Warriors: Into the Forest

Chapter 7

Stonepaw and Spiritpaw dashed through the undergrowth.  

"If we hurry we can catch it!" Spiritpaw yowled as he put on a burst of speed.

Stonepaw added to his own run, and quickly caught up to Spiritpaw.  He could see what they were chasing just beyond the trees.

The two apprentices burst into the clearing and cornered the thrush against a large cliff.

"We've got you now, you cheeky thrush!" Spiritpaw growled.  The thrush squawked, but Stonepaw knew it could do nothing.  It was plump, and would feed many of the Clan.

Spiritpaw pounced, but the thrush evaded him, and ran right into Stonepaw's paws.  He killed it with a swift nip to the neck.

"Nice catch!" Spiritpaw mewed.

"You helped too." Stonepaw replied.

"That was great for your first assessment."   Stonepaw turned to see Poppystem appearing out of the undergrowth, accompanied by Acorntail, Spiritpaw's mentor and father.

"You'll soon be warriors." Acorntail mewed, casting an affectionate look of approval at Spiritpaw.

Poppystem nodded in agreement.  "How about you take that to the nursery queens when we get back?" the tortoiseshell suggested.

Acorntail nodded.  "Yes, and then you can clear out the elders' old bedding."

Stonepaw nodded, while Spiritpaw mumbled agreement.  The four cats padded back to camp, and Poppystem and Acorntail deposited any prey the apprentices couldn't carry onto the fresh-kill pile.

Stonepaw and Spiritpaw headed towards the nursery, the thrush held between them.  They pushed through the thorn barrier, and were immediately barreled over by Blackkit and Whitekit.

"Is that thrush for us?" Blackkit asked.

"Yeah!" Whitekit agreed.  "I'm starving!"

Stonepaw purred, and Spiritpaw mewed, "Yes, it's for all of you."

An excited squeal came from the corner of the hollow stump.  Stonepaw turned and saw Badgerkit and Bramblekit wrestling each other for who would clear their mother's tail first, as Ravenkit quietly clambered over Stemfrost's bright ginger tail, and then bounded over to the two apprentices.

"Ha!"  Ravenkit looked back to see the look on her littermates' faces, and let out a squeal when the two toms stopped wrestling and raced toward her.  The three kits began to dig into the prey immediately.

"Wait-!"  Stemfrost's warning came to late, and the kits began to cough up the prey they had just eaten.

Ravenkit padded back to her mother, her white tail-tip twitching.  "That made my throat hurt." the black she-kit mewed to her mother.

"I've told you kits many times that you are not old enough to eat prey yet!"  Stemfrost's scolding mew was edged with affection and amusement.

Stonepaw shook his head in amusement.  The three kits were only a moon old, but they were as energetic as the older litter of Amberstorm's.

"Well, we have to go clear out the elder's bedding." Spiritpaw mewed.

Stonepaw nodded regretfully.  He would have loved to stay and visit with the kits, but his apprentice duties came first.

As they padded out of the den, Stonepaw heard Bramblekit mewing farewell.  "Bye Spiritpaw!" the gray tom meowed.  "Bye, Stonepaw!"

...

Reedleap padded through the dense beech forest in ChannelClan's territory.  She looked around, sniffing for the herbs she needed.  Leaf-bare was coming, and it would be especially dangerous with Eaglefish's kits coming soon before.  In fact, Reedleap expected to be delivering her and Quailstrike's kits that night. 

She luckily found a clump of bindweed, which would be useful if any cats broke a leg on unseen things, which was very common in ChannelClan territory during leaf-bare.  Reedleap let out a mrrow of amusement when she realized few cats were clumsy enough to do it, but Plumbriar would be most likely to.

As if her thoughts had summoned the black warrior, Plumbriar broke through the ferns beside Reedleap.  "Eaglefish's kits are coming!" he exclaimed, and Reedleap raced back to camp ahead of him, her paws skimming the ground.

She reached the camp and bounded toward her den.  She went inside the rock and set down her bindweed and grabbed a bunch of chervil roots, and hooked a claw on a dock leaf.  She leaped back over the stepping stones and raced to the nursery.  It was a small cave, hollowed out by the river many moons ago when it ran through the clearing.

Inside, Eaglefish was grunting as her body gripped with convulsions.  Quailstrike was at her head, soothing her.  Frostfin was also dare, helping in any way he could.  "Go get a sturdy, strong stick." she instructed Frostfin.  The silver tom nodded and bounded out of the nursery.

"What can I do?" Quailstrike asked.

"Keep calming her." Reedleap meowed to the deputy as his mate was gripped by a stronger convulsion.  This meant the kits would be coming soon.  Reedleap quickly chewed up the chervil root and put it on the dock leaf before offering the herb to Eaglefish.  The kitting queen licked up the herb.

As the strongest convulsion yet gripped the golden she-cat's body, Frostfin appeared with a sturdy, young branch in his jaws.  He dropped it at Eaglefish's head, and the queen quickly clamped her jaws down on the stick.

As the branch held, a tiny wet bundle slipped onto the moss.  Reedleap handed it to Frostfin.  "Lick its fur the wrong way," she instructed.  "Warm it up."

As Frostfin began to lick the kit's fur, Reedleap turned back.  Another kit had slipped out, but Quailstrike was already warming it.

As the next kit slipped out, and Reedleap began to warm it.  She began to panic when another kit came, but Eaglefish let go of her branch and warmed her kit.  The pain was obviously gone, which meant the kitting was over.

Frostfin and Quailstrike laid their kits beside their mother, and Reedleap placed her kit down as well.  Eaglefish licked vigorously at her kit and then placed it at her belly.

Reedleap nodded.  "Three she-kits and a tom." Reedleap mewed.

Eaglefish began to purr, and Quailstrike nuzzled his mate.

Reedleap felt a tail rest on her shoulder.  She turned to see Frostfin.  "We should leave." the silver warrior meowed.  She nodded.  It was always a joy to bring kits into the world, but Reedleap was always ready to leave afterwards.

...

Falconpaw collapsed. sleepily into his nest.  It had been a long day, spent hunting for leaf-bare.  He had finally warmed up to Hazel, and had learned to like the she-cat.  

He learned the four kits names as well.  The gray tom was named Ashkit, the white tom was named Bonekit, the black she-cat was named Fernkit and her nearly-identical sister was named Snowkit, for her snow-white ears.

Swallowpaw's ear twitched.  "Can't you lumber like a badger to your nest quietly?"  There was humor in the light brown she-cats mew, but also seriousness.

Larkpaw grunted from the other side of the den.  Boulderpelt and Featherheart had earned their warrior names the day before, and had moved out of the apprentices' den.  Since then, it had been quieter, with just Falconpaw and his littermates, who slept peacefully at night.

Falconpaw soon drifted into sleep, and was met by with the tang of blood, and the sound of cats battling and yowling.  Suddenly, a voice spoke.

"The falcon will deliver the Clans to victory, guided by reeds, and find shelter on stony banks, or else peace will drown in the flood of blood."

Falconpaw awoke in his nest.  Larkpaw was gone, and Swallowpaw was at the entrance to the den.  "What's happening?" he asked his sister.

Swallowpaw turned back to her brother, her face painted with worry.  "HillockClan is attacking!"