Hawkkit's sharp claws dug into Scorchstar's back as he rolled around outside the nursery with his daughter. Redkit was on his other side, tugging at Scorchstar's tail with his teeth and then leaped over him. Scorchstar purred as Wildheart watched him play with his kits from the entrance of the nursery, her amber eyes soft.
"Got you!" Hawkkit cried out as she leaped on top of Scorchstar's stomach.
"Me too!" Redkit chirped as he held his father's tail down.
"I'm down!" Scorchstar exclaimed. "You've defeated me. I concede."
Hawkkit raced around Scorchstar. "I am Hawkstar, leader of WindClan, and I have defeated our greatest enemy!" she yowled.
"No, I'm Redstar, and I defeated him first!" Redkit lunged onto Hawkkit, and the two kits rolled with each other until they crashed into Wildheart's hindquarters.
"Hey," Wildheart cooed at the both of them. "Stop that. You're siblings, you work together."
Scorchstar got to his paws, shaking the dust out of his fur as he walked over to Wildheart. "Is Mallowkit okay?" he asked.
"Waspberry is with her," Wildheart replied. "She insisted – she wanted me to get some fresh air."
"That's kind of her," Scorchstar remarked.
Wildheart nodded, gratitude in her eyes.
"Has Lightningtalon come to visit her lately?" Scorchstar asked, curious.
Wildheart sighed and shook her head. "Icekit and Frostkit are two moons old, and he's seen them twice. Brambledusk has been on his case, even using his status as Clan deputy, but Lightningtalon insists he's not fit to be a father… and so has decided not to be one."
"That's unacceptable!" Scorchstar hissed, lashing his tail back-and-forth. "When you have kits, you just can't abandon them!"
"I know." Wildheart shook her head. "Brambledusk tried everything he could, but when Lightningtalon makes up his mind, it's like talking to a rock. So Brambledusk is now visiting Waspberry every day and playing with the kits."
Good for him, Scorchstar thought. "Brambledusk is a good cat."
"I guess," Wildheart agreed. "He's extremely family-orientated. Just like you, Scorchstar."
"Really?" Scorchstar's whiskers twitched. "Hawkkit and Redkit have so much energy, sometimes I feel like I can't keep up with them. How do you—" Just as Scorchstar tried to finish his sentence, two small bodies launched themselves at him, and Scorchstar found himself splayed out on the ground, his amber eyes wide. As he looked up, he could see Hawkkit and Redkit's faces, right in front of him.
"Gah… you two…" Scorchstar wanted to reprimand them, but the mischief – and love – in their round, big eyes, made Scorchstar think otherwise. They're my kits. I can't punish them, especially when they're just playing.
"I win!" Hawkkit exclaimed.
"What? That's not fair!" Redkit exclaimed. "I jumped on top of Father first."
"No, I did!" Hawkkit bowled Redkit over, and the two kits started to wrestle again. Scorchstar peered out of the corner of his eye, seeing Icekit and Frostkit walk out of the nursery, their eyes round as they watched Hawkkit and Redkit wrestle. Behind them was Sedgekit and Skykit. Sedgekit and Skykit were massive compared to Icekit and Frostkit, and Scorchstar realized that they were six moons now. They'd be apprenticed soon. Maybe today, actually.
"Can I play with you?" Frostkit asked Hawkkit.
"Yeah!" Hawkkit jumped on Frostkit, pinning her to the ground. Scorchstar winced. Oh, I should've seen that coming. Icekit watched the two kits wrestle, but didn't join in. Skykit streaked across the clearing, away from the nursery, and Scorchstar followed her movements, realizing that the gray she-kit was launching herself onto Aspenstep. Ha. Kits were so innocent, so soft, so playful. Being a father is the best feeling in the world.
