Havenspirit's Heart - Chapter Four
Chapter Date: 02/02/17
A.N: Hey guys! From now on, I'm going to put the review section here, but all of the others will still be downstairs, after the story. Here, it's easier for me to talk, and also for you guys to see what you've reviewed in the previous chapters.
Enough of this. I've decided that this project will have to reach at least 20K words or above in order for me to feel that it is going to be successful. I might have to re-write the first few chapters, but it will be for the better. I've also decided that each chapter must have at least 1.5K words. I just hope it's not too much for you guys.
Well? What are we waiting for?
Onto the story!
Review Corner~
Shadowdapple of ThunderClan - Sure! Character development coming your way! There are so many cats to pester others. Heh.
Silverstream000 - Thanks! You'll enjoy this chapter then.
FuturisticVampire - Thank you! When is your book going to update?!
Frothing black water churned around a small body, a scrap of fur no larger than a half-grown rabbit, tossing it under and over its waves. The lump of fur was struggling slightly, it's actions becoming subdued due to the lack of air and will.
Struggling was futile. The scrap of fur realised.
Upon this realisation, the white and grey scrap took one last breath and looked into the darkness, before feeling the sensation of paws pulling her fur deeper into the water. They hooked themselves onto her and latched their claws into the knots of her fur and dragged her. Deeper. Darker. Into the abyss of water.
Eyes dulling and breath releasing, there was nothing she could do before she sank into her watery gave except watch in vain as shadowy cats crowded her vision.
"AURGH!" Havenkit's head shot up in fear, and her blue eyes were wide with shock. She sat there in the position for a few seconds, ignoring everything except the fast breaths coming from her, and how her flanks heaved with the effort of breathing.
Relaxing when the danger of shock passed, the kit sat there, propped up by her front paws, her blue eyes still wide. Gradually, her breaths slowed, and her flank didn't tremble as hard as it had, moments before. Flattening her ears, she closed her eyes again, desperate to drown out the dream-sounds of the rushing water. Black, frothing water still inhibited her mind, and she wanted to wail out of desperation. Please, no! Not this again.
Her dream, totally ignorant to her pleas, continued to surround her thoughts, instead, escalating, and trapping her, the shadowy cats from her dream crowding to come and get her. In the middle of it all, the white and grey scrap of fur wailed internally, horrified at the thought of being trapped in her subconscious. No! No! Don't trap me again! Desperate to get out, yowled as loud as she could, and her eyes flew open, taking in the shadow-filled area of what Snowheart called - the 'Nursery'.
Shaking, and stumbling to her feet, the grey and white kit shakily ran through the 'Nursery', ignoring the strange calls from behind her. Vision tunnelling, she ran towards the bright light of the world outside, and burst into the clearing, standing there stunned briefly, before coming to her senses of where she was, recognising some landmarks in the distance.
Squinting, she spotted what seemed to be a black cat's pelt. A familiar one. Now armed with the intention to race to Snowheart, Havenkit was oblivious to the fact that other cats were in the camp.
"Hey!" A small voice squeaked as she barrelled over them, not watching where she was going.
Stumbling from the impact, Havenkit rolled her back, doing a 360 turn before landing on her back, scrabbling at the air in vain to try and get up. Her throat tightened as she lay there, stunned, and wondered who she had bumped into in her hurry to find Snowheart. She didn't get up as smaller figures approached her, their shadowed faces blocking out the sunlight that was streaming into the camp. The first figure's shadowed face tipped to one side, as if it was thinking about something. Beside it, two other figures, their faces being blocked by shadows, turned to each other, as if conversing telepathically.
"Don-n't kil-ll me, p-please." Havenkit whimpered, her eyes round with worry and fear, as her mind was whirled back to her dream, remembering the shadowy figures of the cats that hovered over her as she lay in the water. She watched, in horror, as the first figure's jaws opened, and exposing a dark hole, strangely reminding Havenkit of a tunnel, while the other two shadows reached out to her, paws about to hook her pelt, and drag her down with them. Bracing herself for death, Havenkit screwed her eyes shut, and waited for the world to die around her.
