Twenty

The next few days had become eventful for Dovestar. Between joining patrols and watching her kits grow, she was always busy. She spent her evenings with Tigerheart while the kits were asleep, giving her a much needed break. Then there was the added fact that the fox cub had finally left. Patrols were sent out to make sure that they didn't find any scents lingering in the area. To her relief, the cub seemed to leave without hesitation. There had been traces here and there of a cub in the area, but those scents were days old now. It seemed as if the cub had left for it's own territory, giving them some much needed hunting grounds.

Dovestar soon found herself relaxing under the shade of a tree as she watched her kits play. She relished mornings like these due to how peaceful they were. The Clan was temporarily content with life, in spite of the threats looming before them. Lightning was still a problem they had to deal with from time to time, and the Dark Forest was also a threat they had to deal with. For now, she tried focusing her attention on her growing family.

"Get the tiger!"

Leafkit's yowl jostled Dovestar from her thoughts. She glanced across the clearing in time to see Leafkit chasing after Mudkit. They played a typical ShadowClan game known as 'Chase the tiger'. Apparently, it was a game that Tigerheart and his siblings invented when they were kits. Their mother, Tawnypelt, had never discouraged them due to the fact that she carried their legacy with pride.

"I'm faster than you this time, Leafkit!" Mudkit squealed as he charged after Tigerheart.

Dovestar watched the scene in amusement. While Mudkit and Leafkit fought with each other to see who would reach their father first, Whitekit took advantage of their distraction and beat them to it. She was even more amused when Tigerheart flopped to the ground in mock defeat, letting out an exaggerated groan in the process. Eventually, both Leafkit and Mudkit realized that Whitekit had already reached their father and finally joined her.

"You're getting too big for these kinds of games," Tigerheart purred as Whitekit tried pummeling his back with her paws. "If you two had been paying attention, you would have known that your sister was approaching me. She's already one pawstep ahead."

"Where'd you learn that trick?" Mudkit asked once they settled around their father.

Whitekit looked more than pleased with herself until she was put on the spotlight. Dovestar hadn't missed how incredibly shy she was compared to her siblings. It was enough for her heart to sink a little when she realized that was something they would have to work on. Whitekit clearly wanted to train as a warrior and not a medicine cat, so she needed to work on her confidence more than anything else.

"I've been watching Snowpaw and Mintpaw as they practice," Whitekit explained after recovering from her surprise. "And they may or may not have been teaching me some of their moves."

That was enough to catch Dovestar's attention. She shared an uneasy look with Tigerheart as realization dawned on her.

They hadn't been paying enough attention to where their kits wandered off to. Lately she had been focused on making sure the fox cub didn't venture back into their territory. Then there was the added problem of listening in on Lightning and whatever he was planning. Since he and his gang of cats lived in Twolegplace, it was harder for her to pick up on their conversations. So it took more effort for her to pick up on whatever they were discussing.

"When did you have the time to join the apprentices?" Tigerheart demanded. Whitekit's ears flattened when she realized too late the mistake she made. It was hard to keep secrets from a cat who had the ability to hear at a great distance. Dovestar made a mental note to make sure that she kept an eye on her kits in case future issues like this occurred. "You and your siblings are too young to join them, especially for battle training."

"But it's so boring just hanging around camp all day!" Mudkit complained.

"Yeah, why can't we go out with you and Mamma?" Leafkit put in. "You get to go hunting and patrol the borders all the time without us!"

Dovestar stifled a purr when she caught the look written across Tigerheart's face. She knew how hard it was for the kits to be stuck in camp all day. It could get incredibly boring when everyone else was out of camp. She couldn't blame them for their sense of curiosity either. It wasn't as if she and Ivypool hadn't ever gotten into trouble when they were kits.

My mother is probably laughing at their antics now, she thought in amusement.

"The forest is no place for a kit," she reminded them after deciding to intervene. "When you're bigger like Mintpaw and Snowpaw, you can join them on border patrols, or you can go hunting with us. But only until you get big enough and old enough."

"I guess that makes sense," Mudkit muttered under his breath, though he didn't look any happier with the idea of being confined to camp.

"Can you teach us how to hunt at least?" Whitekit suddenly asked.

"How about this? Why don't we play a game of 'moss ball' and practice our hunting skills on it?"

Dovestar blinked in surprise when Pepperfoot approached them and brought up that suggestion. Fortunately, that was the only distraction they needed to forget their argument. She shook her head in amusement as Pepperfoot orchestrated a game with a ball of moss, which was used as their target.

"Honestly, I'm not sure where they get that energy from," Tigerheart let out a sigh of exasperation.

"They couldn't possibly have gotten it from either of us," she rolled her eyes in amusement.

Tigerheart merely purred and nuzzled her affectionately. She longed for days like these to last. Tigerheart was a better father to her kits than she could have imagined. His patience never ceased to amaze her as she watched him play with their kits. The kits got a kick out of it too as they learned how to tackle enemies twice their size. While she didn't like the idea of letting them learn how to fight in battle, she knew it was necessary. Sooner or later they would inevitably get dragged into a fight, whether it was a border dispute or against the Dark Forest. She wanted to make sure they were prepared for that inevitable outcome.

