A/N: So life got crazy and I forgot about daily postings, but they're back now!
"Let all cats old enough to swim gather at the Wet Rock for a Clan meeting!" Leopardstar's confident yowl echoed around the clearing.
"Is it our apprenticeship?!" Minnowkit squeaked, her dark grey and white fur bristling with excitement. She stepped on Ripplekit's face as she jumped up to look at the Clan gathering. "Is it?"
"We've still got half a moon to wait," Ripplekit grumbled, shoving his sister away. Minnowkit ignored him.
"Leopardstar might make us apprentices early," she said, unperturbed by Ripplekit's aggression.
"I'm pretty sure it's about the Gathering tonight," Pebblekit's mew interjected. He flicked his grey tail. "Look at the moon."
Ripplekit had long given up telling cats that he couldn't look at things, but he nodded anyway. Besides, it's not like he didn't know what the full moon looked like. His dreams had shown him many times.
"It's the full moon," he said, curling his tail around his paws. "Which means we have to wait another half moon before we become apprentices."
"Shh!" Minnowkit hushed her brothers. "I want to hear who Leopardstar is choosing for the Gathering!" She managed to stay quiet for a few seconds before whispering: "Do you think she'll choose Dawnflower?"
Ripplekit scoffed. "She never picks the queens when they have kits to look after," he said, rolling his eyes.
Minnowkit deflated next to him and Ripplekit could sense the waves of dejection flowing off of his sister.
"Not that Dawnflower won't be able to go eventually," he meowed hastily. "It's just that she has to wait for us to be out of the nursery."
"Half a moon," Minnowkit groaned, but she had clearly perked up and was watching Leopardstar intently.
"Blackclaw, Voletooth, Mintfur, Duskfur, Rippletail, Beechfur, Stonestream, Heavystep, and Dapplepaw will be going to the Gathering," Leopardstar announced.
Ripplekit nudged his sister. "At least Stonestream gets to go." Their father was gathered around the entrance to the camp, waiting for Leopardstar's signal.
"I wish we could go," Minnowkit said wistfully.
"You will eventually." Dawnflower was padding up to her three kits, a purr rumbling deep in her throat. "But for now, it's time to sleep."
"Already?" Minnowkit whined. "But it's barely dark!"
"And you need sleep," Dawnflower said firmly, grabbing her daughter by the scruff.
Ripplekit purred in amusement, brushing against his brother who seemed equally amused by their sister's antics. He followed the warm scent of their mother into the nursery and the sound of pawsteps behind him told him that Pebblekit was following.
"Can we ask Stonestream about the Gathering?" Minnowkit asked, squeezing between Ripplekit and Pebblekit. She made herself comfortable in their nest, letting out a contented sigh as she relaxed.
Ripplekit settled down next to her, resting his muzzle on her shoulder while Pebblekit claimed the empty spot next to Minnowkit and laid his tail across both his littermates.
Dawnflower laid down next to her kits; they were too big to curl around anymore, but their mother made sure she kept an eye on all three of them.
Ripplekit shifted slightly, ignoring Minnowkit's whine of complaint, and drifted off into sleep.
. . .
"Ripplekit!" a voice hissed in his ear. "Wake up!"
Ripplekit batted at the air in front of him, his paws connecting with something warm and furry.
"Stop that, you stupid furball," Minnowkit huffed quietly. "Come on. Stonestream and the other's are back from the Gathering and I want to hear what they're saying."
Ripplekit sat up slowly, flicking his tail gently. He could sense the slow, thrumming beat of Dawnflower's heart and the quicker, more excited thumps of his littermates.
"Fine," he conceded, following his siblings to the exit of the nursery.
"...what do you think that means for us?" Duskfur was asking quietly.
"We will do nothing," Leopardstar said firmly, as if the discussion had been going on for a while. "ThunderClan may have rolled over and given their territory to ShadowClan, but RiverClan will stand tall."
Minnowkit let out a tiny gasp, and Pebblekit quickly put his tail over her mouth. Ripplekit felt his eyes narrow as he focused on his leader's emotions.
"Shouldn't we at least up our patrols on ShadowClan's side?" Blackclaw argued. "They might try to take some from us either way."
Leopardstar was saying something but Ripplekit felt his mind being tugged away and suddenly he was at the Gathering sitting between Beechfur and a white WindClan she-cat. And he could see.
"RiverClan has nothing else to report," Leopardstar said from the large tree, sitting back down.
