"Sweet as sugar, hard as ice, hurt me once and I'll kill you twice. "
~~~~~~~~~~
Froststar. Leader of ThunderClan. He stopped at nothing, and will continue to, to be in power. Don't get in his way.... he won't hesitate to kill you. Embrace his few...
"It's coming your way!" Pigeonpaw yowled with glee, hurling the mossball in Froststar's direction. He leaped into the air, hooking his claws in the moss and throwing it at Flowerpaw. She scrambled to catch it before shooting it at Silverpaw. ThunderClan was truly thriving in the two moons, almost three, of his leadership. The warriors were well-fed and muscled. Froststar instructed that they all had group training sessions everyday to keep their skills sharp, but after the warriors could rest and the apprentices could play moss-ball. He even joined the game sometimes, like now.
It had occurred to him that he needed to earn the cat's loyalties as young as possible. That meant appealing to the kits and apprentices as well as warriors. Amberkit had also become an apprentice, Amberpaw, apprenticed to Coldrose. He planned to give his close supporters Fernclaw, Poppyfeather, Shadeblossom, and Thrushfeather apprentices next. The most important thing, though, was that Mistfeather had his kits.
"Froststar!" Froststar dropped the ball of moss and looked over at the nursery. Mistfeather was in the entrance. "Froststar!" she called again. "The kits are opening their eyes!" Heart swelling with joy, he raced over to the nursery. He quickly slipped inside. The nursery was empty except for Mistfeather and his four kits. The queens had all shooed the older kits outside to let his mate and kits get some peace.
Froststar had to blink his eyes to adjust to the dimness, and quickly spotted Mistfeather curling back around their kits. He carefully slid over, and spotted all of his kits. The firstborn was Tigerkit, an orange tabby she-kit with dark black stripes, he named her after TigerClan cats because she reminded him of a tiger's pelt. The next kit, Froststar had also named, was Darkkit. He was a dark gray tom-kit, with a few patches of white and lighter gray on his stomach. The next kit was Sprucekit, whom Mistfeather named. He was a white tom-kit with patches of gray and brown like Froststar, but he had more of Mistfeather's lithe body instead of Froststar's big bulky one. The last kit was Dawnkit, a light gray she-kit with white paws and dark stripes that looked a lot like Mistfeather.
His thoughts were jerked over to Tigerkit. His little she-kit let out a meow, and opened her eyes. They were a lime-green just like Froststar's. She looked up at Mistfeather and Froststar, blinking her eyes rapidly. "Mom? Dad?" she squeaked.
"That's us," Mistfeather purred, and licked her head, making her fur spike up. Froststar thought he was purring so loud Sageweed could hear him.
I can, she muttered dryly.
Shut up, this is my time. You can observe but be quiet. She didn't reply. Tigerkit took a step, testing out her stubby little legs. She trembled, but was soon able to walk in a little circle. Satisfied, she crouched, the effort making her whole body quiver, and jumped right on Darkkit. Her brother let out an indigent squeak, and opened his eyes, batting back at his sister as she tried to bite his ear.
The two kits rolled around in the nest, knocking into Sprucekit. He lifted his head and blinked his eyes blearily, then spotted his siblings playing. He quickly jumped into the action. So caught up watching their three kits play, Froststar didn't notice Dawnkit had opened her eyes. She was watching her siblings play, but didn't seem interested. Instead, she turned her green gaze on Froststar. "Who are you?" she squeaked.
"I'm your father. I come to visit you sometimes. Do you remember me?" he asked. Dawnkit stepped forward and sniffed his pelt. Her eyes lit up.
"Yes, I remember you!" she squealed.
"Dawnkit!" Sprucekit squeaked, his voice coming out high-pitched. "Come and play!" With a squeaky purr, Dawnkit trotted over to her littermates. Froststar thought his heart would burst with love for his little family. He licked Mistfeather's ears, making her purr. The kits were beginning to tire, and stumbled back over to Mistfeather to curl up next to her.
"I'll let you rest," he said, touching his nose to her ear. He then slipped out of the nursery.
"I heard your kits opened their eyes! Congratulations," said Thrushfeather.
"Thank you," Froststar replied. He then leaped onto high ledge. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath high ledge for a Clan meeting!" he yowled. Those words never got old. His clan mates eagerly gathered around him, a mass of twitching whispers and lashing tails. "Tonight is the Gathering and I want something to share. Pigeonpaw, Pebblepaw, step up," he said. The two cats shared delighted glances, before stepping up.
"Pigeonpaw, Pebblepaw, I have watched you train and believe you are both ready to become warriors. Yesterday I told you you were to do a practice assessment. It was actually your real one, and I'm pleased to say you passed. Pigeonpaw," he beckoned his apprentice closer. "I, Froststar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn.
"Pigeonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Froststar asked.
"I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Pigeonpaw, from this moment you will be known as Pigeonwing. StarClan honors your strength and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Next he beckoned for Pebblepaw.
"I, Froststar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.
"Pebblepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Froststar asked.
"I do."
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Pebblepaw, from this moment you will be known as Pebbleleap. StarClan honors your independence and kindness and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
"Pigeonwing! Pebbleleap!" The Clan cheered. The two warriors lifted their heads proudly, basking in their clan mate's cheers. Now I have two things for the Gathering. The other Clans don't know it yet, but soon they will fear my Clan an I.
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