LEADER: CEDARSTAR-very dark gray tom with a white belly
DEPUTY: STONETOOTH-gray tabby tom with long teeth
MEDICINE CAT: SAGEWHISKER-white she-cat with long whiskers
WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)
CROWTAIL-black tabby she-cat
BRACKENFOOT-pale ginger tom with dark ginger legs
ARCHEYE-gray tabby tom with black stripes and thick stripes over eye
HOLLYFLOWER-dark-gray-and-white she-cat
APPRENTICE, NEWTPAW
MUDCLAW-gray tom with brown legs
TOADSKIP-dark brown tabby tom with white splashes and white legs APPRENTICE, ASHPAW
NETTLESPOT-white she-cat with ginger flecks
MOUSEWING-thick-furred black tom
DEERLEAP-gray tabby she-cat with white legs
AMBERLEAF-dark orange she-cat with brown legs and ears
FINCHFLIGHT-black-and-white tom
BLIZZARDWING- mottled white tom
LIZARDSTRIPE-pale brown tabby she-cat with white belly
APPRENTICES (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)
NEWTPAW-black-and-ginger she-cat
ASHPAW-pale gray she-cat
QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)
FEATHERSTORM-dark brown tabby (mother to Raggedkit and Scorchkit)
BRIGHTFLOWER-orange tabby (mother to Yellowkit, Nutkit, and Rowankit)
POOLCLOUD-gray-and-white she-cat
SWEETFLOWER- calico with green eyes and a white tail (Mother to Moonkit and Flamekit)
ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)
LITTLEBIRD-small ginger tabby she-cat
LIZARDFANG-light brown tabby tom with one hooked tooth
SILVERFLAME-orange-and-gray she-cat
CATS OUTSIDE OF THE CLANS:
CREME- light gray she-kit with blue eyes
WHISP- light gray and black tom-kit with blue eyes
BLUE- blue tom-kit with amber eyes
CHERRY- calico she-kit with bright blue eyes
DAPPLE- calico she-cat with one blue eye and one green eye (Mother to Creme, Blue, Whisp, and Cherry)
Chapter 1:
“Hey! Get your lousy tail of my face!” Creme hissed, batting at her brother, Blue.
“Sorry!” He meowed.
“No, you’re not!” Creme snarled.
“I’m tellin mom!” Blue cried, racing over to their mother.
Creme looked over at her mother, Dapple, who was washing herself.
“Mom...!” Blue meowed. “Creme’s being mean to me!”
“No, I'm not!” Creme protested, walking over to her mother.
Dapple sighed. “Just be nice to each other. Please.”
“Fiiine...” Creme and Blue moaned, glaring at each other.
“Good.” Dapple repeated, glancing at them both.
“Don’t think I’ll be nice to you.” Creme growled.
“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Blue snickered, trotting over to Whisp, their brother.
Whisp looked concerned.
Creme watched as Blue sprinted away, relief washing over her. The last thing she wanted was to be reprimanded by their mother again. With a huff, she tried to shake off the annoyance that simmered in her fur, but her gaze followed Blue as he joined Whisp, who was looking particularly worried.
“What’s wrong with him?” Creme wondered, feeling a hint of annoyance creep back. Her thoughts were interrupted as she caught sight of her mother, her soft fur glimmering in the sunlight as she continued to groom herself, unfazed by the antics of her kits.
Moments later, as if sensing the tension in the air, Dapple glanced in their direction. “Just be nice to each other. Please,” she said, her voice steady and soothing.
Creme sighed, knowing she should listen, but the competitive spirit that stirred within her wouldn't let go so easily. “Fine...” she muttered, glaring at Blue before shifting her attention back to the surroundings.
As Blue playfully poked at Whisp, Creme couldn’t help but feel a pang of something—was it loneliness? She knew she wanted to play too, yet the irritation between her and Blue lingered. She felt compelled to build her own reputation as the fiercest of them all.
Suddenly, a rustle nearby sent a shiver of both fear and excitement down her spine. The kits froze, exchanging startled glances. Something was coming from the bushes.
Creme's heart raced, her instincts kicking in as she remained perfectly still. The last thing she wanted was to look cowardly in front of her brothers. She crouched slightly; ears perked, ready for whatever emerged.
Dapple hissed as a fox appeared, pushing her kits behind her.
“Mom! I can help!” My sister Cherry squeaked, her fur bushing up.
“No!” Dapple yowled as Cherry raced up to the fox and batted its face.
The fox growled, and snapped its jaws around my sister, and dropping her body onto the ground.
“No, no, no.” Dapple sobbed, dropping onto the ground. The fox crept closer, and my mother still didn’t get up.
“Mother.” Creme meowed. “The fox.”
“Fox.” My mother said. “Go away. Please.” The fox paused, then turned tail and ran away, as though it feared a grieving mother.
