Mapleshade's Heart

Mapleshade's Heart
Written by: Moonlight8

Allegiances
ThunderClan

Leader- Icestar-  fluffy white she-cat with ice blue eyes

Deputy- Ravenwing- black she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat- Sagewhisker- brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Warriors( toms and she-cats without kits)

-Snowstorm- white she-cat with dark green eyes

-Lightningstreak- dark brown tom with a white streak on his chest and back with green eyes

-Mossfire- blue gray tom with tabby ginger patches and intense blue eyes

-Copperfur- ginger tom with bright green eyes

-Grasspelt- long haired tortoishell tom with amber eyes

-Willowstream- beautiful light brown she-cat with dazzling blue eyes

-Nightfur- black she-cat with blue green eyes

-Yellowclaw- blue gray tom with bright yellow eyes

-Beepelt- golden tabby tom with sharp blue eyes

- Marshtail- tortoishell and white tom with blue eyes

-Rainfall- pretty dappled golden she-cat with amber eyes

-Silverfrost- silver and white she-cat with blue eyes

-Redpelt- red brown tom with amber eyes

-Antclaw- black and white tom with green eyes

Apprentices

-Weedpaw- pale orange tom with amber eyes(mentor- Snowstorm)

-Larkpaw- tortoishell she-cat with pale green eyes(mentor- Willowstream)

-Mumblepaw- brown tom with amber eyes(mentor- Marshtail)

Queens

-Duskheart- pale brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes(mate- Grasspelt, kits- expecting)

-Dewfrost- gray and white tabby she-cat with green eyes(mate- Mossfire, kits- Stonekit and Applekit)

-Hollyflower- fluffy black she-cat with ice green eyes(mate- Copperfur, kits- Maplekit, Lillykit, and Sootkit, also Icestar's littermate)

Kits

-Stonekit- gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes

-Applekit- dark cream she-cat with blue green eyes mixed with golden flecks

-Maplekit- ginger and white she-cat with honey colored amber eyes and a fluffy white tail

-Lillykit- silver tabby she-cat with ice blue eyes

-Sootkit- ashy gray she-cat with clear blue eyes

Elders

-Stormclaw- dark gray tom with pale amber eyes

-Seedfur- ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes

-Rosefall- dark cream she-cat with blue eyes

WindClan

Leader- Skystar- lithe gray she-cat with green eyes

Deputy- Harepelt- gray brown tom with blue eyes

Medicine Cat- Heatherheart- small brown tabby she-cat with gentle amber eyes

Apprentice- Bushpaw- red brown tom with green eyes

Warriors

-Shrewtail- skinny brown tom with amber eyes

-Gorsepelt- tortoishell tom with pale amber eyes

-Badgerfoot- large gray tabby tom with blue eyes

-Honeyfur- honey colored she-cat with green eyes

-Jayflight-  pretty blue gray she-cat with blue eyes

-Larchsong- white she cat with amber eyes

-Blacktail- ginger she-cat with a black tail, nose, and all but one paw, and has blue green eyes

ShadowClan

Leader- Oakstar- huge dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy- Leafstorm- silver she-cat with stormy blue eyes

Medicine Cat- Pinefur- tortoishell tom with green eyes

Apprentice- Smallfang- small white she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors

-Frogfoot- gray tom with green eyes

- Leafheart- golden she-cat with blue eyes

-Deerpelt- unusually spotted brown she-cat with green eyes

-Snaketail- tortoishell tom with a long tail and amber eyes

-Sunfall- dark ginger she-cat with lighter ginger patches and dark blue eyes

-Swallowfur- gray brown tom with amber eyes

-Vinepath- tortoishell and gray tom with vine like scars on his back and green eyes

RiverClan

Leader- Streamstar- gray brown  tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Deputy- Reedclaw- large black tom with green eyes

Apprentice- Pebblepaw-  large pale bracken colored tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat- Berryfur- cream she-cat with darker flecks and clear amber eyes