Sedgekit stood still, just like Icekit. The two kits watched Hawkkit, Redkit, and Frostkit play, with no indication that they wanted to join. Odd, Scorchstar thought. I've never seen a kit refuse to play. Now that Hawkkit and Redkit were occupied with Frostkit, Scorchstar got to his paws and shook out the dust from his fur. He could see Waspberry's face emerging from the nursery. Wildheart turned to face her.
"Mallowkit wants you," Waspberry whispered to her. "She won't stop crying."
"I'm coming." Wildheart quickly raced into the medicine den. Waspberry disappeared back into the shadows, and Scorchstar watched them go. Worry tugged at his heart, and he was ready to follow them, to check on Mallowkit. But a low voice from behind him made him stop in his tracks.
"Scorchstar!" Scorchstar turned to see Russetstripe, staring at him with her tail lashing. Woah!
"Russetstripe, what is it?" Scorchstar asked.
"I've been calling your name for the last minute," Russetstripe growled. "Are those ears just for decoration?"
"No, I use them very well." His sister would always be short-tempered. Asking her to calm down was like asking the wind to stop blowing. "What is it?"
"There are RiverClan scents drifting near the border," Russetstripe reported, her green eyes dark. "Brambledusk sent me back to get you. He wants to investigate."
Scorchstar nodded. "Got it. I'll come right now." He got to his paws, about to follow Russetstripe, when Hawkkit's voice made him turn around.
"RiverClan?" Hawkkit gasped. "Father, can I come with you? Please!" The ginger-and-white tabby she-kit hopped up and down on her paws.
Redkit let out a loud yawn. "Well, you can go to RiverClan. I'm tired." With that statement, the big red kit turned on his heel and walked back into the nursery. Hawkkit shot him a glare as he left, and then turned back to face her father.
"Absolutely not," Scorchstar growled at her. "RiverClan will have no problem ripping a kit like you to shreds."
"I won't let them!" Hawkkit exclaimed.
"No." Russetstripe's voice was stern as she glared at Hawkkit. "You don't know RiverClan like we do. They're cruel and ruthless."
Hawkkit's fur bristled. "But I'm strong!"
"I know you are," Scorchstar meowed, tousling Hawkkit's head with his big paw, "but you're not coming. Stay with your mother. I'll be back."
Russetstripe gave Scorchstar a nod and started to run. Scorchstar was right on her paws as the two siblings left camp, crossing through the moor with their massive strides. The two cats ran in silence, right next to each other, following the hills to where they sloped down towards the marshland. Scorchstar thought about his kits. He would have to teach them that they didn't want to encounter RiverClan. Not yet. I hope they're not mad when I get back, he thought.
Scorchstar spotted Brambledusk's pale tabby pelt in the distance, and he quickened his pace to meet him. Russetstripe ran after him, and the two cats skidded to a halt next to Brambledusk. Brambledusk turned his head and nodded to the two cats, worry fraught over his face. Scorchstar frowned. Brambledusk was usually so composed – what was wrong that it made a cat like him visibly distressed?
Russetstripe tasted the air. "RiverClan is right here."
Scorchstar sniffed around, and realized that Russetstripe was right. RiverClan's fishy scent was so rancid that it made Scorchstar's head spin. Scorchstar looked over the border, and anger and hatred made his blood boil as several cats started to approach the scent lines. Scorchstar could put a name to all these cats immediately – Shimmerwing, Sharpfang, Shellfall, Runningflame, and… Scorchstar's tail started to lash as he recognized the brute figure of Dapplestar, leading the patrol with the same haughtiness in her eyes he had always come to associate with her.
"Let's meet them," Scorchstar growled. "We'll show them we're not afraid of them."
Brambledusk nodded. Russetstripe let out a low growl as she caught Runningflame's gaze, and Scorchstar recalled how the two cats had fought fiercely in both battles. Hopefully she doesn't attack him, he thought darkly. He led his two warriors towards the border, and Dapplestar snapped her head to meet her gaze. A snobby smile spread on her face as she walked over to meet him, with her warriors behind her.
