Whitepaw followed Blackfoot and Foxheart into the camp after returning from a hunting patrol. Moons had passed since the white she-cat started training with Russetfur. In her jaws was a buff-colored sandpiper. Russetfur, sharing tongues with a very pregnant Tallpoppy, looked over in surprise. "Whitepaw? You caught a sandpiper?" The round little birds with their stick-like legs were very hard to catch, given their sharp, keen senses. Their high-speed wings enabled them to fly away in a heartbeat, and the raucous alarm call they gave at a moment's notice made them less of a good source of prey and more of a nuisance.

The patrol dropping the little fresh-kill they had gathered onto the pile, Whitepaw nodded shyly and spoke, now that her mouth was free. "It was more of a fluke than anything, really. The wind was right and this one was probably just really stupid or something." Russetfur rolled her eyes.

"And maybe you need to learn to be proud and confident of your fine catch. You should take it to the nursery, StarClan knows we need all the prey we can get for all those kits. It can be a special treat for them. Make sure you let them know that they'll probably never taste it again since no other cat in the Clan is a good enough one-eyed hunter to get one besides you." Russetfur smiled. "Come to think of it, perhaps I'll just go with you. Tallpoppy?" The tabby queen dipped her head, and all three she-cats grabbed prey for the cats of the very full nursery.

Walking into the small den, Vinekit immediately jumped on Russetfur. "Hi!" she mewed cheerfully. Giving her prey to Hollyflower, Russetfur nodded at Vinekit. Foxheart, who had moved into the nursery only a quarter moon after Tallpoppy, was fast asleep despite the time of day.

"Hi. Vinekit, you've gotten so big! I know I talked to you only a few suns ago, but I think you've grown since then. You're bound to be an apprentice soon, aren't you?" Emerald eyes flashing, the kit nodded happily. Turning her head to Hollyflower and her kits, Russetfur smiled at the younger kits. "And you're all just growing up too, aren't you?" Hollyflower had had a fine litter of perfectly healthy kits; Kinkkit, a she-cat whose tabby fur stuck out in all directions, Dustkit, a she-cat identical to Hollyflower except for her golden yellow eyes, Darkkit, a black she-cat with long fur, and Flamekit, a tiny black she-cat with a white streak running the length of her spine to tailtip and fiery amber eyes.

Tallpoppy's kits were due at any moment, so the apprenticing of Crowtail's kits could not come too soon, especially since Littlecloud judged that Tallpoppy would have a large litter, as was becoming the usual in ShadowClan recently. Their Clan was growing so large that Russetfur wasn't sure if there were enough free mentors to mentor the six kits. However, the time was nearing when Nightpaw and his siblings would become warriors.

While the queens exclaimed over Whitepaw's impressive catch, Russetfur slipped out of the den to speak with Raggedstar, whom she heard talking to Rowanclaw outside. The toms appeared to be mumbling about how Snakepaw's training was coming along, but the ginger she-cat interrupted them casually. "Raggedstar, make I talk to you for a moment?" she asked politely, even though she had just barged in on their conversation.

With a confused nod, the large tom stepped away from her brother and leaned in to hear what she had to say. "Whitepaw caught a sandpiper today." Russetfur informed him, his eyes going wide. "And her fighting skills are amazing; we fought each other the other day and we couldn't tied. Believe me, I was going all out, too. I think you should make her a warrior." Pausing to think, the ShadowClan leader dipped his head.

"You're probably right. We should have the ceremony now, before the sunhigh patrol leaves." The tom bounded over to the Great Pine, and Russetfur hurried back to the nursery. While Raggedstar summoned the Clan, the older she-cat licked a bit of Whitepaw's fur that was sticking up, and smoothed the fur around her scars.

Knowing full well that she was acting like a mother at her kit's apprentice ceremony, Russetfur nudged the white she-cat, though Whitepaw was larger than her, toward the front of the crowd. "Come on!" she said excitedly, giving her sort-of apprentice another quick grooming.

Before Whitepaw could ask what all the fuss was about, Raggedstar started the ceremony. "I, Raggedstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has learned the ways of the Warrior code, and has become a fine example of what a warrior should be, despite the tragic circumstances that left her with only one eye. I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Whitepaw, you have trained longer and harder than any apprentice I know of. Do you promise to uphold the Code, and to protect this Clan and all its members, even at the cost of your own life?"

Whitepaw looked proudly back up at Raggedstar. "I do." she pronounced confidently.

"Then from this day forward, by the power of StarClan, you shall be known as Whitewater. We honor your incredible strength against all odds, and the faith that you not only have you trusted in, but that you have given us all." Russetfur's eyes glowed with immense pride, and she had to restrain herself from sprinting at Whitewater and embracing her. "Whitewater!" the Clan leader called.

Russetfur's voice cracked as she yowled at the top of her lungs, "Whitewater! Whitewater! Whitewater!" and the rest of the Clan joined in. Even though the she-cat had not been Russetfur's apprentice for the first half of her apprenticeship, Russetfur felt almost as close to her as she did to Nightpaw, who was standing next to her, cheering her on. The teary eyed warrior stumbled over to Russetfur, and they twined their tails and pressed against one another in happiness.

Cedarheart walked up in front of them, and gulped loudly before stammering, "C-congratul-lations, Whitew-w-water!" He looked so nervous that he might just pee, but Whitewater boldly stepped forward and licked his cheek, surprisingly asserative for her usual personality.

"Thanks." she replied, while the tom flushed madly. A little more hesitantly, Whitewater glanced at the fresh-kill pile, and asked, still smiling, "Would you like to share prey with me?" Russetfur's brother dipped his head timidly and the pair walked off, Whitewater glancing back once to have Russetfur wink at her encouragingly.

