1Alright, here's chapter 1! I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed my first submission; those changes will soon be made. And now... chapter 1. Chapter updates will be made soon. Reviews and critique are always appreciated!
~NanixLanix
Chapter 1
The sky was mottled with thick layers of gray clouds. It made the atmosphere feel gloomy for a moment, but suddenly, the sun forced its way through, giving the PineClan camp below a few extra rays of its light. But the clouds gruffly moved back in, pushing the sun away.
A little she-kit stood outside the nursery, watching the clouds and sun battle against each other. Her tiny pink nose could scent the crisp change in the air; it was getting colder. Suddenly, a white fleck fluttered down from the sky and landed onto her muzzle. She winced at its gentle touch, but as soon as it had landed, the little thing had disappeared into her whiskers, and more of them were falling from the sky. What was it?
"Hazelkit!" a voice called.
Hazelkit flinched and turned to see a she-cat's head was poking out of the nursery, giving her an annoyed look. It was her mother, Creamrose. Her ears were flat against the cold, and her swollen belly could be seen from where Hazelkit sat.
Creamrose gestured with her slender head. "Come back in here! It's too cold out here for you."
Hazelkit felt disappointment churn in her heart. She didn't want to go back inside the stuffy nursery!
"But, Creamrose, look at that white stuff!" Hazelkit pointed with her paw at the now countless white things fluttering onto the ground.
"Yes, it's snow," Creamrose answered dryly. "Leaf-bare has finally come upon us. And where there's leaf-bare, there's whitecough, or worse. So come inside, now!"
Grumbling under her breath, Hazelkit reluctantly trudged after her mother.
Inside the nursery, the air became dry and warm from the sheltering bramble tunnel. The scent of milk and kit-fur became strong and immediately Hazelkit could hear the voices of her denmates. Creamrose slipped into the heart the den with Hazelkit right behind her.
Another queen, called Petaltail, was lying in her own nest while Creamrose settled back into hers. Another kit around Hazelkit's age was bounding around Petaltail playfully. It was Hazelkit's sister, Tinykit. She wasn't called 'tiny' for nothing. Beside Petaltail, Tinykit looked like a white hairball with one gray paw.
"Tinykit!" Creamrose snapped. Tinykit froze. "Stop messing around like that, can't you see Petaltail's in no condition to play with you?"
It was subtle, but a little curve to Petaltail's belly indicated that she had just began her expectancy. Petaltail flicked her tail dismissively.
"You know I don't mind your little darlings," Petaltail reassured her. She added, "And besides, you're the one with the condition." Her gaze sparkled warmly at Creamrose's much larger belly.
Creamrose sighed to herself and mewed, "Yes, I'm sure a few more moons will do the trick."
Tinykit padded up to Hazelkit who was clawing at the ground. "Where did you go?"
Hazelkit didn't look up. "Outside," she grumbled.
Tinykit's mouth fell open. "Without me?!"
"Tinykit!" Creamrose hissed. "Please keep you voice down."
"But I wanna go outside, too!" Tinykit complained.
Creamrose shook her head. "Not today and certainly not for awhile to come. The snowy weather is much too harsh during leaf-bare in these parts of the woods for kits; you'll get sick."
"But-" Tinykit tried to protest but Petaltail interrupted.
"You know, last gathering I heard from Mossflower that FadeClan's already been invaded by whitecough."
Creamrose wrinkled her nose. "Really? That's awful, I hope their kits are safe."
"Mossflower assured me that it's mostly the warriors, strange, huh?"
Creamrose nodded slowly. "Yes... It's usually elders and kits that are prone to whitecough."
Petaltail grunted. "Well, that's just what we need. Sick warriors equals shady business. What if our warriors catch whitecough? We won't be able to defend ourselves from those foxhearts in RockClan!"
Creamrose uttered a sharp breath and glanced at her kits. "You're right... And they've been acting so suspicious lately. They might even try something with FadeClan! What do the elders think of this?"
"I'm not sure, I'll be sure to ask them..."
The queens continued on their gossip rampage while Hazelkit and Tinykit sat nearby, bored.
Tinykit flicked Hazelkit's shoulder with her tail. "You should have brought me with you," she muttered. "Now I'll never see the snow!"
"That's not true," Hazelkit mewed.
"Yes, it is!" Tinykit hissed. "I'll have to wait until I'm six moons old! And that'll take forever! And the snow will probably all be gone by then!"
Hazelkit groaned. Her sister could be such a drama puss. But she did care a lot for Tinykit; they did everything together, well, except going outside to see the snow. She and her sister made a promise to each other that no matter what they'd always be sisters and best friends and do everything together.
Oh no, she's going to mention the promise...
"We made a promise remember!?" Tinykit growled, her white fur fluffing up.
