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

Chapter Fourteen

After Whitekit had calmed down, Willowshade and her family had fallen asleep.

Most of her family, anyways.

Whitekit shifted uncomfortably in the nest, positioning herself to look out the window. It was cracked and filthy, meaning that Emberpaw or Strikepaw would need to come and clean it with wet moss. A piece of the glass had broken off, allowing a refreshing breeze enter the nursery.

The small kit's blue eyes were wide as she gazed up into the dark sky. Seeing Silverpelt, she smiled as she saw two stars shining brightly above EmpireClan. That's Valleysong and Echomoon, she thought. She heard a quiet cry outside--most likely in the center of camp.

Ember paw must be sitting vigil for them, Whitekit thought. She must be very sad. . .

Shaking bad thoughts from her head, the kit thought back to the prophecy. The four. . . Who is the four? She asked herself, looking around the nursery.

She saw the three other kits, and her heart skipped a beat. Could it be the four kits?

Whitekit smiled, her heart pounding faster and faster with excitement. How do I know for sure? Rosestar said it wasn't as easy as it seemed. . . Perhaps it's not them, then. Maybe one of them?

Whitekit sighed, realizing she was not making progress. She looked down at her paws, then to her sleeping mother. Smiling, she nuzzled her mother's fur, trying to fall asleep.

I have one moon left, she thought, Then I'll have a mentor, be able to leap, and go to Gatherings! Mommy said Gatherings were always very fun. . . Perhaps I'll get to go on one soon! And then I'll find out what the prophecy really means. . .

* * *

Plop. Plop. Plop.

Whitekit and the other three kits sighed in sync as they tossed the mossball around boredly. Without Wolfkit, the nursery was quiet. Tallflower barely spoke a word, even to Willowshade. It surprised Whitekit, since she knew the queens were best friends.

It had been a little more than one day since the battle, and EmpireClan was doing alright. Not great, but not poorly.

Injured cats left the medicine den once in awhile, starting to head back to their normal warrior duties. While the number of cats in every clan were very small, EmpireClan had become smaller due to the loss of Echomoon and Valleysong.

EmpireClan. . . the strong and bold. . . was starting to fall.

But not if Wildstar could help it. Each day, he came to visit the kits. He monitored Strikepaw and Emberpaw's training--he helped Heatherstone restock her herbs personally, and he set off on patrols to help gain back what the clan had lost.

Whitekit sat down on her haunches, curling her brown tail over her little paws. She saw the other kits do the same, and the mossball rolled to a stop at Tumblekit's paws.

The brown she-kit had been fairly quiet without her brother, and one could tell that Tumblekit missed him dearly. Whitekit was sure that Tumblekit dreamed about making the Flight Team, but now. . . the kit didn't seem to have much motivation.

Two yowls were heard--the sound of Finchwing and Wildstar calling a clan meeting. Whitekit looked back and saw Willowshade and Tallflower make their way out of the nursery, starting to pad towards the stairs. Together, the queens and their kits walked slowly to the clan meeting, meeting up with the rest of the quiet clan.

Sitting in the back next to her mother, Whitekit licked her muzzle and tuned her ears to listen to what her leader had to say.

"EmpireClan. . . has suffered loss," Wildstar began. "As we all know, the cats in each and every clan is already small--no wonder why we try not to have battles!"

When no cat seemed amused, Wildstar gulped nervously and continued. "EmpireClan is now smaller than the rest of the City Clans. . . HarborClan. . . IvoryClan. . . CentralClan--if something were to happen, we would be good as gone. We need trained warriors, not just any kind of cat will cut it for our clan."

Willowshade murmured under her breath. "I think I know what's happening,"

"And even though," Wildstar continued, "it is half a moon early, I have decided that today. . . EmpireClan will receive two new warriors."

The clan started to murmur, and Whitekit sensed a feeling of excitement and anxiousness.

Wildstar coughed, before beginning the ceremony. "Strikepaw. . . please step forwards."

The tom stepped forwards cautiously, cleared his throat, and quickly licked a patch of chest fur that had been sticking up.

"I, Wildstar, leader of EmpireClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Strikepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Strikepaw said proudly, standing tall.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Strikepaw, from this moment you will be known as Strikeclaw. StarClan honors your skill in battle and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of EmpireClan." Wildstar said.

Strikeclaw smiled, walking into the crowd of cats. Wildstar proceeded to call Emberpaw up. The she-cat looked sad, however. Whitekit looked down at her paws, knowing that Emberpaw wished she could share the moment with her sister.

"I, Wildstar, leader of EmpireClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Emberpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I. . . I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Emberpaw, from this moment you will be known as Embersun. StarClan honors your energy and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of EmpireClan."

"Strikeclaw! Strikeclaw! Embersun! Embersun!" The clan cheered.

Whitekit smiled, wishing she could cheer along with them. Instead, she stood up and waved her tail happily as the two new warriors yowled at the sky.

A/N:

Hey, Soldiers! I wrote this since I have no activities today! My high school orientation starts in approximately 7 minutes, and I have not left the house! See you later!🐾