Warriors: Whitekit's Dream [Book One of the Voiceless Series]

Chapter Seven

"Whitekit! Whitekit, calm down!" Willowshade said above the murmurs of the clan.

Whitekit coughed, gasping for air. Her body was shaking as she shook her head, opening her eyes. Where are we? She asked herself, flattening her smalls ears against her head as she noticed the clan staring at her.

She stared back with wide eyes until Heatherstone stood in front of her, telling the others to stand back. Then, the medicine cat bent down to examine the kit.

"Whitekit," Heatherstone meowed. "From the looks of it. . . You've dreamt of something quite terrible, no? You're shaking,"

Whitekit nodded, the drumming of paws still engraved in her mind. She flickered her eyes back and forth, then flicked both of her ears which was followed by a nose twitch. Where?

Heatherstone pawed lightly at Willowshade, who was focused on Ryekit and Palekit. The queen looked to Whitekit, who repeated the sign.

"The roof of a building. . . We made it up here just in time, Whitekit." Willowshade explained. "Once you woke up, we needed to move. The coyotes had climbed up the stairs and saw us go up."

Whitekit was scared. She shifted from her position and started to stand up, Heatherstone nudged her back down.

"Don't move yet--you seem weak from what just happened," She explained, quickly turning to Wildstar who was addressing the clan.

"--know we are here," Wildstar said, Whitekit straining her ears to catch his words. "And with that, they could climb up to this building any moment! We will be trapped."

Finchwing was standing beside her leader, shocked at the negativity in his voice. "Wildstar. . . What will we do?"

"There is only one possible thing, Finchwing." Wildstar breathed. "And I must tell you, the outcome will not be good."

"Tell us, Wildstar!" A warrior shouted from the crowd.

"Leaping is too dangerous from this height," Wildstar said, flicking his tail. "We will surely fall. We cannot travel down the stairs. . . it is too late for that. If we decide to hide within the building, the coyotes will surely sniff us out and corner us. I am sorry for failing you, my clan. . . But we will need to fight."

Silenced washed over the clan--not a murmur or a whisper was heard, only the sound of the whistling wind that ruffled the cats' pelts. Whitekit stood up against Heatherstone's warning. She took in a sharp breath of air as she put pressure on her right paw--the one that had been bitten by a rat. She jerked, lifting the paw up from the ground.

"What will we do with the kits?" Tallflower sniffed, holding Tumblekit close to her. The clan was still mourning the loss of Wolfkit, and the tom's parents and sister didn't seem to be holding up well.

Tumblekit's fur was sticking up in many directions, her innocent yellow eyes wide in alarm. Whitekit could tell how afraid her friend was. She must be afraid that the coyotes will take her too.

Wildstar licked his muzzle. "Queens, kits, and elders will need to be protected. The warriors and apprentices must gather into a circle. Move!" The leader shouted, the clan moving into position.

The wind slowed, and now Whitekit could hear the sound of the lapping waters that surrounded the city. She could hear the three apprentices murmuring with excitement mixed with fear.

Strikepaw, the gray tom apprentice, paced back and forth in front of Emberpaw and Valleypaw. The two she-cats assumed their given positions while watching their friend mumble to himself--probably reassuring words.

Emberpaw was next to her mentor, Longstep. The tom was saying words of confidence to his apprentice, assuming that they would need to fight. Emberpaw licked her muzzle and flicked her tail, staring around the roof. Whitekit glanced about too, fully taking in her surroundings.

The rooftop was fairly large, and Whitekit knew that Wildstar thought it was enough room for a battle. There were thin railings. . . Not narrow enough to contain a cat, however. A warrior could surely plummet to its death if an enemy were to push it off. Whitekit shuddered at the thought, and her eyes flickered over to a door. The warriors were all looking towards it, as so Whitekit assumed that was were the coyotes were to plausibly enter.

The ground on which Whitekit stood on was pure concrete, small little cracks were everywhere, and dirt was settled between the nooks in the floor. The clan was moving about within the silence, the three apprentices preparing for their first battle. 

"Do you know how many there were in the pack, Wildstar?" A warrior named Softgaze asked. 

"I am unsure," The leader replied. "Five. . . Six at the most. You know how coyotes rarely hunt in packs."

The she-cat nodded. "Perhaps some of them have left already," She suggested.

"Let us hope," Wildstar nodded.

Heatherstone nervously stood next to Jaggedwing and Valleypaw. She stared at the ground, disappointed in herself. Her herbs had been left back in her den, and she could not do immediate healing if one of her clanmates was injured. Instead, she would have to defend herself as best as she could. Whitekit noticed this for a moment, then turned away.

Whitekit sat by her mother, who was standing guard in front of her three kits. Nothing could get in a queen's way. The small kit winced as her right paw was set on the ground, and so she lifted it back up, licking at the wound. Ryekit and Palekit were sitting silently, Ryekit gulping nervously and Palekit's eyes darting back and forth.

The sky was bright and shining. It didn't reflect the mood, however, and Wildstar stood his guard nervously. The outcome of the possible battle could destroy EmpireClan.

Though there was a chance the battle would not occur, the clan knew that the coyotes would come--for whatever reason--and destroy them. For awhile, the warriors stood in silence until something caught their attention.

Whitekit gasped and cover her ears with her paws, laying on the ground. The sound. . . It had came back to haunt her. The pounding of the paws. . . The howls. She imagined the white rose on the ground--destroyed. What would become of the clan?

Wildstar yowled out. "It is time to deem ourselves worthy to StarClan!" He cried out.

A chorus of cheers was heard. 

"I am willing to die for this clan!" A warrior shouted.

"For EmpireClan!" Another said.

"For Empirestrike!" 

"Then let us fight with our ancestors!" Wildstar shouted. "Let us die bravely if we must!"

EmpireClan shouted their agreements as the pounding of paws got louder and louder. It thundered and rattled the ground. It shook the warriors that fought to keep standing. Whitekit peeked through an opening between two warriors, her eyes wide with fright.

Her dream. . . Was this it? 

Through the door, four coyotes burst out--their eyes yellow with ferocity and their fangs sharp. The one in the very center--the leader--howled out and pushed its hind legs, aiming straight for the crowd of cats. 

Before the screams and the scent of blood, Whitekit heard one more thing.

"EmpireClan, ATTACK!"

A/N:

I said that I would be writing battle moves XD but that will happen in the next chapter. I was writing this throughout the day, not sure if it's confusing or not--let me know if wordings are weird and such! 

The new cover is by -Skyfrost- ! Thank you so much, it made my day when I saw it in my notifications. With whatever is going on, it really did make me feel better :) 🐾