kits

[Flamefur]

Russetkit giggled. Now, not even a good looking she-cat could get in the way! When they arrived back at camp, she spotted Vixen glaring at her and Flamefur had his head lifted high with a small disappointment twinkle in his hard eyes. Mossheart was lying in the warriors den, wrinkling her nose at the ginger kit. Russetkit even thought she saw Midnightstar frowning at her. "Do they all hate me?" Russetkit whispered to Dandypaw. "Will I still become an apprentice?"
The ginger kit sighed and looked at him, meeting his solemn gaze.

[Spottedheart]

He sighed then meowed to the kit," They don't hate you, they just thought that you'd know better then to attack another kit. You'll still be an apprentice though."

[Flamefur]

"Good. Because I don't want to stay in the nursery with Scarletkit or Rainkit or Cougarkit." Russetkit growled, glaring back at Vixen. She sighed. "They shouldn't have been teasing me..." Then the ginger kit slapped her tail over her mouth. She had just released that what they had said was true!

[Midnightstar]

Midnightstar flicked her ears back, the worried gaze on her face turning to anger as she saw her kit.
"Russetkit!" She called, bounding forward. Shaking her head, she grasped her kit by the scruff gently, carrying her up to the highledge where Flamefur sat also.
"What do you think could've happened to you?" Midnightstar whispered angrily. Sighing, she licke Russetkit between the ears. "You can't run off like that, anything could've happened, foxes, badgers, the creek," she meowed more gently, her eyes beginning to show the glint of releif that she was safe. "Especially when your only a two moons old, its dangerous out there, and you should know that for attacking a kit, when your one as well, most likely will not get you kicked out of the clan. Did I ever tell you the story of when Graystripe had fell in love with a she-cat from RiverClan? Well, her name was Silverstream, and he really loved her after she'd saved him from the rushing river in leaf-fall, back at the old clan territory. And you see Fireheart, Graystripes best friend, wasn't so sure it was a good idea, and was against it. And you could probably guess that Graystripe wasn't too happy. Graystripe sat behind the den, and called Firehearts name. Wearily, he padded over and Graystripe leapt out and attacked him. And of course, Bluestar, the leader at that time, wasn't too happy, especially when they were reasonable warriors. Though, she was understanding and didn't exile them, all she did was make them do apprentice duties for a couple moons." As she ended, she smiled down at the small kit, her eyes softening. "Now, I know that what you did wasn't fully intentional, but you've still got to take some blame for it. And since your still young, I won't give you too big a job. But you still have to clean out the elders den for a quarter moon. You can get moss from Vixen and drop off the used moss in the dirt place. But for now, its time for you and your sibling to get to bed, but I'd like to see you out there in the morning." As she glanced up at the sky, a few golden rays were slowly disipearing into the mountains and high in the sky, the light was fading and stars began to stud the veiw. "Get inside now, I'll be back in a moment." She turned and padded carefully down the rockpile, toward the nursery where Ivykit and Blackkit were playing with Rainkit and Cougarkit.
"Time for the nest, you two!" Midnightstar called as she padded over.
"Aww, but we just started to have fun!" Ivykit pouted. Midnightstar gave a gently laugh and nudged her along, picking up Blackkit and padded back toward the highledge. Once they were up, she released Blackkit and slipped in after them. Flamefur was already inside, and Ivykit began to clamber upon him, nestling in his fur. A smile curved on the corners of her mouth and she padded up next to her mate, laying down and curling against him.

Ivykit blinked and twitched her nose, her paws under her chin and she comforted herself in her fathers fur. Gazing out the small cleft n the rock, she could faintly distinguish the stars studding the night sky. Her eye lids began to droop, and she soon fell asleep, dreaming of chasing a hare across the moor, its hind paws kicking up sprays of dirt in her face until it was caught.