Warriors

-Flowerstem- pale ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes

-Fishtail- small gray tom with amber eyes

-Quailfeather- gray brown tabby tom with amber eyes

-Eagleflight- brown and white she-cat with yellow green eyes

-Darkshadow- black she-cat with brilliant blue eyes

-Splashpelt- gray she-cat with a white splash on her chest and green eyes

-Whitepatch- black tom with white patches and blue eyes

Prologue
Mapleshade padded through the erie forest. As she continued to walk through the seemingly endless foilage, Mapleshade wondered where she was. Surely she must be in StarClan. After all, she hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Mapleshade knew for a fact that she was dead, but if she wasn't in StarClan, then where was she? She looked up to the sky, hoping to see Silverpelt shining above her, but the thick tree branches covered the stars.

"Welcome," said a sudden, deep voice.

Mapleshade spun around. A large white tom stood in front of her, his amber gaze burning into her pelt. "Who are you?," she demanded, frightened by the newcomer.

"I am Whitecloud.  Welcome to the Dark Forest, Mapleshade."

"Wh-What's the Dark Forest?," Mapleshade asked, dreading the answer to her question.

"The Dark Forest is the place that cats go who were not accepted into StarClan.  Cats like us, Mapleshade.," Whitecloud replied, watching her carefully as if to see how she would react to his answer.

"What," Mapleshade screeched. More calmly, she went on, "There m-must be some mistake," she stuttered. "I belong in StarClan, with my friends, my family..."

"Obviously not," Whitecloud replied, sneering.

Mapleshade watched in disbelief as Whitecloud finished speaking to her, and then padded away, slowly fading into the misty shadows.

   How could they!!!  The thought rang through Mapleshade's head again and again. For her whole life, whenever she was in pain, Mapleshade had reminded herself that she woul one day be at peace, walking the skies with her ancestors. Sometimes, she had longed for this day to come. And now... And now she was stuck in some stupid forest!! She would never again see her clanmates, her mate, or anyone from her old life. Mapleshade snarled silently to herself. StarClan were no better than crowfood eating rats! They were traitors...

As Mapleshade stalked angrily through the Dark Forest, she knew that StarClan needed to be taught a lesson. And Mapleshade would make sure to teach it to them.

Chapter One
Maplekit's P.O.V.(In third person)

Maplekit snuggled closer to her mother. Her sisters, Lillykit and Sootkit, lay on either side of her. Maplekit had just woken up from a nap, and curiousity suddenly stabbed her like a needle. ''What does the camp look like? ''she wondered. Cautiously, Maplekit opened her eyes.

''Wow! The nursery is so amazing!'' Those were Maplekit's first thoughts as her eyes opened for the first time and saw the thick bramble walls of the nursery. Looking down at her sisters, Maplekit nudged Sootkit awake. "Come on!" She said. "Wake up Sootkit.  You have to open your eyes.  The nursery is so cool, and we still have to explore the rest of camp!"

"Okay, okay," muttered Sootkit. Maplekit watched as Sootkit hesitantly opened her eyes. "Ouch!" She squeaked. "Why is it so bright?"

Maplekit purred in amusement. "It's called the sun, Sootkit!  Now, get up, we just have to wake Lillykit."

At that moment, however, Lillykit stirred. "You two are so loud, that I bet the whole of Shadowclan can hear you," She complained. Her eyes then blinked open, and she was still for a moment, shocked. Finally, Lillykit asked, "Is this really the nursey? Or am I dreaming?"

Maplekit answered affectionately, "Of course this is the nursery, mousebrain!  Where else would we be?  Now let's ask Hollyflower if we can play outside."

As Hollyflower woke up, she seemed to already know what her kits wanted. "Now you three, I expect you to be very careful and do not get into any trouble."

"Of course, Hollyflower," Maplekit replied. "We won't ever get in trouble, you'll see.  Right, Sootkit, Lillykit?"

"Yeah, we will always follow the rules, Hollyflower," said Lillykit.

