#gingerkit

"Shouldn't you be doing some sort of ritual?" Mosspounce groaned as Estherfern shoved his chin up. His bloody eyes stared at nothing, yellow pus pooling around his torn eyelids. Pale white light drifted inside the medicine den, bouncing off the paw-deep snow covering camp.

"Like what, contact StarClan for medical advice?" Estherfern muttered, removing the leather lid from an empty bottle. "Apparently StarClan only has the energy for one proper channeling a year, and we spent that on Currentsmoke's jaw. We're doing everything we know we can, Mosspounce." Estherfern grabbed the bottle in her jaws and lowered it into the warm pot beside her. A freshly brewed concoction sat within the pot, packed full of infection-killing herbs. Estherfern dipped the bottle into the concoction, accidentally getting some on her lips. She tilted her head to the side to keep the botte face-up. Then she slowly brought it over Mosspounce's face and poured a splash of the concoction onto his eyes.

Mosspounce hissed, flinching back, but Honeybuzz was there to help. He stood behind Mosspounce and gently shoved the injured caretaker back into place, allowing Estherfern to set the bottle down and massage the concoction in. Mosspounce's claws poked his nest.

"Your body is killing itself in an effort to kill this infection," Estherfern huffed. "This will give your body an ally in that fight. So stay still!" Estherfern removed her paws from Mosspounce's eyes and rubbed them clean on the medicine den's leather floor. Mosspounce groaned as Honeybuzz grabbed fresh bandages and wrapped them around Mosspounce's face.

"Will he be alright?" Estherfern hid her surprise well as she faced the cat resting a few tail-lengths away, a splint and bandages wrapped around his back leg. Estherfern had truthfully forgotten Washington was there. The old tom (and she truly meant old, she had never met a cat who claimed to live over two hundred moons before) watched Mosspounce carefully, gaze sharp and twitching as though he were the one with a concoction burning into his eyes.

Washington had not said much in the quarter moon since his arrival to RippleClan, clearly mourning those he lost in the shipwreck offshore. Remnants of that ship now reinforced part of the medicine den's walls. There had been so much wood, in fact, that the caretakers were able to take apart a decaying portion of the medicine den's back wall and build it into the hollows of the main shipwreck, allowing more room for herbal preparation, rituals, and sleeping patients. Washington now slept in the remains of his former home, silently watching his new home swirl about.

"We're doing what we can," Honeybuzz promised, releasing Mosspounce. "Do you need something, Washington?"

"No, no, I'm comfortable," Washington muttered.

"I'm not," Mosspounce groaned, curling into a ball. "Can I have something for my pain?" His whiskers twitched as his face squirmed, biting back a mrow of frustration.

"Can you fight through for a bit longer?" Honeybuzz asked. "Troutpool and Weevilsight should be back with more willow bark soon."

"You know what would shut him up and keep him warm?" Estherfern muttered, rubbing her paws clean on the snow outside. "A smoke-den."

"You know we don't do that, Estherfern," Honeybuzz sighed. Estherfern could feel his disapproving stare against the back of her head.

"Forgive the interupption," Washington croaked in the back, "but if a smoke-den, as you called it, could help this kit with his pain, why not try it?"

"Kit?" Mosspounce groaned. "I'm a father!"

"Smoke-dens are a tradition in SlugClan, one of the other Clans," Honeybuzz explained, joining Washington's side. "They burn herbs like catmint and valerian to enter an overly relaxed, trance-like state. Downstar always saw it as a waste of herbs, so we don't use smoke-dens in RippleClan."

"You might not understand it," Washington sighed, "but back on my ship, my humans would sit around with sticks in their mouths, blowing smoke at one another. They were at their calmest when they did that. Not a pleasant smell, no, but it's a wonderful feeling to be sitting on a human's lap as they relax, listening to their purr." Honeybuzz squirmed at Washington's description, yet somewhere in Estherfern's memories, she could remember a human's paw stroking her back, soothing her into quiet dreams.

"What is it like to be on a ship?" Mosspounce asked, slightly lifting his head from his ball of shame. "What are they like when they're floating?"