[Flamefur]

Russetkit slumped her shoulders and curled up beside her mother and father. "Mother, do you think Dandypaw will be my mate one day?" the russet colored she-cat quietly meowed, careful not to let her sleeping littermates here her. She didn't want Scarletkit or Ivykit to tease her again. "We're best friends. He said so! I'm just worried that he'll fall in love with that piece of fox dung Sparklepaw or one of the other she-cats. I really like him!" she mewed sadly.
Flamefur opened his eyes and smiled at his daughter. "Russetkit, I think that no matter what he'll be your mate one day. It worked out for your mother and I." he shyly admitted. "One more story for tonight."
Russetkit sat up and beamed.
"When I was an apprentice, Midnightstar and I were best friends." Flamefur started. "We did everything together. When we became warriors, though, my brother Foxtalon started to fall in love with her. One day, I sneaked out to watch them and he asked her to be his mate. Before I could hear her answer, I turned and sprinted away. I ran as far as RiverClan territory where the leader Hawkstar met up with me in a patrol. I joined her Clan and then, right before my first gathering as a RiverClan warrior, she told me about her dead mate Wildpath. Then, she became my mate."
Russetkit's eyes widened. How could he?
"Don't get so worked up. Here's the bad part. Midnightstar came as the Clan leader at that gathering. She was appointed deputy the night I left and the leader died after I ran away. She asked me to be her mate. I was torn. I went back to RiverClan as Hawkstar's mate and she bore two litters of my kits. Eaglestar and Sunhawk were indeed your half siblings. Spanglestar, also. After a while, Dawnstar hated me for what I did. She came to Hawkstar in a dream and told her that I would go to the dark forest. Hawkstar was very worried. She sacrificed every life she had so I didn't have to go. After she died, I realized that Midnightstar was the one I loved. I found out that Foxtalon had gotten a 'no' from her and died shortly afterwards. I moved back here and she had you."
The ginger tom nuzzled Russetkit and she sighed. "I really hope it works out with Dandypaw and I."

[Lunafire]

~Next Morning~

Lunafire held a plump vole and a mouse in his teeth and bounded over to the Nursery. He heard a rustling then "attack" and Scarletkit and Cougarkit jumped out of a nearby bush tackling a unsuspecting Lunafire. He let the kits climb all over him. As Scarletkit was pouncing for Lunafire's tail he saw paws not of the kits and looked up. "So that's why the kits took an interest in the bush" Spottedheart mewed, purring happily.

[Spottedheart]

Dandypaw watched as Midnightstar took Russetkit away. Shaking his head he turned away an padded over towards the apprentice den.

Spottedheart purred again and Rainkit came and pounced on her back. "oof," she said as the kit landed on her.

"Lunafire!" exclaimed Scarletkit and Rainkit together happily pouncing on him.

[Lunafire]

A few ponces from the kits later, Lunafire and Spottedheart noticed the paws of an approching clan mate. "Need Any Help?" the cat meowed jokingly. "Good morning Mousepaw." Spottedheart meowed in greeting "Good Morning Spottedheart." Mousepaw mewed " Looks like you-" Mousepaw's mew was cut short as Scarletkit snuck up and pounced on her."- Have very energetic kits" Mousepaw finished laying on the ground while Scarletkit prepared to pounce on her tail.

[Midnightstar]

Ivykit's eyes widened as she woke to here nothing but her fathers story. She sat still, listening intently. She was disapointed that she hadn't awakened to what her sister was speaking to her father about before the tale, but as her eye lids drooped, she soon fell asleep, the thoughts of the story slowly leaking out of her mind.


Ivykit leapt to her paws as the sunshine of leaf-fall seeped into the den, lighting it to a russety-gray. She ran in circles along her fathers side, padding her small, soft paws as she twirled around.
"Its nearly Sunhigh, wake up already!" She squeaked, leaping onto her mother with a soft thud.

Squinting, Midnightstar blinked open her eyes. Purring with amusement she shifted, yawning.
She gently licked Flamefur between the ears and blinked her emerald green eyes down at him as he woke up.
"Want to lead the Sunhigh patrol?" She purred, flicking her long black tail over his flank.

