashkit!" Wildkit screamed, leaping haphazardly down the rocks, desperation in her mew. "You can't be dead! You can't be!"

Ashkit did not reply, only lay there, her left paw held awkwardly beneath her body. Wildkit ran over to her, choking down a loud wail of sorrow. Ashkit couldn't be dead. She couldn't she couldn't she couldn't…

Wildkit nudged her sister with her muzzle, and Ashkit let out a faint mewl. "Thank StarClan!" Wildkit exclaimed, then licked her sister's cheek fiercely. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Ashkit only groaned and stirred slightly. Wildkit stared at her, shock numbing her paws. This couldn't be happening. Wildkit ran over to Ashkit's other side, trying to nudge her to her paws. As Wildkit's nose touched Ashkit's left paw, Ashkit let out a loud scream of pain. Wildkit stared at her in horror, then backed away. What could she do? Ashkit wasn't getting up… maybe she could put an herb on it that would make her paw better. But she didn't know how to use herbs… Wildkit's breathing began to quicken until, finally, she let out a loud wail.

"Help!" She screamed into the forest. A cricket responded with one lonely chirp. "Somebody! Help!"

Wildkit peered into the forest, but no cat answered her call. Sniffling, Wildkit turned back to her sister. Padding over to her slowly, Wildkit lay down next to her, her head resting on Ashkit's shoulders. Ashkit mewed weakly, and her tail flicked.

"It'll be okay, Ashkit," Wildkit meowed, more to herself than Ashkit, "Torncloud will fix you, make you better. You'll be okay."

Wildkit did not know how long she lay beside her sister, grief welling up in her chest, making her throat ache much worse than before. The day became cooler and cooler as the sun ran along the sky. Finally, after Wildkit's eyes were fluttering towards sleep, a loud yowl sounded from the darkening undergrowth.

"I found them! Foxtail, Poppyleaf, I found them!" A she-cat's voice called, then followed by the sound of paw steps in the direction of the rocky clearing where Wildkit and Ashkit lay.

"What are they doing at Snakerocks?" Wildkit recognized Poppyleaf's meow.

"I hope they weren't bitten," The first voice said worriedly. Wildkit now recognized Volenose.

"Stupid kits, causing this much trouble, I bet they're building a little den for themselves somewhere." Foxtail's meow echoed through the forest.

Wildkit flinched. Did they really cause so much trouble? And now Ashkit was hurt…

Blinking open her eyes, Wildkit saw Volenose and Poppyleaf leap into the clearing. Volenose stopped short, her green eyes wide with horror. Poppyleaf didn't see Ashkit at first, but followed Volenose's gaze until she wore the same expression. Foxtail followed quietly, then halted beside the other two queens.

"Oh, my StarClan," Volenose murmured. She padded over to Wildkit and Ashkit quietly, her eyes clouded with worry. "What happened?"

Wildkit sniffled, then managed to get out, "There was an adder, and Ashkit didn't see it until it attacked, and she jumped back, and fell, and now she won't get up!"

Poppyleaf ran over, then sniffed Ashkit. Sighing with relief, she meowed, "She's alive, though she banged that paw up pretty good."

"It looks like she broke it," Foxtail meowed from a ways away.

"Will she be okay?" Wildkit mewed faintly. Terror coursed through her veins at the thought of losing her sister.

"We'll bring her to Torncloud, he may be able to help her." Volenose murmured. Wildkit's eyes widened at the word may. Volenose saw her expression, then backtracked quickly. "It's not that bad, she could have ended up much worse, but we have to get her to camp. Can you walk?"

Wildkit nodded then rose slowly to her paws, which suddenly felt like they were made of stone. Volenose lifted Ashkit by the scruff, and Poppyleaf moved in next to Wildkit, allowing her to lean against her flank. Wildkit was grateful of her warm presence, but it did not help the fact that Ashkit was injured. What if she would never get up again? What if she died?

As they neared the ravine, Ashkit passed out. Wildkit felt horrible, if she had warned Ashkit sooner… then she may have helped her. Wildkit would give anything to do it over again, to save her sister from that horrible fall. She barely noticed as they passed through the gorse tunnel, barely heard the excited yowls and then gasps for horror as the Clan saw Ashkit's limp body.

Silverfeather was grooming herself by the nursery, her silver pelt sleek and shiny. Silverfeather looked up, her ears pricked. Wildkit couldn't meet her gaze as Silverfeather shrieked in shock and grief. Her mother bolted to Volenose, who had laid Ashkit gently onto the ground. Volenose backed away, lowering her head respectfully. Silverfeather licked Ashkit's face desperately, fear scent pouring off of her pelt in waves.

After realizing that licking wouldn't wake her daughter up, Silverfeather stared into Volenose's eyes, her gaze burning with desperation. "What happened to her?" Louder, she added, "What happened to my daughter?"