"And we'll help the other kits, too," added Sootkit.

Suddenly another voice snorted, "More like we'll be helping you, right Applekit?"

"Who do you think you are?" Maplekit shot back indignantly, eyeing the small gray tabby tom warily.

"I'm Stonekit, and this is my sister, Applekit."

"Who's your mother?" asked Lillykit.

Applekit answered, "Our mother is Dewfrost.  Our father is Mossfire.  He's the best warrior in the whole clan!"

"Our father is Copperfur, and we just wanted to visit him.  Do you think that you two could show us the Warriors den.  Oh, and maybe the rest of camp, too!" Sootkit squealed excitedly. Maplekit felt embarrassed. ''We can find our own way around camp! Although I suppose we know we won't get lost if Applekit and Stonekit show us around. Okay, I'll go with them.''

"Wait for me!  I'm coming, too,"  Maplekit yowled as she hurried out of the nursery.

"Wow, Maplekit, you sure are looking forward to this," Stonekit laughed.

"Of course I am!  I can hardly be a warrior if I don't even know my way around camp!"

"Are we going to go show them the camp or what?" Applekit put in irritably.

"Yeah!  In fact, we're going now," Stonekit retorted.

Maplekit looked in front of her. The camp was huge! She fought the urge to run off by herself and explore every little bit of her home. ''I don't want to get into trouble. I might have to stay in the nursery for a moon!''

"Alright, so right here is the apprentices' den.  Applekit and I are almost five moons old, we'll be there soon," Stonekit meowed proudly.

"Yeah, the apprentices are so cool.  Look, they even taught us the hunter's crouch," Applekit added, showing Maplekit and her sisters the crouch. Distracted, Maplekit jumped when she heard a noise coming from the apprentices' den. She poked her head inside, and to her relief saw that it was only an apprentice, just now waking up.

"Hello," Maplekit called softly. "I'm Maplekit, what's your name?"

As the cat rose from their nest, Maplekit realized that it was a tom. His short brown pelt was covered in moss, and he began to groom  himself. After a moment, he stopped and said, "Hello, Maplekit.  I'm Mumblepaw.  You're Hollyflower's kit, right?  Where are your sisters?"

"They're outside," Maplekit replied.

"Oh.  I suppose Applekit and Stonekit must be showing you around camp.  Have they shown you the hunters crouch yet?" For some reason, Maplekit thought that Mumblepaw looked dissapointed that it was the other kits who were showing her and her littermates around. Maplekit wondered why. Suddenly, Mumblepaw straightened up. "I'll show you the real hunters crouch if you want me to, Maplekit." He looked at her with his clear amber gaze, and Maplekit knew she could not refuse, although she would soon be missed.

"That would would be great!", Maplekit squeaked in excitement.

"Alright, then." Mumblepaw crouched down, carefully placing each paw in what Maplekit assumed was the correct position. Then, he crept forward, looking like he really was hunting. Maplekit was amazed at Mumblepaw's skill. ''He's really good. When I'm an apprentice, I want to be just like him, no, I want to be even better.''

After a moment, Mumblepaw padded up to Maplekit. "What did you think?  Was it good?" he asked anxiously.

"It was great! Stonekit and Applekit don't know what they're doing, but you do, Mumblepaw,"  Maplekit replied, day dreaming about how she would show Sootkit and Lillykit the real hunters crouch.

Chapter Two
Maplekit's P.O.V. (In third person)

"Maplekit,"  Hollyflower scolded her daughter gently. "I told you that Duskheart's kits are too young to play.  Great Starclan, they were just born last night!"

Maplekit sighed and padded outside, sitting right by the entrance to the nursery. She knew that Molekit, Bluekit, and

Birchkit were too young to play. But she had been so bored lately, seeing that Lillykit and Sootkit were still recovering from Whitecough.''  Why can't they be better already. There's no one to play with. Stonepaw and Applepaw think that they're StarClan's gift to ThunderClan, they'll never hang out with me. Hollyflower doesn't even like to play!''  Maplekit was just starting to imagine her apprentice ceremony, when a voice startled her.

