A Thunderclan dawn patrol scouted around the northern parts of the territory. It had been a few sunrises after the murder, and neither the kit nor the bodies had been discovered.
"Squirrelflight, we really should head back down to the lake shore. Nothing ever really happens up here," a large, muscular golden tabby advised, pointing his tail back where they had come from.
"I know," the white pawed deputy meowed a bit sharply. "But Rowanstar isn't dumb. He may plan on trying to take this territory if we don't mark the borders frequently."
"Yes Squirrelflight." Lionblaze licked his chest fur, a bit embarrassed he hasn't thought of that.
After thoroughly marking the borders, they made their way down to the lake.
Squirrelflight suddenly lifted her tail in alarm, signalling for the patrol to stop. She sniffed the air suspiciously. "Wait here. Cherryfall, come with me." The patrol stared after them, occasionally sharing confused looks.
Squirrelflight quietly stalked over to a tree, her nose twitching. "Blood, the ground is stained." She growled, beginning to inspect the area.
Cherryfall narrowed her eyes, and approached the large tree that stood by the bloodstained ground. She placed her ear against the trunk. After a few moments, she gasped sharply. "Squirrelflight!" She yowled, gaining the attention of the deputy. "There's something in there!" She quickly whipped her tail around to point at the tree.
Squirrelflight bolted over as quickly as she could, and began to claw at the base of the trunk where the small hole resided. The rest of the patrol bounded over, claws unsheathed and prepared for battle.
"We heard Cherryfall yowl. Is everything alright?" Lionblazed asked, checking over Cherryfall for injuries.
"There's something in the tree! And it smells like blood! Cat blood!" Cherryfall blurted, turning her nose to point at where Squirrelflight had her head in the tree. "There was a fight. A cat fight."
Squirrelflight pulled her head out of the tree, a ginger bundle in her jaws. "Its a kit!" She growled, a bit confused, between the bundle of fur. It was shivering, and its bones poked through its skin. It barely seemed to be alive.
"We have to take it to Bramblestar." Cherryfall meowed, sniffing the kit. She hoped Squirrelflight would agree, she couldn't bare the thought of leaving it out to die.
"Of course," Lionblaze spoke up from where he was looking over the area. "The warrior code wouldn't allow us to let us die."
Squirrelflight nodded, and the patrol bounded back to camp, carrying a half-dead kit.
"Squirrelflight, what's wrong?" Bramblestar jumped down from the highledge, where he had previously been sunning himself. His eyes were narrowed, curious as to what happened.
Squirrelflight placed the ginger kit on the ground. "We found this kit hidden in a tree. The ground around the tree was bloodstained, but it smelt more like rogue blood, and it didn't have the same scent as clan cats do." She explained.
"I see. We will talk about this together Squirrelflight, but for now, a Queen will need to take it in." He said sternly.
Cinderheart spoke up from where she was sitting, her kits watching with round, curious eyes at her paws. "I can take it in. I still have milk left."
Bramblestar's eyes seemed to relax a little. "Thank you Cinderheart." He nodded. "Come Squirrelflight, we need to discuss this matter." He bounded over to his den, disappearing behind the lichen, Squirrelflight close behind.
Cherryfall quickly picked up the kit, and carried it over to Cinderheart. "Thank you." She meowed after she had set the kit down.
Cinderheart simply shook her head right before picking it up. "I would never let a kit starve." She gathered the kit up and padded into the nursery, her kits tumbling after her.
Once inside, Cinderheart laid down and began to coax the kit to suckle. "Come on, you must be hungry." She purred, her voice smooth. She let out a sigh of relief once it began to suckle. "A she-cat." She purred quietly.
The kit had sharp emerald eyes, and her pelt was a bright, flame color. She had tabby markings, though they were barely visible. She had white paws, and the tip of her tail was white as well.
"When can she play with us?" Sorrelkit mewed excitedly. She was standing behind her mother, along with Fernkit.
"Soon, but she needs to heal and get stronger. She's been through a lot, and she hasn't eaten for a while." Though Cinderheart's voice was calm, it was still laced with worry. She felt Fernkit stiffle a yawn, and she tried not to smile. "Besides, you two are tired. Get some rest." She gently touched both of their heads with her nose.
"No no... We aren't tired..." Sorrelkit protested, though she was already curling up besides Cinderheart.
"Nice try, but you two have been playing nonstop today." Cinderheart laughed softly. She nudged Fernkit over to Sorrelkit, and the two kits were asleep in no time.
(I hope this chapter didn't feel too rushed... Well, good thing I have the 3rd chapter already written! I had them pre-written before I had submitted the first chapter :D)