"Dapplestar," Scorchstar growled as the tortoiseshell she-cat stopped, just mouse-lengths of the scent line.
"Scorchstar," Dapplestar retorted. "A little far from home, I'd say."
"Hah." Runningflame chuckled loudly. "Back for another fight, Scorchstar? Didn't you get your tails kicked enough last time?"
Russetstripe's dark ginger fur bristled. Shimmerwing stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dapplestar, her tawny fur nearly blending in with the marshland around her.
"We're patrolling our border," Scorchstar growled. "What does it look like?"
Dapplestar looked at Scorchstar's paws, her green eyes narrowing. "You're a little past the border."
"Am I?" Scorchstar unsheathed his claws. "It's so poorly marked, I couldn't see."
Dapplestar chuckled. "Is that so? My Clan has been here every day, and yet from your faint scent, I cannot seem to guess the last time you've been here. Except for now, of course." The she-cat shot a glare at Brambledusk, who curled his lip.
"We patrol here just as often as you do," Scorchstar growled at Dapplestar.
"Oho." Dapplestar laughed.
The vanity in Dapplestar's voice made Scorchstar inwardly snarl, and it took every ounce of self-control in his body to stop him from leaping at her. But they weren't strong enough to stop a sarcastic comment spitting past his lips.
"Do you need even more land to feed your warriors?" Scorchstar snarled. "Is two extra mouse-lengths going to help?"
"To build a great land, you need as much territory as you can," Dapplestar remarked dryly. "I cannot think that some cat as small-minded as you would know that, though."
Scorchstar opened his mouth to snap at her, but a cry made all cats – including the RiverClan patrol – stop in their tracks. Crows let out an alarm cry and flew from where they perched. What was that? It sounds like a kit!
"Ow!" Scorchstar swung his head around to see Hawkkit and Frostkit near a thorn bush, a few mouse-lengths away from them. Scorchstar's jaw dropped as he stared at the two kits, unable to find any words. Russetstripe's nostrils flared, and Brambledusk hit his head with his paw.
"Wha…" Dapplestar's green eyes were wide. "Are you so desperate for warriors, Scorchstar, that you felt the need to bring kits on your border patrol?"
"I… had no idea they were here," Scorchstar said, the mocking tone of Dapplestar's voice the least of his worries now. He couldn't drag his gaze from the two kits, who looked up at the three WindClan warriors with wide eyes. Anger bubbled inside of Scorchstar until he could feel it at the very tips of his fur.
"What an excellent Clan leader… no… father… that makes you." A low chuckle rumbled through Dapplestar's throat.
Finally, Scorchstar snapped. He whirled on the two kits, his tail lashing, his teeth bared as he howled at them, "Hawkkit! Frostkit! What in StarClan's name do you think you're doing?!" His scream boomed across the clearing, and he was aware that the RiverClan warriors were watching every moment of this, clearly enjoying it, but he didn't care. All his attention were focused on the two insolent kits in front of him.
"We…" Frostkit's voice trailed off. "We… wanted to go on patrol with you."
Scorchstar felt fire burn in his amber eyes as he stared at the kits. "You're going to be very fortunate if you even get to go on a patrol at all!" he snarled at them. "I may even halt your apprentice ceremonies because of this!"
Hawkkit and Frostkit exchanged horrified glances.
Runningflame howled with laughter. "See that?" he asked Hawkkit. "Dad can't even tell where the border ends."
Scorchstar turned back to glare at Runningflame. Even though he was furious with these kits, that didn't give this self-centered RiverClan warrior any right to mock them. "Don't talk to my kit like that," he snarled. "Or me."
"Hah." Runningflame chuckled. "I can talk to any of you in whatever way I want."
Scorchstar turned to Russetstripe, ignoring Runningflame's attempts to goad him on. "Take these kits back to camp. Now."
