A/N: Okay... First thing: YAY long chapter XDDD Lol there is a lot of quotes from Bluestar's Prophecy in here, so if you recognise the words, that's where I got them from.
Second thing: I have a poll on my profile, asking what you think Sweetpaw's warrior name should be. In here, I have it as Sweetcloud, but if people like a different name, then I'll change it.
And Third thing: Thanks to Loststream, Wheatpelt, Anitoon 3, Akari Miniwara .Starflight., Jokegirl, and Mosstail21 for reviewing! It means a lot to me.
Next chapter will be Tigerkit, Mistkit, and Nightkit becoming apprentices! w00t w00t!
CHAPTER 3: New Playmates!
Tigerkit watched Snowfur curiously from his mother's nest. The queen had been in labor for a while now, and he wanted to see the kits. Mistkit and Nightkit had gone out with the heavily pregnant Robinwing so that they were out of the way. Leopardfoot and Bluefur were with Snowfur, comforting her. Featherwhisker was helping with the kitting, since Goosefeather was going mad and wasn't trusted around newborn kits.
"Tigerkit? Why don't you go join your sisters?" Leopardfoot suggested, meaningfully.
Tigerkit shrugged and raced out of the den. He pounced on Nightkit, surprising her. "Gotcha!"
Nightkit giggled, and pushed him off. "How's Snowfur doing?" she asked, pouncing on his tail.
Tigerkit whipped his tail away from her and tackled her. "She's not done yet, but I overheard Featherwhisker say she'll be done soon," he meowed. Nightkit cuffed him over the ear, and he got off of her. The three kits started to chase each other's tails. Robinwing watched the kits fondly.
After a while, Leopardfoot poked her head out of the den and called, "Tigerkit! Mistkit! Nightkit! Come meet your new denmate!" They raced into the den, tripping over each other.
Tigerkit was the first one into the nursery. He padded up to Snowfur, Bluefur, and Leopardfoot. He saw the tiny white kit curled up next to his mother. "Where're the others?" he asked.
"That's the only one," Leopardfoot told him.
"That's all?" Nightkit mewed, all three kits tilting their heads.
"But it's white," Mistkit mewed. "It'll never be able to hunt with a pelt that color. The prey'll see him coming tree-lengths away."
Leopardfoot nosed her kits away. "He'll be a fine hunter, like his mother," she told them.
"Not as good as me," Tigerkit boasted.
"I'm calling him Whitekit," Snowfur murmured.
"Thistlepaw would have been proud," Bluefur murmured to her sister, licking Whitekit's head.
"Come away, kits," Leopardfoot meowed quietly. The three kits climbed into their nest with their mother and fell asleep.
"Look!" Snowfur's soft mew woke the three kits the next morning. "He's opened his eyes already!"
"Great!" Tigerkit shot his head up out of the nest.
"Can we take him out to explore?" Mistkit asked. Snowfur wrapped her tail around Whitekit, shaking her head.
"You made me go out the moment I opened my eyes," Bluefur told her sister.
Snowfur sighed. "If he wants to go out, then he can." She wrapped her tail tighter and glared at Tigerkit, Mistkit, and Nightkit. "But no farther than the clearing."
Tigerkit raced over to the white kit. "Come on! There's loads to see." Tigerkit watched as Whitekit turned to look at him.
"We're going to be warriors," Nightkit told him, coming up with Mistkit to stand next to Tigerkit. "We might as well start now."
"Okay," Whitekit mewed, and he scrambled out of the nest.
"This way." Mistkit led the way to the entrance.
The three older kits led their new denmate all around the clearing, proudly showing Whitekit off to every single Clanmate. When they accidentally ran into Pinestar, their father just chuckled and licked their heads. After all, Whitekit was his great-nephew.
A half-moon later, Robinwing gave birth to Frostkit and Brindlekit.
Tigerkit was annoyed. "It's too busy!" he complained.
"Yeah! There's no room for proper games now!" Mistkit added, disgruntled.
"Why don't you three go out and play?" their mother suggested. "You could show Frostkit and Brindlekit the camp."
"Yes please!" the eldest kits mewed excitedly, as the two younger she-cats bounced up and down with excitement. Tigerkit raced toward the entrance, with the she-cats following.
"I'll help!" Whitekit squeaked, trying to beat Tigerkit to the entrance.
The six kits hurtled across the clearing, ignoring Bluefur's warning: "Not so fast! Don't forget, it's Frostkit's and Brindlekit's first time out!" They raced into the medicine den, where Goosefeather gave each of them some honey.
When Bluefur came to fetch the kits, she found all six of them sprawled out on top of each other, sleeping soundly. She looked up at Goosefeather, smiled, and quietly padded out of the den.
Two moons later, Bluefur came to visit Snowfur in the nursery. Frostkit and Brindlekit were clambering over Robinwing, their tails whipping in Snowfur's face. Whitekit was sound asleep on top of Snowfur, making her unable to move. Tigerkit, Mistkit, and Nightkit were arguing with their mother. She wanted them to take a nap, but they didn't want to.
Tigerkit: "Why can't we go out?"
Leopardfoot: "You've just come in."
Nightkit: "But it's a sunny day."
Leopardfoot: "You guys need a nap."
Mistkit: "We're not tired."
Leopardfoot: "You will be later."
Tigerkit: "We can sleep then."
Leopardfoot: "But you'll be grumpy all afternoon if you don't nap now."
Nightkit: "No, we won't."
Leopardfoot: "Yes, you will."
