Unnamed fanfiction by Icestorm from Blogclan

Prologue

“Such a fine warrior will be missed. Nightfrost, are you sure you want to make such a choice?”

“As sure as I’ll ever be, Swiftwind.” Nightfrost replied to the clan deputy without hesitation. As long as she was with Leo, she didn’t care where she was. She let her amber gaze drift to Sparrowstar.

“I speak on behalf of my clan when I say that we hope that you will not regret your decision.” The clan leader closed his eyes and sighed inwardly for a moment before speaking the sacred words.

“Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what she is. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on she will be known as Night, for becoming a loner due to a mate living elsewhere. May Starclan light your path, Night.” The Windclan leader meowed with a hint of sadness in his voice, but he kept it steady.

“And yours too, Sparrowstar. I hope Windclan finds good shelter and hunting in the future.” Night calmly replied.

Night nodded to the clustered Windclan cats, and padded out of the camp, savoring the goodbye meows of her clanmates. She wasn’t proud, nor did she regret her decision. She tried to push away feelings of longing as she headed for the Twolegplace.

Her mate, Leo, was a loner that lived in an alley of the big Twolegplace. He had respectfully declined her offer to join Windclan, but Night couldn’t help being separate from him.

She weaved through the Thunderpaths and nodded to some kittypets as she passed. Night paused at the entrance of Leo’s alley before lightly padding in.

“Have you done it?” The comforting, soft mew of Leo echoed in the alley.

“Yes. It’s over and done with.” Night replied, stepping into view.

“Good. Now we can be true mates without separate lives disrupting our relationship.” Leo purred, moonlight casting on his black and brown torteishell fur.

He padded up to her and brushed his pelt against hers. Night felt their tails twine together.

Many moons passed as Leo and Night shared many great memories. Life was great, until one day at dusk Night didn’t feel well.

“My belly hurts.” Night whimpered as she lay in her nest. “I feel as though I’ve eaten a live mouse with the movement in there!”

“Well I’m no medicine cat from your clan, but I don’t think we’d need one to know what’s going on here.” Leo’s hinted, his eyes gleaming.

“What?” Night pressed as Leo snorted. “What is it Leo? Tell me!”

“Well,” Leo’s words were broken as he suppressed laughter. “We…we’ve been together for…for a while now,” he snickered between words. “A…and you feel movement in your hurting belly…” Leo tried to let Night put the puzzle pieces together.

“Leo, I’ve got no time for your guessing games. Tell me why I’m hurting before I claw your ears off.” Night’s voice was firm, but warm.

Leo burst with a laughing mrroow as he lost it. “Oh Night!” He took a breath in before continuing. “You’re expecting our kits!”

Chapter 1

Wolf opened her eyes to find herself in a cushiony moss pile filled with the scents of other cats. She still found it strange that she was a cat with the name of an animal in the dog family. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, as she realized it was the middle of the night. There was no light shining into the hole of the hollow tree trunk she called home. She was about to go back to sleep when she saw the empty nest across the floor. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. Wolf got up and trotted over to her sister, Leaf, her brother Owl waking up and following close behind. Leaf was curled up in a light doze. Wolf prodded her sister until Leaf lifted her head in confusion before realizing where she was.

“Have you seen Night recently?” Wolf questioned Leaf, concerned about their mother.

Leaf gave her back a quick lick to tidy the sleep-ruffled fur. She thought for a moment, then responded. “I think she went hunting.”

Owl let out a squeal of fear. “What if she abandoned us?” He whimpered.

“Naw, why would she do that?” Wolf comforted. “She’s our mother! She loves us! Don’t be such a mousebrain!”

“I’m still scared, Wolf! She usually tells us when she’s leaving!” Owl fretted.

A light growl came from the moss behind them, making the fur along their spines lift. They calmed down when the three realized that the growl wasn’t much of a growl at all, indicating the presence of the fourth kit, Hawk.

“For Starclan’s sake, shut up! Can’t a cat get any sleep around here?”

The three littermates whirled around, realizing they woke their brother. Wolf felt Leaf tense beside her, remembering Leaf’s disbelief in the ancestors their mother told tales about. Their mother came from a clan of wild cats near the forest, a clan she liked to call Windclan.

“Sorry Hawk,” Leaf apologized, her mew snapping Wolf from her thoughts. “we were just anxious because Night isn’t here, though I’m pretty sure she went hunting.”

“Well you don’t have to stomp around like a bunch of badgers in the middle of the night, some cats don’t care!” Hawk shouted with rage.

Wolf felt Owl shrink in fear on her opposite side. At the sight of her other brother getting frightened, anger grew inside Wolf. “Alright Hawk, well we care about our mother, so don’t get all angry at us. Why are you always so grumpy? You should be over Mole’s death by now! We were so young, I still don’t see how you still have so much memory of the event.”

Wolf was a bit surprised with her outburst, but the flame of anger inside her was still slightly burning as she stood proudly, her chest puffed.

A flicker of grief flashed in Hawk’s eyes, before being replaced with rage once again. “Well I don’t see why you guys never seem to care! He was my best friend as well as my brother!”

Before having the chance to speak again, Hawk stomped off outside the tree trunk, and plopped down, staring at the night sky, as if looking for their lost brother among the stars. He seemed touchy around the subject of Mole, not like his usual grumpy old badger self.

Wolf sat there for a few moments, then pricked her ears at the rustle of leaves as Leaf padded over to Hawk to soothe him.

Leaving Leaf to deal with Hawk, Wolf padded back to her nest. Owl slunk back to his. He was obviously going to have a problem sleeping. Wolf, however, let her limbs relax with ease as she sunk into sleep.