"Well, not everyone likes the way the ground shifts under your paws," Washington mused, "but I'm a ship-cat, through and through. I love it."

"Tell me more," Mosspounce begged. He shifted toward Washington's scent.

"Estherfern." Outside the den, Puddlewhisper and Waspdawn stood in the snow, pelts dull in the shiny light. The weight of Waspdawn's infection was evident in the way his footing seemed unsteady on flat ground, yet he matched his sister's blank, focused expression.

"Are you going to rest now, Waspdawn?" Estherfern muttered. Behind her, Honeybuzz helped Mosspounce over to Washington's nest. It could have been the snow-light's reflection, but Estherfern swore Washington had a sparkle in his eyes as he dove into stories of massive ships coursing across the sea.

"Do you have the fur samples we collected from Potterypool?" Puddlewhisper asked.

"Troutpool's kept them safe," Estherfern promised. She crossed over to Troutpool's nest, covered in plush leather expertly tanned by Rattlepelt. Estherfern shuffled through the thick layers of the nest until she found a small vial. She grabbed a scrap of leather the clerics used to wipe medicine from their paws and lips. She placed the scrap in front of Puddlewhisper and Waspdawn, opened the vial, and carefully poured out the contents. Strands of dark fur fluttered out.

Puddlewhisper and Waspdawn nodded to each other in some secret littermate language. Puddlewhisper jogged off to the bonfire in the center of camp, which projected warmth into all the dens. She grabbed a dry stick beside the fire. She carefully tilted the stick into the flames. The fire licked the tip of the stick and climbed on. Puddlewhisper hurried back to the medicine den, head tilted hard to the right to keep the tip of the torch aloft. She plunged the torch into the snow and sand a safe distance from the wooden shipwreck. Waspdawn tugged the leather scrap closer to the light. Honeybuzz stood beside Estherfern, focused more on the dangerously close torch than the codekeepers' work.

Puddlewhisper carefully pawed at a few strands of fur. With the firelight, even Estherfern could better make out each strand's details. The fur at Puddlewhisper's paw was black, perhaps dark gray, and fairly short. Yet there were other strands beside Waspdawn that were long and the color of dark leather. They all looked the same without such clear light illuminating through every hair.

"You were right, Puddlewhisper," Waspdawn muttered. "These samples don't come from the same cat." Estherfern's shoulders tensed.

"What does that mean?" Honeybuzz asked softly. Puddlewhisper pulled the torch out of the ground and submerged it into the snow, quickly dousing the flame. Smoke drifted from the suddenly melted slush.

"It's not wise to make assumptions," Puddlewhisper sighed, "but we pulled these samples from Potterypool's claws and wounds. We can't determine the context, but we can say that Potterypool fought with more than one cat the day she died. We may be looking for two killers."

(Mosspounce: 51, male, caretaker, adventurous, talented fire-starter)

(Estherfern: 124, female, cleric, adventurous, great mediator, prophecy seeker)

(Honeybuzz: 38, male, cleric, daring, skilled toolsmith, good teacher)

(Washington: 218, male, elder, nervous, good mediator)

(Puddlewhisper: 56, trans female, codekeeper, righteous, keen eye, ghost sense)

(Waspdawn: 56, male, codekeeper, strict, learner of lore, clue finder)

Gingerpaw asks to be apprenticed to Estherfern, while Frostpaw becomes Rabbitjoy’s newest artisan apprentice. Honeybuzz gives Gingerpaw a maple seed necklace.

[Image ID: Gingerpaw and Frostpaw are now both apprentices, though Gingerpaw has a maple seed tucked by his ear. Under Gingerpaw, it reads LEVEL UP! GINGERKIT → GINGERPAW, CHARMING → CHILDISH, + NEW SKILL: MOSS-BALL HUNTER, + ACCESSORY: MAPLE SEED. Under Frostpaw, it says LEVEL UP! FROSTKIT → FROSTPAW, QUIET → STRICT.]

(Gingerpaw: 6, male, cleric apprentice, childish, curious about humans, moss-ball hunter)

(Frostpaw: 6, female, artisan apprentice, strict, lover of stories)

Puddlewhisper is determined to solve her little sister’s murder.

