Warriors: Seasons of Hope
Chapter One
Hollykit was sound asleep in the nursery. Or, at least, she was, until a furry body slammed into her flank, forcing her out of sleep and pushing the breath from her. She rolled over with a grunt and dislodged the other kit with her hindlegs. "Applekit, for StarClan's sake, can't you let a cat get some sleep around here?"
Beside her, a light ginger she-cat was bouncing on her paws, and her yellow eyes gleamed with excitement. "But today's the day! There's no time for sleep! The ceremony is starting soon! Cats are already sitting in the clearing!" Tilting her head back, she let out a loud yowl, "They're waiting!"
Hollykit stifled a purr of amusement as a large gray paw smacked Applekit gently across the back of her head, silencing her. Their mother was waking, and the gray tabby stood, arched her back in a stretch, and yawned. "Applekit, why are you so loud? You've probably woken every living creature in the forest." Even though she was scolding, there was nothing but fondness in the queen's voice.
"Sorry, Cinderheart," Applekit mewed in a very non-apologetic manner. "Hey, where's Robinkit? She should be up by now!" She began padding around the nursery, searching for her other sister.
Hollykit scanned the nursery with her green eyes and saw their other sister curled up in the nest of Ivypool, who had moved into the nursery just a few days earlier, after Jayfeather, the medicine cat, had noticed her quickly-swelling belly.
"She probably couldn't sleep over here, crowded in a nest with two half-grown cats who kick like foxes in their sleep," Cinderheart meowed. She yawned, and then bent her head to begin grooming Rosekit's head. The she-cat ducked away quickly and mewed in protest, then began grooming herself.
Hollykit sat up and began washing a forepaw, and drug it over her ears. She thought about how it always seemed to take longer to get her pelt cleaner, since the solid white fur showed dirt much more easily than Rosekit's ginger pelt and Robinkit's tortoiseshell fur. Cinderheart carefully nudged Robinkit's hindquarters, trying not to wake Ivypool, and Robinkit slowly rose to her paws and crawled back into their nest. Her long fur was rumpled and looked quite funny, and her amber-orange eyes looked dull and sleepy. Saying just as Cinderheart assumed, she muttered, "couldn't sleep with all the kicking and clawing going on over here last night..."
"Well, go ahead and wake up," Cinderheart said, giving Robinkit's head a lick. "You look half-asleep still, and the meeting is going to start at any moment."
"Apprentices already?" came a mew from the back of the nursery. It was Daisy, the she-cat who was once a kittypet and offered herself to the Clan by permanently being a nursery queen. "Goodness, it seems like you kits were just born."
Cinderheart dipped her head in greeting to the older queen. "They grow a lot faster than I realized." Turning to the other side of the nursery, she called, "Dovewing, Ivypool, will you two be at the ceremony?"
Ivypool lifted her head and nodded happily. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Dovewing had been asleep, but she looked up and gave a weaker nod in agreement. Her two kits also woke and began mewling.
Hollykit felt excitement running through her paws. Dovewing and Ivypool were sisters, and both were her kin. The white she-cat felt honored to have these cats care about her so much!
A tiny voice sounded from Dovewing's nest: "Miss what?" A little gray head poked up and sniffed the air.
"Good morning, Stormkit," Applekit meowed, rushing over and giving the little tomkit a lick on his head. "You too, Aspenkit," she added, nodding to the gray tabby kit. "My sisters and I are going to become apprentices today!"
"Oh, wow!" Aspenkit exclaimed, tumbling out of his nest. "Dovewing, can we watch?"
"Yes, dear," the pale gray queen said gently. "You're not old enough to sit with everyone else, but we can sit right outside the nursery and watch."
Stormkit and Aspenkit began squealing with excitement, but were cut off by a loud yowl: "Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath Highledge for a Clan meeting!"
"Let's go!" Applekit shrieked. She burst out of the nursery, with the kits right on her heels. Hollykit walked out at a calmer pace, with Cinderheart behind her, and Robinkit in the back. A moment later, Daisy appeared from the nursery, followed by Dovewing and Ivypool. Dovewing sat down by the entrance and called her kits back to her, and the other cats all went to sit in the center of camp, beneath Highledge.