"They're growing up so fast," she added as Tigerheart sat down beside her.

She welcomed the feeling of his tongue lapping against her fur. It was strangely comforting to feel him beside her. It also helped knowing that Tigerheart spent more time with her than anyone else, aside from their kits. They shared their nest together, and his warmth was something she truly appreciated. As leader, she was supposed to sleep in her own den. She missed the days when she slept in the warrior's den, where there was always some body heat and company.

"That's what happens when they're kits," he reminded her. "Mother used to complain all the time that we grew up too fast. I'm only just beginning to understand why she complained so much."

She hummed in understanding. Whitewing would often say the same thing when she and Ivypool started their apprentice training. There had been times when she felt annoyed over Whitewing's concern. Now that she was older and had kits of her own, she suddenly found herself understanding why Whitewing was always so worried.

A mother's worry never fades, she reminded herself.

She hoped that her kits would understand what it meant to have those kind of emotions. To know that she loved them deeply, and that she would do whatever it took to keep them safe. As their mother, it was her job to make such sacrifices, even if it cost her life. She closed her eyes and leaned further into Tigerheart, knowing that for now, their kits were safe. And that was what mattered to her.

...

Tigerheart carefully pushed his way through the thick vegetation as the scent of prey clung to the air. The crisp breeze of leaffall was well on its way, sending a shiver through him. He'd seen the early signs of a freeze that morning, which meant that leafbare was likely going to be early as well. Mothwing had already begun collecting as many herbs as she could before the cold killed them. The medicine cat was busier than usual due to the amount of fights the Clan had been in with Lightning. Those encounters were getting worse with each passing day, and Tigerheart knew it was only a matter of time before things exploded into a full-on battle.

He knew the peace wouldn't last forever. The moments he spent with their kits made it that much harder. Reality was quick to set in as he realized that they would get dragged into a battle once they became apprentices. He knew Dovestar was equally as worried over the idea of letting them fight. Mudkit and Leafkit were already enough to handle, but Whitekit's quiet observation was what worried him the most. As a young apprentice, he had always been observant himself. That was part of the reason he got trapped into training in the Dark Forest, though his naivety to Tigerstar's plans had also led to that ultimate decision.

The forest was alive with life in spite of the cooler weather moving in. Tigerheart tasted the air and picked up the scent of a vole, noting it's location. On any normal occasion, he would have preferred a lizard or a frog. ShadowClan's marshes had plenty of prey like that, but the marshes hadn't been safe since Lightning's gang posed a threat.

He focused on the vole, dropping to a hunter's crouch as he pinpointed where it was hiding. The vole was hiding in a patch of grass nearby, munching away on food. Tigerheart made sure that the wind was blowing in his favor, and it wasn't until he was within striking distance that he caught it. His heart swelled with pride when he remembered all of Oakfur's tips. His mentor would have been proud of the progress he made. Even if Oakfur rarely showed it, his old mentor had always been proud of the progress he and the other apprentices made.

"… wasting time just waiting. We need to act now before the Clan gets bigger!" Tigerheart stiffened when he recognized the sound of Minnowtail's voice. His mouth opened to taste the air, and it took a split second for him to register that she was only a few pawsteps away. "If the Clan gets any larger, it'll be able to defend itself against your group."

"We've gathered enough allies in Twolegplace to easily overwhelm them," another voice meowed. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach when he recognized Scorchfur's voice. Another cat from his Clan had survived the Dark Battle. He suddenly found himself wondering why Scorchfur hadn't gone looking for any survivors. Then he recalled with horror that Scorchfur aligned himself with the Dark Forest after declaring that ShadowClan was a mockery of it's former self. "With those rogues on our side, a victory will be inevitable."

"I hope you're right," Minnowtail snapped. "Now that there are more kits and apprentices than ever, there's a chance we could lose everything we've worked for. The Place of No Stars is waiting for us."

"The Dark Forest was never meant to win in the first place," Scorchfur scoffed in annoyance. "I only fought alongside them because I thought ShadowClan was weak under Rowanstar's leadership. It isn't as if I wasn't wrong. Our Clan still fell under his leadership, along with all the other Clans."

"The only reason I've aligned myself with you is to make it clear that the Clans are gone for good," Minnowtail spat. "I've worked too hard to secure a safe position for my kits, and I won't let them fall!"

"The feelings are mutual, RiverClanner," Scorchfur retorted.

A shiver of dread swept through Tigerheart when the sound of pawsteps signaled his departure.

His heart nearly skipped a beat with horror when he realized what was happening. He'd known how dangerous Minnowtail was from the beginning. The dark gray queen had never been kind to the newcomers aside from gaining an alliance with them. Then there was the fact that she constantly questioned Dovestar and her skills as a leader. It was only just beginning to dawn on him why that was the case.

He backed down and skirted around Minnowtail, praying that she wouldn't catch his scent. The last thing he wanted was to give away his position, or to give her any suspicion.

Dovestar was right to question her motives, he thought bitterly.

What hurt the most was knowing that there had been other survivors of ShadowClan after all. Only they were traitors to the Clan and StarClan. He knew somewhere deep down that those cats would have to be taken down sooner rather than later. If they were conspiring with Lightning, then it meant the Clan was in bigger danger than they first realized.