"Hey!" A kit-like voice squeaked, and a paw nudged her in the side. Havenkit didn't respond, still closing her eyes tightly and trembling slightly. Another voice piped up from what seemed like next to the voice.
"Mellowkit," This time, it was a she-cat's voice, also sounding kit-like to her ears. The voice was soft, and Havenkit recognised the shyness behind it. "Mellowkit, I-I don't think we should disturb her." It trembled slightly, but the first voice sounded like it didn't care.
"Don't be a mouse-brain, Dawnkit!" The newly dubbed voice of Mellowkit rang through her ears. "It's only another kit!" Another paw prodded Havenkit in the side, and Havenkit jerked slightly, flinching from the touch.
"She moved!" Another she-kit's voice squealed in Havenkit's ear. Wincing, the grey and white she-kit rolled to her side, using her paw to cover her ear.
"Stop it." Havenkit muttered, ears sore from the encounter. At the sound of Havenkit's voice, the three voices squealed instantaneously, making it a sound for Havenkit to remember.
"She talked! She really talked! and she moved too!" The same unknown voice screamed. Next to her, Havenkit felt the ground vibrate slightly, as if someone was bouncing up and down repeatedly next to her. Having enough of the voice screaming in her ear, she turned to it, still unwilling to open her eyes.
"Shut it!" She cried, her eyes flying open, staring into the gazes of three kits, all roughly about the same size as her. Stumbling to her feet, she straightened her tail and tidied herself.
Narrowing her eyes, she looked suspiciously at the three kits in front of her. A black tom was standing directly in front of her, his white muzzle bearing a small smirk, and his white chest and front paw seemingly shining in the sunlight, and his amber eyes gleaming with amusement. Beside him, was a white she-cat with grey patches and dark blue eyes was hoping from foot to foot, seemingly excited a with a grin on her face. But behind both of them, Havenkit spied a hesitant she-kit, a ginger one with white paws and wide, nervous amber eyes, slightly lighter than the tom's.
Using deduction, Havenkit supposed that the hesitant ginger she-kit was Dawnkit, remembering the conversation that took place earlier, seeming only like heartbeats ago.
"Mellowkit, I-I don't think we should disturb her." Darn right, Dawnkit. Havenkit grumbled to herself in her head. Her blue orbs narrowed to slits as she noticed another movement coming from the kits in front of her. Flattening her ears, she met the black tom's gaze unflinchingly.
Something sparked in his eyes, something like... Shock? but as fast as it was sighted, it disappeared into the depths of his amber eyes. His smirk widened, and Havenkit's eyes followed suit. Flicking his tail, he dipped his head, strangely acting quite mature for his age, his face still smirking."Dawnkit. Get over here." Havenkit caught is voice as he hissed under his breath to the ginger she-kit behind him. Dawnkit seemed to be started temporarily, but she snapped out of her stupor, padding forward hesitantly to line up with the tom. Signalling with another flick of his tail, the grey and white she-kit stopped bouncing, an action that Havenkit totally forgot when she stared at the black tom.
Havenkit could only watch and wait as the three shuffled, muttering under their breaths as the black tom ordered them around, his amber eyes gleaming with annoyance instead of amusement, and the smirk on his face gone. Slightly taken aback by the swift change of his facial expression and his feelings, Havenkit took as small step back, and instantly, the three stopped, their gazes moving slowly from her paws to hers', then to her face.
"I-I'm gonna just..." Havenkit muttered, shuffling her paws and backing away slightly. "I'll... um. Go now." Havenkit hesitantly turned her back on them, and started to pad away, but the tom's voice reached her before she could escape.
"Hey!" Havenkit didn't turn around, but stopped in her tracks, her gaze on a nearby bush, directly in front of her.
"I'm sorry, but what?!" She turned around and hissed at them. The three had broken their line, Dawnkit resuming her place behind the tom, and the other she-kit, the grey and white one, had moved slightly away from him, and her tail was slightly drooping. "All you've done is pester me this morning! Screaming into my ear, and prodding me!"
