Chapter 9. There's been another time jump. This is to introduce the reef.

StepClaw stepped out of the learner's den and stretched. Today was the day. It was her first visit to the reef. Right behind her was StepLight, StepPalm and StepRiver. They had been careful to leave without disturbing StepStorm. StepClaw had felt bad that her friend couldn't come along with them but what could she do? StepStorm didn't have the large lungs and the lean body that was made for swimming in the ocean.

"Look," whispered StepRiver, gesturing to the nursery. HealingWave was going in along with HerbRain and RagingSand. "I think KitStream's kits are coming."

"I agree," whispered StepClaw. "I can't believe in two moons she grew that big."

"What I can't believe is the fact that HealingWave still hasn't entered the nursery herself," said StepRiver. "I mean everycat knows that she and GrayShark are mates and that she's expecting kits." She rolled her eyes. "I think HealingWave is too worried that HerbRain can't do it by herself even though it's obvious she can."

"Can we stop talking about this," snapped StepPalm. "Our mentors are waiting for us."

"You're just cranky that KitStream decided to have kits and your mentor was switching to DriftingStick," accused StepRiver.

"Yes. That's it entirely," StepPalm rolled his eyes. "Can we go now?"

The four learners left camp and walked down to the beach where their mentors waited. StepLight could feel StepClaw stiffen when her eyes settled on her father. She placed her tail on her friend's shoulder.

"Well. You're all finally here," said ShiningFeather. "Excellent."

The four broke up to stand next to their mentors.

"Didn't think you were coming," whispered SunTalon to StepClaw. "Here I thought you were going to ditch."

"You wish," replied StepClaw. "Once we begin swimming I'm going to leave you in my dust."

SunTalon chuckled. "We'll see about that. Now pay attention to ShiningFeather alright?"

"StepLight. I'm sorry but I won't be making the trip with you. I've asked Wavewhisker to watch over you as well." ShiningFeather dipped her head to her learner. "I'm sorry I cannot."

StepLight felt weird having her mentor bow to her. "That's alright," said StepLight, dipping her head even more than her mentor. ShiningFeather's age was obvious. There was a rumor going around that ShiningFeather was on her last life and StepLight had to agree with it after watching her mentor for the past three moons. The leader was around the age of the elders!

"Alright," began ShiningFeather. She watched each learner carefully. "Who wants to begin reciting the rules of the reef?"

Groans ran up from the learners. "Do we have to?" whined StepRiver.

"Yes you do," said WaveWhisker gruffly, but not unkindly. SunTalon settled his tail on StepClaw's tense shoulders. "The rules are in place to make sure you don't die out there. It's more dangerous out there than you can realize."

"Don't touch the coral," began StepPalm. "It will sting and send a poison into our bodies."

"Do not touch sea anemone," added StepLight. "Or anything like it. On top of that, do not attack clownfish unless they are far from their homes."

"Don't go to the bottom of the reef until you are ready," put in StepRiver. "There are creatures hiding in the sand at the bottom that can startle a cat."

"That includes you," murmured SunTalon to StepClaw. "Don't go down there, alright?"

"That's never stopped me before," StepClaw replied to her mentor. She fell silent as WaveWhisker glared at her.

"You want to finish it off?" he asked.

DriftingStick glanced over at ShiningFeather but the leader did not do anything. She was watching StepClaw intently.

"If I see a shark, swim away slowly," spoke StepClaw, her eyes only on her father. "And make sure no blood is spilled. If I do get attacked aim for the gills and nose. Other than sharks, stay away from jellyfish."

"Correct," said WaveWhisker gruffly and unkindly.

"Shall we go now?" asked DriftingStick. His nervousness was clear.

"Yes. Good luck," ShiningFeather stepped back.

"I'll lead," ordered WaveWhisker. "We stop on the resting island and continue on."

He entered the warm ocean water first with StepRiver behind him followed by StepLight. Behind them were DriftingStick and StepPalm while SunTalon and StepClaw made the rear. StepClaw glanced back at the leader one last time. She almost did not catch the leader's words over the waves.

"Be strong…StepClaw."

StepStorm

StepStorm woke to the sounds of KitStream's wails. In confusion she crawled out of the learner's den and headed for the nursery where a huge group of tribe cats were gathered.

"KitStream is giving birth," spoke MorningRush from her spot next to the fresh-kill pile. The elder was sharing fresh-kill with her mate GrazingStorm and TumbleTail.

"It sounds scary," said StepStorm.

"That's how it is," said GrazingStorm. "You wouldn't believe how MorningRush here wailed when BurningRusset and RagingSand were born. Ow!" he cried as MorningRush wacked him with a paw.

"Now now," said TumbleTail. "It's too early for you two to be fighting."

"It's never too early," laughed GrazingStorm.

StepStorm was surprised by the joking feel of the elders. She did not spend time around them because she was spending her time training. She had to work to get stronger. She made a vow to visit them in the future sometimes.

