Lavenderpaw's Destiny

Chapter 15

Starlingwing paced the clearing restlessly. It had been a moon since Turtlefoot and Daisystream had disappeared while taking herbs to another clan and still there had been no sign of them. Starlingwing thought back to how she had volunteered for that outing, and thanked Starclan that she hadn't gone. If she had, she may have disappeared as well and left her kits motherless. 

The clan had almost given up hope of finding them, and they had sat vigil for the two warriors the night before. Starlingwing had noticed that Turtlefoot's littermate, Ivysprout, had turned to Turtlefoot's former mate, Rowanroot, for comfort. They were getting a little too close for Starlingwing's liking. It had only been a moon and already Rowanroot was moving on, with Turtlefoot's sister of all cats. 

Shaking out her fur, she reminded herself that she should stay out of other's business. She had kits to focus on anyway. Lavenderkit had insisted on staying up with Starlingwing and Midnightfur for the vigil, and now she was exhausted. Starlingwing had been trying to convince her to nap all day, but now that Lavenderkit was only a moon away from becoming an apprentice, she had decided she was too old to nap. 

Luckily, her other three kits were fast asleep, napping peacefully in the nursery. They were three moons old now, but still needed extra rest, especially with the cold leafbare upon them. Luckily, this cold season hadn't been too harsh so far, and the clan had only had a light dusting of snow. Prey was sparse, but the hunting patrols still found enough to feed the clan.

Suddenly Starlingwing felt something pounce on her tail, and turned around crossly to see Lavenderkit with it between her paws. The silver tabby kit looked up at her sheepishly, mewing in amusement. She had still been having visions, but had forced herself to stop each time. Starlingwing was proud of her for stopping, but still worried about why she was having these visions. Junipertwig was baffled, and didn't seem to think that they were from Starclan at all. She had never seen anything like this apparently. Still, Lavenderkit acted like a perfectly normal kit, and Starlingwing purred as she batted around her tail. 

"Hey! That's attached to me you know!" She meowed, trying to sound stern.

"I know, but I need to practice hunting! I'll be an apprentice in less than a moon!" The kit squealed. 

"Well, Firekit, Shinekit, Acornkit, and Finchkit will all be apprentices in less than a moon too and you don't see them pouncing on their mother's tail!" 

Lavenderkit puffed up her chest indignantly. "Actually, I saw them do it yesterday to their mother and their father". 

Starlingwing purred with laughter and gently pushed Lavenderkit over. "You cheeky kit!"

Lavenderkit giggled and hopped back onto her paws. Suddenly she let out a big yawn and began to sway, her eyes looking heavy. Starlingwing gently steadied her with a paw. "Why don't you go nap darling?"

"I'm too big to nap! I'll be an apprentice soon and won't have time for naps then!" Lavenderkit mewed sharply. 

Starlingwing sighed, knowing the kit would get grouchy without sleep. Spotting her father, Owlsneeze, at the entrance of the elders den, Starlingwing suddenly had an idea. While Lavenderkit was distracted, the tabby queen quickly trotted over to her father. 

"Hi Starlingwing, how are the kits all doing?" Owlsneeze purred as she approached. 

"They're doing good," Starlingwing purred, touching her nose to his. "But Lavenderkit stayed up for the vigil last night and won't nap now, so she's getting grouchy. Will you tell her a super long story about your warrior days? Maybe she'll fall asleep during it". 

Owlsneeze nodded, his eyes twinkling. "Of course, I love telling stories anyway. Send her over, I'll go make sure my nest is extra comfy so she can't resist sleeping".