Immediately, the grey and white she-kit eyes turned to the ground, and she shuffled her paws uneasily. The black tom cast a warning glance at the she-kit and she moved slightly again, further away from the tom.
"We're sorry." The black tom met her gaze again, and Havenkt was still shocked by the change of expression that quick. His eyes sparked with hope, and a trace of something was in his voice.
Desperation. Havenkit muttered in his head. Why desperation? Is he even supposed to be desperate?
"We... we were excited to hear that another kit had arrived in the nursery and we wanted to see who the new kit was." The black tom continued as Havenkit shot an accusing glance at him. "It's just that... I wanted to make new friends and introduce myself..." He trailed off, leaving Havenkit to roll her eyes while he stared at the ground.
"First of all," she mewed, and the black tom pricked his ear as Havenkit's voice reached him. She turned around to go back to the threesome, who were still clumped together, but not as tight as the beginning. "You don't start my screaming in somebody's ear when they're on the ground." She cast a glance at the grey and white she-kit, who's eyes lit up with amusement as Havenkit chided her.
"I'm sorry." She mewed, eyes still lit as if Havenkit had just told her a joke instead of advice. Havenkit had to crack a smile, even she couldn't stop liking this kit's personality, slightly carefree and boisterous, and her smile was infectious. Havenkit turned to the ginger she-kit, who was still hiding behind the black tom. Dawnkit. The shy one. Havenkit supposed.
"Dawnkit, right?" The ginger she-cat looked shocked again, but nodded, her gaze slightly blank. Havenkit allowed a small crack of a smile to show on her face. There was something appealing about the shy ginger she-cat, and Havenkit could see a potential friend in her, just like the grey and white she-kit with blue eyes. Finally, she turned to the black tom. Something in her was scared about his reactions to certain things, but inside her, she felt that she also saw something in him. Not with full clarity, but... it was something.
"Well?" She raised her eyebrows. (Do cats have eyebrows? Let's discuss that later.) "Are you going to introduce yourselves?" Immediately, the grey and white she-kit bounced on her feet again, this time, her tail flicking in excitement. "I'm Splashkit!" Havenkit nodded, amused by the excitement and energy produced by her.
"Yeah… I'm D-dawnkit." The ginger tabby she-kit confirmed her name. Havenkit nodded and turned to the black kit. He seemed strangely silent as the two others introduced themselves.
"Well?" Havenkit prompted.
"I'm pretty sure you heard my name being said in the conversation." The black tom blinked. "I'm assuming you know my name too, right?" Havenkit was again, slightly taken aback, but because of the black kit having such high expectations of her already. Hoping that she remembered the conversation, she flicked her right ear, a habit that she started to notice when she wanted to think.
Alerted by the movement, the black tom-kit averted his gaze to her ear, leaving Havenkit's blue eyes to gaze sideways in concentration.
"Mellowkit, Mellowkit, I don't think we should disturb her." The voice of Dawnkit broke through the silence of Havenkit's mind.
Mellowkit. His name is Mellowkit.
"Mellowkit, right?" She asked hesitantly, and the tom's gaze immediately snapped back to hers', his amber eyes meeting blue orbs. With pounding heartbeats, Havenkit blinked rapidly and looked away quickly, his gaze too intense for her. Inside her head, Havenkit's head pounded with a strange feeling, leaving her breathless.
Mellowkit nodded, and Havenkit sighed with relief. Without waiting for a reaction, Splashkit's voice broke the intensity, squealing again.
"You haven't told us your name yet!" She bounced on the spot. "Come on! Come on! Come ON!" The grey and white kit bounced around Havenkit, making her cringe and grin at the same time. On one paw, Splashkit was obviously the noisiest she-kit, no, cat, she had ever met, and Havenkit didn't think that anybody else could beat her in her element, making her cringe. But the thing that made her grin was the infectious excitement radiating from her, as if it was an aura.
"I'm Havenkit." She announced, raising her chin. Splashkit squealed.
"That's a nice name!" she shrieked.
"Yeah… It is a nice name." Dawnkit murmured softly, reminding Havenkit that she was still there, mostly being missed out on the excitement. Mellowkit still hadn't said anything, but was pawing the ground in impatience.
