This is a collaboration by Artimas Hunter, Birdpaw, Maplefern, and RedPandaPotter.
It is about four young kits (Mosskit, Hazelkit, Echokit, and Sootkit) in different Clans. Enjoy!
ShadowClan
Sootkit
I wake up, opening my eyes for the first time and seeing nothing but a lot of black and white fur.
I realize that it is my mother, Cinderflower, her speckled flank rising and falling slowly as she breathed, in and out, up and down, the soft sighs of breath escaping her lips calming me. I glance around the den, empty save for my mother and me. There are no other queens or kits, though ShadowClan isn't scarce on warriors.
Even though I've only been in ShadowClan for two days, what I've heard the passing warriors say about us convinces me we are the best Clan. Our leader, Sagestar, is one of the fairest leaders of them all. We have the best territory as well, pine trees, a bit of the lake, bramble thickets, it's all great.
"Sootkit?"
I jump when my mother calls my name, and turn. Cinderflower's big blue eyes are large and amused, her whiskers twitching.
"Do you want to see your father?"
I nod. "Ferretwillow!"
It takes a moment, but a cream and gray tom with dark blue eyes pads slowly into the den, looking around. "Cinderflower?"
"Meet your kit," Cinderflower mews, and I look at Ferretwillow with wide eyes.
"This is Sootkit?" Ferretwillow asks, not taking his eyes off of me. I can tell he's probing me, examining me, curious if I'll be an asset to ShadowClan or not. His eyes preform a quick flick to his mate, and then back to me, now skeptical. "What's on his ear?"
I raise my paw, which is a bright, clean white, and bat at my ear. Ferretwillow's tail flicks out from under him and brushes a piece of moss off of my left ear. I sit back down, somewhat embarrassed.
"He seems a bit scrawny," Ferretwillow observes, and I shrink back against Cinderflower.
"He's three days old," scolds Cinderflower, twitching her ears at her mate. "Be polite."
Ferretwillow snorts, whisks his tail around (catching me on the ear), and pads out of the nursery. Cinderflower draws me closer to her, wrapping her tail around me.
"Don't worry about him," Cinderflower says. "He's just..." But what Ferretclaw really is is interrupted by the entrance of another cat to the den, with a ShadowClan scent but he's a face I haven't seen before.
"Blizzardbelly!" Cinderflower says. The tom is pale gray, with a white chest and lower belly, which is probably how he got his name. "Sootkit, go outside for a moment while I talk to Blizzardbelly."
I nod obediently and nervously pad outside. The sky is a bright, clear blue with white clouds floating serenely across it.
A tortoiseshell she-cat with a white chest races into the middle of the camp, her voice joyful as she announces, "The river's frozen!"
Frozen? I look down at my fur, and notice for the first time that it's fluffed up against the frigid breeze whispering around the camp. I suppose I just hadn't noticed it when I was warm in the nursery.
"Olivecloud! Really?"
The she-cat, Olivecloud, nods excitedly. "We could skate right over to RiverClan territory if we wanted."
"Yes, well, don't go walking on it just yet," mews a voice off to the side of me.
A pale gray, almost white, she-cat emerges from her den, and I recognize the cat as Sagestar.
"Don't," continues Sagestar. "Walk across it until a warrior has tested it first."
"But I did test it," Olivecloud insists. "So can we skate on it?"
Sagestar deliberates for a moment, before giving a reluctant nod.
"Mother! Mother!" I hurry back into the den. "Can I please go on the ice?"
"Ice?" Cinderflower asks, distracted.
"Yes, on the lake!"
Blizzardbelly smiles, turning to Cinderflower, who looks aghast all of a sudden.
"Of course not," Cinderflower mews. "You're not allowed out of camp!"
"But Cinderflower--" She cuts off my whine with an annoyed hiss.
"No! You heard me, Sootkit. Now take a nap or play outside. I need to talk with Blizzardbelly." The tom dips his head to me, apologizing. I pad outside, stomping angrily.
"What's wrong, Sootkit?"
"My mother."
"What--"
"She won't let me go on the ice."
Sagestar laughs. "You'll be able to go on the ice in six moons."
"Thanks," I say slowly, as though I really appreciate her words.
I don't.
Mistfoot
Coming Soon!