Chapter Three
Morningkit was jolted awake by a weight landing on her and she let out a high pitched squeak, opening her eyes to find the culprit. She glowered at Lionkit as he tried to play innocent, widening his eyes in surprise as if he could fool her. Morningkit sat up and huffed at him, turning away from the golden tabby. She had forgotten just how rambunctious kits could be and she was desperately longing for her old den where she slept curled up with Sandstorm. She's been here for almost four moons now. She sighed, a hint of regret coloring her tone before she mentally shook herself. She couldn't let herself sink into her nostalgia otherwise she'd be thinking about her old lives all day.
She was so tired of being a kit and she still had two moons to go before she would even be apprenticed. It was mentally exhausting, not even to add on the countless nights she spent awake trying to will herself to StarClan to speak with Cloudberry again. Morningkit hadn't even had a chance to speak with Goosefeather again, ever since Moonflower it seemed the queens were worried about leaving kits alone with the medicine cat.
Morningkit stretched her back, arching up before letting out a big yawn. She looked around the den, Goldenkit was wrestling with Lionkit, the pair of them taking far more care to not wake Thistlekit and his sisters compared to how abruptly she was woken. Speckletail was missing as well, though Poppydawn was dozing in the corner with her kits. They were old enough to be apprenticed any day now and here they were still sleeping as dawn came and went. She shook her head but slipped out of the den, squeezing through the thick brambles and popping into the rather cool air.
Morningkit watched as the camp went about its business cats coming and going and she sighed. She missed being able to roam the old forest trails. The lake territories were great but this forest will always hold a special place. She sat there for a long time reminiscing on the old days before a thought came to her. The pale tortoiseshell kit glanced around, nobody was paying her any attention, if she wanted to leave she probably could, she would just have to make it quick.
Morningkit nodded to herself, yes maybe a quick glance around would be good for her. Now that Speckletail was still out presumably on a walk considering she couldn't see her anywhere in camp there was one less queen to help keep an eye out and that made this the perfect time to creep out. She padded over to the entrance, acting as nonchalant as she could, stopping every now and then to pounce on a fallen leaf. Once she made it to the gorse tunnel she casually glanced around, when she didn't see any cat paying her attention she quietly slipped out. One good thing about being so small was that she could get through gaps in the gorse without making too much sound.
She paused while in the gorse tunnel, hearing pawsteps heading her way and she held absolutely still. A brief glimpse of brown tabby fur flashed in front of the kit before vanishing into the camp. Morningkit let out a breath and continued on her way. She popped her head out of the gorse and peered around, keeping an eye out not only for cats but also for any birds looking for a quick meal. When she didn't spot any she fully exited the gorse, before she started climbing up the ravine.
Maybe for today that's as far as she'll go, better not to push her luck until she can calculate how long it will take for cats to come looking for her. Her paw slipped and she froze as some gravel went clattering down. When no one came looking she started climbing again, carefully placing her paws to not scatter rocks every which way. She rounded a large boulder and jumped up for the paw holds she could barely spot, soon she was pulling herself up to sit on the large rock. She paused for a moment and glanced around. She'd never made this climb so young before and it was hard to imagine which way to go at this height. Morningkit steadied herself and focused on a sheer rock wall. She took a deep breath and jumped, aiming for the grassy clifftop. Morningkit let out a silent sigh of relief as she hooked a paw over the top of the ravine. She pulled herself up and just sat there for a moment catching her breath before she looked around.
The forest seemed to stretch out forever all around her. She had missed this. The forest by the lake was nice but this is where she learned how to hunt, how to fight and where she got her nine lives from Highstones. Morningkit threw a glance up at the sky, a little paranoid about flying predators and after seeing a clear blue sky she looked down the ravine. She'd have to head back soon, back to the mundane life constantly in camp, she only had two moons left until she would become an apprentice and then she'd have more to do. Laying around camp was mentally draining for someone so used to being active all the time.
Her mind wandered and soon landed on the purpose of her return, her rebirth she supposed. Tigerstar.
How was she supposed to stop him? Did StarClan really expect her to kill him or by sending him back so far is she supposed to convince him to remain a loyal ThunderClan warrior?
Her ear twitched as rocks tumbled behind her, she jumped to her feet and turned just in time to see Featherwhisker making his way to camp. She contemplated trying to hide but dismissed it in the next second, it didn't matter if she hid, chances are they wouldn't think a kit scent could drift so far from the nursery.
Featherwhisker caught sight of her and blinked in surprise, setting his bundle of herbs down gently and placing a light paw over it to keep it from scattering in the wind. His eyes narrowed slightly, "Morningkit? What are you doing up here?"
She shrugged, "I was bored."
