Warrior Cats: Sheepcloud's Sorrow

Chapter One

The cat in the picture somewhat looks like Pouncestrike, except she has shorter fur.

One more thing, this book is a prequel to another book I've written called The Deaf Warrior. It is recommended you read it first.

"But mother, I don't understand! Why can't she hear me?" Sheepkit whined. Her mother, Pouncestrike, didn't even look her in the eye.

"She's deaf, she can't hear." Then, the white furred, battle scarred she cat headed straight out of the nursery.

Sheepkit's pelt prickled with frustration. Pouncestrike was always like this, never in the mood to talk. She kept complaining about how badly she wanted to return to her warrior duties, but the leader, Hawkstar, kept insisting that she needed to stay in the camp to keep an eye on her kits.

Icekit was a very cheerful kit. Always smiling, always making jokes. But... she couldn't hear anything anyone said. It still made little sense to Sheepkit. There seemed to be something wrong with her sister's ears. That made her feel terrible. Sheepkit couldn't imagine not being able to hear.

It must be so difficult.

Luckily, Icekit seemed to be handling things well. She could still socialise with others, but not in the same way that everyone else in the Clan did. Sheepkit would do anything to help her sister hear, but Pouncestrike kept insisting that there was nothing she could do. That was what Mousefoot, her father, said too.

"Sheepkit!" a grey blur slammed into Sheepkit, catching her off guard. Pinned to the ground, she looked up into the green eyes of Bluekit, her denmate, and her friend. "Is Pouncestrike being grumpy again?"

The white she cat nodded, and the older kit frowned. "Don't worry about her," then, Bluekit's eyes lit up with excitement. "Let's sneak out of the camp together!"

Sheepkit didn't even hesitate. She couldn't care less about rules, they were a waste of time, anyway. Pouncestrike and Mousefoot had always told her she could do whatever she wanted, and Bluekit also seemed to believe that.

"Sure!" The shorthaired she cat meowed. She wanted to see the huge world outside of the camp.

"Brightkit, you're coming, right?" Bluekit turned to her brother, a ginger tomkit named Brightkit. He was by far the largest of the kits in the nursery, and even Sheepkit found him a little scary sometimes, but he was one of the sweetest and kindest cats in the Clan, always happy, always smiling. He loved everyone.

Brightkit grinned. "Of course, sister!" He followed Bluekit around everywhere.

Sheepkit meowed to Icekit, "Are you coming too?"

The white she cat stared back at her with blank and confused blue eyes. It took Sheepkit a few moments to remember that her sister was 'deaf.' She spoke a little more slowly.

"We're sneaking out of the camp. Want to come?" She offered. She didn't see how anyone wouldn't want to come.

Icekit gave a huge smile and nodded.

"Great!" Sheepkit purred.

The nursery was rather crowded at the moment. None of the queens were watching the kits - it was evening, and they were already asleep. However, there were still plenty of kits awake. There was Ravenkit, and Flamekit. Ravenkit's siblings, Leafkit and Smallkit, were already asleep, as was Flamekit's brother, Greykit.

Sheepkit and Icekit were the youngest in the nursery, Bluekit and Brightkit were the oldest. Their apprentice ceremonies were only about a moon away, after all.

"Flamekit, do you want to join us?" Brightkit asked cheerfully. "What about you, Ravenkit?"

Sheepkit groaned. Flamekit and Ravenkit were boring. They actually bothered to follow the rules, and seemed rather serious compared to the rest of the kits in the nursery. They were also rather smart, which Sheepkit was admittedly quite jealous of. Their brains were far too big to fit their heads.