Leaf-bare (Warriors Cats)

Prologue

Foxstar's tail lashed against the ground as Cherrypaw walked over to her. Deep in the nursery, he could hear the mewing of freshly-born kits, and in the medicine cat den he could hear Frostpool mewing instructions to Sorrelface- the new queen in the nursery. "Sorrelface, you're going to make a fine mother, believe me," Frostpool assured her, but Sorrelface wasn't believing it. She mewed pitifully, something inaudible to Foxstar, before exiting the den. He saw the round tortoiseshell she-cat walk to the fresh-kill pile, pick up a vole and walk back into the nursery.

"Foxstar!" Cherrypaw's cheery voice brought him out of his thinking. The small, white she-cat hobbled over to him; her mangled back leg seemed blindingly obvious in the dawn daylight. Foxstar dipped his head to his former apprentice, and, now, the medicine cat apprentice. Cherry paw hopped up to the pile of trash they called the high-pile and sat down next to Foxstar. He wrapped his reddish brown tail around both of them. It was bushy unlike most cats in his clan. He was still rather shy since he'd only been leader for about a moon now.

"What is it, Cherrypaw?" He mewed to her. She licked her chest, nervously, before tilting her head back up to meet his yellow gaze. His eyes were a brighter color of yellow than she'd ever seen, and they never failed to scare her. She looked back towards the medicine cat den where Frostpool had her head stuck out of the lichen. Cherrypaw could just make out the light gray specks on the she-cats forehead. Frostpool motioned for her to speed up, so Cherrypaw bent back up and looked into Foxstar's eyes fearlessly.

"Frostpool said to tell you that she found a kit outside of the camp, while she was looking for herbs. Well, actually I found the kit, but she wanted credit for it. She wants your opinion about what to do with it," Cherrypaw meowed. Foxstar's tail lashed again, slightly more friendly. Frostpool picked up the tortoiseshell kit and padded over to the both of them. She dropped the kit below the high-pile, sat down, and curled her tail around her front paws and the kit.

"Where's it from?" Foxstar asked, distastefully. Frostpool wanted to jump to the kit's defense but she felt more loyalty to the clan than to the kit. The kit that was making little mewing noises as the minutes past. She knew it needed milk and fast, and she didn't know who to ask, let alone if Foxstar would let her ask a queen. If he didn't, he was sentencing the kit to death pretty much, but if he agreed, he'd be saving the kits life. It seemed like a very obvious decision to Cherrypaw and Frostpool.

"From the smell of it- it's kittypet," Frostpool mewed back. She nudged the kit forward and the kit stumbled towards Foxstar. Foxstar grabbed the kit by her scruff and put her in front of him. He began to lick the kit's matted fur. She couldn't have been any older than a week old, but he didn't want to admit that to himself.

"Ask Sorrelface," he mewed. He felt some odd connection to the kit. "What do we call it?" He asked. Frostpool shrugged and Cherrypaw shrugged too.

"I suggest we call the kit Kestrelkit," Frostpool suggested. Foxstar nodded, but didn't announce it to the clan. He wanted Kestrelkit to be able to have a judgment-free life and if the clan knew she was a kittypet, she'd be judged. From this day forward, the kit would be known as Kestrelkit!