Raining fire. That was what Splashkit had been dreaming of. Fire fell from the sky, searing the earth and making it break. Ice shards piercing life, life falling. A deep, low voice, that Splashkit had never heard of, whispering to her. "Destruction comes with Wind lost. Reunite to find peace. Or fail to see the light of day." The voice had subsided gravely. "Noo!" Splashkit woke to find herself meowing hoarsely and to see icy blue eyes staring at her in the darkness.
"You were meowing in your sleep." The voice coming from the icy blue eyes meowed gruffly. "And keeping us all up."
"Sorry." Splashkit glanced away from the eyes, which made her feel cold.
"Sorry doesn't help sleep. Now be quiet for we are trying to sleep." The kit growled. Splashkit felt relieved when the eyes turned away from her. But she felt hurt too. The cat's tone had left a sharp twinge.
"Don't worry." A quiet voice mewed, filled with warmth. "He was abandoned here, in the forest, when he was only a half-moon old. But don't ask him about it, he gets prickly."
"Even pricklier than he was now?" Splashkit smiled, staring into the darkness, waiting for a response.
The voice purred, filled with laughter. "Just you wait until you get on his bad side."
"What do you mean?" Splashkit asked sharply, biting her tongue and holding back a hiss.
"Every cat gets on his bad side somehow. He's just an old, cranky tom." The voice purred shakily.
"Are you calling me cranky?" The icy blue eyes had appeared again, this time filled with coldness and hatred.
"Like that." The voice mewed to Splashkit under his breath. "I'm sorry Winterkit."
"Why won't you she-cats and toms let me sleep?" Winterkit cursed, then the icy blue eyes slowly faded into the darkness.
"Why is it so dark?" Splashkit accidentally wondered aloud.
"Dark?" The voice mewed back, clearly puzzled.
"I mean, I can't see anything except Winterkit's eyes when he comes near." Splashkit meowed, hoping to clear some things up.
"Oh! I know what you mean now! You don't have mist to cover your eyes and mist helps to see in the darkness of this forest! So, you can't see but I can."
"Okay." Splashkit mewed, silently smiling. Oh, but I can. She thought playfully. That triggered a memory. No, even worse, a flashback.
The lone kit stood before Silverstar after the terrible deed was done. "How long do you think it shall be until the clan notices Darkgaze and his absence?" She asked.
"Oh, not long my kit." Silverstar was speaking metaphorically, of course. "Tigerpaw will come back from her herb collecting soon. And then she shall see it."
"We should move my siblings. And Darkgaze so his presence does not interfere with our clan." The little she-kit mewed sensibly.
"Yes. I very much agree. Where would you like your siblings to be buried?" Silverstar asked the kit.
"We should deal with Darkgaze first as the nursery is empty." The she-kit argued.
"Where would you suppose we move it?" Silverstar mewed, her tailtip flicking back and forth.
"Where else of course? The valley of stones." The she-kit meowed.
"Oh, yes. No cat would ever dare to see that Darkgaze had been murdered for they would surely die as well." Silverstar agreed.
"Yes, exactly my point." The kit mewed absently. 'Sometimes the wrong is the right.' She remembered Icekit meowing.
"The valley of stones calls for death. We will please it today." Silverstar murmured. But the kit did not hear. She was dreaming of the days before they were gone. The kit ran out into the pouring rain and let the elements swirl around her and engulf her once more.
"Life is death. And death is life." The kit meowed before she was gone and the elements had welcomed her into their love.
Splashkit awoke to a cat shaking her. "It's nearly time for the dawn patrol! Come on or we'll miss them!" The voice meowed when she opened her eyes.
"No, you are not going outside in this rain. You'll catch a chill!" A silver and black she-cat with light blue eyes and sky-blue mist that Splashkit had not met yet, protested.
"I'll be fine mom!" The tom argued. "Oh, and hey, my name's Strongkit." He added to Splashkit a few seconds later.
"Don't stay out for long!" The she-cat called as Strongkit ran out into the rain.
Wetkit ran up besides Splashkit. "Want to go out in the rain with me?" Splashkit asked the tom kindly.
