Herbfall sat beside the waterfall in Earthclan territory. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and breathed in the scents of the land. This was the best place to gather certain herbs. But it was also nice just to sit here and relax. Herbfall hadn't ever had much time to do that. Not since his mentor, Twistedfoot, had died unexpectedly.
"Herbfall." A voice called. Herbfall opened his eyes and looked around. There was no cat to be seen. He sighed. For a second, it had sounded like his mentor had called his name.
"Herbfall." The voice said again. Herbfall jumped to his feet and glanced quickly around. Finally, he saw the speaker. A cat slowly limping towards him with stars in his pelt. Herbfall's mouth fell open.
"T-Twistedfoot! B-but you're dead? I saw you!" Herbfall stammered. He remembered it vividly. Being sent out to gather herbs for a birth, having problems finding them, coming back to find Twistedfoot's broken and bleeding body. Too late to save him.
"I'm a member of Pastclan now. And we have a message for you Herbfall." Twistedfoot said. Herbfall stood a little taller.
"Anything." He said. Twistedfoot nodded.
"Six kits born of blood and fear
Over whom a shadow does leer
Two kits filled with anger and hate
A tri clan kit used as bait
Blood will spill blood
All the river will flood
One will go mad
Over kits once had
One will die, one will leave
No father to grieve
A secret of the hidden past
To be revealed to the killer at last." Twistedfoot meowed solemnly. Herbfall blinked.
"The six? As in... Silvermoon and Stormstone's kits?" He asked.
"Yes." Twistedfoot glanced nervously around.
"I could not foresee which kits would die. Only that one would. You must tell Stormstone the prophecy." He explained. Herbfall felt like he was holding rocks.
"Tell him? But how will he handle it? To learn that one of your kits will leave the clans, one will go mad, and one will die... I can't do that to a father!" Herbfall protested.
"You must tell him." Twistedfoot repeated.
"I can't!" Herbfall said.
"You must." Twistedfoot whispered as he faded away. Herbfall was left alone to his thoughts.
--- at the gathering ---
Stormstone sat before his six kits. All of them now grown up. All of them watching him expectantly as warriors. He didn't want to tell them. But it was time. He had promised.
"You are all half clan siblings." Stormstone started. The Warriors gasped.
"All of us from the same litter? But there are six of us!" Starpelt pointed out.
"Let me finish." Stormstone said. Starpelt closed his mouth.
"Your mother was a Waterclan cat named Silvermoon. When she was a little older than you, she heard a prophecy given to the medicine cat. They told the leader, and the leader thought it was about his own kit." Stormstone explained.
"What was the prophecy?" Stonebite asked. Stormstone closed his eyes.
"Blackness fills the Waterclan heart. The prophecy is the start.
The kit will die by a friendly claw.
The moon will be the sought after flaw.
The innocent will take the toll,
The killer cat's final goal.
Earth and Water will unite
In hopes that the kits will stop the fight.
A secret kept to the final breath.
All clans will unite at the death." He recited. Then he opened his eyes.
"She told me when I was in the cave alone with her one night. The Waterclan heart filled with blackness was Jaggedstar, Jaggedclaw back then. He wanted to learn the prophecy for himself. He murdered a kit and framed Silvermoon, having her banished from the clan. Twistedstar thought the moon was his kit, but it was really Silvermoon. In the end, Jaggedstar broke into the Earthclan camp the night Silvermoon was kitting and killed her and several other cats, including the medicine cat at that time. Then he ran away back to his clan and forced Earthclan to give up three kits. He had no idea that Starpelt, Stonebite, and Smokeflower existed. Still doesn't. He thinks that they're Featherfur's kits." Stormstone explained.
"But what about the rest of the prophecy? All of the clans reuniting at the death, a secret kept to the final breath, and Earth and Water reuniting in hopes the kits will stop the fighting?" Starpelt asked. Stormstone shrugged.
"It is probably talking about Silvermoon's death, and how she never revealed her innocence to anyone but me." Stormstone said. Snowleap climbed to her feet angrily.
"Why didn't you fight for us?" She asked harshly. Stormstone didn't answer. She glared at him.
"I hate you. I hate you and your three kits. I wish you had never existed!" Snowleap spat. Stormstone flinched, and Starpelt jumped to his feet.
"It wasn't his fault! Jaggedstar would have killed everyone else if he didn't! All of this is Jaggedstar's fault!" Starpelt declared. Snowleap swiped an unsheathed claw at his face and missed.
"You all are just trying to get us to abandon our clan! Well I've had enough! Come on Shadowstalker, Cloudrunner. We're done here." Snowleap hissed. Her brothers stood, and the three of them turned and stalked out of the bushes and back to the rest of the gathering. Unnoticed by everyone, hungry amber eyes gleamed out of the shadows. And they liked what they saw.
YOU ARE READING
Warriors Forbidden Kits
RandomStormstone and Silvermoon's kits have been divided. Half were taken by Jaggedclaw to be raised in Waterclan, the other half were kept in Earthclan with their father. Moons have passed, and now the kits are apprentices. But the ones Stormstone sent a...
