An icy claw poked Coldkit in the nose and she sneezed, startled. She'd been having the best dream about hunting a toad and...oh! It was the Gathering night! Coldkit sat up quickly, shaking the moss scraps from her fur.
"Try not to wake the entire nursery, slug-brain!" Nightkit teased her sister.
Nightkit had decided early into their kithood that they must be the first cats to see the Gathering patrol as soon as they got back so that they could have the newest gossip from the Clans straight from the source. Of course, as always, Coldkit was dragged into her misdeeds. Personally, with the amount of trouble her sister got into Coldkit sometimes wondered if they're really were ever punished. Other than some apprentice duties, which were always light as the Clan had a decent amount of apprentices already, the topic was hardly brought up.
I bet they're scared the slightest chill in the air will kill us. Coldkit thought bitterly. She and her littermate had been born in the middle of a brutal leafbare early. Fawnleap's kits - them - had come early and it had taken much out of her to feed them both from their mother's drying milk supply and the lack of fresh kill. She had even eavesdropped once on Darksun, the medicine cat, spoke early one morning to Fawnleap and Pinefoot at the entrance to the nursery.
"I hate to say it," Darksun said, ear flicking. "But it's very possible Coldkit and Nightkit won't grow to the sizes they should've grown to."
Coldkit was well alway she and her sister were small but come on everyone knew kits were small. Why did it make them any different!
"Will it ruin their futures in ShadowClan? Will they still be healthy? Can't you do anything to help?" Pinefoot sent a barrage of questions to the long, dark-furred she-cat. Fawnleap was leaning on his shoulders eyes closed in grief.
"No, I don't think so. Them being smaller than average won't make them any worse of a warrior as long as they have the proper mentor. And of course, should one choose to be a medicine cat, size is no concern. Their sizes won't affect their health, either. However, their immune systems are weak. If we can strengthen those, then maybe their bodies can continue to heal."
That was the last she heard before sleep claimed her again but the next morning she and Nightkit were given a nasty surprise in the form of daily herbs. Herbs for health, strengthening, endurance, breathing, the two piles of herbs looked like Darksun had just yanked everything she could find in her stores and shoved them in a heap. But of course, Darksun was much to elegant and professional to do such a thing. Still, the sour look on Nightkit's face was not one she would forget. Nor could she forget sitting with the herb pile for an hour, refusing to consume them, while her parents and medicine cat tried to convince her others.
Of course, they won in the end of both kits were subjected to nasty herbs every day.
"Alright," Coldkit muttered. "I'm up, I'm up." This had been the first time they'd actually managed Nightkit's insane goal and her sister was bouncing on her toes while shooting worried glances at their sleeping mother.
The two kits dashed out of the den just as the party was returning to camp. The night was black as pitch, still, the massive pines doing their best to block out any form of light, the eerie noises of the swamp...Coldkit knew they were ShadowClan and were supposed to not be afraid of the dark but actively go out and hunt in it and she knew the swamps grew vital life-giving herbs but the mist and soft squealchy ground, and the sounds of the night creatures still terrified her. Did it make her a bad ShadowClan cat? If she was afraid of the dark who would want to apprentice her?
And it's not only the dark you're afraid of. A mocking thought passed through Coldkit's brain and she shivered. No, I can be brave. She took a deep breath, fluffed up her thin pelt, and followed Nightkit.
Dark pelts streamed into the camp clearing all with their own raised and aghast voices.
"Surely Graystar cannot think of pushing the boundaries!" Snakefang hissed, her tortioseshell coat fluffed up.
"I don't care if the thaw is late for them!" Burrpelt yowled. "All the other clans have evolved to catch more than one type of prey other than RiverClan."
Nightkit and Coldkit looked at each other in excitement - they had hoped for some interesting gossip but this was better than anything they expected! But...a cold stone sunk in Coldkit's belly when she realized this 'interesting gossip' could mean fighting between the Clans. She shivered, more from the idea of it than the cold.