[Image ID: Puddlewhisper, Vervaincough, and Venturedapple watch a brown rosette molly with blue eyes run off with a brown speckled kit. Puddlewhisper yowls "Hold on!" Under the kit, it says NEW PLAYER: QUICK, 0, FEMALE, KNOW-IT-ALL. Under the brown molly, it says NEW PLAYER: NIMBLE, 45, FEMALE, RIGHTEOUS, GOOD SWIMMER.]

---

Everything was bitter. The last three days had been so bitterly cold that even Scaleripple and Venturedapple, with two of the thickest pelts in the Clan, couldn't stay out of camp for long. The mice and squirrels had been eating something, something that made Puddlewhisper's mouth curl no matter how well the caretakers cooked the meat. And that was without mentioning the way Puddlewhisper's teeth ached to dig into guilty flesh. The bitterness had reached her heart, pushing her into the snow.

Another look around. Another try. For Lightningrunner.

Puddlewhisper stalked through the snow. She placed her paws in the prints left by previous patrols, reducing the sound of crunching snow to a mutter. Her ears turned with every creaking branch or scuttering leaf. Her tail waved back and forth, a reflection of her rising frustration. She kept at a slow pace, though, sniffing at the base of a fir.

She could see Battle Beach through the trees, although the sand had been consumed by snow, blurring the border between the forest and the shoreline. The fur on the back of Puddlewhisper's neck itched. Phantom fangs pierced her spine. It was so bad that she had to stop and scratch her neck, sending a few tufts of winter fluff floating into the snow.

"We've been here half the morning, Puddlewhisper," a voice groaned from the trees. "I don't think anyone's going to show up." Two pairs of gray eyes peered at Puddlewhisper from the snow-heavy needles of a black spruce. Vervaincough and Venturedapple leaped out of the tree and landed gracefully beside Puddlewhisper.

"Stars damn it," Puddlewhisper hissed, settling her itchy body. "I was certain someone would stop me from 'confirming my theory'. I suppose it wasn't likely to succeed."

"Because they know you're smarter than to talk about 'almost solving the murders' in the middle of camp," Venturedapple muttered.

"It was worth a try, Venturedapple," Vervaincough snapped, her tail smacking against Venturedapple's half-furred tail. Venturedapple dipped his head to the mourning molly.

"You can go back to camp if you want, Venturedapple," Puddlewhisper sighed. "I'm going to look around more. Maybe I can figure out how Lightningrunner's killer managed to get away from the rest of the patrol so easily…" Puddlewhisper studied the layout of the trees, looking for an easy hiding spot.

"I'm staying too, then," Vervaincough huffed, standing next to Puddlewhisper. "There has to be something I can tell my family when I get back."

"It wouldn't be right to leave you two alone," Venturedapple sighed, shaking his head. "We're too close to the river."

"Do you and Lemmy still think a Witch Hunter killed them?" Puddlewhisper asked. "There's no way a Witch Hunter could have killed Lightningrunner and returned to the human settlement without leaving some type of trail."

"Actually, no," Venturedapple said simply, sitting at the base of the spruce. "The cats who follow Pearl wouldn't have a reason to do this. However, there were some cats who were loyal to Achilles when he and Pearl fought for the title of Witch Hunter General. Perhaps the killer is one of the minority who still view the Clans as witches to be exterminated."

"I can see why you left them," Vervaincough huffed, fluffing her pelt against a bitter breeze whistling through the trees. "I wouldn't want to live in RippleClan if a power struggle like that happened."

"I won't reject the possibility that an outsider killed Potterypool," Puddlewhisper admitted, "but Lightningrunner? No, I'm sorry. It had to be a RippleClan cat. There's no other way they could have escaped." Somewhere behind Puddlewhisper, a heavy weight crunched into the snow. A pawstep. Puddlewhisper's ears swiveled. There it was again. This time Vervaincough and Venturedapple heard it. They both stood tall, ears turned the same way as Puddlewhisper.

