Hellooooo! Chapter Three is finally here! This chapter is very, very short. I will type Chapter Four tomorrow. There are a couple of surprises in this chapter that I think you'll like. Well enough of my jabbering. Chapter Three is a go!
The clan recovered after the battle and had gotten over Mallowfall's death in only a moon. Silverkit was now two moons old. She was amazed by how cold it got and how quickly it did. Every day hunting patrols came back with less and less prey. The whole clan became thin and unkept. Skyfur seemed to be the only plump cat in the clan. Skyfur was pregnant with Berrytail's kits, which they would born in a moon. With Skyfur, the nursery became very crowded. Even with Gingercloud back in the warriors den it was still very stuffy. Gingercloud's kits filled up her whole nest and often Hollowkit or Ravenkit had to sleep on the floor, so Whisperwind or Nightstorm would invite them into their nest. Eaglekit and Shade kit had gotten big too. Whisperwind and Nightstorm said that when Skyfur had her kits they were going to move back into the warriors den or Blizzardstar's den. Silverkit couldn't said the thought of not having her mother sleeping in the den with her.
The next day Silverkit woke, her mother wasn't there.
Probably hunting. Silverkit thought.
She stretched and ran a paw over her ear, smoothing a tuft of fur. She padded out into the clearing. It was a bit past dawn. Blizzardstar jumped from Highledge with Whisperwind right behind him.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Blizzardstar and I are going hunting, I'll be back later." Whisperiwnd said. She licked Silverkit and padded through the thorn tunnel after Blizzardstar. The nursery stirred and Eaglekit padded out stretching.
"Hi!" He said to Silverkit. Silverkit twitched her ear in acknowledgement. Eaglekit sat close to Silverkit and pressed his fur against hers.
"I could really go for a mouse right now, couldn't you?" Silverkit said. Eaglekit nodded his head quickly. His eyes turned dreamy.
"Come on. Let's go look." Silverkit said. They dashed to the fresh kill pile together and looked at it. All there was, was a frozen mouse and stale blackbird. Silverkit pulled the leg off of the mouse and started eating it. Eaglekit and her quickly finished it in a few gulps.
"I'm still hungry…" Eaglekit said sadly.
"Me too." Silverkit said.
Silverkit and Eaglekit played until Sunhigh. When their parents returned. Whisperwind held a mouse and Blizzardstar had a thrush. Nightstorm had a vole and Mousepelt had a tiny squirrel. They dropped them on the very small pile of prey.
"Less prey, less warriors." Blizzardstar said with a sigh.
"What are we going to do? Every cat is already starving. Even the kits and elders are starting to look skinny and Leaf-bare has only just begun." Whisperwind said.
"I don't know. There's not much we can do. We can only pray and hope for a blessing." Blizzardstar replied.
"Hopefully the other clans haven't seen how scrawny we are." Mousepelt said.
"Well remember those two Shadowclan warriors? They looked like they haven't had full belly in moons." Nightstorm said.
"Yeah, all the clans are probably having troubles." Whisperwind said, her eyes turning dark. "Whether it's with hunting or Greencough."
Greencough! Silverkit thought. Fawnleap and the other elders told her about the deadly illness.
"If you catch it. There is only one cure." Fawnleap had said.
"Yep, and it's called Catmint. It dies in Leaf-bare though, so what the medicine cat has is all they have all Leaf-bare." Redstorm had joined in.
"So if you catch it, you better hope Starclan's watching over you." Jayflight finished.
Silverkit shook the memory away. She looked around the camp. A bird fluttered down into the clearing, sifting through the dirt. Silverkit dropped into the hunter's crouch. She had seen the other kits practicing it so she had a pretty good understanding of what it should look like. She crept forward hardly making a sound. The bird suddenly lifted its head. Silverkit stiffened thinking it was going to fly away, but instead it continued sifting. Silverkit, even more carefully, started to crawl forward again. When she was a tail length away she pushed back on her hind legs and pounced. She landed perfectly on top of it.
"Silverkit! Kill it!" Blizzardstar called, racing toward her.
She nipped its neck and killed it. She got off of it and admired her catch. It was twice the size of her! Blizzardstar stared at it, then at her, and then back again. Blizzardstar picked it up and put it on the pile. He padded back and praised her many, many times. She felt a surge of pride at her father's praises. Silverkit looked out of the corner of her eye. Willowleaf was staring at her in complete horror. She whispered to her Brackenflame and dashed into her den. Brackenflame came up to Blizzardstar.
"Blizzardstar, Willowleaf said she needs to speak to you now. Like right now." Brackenflame said. His gaze turned to worry and he whispered. "Did some cat get Greencough?"
"I hope not. I wil speak to you when I get back. Wait for me in my den." Blizzardstar said.
What was Willowleaf so worked up about? Silverkit thought.
Silverkit closed her eyes and fell into an unsettling sleep.-She woke up in a sunny clearing. A butterfly landed on her nose and she chased around the clearing to catch it. It fluttered out of Silverkit's reach.
"Hey!" Silverkit said. When she looked forward there was a gray cat with blue eyes.
"Hello, little one." She purred. She dipped her head to Silverkit.
"Who are you?" Silverkit asked. She crawled forward carefully and sniffed the strange newcomer. She smelled like a mixture of ancient stones and water.
"My name is Dovewing. I'm your great grandmother." Dovewing said. Silverkit stopped sniffing and looked at the cat in surprise and shock.
This was Dovewing? She thought. She wasn't as incredible as she thought she would be. In fact, she looked more like a regular warrior.
"You're Dovewing." Silverkit said, disbelievingly.
"That's right. I wish I could prove it to you, but I lost my powers after I joined Starclan." She said. "But I will try." Dovewind stood extremely still and pricked her ears. It reminded her of what her mother did.
"Hmm…I think Firestar and Graystripe are speaking to each other." Silverkit pricked her ears too and listened very hard.
"Graystripe, go to sleep, everyone else is." Said one of the toms.
"Very well, Firestar. But if I go to sleep then you must as well." The other tom said.
"Hey! I can hear them!" Silverkit said.
"Very good!" Dovewing said. Her gaze turned to curiosity and thought. Silverkit searched for a question to ask her.
"Am I in Starclan?" Silverkit asked.
"Yes, but this is only a dream. You will return to your clan when this dream is over." Dovewing said, wrapping her tail around Silverkit. She was so gentle and soft. Though, Silverkit could feel a tiny fire burning inside her.
"Why are you in my dream?" Silverkit asked. The question had been burning in her mind since she came here. Dovewing stiffened and shook her head. She ignored Silverkit's question.
"It's time for you to go back to your clan." Dovewing said. She laid down and Silverkit curled into the curve of her belly.
"Silverkit, you cannot tell any cat about this dream." Dovewing said as Silverkit closed her eyes.
"Why?" Silverkit asked.
"Um…you just can't. You know, like, our little secret." Dovewing said. "Now rest, little one, do not tell anyone about this dream."
Silverkit quickly fell asleep and left her dream world.
Told you! Wasn't to long. This chapter was short when I first wrote it so I was like…okay I guess. Next chapter is longer and I think it's a good one. Kinda sad but not too sad. Well until tomorrow Marshies! Bye Bye!