Breezeleaf's Calling // A Warrior Cat Story

Chapter One

         

"Great Starclan, Breezekit, what in clan's name do you think you're doing?"

The small kit continued hooking her claws into the tough beech wood, flinging herself upward with a gasp of air. Her ears were growing hot; the sun filtered through the leaves onto her dark fur. Quickly, she leaped upward in hope she could snatch onto a nearby branch.

Her claws gripped onto a dense, beech branch, and for a moment Breezekit swung, breathing very heavily, her muscles aching. Kicking her back legs up to snatch onto the branch, Breezekit looked down through the rich, green leaves to see a black and silver tortoiseshell, her blue eyes clouded with worry. "You're going to fall if you keep this up!" the she-cat yowled. 

Breezekit took a deep breath. "Just a few more branches! I'm almost high enough to see over the camp."

A large, silver and gray head popped into view through the leaves, looking up. "Breezekit, if you don't come down now, I'll personally assign you to mouse dung duty until you become an apprentice!"

Breezekit gaped. "That's not fair, father! I'm almost thereーjust a few more branches..." Breezekit darted her head up. She could barely see the top of the tree through the thick leaves, to her disappointment. For a moment she looked from her father and mother to the top of the tree. Then, shaking her head, she began leaping down branch by branch, furious.

Once she landed, the black and silver she-cat pressed her head into Breezekit's neck fur. "You scared me half death! I don't like you climbing that old tree; would if a branch broke? You could get hurt!"

Breezekit sighed, allowing her mother to continue viscously lap at her fur. "You know I've always tried to reach the top since my first day out of the nursery. I know every branch like I know my own name."

The gray tom purred. "Just remember you're almost an apprentice. Why work to see over the camp walls when you'll be able to in less than a moon?"

Breezekit sighed. "Right..."

Suddenly, two pelts crashed into Breezekit, causing her to yelp in surprise and fall down. "Did you make it to the top?" One mewed. The other leaped off and paced around her, her tail flicking in excitement.

With an annoyed look from her father and mother, Breezekit sighed. "Nope. I probably won't reach the top anytime soon, Blackkit, so don't keep your hopes high."

The tom kit's ears drooped. "It's been your goal all your life, though!" 

The she-kit stopped pacing, craning her neck to see the top of the tree. "Maybe I should try," she murmured. 

"Oh, no you don't," the black she-cat purred, snatching the white she-kit away from the base of the tree. She set her by Blackkit and Breezekit. "You can do whatever crazy things you want when you're apprentices," she meowed, twitching her whiskers in amusement. 

The gray tom sat beside his mate and curled his tail around his paws. "Once you're apprentices, you must rely on your own responsibility and sanity to become a warrior."

The black she-cat snorted. "Quailfeather, when you were an apprentice, you didn't listen to a thing your mentor told you."

He turned to her, twitching his whiskers playfully. "You have no room to talk, Raincloud." The two mates rubbed against each other, amused as they remembered their apprentice days.

The three kits sat there in silence. Blackkit cringed. "They're being all lovey-dovey again." 

The white she-kit pawed at Breezekit's ear. "Let's go play beetleball. One of the elders said there were some live ones behind their den!"

Breezekit's tail flicked in excitement. "Okay! Lavenderkit, you can fetch the beetle, and Blackkit and I will be over by the apprentice den to see if they want to join in."

After Lavenderkit dashed away in search of beetles, Blackkit and Breezekit padded over to where the apprentices were cooling under the shade of the apprentice den. One of them lapped at the trickle of water from the medicine cat den next door. "Hello!" mewed Breezekit. One of them glanced up toward the two kits, a ginger tabby she-cat named Firepaw.

"Breezekit and Blackkit, hello," she meowed. "What are you guys up to?"

"We were planning on playing some beetleball, Firepaw, and wanted to ask if you, Brownpaw and Driftpaw would join," purred Blackkit, waving his tail in glee. 

The one resting besides Firepaw, a brown and orange tom, twitched his whiskers. "We don't have time for games, kit," he growled, sitting up to begin grooming. "We leave for evening patrol soon. Being an apprentice is tough work, I wouldn't be surprised if one of you complained on your first day out."

Blackkit dug his claws into the dusty ground. "What do you mean, since we're less than a moon away from becoming an apprentice, we won't be tough enough?"

"That's exactly what I mean," he growled. The she-cat drinking from the small trickle of water looked up, droplets falling from her whiskers. She glared at the tom annoyingly, then turned back to the two kits.

"You know we'd love to, but it's awfully hot out," she glared at the brown and orange tom, "isn't that what you meant, Brownpaw?"

Brownpaw snorted. He flopped down under the shade, facing away from the kits. Firepaw beside him looked at Breezekit helplessly. "Sorry, guys. Why don't you ask Fawnkit or Whitekit? I'm sure they'd love to."

At that time, Lavenderkit came dashing to Breezekit and Blackkit, a large, golden beetle between her jaws. "Petalfoot just said they were taking an afternoon nap. You know how she can be about her new kits."

Breezekit nodded, then stopped as she heard rapid pawsteps coming from outside the camp. She sharply turned toward the camp entrance to see a large patrol running into the camp, led by deputy and warrior Tallhawk and Ashenstep. The apprentices leaped up in surprise as the patrol crashed into the camp, blood scratches pelting their fur. 

From the Flat Stone, leader Lightstar leaped down and approached the injured patrol. As Breezekit looked around the worried and angry expressions, Lightstar snapped toward her. "Get Bluecreek!" he roared.

Breezekit leaped up in surprise from the sudden command and dashed to the medicine cat den, where Bluecreek was hunched over some herbs. "Bluecreek, Lightstar n-needs you!"

She immediately turned toward the kit. "Did something happen?"

"Injured warriors!" Breezekit huffed, out of breath. Bluecreek leaped outside in a flash, leaving Breezekit's heart thumping loudly. Getting herself together, she turned outside to see the patrol lined up beside Bluecreek, whom was checking their wounds. Beside her, Lightstar and Tallhawk were worryingly exchanging news.

"They attacked us by surprise," Tallhawk breathed, shaking her head as if she still couldn't believe what had happened. "They went for Honeybelly. Two warriors had to carry her to camp; she's really beat up."

Breezekit immediately turned to the honey-furred she-cat laying unconsciously on the ground. The small kit gulped, feeling complete fear cloud her vision. Honeybelly always played with me and my littermates. From where Breezekit was, she could barely see the warrior's chest rise and fall.

"I knew I needed an apprentice," Bluecreek mewed bitterly as she looked around at the other warriors. Finally her gaze fell on Lavenderkit whom was standing beside the apprentice den with Blackkit. "Lavenderkit, Blackkit," she called, and the two kits looked up in surprise. "Can you two fetch some supplies for me and help out?"

"S-Sure!" Lavenderkit yelped. Blackkit nodded, and followed Lavenderkit as they dashed inside. 

Breezekit turned back to Lightstar and Tallhawk, picking up their conversation. "Who exactly attacked? Did you see any familiar faces from Gatherings?"

Tallhawk shook her head, her green eyes wide with disbelief. "That's what's weird, Lightstar," she mewed, her voice shaky. "I saw a Windclan cat—Cyrpresstail—attack me, which was no surprise because it was near their territory and they have attacked us in the past. But something was off."

Lightstar's ears flicked forward. "Off?"

Tallhawk shivered. "I smelled Thunderclan. And the cat that attacked Honeybelly was their deputy, Stormtooth!"