A/N: I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post these last few chapters... My new goal is to publish three chapters including this one before my birthday, which is... 11 days from now? No, ten. Noooo, eleven. I don't know what day it is xD But yeah. I'll accomplish this goal! Maybe...Lastly, the second part of the chapter is 2-3 weeks after the first and is from Falconkit's point of view.
Volepaw bounded from the apprentice's den, Mosspaw stumbling after her brother with a yawn. Brokenstar folllowed them, perhaps the only explanation for why Mosspaw would ever be up before sunhigh. The pair of them were nudged towards the camp entrance by the ShadowClan leader but Brightflower intercepted them. "How about you eat some prey before you go off to battle training? I know you're upset that it was delayed by the rain last night, but a few moments can't hurt." The queen asked, but before he could answer, she ushered her kits to the fresh-kill pile, where Russetfur was lying.
The dark ginger queen was trying to yield warmth from the cloudy sky, but the still-damp ground only chilled her further. Mosspaw dipped her head in respectful greeting, and Russetfur nodded back. With a huge yawn, the brown-furred she-cat asked nearly incoherently if Russetfur wanted to share the large lizard she dragged off the pile. Feeling her stomach growl as the scent reached her, the queen nodded again.
Mosspaw bit delicately into the prey and Russetfur followed suit. Glancing over, she saw that Brokenstar was giving her a hard stare with his cold eyes. "So, the Gathering is in just more than half a moon... Maybe if you do well at training Brokenstar will decide to take you and Volepaw." Russetfur mewed, making small talk.
Volepaw looked up excitedly from where he was sharing prey with Brightflower. "You think?" and glanced eagerly at his mentor. The black and white tom's paws kneaded the ground as he looked up into the sky, as if he was imagining his first Gathering.
"Impress me at battle training and we'll see." Brokenstar said evenly, still staring at Russetfur, who turned her head as the fur on her spine lifted as she was unnerved by his gaze.
Volepaw, his mouth full of prey, mumbled "I will," tiny flecks of prey spewing from his mouth. "Sorry!" he apologized, making even more bits fall.
Mosspaw, looking a little grossed out, said quietly, "I'm not hungry..." as so not to embarass her brother. Russetfur, however, had kits growing in her and she would keep eating even if Volepaw had outright vomited everywhere, as Oakfur -then Oakpaw- once had when he took a big bite of rotten frog.
"Let's go." Brokenstar ordered and stood. Volepaw immediately launched to his paws and leaped to stand next to the huge tom, while Mosspaw dragged her paws, trudging slowly behind the two toms.
Looking up from her meal, Russetfur called, "Bye!" and saw Mosspaw wave her tail in acknowledgement.
"Well, everything seems to be fine here, Russetfur. It's still early. You probably imagined it." Runningnose told her comfortingly as he lifted his paws from her stomach. Falconkit let out a sigh of relief. She didn't reallu understand what all was going on, but it sounded like it was a good thing.
Russetfur shrugged. "Maybe. It just felt so real... I thought the kits were coming already. What if they do? Will they die?"
The gray and white tom sighed slightly. "If the kits had come today, they might have died. And they might have been fine. You're a bit further along than Flamesong was, and Falconkit, if small, is strong and healthy."
"And the other two are dead! Please, Runningnose, just stay behind from the Gathering." Russetfur pleaded.
The medicine cat replied exasperatedly, "I can't. I have to talk to the other medicine cats. Brokenstar didn't let us go to HighStones at the half moon, and I must speak with them. Thornkit has come down with something."
"Thornpaw." Russetfur corrected. "And it might be grief. You know that Blossompaw..." she trailed off.
Runningnose looked up, his yellow eyes brittle. Purposefully using their kit names, he said slowly, "The loss of Blossomkit hit Snowkit and Thornkit hard, yes, but grief doesn't make your wound infections get ten times worse in the space of a day. Grief doesn't make you cough so hard you bruise your back slamming into the den wall. He's really sick, and really small. He could die."
"Fine." Russetfur realized how selfish she looked now and ripped a small piece of moss from her nest into tiny pieces.
Runningnose looked her in the eyes. "Littlecloud will be near camp if anything goes wrong. I've told Shadestorm to send Frogkit to him if there's any trouble. I wish Yellowfang was here to help as well, but..."
Shadestorm cut in. "But she's a kit-killer and will never be welcome in ShadowClan."She growled through her teeth, glancing at Brightflower, who hadn't slept, eaten, or moved in days. She simply stared at the den wall. She had been like this since she walked into the medicine den to see Yellowfang standing over Mosspaw and Volepaw, covered in wounds, broken and dead. Runningnose flinched as he remembered the cry of agony that had sent him running to his den. Brokenstar, who had also apparently come to the den, banished the she-cat from ShadowClan.
"Your kits will come when they are ready. Relax." The tom assured Russetfur, padding out of the den. Before he got very far, Falconkit darted in front of him.
"Why did you ask Frogkit to fetch Littlecloud instead of me?" she demanded.
He sighed again. "The patrol to the Gathering is leaving in a moment, Falconkit. The reason I picked him is only because he's older and stronger."
"But I know Russetfur! She's practically my own mother, since my real mother forgets I exist every couple suns. And Frogkit's bigger and heavier. I could get him faster."
