Applekit bounced around the den happily. Most of the cats in the nursery were fast asleep, but Flowerbreeze had just blinked open her eyes. "Mommy! Mommy mommy mommy! When do we get to go to IceClan! Are you going to be deputy? When you're leader, can I be your deputy? Please please please! I won't pounce on Falconkit's tail for a moon! Please can I be your deputy!" She barreled into Flowerbreeze and looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Oh, Applekit. I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. I can't be made deputy if I'm too busy taking care of you two!" Applekit paused for a moment, puzzled. Then her eyes cleared and she squeaked, "Then you can make us apprentices early!" She jumped at Flowerbreeze's belly and clawed her way up until she was perched on her mother's head. "This is gonna be great! We'll be made warriors before Foxkit and Swiftkit and-" she broke off. "They're not in our Clan, are they? Sparrowleap and her kits?" Flowerbreeze sighed. "No, dear. They're in StoneClan."
Applekit frowned, front paws pushing down toward the blue queen's nose. "Oh. Well who is going to be in our Clan?" Flowerbreeze flicked her tail at Shadowpetal's sleeping form. "Shadowpetal and Tigerkit." The young kit wailed. "Only them? But Tigerkit's too young to play! I'll be stuck with just Falconkit for two whole moons before we're apprenticed!" The queen let out a strained chuckle. "Well, Tigerkit will be big enough to play in a moon, and maybe the apprentices can teach you some tricks." Forgetting all about the lack of denmates, Applekit sat down, still on Flowerbreeze's head. She tilted her head down, neck stretched, until she was looking, upside-down, into her mother's eyes. "Really? Can they teach me how to hunt and fight and stuff? Which apprentices did we get?" Flowerbreeze lifted her head, making Applekit slide backward to nestle between her shoulder blades. "Well, we have Sorrelpaw, and Pepperpaw, and Snakepaw-" Applekit cut her off with a groan. "Not Snakepaw!" She frowned and glared at the floor. "Snakepaw makes fun of my fur." Hurt flashed in Applekit's eyes, and Flowerbreeze nuzzled her gently. "Snakepaw," she said, "is a mouse-brain, because you have the most beautiful fur I have ever seen. Far prettier than Snakepaw's!" Applekit, looking doubtful, asked softly, "You think so?" She shook her head. "No," Flowerbreeze corrected, "I know so."
Poppystripe poked her head in the den. "Hi, Flowerbreeze! Aurorastar told me to come and wake up all the queens and kits. There's going to be a thunderstorm in a few days, (Snowflight felt the static, and StarClan knows she's never wrong about the weather) and Aurorastar wants us all to make the move as soon as possible, since the gorge can flood. It could be very dangerous, so we're going to our camps early! Tell everyone else, will you?" The daylight-warrior disappeared, and Flowerbreeze looked troubled. "Okay, Applekit. I need you to help me. I need you to wake up all the queens, but not the kits. Like it's a secret mission! If the kits wake up, the rats will come. Be very careful!" she whispered to Applekit, and the she-kit nodded excitedly.
Applekit leaped down off of her mother's back and walked slowly toward Brightflame, setting each paw down carefully, not making a noise. She didn't have her kits yet, so it was easy to get close. She flicked her small tail across her mouth and poked her with a paw. "Brightflame!" she whispered, and the queen's eyes snapped open. "Flowerbreeze told me to wake you up, but don't wake up the kits or the rats will get us! We have to go to our camps!" she jumped off, landing a little too hard and wincing, looking around with one eye shut, hoping she didn't wake any kit. When she hadn't, Applekit breathed a quiet sigh of relief, and moved to wake up Meadowthicket, carefully stepping over Brindlekit.
She went around the den and woke all the queens and none of the kits, and she came back to Flowerbreeze with her tail held high. "I did it!" Flowerbreeze brought her close with her tail and smiled. "You did well." Flowerbreeze looked out at the queen's anxious, questioning eyes. "Aurorastar has decided to move us to the new camps early, as there will be a thunderstorm in a few days; Snowflight felt it in the air. Since we'll take a while with our ktis, they want us to start going now. Some warriors will come with us to protect the kits. Let's go and take our kits out, okay?" Applekit sensed that a few of the queens didn't like being ordered around by a fellow queen, younger than most of them, but what else could Flowerbreeze do? Applekit prodded her sister awake. "Falconkit. Wake up, you lazy mouse. Come on, we're going to IceClan!" That woke up her sister right quickly.
"You're yanking my tail." Applekit shook her head impatiently, then bounded off to join Flowerbreeze, who stood by Shadowpetal. The black she-cat nudged her son awake, and Falconkit joined them. All the kits and queens left the den except for those that would remain in SkyClan. Applekit waved her tail in farewell to Shadekit and Silverkit, who she used to play with. But they were fast asleep.
