Whispers and Echoes

Chapter 1

Echokit stepped out of the nursery, a warm breeze ruffling her fur.

"Wait!" she called as she raced after her sister, Whisperkit, and out into the clearing in the middle of the camp.

The DawnClan camp was in a thick grove of pine trees, offering shade on hot days and shelter from the pounding rain that came during storms. The entrance to the camp was in between two large bramble bushes, with some bracken lining the forest floor around them.

Straight ahead from there, a cliff rose up about three or four fox-lengths tall, where the leader's and medicine cats' dens were. The medicine cats' den lay in a crevice in the bottom of the stone wall, the entrance covered in vines and ivy. To the right of the medicine cats' den was a large, lichen-covered boulder, called the High-stone, where the DawnClan leader, Eveningstar, called Clan meetings.

If a cat jumped up onto the High-stone, they'd find a little opening in the stone wall lined with lichen and moss, where the leader's den was.

To the left of the camp entrance were the elders' den, warriors' den, apprentices' den, and the nursery. The elders' den was closest to the camp's center underneath three pine trees with low hanging branches. The warriors' den was made similar to the elder's, but was much larger, allowing more cats make their nests. A large clump of heather bushes grew further into the camp where the apprentices' den and nursery were. On one side, the opening lead into a large space for the apprentices to sleep, and on the other, there was a smaller opening, but it lead into a larger bush behind it, giving the queens and kits plenty of room.

At the back of the camp was an old, mossy log where the fresh-kill pile was. And in the clearing at the center of the camp, the trees opened up to the sky, allowing sunlight to stream through. In the sun rays' reach were three small, lichen-covered rocks, called the sunning-stones, where many cats sunned themselves on warm days. Surrounding them was a large patch of grass and wildflowers, dancing in the breeze.

As Echokit passed the clearing, she caught a glimpse of the evening patrol returning. At the head was Twigfoot, the DawnClan deputy. Behind him was Echokit's and Whisperkit's mother Sparktail, their father Rustypelt, and Copperleaf with his apprentice, Sparrowpaw.

"Where are you two going?" Sparktail asked her kits.

"We're just going to get some fresh-kill," replied Whisperkit.

"Alright. Just make sure you bring some for Sagetail, she'll need it so she has enough milk to feed Raykit."

"We will!" Echokit called as her mother padded away.

"Wow! The fresh-kill pile is huge!" exclaimed Whisperkit. "I've never seen it so full!"

"That's one of the best things about new-leaf: the fresh-kill pile getting bigger. And new-leaf is only beginning!" meowed Copperleaf, coming to take his share of prey. "But by the time leaf-bare rolls around again, this pile will be less than half this size."

"That's when I'll be an apprentice, or maybe even a warrior! And I'll hunt day and night to make sure that the whole Clan is fed, every last cat!" meowed Echokit enthusiastically.

Copperleaf let out a purr of amusement. "Yes, I'm sure you will. Now, I said I'd take some fresh-kill to Sparrowpaw, so I'd better go."

Echoing watched the older warrior go, then she bent down to pick up a vole for herself and found a thrush for Sagetail.

"Come on, let's go," muttered Whisperkit through a mouthful of mouse.

Echokit followed her sister into the nursery and heard a loud cry.

"Shhh, calm down, calm down," a soft voice murmured, "You're going to be alright."

As Echokit's eyes became used to the dimness of the nursery, she saw Sagetail comforting her only kit, Raykit. She walked in, his little eyes twinkling as he looked up at her.

When Sagetail saw Echokit, she looked up. "Is that thrush for me?"

"Yes," meowed Echokit, dropping the prey.

"Thank you, Echokit. Now go join your denmates and enjoy your vole," she smiled.

Echokit dipped her head and padded to the other side of the nursery, where she saw her sister sitting with the other kits, who were three moons younger than Echokit and Whisperkit. They were Moonshine's kits, and their father was the deputy, Twigfoot. The tom-kit, Hailkit, was dark gray with a white underbelly and had bright blue eyes. His two sisters, Cloverkit and Yellowkit, were slightly smaller than he was. Cloverkit was black-furred with green eyes and Yellowkit was a light orange tabby with green eyes.

Echokit reached the other kits and sat next to Yellowkit and Cloverkit. Hailkit was telling a story of a made-up battle between DawnClan and the other three Clans: DuskClan, NightClan, and DayClan.

"So Twigfoot launched himself at a DuskClan warrior and bit her hard on the back, which sent her running for the trees, yowling for her mother," Hailkit meowed, and the other kits laughed.

"Then out of nowhere, a huge DayClan tom the size of the High-stone towered over Twigfoot and pounced," Hailkit meowed in exaggeration, standing on his back legs and clawing at the air at an imaginary enemy. He jumped and made a loud crashing sound. "Then, lightning struck the tree behind them and sparks flew everywhere, and their fur got burnt. All the cats cried out in pain and tried to hide when the thunder echoed through the forest.

"But that didn't stop Twigfoot; he faced his enemy once more and clawed the cat's nose, and blood went everywhere. The enemy let out a yowl, but still didn't give up. He jumped on top of Twigfoot and there was a loud cracking of his bones breaking." He paused, flattening his ears and flashing his gaze across the den.

"And that's when the rain started falling," Hailkit continued in a lower voice. "Harder and harder, until the cats couldn't see more than a few tail-lengths in front of them. Every cat panicked, the rain making every cat smell the same. Cats came out of nowhere, and sometimes cats would find themselves fighting their own Clanmates." Cloverkit gasped, and Yellowkit widened her eyes in fake fright.

"Then, Eveningstar, our very own leader, raced into the battle with a huge patrol following him. He had brought reinforcements! Twigfoot ran with his Clanmates back into battle," Hailkit meowed with intensity, then he lowered his voice and spoke slowly. "But, before long, they found their path... blocked..."

"Okay, storytime is over," meowed a voice behind Echokit. It was her mother! Echokit turned around, upset that she had interrupted Hailkit's story.

"Awww, but Sparktail! We were just getting to the bestest part!" wailed Hailkit, still perched on his hind paws.

"I know, but the sun has already set, and it's getting late. Moonshine told me she wants you three," she nodded to Hailkit, Yellowkit, and Cloverkit, "over by your nests. My kits, come on, we must get to bed."

"But we're not tired!" protested Whisperkit, yawning.

Sparktail shot her a stern look and started walking away, and Whisperkit followed with her ears flattened.

Echokit sighed and padded after her mother and sister to their nests. She gathered her moss, freshly changed, and made a soft nest out of it. She circled around it until it was comfortable and fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched it.