Hollykit stood tall and met all of her Clanmates' gazes with confidence. One of them, a golden tabby - her father - padded over and touched noses with Cinderheart. "Good morning, Lionblaze!" Hollykit mewed.
"Good morning," he replied. "Go on! Sit in front of the crowd, and sit tall and look good. Make me proud." He purred at his kits.
Hollykit led the way to sit just beneath Highledge, with Applekit on her left side, and Robinkit on her right. The three looked up at the brown tabby standing on Highledge, and the dark ginger she-cat by his side. "Look! Bramblestar and Squirrelflight are looking at us!" Applekit mewed excitedly, but quietly so that only her sisters heard.
Once every ThunderClan cat had gathered and was quiet, Bramblestar called out, "Kits, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Bramblestar spoke loudly, so that every Clan cat could hear.
"Hollykit, from this day on, you will be known as Hollypaw." Hollypaw felt a chill of pure happiness run down her spine. Bramblestar then turned to face his mate. "Squirrelflight, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You received excellent training from Dustpelt, and you have shown yourself to be brave and courageous. You will be Hollypaw's mentor, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."
"I will," replied Squirrelflight, who jumped down and padded over to touch her nose to Hollypaw's. We're kin, too,Hollypaw thought. Squirrelflight was the sister of Hollyleaf's brother's mother. Hollypaw sat down again with her new mentor beside her, and Bramblestar continued speaking.
"Robinkit, from this day on, you will be known as Robinpaw." Bramblestar motioned with his tail. "Leafpool, you are ready to take on a warrior apprentice. You were trained in the ways of a medicine cat by Cinderpelt, but I know that she also trained you to hunt and fight. You are endlessly loving, yet fierce, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."
Despite the sudden wave of quiet protest from the Clan cats, Leafpool stood, approached Robinpaw, and touched noses with her. "I will, Bramblestar. Thank you." The two cats sat down again.
Bramblestar waved his tail for silence, and once the cats had quieted down, he continued. "Applekit: Jayfeather, Cinderheart, and I have talked recently. Cinderheart informed me that you wish to become a medicine cat apprentice, and she says that you are very energetic, but also very intelligent. These can be very useful skills for a medicine cat. We've consulted Jayfeather and he says that he is willing to take on an apprentice."
Hollypaw glanced at her sister, whose paws were trembling with excitement.
"Applekit, step forward."
Applekit took a few clumsy steps forward, but her eyes looked serious - more serious than Hollypaw had ever seen.
"Applekit, you must realize that the path of a medicine cat can be a difficult one. Are you willing to take the post as Jayfeather's apprentice?"
"Yes, Bramblestar." Applekit's voice was unusually small, but was still brimming with certainity.
"Then from this day on, you will be known as Applepaw. Jayfeather, you received excellent training from Leafpool, and you have shown yourself to be wise and dedicated to your Clan. You will be the mentor to Applepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."
"I will," Jayfeather said to his leader. Turning to Applepaw, he added, "At the next half-moon, you must travel to the Moonpool, to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cats."
Bramblestar meowed, "The good wishes of all ThunderClan go with you." He signaled with his tail that he was finished, and the Clan suddenly bursts into cheers.
"Hollypaw! Robinpaw! Applepaw!"
Hollypaw closed her eyes and let her new name sink in, and she pictured countless opportunities before her. She imagined finally sleeping in the apprentices' den, staying up late and talking with the future apprentices, and then becoming a warrior and running freely through the forest, hunting and fighting and feeling the wind in her whiskers.
"Applepaw," Jayfeather meowed, approaching the group of apprentices. "Tonight is the half-moon, actually."
"Really?" Applepaw sprang to her paws. "Are we going tonight?"
"Of course," the medicine cat replied. "Come on to my den. I'll show you around and introduce you to some basic herbs, then we'll eat some traveling herbs and rest before we head out tonight."
With her tail high in the air, Applepaw trotted off after her new mentor. Hollypaw watched her with pride, but she felt a twinge of sadness in her chest. We won't see each other all the time anymore,she realized. Hollypaw looked around camp for her own mentor, and saw Squirrelflight and Leafpool sitting at the base of Highledge, whispering to each other. She strained to listen in on their conversation.