Puddlewhisper put her tail to her mouth, silencing the patrol. Crunch. Another pawstep. The three codekeepers dropped. Puddlewhisper in the lead, they followed the sound further into the trees. Crunch.

There! A figure to match the sound. For a moment, Puddlewhisper thought it was Rapidleaf, what with the dark brown fur and blue eyes. But no, this was not Rapidleaf; this molly was younger, nimbler, with rosettes sprinkling her pelt. The stranger reeked of milk and afterbirth; a queen? A recently kitted queen, as well. Despite her thin body, her belly swelled with milk and had yet to fully shrink from pregnancy. She stalked a squirrel digging at the snow, searching for its autumn nuts.

"Halt!" Puddlewhisper called, standing up. The queen jumped, back arching violently. She hissed, showing off her yellow teeth. The squirrel scrambled up a spruce. The queen darted past her lost catch, slamming into the snow with each frantic step.

"Stop!" Vervaincough yowled. She tumbled past a dead bush and sprinted after the queen.

"Vervaincough, pull back!" Puddlewhisper ordered.

"She's getting away!" Vervaincough snapped, skitting through the snow. Her wild gaze bounced between Puddlewhisper and the disappearing queen.

"She's got the strongest scent trail I've ever smelled," Puddlewhisper huffed, nose curling at the intensity of it. "Don't waste your energy running. With her scent and her pawprints, we won't lose her." Puddlewhisper once again led Vervaincough and Venturedapple on, but this time she kept at a light jog, letting her nose do the work. Venturedapple, obediant as ever, walked alongside the gray molly.

"What are you thinking?" Venturedapple asked, trying to look through Puddlewhisper's eyes.

"I think if she's as new a queen as she smells," Puddlewhisper explained, "she's made her nest not far from here. If that's the case, she might have seen something that could help us." Were it better days, Puddlewhisper would have suggested inviting the stranger to RippleClan, provide her a safe place to nurse her kits. But the thought lingered only for a moment before memories of dead, red fur replaced it and Puddlewhisper's heart hardened.

The queen's panicked trail headed towards the Great Northern River, as Puddlewhisper suspected. The stranger's pawprints reappeared on the other side of the stepping stones. Ice glistened across the surface of the stones where they peeked above the freezing current. Puddlewhisper stopped and licked warmth into her paws. Vervaincough pushed ahead, hopping onto the first slippery stone. She jumped from stone to stone, allowing the momentum of her landing to propel her to the next. She landed on the opposite bank with nary a stumble.

Puddlewhisper crossed next. She took her time in her crossing, merely stepping from stone to stone. Her claws poked at the ice. Even though she warmed her paws, it was hard to feel the pads when chilling mist sprayed up from below.

Her back paw slipped at the edge of a stone. Her hind legs fell into the river. The water was shallow and couldn't pull her away, but a paralyzing cold whipped up her spine. Puddlewhisper's legs shook as she tried to stand.

Suddenly, gentle fangs grabbed Puddlewhisper's scruff. Venturedapple stood behind her, his long fur dragging in the current. He shoved Puddlewhisper onto the stepping stone and nudged her back to her paws. Puddlewhisper shivered violently, but nodded deeply. Venturedapple merely dipped his head and crossed past Puddlewhisper, unphased by the cold water and ignoring the stepping stones.

Snow stuck to Puddlewhisper's wet flank when she and Venturedapple made it over to Vervaincough. Puddlewhisper shook out her pelt, spraying Vervaincough. Luckily the queen's trail was still clear and stinking. Puddlewhisper and Vervaincough hurried alongside the queen's pawprints, too focused on their mission to worry about Puddlewhisper's health.

They slowed and crouched as the queen and her nest came into view. Dead grass and orange needles curled around the queen and her three newborn kits. The queen gently groomed a brown kit whose pelt made it clear they would look just like their mother in time. Two other kits mewed and whined for milk; a silver spotted kit and a pale ginger kitten with a nose so pink and pale that it blended into the rest of their fur. They looked healthy from what Puddlewhisper could tell. She, Vervaincough, and Venturedapple lurked under the low-hanging branches of yet another black spruce. The queen purred and panted, glancing behind her.