Swiftkit came and sat next to Applekit, saying sadly, "We aren't going to be denmates anymore." Remembering, she licked her friend's shoulder. "No. But when we're apprentices, we can play at the Gatherings!" she said hopefully. As Swiftkit opened his mouth, smiling, to reply, Snakepaw interrupted. "Little Applekit's got a mate! Ha ha! But any real cat knows that apprentices don't play at Gatherings. That's kit-stuff." Swiftkit narrowed his eyes, tail lashing. "Shut up, Snakepaw!" Applekit just looked down at her paws. The apprentice sneered at Swiftkit. "Make me, kit!" Swiftkit stood up, his head only coming to Snakepaw's chin. He glared into the other tom's eyes. "I will!" Sparrowleap heard what was going on and snapped at Snakepaw, "That's quite enough! Go and be mean with some apprentices, Snakepaw. Leave these kits alone." He stuck his tongue out at the queen but left, regardless.
Swiftkit pressed his white fur into Applekit's. "Snakepaw's just a bully. Don't let him get to you." Applekit sighed. "I know. His words cut deep though. I do wish we were in the same Clan." Eagleheart, Adderclaw, and Ravenwing were starting to lead the nursery cats their seperate ways. Swiftkit looked into her eyes urgently. "As soon as we're apprentices. At the Gathering." Flowerbreeze called for Applekit as she confirmed, "The Gathering. " she hesitated, touched her nose to his, and whispered, "Miss you." She turned and ran to catch up with her mother and sister. Glancing back, she saw Swiftkit looking after her, pain in his eyes.
They walked a long time through the forest, along the river. Applekit's paws were ready to drop off, and she longed for sleep. She was hungry, but her belly churned as she remembered the look in Swifkit's eyes when they parted, a look Applekit knew she had mirrored. Swiftkit was her best friend! And now they were in different Clans. She felt like wailing aloud, but she kept her mouth tight shut. Even tiny Tigerkit wasn't complaining too much, and she wasn't about to break down before Falconkit did.
Finally, Eagleheart, in the lead, drew to a stop. As the cats in front sat down, she could see why. They had undoubtedly reached the camp; Here the river came to a small stream in a deep trench; the greenleaf heat had evaporated it, but even in newleaf, this little section of river wouldn't flood. It curved to one side, making a semi-circle that formed a circle-like shape with the clearing on the other side of where the river normally was, with a border of soaring pines, with low-growing branches to shield them from the rain. The circle was like a very small valley between to very small mountains, dipping downon the river-side and sliding up on the tree-side. There were shelves of rock that would make it easy to climb up towards the trees, but treacherous to slide down.
Eagleheart stood at the crest of the hill and began to speak. "I do not know where the permanent dens will be, but I would like you all to aid in building a temporary den under the shelf of rock here." He waved his tail at the base of the steep incline, where there was a small cave. Applekit looked doubtfully at the small entrance. "I am going back to SkyClan to fetch the apprentices and elders. If there is any danger, yowl, as we may be in the area." With that, the big golden tabby disappeared back into the woods. Flowerbreeze looked at her kits. "Kits, why don't you wait up here and play with Tigerkit and Shadowpetal. I'll go down and help he warriors." Falconkit shrugged and turned to join the black queen, but Applekit argued, "Mother, can't I help? I don't want to hang out with Falconkit.. I promise I'll work and do my best. Like an apprentice!" she pleaded with innocent amber eyes. Flowerbreeze rolled her eyes but nodded. "Come on then. I'll carry you on my back."Applekit shook her head. "I can walk."
So the two blue she-cats made their way down the hill (on the far side, where it was safer) and were greeted by Hazelfur, Applekit's father. He smiled at Flowerbreeze and gave Applekit a playful nudge. "Where's Falconkit?" Applekit pointed with her tail. "Sleeping." He nodded, then whipped his head around when Sedgeleap called, "Hazelfur! Bring that kit of yours along and come here." Looking rather bewildered, Hazelfur trotted toward him, beckoning Applekit with his tail.
Sedgeleap, Snakepaw's mentor stared into Applekit's eyes, and she resisted the urge to shrink away. "This hole leads to a bigger cave, we can feel that much if we stick our heads in. But there's brambles and thistles in there that make it impossible for a full-grown cat to get through. There is a small space that maybe a kit could fit through, and sweep out the brambles in our way." Hazelfur stepped forward angrily. "Are you asking my four-moons-old daughter to crawl into a dark cave that might collapse at any moment, get her fur torn to ribbons by the brambles, and risk being eaten by StarClan-knows-what that might live in there? Well, are you?" he said when Sedgeleap didn't respond right away. "Yes." The white tom replied, and before her father could chew him out again, Applekit broke in. "I'll be fine! We need to clear out the den, and if only a kit can do it, why shouldn't it be me? Besides, we would have heard it if there was any creature in there." she glared at him, then headed straight for the cave without another word and walked in, ducking her head.