"Okay." Wetkit nodded. Splashkit thought she had heard his voice somewhere in the darkness. Then she remembered, it was Wetkit's voice last night!
"Was it you who was talking to me last night?" Splashkit asked.
"About Winterkit?" Wetkit inquired.
"Yeah." Splashkit nodded.
"Yep, I was." Wetkit affirmed.
"Nice to know. And I do think that he's a cranky old tom." Splashkit purred.
"He is." Wetkit meowed. "So when are we going outside?"
"What about now?" Splashkit smiled, pulling Wetkit into the rain with her.
"Seems alright to me!" Wetkit grinned, his fur already drenched. Splashkit laughed and decided to show Wetkit something. Waterkit, can you let the rain lessen up above us but not all the way? Splashkit asked her sister.
"Woah, the rain lessened up! Strange but cool!" Wetkit stared in awe as no other spots had the rain lessen up.
Splashkit thanked her sister quietly. "I have a question." Splashkit mewed.
"What is it?" Wetkit asked, still staring in awe at the sky.
"Does your mist shield you from rain?" Splashkit wondered.
Wetkit blushed. "Not mine. My mist doesn't stop rain but everyone else's does." Wetkit looked down, embarrassed.
"That's okay Wetkit." Splashkit mewed, calling some of the mist from the woods to surround them by accident.
"How can you do that? And why does your mist look like Dapplestar's?" Wetkit asked. Splashkit glanced down. Her mist was silver.
"Can you keep a secret?" She asked.
"Yes, I can." Wetkit meowed. Splashkit knew she had to tell Wetkit everything.
"Follow me." Splashkit meowed, running towards the woods, where she had met Dapplestar.
A cat stood in a ball of mist. "I've located her." He reported to his master. The voice drifted, wavering, back to the two kits.
"Who could that be? What can from camp would..." Wetkit began but Splashkit cut him off.
"Shh!" She warned.
"Yes Sneakstar. She is alone except a kit which I can quickly dispose of." The voice flinched and the kits could see it as they had crept up silently. "No, they cannot hear me, I think." The cat jumped. "Oh, yes master. I'll come back at once." The cat faded from view.
"So that definitely wasn't a MistClan cat, or any other Clan for that matter." Wetkit meowed.
"Yes, it wasn't. It was a LostClan cat." Wetkit stared at Splashkit with wonder. There was more to that she-cat than it seemed. He thought.
"Which one?" Wetkit asked.
"Darkgaze."
Splashkit told Wetkit her whole story after they had seen the LostClan cat. But afterwards she had a flashback.
"I must go bring back my siblings." The lone she-kit declared bravely.
"No, you will not!" Silverstar argued, meowing firmly. It would be easier if she would listen. The kit thought. Because the she-kit was going with or without Silverstar's permission. Though the kit would prefer if she had Silverstar's permission.
"You do know I shall go with or without your permission?" The she-kit asked.
"But Darkgaze! What if you were to encounter him again? You might be traumatized!" Silverstar fretted.
"No I won't. I'll rip out his throat." The lone kit growled.
I was wrong. Splashkit thought, regretting the meeting with Darkgaze. She didn't open her eyes just yet.
"Yeah, she fell asleep right after we saw the LostClan cat!" Wetkit's voice sounded concerned.
"Are you sure it was a LostClan cat?" The sweet voice of Dapplestar fretted.
"Yeah! It was talking to Sneakstar through a mist message! I heard it myself!" Wetkit affirmed.
"Oh no. Sneakstar?" Dapplestar meowed, hestitating from the pause between the first sentence and the last. "Are you sure the cat said Sneakstar?"
"Yeah. I'd give you a million mousetails if I'm wrong." Wetkit said seriously.
"Dapplestar. We have dire news." The grave voice of Streampool, meowed.
"Even more dire than the news of a LostClan cat in the woods, connected to Sneakstar?" Dapplestar replied.
"Perhaps so. But perhaps not. There is a prophecy." Streampool paused. "
The darkness is coming,
For the cats of the evil will rise,
In the dark of the night they will strike and tear the Clans down.