"ThunderClan has news," a large ginger tom said, standing up. That must be Firestar, Ripplekit thought, staring up at the ThunderClan leader. "After talking with my deputy and senior warriors, ThunderClan has decided to end the conflict with ShadowClan by giving the Twoleg clearing to them. We hope that ShadowClan can get as much out of it as we did." He dipped his head to a massive white tom with black paws as cries of protest rose from a section of the gathered cats.
"ShadowClan thanks your generosity," the tom said. Ripplekit could sense his suspicion, but could tell the ShadowClan leader knew better than to push his luck.
"Why would Firestardothat?" the white WindClan warrior murmured, sounding bewildered.
"As long as ShadowClan doesn't get greedy with RiverClan, it doesn't matter to us," Beechfur snorted in response.
"ThunderClan also has one last thing to say," Firestar said, raising his voice over the murmurs. "Molepaw hunts with StarClan now. His illness did not respond to any of the herbs we used, and last night we sat vigil for him."
"May he hunt well with our ancestors," Leopardstar said, dipping her head, the other leaders murmuring their responses.
The light brown tom on the lowest branch opened his mouth to say something, but Ripplekit was tugged away by his mind before he could hear what the tom said.
"RiverClan will do nothing," Leopardstar was saying in a tone that finalized the conversation.
Ripplekit blinked his eyes as his sight vanished from him once again. He was back in the nursery with his littermates, and not a second had gone by despite the several minutes he had spent at the Gathering Island.
"Everyone, go get some rest," Mistyfoot said calmly. "We're all tired and we can talk about this in the morning with the rest of the Clan."
There were some grumbles, but the Clan quickly disbursed.
Minnowkit let out a huff. "That was quick."
"But we know that ThunderClan gave up some of their territory to ShadowClan," Pebblekit said. "And a lot of the warriors are concerned that ShadowClan will try taking territory from us."
"Hah, I'd like to see them try," Minnowkit snorted, lashing her tail. "Nobody can beat RiverClan! RiverClan fish! RiverClan swim! RiverClan cats use water to win!"
"Shhh!" Pebblekit scolded. "You'll wake Dawnflower up! And half the camp!"
Minnowkit scowled, but kept her voice down as she continued. "Anyway, ShadowClan won't dare take territory from us, not as long as Leopardstar is leader. And they won't when I'm leader."
"You're not even an apprentice yet," Ripplekit said. "How are you thinking of being leader already?"
Minnowkit puffed up. "I'm going to lead RiverClan one day," she said. "I'm going to be Minnowstar and I'm going to stand up on the Wet Rock and I'm going to lead the Clan to Gatherings."
Ripplekit twitched as Dawnflower's heartbeat started to speed up slightly. "We should go back to sleep," he said urgently. "Dawnflower's waking up."
The three littermates scrambled back into their nest just as Dawnflower stirred in her sleep, curling her tail around Pebblekit and Ripplekit.
Ripplekit relaxed against his mother as the familiar waves of sleep washed over him.
. . .
Ripplekit batted at a moss ball in exaggerated boredom, listening carefully to the conversation that Mothwing and Willowpaw were having.
"-and then our territory shriveled up under the sun," Willowpaw said nervously.
Mothwing was quiet for a moment. "We will go talk to Leafpool," she decided. "I will tell Leopardstar that we'll be going. Wait here."
Ripplekit scrambled to play around with the ball as Mothwing passed him. He could feel the suspicious look she sent him, but she said nothing and continued walking to Leopardstar.
"Surprise!" Minnowkit yowled, pouncing on his back. Ripplekit had heard her approaching him, but he was still knocked off balance as his sister let her full weight drop on him.
"What was that for?" he grumbled, shoving her off him.
"You were acting all depressed over here by yourself so I decided to check on you," Minnowkit said seriously. He could feel the worries pouring out of Minnowkit like water finally being released.
"I'm fine," he said. "Honest."
Minnowkit narrowed her eyes at him but changed the subject. "Do you wanna go swimming?"
Ripplekit shifted his paws.
"Don't be a drypaw," Minnowkit scolded. "Come on. Pebblekit is waiting for us at the Dip."
The Dip was a small, nearly enclosed pool at the edge of camp that was used for apprentices to practice swimming. Kits were specifically not allowed to swim in it.
But Minnowkit had never cared about that rule and had constantly snuck off to swim in the Dip for nearly as long as Ripplekit could remember.
"We'll get caught," Ripplekit argued. "Leopardstar might not make us apprentices if we break the rule again."