Ivykit shook her self, puffing out her gray fur until she looked like a small fluffy ball. Clambering onto her mother head she grappled her ears, clining on.
"Get up already, I wanna play!" She mewed, scrabling back down to her back, and leaping off. Scuttling outside onto the highledge she stood proudly, but suddenly squeaked and scrambled back inside the den, shivering from the unexpected cold rush of wind.
"Brrrr...." She chattered, puffing out her slicked back fur once again. Toppling over her sibling she scrambled over them, stepping on them energetically.

Midnightstar shook her head, smiling. "So about that Sunhigh patrol?" She purred again, her eyes sparkling. "Or, of course you could stay here and watch these trouble makers," she affectionately meowed, flicking the tip of her tail over their heads.

[Flamefur]

"I'll lead it." he meowed, chuckling and licking her nose. "I'll bring Mossheart, Blackpaw, and Dandypaw."

"No!" Russetkit meowed pleadingly. "Can't Dandypaw play with me? He's my best friend!"

Flamefur sighed. "Russetkit, Dandypaw will never become a warrior of he doesn't train. I'm taking him on patrol so he can become a warrior sooner."

Russetkit glared and padded towards the fresh kill pile to grab a mouse.

Flamefur closed his eyes. "Russetkit's so stubborn. She loves that apprentice a lot, doesn't she?"

[Midnightstar]

Midnightstar shook her head. "Yes, she does," she predicted. Standing and streching, she yawned. Shifting, she glanced uneasily at her mate.
"ThunderClan needs more territory, and Horseplace would be great," she hinted. Sighing, she continued, "I'm thinking about declaring a battle with RiverClan." She was worried how Flamefur would react, since he'd lived in RiverClan for a long part of his life. She was very urgently interested in his responce, knowing that if it really hurt him to much, she'd reconsider it.

[Flamefur]

Flamefur nodded gravely. "ThunderClan are growing bigger. We may need to expand the camp. Redpaw, Dandypaw, Wolfpaw and Tigerpaw will be warriors eventually and Russetkit won't live her whole let herself life without being Dandypaw's someday." he chuckled. "By the way, when will she be an apprentice? The sooner she gets to see her best friend again the better. Maybe it'll help her become a better warrior." The ginger tom chuckled and licked his mate's ear. "I'm fine with a battle against RiverClan. My only close relatives there are leader and elder, and they both probably won't be killed. Elder's don't fight. Also, Sunhawk is too headstrong to die just yet."

[Midnightstar]

Midnightstar smiled, purring and joyous that her mate was alright with it. Nuzzling him on the cheek, she meowed, "I think today will be the day that Sparklepaw, Applepaw and Otterpaw become warriors, and Enchantedkit, Fallenkit, Ivykit, Russetkit, Blackkit, Scarletkit, Rainkit, and Cougarkit can become apprentices. Scarletkit will need to take it easy for a few days though." She smiled, gazing at her mate affectionately. "Would you like to take on Rainkit as your apprentice? I know you also Have Darkpaw on your paws right now, but within about a moon he, Flounderpaw, Snowpaw, and Fizzlepaw will become warriors." she asked curiously, tilting her head as her emerald eyes sparkled.

[Flamefur]

"Sure! Rainkit will make a fine apprentice. It's Russetkit I'm worried about. Maybe being in the same den as Dandypaw will distract her training?" The ginger tom meowed.
Russetkit leaped on to him. "It won't!" she mewed.

[Midnightstar]

"We'll just have to see," she meowed, licking Russetkit between the ears. Now we just have to see who can be able to handle you as their apprentice," she chuckled. She thought for a moment before nudging Blackkit to his paws. "Time to wake up, dear," she meowed gently, licking her kit on the ear.
"Lets hurry and do the ceremony now, and then you can go on the sunhigh patrol," she meowed to Flamefur, slipping out of the den.

Stormflower lifted her head at her mothers summon from the highledge. Her eyes sparkled as she glanced at her apprentice Applepaw as he stood at the bottom of the rubble. He was becoming a warrior!