The chosen few,
The Turtle, Silvery glow, Rain, Fallen, Streak, Splash, Moon, Elder, Black, and Silver
will stand up against the upcoming darkness.
But beware,
Even the strongest oak will bend in the wind and
the oldest rock can crack.
The chosen will be tested in every way,
body, mind and spirit.
If these few can survive these test then the power of a thousand moons will be in their paws.
But beware,
The darkness is sly,
like mist it will slip right through your paws.
Beware, Beware..." Streampool finished. Splashkit felt stares bore into her pelt. She knew they all thought she was a cat in the prophecy. Splashkit held in a sigh. She was not who they thought she was. She had to bring back her siblings and only Wetkit and Silverstar knew that.
"D-d-do you think Splashkit..." Dapplestar trailed off. "And the attacks..."
"Yes." Streampool agreed. "I thought of that too."
"So I saved..."
"Yes, you did." Streampool finished for Dapplestar. It seemed they had forgotten Wetkit was there. Splashkit knew he was still there because she didn't hear his paws pad away out of the medicine cat den. Finally, Splashkit let her eyes flutter open. She yawned convincingly, sitting up to look at the others. Behind Dapplestar and Streampool, Wetkit rolled his eyes. He seemed to know that Splashkit had been listening.
"Hello Splashkit. Good to see that you are awake." Streampool meowed. Dapplestar gazed at Splashkit warmly, her mist curling around Splashkit.
"What happened while I was asleep?" Splashkit asked, her tail twitching, letting Wetkit know that she knew that he thought that Splashkit had listened and confirming it.
"A lot." Wetkit mewed.
"Well, that's filling." Splashkit meowed, rolling her eyes.
"You fell asleep in the misty forest." Dapplestar meowed, her eyes soft yet sharp at the same time. "Why were you in the mist forest?"
"I wanted to show Wetkit where you had saved me. I'm sorry Dapplestar." Splashkit drooped her tail.
"I'm sure you did but I was worried about you Splashkit. Don't do that again or there'll be consequences I'm afraid." Dapplestar's tail twitched.
"If you are feeling alright, you can go play." Streampool meowed, dismissing Wetkit and Splashkit.
"I think I will. And I'm sorry again Dapplestar." Splashkit bowed her head respectfully, and raced towards the medicine cat den entrance with Wetkit. She caught Winterkit sneering and she stuck her tail up and walked out pridefully.
Wetkit smiled beside her. "You show him." He whispered.
Ivykit's little black body ran towards them. "Did you get in trouble?" She asked.
"Yeah, we did. But we got a warning." Splashkit meowed. She saw Witerkit glare from across the clearing. Wetkit's smile turned into a grin. Ivykit smiled too, her body shaking as if she was laughing. Splashkit turned towards Winterkit, feeling bold. "Is there a problem Winterkit?" She asked innocently. Witerkit glared one more time and stalked off.
"Wow." Ivykit breathed.
"Awesome!" Wetkit praised.
"All in a day's work." Splashkit grinned.
"Look!" Ivykit meowed, pointing with her tail towards a large rock. "Dapplestar's going to call a meeting. Let's go!" Splashkit and Wetkit ran after Ivykit towards the Rock.
""Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Rock for a Clan meeting!" Dapplestar called, her voice echoing across the clearing. The cats that Splashkit had met already, Lionshade, Frogpaw, Deerpaw, Hazelstream, Starmist, Brindlewing, Ashflower, Minnowshine, Dewkit, Emberkit, and many more cats that Splashkit had not met, came pouring out of the dens.
"I wonder why Dapplestar's calling a meeting." Ivykit whispered. Wetkit and Splashkit exchanged a glance, maybe it was about the prophecy?
"A prophecy and a battle is on the horizon. We need new apprentices and those who are ready and some of those who their own time is approaching. Winterkit, Strongkit, Splashkit, Wetkit, Ivykit, Dewkit, and Emberkit, please gather on the Rock." Dapplestar meowed. Ivykit, Splashkit, and Wetkit exchanged an excited glance. All of the kits walked dignified up to the cleft of the Rock.