Minnowkit rolled her eyes. "We won't get caught. We haven't in ages. Come on." Without waiting for him, Minnowkit bounded over to a clump of ferns and disappeared behind them. Ripplekit sighed and followed his sister despite the nagging feeling that something was wrong.
Minnowkit was already swimming in the pool as graceful and at home in the water as her namesake. Pebblekit was in the shallows, pouncing on the small fish that weaved between his paws.
Ripplekit joined them awkwardly on the edge of the pool, hissing as small waves lapped over his paws.
"Come on," Minnowkit meowed impatiently. "You'll never become a RiverClan warrior if you refuse to swim."
"I don't need to swim to be a warrior," Ripplekit objected, jerking back as Minnowkit splashed some water at him.
"But we'reRiverClan," Minnowkit said. "We swim. That's our whole thing. Without water we'd be just like ThunderClan or WindClan. A bunch of drypaws."
"Please?" Pebblekit asked. Ripplekit could feel his brother's pleading eyes on him. "Just for a little bit?"
"Fine," Ripplekit grumbled. He gingerly stepped into the water, wincing as a cold dampness began to sink into his fur. He waded in until his belly fur was sunk underwater. "Happy now?"
Minnowkit just purred in response and sent a small wave at him, forcing him to dunk underwater.
Ripplekit spluttered and shot towards his sister, smacking his tail in the water and sending a wave towards her.
Minnowkit let out a yelp and shoved him away, sending him straight into Pebblekit. The two tumbled in the water, head over tail. Ripplekit caught his balance and began swimming towards Minnowkit's scent, confused as he was pulled backwards by an invisible force.
Horror and realisation dawned on him as he was tugged away from the pool by the current leading to the river.
"Help!" he cried, pawing at the water furiously, trying to swim back to the pool. His attempts were useless as he was pulled out into the river.
"Ripplekit!" Minnowkit wailed, or at least he thought it was her. He kept getting dunked underwater by relentless waves. He tried to call out to her, but was shoved underwater again.
He couldn't tell which way was up to the surface, only that he was drowning and not even StarClan could help him.
Hold still, a voice whispered in his ears as the current brought him up to the surface once more. He gasped for air and tried to scramble for a holding, but there was nothing.
Keep still, little warrior, the voice whispered. Help is coming soon.
Ripplekit was pulled underwater once more but he tried following the instructions of the voice, letting himself go limp as he was tugged around by the current.
Suddenly sharp teeth fastened themselves into his scruff and Ripplekit was yanked upward and above the water. He gasped for air, his lungs burning. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes, but when he turned to get a closer look, she was gone, and his vision was dark again.
He was roughly tossed onto land, and he could tell that his rescuer was less than pleased with him.
"What were you thinking?" Voletooth demanded, panting as he stood over a shivering Ripplekit.
Ripplekit lowered his head dejectedly as water dripped off his whiskers. The pawsteps of two other cats signaled the arrival of his mother and Leopardstar.
"Oh, Ripplekit!" Dawnflower rushed towards her son and curled around him, licking him fiercely. Ripplekit was too exhausted to protest. "What were the three of you thinking, breaking the rules like that?" she demanded between licks. "Have you learned nothing from your previous endeavours? I'm so disappointed in you!"
Ripplekit shifted his paws but said nothing.
"Your siblings are waiting in camp," Leopardstar said curtly. "For now, you're heading to the medicine cat den. We can talk about your punishment later."
Dawnflower picked her son up by the scruff. Ripplekit tried to protest weakly, but his voice fell onto deaf ears as he was brought into camp.
"Hello, Icewing," Leopardstar said. "Since Mothwing and Willowpaw are currently out of camp, I was hoping you could take care of Ripplekit while they're away."
The white she-cat, nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the request. "I'll take care of him," she promised. "You don't have to worry, Dawnflower."
Dawnflower gently set Ripplekit in a nest before exiting, worry clinging to every fur on her pelt.
"I'm fine," Ripplekit protested weakly.
Icewing snorted. "You nearly drowned. That doesn't classify as 'fine'," she told him, pushing a few leaves toward him. "All you really need is rest, but these will help you regain your strength. Eat them and then the poppy seed."
Ripplekit wanted to object, but the firmness of the white she-cat's voice left no room for argument. He ate the herbs and curled up in his nest, imagining the soft voice and sweet scent of the tortoiseshell she-cat who had helped him.
Sweet dreams, my little warrior, she murmured. Today is only the beginning. Soon you will have the power of the stars in your paws.