There'd be no excuse good enough no matter what she said so she might as well tell somewhat of the truth. Featherwhisker sighed but he seemed almost amused despite himself. He eyed her, "Can you get down on your own or do you need help?"
Morningkit peered over the edge but noticed the well-worn path that she took when she was still a -paw.
"I can get down on my own."
"Good. Follow me, if you start slipping I'll break the fall so walk carefully but don't be afraid." With that Featherwhisker stooped down and grabbed his bundle of herbs, brushing past her to start climbing down the ravine. Morningkit stood there for a moment surprised at his rather casual attitude before following after him. Carefully jumping down after him.
For a heart stopping moment she slipped on the smooth stone before her claws caught on a pawhold and she exhaled nervously. Morningkit paused for a long moment, letting her heart rate settle before continuing down the ravine. Featherwhisker seemed to have heard her near miss and turned to watch her scramble down the rest of the way.
The medicine cat eyed her warily but was apparently satisfied by whatever he saw, turning back and leading the way into the gorse tunnel. The pale tortoiseshell kit followed after him, staying right on his tail as they pushed into the thorny entrance. The clearing was still relatively empty, Sunfall sitting under the Highrock with Stonepelt. Speckletail was still nowhere to be seen and Morningkit let out a sigh of relief.
Featherwhisker glanced back at her and flicked his tail. She tilted her head but curiously followed the silent order, padding softly behind the silvery gray tom. They squeezed into the fern tunnel and into the medicine cat den, Morningkit coming to a stop as Featherwhisker slipped into the dark crack in the rock.
His voice called out quietly, "Let's put these away and then I'll see if Sunfall will let me borrow you for a little bit. You can come help me gather some more juniper. I saw a bush not too far from the Sandy Hollow."
Morningkit perked up and she nodded obediently. Her tail quivered excitedly at the thought of venturing into the actual forest - even if it was just past the Sandy Hollow. Featherwhisker took a few minutes before he was slinking out of the crack, a few dock leaves in his mouth. He set them on the ground, "We'll use some dock leaves so we can carry more back. Are you ready?"
Morningkit nodded eagerly, quick to fall into step behind Featherwhisker as the tom led the way out of the den. Sunfall was still sitting with Stonepelt, though Tawnyspots had joined them at some point. As Featherwhisker approached with her tagging along like an extra shadow their conversation slowly petered out and Sunfall's whiskers twitched in amusement. The deputy didn't say anything though, merely tilted his head curiously. Featherwhisker set the dock leaves down and beckoned her forward.
Morningkit scurried closer and sat neatly in front of the medicine cat, green eyes calm and steady despite the trio of cats looking down at her. She straightened her spine a bit as Featherwhisker began, "Sunfall, I was planning on gathering some more juniper before leaf-bare truly begins. I was wondering if you'd mind if I borrowed a little helper."
Sunfall looked down at her, eyes glimmering with mischief as he replied, "Sure, I'll let Speckletail know when she gets back. She went out hunting early this morning."
Morningkit tried to contain her excitement but from the amused snort from Stonepelt she might have failed. She ignored it and whirled around, staring up at Featherwhisker eagerly. The medicine cat huffed and nudged a dock leaf her way, "Carry that for me. It's over near the Sandy Hollow so just stay close."
With that he nodded at the deputy and bent down, picking up the rest of the dock leaves. Morningkit grabbed her own, the oversized leaf almost dragging on the ground but she just tilted her chin up and raced after him. Featherwhisker didn't look back nor did he wait for her before pushing through the gorse tunnel.
The pale tortoiseshell slipped through after him and started the arduous task of climbing up the ravine. She pulled herself up on the grassy clifftop, pausing at the top and dropping the leaf in her mouth, catching her breath a little before snatching it up and running after Featherwhisker. The medicine cat was waiting for her just up ahead, having taken the faster path that was still a little too steep for her shorter legs.
He pushed on as she jerked to a stop beside him, her eyes already roaming around the all too familiar forest. It had been a very long time since she last walked in these trees. It was nice to be back where it all started. Her reminiscing was cut short as they neared the Sandy Hollow, pushing through the thinning bushes and onto the soft sandy ground.
She eyed the training ground, it was the same as she remembered. It was as if Bramblepaw was about to run out from behind the trees and try to sneak attack her at any moment now. Morningkit subtly shook her head, forcing herself to focus on the present, following Featherwhisker as he cut across the training area, winding into the trees on the other side.
There. A spiky-leaved bush was sprawling under a tall tree, sunlight filtering down gently onto its dark green leaves and shining off the purple-blue berries clustered amongst the branches. Featherwhisker led the way over, dropping his dock leaves gently on ground and mewing, "This is a juniper bush. Those berries can be used to treat bellyaches and soothe troubled breathing. Some of the elders can develop labored breathing when leaf-bare sets in - eating a few of these can help them through it."
