The Catfish

Part Five of the Nursery Series

The silver-black queen gratefully took the kits from the white-and-brown warrior. "Oh, thank you, Cedarfall!" She meowed, wrapping her tail protectively around her drenched kits. "Where did they run off to this time?"

"They fell in the river. RiverClan rescued them and I found them waiting by the border. Thank Mudpool and Ashwhisker." He said in a half-growl, looking down at the mischievous kits with his piercing yellow eyes.

The queen ducked her head embarrassedly. "I'll thank them at the next Gathering."

Cedarfall turned away and padded over to the fresh-kill pile. The embarrassed queen hustled her wet kits back to the nursery.

"What's the big deal?" Treekit meowed, shaking the water from her dappled pet before hopping into their mother's nest.

"We're just a little wet." Leafkit shrugged, licking her damp paws dry.

"We were brave!" Brackenkit sneezed, his brown tabby fur spiking up. "'Scuse me..."

The queen helped the two kits into the nest and she climbed in with them. She would need to speak with the medicine cat if they were catching a cold.

"I'm glad you're all safe." She mewed tiredly.

"Me too!" Sunkit yowled, trotting over to them with his younger sister padding behind him. "The whole camp was looking for you three! Barkstar and W-"

"Shut your mouth, Sunkit." The other queen hissed. "Come back over here."

"But Snowdapple!" The ginger kit whined. "She tells the best stories."

"It's true." Littlekit meowed quietly.

The queen narrowed her eyes at the kits. They tumbled back over to Snowdapple.

The silver-black she-cat shook her head and looked down at her own kits once more. "I'm glad you're all safe."

Treekit, Leafkit, and Brackenkit all sneezed in unison. Too tired and wet to speak, they snuggled into her long fur.

"If those RiverClan cats hadn't found you, why, you would have been eaten by a catfish." She mewed.

"Cool."

"Neat."

"Are catfish brave?"

"Catfish are vicious." The queen shook her head. "Long ago, a bad RiverClan cat fell into the river when the water was icy and he died. The fish picked his bones clean. Then he came back to life as a catfish."

The kits looked up at her in awe. She needed to turn the story around otherwise they would go looking for a catfish.

"He was cursed to be a whiskery fish forever. He had to eat worms."

"Ew!" Treekit stuck out her tongue.

"Nasty!" Leafkit wrinkled her nose.

"Brave." Brackenkit flinched.

"He had to make dirt in the water he breathed in."

The kits seemed to gag.

"He had to stay in the river forever..."

The queen looked down at her litter. They had fallen asleep. The sun was setting outside the nursery, and the Clan was returning from dusk patrols...

"Hello?" Barkstar peeked into the den, his long brown fur catching in the entrance. "How are our kits?"

"They are fine." The queen purred.

"That's good."

"I don't understand." Treekit mewed.

An empty silence hung in the air.

A painfully quiet break clung in their ears.

"Why are Leafkit and Brackenkit not moving?" The young kit prodded her sister and brother with a tiny paw. "M-mother?"

The queen's heart ached. During the night the two kits had drowned. Though she had dried off their pelts and warmed their bodies, water was still in their lungs. They had drowned in their camp. They had drowned in the nursery. They had drowned in their nest. They had drowned with their mother and sister sleeping right next to him.

Barkstar sat by his mate, gazing sadly at the two lifeless kits and the one kit who was still living. The medicine cat sat by them too.

The medicine cat leaned down into the kit's ear. "This is why you should never leave camp, Treekit."

The gray dappled kit swiped an unsheathed paw at his nose. She dodged past her mother and leapt over the leader. She pushed past the apprentices and tumbled past the warriors. She ran through the tunnel and ran from camp.

"I'm sorry Leafkit! Forgive me, Brackenkit!" She yowled miserably to the sky.

"Treekit!" A familiar voice ran after her.

"Go away, Sunkit." She sniffled.

All of her misadventures flashed through her head as she looked into the ginger tom's blue eyes. She could hear her sister climbing up the honey tree. She could scent her brother's fear as he bravely followed the secnt trail of an unknown rogue. She could hear the resenment in her sister's voice as they sat by the stinky elders.

"Come on." Sunkit nudged her.

Treekit blinked and followed the other kit. They began to play and romp around. They raced towards Fourtrees and dared each other to cross the WindClan border.

Padding away from the moors and back to camp, Treekit forgot about the death of her littermates.

"I smell something." Sunkit said suddenly.

They whipped around.

"Hello, kits."

A brown she-cat and a gray she-cat stood over them.

"My StarClan!" Sunkit yelped as the WindClan medicine cat and deputy stared down at them with dull eyes.