Harekit's Prophecy

Chapter 1

Harekit was with his mother, Sandberry, by the nursery entarance, watching Echostar address the Clan. It had been two moon since the death of Birdpaw and Honeypaw, their words echoing in his mind. Others in the Clan said that Honeypaw and Birdpaw were just crazy cats who he shouldn't listen to, but he couldn't help but wonder if the prophecy was really from StarClan, and not just something they were saying out of the panic of dying. For all I know, Harekit thought, they could have been crazy! Sandberry nudged him, and he realized he had been staring at his paws. "Harekit, aren't you excited? Your going to become an apprentice!" Sandberry said, looking at him happily. "Time goes by so fast. It feels like yesterday when you were just born." She said, and licked the top of his head. Harekit looked at her, pretending to be excited, when really, he was full of terror. He knew that Sandberry thought that Echostar was a good leader. Sandberry had been very young when Echostar had become leader, and Echostar was brutal then, and even more brutal now.

Echostar had finished telling the cats what she normally said at the beginning of any clan meeting. "All cats here shall be loyal to me, and only me. If anyone is caught trying to leave the Clan, telling other Clans our secrets, or any form of disloyality, shall be punished severly." She had also mentioned that she was still looking for a worthy deputy. She looked over at the nursery entrance, and nodded to Sandberry. Sandberry quickly picked up Harekit by his scruff, and carried him to the meeting hollow, the cats around shifted to the edges, and Harekit was placed in the middle, Sandberry padding to the side as well. "Applegaze!" Echostar called, looking at a ginger warrior, who padded up.

"Yes, Echostar?" Applegaze asked, looking up at the leader. Applegaze was flicking her tail, obviously not fond of being the one called up. Is she going to be the cat to fight me? Harekit wondered. "I would like for you to help this kit show his strength," Echostar said, her gaze flicking to Harekit and back to Applegaze, "there are no apprentices currently, so we must use you, for you are our youngest warrior." Echostar stated, looking down at her. The she-cat shifted her paws nervously. "Why must we attack kits?" Applegaze asked, Echostar looking at her, her gaze flared with anger. "Are you questioning how I choose how WindClans warriors are made?" Echostar asked in a dangerously soft tone. "No, Echostar." Applegaze said. "Then attack him." Echostar growled, sitting down on tallrock. Applegaze turned and looked at Harekit, unsheathing her claws. Harekit cowered in front of her, backing away a little. Applegaze sprang at him, her claws grazing his flank as he ran underneath her, and scrambled onto a small part of tall rock. Applegaze turned, and ran towards him once more, Harekit jumping from rock to rock, trying to escape. I can't let her get me! Echostar watched, unmoving from her place. Harekit stopped in front of the rock that Echostar was on, frozen by her icy gaze that was on him. He heard Applegaze get to him. He turned, his stomach filling with dread as she picked him up. she finally looked at the leader, and asked through Harekits pelt, "Why must we kill a kit?" She asked, but Echostar only glared at her, and Applegaze threw Harekit down into the meeting hollow. Harekit lay there, weak, pain was seering through his body from how far he had fallen. He looked up as Applegaze jumped down from the rocks, a ringing in his ears blocked out all other sounds. Echostar jumped down and faced Harekit, as he lay there. The ringing stopped, and he finally heard what Echostar was saying

"... even so, he has failed. And i shall punish him." Harekit watched in horror as she razed a paw, her claws unsheathed, and she put it near his head. I'm going to die! He thought, but he felt a sharp, strong pain in his ear. Echostar lifted her claw away. "He will try once more tomorow. Meeting dismissed." Once Echostar finished speaking, she padded to her den. The medicine cat, Buzzardfur, hurried to Harekit and picked him up, and Harekit finally saw, in complete disgust, at what Echostar had done. She had torn his ear off. leaving the rest of it in the middle of the meeting hollow. Once Harekit was in the medicine den, Buzzardfur garbbed cobwebs and put them around his ear to stop the bleeding.
"Can I go back to my den..?" Harekit asked, as Buzzardfur pushed a poppy seed to him.
"Eat this, then you can go back." He said, and Harekit lapped it up. The pain drifted away, and he got up. As he padded for the exit, he herd Buzzardfur say, "You're strong, Harekit. You can do it." And Harekit padded away, into the nursery, where he lay in the nest drowsily. He snapped out of his haze when he saw a starry pelt in front of him. looking up, he saw Birdpaw. "Remember those words. You can do it." Her words echoed in his mind, before she drifted away, and he fell asleep.