Warriors- Dawn of An Era: Shadows of Terror {Book 2} (COMPLETED)

Chapter Eleven

Viperpaw jumped in her nest as a horrible screech made her wake from her dreamless sleep. Around her in the apprentice's den, the three new apprentices had their tails bushed out in fear. Only Amberpaw seemed mildly interested. Viperpaw sprang to her paws and ran out of the den, making note that it was the middle of the night.

"What in the name of StarClan is going on?" Asked Cloudpaw as she shot to Viperpaw's side. Her eyes, wide and scared, glowed in the midnight gloom.

"Applefrost is having her kits!" Called Echopaw as she bounded by and disappeared into the nursery.

"What?" Viperpaw gasped and looked over to see her father pacing the camp, his orange eyes round with worry and fear. Her mother only announced her expected litter about a moon ago and already she was kitting?

"Will the kits be okay?" Questioned Cloudpaw as she stared at where Echopaw had gone.

"I-I don't know," Viperpaw admitted and spotted Dovebelly talking with Mistfur and Sageheart. She felt a pang of loneliness hit her as she watched her former denmates laugh and playfully push one another. Jealousy boiled in her belly and she found herself unsheathing her claws. I thought I was her friend. She thought and forced herself to look away.

"A she-cat!" Dustynose's delighted cry made Viperpaw prick her ears. "You're doing great, Applefrost."

Cloudpaw sat down, a whisker shorter than Viperpaw. "I wonder what the kits will look like," she meowed, her voice thoughtful. "Maybe they'll look like Poppypaw."

Viperpaw winced at the mention of her sister and couldn't reply as she looked at the nursery. Would any of the kits look like their older sister? Would Scarredbelly accept his new kits even though he and Applefrost weren't mates? Did he want the kits?

Several cries from the nursery and murmurs of encouragement made Viperpaw wince and she flicked her tail anxiously. She screwed her eyes shut and her mind filled with the image of Amberpaw, her claws unsheathed and perched on a stone. Blood gushed around her as cats shrieked in pain and fury while she watched in dark pride.

Viperpaw shook her head and opened her eyes, feeling sick to her stomach with fear and mild curiosity. Was her mother going to be alright? What about the kits? Would they survive the kitting they were never supposed to be part of?

"That's it, Applefrost." Purred Dustynose and Viperpaw jumped. "You have six beautiful...healthy kits." There was a hint of concern in her voice and it made the fur along Viperpaw's spine lift.

Not waiting any longer, she shouldered her way into the nursery as Dustynose and Echopaw left. She saw the red-orange tabby pelt of her mother and six bundles of fur cuddled at the curve of her belly. Viperpaw felt her heart warm at the sight of her little siblings and she crouched down, admiring the six lumps.

"Aren't they amazing?" Applefrost murmured weakly, lying on her side with her head on the ground. She was panting hard and Viperpaw felt alarm pierce through her.

"They're adorable," purred Dawnslash as her kits slept at her belly. Her eyes were troubled as she looked at one kit in particular: a flame-colored tabby tom. He was smaller than his littermates and he seemed off-set.

Viperpaw looked at her little brother in confusion and padded around to Applefrost's hindquarters and got a better look at him. She gasped in shock. "Hi-his leg!" She cried and pointed with a claw at the kit's missing leg.

Applefrost hissed and flicked her tail over Viperpaw's mouth, silencing her. "Be quiet!" She growled and curled closer around her kits, her eyes sparkling with rage. "These kits are a blessing from StarClan and no kit of mine will be judged by their appearance!"