"Let's try not to scare her again," Puddlewhisper advised her companions. "We can't chase her all day."

"I recognize her," Venturedapple whispered. "Her name is Nimble. She used to live in the human settlement. She left with Achilles. He was her mate." Achilles… he had long brown fur. Could he be the cat Potterypool encountered in the moments before her death?

"Isn't Achilles really old for her?" Vervaincough groaned, sneering at the thought.

"Not every cat has the same concern about age as the Clans seem to," Venturedapple muttered, shaking his head. Yet as he did so, he knocked into a snow-burdened branch. A clump of snow fell from the tree with a loud thud.

The queen, Nimble, ripped herself from her litter's affections. She stood between her kits and the codekeepers like a crumbling wall, unable to stop shaking. Despite the light bouncing off the snow, Nimble's pupils were wide, utterly terrified. Puddlewhisper groaned in her mind.

"We aren't here to hurt you," Puddlewhisper promised, crawling out from under the tree. "We just want to ask you some questions."

"No," Nimble hissed. "No, you're lying. You're here to kill me."

"We don't want that," Vervaincough said as she and Venturedapple joined Puddlewhisper. "Did you see a red molly out here last moon?" That was the wrong thing to say, as Nimble unseathed her claws.

"She did it!" Nimble yowled. "I saw the two of them. They killed my mate, they didn't care! They sent you here to silence me!" Nimble's fear scent overwhelmed her milk-scent. Her kits whined, unfamiliar with the nose-curling stench.

"Tell us what happened," Venturedapple snapped, the tip of his fangs peeking out into the harsh light. Nimble spun and shoved her face into the nest. She emerged with her brown and silver kits dangling in her mouth. The pale ginger kit cried, tiny paws flailing for their missing littermates. Yet Nimble, ears low and tail tucked, simply ran. She stumbled over an exposed root, the exhaustion of kitting slowing her down. As she dove over the root, the silver kit slipped from her jaws. The kitten's tiny head smacked into the buldging root. They landed in the crunchy snow and wailed louder than Puddlewhisper thought a newborn ever could.

"Hold on!" Puddlewhisper cried, but Nimble wouldn't stop. She weaved through the trees, whimpering until her abandoned kit's screams drowned her out. Puddlewhisper's memories flung her back, back to that night when she woke up to screeching and screaming echoing from the nursery, unsure if her nieces, her nephews, her sisters and mother, if any of them were alright. That night, even as Downstar explained the horrors of the Dark Forest that caused such a disaster, all Puddlewhisper could think was, I'll never let a kit scream like that, ever again. They'll never hurt like that as long as I draw breath.

Puddlewhisper flew over the exposed root and cradled her paws around the silver newborn. There was no blood, thank StarClan, but the kit, a tom, still wailed and screamed, his nose-sized paws digging at the sky. Puddlewhisper pulled the kitten close to her chest, forcing herself to purr. She groomed the tom's tiny head. The tom began to soothe himself, rooting into Puddlewhisper's fur with painful whimpers. As he quieted, the pitiful mews of his other abandoned sibling became the loudest thing in the forest.

"One of you check on that kit already!" Puddlewhisper snapped at Vervaincough and Venturedapple, who stared dumbfounded at the silver kitten. Venturedapple, at least, pulled himself out of the stupor and obeyed Puddlewhisper's order. He crawled into the nest and nosed the pale ginger kit.

"It's a molly," Venturedapple explained. "She seems healthy. Just upset."

"She left them," Vervaincough muttered, staring at Nimble's trail. "She left her kits behind. They, they could die without her!"

"That's why we're taking them back to camp, right now," Puddlewhisper hissed, lifting the silver kit back over the exposed root.

"What about Nimble?" Venturedapple asked.

"She'll never tell us what we need to know if she thinks we're out to kill her," Puddlewhisper growled. "We'll find her eventually. The clerics need to see this kit. We're going home, right now. Grab his sister and follow me."

For the first time in an entire moon, Puddlewhisper didn't think about her sister's murder. She could only think of the two newborns beside her, whining for their mother.