Chapter 2

When Wolf woke, rays of moonhigh were pouring into the cracks of the rotting tree trunk. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she sat up in her nest. Owl looked stressed, but thankfully in a light sleep. Leaf looked in a deep sleep, as if she went to sleep late. As Wolf realized that Hawk’s nest was empty, she panicked until she saw him sleeping outside, as if he never left the spot he had plopped down in the previous night. She peered at Night’s nest, and a pang of anxiety stabbed her heart as she didn’t see her mother. There was none of her sweet scent lingering, and the larger nest was cold.

Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, she went outside, quietly padding by Hawk, careful not to wake him. She took a deep breath, letting her worries fade as she walked on the path her mother had made for the kits. It was really a trail of dirt marked with their mother’s scent. Night tore up most of the grass, the rest was worn down from all the walking.

She let her thoughts drift as she padded along the marked path.

Why does Hawk miss Mole so much. We don’t even remember much, nor do we really remember what he was like! Maybe Hawk had a special bond with him. Yes, that would explain it. But how at such a young age?

Her thoughts carried on.

And where in the name of Starclan is Night? She didn’t even tell is she was going anywhere! Why? Was she mad? Let’s see, Owl made a mess by shredding his nest in his sleep, but she didn’t seem too angry about that. Hawk snapped at her, but he’s always doing that. She wouldn’t be surprised. Uhhh, did one of us go out without her permission? No…

“Shoot!” Wolf mewed with anger out loud. That’s exactly what I’m doing!

She brought her mind back to reality, and realized she was padding on grass. Ugh. You really need to be aware of what’s going on in reality when you let your mind drift. I must have slipped off the path.

She looked behind her in search of the dirt path, and fear stirred inside her like a rock in her belly. The path was nowhere in sight. She tried to remain calm, reminding herself that there was no need to panic, she shouldn’t have gone too far off the path. She padded along swiftly, eyes scanning the ground for the path.

Chapter 3

Leaf was rolling in a field of poppy flowers when she felt a sharp prod in her side. She spun around and her eyes widened when she saw a huge black and white shape looming over her. Badger! She panicked until her shock turned to confusion when the badger prodded her again, claws sheathed. Her confusion increased when it begged for help.

“Leaf! Leaf! I need your help!”

Leaf stood there, bewildered, until the badger and all of her surroundings began to fade. Everything was black until she opened her eyes. She was in her nest, thank Starclan, and then she turned to see Owl in a panic, his fur fluffed up. She wasn’t surprised, Owl was always freaking out about something

“Oh Leaf, thank Starclan you’re awake. Wolf’s missing now, too!” He cried.

“Alright, calm down, she might have just gone for a walk.” Leaf tried to soothe.

“But..but we’re not allowed to leave the tree trunk without Night’s permission!” he wailed.

“Well, is Night here?”

“Well, no…” he muttered.

“Then she just went out knowing that there was no cat to ask. Problem solved.” Leaf curled her tail over her nose and closed her eyes. She didn’t mean to be rude, she just was grumpy from being woken up.

Owl was about to protest when the two heard a cat coming up to the tree trunk. The cat’s pawsteps were heavier, so it wasn’t Wolf, or Hawk.

A scrawny black she-cat with round amber eyes brushed in, her fur ruffled. She looked as if she ran through the forest and back.

“Night!” Owl exclaimed.

Night, in a daze, padded over to her nest and slumped down in it. The two littermates sat there for a moment, until Leaf signaled with her tail for Owl to go to his nest. Checking to make sure he was put, she grabbed a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and laid it at Night’s paws. Night, her gaze still locked, hardly took any notice of it. Leaf dipped her head, unsure if Night was aware of her presence, and climbed into her own nest. She glanced at Owl’s. He was facing the wood walls of the hollowed out tree trunk, obviously trying to make himself not believe what was happening. She took one last glance at Night before lying down and closing her eyes. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but resting was always okay with her. She tried not to worry about Wolf.

It had only been a few minutes when a cat silently entered the trunk. Leaf tensed, and without opening her eyes, Leaf scented Hawk, and relaxed as he climbed into his nest. His snoring after a few moments indicated that he had fallen asleep. She peeked over at Owl’s nest. He wasn’t sleeping, but he looked lost in thought, so she didn’t say anything.

Hours that felt like days passed until Leaf finally fell into a light doze.

Chapter 4

Wolf, heart quickening, adrenaline pumping, broke into a run as she stumbled upon roots and tripped over logs.

Oh, Starclan no! Her mind swirled as she tripped over a particularly large log and tumbled down a hill. She bounced down the hill until her body struck a smooth boulder, which broke her fall. She let her body go limp as dizziness overcame her. It wasn’t long before she lost consciousness.

***

This time, Leaf was dreaming of leaping through the forest, dodging trees as she once again, felt a prod in her side. Ugh. It’s always Leaf to the rescue! Leaf will solve the problem. Leaf will know what to do! But she was almost always glad to help her littermates with their troubles.

She raised her head sleepily and murmured, “What now?”

She opened her eyes slowly and as they adjusted, she was confused because she had expected to see the small orange figure of Owl, but saw a huge dark shape. Her muscled tensed.

Oh no, this time it really is a badger!

But as her eyes came into focus, she relaxed as she saw her mother. Night loomed over her nest and her frantic words came tumbling out of her mouth. “Where’s Wolf.” She demanded with a forced straight voice, but Leaf could feel waves of worry and fear pulsing off of her mother.

“I…I…” Leaf’s words were broken and frightened for her mother “…I think she…went out, but…I don’t…I don’t know where.”

Night sighed. “Why would she leave?” she whispered, almost to herself.

“Well…ma…maybe she…needed a…break a…and needed to be alone,” Leaf’s voice became steadier as she went on “and maybe she was upset because no cat knew were you were.”