Hazelkit snickered at the sight of her sister. It was always so hilarious whenever her sister got angry with her because her fur fluffed up and looked so silly! Tinykit's nose flared defensively. "What's so funny?" She demanded.
"Hee hee! You look like a overgrown snowball!" Hazelkit purred.
Tinykit looked annoyed at first, but suddenly, she started to purr in laughter as well until they were both amusing each other.
Suddenly, a rustle at the entrance told that some cat was entering.
The scent of bitter herbs approached making Hazelkit curl her tongue in disgust. Ever since she had gotten a bellyache and was forced to eat foul-tasting herbs to throw it up, she harbored a distaste for the tangy smell of herbs; it was clear then that becoming a warrior was truly her calling.
The scent got stronger until Starlingcall, the PineClan medicine cat, appeared. Her pelt was ruffled from the aftermath of hard work and her eyes looked tired, but pleasant.
It took a moment for the queens to notice her arrival, but when they did, they each dipped their heads in greeting.
"Good morning, Starlingcall," Creamrose purred. "Here to check on me again?"
Starlingcall nodded. "Yep, you know the drill."
She placed a paw gently onto Creamrose's belly and felt around. "Mm hm, everything's good. As expected from a healthy mother of two."
Creamrose beamed and glanced proudly at her kits.
Starlingcall turned to Petaltail. "And what about you Petaltail? Everything feeling fine?"
Petaltail's whiskers twitched in amusement. "As fine as pregnancy goes. But that Darkfang keeps checking up on me; it's getting under my fur!"
Starlingcall's whiskers twitched in amusement. "This is your first litter, Petaltail. It's only natural for Darkfang to feel concern for you. Give him patience."
Petaltail dipped her head in submission.
Starlingcall turned to Hazelkit and Tinykit. "I hope you're both being good kits for your mother."
Creamrose snorted faintly. "No luck there. They're too excited about the snow."
"But I've never seen it," Tinykit pouted.
Starlingcall thought for moment, then offered, "Why don't you let me watch over them in my den?"
Creamrose blinked in surprise. "Oh no, I couldn't let you do that! These two can be a lot of work."
"I don't mind," Starlingcall meowed. "Besides, I could use a little help with my new herb store. And these two must be bored out of their wits; they're getting pretty big for the nursery."
Creamrose glanced at Hazelkit and Tinykit. "Well? What do you say?"
Tinykit gave a little leap. "Yes!"
Hazelkit wriggled in excitement. "Yes, I wanna go, too!"
"Then it's settled," Starlingcall meowed, heading back outside. "I'll return them in a bit."
Creamrose gave her kits each a lick on the forehead. "Now be good kits for Starlingcall, she's a very busy cat. And be obedient!"
Hazelkit and Tinykit nodded quickly and scampered after Starlingcall.
The familiar wave of coldness hit Hazelkit's fur once again, and for a moment she wanted to go back the nursery. She abruptly shook the thought away; she'd rather be outside then listen to the queen's chattering!
Tinykit was already bounding around in blissful leaps as if the cold didn't exist. The snow had covered the ground of the entire camp, and fresh sunlight made the snow glimmer. Members of the Clan were starting to sprout from their dens, looking at the sudden snowfall in distaste and sniffing it suspiciously.
Tinykit's little paws crunched loudly in the snow as she landed and she squealed in delight. "The snow is so fun!"
Hazelkit crouched down and pretended to stalk her sister like she was her prey. She wriggled her haunches and leaped, letting out a satisfied yowl. Tinykit screeched and tried to veer away, but Hazelkit was already on top of her, their weight made them both crash into a snowy mound.
Starlingcall approached, purring in amusement, "Come on, kits. I don't want to lose you in the snow. You're going to help me, remember?"
Tinykit jumped out of the mound first, then Hazelkit, who stopped briefly to shake the residue out of her fur. Suddenly, the increasing sound of her Clanmates came from behind her.
Hazelkit curiously turned her head to see five strong-bodied warriors returning from the woods. From what she was told by Creamrose, Hazelkit recognized that the four toms were warriors; she recognized her father, Fallenwing immediately out of the bunch. She always looked up to him and couldn't wait to be by his side as a warrior one day. The last tom was the PineClan deputy. She tried to recall his name, but she couldn't remember.
How do you expect to become a warrior one day if you can't remember your own deputy's name? I can recall Redstar's name just fine, can't I?
Starlingcall padded back to retrieve Hazelkit. "Come on, Hazelkit."
Hazelkit blinked at her curiously. "What are they doing?"
Starlingcall looked up at the warriors who were now chatting amongst themselves; they had been joined by their other Clanmates as well. "That's the dawn patrol. Owlfeather will be making up more patrols soon, they've just been delayed because of the snow and ice. They can be dangerous during leaf-bare season."
Hazelkit's ears perked up. Owlfeather! That was his name.