[Image ID: Puddlewhisper stands with a silver speckled kit and a pale ginger tabby kit. Puddlewhisper says "What kind of mother is she if she only saved one kit? Someone should put these two first." Under the silver kit, it says NEW PLAYER: ICEKIT, 0, MALE, UNRULY. Under the pale ginger kit, it says NEW PLAYER: PEARKIT, 0, FEMALE, QUIET.]

With no nursing queens to feed the two newcomers, Carnationspeckle quickly set to work brewing kitten soup while Currentsmoke built a nest in the nursery. Vervaincough and Venturedapple met with Waspdawn, Oilstripe, and Downstar in the leader's den while Puddlewhisper stayed with the silver and pale ginger kits, warming them by the bonfire. Troutpool carefully examined the silver tom's head while Puddlewhisper made sure his sister didn't crawl into the fire.

"I don't see any signs of injury," Troutpool muttered, "and he seems to be doing well. I can monitor him, but I don't think he's hurt. Just a little knock on the head, I believe." Troutpool licked the tom's head, chuckling. Shrewflame and Whitepaw hovered over Puddlewhisper, trying to get a good view of the newborns.

"They're adorable," Whitepaw gasped, eyes sparkling. "Do they need anything?"

"Some space," Puddlewhisper huffed, batting at the two brothers. "Don't you have chores to attend to?"

"Well forgive our curiosity," Shrewflame grumbled, guiding Whitepaw back. The rest of the Clan were able to contain themselves and give Puddlewhisper room to breathe. If they weren't discussing the day's events, they were trying to listen to Downstar's meeting (only for Cobaltchaser, guarding the den, to remind them it was private).

"Once Currentsmoke's done in the nursery, we can move them in," Troutpool sighed. She sat beside Puddlewhisper and warmed her whiskers. Puddlewhisper pulled the kits close to her. They sensed her warmth and turned their noses into her pelt.

"You seem like a natural," Troutpool hummed. Puddlewhisper's ears dipped. She stared at the fire, forcing her pelt to stay smooth. Troutpool tucked in her tail and quickly added, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that through. They just seem to like you, that's what I mean." Puddlewhisper stared at the kits. The silver tom looked like he could be Puddlewhisper's son. The molly looked more like Waspdawn's kit, a thought that brought out a purr. It did seem natural, didn't it? But Puddlewhisper's tail flicked against the ground, a clear sign of her thoughts.

"Can I admit something to you?" Puddlewhisper asked softly.

"A cleric never reveals what her Clanmate says in confidence," Troutpool promised, sitting taller. Puddlewhisper curled her tail over the kits.

"I hated Elmsprout for having kits," Puddlewhisper muttered. She waited for backlash, for a horrified gasp, but Troutpool stayed quiet. "Gingerpaw and Frostpaw are going to be wonderful cats, and Lavendertwist adores being a father. But when I saw Elmsprout nursing her litter, I hated her for it. I wanted to be nursing kits in the nursery. All the mothers in this Clan seem so happy to be in the nursery, and I would give up anything to be one of them. But if I had children by blood, I could only stand to the side while another molly gave birth to them. I wouldn't really be their mother."

"Yes you would," Troutpool insisted, putting her tail on Puddlewhisper's back. "They would call you their mother."

"Yes," Puddlewhisper groaned, "but didn't Oilstripe feel awkward with you, knowing you and her shared no blood? It's a similar feeling." Troutpool's ears tilted back slightly. "I can't be the mother I want to be."

"I'm sorry I can't change that," Troutpool sighed. "If it helps, though, I think your concern would make you a great mother, in whatever way that happens." Troutpool gently nudged the silver kit, but the newborn was too absorbed in the warmth of Puddlewhisper's belly fur. "Are you going to try Nimble and return her kits?"

"She put her fear over her kits," Puddlewhisper snapped. "She left these two to die. What kind of mother is she if she only saved one kit? Someone should put these two first."

"What if Downstar orders you to give them back?" Troutpool asked softly.

"She won't," Puddlewhisper said. The tension in her voice disturbed the nestled kits. She quickly licked each of their little bodies and settled their hearts.

