Warriors: Black Dawn

Prologue

The green leaf heat was intense throughout the forest and rivers, even during the nighttime. All of the cats stayed in their dens and tried to cool off. It was all nice and peaceful in HarmonyClan until something horrible happened. One of the cats, Creamgrass, began to yowl. Woodfur, one of the senior warriors, rushed to the rescue! When he got to the nursery, Flamedrop was by the queen's side.

"I think there will be three kits, if I'm not wrong," he meowed, his aqua eyes staying focused on the queen. Woodfur sighed and sat down. He decided to walk away so he could give them some privacy. He padded out of the nursery and sat down.

He waited and waited and waited and waited and....waited! Suddenly, a yowl hit his ears. Woodfur turned around and saw his mate with blood on her fur! He screamed and rushed to her side, his eyes all watery.

"There's nothing else I can do, she's on her way to StarClan..." Flamedrop sighed as he lowered his head.

"Don't cry, Woodfur," Creamgrass rasped as she wiped away Woodfur's tears. "Take care of our kits...I will always love you..." The cream she-cat gasped and lowered her head. She was dead!

"Nooooo!" Woodfur cried, even more tears flowing out of his eyes like a waterfall.

"Woodfur..." Flamedrop said as he poked the sad tom.

"What? Can't you see that I'm crying here?" Woodfur sobbed, his face covered in tears as he looked up.

"I feel sorry for your loss. On the bright side, you have three, healthy kits," Flamedrop meowed. He guided the brown tabby toward the side and showed him three kits, two toms and a she-cat. One was a brown tabby tom and happened to be the runt, one was a golden she-kit, and the oldest was a white tom with black markings. All seemed to have a dark stripe on their back, just like their mother.

"They're beautiful," Woodfur sighed, his tears of sadness becoming tears of joy.

"Well, why don't you name them?" Flamedrop meowed, backing up to give the tom space.

"I guess I should," Woodfur meowed. He looked at the runt first. "I'll name him Otterkit, after the otters that swim in our rivers." The tom then looked at the she-kit. "I'll name you Brackenkit after the bracken plants that grow in our forest." Woodfur finally looked at the oldest kit. "I'll name him Blackkit, after his markings."

"I bet Creamgrass would have loved those names," Flamedrop whispered.

"Yeah..." Woodfur said. He curled around his kits to keep them warm. Flamedrop began to go deeper in the nursery and walked up to Shortscar, who had her kit, Indigokit, by her side. She had only given birth to him a couple days ago.

"Poor Woodfur," she sighed. "If only he had someone to take care of his kits."

"Why don't you?" Flamedrop asked.

"Do you really think I can take care of them?" Shortscar asked. "It might be hard ever since Bluebriar...you know..."

"It's okay," Flamedrop meowed, "You and Woodfur both lost your mates, but they're watching you up in StarClan. He needs you to take care of his kits now, but StarClan will make sure you do it right."

"Really?" Shortscar meowed, her eyes sparkling. "I promise to take care of them as if they were my own!"

"Yes," Flamedrop meowed. "Now, me and Woodfur will bring the kits." Flamedrop padded over toward Woodfur. Woodfur got up and grabbed Brackenkit and Otterkit and Flamedrop grabbed Blackkit. Blackkit sat perfectly still as he was carried. The toms dropped the kits by Shortscar's side and the three began to suckle.

"They're beautiful," Shortscar purred. "I'll raise them and teach them good and bad things, how to hunt, and all about StarClan."

After Blackkit finished suckling, the black and white kit crawled over toward the queen and looked around for something. As soon as Shortscar sniffed the tom, he leaned toward her and licked her on the nose.

"Aww!" she meowed. "This kit is the firstborn and the strongest of his litter, I know he'll be a great warrior. So will his siblings." Indigokit, having opened his eyes the other day, ran over to the other kits.

"Can I play with them?" he asked, his indigo-colored eyes sparkling.

"No, sweetie," Shortscar meowed, "You'll have to wait until they open their eyes."

"Aw, okay," Indigokit sighed.

"I'll give you guys some privacy," Flamedrop meowed as he padded away. Woodfur sat down nearby Shortscar.

"Can I just sleep with my kits tonight?" Woodfur asked.

"Sure," Shortscar meowed, "I think it's time we all went to sleep." They all closed their eyes and fell asleep.

-----

In the middle of the night, Flamedrop was sorting herbs, when suddenly, a StarClan cat showed up! She was a beautiful, cream she-cat with a darker stripe going down her back.

"Creamgrass," Flamedrop breathed.

"Flamedrop, there's not much time!" Creamgrass yelled quietly in her soft, silky voice. "The clan is in danger!"

"What do you mean?" Flamedrop asked, confused.

"Danger is coming. The black dawn must come and wash away the war of the night," Creamgrass meowed as she began to fade away.

"Wait, come back! What does it mean?" Flamedrop cried as Creamgrass's spirit turned to dust. The prophecy still rung in his ears.

"Danger is coming. The black dawn must come and wash away the war of the night."