Cats of the Spirit

Cats of the Spirit by IcewrathXFeatherswirlXCraneheart

You may have heard of the Fruit of the Spirit, but these are the Cats of the Spirit.

Main Characters:

Love: reddish-brown she-cat with small gray spots and deep amber eyes

Joy: spiky golden she-cat with bright amber eyes

Peace: bright red with light brown mixed in she-cat with green eyes and dark gray stripes, black and white speckled ears

Patience: sleek golden she-cat with bright amber eyes

Gentle: beautiful light ginger she-cat with amber eyes, dawn colored spots

Grace: bright golden she-cat with amber eyes and brown spots

Faith: small red-ginger she-cat with green eyes

Kind: dark blue-gray she-cat with unnatural purple eyes, and small red flecks and greenish-gray mark on face

Control: red-ginger she-cat with bright golden spots and green eyes

Love

Love padded out of the barn, her reddish-brown fur rippling and her gray spots shining in the sunlight. She gaped in awe at the wonderful sights of the barn in the daytime. Grass fluttered loosely in the wind and lots of other loners were out basking or hunting in the warm morning rays of sun. Her mother, Holly, nudged her foreward to where her father, Blood, was sharing prey with his littermate.

"Hello, Love!" Blood purred at his daughter, "It's such a nice morning to play. My brother's kits are eager to meet you!"

Holly laid down next to her mate and mewed, "Yes, go meet them."

Love shyly padded over to three big kits sitting beside a sleek silver she-cat. The biggest kit was a blue-gray tom, the smallest kit was another brown furred tom with a red chest and belly, and the one in between was a gray and brown tom.

The big blue-gray tom-kit bounded up to Love and gave her a friendly sniff, "Hi, Love. I am Jay. Is it your first time outside? We would be happy to show you around."

His littermates nodded in agreement and Love knew she loved her kin right away.

The two other kits padded up to her and Jay introduced them, "This is Falcon and this is Robin." He pointed his tail at the gray-brown kit then to the red-chested kit.

"Hi, Robin! Hi Falcon!" she squeaked. Then she turned back to Jay, "Yes, this is my first time outside."

"Awefully long time inside for three moons," Falcon mused.

Robin gazed up with his amber eyes to meet Love's amber eyes, "Let's go."

"Ok," Love agreed, "Lead on!"

Jay, Falcon, and Robin set off toward some tall brown sheds and they scrabbled up the post, Love trailing behind clumsily.

"Look!" Robin breathed, staring into the shed.

Love peered inside, where she saw the strangest animal she ever saw in her lifetime. It was tall and well muscled with a broad head and long muzzle with fur the color of a sparrow's soft feathers and a long fluffy, cream colored tail and tuft of fur between it's ears.

"Wow!" she gasped in awe.

"That's a horse," Jay said knowingly.

"We should get going," Falcon meowed bouncing up and down excitedly, "There is so much more to show her!"

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"This," Jay whispered ghostly, "is the abandoned barn."

Love's eyes widened. It will be hard to love this place as I have loved everything else I have seen this quarter-moon, she thought.

Jay opened the door with a creak and Love peered timidly into the shadows. As she did, a cat inside yowled in fear and pain. Love and Robin jumped back with bristling fur. Falcon and Jay unsheathed their claws and padded in. Love stared Robin in the eyes, then they scampered after the two older kits.

"Why... why did you come back?" an old she-cat choked, bleeding heavily. Love noticed she was plump with kits. "To...to...to finish me! To g-get more information! Why?"

Jay opened his mouth to protest that they did not come to kill her when he scampered into the shadows with Love, Robin, and Falcon following closely. They peered out to see a menacing figure stalk over to the old she-cat. Love squeezed next to Robin and pressed close for security.

"Where is she!" the cat spat, "Where is Holly?"

"I won't tell you anything!" the she-cat spat back.

"You will," the voice growled, "You will." The cat pounced on her and pinned her to the ground.