Bluefur distracted the kits by dropping a soft bundle of fur by Snowfur. "Here, Whitekit can play with it when he wakes up."
"What's that?" Tigerkit leapt for the fur.
"It's for White—"
He hooked it up before Bluefur finished and chased it around the nursery, with Mistkit and Nightkit hard on his heels. "Look! I'm chasing that mangy dog Lionpaw and Goldenpaw tackled!" Mistkit and Nightkit wrestled with him. Frostkit and Brindlekit abandoned their mother and joined the older kits.
"Keep your voices down," Snowfur pleaded.
Tigerkit paused. Mistkit pinned the dog fur between her claws to the floor of the den. "I hate the nursery," he complained. "It's too full of kits."
"Yeah, we're never allowed to play anymore," Nightkit mewed disgruntledly. "We should be in the apprentices' den with Lionpaw and Goldenpaw."
"I bet they don't have to take afternoon naps," Mistkit added.
Bluefur purred. "Maybe not, but they wish they could."
Tigerkit noticed Whitekit lifting his head sleepily. "What's going on?"
"You've woken him up!" Snowfur puffed.
"Good," Nightkit mewed. "Now he can play, too."
Whitekit looked around. "Play what?"
"Our new game; it's called Kill the Dog," Mistkit told him. She flung the fur over Whitekit's head. Whitekit scrabbled up to catch it, making Snowfur grunt as his hind legs dug into her fur.
As the kits played, Bluefur and Snowfur chatted. Bluefur asked Whitekit, "You'll be okay if Snowfur comes for a walk with me, won't you?"
Whitekit didn't even look at her. "Of course." Tigerkit pounced on him, pummeling his back with his hind paws.
"Tigerkit, let him up!" Frostkit giggled, throwing herself at him. Tigerkit tumbled off of Whitekit and wrestled with Frostkit. Brindlekit stole the fur and ran around the nursery with it in her mouth. Nightkit and Mistkit ambushed her and brought her to the ground.
A few hours later, Tigerkit was chasing Brindlekit's tail when Bluefur poked her head into the nursery. "Whitekit."
"You're back!" Tigerkit saw that Whitekit looked delighted. He glanced behind his aunt. "Is Snowfur with you?"
"Come outside, little one," Bluefur mewed.
"Has Snowfur got a present for me?" Whitekit asked.
Tigerkit stopped chasing Brindlekit's tail and looked up at Bluefur. "Can I come, too?"
"Just Whitekit."
Tigerkit shrugged and went back to chasing the she-cats around the den.
A quarter moon later, the Clan was waiting to go to the Gathering. Tigerkit had found out that the reason Bluefur wanted to talk to Whitekit was to tell the white kit that his mother had been killed on the Thunderpath. Tigerkit felt bad for his friend; he knew what it felt like to lose a parent. His father, Pinestar, had died of greencough two moons ago. Sunfall had become Sunstar, and he had appointed Tawnyspots as deputy. Lionpaw and Goldenpaw were now Lionheart and Goldenflower, and Rosepaw and Sweetpaw were Rosetail and Sweetcloud.
Tigerkit spotted Lionheart, Goldenflower, Tawnyspots, and Bluefur, and he bounced over to them, Mistkit and Nightkit following, his dark brown tail sticking straight up. He was losing his kit-fur, and he had broad, powerful shoulders and long legs. Nightkit was also losing her kit-fur, and her body was growing ever more graceful. It looked as if she would be a tall she-cat when she became full grown. Mistkit, on the other paw, was keeping her short, stumpy legs, and her fur was growing longer than either of her littermates.
"Can we come?" Nightkit called.
"We'll be apprentices in a moon," Mistkit mewed.
"Kits don't go to Gatherings," Tawnyspots reminded them.
Tigerkit rushed over to Lionheart and batted his shoulder with his front paws. "You will tell us everything when you get back, right?"
"You'll be asleep when I get back," Lionheart purred.
"No, we won't," Mistkit mewed indignantly. "We're gonna stay awake."
"You'd better be sound asleep when we get back," Leopardfoot meowed sternly. "Robinwing will want some sleep after having you rascals charging around all day."
"We've been outside for ages," Nightkit objected.
"And who's been keeping an eye on you to make sure you kits don't get into mischief? Robinwing said she had to get you six out of the warriors' den three times."
Tigerkit shrugged. "We wanted to see what it was like. Anyway, I'm not tired, so why is Robinwing?"
"Yeah, I'm not tired either," Nightkit piped up.
"Me either," Mistkit added. Ignoring the warriors, Tigerkit pounced on his sister's tail. Mistkit yelped and chased him around the warriors. Nightkit giggled and followed her littermates' actions with her head, her head spinning around and around.
Tigerkit overheard Featherwhisker talking to Bluefur: "Whitekit will need your help to learn how to make the right choices, and how to care for his Clan like a true warrior."
"He has Robinwing and Leopardfoot," Bluefur answered, "and Swiftbreeze."
At the mention of his grandmother's name, Tigerkit glanced at the nursery, where his aunts and uncle were sleeping. Their names were Spottedkit, Redkit, and Willowkit. Spottedkit was a tortoiseshell she-kit, Redkit was a tortoiseshell tom with a big, bushy, red tail, and Willowkit was a very pale gray she-kit. They were born the day before, and they hadn't even opened their eyes.
Tigerkit grew bored with the conversation and raced after his sisters into the nursery, where they curled up with Whitekit, Brindlekit, and Frostkit.