Looking at her apprentice, Russetfur half-grinned. "Just you and me again, I guess."


Later that evening, after Russetfur and Nightpaw had gone hunting and brought back a good assortment of prey, Nightpaw had retired to the apprentice's den early, and the dark ginger warrior heard a loud screech from the medicine den. Not knowing of any cat that was ill, and thinking it might be Tallpoppy having her kits, Russetfur dashed to the den. Inside was Littlepaw, looking very concerned over a rather distraught and upset Lizardpaw."What's wrong?" Russetfur asked worriedly.

"That Mudclaw! That's what's wrong!" the bad-tempered apprentice spat.

Mildly confused, Russetfur asked, "Mudclaw of WindClan? What did he do?"

Lizardpaw looked ready to claw her eyes out, but she didn't say anything for a long time. "After the Gathering... Mudclaw followed me. He said I was pretty, and then he.. Well, he.. I mean... He forced-" she couldn't finish the sentence, but both Littlepaw and Russetfur understood what she was trying to say.

"And now you're expecting his kits..." Littlepaw murmured, shocked. Russetfur supposed that that would explain the screech of dismay. The warrior herself had been avoiding the Gatherings at all costs since Tigerclaw had told her that he loved her, though she tried to push the thought from her mind at all costs. The times she did go, she buried herself amidst fellow ShadowClan cats, never letting him get close although he saw her a few times.

Shaking her head, Russetfur told the irritable apprentice cautiously, "We have to tell Raggedstar. I don't know what he'll do, but he'll figure something out. " She led the distressed apprentice out of the den and towards that of Raggedstar. When the warrior tried to comfort her, Lizardpaw simply bared her teeth and hissed. There was no making friends with this prickly she-cat, and her experience with Mudclaw probably didn't help anything, especially since he had apparently complimented her, which would be a rare thing for her demeanor. Russetfur didn't know how Cedarheart dealt with her as his apprentice. They couldn't have been worse matched but the pair's time may be coming to an early end.

Raggedstar was half-asleep, but he immediately lifted his head when he heard the cats approaching. "Russetfur, Littlepaw, Lizardpaw. What is the problem?" He knew something was off from their expressions, and was proved correct when Russetfur stepped forward and explained the situation. "Hmmm." he thought when they were finished. "Lizardpaw, I know from Cedarheart that you are a very good fighter, though your hunting skills may need a little work. But what happened to you is not your fault, and I will personally make sure that Mudclaw pays for what he has done. It is against the Warrior Code for an apprentice to have kits, and so I shall make you a warrior. We shall have the ceremony tomorrow, before the apprenticing of Crowtail's kits."

At that moment, while he had just finished speaking, the second screech of the night came from the opposite side of the camp. This time, Russetfur recognized the vice as definitely Tallpoppy's, and she sprang away from the den without a hint of a goodbye. Littlepaw followed with a harried nod of farewell to his leader. Russetfur had already reached the nursery and was crouched next to her sister when Littlepaw arrived with his herbs. The queen was having her kits.

Foxheart's eyes had snapped open and she was now shooing away the other kits, knowing that they probably didn't want to see this. Once they had vacated, the two ginger she-cats stood fearfully next to Littlepaw, who was checking Tallpoppy over. The queen was shuddering and stifling cries of pain, which intensified as the medicine cat told them that the first kit was coming. A slimy bundle was passed to Foxheart with instructions to carefully remove the birthing sac and lick the kit into breathing. The queen did so, and the large tabby tom gulped his first breaths.

A second kit arrived, this time given to Russetfur, who licked the smaller black and white tom until his lungs started to work. A particularly large bundle was passed to the ginger furred sisters, and they discovered that there were two kits inside, identical slender gray toms. Littlepaw, who glanced over to see that there were two kits, looked surprised. "Huh. Runningnose said that happens sometimes, but I've never seen it..." He trailed off when the final kit came. The last was a white she-kit with a few black speckles.

Littlepaw licked her fur furiously, massaging her chest and keeping her warm, but the little kit would not start breathing. After many painful minutes of this, the medicine cat apprentice looked up at Tallpoppy sadly. "I'm sorry, Tallpoppy. She's dead." The tabby queen took the she-kit from him, her eyes wide with shock, as if she didn't believe him.

"Dapplekit." Tallpoppy said in a very low voice, setting the dead kit next to her. The grief in her tone was evident when she closed her eyes and said, "May you find your way to StarClan swiftly, Dapplekit. I love you, and I will meet you one day in StarClan. Goodbye." Giving the kit a lick on the top of her head, she signaled with her tail, and Foxheart gently picked up Dapplekit, taking her away for burial. Looking down at her remaining kits, the tabby thought for a moment.

After a pause, she moved one of the gray toms to the other side, so that the non-gray kits were in between them. "Ashkit." she named the gray tom closest to her head. The tabby was Tanglekit, the white with black ears and underbelly who looked almost backwards was dubbed Icekit, and the other gray was called Cinderkit.

Tallpoppy, finished naming, laid down her head and slept, exhausted. Giving silent glances at each other, Russetfur and Littlepaw left the den while Foxheart let the other queens back in and curled up next to her sister without disturbing her.


A/N: I do hope you are all fans of time warps because the chapter after the next employs another one. Normally I don't have them so close together but oh well. Reviews really motivate me, and while I appreciate your reviews, Dragonclaw11, very much, it would be great if some of the rest of you could as well? Please? I'm doing my best to keep the updates timely and good, but if I fail at this, please don't blame me, because I am certainly not perfect. Lastly, Dustkit, one of Hollyflower's kits, is in honor of Dustpelt because I love him :) He's my favorite ThunderClan cat! :D