Chapter 25

"Get the mouse!" Willowcloud found herself dreaming once more. In her dream, she'd become a mouse of all things. The ground underpaw felt strangely warm, and the grass was taller than she could have ever imagined. Fear wormed it's way through her stomach when she saw four large cats surrounding her. She realized that she was surrounded, and there was no place for her to run. "Get the mouse!" The largest cat yowled.

Willowcloud blinked when one of the cats tripped over clumsy paws. She realized that these cats were her own kits. Annoyance flared within her when the fields faded away, and were replaced by the cave she slept in.

Her three kits—each of which were four moons old now—had surrounded her. Mistkit was slightly bigger than her adopted siblings, as she was five moons old now. The four kits had grown up together as far as they knew, and treated one another like they were the best of friends.

How things would have been different if they were in a Clan, Willowcloud thought.

"I'm going to be a warrior!" Badgerkit's yowl made her ears ring in annoyance.

"That's enough you four." Willowcloud rose to her paws, stretching out her back as she cuffed Badgerkit over the ears. "It's time to go out and see the snow."

All four of them began to squeal in excitement. Snow was something that they'd rarely seen. Willowcloud had made sure that Embertail or Leopard were keeping an eye on them at all times. Hunting had become easier for her since she could take bigger risks. With larger prey, it meant she could feed her kits without worrying about them starving.

She was relieved to see Leopard standing near the shrubs that covered most of the gorge. His green eyes opened when he heard the sounds of his kits approaching. Willowcloud felt a burst of amusement when she watched them topple their father over. Even Mistkit had been accepted by her adopted father, who treated her like she was his own kit.

"Look at the snow!" Petalkit's eyes were round with wonder as she looked at the snow that covered the boulders.

"The snow is melting," Leopard explained. "Newleaf is coming."

"That means you can't hide anymore." Mousekit teased Mistkit by nudging her. She hissed in annoyance and swatted his ear with a paw.

"I'm the best when it comes to hiding," she muttered.

"That's because no one's looking for you," Badgerkit chimed in.

Willowcloud rolled her eyes and cuffed her larger son over the ears once more. She was getting annoyed with the way he insulted his siblings. Mistkit may have looked a little different, but that didn't mean she wasn't his sibling. She had been saved by Sparrowfur, and Willowcloud would treat her like any other kit.

"I can't wait for newleaf," Willowcloud admitted as her kits tumbled over one another.

"Newleaf is a time for new life," Leopard replied with a faint nod. "I'm looking forward to good hunting." He dropped into a stretch, arching his back and yawning at the same time. Mistkit had stopped shoving Badgerkit when Leopard's tongue curled.

These kits are going to become apprentices soon, Willowcloud told herself. I wonder if I will live to see them become warriors.

The thought made her heart wrench. She didn't want to think about such horrible things. Her kits and Leopard were part of her life, and she didn't want it any other way.

"Leopard, tell us a story please!" Petalkit suddenly toppled over Mousekit, who squealed in protest. Badgerkit's eyes gleamed with excitement while Mistkit simply padded over. Willowcloud looked at her mate for a moment, suddenly wondering what kind of stories he told them.

She was always gone by the time he started storytelling. None of the kits spoke about it, so she assumed that he made them promise to keep the stories a secret.

His eyes grew troubled for a moment when he realized that she was staying. Whatever he had to tell, she would face it.

"When I was young, right about your age, I decided to go on an adventure," he explained. All four kits had surrounded him now, and were watching him intently. "I was with my sister at the time—she was much smaller than you, Mousekit." Mousekit's eyes widened in disbelief. "We were exploring our home a bit…as we were still new to the area. I wanted to go further, but my sister said it was dangerous. There were cats bigger than us living where we did at the time, and they would show no mercy if they caught us…."

. . .

The two kits were terrified as they ran for their lives. Tree blurred past them, and ferns and bushes were not across their mind as hiding places. Running was something that they had done all of their lives. This time was no different, though the ginger and darker ginger tom knew that running would only get them so far. Behind them were three large toms, all of which were lean and hungry. Shivers were coursing down the tom-kit's spine as he led the way across the forest.

We can't let them catch us, we can't…. The thoughts kept coursing through his mind.

They had done something stupid at the time, something that had ended in disaster. His sister, a smaller pale ginger she-cat with darker ginger paws, had suggested the idea. She had said that exploring the Twoleg nests would be fun. He had argued at the time that it was too dangerous. Their small size meant that any cat would see them more as a meal than anything else. His sister had told him that it would become a new experience, one that they could learn from.

Now the tom was hoping that they would make it out of this alive. The three rogues had seen them creeping through the course grass near the Twoleg nests. They ambushed the kits and had surrounded them, but both kits were small enough to run between their legs. The tom had told his sister to run in the opposite direction, spreading confusion amongst the rogues.

"We're getting close!" His sister gasped out the words as she tried to catch her breath.