"I could never regret kitting them," Leafpool meowed. "If I hadn't, we wouldn't have these lovely apprentices now."
Squirrelflight nodded. "I don't regret anything we've done."
Hollypaw purred. She was very glad to hear her grandmother so optimistic about her current situation, after all the drama and pain she'd been through when the truth came out about her kits.
"Hey, you two!" Hollypaw and Robinpaw turned to see a brown tabby warrior approaching them. The white patches on her fur shone in the sunlight, and her blue eyes were warm and friendly. "There's no other apprentices to show you around your den, so I'll do it!"
"Thanks, Lilytail," Hollypaw meowed. She nudged Robinpaw's shoulder, and the three cats began walking. Lilytail led the apprentices to a cave in the side of the stone walls that surrounded, and made up, their camp. Inside, there were two nests that looked brand new.
Lilytail explained, "Seedwhisker and I already made some nests for you two, since we were the last apprentices in here."
"Thanks!" Hollypaw exclaimed. Her paws twitched with excitement at all of the commotion.
Robinpaw mewed, "Yes, thank you." Her voice was much quieter and betrayed the happiness that Hollypaw was sure her sister felt.
"Of course!" Lilytail meowed, then backed out of the den. Hollypaw padded forward and walked into the left nest, and began kneading it with her forepaws. "This is great, Robinpaw! Look at all this space we have!"
The tortoiseshell apprentice walked over to her new nest. "It'll be nice in here, with no other cats to kick me in my sleep... Well, except for you."
"I don't kick!" Hollypaw spat playfully. She crouched down to spring on her sister, but was cut off by a sharp meow.
"Stop!"
Hollypaw froze and sat up straight. Bramblestar poked his head inside of the den and looked at the apprentices. "Two of our warriors worked hard making those nests for you, and it would be disrespectful of you to mess them up so soon. Besides, your mentors are looking for you."
With a sigh of reluctance, Robinpaw turned and padded out of the den, with Hollypaw following. The two young cats saw Squirrelflight and Leafpool waiting for them by the base of Highledge.
"Ah, there you two are," Leafpool meowed. "Squirrelflight and I thought you might like to explore ThunderClan territory."
"Yes, please!" Hollypaw squeaked. Robinpaw's paws twitched with excitement.
The two older she-cats turned and began to walk towards the camp entrance, and just as they were approaching it, there was a sudden loud yowl and a group of cats burst into camp. A gray and white tom led the group – that was Mousewhisker. Behind him was a flash of pelts, a mix of cream, ginger, and white. Rosepetal, Cherryheart, and Snowclaw skidded to a stop behind Mousewhisker, who was now standing in the center of camp.
Bramblestar ran over to them. "Mousewhisker, what's wrong?" Hollypaw watched in silence, her fur standing on end. She felt Robinpaw press against her flank.
The tom heaved for breath, and Ivypool suddenly dashed over and leaned against her mate's shoulder with worry shining in her blue eyes. "What happened?" Mousewhisker couldn't seem to catch his breath, so Snowclaw stepped forward.
"Twolegs have captured one of our cats," he said in his usual tone that was deep and showed no real emotion. "The hunting patrol you sent this morning with Foxleap, Molefur, and Whitewing... Molefur was away from the others – Whitewing says he was tracking a squirrel – and he chased it right into a Twoleg trap. When he went inside, the door snapped shut behind him, and a Twoleg appeared and took him away." Even the tough tomcat could not hide his fear with his monotonous voice, because the fur on his spine stood on end and his amber eyes were wide.
"Foxdung!" Bramblestar cursed. "Where are Foxleap and Whitewing? Are they okay?"
Cherryheart mewed, "They're fine; they're staying at the area to watch for Twolegs. They saw the trap and they know not to go near anymore. But... my brother!" She let out a wail, and Rosepelt nuzzled her friend's shoulder to comfort her.
Hollypaw swalloed the lump in her throat. What's going to happen to Molefur?She wondered.
Other Clan cats had gathered around the group and were listening intently and watching Bramblestar, waiting for him to give them some kind of order. Squirrelflight, the deputy, pushed through the crowd and stood beside her mate. Hollypaw glanced up at her leader. "You'll do something, won't you?"