A yowl rang out in the clearing, causing all the cats to stop their commotions. Several of the sleeping warriors had now awoken as well and blinked blearly out into the night.
A small blue-grey she-cat stood next to a bulking spiky furred tom.
"Thank you, Shrikethorn," The she-cat said softly. Coldkit at once recognized the voice of her leader - Hailstar - according to the elders when she'd been a regular warrior, Hailstorm, she had gotten stuck in the fire of the abandoned twoleg nest by the edge of their territory. It had permanently damaged her throat and voice and thus she couldn't raise it. Coldkit thought that it have a very eerie effect as she talked in the same gentle tone no matter whether she was scolding or praising you.
Shrikethorn, the deputy, was the opposite. Large where his leader was small, aggressive where his leader was assertive, rash where his leader was thoughtful, and loud as his leader was silent.
"This will be something best discussing among the Clan in the morning," the leader said. "Until then, I encourage you all to try to get some rest."
Coldkit shivered again and tried to find Nightkit in the sea of legs starting to fill the clearing. She caught a glimpse of what might've been her sister's black fur and she lunged forward only to Dustynose. The tom sniffled and then yelped in surprise at the intrusion causing the group of cats to break apart, leaving Nightkit and Coldkit in the middle.
"Coldkit, Nightkit!" Pinefoot, their father, raced forward. "Why aren't you in your nests?"
A low growl built up in Shrikethorn's throat. "How did I know it would be your kits again? Every moon I get more and more gray hairs on my pelt and they haven't even left the nursery yet. Whoever their mentors are, I pity them. Please, control your offspring or I'll lock them in the prison den during Gathering nights. The long-furred brown tom turned on a paw and stalked away.
"Can he - can he do that?" Coldkit stammered.
"Shrikethorn wasn't being serious. I know he seems intimidating and, well, he is, but he just has a different way of thinking and expressing than you or me. But he's a good, loyal deputy to ShadowClan and wouldn't hesitate to lay down his life for either of you."
Coldkit wasn't too sure about that. Shrikethorn didn't seem to be the type of cat to be overly paternal. Then again, he was deputy which meant he'd have to had had an apprentice before. While short-tempered and harsh-tongued, Coldkit didn't see any cat actually have a bad relationship with the deputy but then again she had no clue if the cat he'd used to mentor was still alive. Maybe the cat died, scared out of his wits.
She shook the idea of it all out of her head. Shrikethorn was hardly the only cat in ShadowClan that made her jumpy. Right now, the honored focus of her fear was her father corralling her and her sister back to the nursery where she could see a very tired Fawnleap blinking in alarm.
"There you are!" She burst from the den to stand over her kits. "I was about to see if you'd snuck out of camp!"
"If we'd snuck out then we wouldn't have been caught." Nightkit pointed out. "You just had to look at the clearing, is all."
Pinefoot shot his daughter a look. "Nightkit, that was incredibly rude."
Coldkit couldn't help but agree with her father. Fawnleap looked hurt at the insinuation that they weren't being taken care of or looked after close enough and her eyes were fixed on her paws.
"Apologize to your mother," Pinefoot continued sternly.
Nightkit shrunk down from where she was standing, breaking eye contct in a show of submissiveness. "I'm sorry, Fawnleap," she said, sincerety ringing in her voice. "I meant for that to be a joke and I realize it didn't come out that way. I'm really, really sorry."
Fawnleap nodded to her kit. "I forgive you, thank you for apologizing." Her gaze focused on Coldkit. "Remember, you don't have to do every mouse-brained scheme your sister puts you too," she said but flicked her tail over Nightkit's ear to take the sting out of her words.
"It wasn't even my idea!" Coldkit licked her chest fur indignantly.
"You went along with it, however." Fawnleap let out a yawn. "We can continue this talk after we've all slept." She nodded to her kits before padding back into the nursery. Coldkit watched her go, aching to join her. Dawn would be breaking sometime in the next few hours and she desperately needed sleep and maybe she could even re-enter her dream.