Midnightstar watched as her clan gathered around the clearing. Once everyone was grouped, she began.
"We have some very important ceremonies to perform," she explained. Turning to flick her tail to Sparklepaw, applepaw, and Otterpaw to come forward. Once they were settled on the highledge she continued. "It is time for three important apprenices to become warriors. I Midnightstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down of these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Sparklepaw, Applepaw, and Otterpaw, do you promise to uphold to the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?" She asked, her eyes gazing down at them boldly.

"I do!" Sparklepaw chirped with her denmates in unison. She turned her gaze out toward Wolfpaw, smirking. She held her head high, lifting her tail nobly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warriors names. From this moment on, Sparklepaw shall be known as Sparklepool. StarClan honours her willingness and bravery. Applepaw shall be known as Applestorm, and StarClan honours his perserverance and loyalty." An image flashed in her mind of when he had tried to run off with Badgerpaw as a kit, and nearly been killed by StarClan's anger, but instead Badgerpaw had been sent to the dark forest and Applepaw had to continuously act as though he was over her. She knew it had been hard for him, but she honoured how he managed to pull through.
"And last but not least, Otterpaw shall be known as Otterclaw, and StarClan honours his Enthusiasm and bright heart." She gently rested her muzzle on each of the warriors heads as they licked her shoulder respectufully in turn.

Mapleclaw gazed proudly up at one of his former apprentice Otterclaw, his eyes sparkling.

Stormflower was the first to begin the chant, smiling. It had been hard training Applepaw because of his stubborness at times, but she knew in the end it would all be worth it.

Once the chanting had died down, she continued, "but wait, this isn't all." She flicked her tail to the eight kits down waiting at the bottom of the highledge as the new warriors padded down.
"The time has also come for these eight kits to become apprentices," she meowed once they had reached the ledge.
"Rainkit, you shall be known as Rainpaw, and your mentor will be Flamefur, and I know he will train you in the best ways. Enchantedkit, you shall be known as Enchantedpaw, and your mentor will be Cedarstorm. I know that he will do well in training you, just like his sister Brindlestream. Fallenkit, you shall be known as Fallenpaw, and your mentor shall be Spottedheart. She has trained a wonderful warrior, and she is also in the midst of making another great clan fighter, so I know she'll train you in great ways. Ivykit, you shall be known as Ivypaw, and your mentor shall be Hollyfoot. She's doing great so far with her first apprentice Redpaw, and I'm sure she'll do great with you also. Russetkit, yuo shall be known as Russetpaw, and your mentor shall be Stormflower. She has trained Applestorm well, and now its your turn to become great too. Blackkit, you shall be known as Blackpaw, and your mentor shall be Lunafire, and with his success with my daughter Stormflower and his great training with Flounderpaw, he shall be a wonderful mentor to you. Cougarkit, you shall be known as Cougarpaw, and your mentor shall be Mapleclaw. He is strong and smart, and will train you in many different great ways. And last but not least, Scarletkit, you shall be known as Scarletpaw, and your mentor shall be Dustflower. She hasn't gotten the chance to become a mentor yet, but I know she will be a perfect match with you." As she finsished she silently gasped for breath at the ceremony for 11 cats. She wasn't to happy about overlapping two apprentices at once on many mentors, but she didn't have much choice. Bluesky was often much to buisy to train, as well as Mossheart and Brushfire. Sparklepool, Applestorm, and Otterclaw were still to inexperienced as warriors to mentor a young apprentice. Darkpaw, Flounderpaw, Fizzlepaw and Snowpaw weren't quite ready to become warriors, so they wouldn't be ready for about another half moon.

Dustflower smiled and her eyes sparkled unexpectedly at her new apprentice. "We'll have lots of fun together, Scarletpaw," she purred happily, gently touching muzzles with her.

Stormflower purred joyously at she touched muzzles with Russetpaw. "We'll make you the best warrior you can be," she whispered to her new apprentice, smiling.

Mapleclaw's eyes glinted with excitement as he took on his third apprentice. It would be fun to have two apprentices that were near the same age to train.