The clan was buzzing with nervousness after the gathering. "Tigerstar can't do that!" Cloudtail spat.
"Well he just did. And Leopardstar is going along with it!" Sandstorm snarled. I stared at the ground horrified. Firestar raised his tail for silence as he stood on the High Rock.
"Everyone, calm down." he meowed. "I know you are all worried about Tigerstar's threat and proposal, but we must stay calm."
"How can we stay calm when a battle is about to happen?" Mousefur snapped.
"Tigerstar won't stop until he gets what he wants!" Brackenfur called. Longtail's ears twitched nervously.
"He might attack the camp!" Goldenflower wailed. "The kits will get hurt or stolen!" My eyes widened in fear and I sweeped my kits closer to my body with my tail. Fuzz growled and stepped in front of us protectively.
"Over my dead body!" he snarled. The clan erupted into worried and angered yowls.
"Silence!" Firestar yowled over them. Everyone slowly quieted down and looked at him. Firestar sighed and flicked his tail. "I know you are all worried. But I can assure you, that everyone will be safe." he mewed. Featherkit nudged my leg. I looked down at her.
"We're tired. Can we go to sleep now?" she asked. I sighed and nodded.
"I'll be in there in a minute." I murmured. Featherkit led her siblings to the nursery and quickly disappeared. I looked back at Firestar.
Swiftkit's POV:
I trembled with fear as Featherkit and Stormkit clawed at the nursery's wall. "Are you sure we should do this?" I asked. Stormkit sighed and looked at me.
"We have to! The clan is scared so we need to brave up and go teach Tigerstar a lesson!" he squeaked. I flattened my ears nervously as they continued digging through the wall. Featherkit grunted in satisfaction as the wall gave way.
"There. Now let's go." she mewed. I slowly followed them out into the forest. The dark sky was covered with stars and I shivered in fear as I remembered that each star is our warrior ancestors. Starclan will be upset… "Come on, Swiftkit! Before mama realizes we're missing." Featherkit snapped as she scampered over a log with Stormkit. I sighed and climbed over. Stormkit was sniffing the air.
"Where do you think he'll be? I heard Dappletail say they went into Riverclan territory so maybe we should try Sunning Rocks?" he mewed. Featherkit narrowed her eyes in thought.
"Let's try Shadowclan territory first. They might've went home." she said. My heart quickened as they ran off into the dark and I scampered after them.
"Wait for me, guys!" I called, my voice cracking in fear. "We don't even know where to go!"
"We'll find them. Calm down, Swiftkit!" Stormkit mewed. I sighed in frustration. If nothing out here kills us… mom and dad sure will.
Leopardstorm's POV:
"Now go get some sleep, everyone." Firestar meowed. Fuzz licked my ear and twined my tail with his.
"Goodnight, my sweet." he murmured. I nuzzled his muzzle and purred.
"Goodnight." I mewed. Then I padded off to the nursery. "Ok, kits I'm-" I broke off as I saw my nest empty. "Kits?" I looked around but my kits were nowhere in sight. I began to panic as I shuffled through the nursery and tried to catch their scents. "Kits!" I called. Goldenflower and Willowpelt walked into the nursery.
"Leopardstorm? What's wrong?" Goldenflower asked. I looked at her in panic and fear.
"I can't find my kits!" I wailed. I ran out the nursery and ran around camp. "Kits, where are you?" I called. Fuzz ran out the warriors' den as he heard me.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I can't find the kits. I thought they went to the nursery but they weren't there!" I cried. Fuzz looked around and darted from den to den.
"You two might wanna come see this!" Willowpelt called. I dashed to Willowpelt with Fuzz by my side. We walked into the nursery and saw Willowpelt standing in front of a whole in the nursery wall. My heart stopped beating as realization washed over me.
"Oh Starclan, no…" I whimpered. I darted out of camp. "Kits!" I wailed into the night. "Where are you? Answer me!"
"Leopardstorm!" Fuzz called. I looked at him with wide eyes. "Get back to camp. I'll look for them." he mewed.
"My kits are out there in the dark where foxes and badgers or possibly Shadowclan cats are out there stalking them. I'm not just gonna sit around in camp." I snapped. Firestar padded out of the entrance with Graystripe, Mousefur, Brambleclaw, and Cloudtail behind him.
"We're wasting time! We have to find them now!" Firestar snapped. I sniffed the air frantically and bristled as I caught their scent.
"I think they're heading towards the Thunderpath!" I exclaimed. Me and Fuzz darted away from camp and into the forest. Then I heard swooshing noises as we came closer to the Thunderpath. The kits were gathered by the reeking path and stepped a paw onto the hard surface.
"I'll go first." Stormkit mewed. Then he jumped onto the path as a monster came into view. My eyes widened in fear and I stretched my legs out wider.
