Acceptance

PROLOGUE ~ Cloudclan's Courageous Heart

~ PROLOGUE ~

"There she was, ready to cross the great the Cloudclan River! In just a second, she would jump across the whole length of the river itself..!" Tidalkit narrated.

She was ready.

She was finally going to jump the big river that stretched between Willowclan and Cloudclan.

"A-are you sure this is safe, Tidalkit?" Sandkit, a tiny tan polished cat sat in the grass beside her.

"I'm sure of it! I've got Riverclan blood in me, Sandy!" Tidalkit continued on narrating her personal story, leaving Sandkit to wonder whether or not Tidalkit was actually trying to drown.

"With her trusty companion, Sandy, she was sure to cross the Great River safely!.." Tidalkit stepped back. She intended to get a running start. She licked her paws - for what she thought was the last time - and flicked her long grey tail. Sandkit, too embarrassed to look, turned away and hobbled over to Cloudclan's camp entrance.

Taking one giant leap into the air, Tidalkit held her breath and closed her eyes.

She wasn't afraid.

She was brave.

The sweet feeling of the muddy ground beneath her made her burst into laughter. Through giggles and wiggles on the ground, she mewled "Ah! I'm alive! That'll show Sandy!" Tidalkit paused, letting the sweet melody of the forest drown her.

Thank goodness it wasn't the river.

With pride on the tip of her tail, she wobbled into camp, just as she had seen Sandkit do a few moments ago.

Tidalkit watched the other clan mates busy at work, preparing for Leafbare. She was astonished by how much effort they put into collecting prey, as Tidalkit herself had found she wasn't able to catch a single mouse. She couldn't help but mew to the others.

"Hello, friends!"

Deputy Nightfeather, a tall muscular she-cat who was obviously busy at work like the rest, cocked her head toward the little Tidalkit. Her lip curled back, turning her face into a horrid snarl.

"How many times... have I had to tell you! Go to your mother!" Nightfeather hurriedly pointed her nose toward the nursery. "Go."

The nerve she has, Tidalkit thought. She didn't want to share her heroic deeds with her mother yet but to the clan.

"Nightfeather, I crossed the great Cloudclan River! Are you proud of me?" Nightfeather glared at Tidalkit, bristling.

"You've got your mother all worried! What will she think? Did you break the Warrior Code? That's-" A low growl escaped her. Tidalkit felt her ears flatten onto her head.

"Fine." Tidalkit turned to the direction of the nursery. She padded forward, turning her head to the slightest rustle of leaves. She was so unaware of how many cats had actually been taking food from the pile: Startail went to grab a plump rabbit from the pile, and Cardinaltail joined him with a rather tiny vole. Many cats had stopped to rest, and there was a clear path to the nursery. As she approached the rather dampened nursery, Sandkit exploded out into the sunlight, out of breath. It almost seemed as if she was still recovering from the run back to Cloudclan.

"She wants you," she spoke in a wishy-washy voice, out of tempo. Tidalkit nodded respectfully, walking into the nesting darkness with her dear sister by her side.

"Tidalkit!" meowed a voice that she had known for as long as she could remember. The she-cats voice belonged to Shadowstream, the tortoiseshell elder who had raised her from a newborn to a small kit, which happened to be what she was now.