Wildkit stared at her paws again, her ears burning with shame. "She fell," She mewed simply.

Silverfeather blinked at Wildkit as if not registering her at first, then her gaze softened and she swept her tail around Wildkit, drawing her over to her warm flank. Much more calmly, she meowed, "Please, Wildkit, I have to know. Please tell me what happened."

Wildkit looked up into her mother's blue eyes, worried. Would Silverfeather blame her for Ashkit's fall?

"Go on," Volenose murmured.

Wildkit gulped, then stammered, "She… she wanted to explore the forest, and I said yes, Ashkit said we'd only be by the camp wall, but we got farther and farther out. We got to this place with lots of rocks—"

"—Snakerocks," Poppyleaf interjected, then was cut of by a menacing look from Silverfeather.

"Yeah, that place. Ashkit started climbing, and I remembered a story about adders, and there was one right in front of her, and it attacked, and she jumped back, and she fell. Foxtail said she broke her paw." Wildkit looked up at her mother, pleading. "I'm really sorry!"

Silverfeather was staring at Ashkit, her face drawn. Turning back to Wildkit, she sighed and licked her between the ears, mewing, "I know it wasn't your fault, little one."

"Her paw really isn't that bad," Volenose meowed, "But it is painful. Wildkit," Volenose said suddenly, making Wildkit jump, "Please go fetch Torncloud. Hurry, we need to get Ashkit treated."

Wildkit hesitated, then bolted off to the fern tunnel, feeling as if her paws had grown wings. She needed to get help for Ashkit… She ran through the fern tunnel faster than ever before, even when Hailpaw had chased them out after they had knocked over a stack of herbs. Torncloud was folding a leaf wrap when Wildkit barreled into him, sending the herbs flying.

"Wildkit!" Torncloud hissed, batting her away. "Why can't you kits ever walk?" The anger fell from his face as he saw Wildkit's fluffed up fur and wild eyes. "What happened?"

"Ashkit fell and broke her paw!" Wildkit mewed rapidly, bouncing on her feet. "She fell asleep and won't wake up!"

Torncloud nodded, then called into his den for Hailpaw. The gray apprentice trotted out of the den leisurely, then halted. "Hailpaw," Torncloud meowed in a firm voice, "This is your first major job, go prepare some poppy seed, comfrey root, and thyme leaves. When you're done, get some oak leaves and some sticks that would make a good splint."

Wildkit wondered how Hailpaw could collect all that, but didn't argue. Torncloud ran to the fern tunnel, then glanced back and meowed, "Where is she?"

"We brought her back to camp," Wildkit replied, then dashed past him and down the tunnel once more. "This way!"

She didn't glance back to see if Torncloud was following, but continued to run. As she exited the tunnel, she saw that most of the Clan were gathered around Ashkit. Go away! Wildkit thought angrily. She didn't want so many cats gawking over Ashkit's paw. She could see Falconstar, the huge light brown tabby with darker stripes, standing by her, meowing quietly to Silverfeather, who was trembling. Yewleaf stood beside them, her amber eyes expressionless. Bits of leaves and moss were clinging to her black-and-white pelt, revealing she had just been out in the forest.

Beside her were the other queens and their kits, looking shocked. Many warriors sat nearby, craning their necks to see who had gotten hurt. One, a dark gray tom with blue eyes, nudged Silverfeather quietly and murmured something in her ear. Silverfeather closed her eyes and pressed against him. The Clan cats parted for Wildkit and Torncloud. Wildkit bounded over to her mother and sat beside her, watching Torncloud intently. Please make it, Ashkit, please, please, please…

Torncloud beckoned into the crowd, and a gray-and-white she-cat with darker flecks trotted over. Wildkit was surprised at how much she looked like Torncloud. Maybe she was his littermate? Torncloud grabbed and lifted Ashkit's head and shoulders by her scruff, while the she-cat ducked under her body and lifted her hind legs over her shoulders. Torncloud and the she-cat padded over to the fern tunnel and vanished through it.

"What are they going to do?" Wildkit murmured weakly, terrified.

Silverfeather licked her cheek consolingly. "They'll make her better, you'll see."

"Will they fix her paw?" Wildkit asked.

Silverfeather's silence told Wildkit enough. Ashkit would never fully heal.

~*~

Images swirled in the darkness, a cat climbing the rocks, a fluffy white kit being chased by a fox through a forest of brambles, a sleek silver tabby crouching over the limp body of a small young cat, of an adder lunging from a bottomless pit. The strongest flashed into her view, of a large brown-and-white tabby tom padding off into the forest, a young she-cat by his side, her tail twined with his.