"Stormkit, no!" me and Fuzz screeched. The monster ran right over him and when it moved, Stormkit was gone. I stopped by the path while Fuzz pulled the other kits back. Tears streamed down my face as I searched desperately for Stormkit. My son! Oh Starclan, please don't take him from me…
"Stormkit!" I wailed. "Stormkit, please! Answer me!" I heard a cough and I jerked my gaze to a dirty puddle by the path. Stormkit was spitting out water, his nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Eww!" he gagged. I ran to him and tackled him to the ground, causing him to squeak in surprise.
"Stormkit! Are you alright? What is wrong with you?! Are you crazy?!" I pressed. Stormkit tried to wiggle his way out my grasp but I held onto him as I licked his face. I ignored the bitter taste of mud and some type of liquid as I purred in relief.
"I'm fine! That thing barely touched me. The wind just knocked me over." Stormkit snapped as he pawed my nose. I growled and looked at him.
"Why did you three leave the camp? You know it's dangerous out here!" I scolded.
"We were going to teach Tigerstar a lesson! He had no right to make our clan scared!" Stormkit squeaked. I sighed and shoved my muzzle into his fur. Thank you, Starclan… Firestar ran up to me and looked down at Stormkit.
"Let's go home." he meowed. Stormkit flattened his ears along with his sisters as we went to camp.
"Are we in trouble?" Featherkit asked.
"You snuck out the camp at night when we have hostile enemies right across from us! What do you think?" Fuzz snapped. The kits lowered their heads in shame.
"I told you we'd get in trouble!" Swiftkit whispered. Her siblings groaned as she continued. "But nooo! You wanted to be the big brave kits who save their clan! How were we supposed to do that? We don't even know how to fight!" I stifled a chuckle and sighed. Kits will be kits.
I sat by the nursery with the kits in front of me while Firestar was scolding them. Fuzz was sitting beside me while Graystripe and Brackenfur fixed the hole in the nursery. "You three should've known better." Firestar meowed. Stormkit lifted his head high as he faced his leader while his sisters were bowing their heads in shame.
"It was my idea." he mewed. I smiled as I remembered me saying that as a kit when me and my siblings snuck out of camp to fight at the Sunning Rocks battle. "I told them I was going with or without them. Swiftkit was the one trying to stop me and Featherkit came along just to make sure I didn't get hurt. I should be the one getting yelled at." Firestar's ears twitched in surprise and pride at his words.
"It may have been your idea but you didn't go through it alone. You will all get punishment." he said. "You will help clean the nursery for three days. If you refuse to do this, then I will add double the amount of days and you won't be made apprentices until your duties are done." I looked at him with shock but he gave me a wink. I chuckled and flicked my ear.
"Yes, Firestar." the kits mewed. Firestar gave a satisfied nod and beckoned them to the nursery.
"Now go to sleep. And no more holes in the nursery!" he meowed. I followed the kits into the nursery and settled down beside them. I licked their fur until I heard soft snores coming from them. I sighed and rested my head on my paws and went to sleep.
A couple of weeks have passed and the clan was gathered around the clearing doing daily routines. I watched the kits play with each other on the ground and getting dirt stained in their fur. I sighed as I thought about the taste when I have to groom their fur. It'll take forever to get the taste out my mouth. Fuzz sat beside me and licked my ear. Stormkit jumped onto his tail with a squeal. "I caught it!" he exclaimed. I chuckled as Fuzz flew him up into the air.
"Now I caught you!" he growled playfully. Stormkit squealed as he pawed Fuzz's head. I looked at my daughters and saw them grooming each other's fur.
"See? And now you have a swirl on your back!" Featherkit purred. Swiftkit stretched out her neck to look at her back.
"I can't see…" she mewed in disappointment. Featherkit rolled her eyes and flicked Swiftkit's ear.
"Of course you can't, silly! It's on your back!" she chuckled. Then Graystripe led a patrol of Shadowclan cats into camp. Mousefur and Cloudtail were hissing and spitting at them. I widened my eyes as I saw Tigerstar. I nudged the kits back into the nursery.
"Kits go inside and don't come out." I said.
"But-" Stormkit broke off as I snapped.
"Just stay in the nursery!" I snapped. Stormkit lowered his head then followed his sisters. I clawed away the guilt banging on my chest and replaced it with anger as I turned to Tigerstar. Firestar was snarling in his face.
"We're not joining!" he spat. Tigerstar looked calm and he brushed Firestar off with his tail.
"That's your choice. I'm here to talk to my kits." he said. I growled as my fur bristled and he came over to me. Tigerstar looked around the clearing and rested his gaze on Brambleclaw. "Come with me, you two." he meowed. I took a step back and bared my fangs.
"What do you want? I'm not going anywhere with you!" I hissed. Brambleclaw stood beside me with bristling fur. Tigerstar rolled his eyes and sat in front of us.