Russetstripe nodded, picking Frostkit up and throwing her on her back. She grabbed Hawkkit by her scruff, cast a venomous glare at the RiverClan patrol, and bounded away.
Dapplestar stepped so close to the border that she was nearly touching Scorchstar's nose. "I tire of repeating myself, you insolent fool. Move."
"You piece of fox-dung," Shimmerwing snarled, unsheathing her claws. "Dapplestar said move."
Dapplestar's fishy breath made Scorchstar's nostrils flare. "Brambledusk and I are on the correct side of the border."
"I'm getting bored." Runningflame examined a massive ginger paw and walked over to the border. Then, in seconds, he slashed his paw against Scorchstar's cheek. Flames of pain struck through Scorchstar's face as he staggered back. Hot blood dripped down the wound and stained the ground below him. Brambledusk let out a furious hiss and whirled on Runningflame, and he immediately threw himself at him.
"By all the gods." Dapplestar stepped towards Brambledusk and grabbed him by his scruff, throwing him over the border. "My patience is at its limit. Scorchstar, if you do not move this instant, I will kill you and this little pest here."
Scorchstar clenched his teeth, trying to bear the pain as he stared at Dapplestar and her patrol. He glanced over his shoulder. He only had Brambledusk, while Dapplestar had a fresh wave of cats at her command. If he ordered Brambledusk to attack, it'd be suicide. Scorchstar wiped the blood off his face.
"This isn't the last you've seen of me, Dapplestar," Scorchstar growled at her. "Or you, Runningflame." Disdain burned in Scorchstar's fur.
"Good." Dapplestar's tail twitched. "I'd hate for it to be anti-climactic." With a wave of her tail, the tortoiseshell she-cat turned on her heel and walked away, her patrol following her. Scorchstar's burning gaze focused on Runningflame, and hatred for the ginger-and-white tom made his blood boil. They humiliated me. But there was one thing worse than Runningflame's humiliation and Dapplestar's arrogance, and it was the two kits that had followed him to the border. Anger radiated from Scorchstar in waves as he turned on his heel and started to run. Brambledusk followed him.
"We were on the right side of the border," Brambledusk said.
"I know," Scorchstar snarled, his tail lashing.
Brambledusk's amber eyes were dark with worry.
"We'd better leave that part of territory alone right now," Scorchstar sighed, not wanting to get into any more fights with RiverClan cats.
"Okay." Brambledusk nodded in agreement, and Scorchstar was thankful that he didn't argue.
The two toms cut through the moorland and approached the WindClan's camp. Scorchstar's blood was boiling and his muscles were tight as he climbed down the hollow and stalked through camp. Ignoring the mews of the cats around him, he marched straight towards the nursery. Wildheart leaped out of the nursery, her amber eyes wide.
"What happened?" she demanded Scorchstar. "With Hawkkit and Frostkit?"
"They were here in camp," Scorchstar snarled, fury at the kits making him snap. "Shouldn't you know?"
"Excuse me?" Wildheart flinched back, her tail lashing. "I didn't know! I was with Mallowkit! How did this happen?"
"I don't know, okay?" Scorchstar growled at her. "There are bigger issues to deal with!"
"Bigger issues than your kits' safety?" Wildheart retorted.
"Bigger issues than dealing with naughty kits," Scorchstar hissed. He glared at Hawkkit and Frostkit as they walked out of the nursery, their heads bowed. He walked over to them, trying to hold onto the last inch of composure he had left as he leaned down towards them. His voice was tight as he asked them, "Hawkkit, why did you do it? I told you not to follow me. Did you not hear that?"
"I did, but…" Hawkkit shuffled her pure white paws. There was shame in her voice. "I thought it would be fun to follow you."
"To RiverClan?" Scorchstar's patience was melting away. "Why?"
"We were bored," Hawkkit said, lifting her gaze to look her father in the eyes.