Wildkit woke with a start. She blinked in the bright morning sunlight, the sun must have just risen, for dew clung to her whiskers. This wasn't the nursery, though she could feel Silverfeather's curled form beside hers. Suddenly she remembered; Ashkit had broken her paw. She had not yet woken up. Wildkit had chosen to sleep in the medicine cat den along with Silverfeather, not for comfort, but so she could watch her sister. Wildkit could still not bear the idea of losing Ashkit.

Ashkit stirred in her sleep. Wildkit nudged Silverfeather with her paw, mewing, "I think she's waking up!"

Silverfeather yawned and flicked her ears sleepily, then her eyes widened as she realized what Wildkit had said. She sat bolt upright immediately, staring intently at Ashkit, who's eyelids fluttered slightly.

"Torncloud!" Silverfeather yowled. "She's awake!"

Instantly the medicine cat was at her side with a large bundle of herbs. Wildkit glanced at Ashkit's paw, which had been wrapped firmly in a leaf and bound with sticks into something Torncloud and Hailpaw called a 'splint', which they said would prevent her from moving her paw while it healed. Apparently they had been unable to do anything more than that, for a cat who has blacked out could not chew up the herbs needed to ease the pain and calm her nerves.

Ashkit grunted, then her eyes opened slowly. She looked dazed at first, then her gaze rose to first, Torncloud, then Hailpaw, then Silverfeather, and then Wildkit. Grunting again, Ashkit turned her head over to face Wildkit.

"Wha' happened?" She mumbled, her voice slurred with pain.

Wildkit licked her sister's cheek quickly, then was pushed aside by Silverfeather, who smothered her daughter in licks and nuzzles. Torncloud cleared his throat loudly, and Silverfeather backed away, looking sheepish.

"She needs treatment," Torncloud meowed. To Ashkit he said, "You fell, but I'm doing the best I can to help."

"Why does my paw feel stiff?" Ashkit mewed, lifting her left leg slightly. When she saw her paw, cocked at an odd angle and twisted off to the side, she let out a low moan and collapsed onto her bedding. "I can't be a warrior now, can I?"

"Now Ashkit—" Torncloud murmured.

Ashkit fixed him with a fierce glare and meowed firmly, "Tell me, and don't lie just because I'm a kit. Tell me the truth."

Hailpaw looked away, Silverfeather's eyes glistened with pain, Torncloud took a deep breath, and Wildkit's heart ached. Obviously reluctantly, Torncloud meowed evenly, "I'm afraid that your paw will never fully heal, and you can never be a warrior."

Ashkit closed her eyes, then sighed, staring at her crippled paw. "I'm sorry I escaped camp." She murmured.

"I should have stopped you!" Wildkit mewed suddenly, not caring that the others were staring at her. "It's my fault."

"I persuaded you to go," Ashkit replied, her voice dull and emotionless. Wildkit was scared by her tone and her blank gaze. What happened to the lively sister she used to have?

"But I should have warned you sooner!" Wildkit protested, her mew rising to a wail. "You would have seen the snake then, and then you would have climbed down…"

"No." Ashkit meowed. "It was my fault for even suggesting leaving camp. I don't blame anyone but me for my paw." To Torncloud, she asked, "But what will happen? If I can't be a warrior, and if you already have an apprentice, then what will I be able to do?"

"Your paw will always hinder your ability to hunt and fight." Torncloud admitted, "And I already do have Hailpaw."

"Stop repeating what I just said!" Ashkit growled, her fur bristling. "Will I have to become an elder, because I'll throw myself off of the highest boulder at Snakerocks if that happens, and I'd make sure I'd land on my neck."

Torncloud sighed and brushed Ashkit's shoulder with his tail tip. Ashkit shied away, baring her teeth. Torncloud drew his tail back, murmuring slowly, "I don't know, it's up to Falconstar to decide."

Ashkit narrowed her eyes, trying to tell if Torncloud was not telling her the full story or not, but apparently she detected no deception, so she lay her head on her right paw, closing her eyes. Wordlessly, Torncloud pushed two small, black seeds towards her, then applied a recently-chewed root pulp to her paw. Ashkit flinched, then relaxed after a moment of Torncloud pressing the wad onto her broken paw. Wildkit's throat ached again, and she sat down beside her sister once more. Ashkit let out a raspy purr, then lapped up the seeds. When she had swallowed those, she leaned against Wildkit and let out another purr, this time stronger but sleepy.

"She needs rest," Torncloud meowed. "As do you two. You'd better get back to your nests, I'll watch her and wake you if it gets any worse."

Wildkit glanced at Ashkit, who had fallen asleep once more. Silverfeather licked her comfortingly, then padded out of the den, her tail dragging on the ground. Wildkit glanced back at Ashkit before padding out of the den after Silverfeather. If Ashkit couldn't be a warrior or a medicine cat, then what would Falconstar decide for her? Thunder growled in the distance, and a cold breeze ruffled Wildkit's fur, making her shiver. It was as if even the weather was upset over Ashkit's fall.