Inside, the cave was a deep black, except for where she stood, her small form casting a shadow that looked much bigger than she actually was. It was cool and Sedgeleap was right- there was only a tiny tunnel that would be a squeeze even for her to get through the wall of brambles. She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. She walked forward and hooked her claws around a tendril of bramble and yanked it toward herself. It loosened from the pile and she gripped it in her teeth, pulling it to the entrance, where a slender golden paw reached in and took it from her; Goldwhisper, Eagleheart's sister. Now that she had enlargened the tunnel a bit, she cautiously squeezed into it, fluffing her fur up against the thorns.
It was silent as her paws took her along the tunnel, probably made by a curious mouse not too long ago. The cave seemed to stretch back into the rock for at least two and a half fox-lengths, though at the very back, it wasn't tall enough for a full-grown cat to stand. She had no idea about the width of the cave, since the brambles covered the sides. Shivering, she started backing up tunnel, ripping at the thistles as she went, making the tunnel larger. She shoved more brambles toward the entrance, getting scratched by the thorns. Different paws snatched away the vines; a white one with a black spot, a small silver one, a dark brown tabby one, and one she knew to be Flowerbreeze's. Finally, panting, she had created space enough for one of the warriors to take over. Then she remembered that she still had to fix the back of the tunnel. Gulping for air, she ran down the tunnel again, until it tapered to be kit-size again.
She was stuffing brambles to either side when she heard a slight squeaking further along the tunnel. Pricking her ears, she followed the noise. It led her to a very hidden back mini-cave that was hard to find, and no cat bigger than an apprentice would fit. In it was a nest of moss, containing two scrawny baby voles. They had just started to grow a little bit of brown fur, but their eyes were sealed shut and their ears lay flat against their heads. Pity welled in Applekit. Their mother must have fled when she heard the cats coming, with no way to take her babies. That could be me and Falconkit... Motherless, and no way to defend ourselves from predators... With that thought, Applekit made up her mind. She sniffed them, and was saddened to discover that one was already dead. The other lay crying, and vole StarClan wouldn't be far off. She scooped up the living vole into her jaws, careful not to hurt it with her teeth. She had her jaws parted so it could breath.
The vole lay cold against her tongue, trembling as the warmth from her mouth seeped into it. Scenting, she found that the mother vole had left through the tunnel, with a different scent mingling with it; possibly she was carrying a third baby? She made her way back toward the entrance, trying to walk quickly and evenly so as not to jar the baby vole. She neared the entrance and turned her head around to deposit the vole on her back. "I've made the tunnel big enough for a warrior! Can I come out now?" Sedgeleap's voice answered. "Yes. You've done excellently, Applekit. Come on out." Bracing herself, she got the vole back in her mouth and exited the den, closing her jaws enough to hide the vole from view.
Flowerbreeze herded her away from the cave as Goldwhisper clambered in. Meeting her mother's gaze, she lowered her head and murmured with difficulty, "Sleepy." Flowerbreeze nodded. "Go on up and sleep. Find Shadowpetal. I'll be there soon." This was what Applekit had been hoping for. The mother vole's scent trail was easy enough to pick up, and she took a slightly different route up the hill than that which she had first come down. She sensed the baby vole getting weaker, and stepped up the pace until she was racing through the woods, muzzle as close to the ground as she dared with her jaws parted. Finally, the scent trail grew strong enough to where the mother vole mus be close. Applekit could only hope it was the right vole. There was a flash of brown at the base of a tree, and she saw the mother vole, quivering at the mouth of a hole by a root of the tree. Applekit opened her mouth as wide as she could, letting the mother vole see her baby there. The kit lowered herself to the ground, very slowly, and tilted her head ever so slightly. The baby vole slid out of her mouth at a snail's pace. Once it was clear of her mouth, Applekit rose, still slow, and backed away.
After a few moments, she was overjoyed to see the mother vole run forward, pick up its baby by the scruff, and run back down into its hole. Applekit shook her head and nibbled on some grass to get the taste of baby vole fur out of her mouth. Exhausted, she sat down for a brief rest, and closed her eyes. Her tail was curled with pride. With any luck, the vole would live. She wondered if a fox would have done the same for a dying kit, and she couldn't answer the question. A sudden noise distracted her, and she blinked open her eyes. A good ten foxlengths away stood Eagleheart, looking at her curiously.
Just how much had her future Clan leader seen, Applekit wondered.
A/N: Thanks Spiritflare and Deathfeatherslastingwords for reviewing! This chapter was a little bizarre. But don't worry, I have things planned in the ways of love for miss Applekit. Again, reviews are Always appreciated.