Hello, all . . . 100! 100! 100! I AM AT 100 REVIEWS! Whiplash! The 100th reviewer gets a prize, so . . . Emberheart0, do you want a cat in the next book? Or something? I dunno . Anyway let me update! Oh, and Rainstorm-Mosspath, Nightwind was WindClan's former medicine cat, mentor to Whiteleaf before she died. And Duskfur had a sight issue; he was blind in one eye and going blind in the other eye. : ) Little info for you guys there.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN WARRIORS! Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Hawktalon let Thrushfeather and Stormsky into WindClan camp. Tigerpaw flashed uneasy glances at the ThunderClan cats as they stopped in the center of the clearing and waited for Swiftstar to come out of his den.
Almost immediately, cats noticed the ThunderClanners. "ThunderClan!" meowed a ginger tom, lashing his tail. "Get out!"
"Shut up, Wildpaw," scoffed a golden-brown tabby she-cat. "There are only two of them. They're not here for a fight. You're so ignorant."
"Am not!" Wildpaw snapped. The she-cat snickered. "You're a jerk, Swiftpaw!" Wildpaw hissed.
Stormsky blinked at the two apprentices. Had he and Frozenleaf sounded like that?
Finally Swiftstar left his perch at the Tallrock to survey WindClan's visitors. "What are you two doing here?" he asked, his voice level but his eyes curious.
"We would like to help WindClan," Stormsky mewed, trying to sound formal. "We have heard your Clan was sick, like the others, so we wanted to help you."
"Why us first?" yowled a long-legged black she-cat. "There's two other Clans you could help." The warrior sneered the word.
Stormsky hesitated. She'd caught him off guard. He hadn't wanted to help nasty ShadowClan, and RiverClan hadn't seemed too bad, but he figured WindClan was first because of his sister.
"Well . . ." Stormsky trailed off.
"They don't know!" Wildpaw hissed.
"Stormsky?" A familiar voice rang out. The warrior turned and saw Icestream, limping on Yellowclaw heavily. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to help your Clan," her brother replied, now a bit agitated. He turned to Swiftstar and dipped his head respectfully. "We mean your Clan no harm, Swiftstar."
Thrushfeather, who had remained quiet the whole time, now spoke. "We mean it."
Swiftstar opened his mouth to reply when a dark gray tom screeched, "Don't, Swiftstar! They will tell every cat we are weak!"
"Crowshadow, you have a sick kit in Whiteleaf's den," Swiftstar meowed. "Would you like Flamekit to die?"
The tom lowered his ears.
"I thought so," mewed Swiftstar, his eyes twinkling amusedly. He turned to Stormsky and Thrushfeather. "Go help. But you must leave by tomorrow's sundown."
Both new warriors dipped their heads at WindClan's leader. Swiftstar nodded at them with wisdom in his eyes, then he vanished under a bush.
The rest of WindClan began to filter out into their dens. Yellowclaw and Icestream padded up to their friends. "Hey Thrushfeather, good to see you," Icestream mewed, touching noses with the brown warrior. "I haven't seen you since the gathering two moons ago."
"Good to see you, too," Thrushfeather replied politely. "So, where do we start . . .?"
"You come to the fresh-kill pile with me," Icestream meowed, flashing Stormsky a glance. "One of the queens said she ate something that tasted a bit odd."
The two cats headed over that way. Stormsky watched them go.
"That leaves you with me," Yellowclaw meowed. Stormsky turned to her. "Come on, let's go to Whiteleaf's den."
Once the situation was explained to Whiteleaf, the white medicine cat let Stormsky enter the den and sniff each barely-conscious patient. Herb names rushed through Stormsky's mind- Jayfeather had decided to help.
Stormsky's gaze rested on a small ginger kit. His eyes were barely open and he blinked at Stormsky. "Who are you?"
"I'm Stormsky," the warrior meowed, ignoring the agitated glare he got from Whiteleaf. "How did you get sick?"
Surprisingly the kit began to mewl pitifully. He batted at the air feebly, wailing. "Flamekit, calm down!" Whiteleaf hissed. "Where is Bluepaw when I need him?" She grabbed some juniper berries and let the ginger kit chew them.
Flamekit gagged. "Gross!"
"Chew them," Whiteleaf warned. "You won't become a good warrior if you don't chew them."
Flamekit choked, but nodded. He swallowed, then let out a "Blech!"
"Can you tell me how you got sick?" Stormsky asked.
"Do you think I haven't already asked that?" Whiteleaf snapped. "He said he ate something funny."