"And we wanted to talk to RiverClan cats for the first time!" Frostkit exclaimed. "Since every cat in the Clan talks about them."
Wildheart lashed her tail furiously. "You have embarrassed your father!"
"I didn't know we'd get that far!" Hawkkit protested. "It just… kinda happened that way." The kit shot a glare at Frostkit.
"Seriously?" Scorchstar let out a sigh. Couldn't these kits have picked something more fun than following him? "You know how much danger you put yourself and Frostkit in! A fox or badger could have eaten you. And RiverClan could have seriously hurt you!"
"They didn't, though," Hawkkit argued.
"They were really scary…" Frostkit whispered.
I've had enough of this. Scorchstar took a deep breath. Hawkkit was just like Russetstripe when she was young, and he recalled severely how Swiftstar had punished her. Would it work this time around? He leaned into Hawkkit, forcing her to look at him. "Pull any of this foolishness again, and I will have no problem delaying your apprentice ceremony. Do you understand?"
Hawkkit gawked at him.
"You will watch Redkit and Mallowkit become an apprentice before you," he growled.
"You wouldn't!" Hawkkit exclaimed.
"Oh, yes I would." Scorchstar's tail lashed. Had this been what Swiftstar felt when he heard about Russetstripe and Blackdove going into ThunderClan territory? Anger bubbled in his pelt. Hawkkit and Frostkit could've gotten themselves killed! RiverClan wasn't exactly known for its mercy. Scorchstar absolutely believed that Dapplestar would take two WindClan kits and keep them in her camp as bait for WindClan. "You and Frostkit will be watched constantly for the next moon."
"Yes, Scorchstar." Frostkit let out a sigh, looking down at her paws.
Brambledusk glared at Frostkit from where he was sitting. Scorchstar remembered that Frostkit was Brambledusk's kin, and the pale tabby tom was raising her like a daughter in Lightningtalon's stead. "I'm very disappointed in you, Frostkit."
Frostkit's ears flattened.
Scorchstar let out a huff of disappointment. Kits! Wildheart picked up Hawkkit by her scruff and dragged her to the nursery, while Brambledusk nudged Frostkit back into the gorse bush. The shame burned from the two kits as they allowed the two adults to pick them up, when the usual outspoken kits would protest.
Russetstripe walked over to Scorchstar when he was finished scolding the two kits. She didn't comment on what had just happened. "What happened?" she asked, pointing with her tail to his cheek.
"Runningflame." Scorchstar curled his lip, recalling how the ginger-and-white tom had slapped him with his claws to push him across the border.
"What?" Russetstripe lashed her tail. "You should've let me stay behind! I'd have killed that arrogant tom for doing that to you!"
"You didn't do a good job of that before," Scorchstar commented dryly, remembering his sister's fights with the ginger-and-white tom before.
"Shut up." Russetstripe snorted. Then her green eyes shadowed. "Scorchstar… do you think Dapplestar is more dangerous than we thought?"
Scorchstar shut his eyes. When Dapplestar met with Swiftstar for the first time, Scorchstar had seen her as an arrogant, all-talk but no-action she-cat. She had lost the first battle she wreaked against WindClan. But then she had gained an ally in ThunderClan, and had defeated two Clans with their help. That clearly must have garnered her more confidence, for she walked across the border as if no cat could defeat her. The pride and lordliness in her eyes, the clique she had around her… "I have a feeling her reign of power has only begun."
"We can defeat her," Russetstripe remarked. "It's not like she'll torch the place."
"They have us beat in brute strength, but perhaps we can come up with another way to defeat RiverClan," Scorchstar suggested.
"Not yet." Brambledusk's voice came from behind them as he walked over to the two cats. "It's too soon."
Scorchstar nodded, acknowledging his deputy's opinion. He didn't want to get into a fight with RiverClan, not until they were at their full strength and they had a battle plan. But could they wait until Dapplestar got too powerful for her own good?
Should I be afraid of Dapplestar?