But, of course, it was never that simple. Full of boundless energy Nightkit pranced around their father. "Will you tell us a story? A short one to help us get to sleep? Please?"
Nightkit shot a look toward her sister and Coldkit gave an encouraging nod and a 'please' of her own. Sure, she guessed that staying up a bit later was a good exchange for one of her father's stories.
Pinefoot sighed, looking at his kits with affection brimming in his gaze. "How about I tell you two how you got your names?"
"Oh yes!"
"Yeah!"
The two kits chorused. They'd never heard that story before! Excitement rushed through Coldkit and driving the sleep right from her. A story about her name? She had to know!
Pinefoot gathered the two of them close to him with her tail and the sisters rested against his warm chest. "You both were born in the harshest leaf-bare that not just ShadowClan, but all the Clans, had ever seen. Even now as it goes further into new-leaf we find it a struggle. The light is short, the days are cold, but it was nothing like that in the leaf-bare you were born in. So we spent days in the cold, without a real glimpse of sun, fighting for enough prey to feed your mother." The tom purred shortly. "And that's how you came into our lives - well, ShadowClan cats are made for the night from the dim summer twilights to the winter darkness and the elders say that years ago the Clans lived in a different territory with a cold breeze that constantly blew through ShadowClan, strengthening their warriors. So we have Nightkit," he rasped his tongue on the black kit's forehead, "because you were born in what could be called one long night but also because the night is our strength as ShadowClan cats. And of course, Coldkit," he gave his other daughter a quick lick on the head. "Because you survived the coldest leaf-bare in history and also so that our ancestors may grant you the fierceness the ShadowClan cats of old possessed."
Coldkit listened to the story, eyes big and round like little moons. Beside her, Nightkit protested. "Oh, one more, please!"
But both kits were staggering with every pawstep as they half yawned half-begged for more stories until Pinefoot had them tucked protectively in their mother's side, fast asleep.
Pinefoot stayed in the den for a while watching with fond half-closed eyes and a raspy purr as his mate and kits slept. Thankfully they hadn't caused too much trouble this time around but he had no doubts as soon as they recovered from this the two of them would be onto the next thing to make their muzzles grey early.
"How bad was the Gathering?" Fawnleap mewed, quiet to not wake up her sleeping kits.
"Graystar claims that the rivers are still frozen in his territory even though they're running on ours. He claims he must have rights to hunt on other Clan hunting grounds to feed his Clan. When asked about land prey, he proclaimed RiverClan were going back to their roots and must survive as close to off only fish as possible. Which, to me, negates the entire idea turning back to one's roots but what do I know?" Pinefoot shrugged. "I'm just a warrior."
"A very good warrior."
"So were you, and now you're a very good queen, and later will be a very good warrior again, then a very good elder..." Pinefoot trailed off.
"Speaking of not 'just warriors', how did the other Clans take it?"
"Like you would have expected. No one offered hunting grounds. Cats nearly came to blows. Shrikethorn was minutes away from shredding Sootstep, the two other deputies had to hold him back."
Fawnleaf shook her head. "When will he ever learn? We're going to be sent into endless battles due to that cat, I swear by StarClan."
Pinefoot waved a tail. "We've got time until that happens. If something goes wrong, we'll be prepared. But," his mew took on a teasing tone. "I don't think all the preperation in the world will be able to save us from those two."
The two kits were curled up so tightly that if not for their drastically different pelts a cat wouldn't be able to tell where one ended and the other began. Affection rose in his chest. Four moons old and such trouble already. He pitied the cats who were chosen to mentor them. They would be the most formidable force in all of ShadowClan.
AN: Yeaah I'm laate but I'm bacccck
any thoughts? We didn't get to flesh out many characters yet but from what you saw of our supporting cast, who do you like? How are Coldkit and Nightkit? Pinefoot and Fawnleap are relationship goals. Just 100% pure love for each other and both their children. Break this family up IF YOU DARE