"Willowmist, Russetcloud, Thornflame, Darkmist, Ashflower, and Minnowshine, please come to the Rock." Dapplestar continued. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Ivypaw. Ashflower, you have been loyal to your Clan throughout hard times. May you pass down all you know to this your apprentice." Ivypaw and Ashflower touched noses and walked off the Rock together. Dapplestar turned to Wetkit. "From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Wetpaw. Willowmist, you are quick to help and very loyal to your Clan. May you pass down all you know to this your apprentice." The rest was a blur to Splashkit. Dewpaw got Russetcloud, Strongpaw had Thornflame, Emberpaw got Minnowshine and Winterpaw had Darkmist. Splashkit had heard Darkmist was a cold tom and she smiled as Winterpaw got what he deserved. But who would be her mentor? Splashkit wondered. Dapplestar turned to Splashkit. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Splashpaw. I am wanting an apprentice and I have chosen Splashpaw. May I pass down all I know to my apprentice." Splashpaw gaped in awe and barely had time to touch noses with Dapplestar before the rest of the Clan began cheering the new apprentice's names.
"Ivypaw! Wetpaw! Dewpaw! Strongpaw! Emberpaw! Winterpaw! Splashpaw! Ivypaw! Wetpaw! Dewpaw! Strongpaw! Emberpaw! Winterpaw! Splashpaw!" The Clan cheered. Splashpaw and Dapplestar padded down into the throng of cats and Splashpaw bounded over to her friends, Wetpaw and Ivypaw.
"Wow! That is a great honor Splashpaw!" Ivypaw meowed.
Wetpaw nodded. "Thank goodness we didn't get Darkmist. I hear he has a cruel sense of humor."
"Well, he deserves it but unfortunately, I think it suits Winterpaw and Darkmist both. Because Winterpaw's as cold as ice." Splashpaw meowed.
"True." Both of Splashpaw's friends nodded.
"Hmm, do you want to explore the territory together?" Splashpaw asked, the idea suddenly coming to mind.
"Sure! That'd be great Splashpaw!" Wetpaw nodded vigorously.
"Let's go ask our mentors!" Ivypaw suggested. Splashpaw, Wetpaw, And Ivypaw split apart, each roaming for their mentors.
"Dapplestar! Dapplestar!" Splashpaw called, finally spotting her leader and new mentor in the crowd of cats.
"My dear!" Dapplestar replied, running to her side. "I couldn't find you in my own Clan!" Dapplestar sounded distressed, then flourished her paw in an overly dramatic manner. "Well, enough with the drama. Yes, Splashpaw?"
"Can we go explore the territory with Wetpaw and Ivypaw?"
"Yes, we may!" Dapplestar answered, with Splashpaw racing to find her friends. They were assembled with their mentors in the middle of the clearing.
"So can we go guys? Dapplestar said yes!" Splashpaw grinned.
Wetpaw nodded. "It's okay with Willowmist!"
"Ashflower's awesome!" Ivypaw smiled. Splashpaw took that as a 'yes'.
"Now let's go! Dapplestar's here!" Splashpaw jumped up and down eagerly. Dapplestar winked and the cats continued on their way into the misty forest.
After Splashpaw had explored the forest and seen everything there was to see, she was exhausted. There was Wolf's Trek, Seven Moon Gathering Trail, Medicine Cat Meeting Trail, more trails, and more! She collapsed in a nest made by another apprentice, Splashpaw assumed, beside Wetpaw and Ivypaw. "Omph!" Splashpaw meowed.
"What?" Ivypaw asked, lifting her head from the moss.
"That was an exhausting day." Splashpaw meowed, now lifting her head.
"That's a lot for one omph." Wetpaw mewed, turning over to face Splashpaw.
"Well, it was!" Splashpaw defended herself.
"I suppose so." Ivypaw smiled, then yawned.
"G'night." Wetpaw meowed, curling up in his nest.