"Hi, Maplekit.  Everything alright?" Maplekit spun around, bristling, but relaxed when she saw Mumblefoot's familiar figure. He had been made a Warrior a few days after Maplekit had first met him, along with Larksong and Weedwhisker. She remembered the day they had been made warriors. Their mentors, Marshtail, Willowstream, and Snowstorm, had been so proud. Now that he was a warrior, Maplekit secretly hoped that Mumblefoot would be her mentor, though she knew how unlikely that it was to happen.

"I'm fine, Mumblefoot,"  Maplekit mewed, forcing a purr. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

"I don't think so, Maplekit.  Why don't we go and visit Lillykit and Sootkit.  They would love to see you."

"But Sagewhisker said that there are no visitors allowed,"  Maplekit wailed.

"Well, I'm sure that Sagewhisker will make an exception for you, especially if a Warrior accompanies you.  Now, stop complaining and we can go,"  Mumblefoot replied briskly, padding away towards the medicine den.

Maplekit ran up to him. Mumblefoot was such a good friend, but he wasn't her littermate. Hopefully Sagewhisker would be in a good mood and let her see Sootkit and Lillykit.

Maplekit and Mumblefoot were at the medicine cat's den. When Maplekit saw the entrance to the den, she ran ahead of Mumblefoot and was about to enter when Sagewhisker's voice stopped her. "Maplekit, what did I say about visiting my patients,"  he asked her, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Errrr...,"  Maplekit trailed off.

"Look, Sagewhisker, I know that you don't like cats to visit your patients, but this is Lillykit and Sootkit's littermate.  They would love to see her, and it isn't fair to keep them apart." Mumblefoot was speaking, his voice steady but determined.

"Well, I suppose one visitor won't hurt.  But only Maplekit is allowed to come with me.  Mumblefoot, you will wait outside the entrance for us."

Mumblefoot gave Maplekit and Sagewhisker a long look. "Okay, I'll wait for you out here."

"Thanks, Mumblefoot," Maplekit purred. ''Finally, I get to see my littermates. It's been too long. '' Maplekit padded through the ferns and entered the medicine den.

At once she was heard her sisters. "Maplekit!  We thought we'd never see you again,"  cried Sootkit.

"Yes!  I thought that Sagewhisker would rip your pelt off for trying to see us again,"  Lillykit said joyously.

Maplekit replied," Well, he probably would have, but Mumblefoot made him let me see you two."

"Cool," mewed Lillykit. "Mumblefoot is such a good warrior.  And, he actually treats us like we're more than just little kits."

"Yeah, he's a great cat,"  Maplekit added, feeling happy that he was her friend.

Maplekit curled up in her nest, feeling excited and impatient. Tomorrow, Sootkit and Lillykit would be moving back to the nursery. As she recalled the day's events, Maplekit knew that without her visit, they would have been stuck in the medicine den for a few days longer than this. After Maplekit and her sisters had talked about how life had been so boring lately, they decided to play a game of catch the moss. They were playing happily when Sagewhisker stalked inside the den.

"What do you kits think you're doing," he had yowled. "I leave you alone with your visitor for five minutes and you try to destroy my supply!  This is why I seperate the kits, because if I don't, they'll destroy everything!"

At that moment, Hollyflower, Mumblefoot, and Copperfur ran into the nursery. "Where are my kits," Hollyflower demanded, looking around the den franticly.

"We're right here, Hollyflower," called Lillykit.

"Oh, thank StarClan you're all right, my kits.  I heard a yowl and I thought you were in trouble!"

"What happened," asked Copperfur, looking at Sagewhisker suspiciously.

"Well", began Sagewhisker. "I came in my den, and these kits were playing with my moss and making a mess of the herbs."

"I'm sure they didn't mean it, Sagewhisker," Mumblefoot defended them.