"Oh," ShiningFeather stepped into the camp. "Is KitStream's kits coming?"

"Can't you tell?" teased TumbleTail, "KitStream is not wailing because she feels like it. Plus RagingSand's been hovering around her until HealingWave kicked him out." He gestured to RagingSand who was by the warriors den, pacing around.

"Come on StepStorm. You will want to see this." ShiningFeather placed her tail on StepStorm's shoulder and led the she-cat into the crowd of tribe cats. Of course since it was ShiningFeather the cats parted, giving her room to pass.

StepStorm's eyes widen as her eyes fell on the three squirming bundles in the crook of KitStream's belly. They were so tiny! She tried to picture herself in the crook of her mother's belly but she couldn't.

"Amazing isn't it?" spoke ShadowWing. He had been made a warrior soon after the gathering, making the learner den very roomy.

StepStorm had to agree.

"KitStream!" RagingSand ran past StepStorm and licked his mate on the head. "They're beautiful."

"What are you going to name them?" asked HealingWave.

"LittleOyster, LittleCoral and LittleReef," said KitStream. "I mean if that's alright with you RagingSand."

"That's fine by me," whispered the tom.

"Those are wonderful names," said KitFish, her milky eyes staring at KitStream. The she-cat had never finished her warrior training. She had basic training but if ShadowStripe had not taken her as his mate then she would have been forced to become an elder. Now she helped the other kitters take care of their kits. Her sensitive hearing helped her know when they were getting into trouble.

The cats around began scattering to their normal duties. The excitement was over. The only cat that was left was RisingSand, StepStorm and ShiningFeather as well as the healers.

HealingWave was giving KitStream some leaves to eat. "HerbRain, remember to go give some cinnamon to the elders later," she instructed. "They might be hiding it but their joints hurt."

"ShiningFeather," said RisingSand.

StepStorm glanced over at the she-cat. She was wondering why the senior warrior was still here.

"I…I will take on the name KitSand now."

The nearby cats looked at her in shock.

"You're getting old," spoke HealingWave. "It might be unwise for you to go through with the pregenacy. I mean, for the kits sake."

"No." SpiritCave stepped over to the small group. Like always StepStorm was in awe of the knowledgeable look in his eyes. "Let her go through with it."

"Are you sure?" asked HealingWave. "It might be a dangerous birth because of her age." She shook her head. "How could SwiftBreeze accept it?"

"He accepts it," said RisingSand. "And I accept as well. Plus. At least I'm going into the nursery early enough." Her expression said it all. "You're already one moon into yours. Hurry up and get into the nursery and take on the name."

HealingWave blinked in surprise. "How did…"

"The whole tribe knows," put in RisingSand. "Everycat knows how GrayShark looks at you. Plus you're growing. So hurry up and get into the nursery yourself."

"But…" began HealingWave. She looked up at the leader.

"I believe you should get into the nursery yourself," said ShiningFeather gently. "HerbRain is skilled enough to take care of the tribe plus you can always help her out if she needs it."

HealingWave lowered her head. "Alright…ShiningFeather."

"Good. Now from this day forth until you leave the nursery, HealingWave, you will be KitWave. RisingSand, you will be KitSand."

StepStorm watched all of this in confusion. She still didn't understand why a healer could have kits but couldn't climb trees to get their own coconuts.

"Shouldn't you be off with SpiralClam learning?" said SpiritCave.

"Oh! Right!" She dipped her head to the older cats before running off to find SpiralClam. She had to continue her training, not try to get involved in tribe affairs.

StepClaw, StepStorm

The small group sat on the three tail-length island only a couple palm trees away from the beach. They would rest here before continuing on to the reef. For most of the learners swimming here had been a real challenge. StepClaw was the only one pacing around.

"I didn't think all those extra swimming practices you do at night helped but I guess I was wrong," commented SunTalon.

StepClaw glared up at her mentor. "Of course. I worked hard." She stared at her father who was instructing StepRiver and StepLight. StepRiver was listening intently but StepLight looked uncomfortable. "I have to show him that there's some good for me."

"I'm sure he cares about you," said SunTalon. "He just doesn't show it."

StepClaw made a sound. "Yeah. That will happen when monkeys fly. He doesn't care about me. I know he wishes I wasn't alive."

SunTalon gasped. "Don't say things like that."

StepClaw looked up at SunTalon. Her eyes were hard. They were ones that knew things that shouldn't be known. "When I was only three moons old I realized there was something wrong. BurningRusset visited SandWhite whenever he could. StepLight looked so happy when he did." She looked off into the ocean waves. "WaveWhisker never did. FastFlight said he was always busy but I saw him around camp. I noticed he would wait until I was out of the nursery before going in to spend time with her. Plus he was always cold to me."

"There's probably some good reason behind it," said SunTalon.