Bramblestar gazed down at the apprentice. "Of course I will. We'll all do something to get Molefur back." The wise tomcat looked around in thought for only a moment before he began giving orders. "Okay, Snowclaw, your group will lead me and Squirrelflight to where Molefur was captured. Mousewhisker, go see Jayfeather – actually, Sorreltail, will you help him? Lionblaze and Hazeltail, come with me. Dovewing, I want you to keep your kits calm and keep them very close to the nursery. And you two," Bramblestar flicked his tail at Hollypaw and Robinpaw, "I don't want you going out of camp until we find out exactly what's going on. You wouldn't know what to look for in the forest to avoid Twoleg traps."
"What about Applepaw?" Robinpaw asked.
Bramblestar explained, "She has to go with Jayfeather to the Moonpool tonight. He'll keep an eye out for her. She's a smart cat; she'll be fine."
And what, we're not smart?Hollypaw bit her tongue to hold back the sharp reply. She'd spent her whole kithood hearing other cats talk about how smart Applepaw was, and she was sick of it! She also worried for her sister, because the cat who would protect her was blind. How could he see a Twoleg trap?
Bramblestar stood and summoned his group with a flick of his tail. "Let's go," he meowed sternly. The cats solemnly walked out of camp. Hollypaw watched as Sorreltail stared after them, and the tortoiseshell whispered, "StarClan, please let them find my daughter's son. Oh, I'm worried for them both." As she padded away with the still-breathing-heavily Mousewhisker, Poppyfrost approached the two young apprentices. Worry clouded her eyes.
"Is there anything we can do to help, Poppyfrost?" asked Hollypaw.
Poppyfrost nodded, but gave the white apprentice a look of gratitude. "No, little one. All we can do is hope that they find Molefur and bring him home."
Hollypaw sighed. What kind of luck was it that a warrior went missing on the day of her apprentice ceremony? She was suddenly feeling an ache in her paws, and she turned to pad away to the apprentices' den. Robinpaw dashed after her.
"Hollypaw?" Robinpaw mewed with concern.
"I'm fine," Hollypaw muttered. "Just tired. All of this is giving me a headache, you know?" Leaving her sister standing in the clearing, Hollypaw retreated to the apprentices' den. It was cooler inside the den, and Hollypaw was grateful to be out of the almost-too-warm new-leaf sun. She curled up in her nest, tucked her tail-tip over her nose, and fell asleep.
It was much later when Hollypaw awoke. Sleeping in the nest beside her was Robinpaw, whose fluffy back was turned to her sister. Hollypaw stood, yawned, and walked out of the den. She was expecting strong sunlight, but saw that the camp was quite dark and that the sun had set and the only light was coming from a strip just over the horizon. She hadn't meant to sleep so long.
She looked around and saw a few warriors sitting around camp, and the kits playing in front of the nursery. Cherryheart was sitting by the camp entrance, talking to Poppyfrost and Berrynose. The son of the family was not sitting among them.
"Oh no..." Hollypaw muttered to herself. "They didn't find him."
Carefully, she crept to the center of camp and swiveled her ears to try and catch a conversation about Molefur, but heard nothing. She looked up to the sky. StarClan, are you watching over him?
"Hey, Hollypaw!" She recognized Applepaw's loud mew behind her, and the white she-cat spun around to face her sister. The ginger she-cat was well-groomed and she kneaded the ground with her paws in anticipation. "Jayfeather and I are leaving for the Moonpool! Isn't that exciting?!"
Hollypaw tilted her head. "Yeah, that's great, but... How can you be so happy when we've lost Molefur? Isn't this a tragedy?"
Applepaw's eyes narrowed in confusion, and then she meowed, "Oh, that's right, you were asleep. I guess you didn't hear, but Bramblestar's patrol found him! The Twoleg left him outside one of their nests and they got him out of the trap."
"Thank StarClan!" Hollypaw breathed.