He flicked his tail at her, "Come here, I'll show you how to pick them off without damaging them. We don't want to take all of them but we can just bite off a little branch like so."
He leaned in, expertly avoiding the sharp leaves as he maneuvered in, getting his teeth in a twig with quite a few berries on it and snapping it off. Featherwhisker held it delicately between his teeth and set it carefully on the dock leaf. He gestured for her to try and Morningkit quickly set her own large leaf down, moving forward and ignoring the faint sting of getting poked as she targeted another branch laden with berries.
She had to use a surprising amount of force to bite the branch off, feeling it snap between her jaws though was quite nice. It reminded her vaguely of hunting for some reason. Clearly it's been too long since she caught her own food if snapping a twig in her teeth was reminiscent of killing a mouse. Morningkit dropped the twig on her leaf and looked up at Featherwhisker for his approval.
The silvery tom nodded appreciatively, "Good job, just get a couple more and then we'll be done."
He then leaned back in and chose another branch, still cleverly avoiding the spiky leaves. Morningkit watched him for a long moment before trying again, mimicking his way of navigating the spikes. She gripped a branch and exerted pressure letting out a hum as the wood snapped. The pale tortoiseshell set it down and once again peered up at Featherwhisker for his reaction.
He looked down at her amusement mixing with approval as he checked her small pile, "Good work. We could probably head back now, this should be plenty."
Morningkit nodded and waited until the medicine cat leaned down and slowly bundled up his berries with the large dock leaf. She watched his movements and tried to copy him, messing up a few times but eventually, after examining his bundle closely, she figured out how to fold the leaf without leaving any gaps for the berries to roll out of. She picked the bundle up and peered up at him, eyes wide with a faint sense of pride.
She had been a leader of ThunderClan and here she was feeling proud of wrapping a simple bundle of herbs. Graystripe would have a great big laugh if he could see her now. At that thought she had to stifle a snort of her own laughter.
Featherwhisker slowly led the way back to camp, keeping his pace steady and stopping every once in a while to adjust the bundle in his mouth, which truly was only for her benefit. Before she knew it she was unfortunately coming back to the top of the ravine, the confines of the camp below and with a heavy sigh she began the descent. Featherwhisker was already halfway down by the time she forced herself to start.
Morningkit finally got a taste of her old freedom and it would be hard to let it go. Poor Speckletail, the queen was going to have her paws full now that she truly felt alive. All this time she knew she was a different cat - she knew she had a purpose but none of that could compare to the simple feeling of the wind in her fur as it rippled through the tall trees.
She still had two moons to go before she'd be made an apprentice and now that she'd left camp she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stay sedentary now. Morningkit scrambled down the ravine reluctantly, meeting Featherwhisker's amused blue eyes as she came to a stop in front of the gorse tunnel. He flicked his tail and she slowly pushed through the thorns, emerging into the clearing with a muffled hmph as the leaves blocked her sigh.
The clearing was somewhat crowded, Poppydawn sitting neatly near the entrance of the nursery with her kits in front of her, each and every one of their pelts glistening in the sun. Morningkit hurried after Featherwhisker, it seemed like Pinestar was finally going to apprentice the older kits.
She followed Featherwhisker into the fern tunnel squeezing into the small clearing and dropped the bundle of berries gently near the herb storage. Featherwhisker was already slipping into the dark crack in the rock, calling over his shoulder, "Morningkit, would you make sure Goosefeather's awake? He said he wanted to gather some marigold before leaf-bare hits."
Morningkit hesitated, but mewed an acknowledgement, shuffling deeper into the medicine den. Goosefeather was curled up in a tight ball in the back of the den, his fur fluffed up against the slight chill in the early morning air. She tiptoed closer and came to a stop a tail-length away, calling out, "Goosefeather?"
The gray speckled tom flicked an ear and his eyes opened lazily though not a hint of sleep lingered in them as he peered over at her. Morningkit quickly relayed what Featherwhisker said, "Featherwhisker asked me to wake you up. He said you had stuff to do."
Goosefeather blinked but didn't acknowledge her words, almost acting as if she didn't speak as he sat up. He rose to his paws, not bothering to even wash his face before he was padding over to the shallow creek they had in the back, "Come here."
Morningkit glanced over her shoulder at the fern tunnel but her curiosity overwhelmed her, pushing her to creep closer to the medicine cat. He flicked his tail, "Look into the water. Tell me what you see."
She hesitated but scooted closer, crouching down near the water and looking down. She froze in shock. The reflection in the water showed a dilute tortoiseshell with bright green eyes - but that wasn't what sent ice running through her veins. There was a faint outline of a much larger cat, its eyes were the same shade of green and its fur was all too familiar. A bright flame colored pelt lay smooth, criss-crossed by too many scars to count. Firestar. This was her, who she truly was.