"Good reason," StepClaw laughed. "Yeah. If you can call it that. One day, after WaveWhisker went in to visit FastFlight, for some reason I decided to follow. I stood outside. They were talking softly, the usual love stuff that mates talk about but somehow FastFlight got onto the subject of me." She narrowed her eyes. "WaveWhisker got really upset and yelled at her, asking her why did, and I quote, 'She have to live instead of him?'

"I didn't understand it at first but I knew I couldn't get caught by WaveWhisker so I slipped away and pretended to be doing something when he came out. After he had left, I knew I couldn't ask FastFlight about it and I didn't think any other cat would tell me so I went to SpiritCave and asked him." She looked down.

"Did he tell you?" asked SunTalon, not bothering to defend WaveWhisker anymore. He just wanted to hear the end of it.

StepClaw chuckled. "Yes. He did. My brother took me into the visitor's area of the spiriter cave. He told me if he could he would have let me into the deeper part but only spiriters were allowed in there. I can still remember the smell of jasmine and henna in there. He had just dyed his paws again so the henna smell was still fresh. The cave was really nice too."

SunTalon did not interrupt her description. Let her get there on her own time.

"The smell of the jasmine was so nice. It really helped calm me down. I don't know what would have happened if those jasmine weren't there. SpiritCave sat in front of me and looked at me not as his younger sister or a kit but a warrior and he told me." StepClaw shut her eyes. "I can remember his words so well and I didn't understand them that well back then. But I knew about the meaning behind them."

"What was it?" whispered SunTalon. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me…that when I was born I had a brother. He died a couple days after we were born. HealingWave had told WaveWhisker that he was born weak. I think he blamed me for the death of my brother. WaveWhisker wanted to have a tom. A tom he could be proud of. He was proud for SpiritCave even though SpiritCave was not his kit. He was hoping to have another tom cat to be proud of that could become leader. Instead he was stuck with me. A she-cat who he thought could never be strong enough for him."

SunTalon placed his paw around her shoulder and pulled the young she-cat close. StepClaw was surprised by this little touch of kindness. "I understand," he whispered. "I know why you are the way you are."

StepClaw closed her eyes. This was one of those few times where she felt safe. "You know. SpiritCave did the same thing after he told me. He held me until I calmed down enough so I could leave with pride."

"Shall we get going now?" asked WaveWhisker, his voice cutting like a sharp claw.

StepClaw broke away from SunTalon. The others didn't seem to notice their intimate embrace. "I guess we should get going now."

SunTalon watched as she slipped into the water and adapted quickly to the swimming pose. Legs and ears pressed against the body, tail straight out. She began moving in an up and down wave motion to push herself along. Before SunTalon entered the water himself he paused next to WaveWhisker. "I will never forgive you," he whispered.

"What are you talking about?" asked WaveWhisker.

SunTalon did not answer.

StepLight on the other paw swam until she was caught up to her friend. Their heads were above the water for the moment.

"Stay close to your mentors," ordered WaveWhisker when they reached the reef. Below StepLight could see fish swimming around structures that could only be described as coral. They were pretty shades of green but StepLight knew they were more than that. They were actually much prettier colors once out of the water.

StepLight saw WaveWhisker and StepRiver diving and she quickly sucked in air before following. Without thinking about it the membrane covered her eyes making it possible for her to see underwater.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The fish swimming around the different structures. The coral in many shapes and sizes. The different sea life. The fish. Even they were different. They came in so many different shapes and sizes. She was happy she was a tribe member of OceanTide. ForestRose may have its wonders but there was probably nothing that could compare to this.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked back at StepRiver. Her sister was gesturing for StepLight to go up.

She obeyed and once they both hit the surface StepRiver spoke. "We are to stay near the top of the reef for now," said StepRiver. "Try to catch fish if you-"

StepClaw broke the surface of the water, a fish in her jaw. SunTalon was right behind her.

"That was dangerous," said WaveWhisker also breaking the surface of the water. "You two went into the reef."

"She was ready for it. She was able to catch something," said SunTalon. StepLight didn't know why but she thought she heard a hint of hatred within SunTalon's tone. "You should be proud of her. She is your daughter after all."

Something silent seemed to pass between the two toms. StepLight felt very nervous. What was going on here?

The tension was broken away as DriftingStick surfaced along with StepPalm. StepPalm held a small silver fish in his jaw. The tom didn't even seem to understand what's going on. "WaveWhisker. I swam on ahead and I saw a shark. It was small but I don't think we should hang around."

"Alright," said WaveWhisker breaking his eyes away from SunTalon's. "Lets head back. Quickly."

StepLight swam over to StepClaw. "What was that about? Do you know?"

StepClaw hesitated and shook her head. She pushed off and swam faster. StepLight watched her friend go. There was something wrong. Did it have anything to do with that embrace on the resting island? She shook her head. She shouldn't doubt her friend. Pushing herself forward she swam back to the beach.