Warriors: A New Beginning #1: The Beginning

Chapter 7

Dawnpool's kits!

"Oh no!" Wavepaw exclaimed. "Where's Speckledfur? I need her."

Curlyfur shook her head. "I haven't seen her."

Wavepaw suddenly felt a pang of worry. What if Speckledfur's disappearance had something to do with the missing kits?

"Can I go looking for them?" she asked.

Curlyfur nodded. "Do as you wish."

Wavepaw dipped her head and sprang through the gorse tunnel. Immediately she was greeted by scents of the forest and prey—scents that she had almost forgotten since Wolfpaw's death. She sighed. Why did StarClan want Wolfpaw? Shaking her head, she tried to concentrate on her mission—finding Dawnpool's kits.

"Bushkit!" she called. "Greenkit! Squeakkit!" As she did this she thought about why and how they had disappeared. It was pretty likely that Bushkit had convinced Squeakkit and Greenkit to go on an adventure in the forest. Worry caused Wavepaw's paws to move quicker on the leafy ground. Think of all the dangers in the forest for kits! She needed to find them.

"Bushkit!" she desperately cried out. Silence met her words. She tried again. "Where did you go?" Suddenly, she heard a small squeaking. Was it a mouse—or was it a kit?

"Stay where you are!" she yowled. "I'm coming!" She ran as fast as she could, her paws aching. But she wouldn't stop. She needed to put the kits in front of her. Very soon she saw three shapes—a brown, a white, and a grey. She quickened her pace.

"Kits!" She skidded to a stop in front of the three kits. "You're safe!"

"Wavepaw!" Bushkit flung himself into Wavepaw. "I'm-sorry-it-was-all-my-fault-and-now-Squeakkit's-not-moving!"

Wavepaw gasped, just noticing a gray lump, not moving on the dusty ground. She ran up to Squeakkit. The kit's belly was still. "She—she..." Wavepaw was shocked. "She's dead."

"No!" Greenkit leaped onto Squeakkit's body. "Why did she have to die?"

Wavepaw suddenly felt a pang of anguish. She had never really spent time with Squeakkit and Greenkit, and now she just realized how deeply the two were connected.

"And...and that was what killed her!"

Wavepaw was jolted to the present by Bushkit's shriek. A growl rose from behind her. She jerked her head to see. A massive black-and-white shape loomed in front of her. Suddenly, her legs seemed to tremble under her. She felt frozen. She couldn't face a badger! Speckledfur hadn't taught her how yet. A vision of Curlyfur telling about Meadowkit and Grasskit popped into her head. Curlyfur couldn't protect her littermates. But Wavepaw would protect these kits.

"Get to safety." She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she talked to Bushkit. "I'll drive it off." Hopefully, she added silently.

Courage brought strength to Wavepaw's legs. She growled as hard as she could at the badger. "Get away from here!"

The badger didn't move. Then it did a roar so loud Wavepaw felt that her ears would blow off. Wavepaw studied the badger, thinking of what to do. Those arms were massive. It was suicide trying to fight them. Where was a place where the arms couldn't reach her? An image appeared in her head. It was worth a try. She leaped as hard as she could at the badger.

Twist. Wolfpaw's voice echoed in her head. Twist so you're facing the head as you jump.

Wolfpaw was in StarClan! Feeling a sensation of happiness, Wavepaw twisted as Wolfpaw had said to do. She landed on the badger, claws unsheathed to grip herself. She started swiping at the badger's neck, her confidence growing. I can do this, she thought. I can drive out this badger! Her swipes became harder and blood started to well out of the badger's neck. Furious, the badger reared up, taking Wavepaw by surprise. She flew off the badger, landing on the hard ground. A searing pain came into her left leg, but Wavepaw tried to ignore it. She had to drive out this badger. She launched herself at the badger, arms outstretched. The badger turned around and swiped at Wavepaw. Wavepaw was thrust to the ground. She noticed blood welling beside her. Oh, great. She stood up, ignoring the pain, and ran around the badger as fast as she could muster in circles. The badger was slow-moving. She should be able to strike it. When the badger's back was exposed, she ran as hard as she could toward it and began nipping and swiping at it. Yuck. She spat badger hair out of her mouth. The badger crumpled to the ground. Wavepaw breathed a sigh of relief. She'd done it. She started toward the kits, but then stopped abruptly. A growl was coming from the badger. She turned around. No. Not the badger she had just fought. Another one! Beside the badger that Wavepaw had injured was another massive badger, even bigger than the other one. Panic filled Wavepaw, and she started to run away from the kits, in hope of the badger not finding the kits. But the badger swiped at Wavepaw. The last thing she remembered was an extreme amount of pain, then everything went black.