"Sleep tight!" Ivypaw added, drawing her tail in near her body.
"Don't let the mossbugs bite!" Splashpaw laughed, absently pulling in mist to warm herself.
"That's quite alright but be quiet!" Winterpaw grumbled. Splashpaw stuck her tongue out at him and then smiled. Life was good. She almost even forgot about her siblings and how she was going to bring them back. No worries haunted Splashpaw as she slept, not one. Only thoughts of her friends and Dapplestar, the best cats in the world.
Black-kit and their friends stared aghast at the FeatherClan warrior. "Fish?" Quick-kit asked timidly, and quietly, only managing one word before he throat clenched up again like the other's had.
"So, now RobinClan's making kits apprentices?" The FeatherClan warrior accused, then shook his head. "And they were just marching up to ShineClan territory, moaning about a petty little warrior they lost. If you ask me, that cat is not something to start a war over." The tom chuckled.
Black-kit was outraged at the disrespect coming from the cat about a dead warrior. "Who are you to say something?" She hissed. "You didn't know him, after all, you don't live with him!"
"But then who are you to say something about the warrior? You're just a kit." The tom sneered.
"Just a kit?" Black-kit hissed. "I'll show you what just a kit is. And you'll regret it too."
"Empty threats. Look at me, and look at you. Notice a difference?"
"No." Black-kit began.
"Oh, so now they're making blind kits apprentices? Wow, they must be desperate."
"Except you're a pile of fox-dung. And why are you talking about my Clan in a sense that they aren't here?" Back-kit demanded. Without, waiting for a reply, she went on. "Because we are, living and right in front of your face. Or are you blind?"
"Of course, I'm not kit. How else could I do this?" The tom swiped at Quick-kit and hit her across the face.
Black-kit grit her teeth. Enraged, she called to her friends. "ATTACK!" She screeched with fury, launching herself at the tom.
"Oh, is that all you've got?" The tom taunted, as Black-kit scored her claws across his flank. The tom whipped around, knocking Black-kit, winded, to the ground. "FeatherClan may not be as fast as ShineClan but they sure are better!" Reedkit was creeping up on the tom from behind as the tom taunted Black-kit. Reedkit unsheathed his claws and threw himself onto the tom's back in a frenzy. Black-kit recovered her breath and was attacking the tom once again.
"You're breaking the code, you know." Black-kit smiled grimly. "What if one of your little buddies comes along and spots you? It won't be so pretty then you know." Black-kit was actually thanking her moons of teasing because she was now making the tom nervous.
"Oh, could that be Quick-kit over there?" The tom guessed. "Did you know, your little father is dead?" The clearing grew silent quiet enough that a mousetail could be heard if it was dropped.
"You liar!" Black-kit yowled, restarting the energy and breaking the silence in the clearing. The kits grew tired soon and they all resorted to Riverkit for a plan.
"We can't let him win. I say we push him back into his own territory with a few marks to remember us by." Riverkit smiled slyly.
"Sounds like a good plan." Black-kit growled. Reedkit nodded, his eyes showing the flame that sparked in both him and Black-kit. Dapplekit was encouraging Quick-kit and Littlekit was standing alone, pawing at the ground.
"Retreat!" Black-kit screeched, smiling as the tom turned away, smug. They all flew silently over the ground, racing towards the tom. Black-kit made it first and leaped onto the tom's back. "You didn't really think I would give up, did you?" Black-kit breathed into the tom's ear, then scored her claws along his ear, making a small rip in it. Black-kit bit at the tom's ear and waited until the tom screeched with pain before letting it go. "That's for Quick-kit." She murmured, crashing off into the grass as the tom sprinted away. Black swam in and out of her vision, making her feel slightly dizzy.
Reedkit's voice was meowing in her ear. "C'mon Black-kit, get up." He lowered his voice. "Please Blackie?" Black-kit slowly smiled while her vision faded to black. It was supposed to be great disrespect for a cat's name to be shortened like that but Black-kit only felt warmth radiating through her body before her body fell limp among the grass.
An: What are your thoughts? Is Black-kit dead? Please review!