“Mom.” Blue started, but Dapple just curled into a ball.
After that, we all just laid there, silent.
Suddenly Dapple looked like she had awoken from a dream.
“Mom?” Creme meowed.
“Follow me kits.” Dapple mewed briskly, not answering Creme. Creme, Blue and Whisp all followed her.
They walked for a long time, and then Dapple nudged them under a low-hanging bush.
“Stay here.” She whispered, then trotted off.
“Creme?” Blue whispered. “Where’s mom going?”
Creme trembled. “I don’t know.” She said fearfully.
“Oh.” Blue said, dropping his gaze.
“Maybe she’s gone for food.” Whisp said hopefully. Creme sighed and plopped down.
Creme opened her eyes to see a calico cat looking down at her.
“Cherry?” She meowed hopefully, still groggy.
“No. I'm sorry dear, it's me, Dapple.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Creme meowed and stood up.
Dapple took a deep breathe, then turned to her kits as they sat nearby, their meows echoing in the stillness of the forest. She watched them with a mixture of love and anguish. “My dear ones,” she began, her voice trembling, “I need to talk to you.”
Creme looked up; concern etched on her face. “What is it, Mom?”
Dapple took a moment to gather her thoughts, glancing toward the path that led to her sister Sweetflower’s den. “You know how much I love you all, right?”
“Of course!” Blue exclaimed, moving closer.
“I love you too, Mama!” Whisp added, eyes wide.
Dapple’s heart tightened. “I love you all more than anything in the world, and that’s why I have to do something that feels very hard.” She paused, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her. “I think… I think you should go stay with my sister, Sweetflower.”
“Stay with Sweetflower?” Creme’s eyes widened. “But why?”
“Because I’m afraid for you—afraid that I can’t keep you safe,” Dapple replied, her voice breaking. “The foxes are still out there, and I can’t bear the thought of putting you in danger. Sweetflower will take care of you. She loves you just as much as I do.”
Blue shook his head, confusion mixing with fear. “But we want to stay with you, Mom!”
“I know, love, but right now, Sweetflower can help protect you better than I can,” Dapple said softly, tears glistening in her eyes. “I can’t let anything happen to you. I need you to be safe, and I trust Sweetflower completely.”
From the edge of the clearing, Sweetflower appeared, her calico fur blending with the wildflowers around her. She sensed the tension in the air and approached cautiously. “Dapple? What’s wrong?”
Dapple swallowed hard, her gaze falling to the ground. “I need your help. I want to ask you to take my kits for a while. I can’t keep them safe, not right now.”
Sweetflower’s eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean? Dapple, I can help you—”
“No,” Dapple interrupted gently but firmly. “This is the best choice. You can give them a safe place to stay while I figure things out. It will be temporary, I promise.”
Creme looked up at Sweetflower, hope and concern battling in her heart. “Aunt Sweetflower, will you take care of us?”
Sweetflower sat down, her expression softening as she smiled at the kits. “Of course, my little ones! I would love to have you with me. You’ll be safe, and we can have fun together while we wait for your mother to sort things out. Plus I have kits of my own! They’re the same age as you! It’ll be fun!”
Dapple’s heart broke at the prospect of saying goodbye, but she knew it was for the best. She pulled her kits close one last time. “You are so strong and brave. Listen to Sweetflower, and I will come for you as soon as I can. I promise.”
With trembling paws, she pressed her nose against their foreheads, wishing she could take away their pain and the weight of the world off her shoulders. “I love you, always.”
“Love you too, Mama,” they chorused, but Dapple could see the uncertainty in their eyes.
As she stepped back, Creme hesitated, glancing between her mother and Sweetflower. “Will we really be safe?”
Sweetflower nodded, her eyes filled with assurance. “I’ll keep you both safe. Dapple, I promise to look after them. We’ll make it through this together.”
Dapple took a deep breath and turned toward Sweetflower. “Thank you for understanding.”
“No problem. Come on kits.” Sweetflower purred.
“Ok.” Creme sobbed, looking back at her mother one last time.
They traveled for a while, until Sweetflower paused.
“Kits. We’re going to the ShadowClan camp, and under NO circumstances will you say where you came from. Understood?” Sweetflower meowed.
“But-” Blue started.
“No buts- You will say you were rouge kits, and that you don’t remember anything, and that you never know your mom, and that she’d abandoned you when you were old enough to eat solid prey. Ok?” Sweetflower growled.
“Yes.” The kits cried, but Whisp protested.
“Why should we lie? Mom told us never to lie, no matter the problem.”
“Because your lives depend on it.” Sweetflower meowed gruffly.
That silenced us all, as we padded towards the direction of the so called, ShadowClan camp.
Comments
Log in or register to post comments.