(Warriors) 🌹Flower In The Shadows🌹 Volume I: ✳Dark Seeds✳

Chapter Twenty Three

"Can we see the camp now?" Lilykit asked. It had been a moon since Shadestar had her kits. Echofoot's kits were three moons and were always boasting about how great the camp was and it was obviously bothering Lilykit.

"You have to let them go out sometime, Shadestar. You can't keep them in here forever." Echofoot had told her the previous day. Shadestar looked down at Lilykit, Pebblekit, and Oakkit's pleading gazes. Sweetlkit was the only one who didn't want to leave Shadestar's side.

"Alright. Let's go on an adventure to see the camp." Shadestar meowed. Sweetkit looked scared and fearful at that idea.

"Yay! We're gonna see the world!" Lilykit meowed, puffing out her chest happily. Oakkit rolled her eyes.

"Lilykit, the camp isn't the whole world." Pebblekit meowed. "It's part of the world."

"So? We still get to see it!" Lilykit meowed happily. Shadestar picked up Sweetkit by her scruff and carried her out while Lilykit plowed over the other kits as she ran out of the nursery with Pebblekit and Oakkit behind her. Shadestar set Sweetkit down outside of the nursery. The tiny calico ran to hide between shadestar front legs.

"Wow! The camp is soooooooooooo big!" Lilykit meowed loudly. Pebblekit sniffed at the warriors den.

"Hey Pebblekit! Watch this!" Oakkit meowed as she jumped in a puddle. "I'm RiverClan and we are gonna take over ShadowClan! " Pebblekit narrowed her eyes.

"Never! This is ShadowClan! There's no room for fish in the pine forest!" Pebblekit pounced on Oakkit. Lilykit was running around trying to see every part of the camp.

"Lilykit, try not to get under anyone's paws!" Shadestar called out to her most rambunctious daughter.

"I won't!" Lilykit replied. Sweetkit gently pounced on shadestar's tail.

"I got it!" She meowed.

"I'll get you!" Shadestar looked up to see Pebblekit and Oakkit splashing each other in the various mud puddles around the camp. Many of the warriors watched them in amusement.

"Isn't it great to have the camp full of new kits?" Mistyflame meowed to Toadpelt.

"They do brighten up the place." Pineheart meowed. Shadestar noticed that the beloved old black shecat was getting older and older. Her once beautiful thick black coat was now thinning and her scrawny frame was showing more and more each day.

"Except when they get under your paws." Toadpelt grumbled. He huffed and went back into his nest. Ever since Flamestorm had died, Toadpelt had become grouchy and hard to be around. Shadestar didn't blame the older tom.

"Stormfall!" Sweetkit squealed in delight as the tom came into view. Lilykit immediately bounded over to see their father. Oakkit and Pebblekit who were wet and muddy from their playing joined them. Shadestar padded over, purring loudly and lovingly.

"Hello kits!" Stormfall meowed happily.

"We got to see the camp!" Pebblekit meowed. "It's huge!"

"Yeah! We finally got to see it!" Lilykit meowed, bursting with energy.

"I see you got a little dirty."

"We were playing! Oakkit was a RiverClan warrior who tried to take over ShadowClan and I had defend the whole camp!" Pebblekit meowed.

"They'll need a good washing before they go back inside the nursery." Shadestar said in amusement.

"But Shadestar!..." Oakkit and Pebblekit whined in unison. Shadestar shook her head.

"I cat have you tracking muddy water all over the nursery, now can I?" Shadestar asked the two of them.

"Okay." They said sadly. Stormfall purred in amusement and he licked shadestar's cheek.

"All is quiet on the borders." He meowed. "No sign of those kitty pets that killed Stonestar." Shadestar narrowed her eyes.

"Don't worry. We'll find them and make them pay." Darkpelt meowed. "They will never get away with this." Shadestar nodded. She was glad to have such loyal warriors, and such loving family here in ShadowClan.

"Prey is running well." Jayspirit meowed after dropping off the prey she and her hunting patrol had caught. Oakkit and Pebblekit had returned to playing and Lilykit was playing with Rainkit. Stormkit and Lightingkit were with Echofoot. And Sweetkit was playing with Stormfall.

"Good! I'm glad to hear that!" Shadestar meowed. Jayspirit nodded and she padded off to great Mistyflame. Badgerpaw and Silverpaw returned with Oakbriar and Crowpelt. They must have been battle training.

"Hey Shadestar!" Oakbriar meowed after telling her apprentice something.

"Oakbriar! Hey!" Shadestar meowed. "How is Badgerpaw doing?" She asked.

"Great! He's really good at hunting, but he struggles with the battle training. It's not his strong point, but I'm sure he'll learn! " she said with a smile. "Silverpaw is helping him out."

"That's wonderful news!"

"Attack!" All of a sudden Lilykit and Rainkit jumped on Oakbriar. "We have to protect the clan from the evil foxes!" Lilykit meowed. Oakbriar fell over and covered her face with her paws.

"Oh no, not ShadowClan! " Oakbriar meowed.

"Yeah! ShadowClan rules!" Shadestar chuckled at their actions. She was glad Sweetkit was beginning to come out of her shell, and that made shadestar smile. Shadestar licked her paws and her ears and then her chest fur. She couldn't have asked for a better life.