Applepaw did a little spin and added, "He's not hurt at all, but he's scared out of his wits, so Jayfeather gave him some poppy seeds and now he's sleeping in the medicine den." Applepaw turned as Jayfeather appeared from his den, and then she turned back to Hollypaw and whispered, "I've gotta go!" She turned and sped off after Jayfeather, and the two cats disappeared through the camp entrance.
"Be careful," Hollypaw meowed after them. She felt a pang of sadness at knowing that she would not see her sister for the rest of the night, but it melted away when she felt the familiar tail-tip of her mother resting on her shoulder. Cinderheart had walked over and sat down beside her daughter.
"It's strange, isn't it?" Cinderheart asked. "To be a new apprentice and feeling like you'll never see your siblings again." She licked her daughter's white-furred forehead. "Don't worry, you'll still see her plenty, and Robinpaw, too."
"Yeah, I guess so," Hollypaw absentmindedly agreed.
Quite suddenly, Cinderheart said, "Hollypaw, do you know who you're named after?"
"...My appearance? The holly flower?"
Cinderheart purred. "Besides that, my dear. Has any cat told you of Hollyleaf?"
Hollypaw shook her head. "No. Who's that?"
A look of some emotion that Hollypaw couldn't describe came over her mother's eyes, and Cinderheart explained, "Hollyleaf was a ThunderClan warrior – she was Lionblaze's and Jayfeather's sister, actually. You've grown to act so much like her."
"Really?!" Hollypaw squeaked. "Why didn't they tell me about her?" She felt a little hurt that her own father wouldn't tell her that he had a sister.
Cinderheart brushed her tail on Hollypaw's shoulder. "It probably hurts them to remember, dear. She was my best friend in the whole world, and it still hurts to think about it. She was killed in the battle against the Dark Forest, and she saved Ivypool's life."
"Wow..." Hollypaw said in astonishment. "What else did she do? Was she a good warrior?"
"The best," Cinderheart replied without hesitation. "A great hunter and fighter, and she cared about the Warrior Code more than any cat I'd ever known. And she once made a very brave decision that was tough, but in the end, it saved the Clans."
Hollypaw asked, "And what was that?" She stiffened as Cinderheart flinched.
"Well..." Cinderheart began slowly. "It was at the time when Leafpool's kits were still believed to be Squirrelflight's. A warrior named Ashfur, along with Hollyleaf and her brothers, were the first to find out. Ashfur was planning to tell every cat in every Clan, and Hollyleaf stopped him."
"How?" Hollypaw leaned in closer, wanting to know as much as she could about this Hollyleaf cat.
"She killed him."
Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins. "K-killed him...?"
"Yes, but it wasn't a horrible choice," Cinderheart said in an almost-growl. Hollypaw flattened her belly to the ground. Her mother was defending a murderer! "Hollyleaf was a good cat who made a serious choice in a time of stress. And she should be remembered as nothing less than a good ThunderClan warrior."
"But-"
Hollypaw trailed off as Lionblaze called his mate and Cinderheart stood and padded over to him. She twitched her whiskers in frustration. She wanted to know more about Hollyleaf! Surely Cinderheart must've thought a lot of her to name a kit after her, she thought. Shrugging, she decided to find Squirrelflight. Her belly was rumbling with hunger and she wanted to know if she could eat.
She found her mentor lying outside the warriors' den, her eyes dropping and her tail-tip twitching in half-sleep bliss. Hollypaw approached her slowly and quietly mewed, "Squirrelflight? May I get something from the fresh-kill pile?"
The dark ginger she-cat lifted her head, blinked, and then nodded. "Sure."
Hollypaw dipped her head. "Thank you." She padded off to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a fat mouse, then carried it over to the apprentices' den, where she thanked StarClan and ate it quickly. It was getting dark, and the white apprentice sat up and began to groom her fur. She watched as a patrol came back into camp, and cats began retreating to their dens for the night.
Cinderheart waved her tail to her daughter, from across the camp, and Hollypaw waved back. She watched as her mother touched noses with Lionblaze, and then both cats walked to the warriors' den together. Hollypaw yawned, feeling her eyelids getting heavy, and crawled inside the apprentices' den. Robinpaw was still asleep, so Hollypaw scooted her nest closer to her sister's, curled up, feeling very tired yet very excited for the next day, and fell asleep quickly.