Bluekit staggered backwards as Darkclaw bared his teeth at her. "Get out of the warrior's den," he hissed at her.
Bluekit backed away, struggling to reply, to regain her mettle, when she heard her name called from somewhere behind her. She turned to see her mother loping through the ferns, her brother and sister stumbling behind. They stopped short when they saw the cat in front of Bluekit.
Pebblestream stepped forward and nodded. "Darkclaw," she mewed. "I see you've met your daughter already."
Heatherkit and Ashkit edged cautiously forward. "Ashkit, Heatherkit, Bluekit, this is your father, Darkclaw." Pebblestream mewed in introduction.
Darkclaw glared at the three kits. His eyes returned to Bluekit again, and it felt like he was examining her from ears to tail-tip. She tried her best not to flinch under his glare.
In the end, Darkclaw sniffed and twitched his tail. "Keep a proper watch on them," he growled to Pebblestream before turning around and vanishing through the ferns.
Once he was gone, Ashkit piped up. "Do you think he likes us?" he asked eagerly.
Pebblestream gave each one of them a quick lick. "I'm sure he did."
Bluekit said nothing, contributed none of her thoughts. The very image of those menacing eyes, that contemptuous twitch of her father's tail, made her very uneasy indeed. A slight shiver ran through her small silver-and-black body.
"And Bluekit," Pebblestream meowed firmly, "don't ever wander off without my notice again. Alright?"
"Yes, Mother." Bluekit muttered, not exactly contrite.
As they pushed out of the leafy ferns, a small black cat passed by, holding a bundle of dark green leaves in his jaws. He dropped them and mewed a greeting as mother and kits approached.
"Seedwhisker." Pebblestream answered, nodding her head.
Heatherkit edged towards the leaves, curiousity burning in her eyes. Seedwhisker blocked her path with his tail. "No, little one," he told her gently. "Eating too many of these will give you bellyache."
"Who said I was going to eat it?" Heatherkit asked. Seedwhisker purred in amusement.
"And if they can give you bellyache, why bring it to camp?" Bluekit added.
"Seedwhisker is the healer-to-be of BlizzardClan." Pebblestream explained. "His task right now is to learn the techniques of healing our battle injuries and sicknesses, and protecting his mentor Brightspirit."
"And when SpiritClan has deemed me ready to become a full healer, I must renounce fighting and bloodshed, and the second word in my name must be changed to spirit, as a mark of my task." Seedwhisker finished. He looked at Bluekit. "You must be Bluekit," he said. "First day out and already causing whispers of your eyes to fly around the camp. Don't worry, not all of us are that superstitious about omens this and that." Behind his friendly and casual tone, curiousity gleamed in his green eyes.
"Yes," Pebblestream meowed, slightly edgy. "The kits are tired, I should be bringing them back." She nudged a yawning Ashkit to his paws, and they retraced their steps back to the comfort of the nursery.
Bluekit didn't want to return. She wanted to learn more about being a healer and a warrior, and of SpiritClan, which actually sounded quite familiar. But she had broken her mother's rule once already, and so she trailed heavily in her kin's wake, back to the nursery, where she belonged.
*************************************
"What's SpiritClan?" Bluekit asked her mother afterwards, when Heatherkit and Ashkit were already asleep.
"SpiritClan is the giant swath of stars you see in the sky." her mother told her gently. "Each one is a warrior, who has died in battle or through other ways. They are watching us now."
Bluekit glanced upwards, seeing nothing but bramble. "And what about Blizzard and Fire and Torrent and Storm?"
"They created the Clans. Each one, after their own name. Blizzard created us, therefore we are BlizzardClan."
"Does that make us special?" Bluekit asked wearily. Already tiredness was starting to affect her body.
"No, although some cats think they are special just because they belong to this Clan or that." Pebblestream mewed. She laid her muzzle on Bluekit's forehead. The gentle contact prompted sleep even further. "Sleep now, little one."
As Bluekit's consciousness faded away, giving in to exhaustion, she heard her mother chant softly:
May the Hunters bless your light,
Never to cease from fire's might.
May your spirit ever endure,
And your flight to never waver.
YOU ARE READING
Warrior's Path: Destiny of Flame(On Hold)
AdventureBluefire, a warrior of BlizzardClan, a feline Clan situated on a land where it is unburdened by humans, has been made to feel different due to an unusual feature since the day she opened her eyes. She dicscovers that she is to be part of many great...
