Shadows in the Night

Chapter Eleven

// Congrats to @Vectorsigma and @wadamelon_x_time for winning the competition to choose the names for two of Nightstar's kits! Also thanks to @catisawesome and @vectorsigma (again :3) for helping me choose Frecklepaw's full name! A big thank you to everyone who joined, because there will be a competition at the end of this chapter to choose another cat's kits! :3

"They're beautiful," Webfoot breathed, padding into the nursery. Nightstar looked up, her eyes bleary with sleep. Frecklepaw stepped backwards, making room for the mates to chat.

Four kits were nestled into the curve of her leader's stomach; and only three were her own. It had been nearly a moon since the black she-cat had moved to the nursery, and she had just kitted last sunrise. Frecklepaw twisted her head to inspect her kits. 

There was two she-kits, and one tom. Berrykit kicked out in his sleep to shove his littermates, and the small creamy she-kit, Dawnkit, tumbled out of the nest with an oof. Frecklepaw watched as Nightstar gently pushed her back into the bed of moss. The white she-kit with gray patches was Stormkit, named after Stormpelt. And lastly, the pretty light brown she-kit who was much bigger than the others, lay sprawled on her foster mother's back. When Leaf escaped, she took Black, but left Claw and Hoot behind. Claw had been taken to the medicine cat den to heal his wounds, and Hoot had been renamed Hootkit, and stayed in the nursery with Nightstar. 

The whole clan was astonished when the leader announced that she would take care of the traitor's kits, but Frecklepaw agreed with her. I remember Hootkit protesting about joining in with her mother's evil schemes... now she's free to become a warrior. Claw had been doing well too, and had begun to accept his role in LightningClan. I better go check on him.

Frecklepaw faltered as she felt a familiar pain. Great. I know what this means... but how could I let this happen?

Every cat was in panic after Leaf's escape. She padded out of the nursery and saw Sunstrike calmly poised on the highrock, setting out patrols. No one dared to argue with his authority after he organized the patrols to track Leaf down; even if they all failed. The clan was in need of strong leadership more than ever, with Nightstar in the nursery and Webfoot striving to spend as much time as possible with his kits. She dipped her head to the temporary deputy, and then pushed through the hanging lichen. Claw lay in a bed of moss, murmuring in his sleep.

"Why did you leave me? Don't you love me? My paw's better now!" He mewed as he rolled around. Frecklepaw felt her heart break. I'm sorry, little one, but your mother- she's not coming back.

"Claw!" She meowed as she prodded the little kit awake. The kit blinked away sleep  and sat up in his scattered nest. 

"Mistypool? Where are you?" He mewled, blinking in confusion as Frecklepaw padded up to him. Shaking his head, he quivered as he sat up and padded towards Frecklepaw. "Leaf abandoned me, didn't she?" 

Frecklepaw sadly nodded, and to her surprise, the gray kit sat up even straighter. 

"Then i'll do what Mistypool told me to do. I want to become a warrior of LightningClan!"

"This Mistypool," Frecklepaw hesitated and meowed, "what did she look like?" It couldn't have been the legendary warrior that had been murdered by Claw's mother!

"She was floaty," he began, narrowing his eyes, "and she had stars in her fur. She said she was from something called StarClan." Claw's eyes shone with confusion, and Frecklepaw purred. 

"Come close," she mewed. "Now, StarClan is your warrior ancestors, who..."

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