Runningnose met eyes with her and said sharply, "Look, I have to leave now! Face it, you are not as old as Frogkit, and you should consider that a blessing, since he'll be forced into apprenticeship any day now. So go sleep in the nursery like a good kit. It's almost moonhigh. You need your sleep, little one."
He turned to leave and the black and gray she-kit shouted after him, "I'm not little!" frustratedly. Her small tail whipped back and forth. "And I can do anything Frogkit can." she muttered as the Gathering patrol started to leave. An idea suddenly came to her, and she looked cautiously around. No other cats were in sight. And the cat on vigil was not at his post yet. It was the perfect opportunity. The tiny kit streaked after the Gathering patrol.
She kept a good distance from the patrol, but it wasnt particularly by choice. Except for Snowpaw, all the cats attending had legs three times the length of hers. Snowpaw, who was only three moons, was closer to her size, but she was still smaller.
She focused on keeping the white flag of Snowpaw's fluffy tail in sight. She tried to not be distracted by her new and unfamiliar surroundings, but the excitement that fluttered in her chest made her antsy and she often looked around only to see something that she would pause to smell or get a look at, if only for a fraction of a second. Several times she had to break out into a run to see the white tail again. AS they neared the Thunderpath, she worried that she would be hit by a monster when the patrol suddenly seemed to slip into the ground and disappear until she saw them re-emerge on the other side.
A tunnel! She galloped towards it, though her legs were already starting to ache and she was rather out of breath. She stumbled down into the tunnel as she found it. She could easily have stood on her hind legs in it, but a full-grown cat would have to crouch and almost crawl to get through it. She scented what must have been ThunderClan border markers and wrinkled her nose in distaste.
Trees started to surround her and she could no longer see Snowpaw's tail again. Feeling terribly claustrophobic, she rushed along the scent trail. At one point she got a bit turned around in all the trees and panicked, thinking she was completely lost and was bound to be discovered when she found the trail again. As soon as she was close enough to hear what was going on, she collapsed onto the leafy ground.
Exhausted, Falconkit hardly heard the other leaders talk until it was Brokenstar's turn. She heard him talk about Yellowfang, though he didn't mention her name. She tried to stand, to start back to ShadowClan territory, but her strength was mostly depleted from her journey there, and the last thing she wanted to do was go all the way back. She honestly didn't know if she could make it. A sudden rustling informed her that a cat was coming- fast. And by the scent, it wasn't going to be a friendly encounter. This was a ThunderClan cat with a slight fear-scent. Falconkit streaked up a small sapling tree nearby and watched a fiery ginger tom rush past, seeing that if she had not run, he would have crushed her.
She didn't dare climb down the tree as first ShadowClan, then the rest of ThunderClan passed underneath her. But her paws were aching from all her travel and her legs were numb from sitting so long, and just before she was in the clear, she slipped, her tiny claws letting her cling to the low branch. With only two or three ThunderClan scents in her scent range, Falconkit considered just letting go when something brushed her tail. She looked down to see that it was a tom's muzzle, and he was staring right at her. Her claw wrenching, she crashed to the ground, knocking the ThunderClan tom in the shoulder. He was a straggler, lagging behind the rest of his Clan.
"Ouch!" he said, more from surprise than actual injury. He sniffed at her. "ShadowClan?" he meowed in surprise.
Falconkit looked down, embarassed. "Yes."
"Hmmph." The brown-furred tom looked at her paw, which was lifted from the ground. "Don't tell me you're another ShadowClan "apprentice"? And what are you doing up a tree anyway? Your Clan's gone already."
"I-" she started. "I'm not an apprentice. I'm a kit. I followed my Clan here because I wanted to prove that I'm just as good as Frogkit, but now- "
He stopped her. "But now you realize what a mistake you've made and just want to go home." he finished. "I did stupid things as a kit too. What's your name?"
"Falconkit." she met his eyes for the first time.
"I'm Dustpaw. It looks like you've wrenched your claw, and I'm surprised you got all the way here at your size. Looks like you might have to spend the night in ThunderClan until a patrol can lead you back." He started to walk slowly in the direction the other ThunderClan cats went.
Standing suddenly, Falconkit objected, "No, I've got to go home. Thank you, though, Dustpaw. I know the way." She limped back towards the scent-trail towards the Thunderpath.
Before she could get too far, Dustpaw padded back up to her, catching up easily with her slow pace. "And they say ThunderClan cats are stubborn. Here, I'll take you to the Thunderpath, but you're on your own after that." He swung the tiny kit up onto his back and trotted towards the border.
A/N: I started Driver's Ed today, and I'm in for three weeks, so I am going to be busy for a while, especially with school starting after that, and the begining of debate season! Anyway, I was not aiming for a romantic thing between Dustpaw and Falconkit, in case you were wondering... Just showing that Dustpelt's not a jerk even in his apprenticeship, except to Firepaw, but he's stealing Sandpaw away, so I think Dustpaw's got good reason :/ Aaannnd I will actually be gone for seven hours tomorrow doing back-to-back lessons so I'm sorry, but the next chapter... Might take a while. Not that these haven't but I'm doing my best. :/