The she-cat's eyes widened and she choked with fear. Then the tom lunged and bit her in the throat and blood welled, staining the wood floor.

Robin and Love let out cries of fear and alarm, their cheeks pressed together as Jay and Falcon came in from both sides, but the tom did not hear over the she-cat's dying screams.

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"Mother! Mother! Come quick!" Love cried, "Th-there's a dying she-cat in the barn. She's dying and she's expecting kits!"

Holly shot to her paws, grabbed some herbs, and ran off in the barn's dircetion with the four kits at her heels.

She ran over to the crumpled figure in the shadowy corner of the barn and cried, "Mother!"

The old she-cat opened her eyes and gurgled, "Holly, my dear daughter, I must warn you. The Darkness has returned."

"Well, of course it's dark here, let's take you out..." Love broke off when she saw her mother was frozen.

"They found us," Holly murmured. "Mother, hang tight! I need to take the kits to the Clans!"

"But, Mother, I cannot leave you or my grandmother or my aunt or uncle or Father or my cousins!' Love protested, "I love them all so much."

"That's why your cousins are going with you."

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Holly stopped at the entrance to the ThunderClan camp and turned to the four kits.

"It is too dangerous for you four to live with us any longer, now that Darkness has returned. He will be stalking us and here you will be safe. We must do what we can to keep ourselves alive," a tear ran down Holly's cheek and she choked, "But, someday... someday, you must join us again. I love you precious kits and your family loves you, too."

"I love you, too, Mother," Love looked her mother in her beautiful green eyes and pressed her pelt against her mother's red fur one last time, "And I love Father, and Grandmother, and Auntie, and Uncle. Send them my love." Love touched noses with their mother and turned to the enterance. Her cousins followed.

Love looked back, past her cousins and at her mother, just standing there with her long, red fur blowing in the wind and her green eyes sparkling with love for them, sadness for letting them go, and anger at Darkness for presenting her with this choice.

Then, with one last love wish for her family, she turned and padded into ThunderClan's camp.

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"From this day forward Jaykit, Lovekit, Falconkit, and Robinkit will now be known as Jaypaw, Lovepaw, Falconpaw, and Robinpaw! Their mentors will be Birdwing, Firepelt, Snowpetal, and Spottedface." Brightstar yowled.

Lovepaw turned to Firepelt and touched noses with her new mentor. She loved her mentor a lot already, because when he was an apprentice only one moon ago, he came to play with them in the nursery.

"Jaypaw! Lovepaw! Falconpaw! Robinpaw!" the Clan chanted. Lightningshimmer's eyes brimmed with pride at her foster kits, who Lovepaw had grown to love over the past few moons. Actually, she had grown to love the whole Clan now, even grumpy old Badgerpaw.

The four new apprentices touched noses with one another, waved their tails, and let out yowls. It was a family war cry they had developed over the moons in the nursery. The four new mentors exchanged amused glances and Badgerpaw snorted. Lovepaw padded over to her best friend, Peacepaw. Peacepaw had become an apprentice the day before. Moons before Lovepaw had come to the Clan, a warrior named Runningstorm had brough her from the border, claiming she was alone. Peacepaw was quiet and kind, but Lovepaw knew that inside, Peacepaw desperately wanted to know who her parents were.

"It was a lonely night in the apprentice's den with only Badgerpaw to keep me company, Lovepaw," Peacepaw purred. She shuffled her paws, "You're so lucky to have siblings to be abandoned with."

Lovepaw opened her mouth to point out that Jaypaw, Robinpaw, and Falconpaw were not her siblings, but she thought the better of it. If anyone found out where they had come from and why they had come to ThunderClan, they could potentially be found by Darkness.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Peacepaw to keep a secret, but once when she and her cousins had snuck into the forest, they had made a pact never to tell anyone where they had come from and why they were here until the right moment.

Lovepaw's eyes brimmed with sorrow for her friend, "I'm sorry, Peacepaw."

Firepelt called to Lovepaw and Lovepaw padded over, her eyes shining with excitement.