"We can't stop now, they'll catch us!" He nudged her forward, hoping to give themselves enough time to escape.

The three rogues were quickly catching up. One of them was a badly scarred brown tabby, whose tail had been cut off. The second was a gray tom with patches of fur missing. The third was a scrawny looking tabby with pale green eyes. All three were tough opponents, and the tom knew that he nor his sister could fight them off.

"What's the matter little kits, don't you want us to show you around?" One of the toms—the kit wasn't sure who—demanded.

The tom suddenly skidded to a halt when he realized that something was blocking their escape route. His eyes widened in terror as he saw a larger cat—larger than the other three rogues—stand before him. His sister skidded to a halt, nearly colliding with the trespasser.

Eyes wide in terror, the tom looked up to see that the large cat was an orange tabby tom. The newcomer's eyes were dark with anger when he saw the three rogues. A feral snarl sounded from his jaws as they opened to reveal sharp teeth. The kit dropped into a horrified crouch. He knew that the end was near. His other siblings had died, and he would soon join them. He only hoped that his sister's life was spared.

The three rogues stopped in disbelief when they realized that the newcomer had sailed over the kits, landing neatly on the badly scarred brown tabby. A screech sounded as the fight enfolded before the gathered felines. Twolegs shouted in the distance, telling the kit that they weren't far.

"Leave my territory now, rogues!" The orange tabby's voice was deep as he spoke, causing the ground to rumble beneath him. The badly scarred rogue shuddered and glared at the orange tabby. New wounds had opened up on his muzzle, telling the kit that he had been badly scratched.

We're getting out of this, the kit mouthed to his sister.

The three rogues stared at the orange tabby for a few more heartbeats before whirling around to flee. The orange tabby grunted in satisfaction when he was certain that they were gone. He turned around to face the kits, who flattened themselves against the ground.

"Now, where is your mother?" The orange tabby spoke in a more gentle tone when his eyes grew concerned for the two kits.

"Our mother…died." The kit spoke in a bitter tone as he glared at the ground.

"Died, or abandoned ya more like it." The orange tabby sounded sympathetic. "Why don't ya come with me? My Twolegs would be more then happy to take care of ya."

"We don't need any stinking Twoleg taking care of us!" his sister spat. "We're big enough and strong enough to take care of ourselves!"

"Tough little kits are ya?" Amusement gleamed within the tabby's eyes. "Do ya have names?"

The two siblings suddenly exchanged looks. They had never thought of naming themselves. The idea never crossed their minds, as they had never had the time to think of such an important thing. The orange tabby shook his head in disapproval.

"Ya two should know better," he meowed. "Names are what makes ya different. Mine's Tumbo by the way. Named after my large size."

"Toombo?" The tom found it difficult to pronounce his name.

"Just Tumbo," the orange tabby replied with a firm nod. "Ya can call me Tumb if ya want though."

"Okay, we'll call you Tumb!" His sister gave an excited bounce as she stared at Tumb happily.

. . .

"You can't end the story now!" Mousekit's voice rose above the blood rushing in Willowcloud's ears.

He had a sister and a friend…. I knew about his sister but Tumbo? She shook her head in amusement as she watched Leopard lean forward.

"What happened to Toombo?" Petalkit had a difficult time pronouncing the name as well, as Leopard had when he first heard the name.

"Nothing bad…. He passed away when I was ready to leave the city." Leopard's voice was filled with grief as he spoke.

"What does passing away mean?" Badgerkit demanded.

"That's enough you four," Willowcloud meowed as she wrapped her tail around them. "It's time we all went back to the cave." She realized now that the sun was already slipping away. All four kits moaned in annoyance as they were herded back to the cave. She was surprised that Leopard followed. He rarely slept in the cave while the kits were with her. "Thank you, for the story," she added as she nudged Petalkit into the cave.

"It wasn't a story," Leopard murmured. "Tumbo was real, and he had helped us…for a time. He was taken away by his Twolegs though. After that happened we never saw him again, and then…." His eyes closed as he recalled what had happened to his sister.

"I'm sorry." Willowcloud leaned forward and pressed her muzzle against his shoulder.

"Don't be." Leopard gave her muzzle a gentle lick. "I have no regrets for the life I live…. The only wish I have is for my sister to be alive so that she could meet you."

"Maybe she'll meet us in StarClan," she suggested.

"I hope so." Leopard flicked his tail across her shoulder before he rose to his paws. "Sleep well my love."

Willowcloud watched as he vanished into darkness. She would have followed him to give him comfort. She should have given him the comfort he longed for. But now she had kits to take care of. And her kits meant the world to her.

A/N: Double update! And a long chapter too :D See what happens when I feel inspired? What did everyone think of Leopard's story, and the massive time skip? By the way, the story he told will not be part of the one-shots. I'm not even sure how that one-shot will go, since he has no name as a kit. Might take me a little longer to get that together. Thanks ImXDragon and String of Pearly for reviewing!