Hidden Mysteries (A Warriors Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

Squirrelkit and Copperkit suddenly burst into the medicine den, fur bristling. Maplepaw, sitting near the back of the cave, came to meet them. The kits' legs seemed longer and their shoulders looked broader. It had been a moon, after all, and they were growing. They'll be apprenticed soon, she realized with a purr.

"Yelloweye is kitting!" Squirrelkit blurted out.

Crowfur joined the cats. "Already?" Her eyes widened. "She isn't due for another moon!"

A yowl of pain suddenly rang from outside of the cave. Maplepaw flattened her ears. Yelloweye!

Copperkit gasped. "Hurry!" He sped out of the den, Squirrelkit on his tail.

"Come on." Crowfur skipped over to the herb store. She grasped some leaves in her jaws; Maplepaw recognized the sweet scent of raspberry leaves. As another yowl sounded from outside, Crowfur rushed out of the den. Heart racing, Maplepaw hurriedly followed.

A crowd of cats was surrounding the entrance to the nursery, murmuring uneasily to one another. Fear sparked from every pelt. Riverheart paced the entrance.

"The kits are coming too early," he muttered to himself, tail twitching with anxiety.

Crowfur pushed her way through the cats and ducked into the nursery. Brightpaw stopped Maplepaw before she went inside. His eyes were round with worry.

"Yelloweye will be okay, right?"

Maplepaw was about to reply when she was interrupted by another yowl. Panic started to well inside of her. She turned back to Brightpaw, but couldn't find an answer to his question. She only gave a curt nod and slipped into the nursery.

Yelloweye was lying on her side, face screwed up and body clenching with pain. Her breathing was coming in gasps. Thrushheart had Copperkit and Squirrelkit held back with her tail on the other side of the den while Nettlestripe huddled closer to her own kits, face plastered with fright.

Maplepaw hurried over to Crowfur, who was settled near Yelloweye. The medicine cat nudged the raspberry leaves to the queen.

"Eat these," she told her. "You need them for the pain."

Yelloweye stared at the herbs, anguish clear in her gaze. She gave a loud moan as a wave passed through her body. Crowfur, fur prickling, turned to Maplepaw.

She jerked her head toward the entrance. "Go fetch a stick," she commanded. "Make sure it's sturdy and doesn't crack between your jaws."

Although she didn't know why a stick was necessary, Maplepaw nodded and staggered out of the den. She raced through the crowd and out the vine tunnel. She glanced around as she caught her breath. She padded forward and sniffed around the grass. Where would there be a stick on the moor?

When she couldn't find one, she bit her lip. I'll have to go to Oakwood, she thought. She pelted through the grass, too worried about her Clanmate to think about danger.

As Maplepaw ran, her paw got stuck under something and she tripped. She yelped as her face hit the floor. Growling in frustration, she heaved herself back to her paws and turned to look at what had tripped her. Her tail shot up as she spotted a long brown piece of wood.

A stick!

Maplepaw lowered her head and fastened the stick between her jaws, relief flooding over her when it didn't crack or splinter. After getting a firm grip, she dragged it across the moor. A yowl came from the camp. Maplepaw quickened her pace, heart starting to pound. She struggled to get the huge stick through the vine tunnel, but, after stumbling a few times, she got it through.