Chapter 3- StarClan's Choice
Lightkit awoke with a paw prodding his side. He opened his eyes, saw his sister, and leapt to his paws in surprise when he looked into her blood red eyes. She giggled and nudged him playfully.
"I'm not a fox, silly," she mewed, her eyes shining.
"I know," replied Lightkit. He shivered when he remembered the encounter with the fox.
Spotkit and Greenkit came bounding over, Brightwhisker padding over behind them. The four kits piled together, tousling and wrestling each other. Shadowstep padded in and sat beside them.
"Rushsong's asleep," Shadowstep meowed to Brightwhisker.
"Good. She needs her rest right now, and we need these kits to tell us what they were doing outside camp last night. She'd be too hysterical to let them speak."
The kits wiggled around uncomfortably, aware of the trouble they were in. Finally, Spotkit began to speak. He told Shadowstep and Brightwhisker everything while the others added in little details along the way. After he had finished, Greenkit took over and told them about what she had experienced during the encounter with the fox.
"And then I saw my sister standing in front of the fox. Her eyes were still closed, but her claws were out. Suddenly the fox leapt at her, and moments before it got her, her eyes flew open and she clawed its nose while jumping out of its way. The fox then leapt at her again, but Shadowstep and Rushsong pounced at it and drove it off!" finished Greenkit.
Brightwhisker looked at the black and white kit curiously. She stared back at him confidently, and then began to speak.
"I could feel in my fur that my sister and brothers were in trouble. I felt another cat beside me, and I felt urged on. I followed my feelings of danger, and found them. I could smell everything. I could almost see where everything was. I felt and scented the fox as it leapt at me, and suddenly I heard a voice yowling in my ear. It said 'Redkit, open your eyes! Open your eyes, Redkit!' I knew it meant me, so even though I didn't recognize the voice, I obeyed. I opened my eyes and saw the fox glaring at me, coming closer every second. I lashed out at it, and I felt my claws guided to its nose and some strange force lifting me up and out of the fox's way. When it leapt at me again, the same voice told me to stay where I was, and then mommy and daddy appeared."
Brightwhisker nodded. "That was a cat of StarClan speaking to you." He then turned to Shadowstep, laughter gleaming in his dark yellow eyes. "It seems that StarClan has chosen your kit's name for you."
Shadowstep nodded, the same gleam reflected in his eyes, then turned to his kits. "That was very irresponsible of you, running off like that. You almost got yourselves killed! I expect better from all four of you in the future."
The four kits mewed apologetically and hung their heads. Suddenly Rushsong burst in, yowling. The kits leapt to their paws in surprise and fear and scampered out of the medicine den, their mother right on their tails. She grabbed Redkit and began licking her furiously while the little kit squeaked uncomfortably. Shadowstep rushed out and hurried to Rushsong's side.
"You're going to lick all of Redkit's fur off if you keep at her like that!" he meowed.
Rushsong spun on him. "Who gave you permission to name our kit all by yourself?!" she snarled.
"He didn't, StarClan did," meowed Brightwhisker, sticking his head through the ivy covering the entrance to his den.
Rushsong's snarl transformed into a look of utter surprise. "Really? Well, then I guess its ok…" She looked down at Redkit, started to bend down to lick her, but then nudged her towards the nursery. "Go join the others, Redkit," she meowed gently.
Redkit leapt to her feet and scampered off. Shadowstep quickly told his mate what the kits had recounted and when he had finished she seemed to relax again.
"Well, shall we go tell Moonstar?" Rushsong asked.
Shadowstep nodded and they padded off to Moonstar's den, their tails twinning together.