Warriors: Broken Destiny

PROLOGUE

The cool leaf-bare breeze flattened the tall tendrils of grass. The evening patrol padded silently through the open plain, heading toward the MeadowClan border. Fidgetfang lifted her head and parted her jaws.

"It smells like they haven't patrolled the border yet," she meowed.

"You're right," Copperwhisker agreed. "It's not like them."

"Why should we care?" Blackstream hissed. "If MeadowClan doesn't know how to run a clan, that's their problem."

Suddenly, Fidgetfang cuffed Blackstream over the ear. He let out a shriek of surprise as her light brown paw touched him. 

"Quiet!" She scolded him. "We don't need to start another quarrel. There's already enough tension between clans after the last gathering."

The three warriors remained silent for a moment, obviously reflecting on the last gathering. It hadn't gone well, at all. Sootstar, leader of StoneClan, had accused Coyotestar, the leader of MeadowClan, of stealing prey. MeadowClan were so outraged that some of their warriors began to unsheathe their claws, even though it goes completely against the full-moon truce.

Every full-moon the four clans gather at moonhigh to share updates and news of their clans. They gather at a round, dark pool of water. The four leaders sit to one side and address the clans, who gather around the opposite side of the bank.

The DawnClan cats had just finished re-marking their territory when Fidgetfang fell to the ground. She began rolling and stretching out her forepaws. Copperwhisker and Blackstream rushed to her side, calling her name and gently licking her. But she didn't take any notice of them. Her breath quickened and she let out a yowl of pain.

"What's happening?" Blackstream wailed. "I think she's dying!"

Copperwhisker's yellow eyes widened. "She can't be! Help me drag her back to camp," he insisted.

Together, Blackstream and Copperwhisker managed to haul Fidgetfang through the open grass and back into the safety of the narrow trees. Rooberry, DawnClan's medicine cat, and her apprentice, Chestnutpaw met them at the camp entrance. The look on Rooberry's face was calm, yet the slight twitch of her whiskers told the gathering clan that something was wrong.

"Is she going to die?" Blackstream questioned.

"Not if I can help it," Rooberry assured him. She nudged her ginger nose to his flank, then turned to her apprentice. "Chestnutpaw, can you grab me some poppy seeds?"

"Of course!" the light brown tom meowed. Quickly, he scurried to the back of the medicine cat den and returned with a huge leaf gripped tightly in his jaws.

Rooberry gingerly took the leaf-wrap from her apprentice and dismantled it. She carefully took a single poppy seed and placed it into Fidgetfang's open jaws. Fidgetfang, who was still squirming and panting, finally began to relax.

"It's too late to move her," Rooberry told Copperwhisker and Blackstream, who hadn't moved from Fidgetfang's side.

"So she is dying?" Blackstream asked. His dark fur bristled.

"What?" Rooberry asked. Her green eyes glowers with amusement. Chestnutpaw began to giggle and Rooberry joined in. Within moments, both of their eyes watered from laughing too much.

"Nothing is funny about losing a clanmate!" Blackstream growled. He lashed his tail furiously. Copperwhisker's ears were flattened. His eyes were nothing but blazing narrow slits.

"Blackstream, Copperwhisker," Rooberry chuckled. "Fidgetfang isn't dying. She's kitting!"

Blackstream and Copperwhisker looked at each other. Their eyes were wide with confusion.

"Toms!" Rooberry rolled her eyes. "They never pay attention."

A loud moan from Fidgetfang interrupted Rooberry. Instantly, Rooberry darted to her side. She placed her ginger paw on Fidgetfang's cinnamon belly. Rooberry stifled a sigh of relief when she felt movement in the pregnant queens stomach.

"Take in a deep breath," Rooberry instructed Fidgetfang. Fidgetfang sucked in and kept her blue eyes tightly shut. "Good," Rooberry told her. "Now push."

Fidgetfang let out a faint squeal as a small kit made it way smoothly out. Its soaked black pelt was quickly cleaned by Chestnutpaw's rapid licking. 

"Time to push again," Rooberry directed the queen.

Fidgetfang took in another deep breath. Then, an even smaller kit slithered out onto the dirt. Rooberry bent down and cleaned the tiny bundle of white fur before grabbing it by the scruff and placing it next to Fidgetfang so it could begin feeding. 

"Two she-cats," Chestnutpaw meowed proudly. Softly, he picked up the other kit, only to be stopped by Fidgetfang.

"Oh my!" Fidgetfang gasped. Rooberry flattened her ears, expecting the worse. But when she turned around to take a good look at the oldest kit, she noticed its pelt colours were split in half. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. "That's not my kit!" Fidgetfang gulped. Rooberry ignored Fidgetfang's shock and padded over to the kit. Half of her fur was black, the other half was a dark ginger. Her little nose was white, as was her underbelly. And like all newborn kits, her blinking eyes were a vibrant blue.

"Woah!" Copperwhisker meowed when he spotted the youngest kitten. "The white kit is so tiny!" 

"Copperwhisker," Blackstream called. "Look at this one! Its pelt is insane."

"Insane?" Fidgetfang puffed. She seemed exhausted from giving birth.

"Yeah," Blackstream glowed. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Fidgetfang snapped. She looked down at her suckling white kit with a loving gaze, then turned with a cold-hearted glare to her other kit. "Won't another queen take her?" she pleaded.

"The only queen is Darkwing and she stopped feeding her kits milk a moon ago. Plus, Tansycloud isn't due for another moon, Fidgetfang. You must raise her. She's your kit, and she's healthy. I don't know why you're so upset," Rooberry said calmly.

"I'm upset because she looks like a... a... well I don't know! But she won't fit in here."

Copperwhisker twitched his whiskers awkwardly. "That's not true," he protested. "If she's anything like you, she'll make an excellent warrior."

"And what if she isn't like me?" Fidgetfang challenged.

"Enough!" Rooberry snarled. "It is your duty as a DawnClan warrior to serve your clan. This kit is now a member of DawnClan, therefore she'll be cared for like one."

Chestnutpaw nodded at his mentor's wise words.

Fidgetfang lashed her tail but said nothing. Reluctantly, she picked up her firstborn daughter and placed her closely to her belly. Within an instant, both kits were suckling their mother's milk.

"For my clan," Fidgetfang meowed.

"I'm glad to hear it," Rooberry said. 

"What will their names be?" Blackstream asked. 

"Smallkit."

"And?" Rooberry pressed.

"And..."

Fidgetfang hastily examined the camp. She searched around, finally resting her gaze on the medicine cat den.

"Willowkit," Fidgetfang decided.

"But there's an apprentice named Willowpaw," Copperwhisker reminded her.

"Oh, right. Her name will be..."

"What about Sagekit?" A new voice suggested.

The group of cats turned around. Behind them, their leader, Maplestar stood proudly. 

"Sagekit?" Fidgetfang repeated as if she was deciding whether or not she liked the same. "Yes, Sagekit."

"Then I, Maplestar, leader of DawnClan, formally welcome these two kits, Smallkit and Sagekit." The fluffy tabby she-cat stalked forward and gave both kits a swift lick. "I have no doubt that these kits have a great future ahead of them."