"Fine then we can stay here and talk." he retorted. Before me or Brambleclaw could say anything, he continued. "As you know, Tawnypelt has joined Tigerclan. I mean, why wouldn't she?" he smirked. I growled and flattened my ears. "But I want all my kits to stand beside me as we restore peace through all of the forest. If we all join together, the clans will live in peace. Isn't that what you want for your kits?" Tigerstar mewed. I took a threatening step towards him.
"Leave my kits out of this!" I snarled. Goldenflower stepped in with a glare.
"We don't want anything to do with you, Tigerstar." she hissed. Tigerstar's eyes flashed with hurt and sorrow and he looked at me. I saw his amber eyes switching back and forth between green and I widened my eyes. He's trying to fight Killing Storm.
"I don't want to hurt you three. I'm asking because I don't want to have to fight my own family." Tigerstar whispered. My ears slightly flattened in sympathy and my fur relaxed. "Please join me and Tawnypelt." he begged. I looked away. Brambleclaw looked at me and widened his eyes.
"Don't you dare, Leopardstorm." he growled. I looked at him in shock.
"I wasn't-"
"Don't leave us behind like Tawnypelt. You are a Thunderclan cat through and through." Brambleclaw hissed. I flattened my ears and lowered my head. Then Ocean Breeze's words filled my ears. Darkness and light will meet one day. Moon or sun will find the way. Moonlight shines on evil's fangs, where the moon's path will always remain. Sunlight shines on a hero's claws. In sun's light there are no flaws. Choose wisely or you will see, the clan crumble under your name. "Don't lead your kits to their deaths." Brambleclaw murmured. I looked at him and nodded. I turned back to Tigerstar with determination.
"I'm staying here… with my family." I meowed. Tigerstar narrowed his eyes and turned to the nursery.
"Let them decide." he growled. I snarled and blocked the entrance.
"They're too young to make a decision! They're staying with me!" I snapped. Tigerstar shoved me out the way and ran into the nursery. I jumped to my paws and leapt after him with Brambleclaw beside me. Tigerstar was looking down on the kits with a paw behind them so I can see his claws aiming at their necks. I froze in my tracks and bristled with fear. Fuzz was beside me hissing at him.
"Hello, kits. I'm Tigerstar, your mother's father." Tigerstar purred. Stormkit was glaring at him, unaware of the claws ready to sink into his neck.
"Leave us alone! We aren't afraid of you!" he snapped. Tigerstar chuckled and purred.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me. We're family." he mewed. I dug my claws into the ground and prepared to leap at him but Tigerstar threatened to move his claws closer to their necks. I stopped and pawed the ground nervously. "How would you three feel about joining my clan, Tigerclan? If you join, then the clans will live in peace. Your clan will always be safe and well looked after. Don't you want that for your clan?" Featherkit forced her head high and looked Tigerstar dead in the eye.
"We do. And that's why we won't join." she declared with a quivery voice. Swiftkit nodded and backed away.
"Leave us-" she broke off as she felt Tigerstar's claws pressing into her fur. She screamed in fear as Tigerstar gripped her neck with outstretched claws. I leapt at him as the other kits ran out the nursery. Fuzz was beside me trying to help Swiftkit ease her way out of his claws. "He's hurting me!" she whimpered. I snatched Tigerstar out the nursery and we tumbled out into the clearing. Swiftkit fell out of his grasp and ran to her siblings. I grabbed Tigerstar's neck into my jaws and I pinned him down. Brambleclaw looked at me with wide eyes along with Goldenflower. I glared at Tigerstar and saw his eyes green.
"Go ahead! Kill me. I dare you." he snarled. I growled at Killing Storm and tightened my grip on his throat. "I'll always come back. You're not killing me, you pathetic leopard. But I'm sure Tigerstar will understand." he snickered in a raspy voice. I widened my eyes and spat out Tigerstar's throat. Tigerstar gasped in air as his clanmates ran to him. He glared at me with bared fangs. "You have been warned!" he snarled. Then he ran out the camp with his clan. I breathed heavily as I watched him leave. The clan was silent for a while until I heard Swiftkit's whimper. I snatched my gaze to her and saw her topple over.
"Swiftkit!" I cried. I ran to her and tried to push her up but she had her eyes closed. Cinderpelt pushed me out the way and took her to the medicine den. I ran after her but Firestar blocked my way.
"She's needs her space." he murmured.
"But that's my kit!" I snarled. Firestar looked at me calmly. I slightly relaxed and sat outside the medicine den. I pricked my ears as I heard shuffling and murmuring inside the den. Fuzz sat beside me and comfortingly licked my ear. Stormkit and Featherkit were watching the den with wide, scared eyes.
"Will she be ok?" Featherkit asked. I looked down at her with a soft smile.
"Swiftkit's a strong kit. I'm sure she'll be fine." I murmured. I struggled to believe the words myself as I heard Cinderpelt chanting.
"Hold on, Swiftkit. Just hang in there." she murmured. I closed my eyes and turned to the kits. Oh Starclan… please don't take my kit...