"Wait." He looked up, and the three she-kits diverted their attention to him, their gazes curious. He turned to Havenkit, still not entirely meeting her gaze. "How old are you?" Gulping, Havenkit felt her throat tighten in nervousness.
"Three moons, turning four… I think."
"Huh. About our age." Mellowkit nodded. Stumped, Havenkit sat down, her gaze unfocused. He's acting so mature for his age. I'm guessing he'll get a good future if he keeps this up. She looked at him, eyes blurred. His gaze was still amber as always, and she could still see his eyes clearly, but his body was a black haze of a shadow.
But why is his gaze so intense?
"Havenkit." A feminine voice sounded from above as a shadow was cast over her and the three other kits. Gulping in nervousness, she turned around slowly, relaxing when she saw the familiar black pelt of Snowheart. "Havenkit." Snowheart's amber eyes looked down at her, her gaze shining as she rested her sights on the small she-kit. Turning her head to face the kits, Snowheart dipped her head in greeting.
"Dawnkit, Splashkit." Dawnkit dipped her head timidly, and shuffled behind Splashkit, who was gazing at Snowheart in awe, and had stopped bouncing since. Snowheart redirected her gaze to Mellowkit. "Mellowkit. How are you?" Mellowkit, unsure to answer, blinked nervously.
"I'm okay." He turned his head to Havenkit. "Havenkit. Do you know Snowheart? She seems to know you."
"Yeah. I do know her." She answered. "She was the one that found me yesterday on a border patrol." Snowheart nodded.
"Ottertail and Ender were there too."
"Yeah, I-" Havenkit's voice was cut off by Snowheart's tail which flicked over her mouth.
"We have to talk." Snowheart whispered, aware of the other kits looking on curiously. Wide eyed and nodding, Havenkit's mind wandered to what Snowheart wanted.
"Thank you for your time kits," Snowheart mewed. "I just need Havenkit for a while." Without waiting for an answer, she swept Havenkit away with her tail and picked her up by the scruff like she did the day before.
"Where are we going?" Havenkit tried unsuccessfully to lean over and peek over Snowheart's shoulder, but the black she-cat turned the kit around to face the front, frustrating small Havenkit. "Where are we going?!" Snowheart muttered something to Havenkit, making her prick her ears to hear her.
"We're going to see someone. Or more likely, someone wants to see you." Havenkit shuddered slightly.
"Who?"
"Revenant." Havenkit blinked. "You'll remember him from yesterday. Watching us from the Ancient Willow." Immediately, Havenkit disappeared into the soft darkenss of her mind.
Havenkit caught a flash of silver in a tree, and she saw a ghostly white tom staring at her, and she caught the flash of silver eyes.
"Revenant is the white tom we saw yesterday. Wasn't he?" Havenkit asked quietly. Snowheart, her answer muffled, said something along the lines of a 'yes'. Gulping, her throat tightened when she saw that Snowheart was rapidly approaching a tunnel, the dark hole widening in size as they padded closer to it.
"Don't be afraid, Havenkit." Snowheart muttered, trying to be soothing. "It's only a little trip. You'll be with your friends in a while yet." Slightly shaking again, Havenkit could only watch in fear as the darkness eclipsed the sunlight, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time she saw the outside world.
ASoBS Says~
Heyo! I'm a bit late, but this is a looooong chapter, so I hoped you'd enjoy it.
I hope that you've read the first part, and I'm not happy with the previous chapters of this book, so I am starting to re-write chapters. This one I'll leave alone though.
Of course, you've heard that I want to achieve the goal of 20K or more words in this book for it to be successful. If I feel it is too easy to reach that goal, I'll raise it.
The A.N, or also known as this section, as well as the review section will be moved upstairs.
Question Corner~
What do you think of the new characters? Oh, and do cats have eyebrows? I'm curious to know.
Remember to send in your thoughts and feelings about the book! Constructive reviews and feedback is always appreciated, and Beta-Readers are wanted/hoped. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. OR PM me for any queries or concerns.
~ASoBS - Your friendly author.