Echo: The Kits Take A Stand

Chapter 8

"Echokit! Wake up!" hollered a voice in her ear. It was Rockkit.

"Swanfeather told us we can visit Sunpaw and Leafpaw today! Not for long though. We have to careful to keep a distance away from them so we don't get sick."

Echokit jumped to her paws. "Finally! I haven't seen either of them since they got sick!"

"Come on!" Rockkit scurried out of the nursery and into the medicine den.

Leafpaw and Sunpaw were lying near the entrance. The stench of sick cats flooded Echokit's nose. Juniperpelt greeted them. He told them that he would be supervising them to make sure they didn't get too close to the sick cats.

Leafpaw looked to be sleeping, or perhaps he was so weak he seemed to always be sleeping. Sunpaw however, managed to open her eyes when she sensed them coming near.

"Echokit? Rockkit?" She murmured, not lifting her head up.

"It's us, Sunpaw," Echokit told her.

"A-are you sick too?" It was obvious that her and Rockkit were not, but Sunpaw was hardly opening her eyes, and was probably way too confused and weak to sense it.

"No. We're here to visit you," Rockkit assured her. "The other kits will come to visit you later. How's Leafpaw?"

"He hasn't spoken for several days. He's so tired all the time." Sunpaw hardly sounded like herself.

Seeing her friends so sick made Echokit feel sick too. It felt as though a stone had dropped in her throat. She didn't want to visit them any longer. She only wanted to see them healthy and happy.

"G-goodbye Sunpaw!" Echokit raced out of the medicine den.

"Echokit? What's wrong?" Falconkit asked her later.

"Have you visited Sunpaw and Leafpaw?" Echokit asked her brother.

Falconkit nodded.

"I visited them too. A-and they looked so sick-I can't take all these sick cats anymore! When will this breakout end? Not a single cat has gotten better, Falconkit!"

"I know," he meowed softly. "I'm going to be a medicine cat apprentice, though, maybe StarClan will tell me how to cure it!"

"StarClan would never send dreams to a kit!" Echokit sniffed.

"Why don't we go to the Moonfall then?" He suggested.

The Moonfall, Echokit thought. The Moonfall was a waterfall that fell from a mountain nearby the Clan's territories. She had been told that it was sacred, and that any cat who sipped it's waters would be visited by StarClan in their dreams.

"But we don't know the way to the Moonfall," Echokit pointed out.

"I do," Falconkit told her. "You know the river that goes through all of the Clan's territories? Well, a piece of that river is behind WoodClan's territory. If you follow that river, you'll come to the mountains, and the Moonfall is running down the mountain!"

"How would we get there?" Echokit asked. "When would we go?"

"Tonight!" Falconkit gave a little hop of excitement. "Tell the other kits that you're too tired to have a training session tonight and then me and you can head there!"

As the sun was setting, Echokit announced to the other kits that she was too tired to have a training session that night. The other kits agreed and went to sleep not long after, but she and Falconkit waited until it was late enough, and slipped out of camp. It took a while, but they found their way to the WoodClan border.

Echokit and Falconkit stood at the border between PondClan and WoodClan territory.

"You don't think there will any WoodClan cats out here this late, do you?" Echokit questioned.

"No," Falconkit meowed quietly, but she could see the worry on his face. Neither of them had thought about the fact that they'd be crossing the other Clan's territories.

We're doing this for PondClan, she remembered. She slowly raised her right front paw and placed it in WoodClan territory, then did the same with her left front paw, and her back legs. Falconkit followed her example. They trekked through WoodClan's territory, avoiding their camp completely. Now they were in the most dangerous part of their quest. They had exited WoodClan and were in rogue territory. Where there was no code. Where any cat could attack them and kill them or kidnap them. Fortunately, hardly any rogues at all lived close to the Clans. The two kits safely made their way to the piece of river that lived outside of the Clans and followed it.

At last, they came to the mountain that a waterfall ran down. Echokit could immediately tell it was the Moonfall. It's clear, sparkling waters screamed Look at me, I'm magic! The quiet ripples of the falling water made the entire atmosphere seem calm. And though she could not see it, Echokit knew that behind the waterfall was a light-filled cave that held the star-crystal, a crystal that was only used for giving leaders nine lives. She longed to go inside the cave and see it, but she was afraid that StarClan would be offended that a kit was looking at the star-crystal.

"Wow," Falconkit breathed, gazing at the Moonfall. He turned to his sister. "Let's take a sip." Slowly, they both bent in and lapped the Moonfall's waters.

"Now we have to go to sleep beside the Moonfall, and hopefully we'll dream of StarClan, or at least I'll dream of StarClan," Falconkit instructed. Echokit silently lay down and curled her tail over her paws. Listening to the gentle sound of the Moonfall, she slipped into sleep.