Stormsky looked into the kits' eyes. They were wide with fear and something else-guilt. This kit wasn't telling the truth.
"Flamekit, tell me what really happened," Stormsky meowed, keeping his voice low.
Flamekit gulped and hesitated. Then he shook his head sharply. Frightened thoughts rushed towards Stormsky: I'll get in trouble! And so will Thornkit and Grasskit!
Stormsky blinked. He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and accessed Flamekit's memory.
"Flamekit, you mousebrain!" A gray she-kit stood before Flamekit. "Hurry up!"
"Sorry, Thornkit," Flamekit mewed sheepishly. "I tripped over that root." He motioned to it with a flick of his ginger tail.
"Well, come on!" replied Thornkit irritably.
"Yeah, we have to go fast if we don't want any cat to know we're here," agreed Grasskit, shaking his black pelt.
"Remind me why we left camp again?" Flamekit asked as the three kits sprinted through the tall springy grass.
"We're becoming apprentices next moon," Thornkit told her brother. "We need to know the territory."
"Why not learn it with our mentors?" Flamekit asked. "Why go out by ourselves?"
"Are you scared?" Thornkit asked, twitching her ears.
"No!" Flamekit shot back. "I'm just . . . worried we'll get in trouble, that's all."
"He has a point," Grasskit put in.
Thornkit stopped. Her brothers stopped too. Thornkit glared at them. "Well, if you don't want to go, I'll go myself!" she hissed, and bolted off towards a stream.
"Thornkit, wait! I don't think we're supposed to go there!" Grasskit yowled. He leaped after his sister, Flamekit on his tail.
"Whoa!" Thornkit's startled yowl nearly frightened Flamekit out of his fur.
"Thornkit!" Grasskit screeched, accelerating. Flamekit's heart leaped; his sister could be hurt!
Luckily, Thornkit had just fallen into the stream. She spat out water. "Bleck!" She stood up and shook her fur. "StarClan, now I'm all wet!"
Grasskit and Flamekit let out mrrows of amusement. "Smooth, Thornkit," Grasskit joked.
"You're gonna get wet too!" Thornkit snarled playfully. She tackled Grasskit, pulling him into the stream with her. The black tom let out a squeal as he went under.
"Stop!" Flamekit hissed. "Guys- what's that?"
The kits stopped flailing water with their paws. Thornkit climbed out of the water, shaking her pelt, and looked to where Flamekit was staring. Grasskit followed.
Silvery goop was dripping into the river. "Ew, it's on my fur!" Thornkit's voice was shrill with realization, and she began licking her gray pelt frantically. "Yuck!"
Grasskit began to lick his pelt too. "It tastes disgusting," he complained, trying to shake the silver slime off his black fur.
"Well, we have to get it off so Silvertail won't know we left!" Thornkit told her brother. "Flamekit, could you get this off my back? I can't reach it."
"Okay." Flamekit leaned in and licked the silver stuff off his sister's back. Grasskit was right; it tasted like rotten fresh-kill. Flamekit's stomach began to ache.
"Come on, we gotta get back to camp," Thornkit meowed, checking her fur to make sure no slime remained. The three kits raced back towards camp and slipped through the bushes towards the fresh-kill pile.
Silvertail padded over, a warm gleam in her eyes as she padded towards the kits. "Where did you three go?"
"To-to play," Flamekit answered.
Silvertail looked at him without a doubt in her eyes. She licked his head. "Come get some fresh-kill with me."
Flamekit felt terrible about lying to his mother. Eventually he knew she'd find out what they'd done, and she would be mad as a badger with a thorn in its paw.
Stormsky gasped and stepped backwards. He stumbled against Yellowclaw. "What's with you?" she asked, pushing him gently to his paws.
"River," Stormsky panted. "Silver . . ."
Flamekit's eyes were wide pools of blue. Stormsky stared at him sternly. "I won't tell on you," he promised, and then he sped out of the den.
"Would you stop?" Yellowclaw leaped in front of him. "Explain what's happening!"
Stormsky shoved past her. "Silvertail's kits played in the river that creates our border," he explained hurriedly, not looking at her. "There's something there- something not from the Clans."
Yellowclaw lashed her tail. "Then let's go!"
Silvery liquid trickled into the river. It drifted with the current, which flowed smoothly.
"It's going downstream," Stormsky observed.
"Which means it's heading towards . . ." Yellowclaw started.
"RiverClan!" the two cats exclaimed at the same time.
DON DON DON! Whatja think? Next update soon! Laters . . . : D Swiftpaw