She looked up at Goosefeather, confusion drowning any fear she might have of the tom. Goosefeather mewed quietly, "This is what I see when I look at you. Your soul does not match your body. When you were brought into this world I turned to StarClan for answers. Only Cloudberry answered my call. You have been entrusted with a great task that I do not want to know of. I wish I could help you but I believe that the more cats who know of this the more risk you will be put in. StarClan are not the only ones watching."
Morningkit curled her lip, "The Dark Forest."
Goosefeather nodded, eyes blank but before he could elaborate a familiar call rang through the camp.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting."
Goosefeather turned away, flicking his tail, "Go. You shouldn't miss your friends' ceremony."
Morningkit hesitated, staring at the speckled tom for a moment before a rustling forced her into movement. She quickly ran over to the entrance, Featherwhisker squeezing out of the crack just before she slipped into the ferns.
Pinestar was sitting up on Highrock, red-brown pelt gleaming in the morning sun, while the Clan slowly gathered. Speckletail was back, dropping a fat mouse on the freshkill pile and Morningkit ran over to her, greeting her eagerly before following her over to the nursery. Morningkit wanted to tell her about her adventure outside but Speckletail shook her head, pointing her tail up at Pinestar.
They sat near the nursery, Goldenkit and Lionkit rushing to them as Poppydawn gave her kits a few final licks. Speckletail hushed them and had the trio sit primly while Poppydawn proudly looked down at her litter. Thistlekit was practically vibrating in place, excitement visible with every aborted motion toward the Highrock. Rosekit was visibly nervous, claws digging into the sand and the tip of her tail twitching back and forth. Sweetkit was the calmest of the three, her eyes steady as she peered up at the leader.
Pinestar continued, "I am pleased to announce that ThunderClan has three kits who have finally reached their sixth moon. Rosekit, Thistlekit and Sweetkit, please step forward."
Morningkit watched with a hint of envy carefully hidden away as the cats padded closer to the Highrock. She still had two moons to go before it would be her turn and she couldn't wait. Going out with Featherwhisker was an eye opener. She had a taste of her future here and her paws itched with the thought of running through her old haunts.
"You three are six moons of age now and are ready to become apprentices."
She'll be much older by the time Graystripe would appear but she'd get a chance to see the Clan as it was before everything went sour. Before Tigerstar let his ambition drive him to spill blood and betray his own friends and family. The forest was whole again - there were no monsters tearing up trees and no two-legs capturing warriors. He could grow up and actually get a chance to retire to the elders' den, to offer advice and tell gossipy old stories to all the kits. Everything would be different but the important things would never change.
She'd still be a ThunderClan warrior and that was all that mattered to her.
"Rosekit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rosepaw. Your mentor will be Tawnyspots. I hope that he will pass on all that he knows to you."
Pinestar's solmen voice broke her from her thoughts and she refocused on the ceremony. Watching as Tawnyspots, weaved out of the crowd, padding up to the young molly. Pinestar continued, "Tawnyspots, you have proven time and time again that you are a skilled warrior and a steady friend. You will be the mentor of Rosepaw, I trust that you will teach her all that you know."
The light gray tabby leaned down and bumped noses with Rosepaw before leading her a few steps away - leaving her littermates standing alone in the circle. Pinestar called out, "Sweetkit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sweetpaw. Your mentor will be Smallear, I know that he will teach you all that he knows."
Morningkit watched as her father padded forward, standing stoically next to his new apprentice. From what she knew Rosepaw would be his first one as well.
"Smallear. You are ready for your first apprentice. Hollypelt was your mentor and a courageous warrior as well, you have done her proud. You have proven yourself to be a nimble and cunning warrior as well as a brave one and I trust that you will pass on all that you know."
The gray tom nodded before he leaned down and pressed noses with Sweetpaw, the little molly almost missing in her eagerness. Pinestar didn't miss a beat continuing on to the final kit, "Thistlekit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Thistlepaw. Your mentor will be Adderfang. I trust that he will pass on all that he knows to you."
The great mottled brown tabby stepped forward, eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he took in Thistlepaw's joy.
"Adderfang, you have always been a skilled warrior, brave and strong. You would have had an apprentice much sooner if you hadn't asked me to wait. This is why I can say with certainty that I know that you will teach Thistlepaw all that you know."
Morningkit blinked a tad surprised, usually when a warrior doesn't want to become a mentor they stick to it. Perhaps the senior warrior saw something of interest in the ambitious tom. The two bumped noses and the Clan immediately started calling out their new names, welcoming them to the Clan.
It would be her turn soon enough and at that time, she would be ready. She would become a warrior and she would welcome the chance to change everything. When Tigerstar arrived, she would be ready.