"Then I can't think of anyone better to raise them," Troutpool purred. "I think StarClan approves. Your… Ripplefern's spirit is watching. She looks happy." Puddlewhisper's pelt tingled. She stared at an empty spot in camp. She saw no ghostly shapes, but some deep instinct told her that her sister was right there, keeping watch, just as Troutpool described.

"We don't know exactly when they were born," Puddlewhisper hummed, studying the kits… her kits. "I don't think it would be wrong to give them names now."

"Can I help?" Troutpool asked, ears perking up.

"You can help with the molly," Puddlewhisper said, "but I have the perfect name for the tom. Icekit." Just like the ice she encountered on her way to meet him.

"Cute!" Troutpool said. "The molly's so round and plump, she deserves a round name. Maybe a fruit, or a seed, maybe even a mushroom! There are a lot that match her color. Hen-of-the-woods, porcini mushrooms, maple flowers, pears, maybe a squash, like the sort WheatClan steals—"

"Wait," Puddlewhisper said, raising her tail for the cleric to pause. "What's a pear?"

"Oh, they grow them in the human settlement!" Troutpool explained. "Lemmy told me about them. They grow on trees and they're shaped like rattles. The humans love to eat them." Hmm, pears…

"I like Pearkit," Puddlewhisper decided. She stuck her face between her son and daughter and nuzzled them both.

Yes. In the midst of chaos, this felt more natural than anything.

(Puddlewhisper: 56, trans female, codekeeper, righteous, keen eye, ghost sense)

(Venturedapple: 78, male, codekeeper, cold, eloquent speaker)

(Vervaincough: 25, female, codekeeper, insecure, understands nature, good mediator)

(Nimble: 45, female, loner, righteous, good swimmer)

(Quick: 0, female, kit, know-it-all)

(Icekit: 0, male, kit, unruly)

(Pearkit: 0, female, kit, quiet)

(Troutpool: 51, female, cleric, insecure, ghost sight)

(Whitepaw: 7, male, historian apprentice, nervous, active imagination)

"Quiet! If we're arguing, Rushseed won't like us!" Wisteriakit reminded her sisters. She glanced back to see if their other two littermates, Lavenderkit and Iriskit, were on their best behaviour. Lavenderkit was snuggled next to Trouthowl; the golden molly almost never left the queen's side. Iriskit, a darker sandy tabby, was lingering a little ways back. Despite her supposed disinterest, Wisteriakit could tell that she was watching everything intently.

When Rushseed finally reached the nursery, she walked right past without sparing any of her daughters a glance. Wisteriakit's tail fell and she tried to bite back her disappointment while her mother placed the kit down in front of Trouthowl.

"Another one?" Trouthowl frowned. "Where did you get this one?"

"It doesn't matter," Rushseed grunted. "You know BleakClan needs more kits, we've lost so many warriors recently."

"Maybe we wouldn't have lost so many warriors if you didn't keep throwing us into battle every time someone looks at you wrong," Trouthowl huffed. "Are you adopting this one too?"

"No, my daughters are special. I don't care what happens to Gingerkit, either he survives or he doesn't have what it takes." Rushseed said. Wisteriakit couldn't help but feel a rush at her words, though the gray molly still wasn't looking at her.

"At least you named this one," Trouthowl said dryly.

"He told me his name was Ginger, so he's Gingerkit," Rushseed shrugged, turning and walking away. "I've got patrols to organize, I trust you'll be able to get him settled?"

"I'll show him around!" Wisteriakit offered, bounding up to Gingerkit. He was bigger than her, around the size of Seedkit. She guessed he was around three moons old as well. He was mostly white, save for a pale ginger back and darker ginger ears, tail, and two dark streaks on his face.

"Me too!" Lilackit thrust herself forward, not wanting to be outdone by her sister. Wisteriakit glared at her, why did she always have to try to be better than her?

In some ways, she liked Lilackit because she was the only littermate who shared Wisteriakit's gray coat, even if it was only in fragments. Lilackit was mostly golden, like Lavenderkit, but the tip of her tail and part of her face were the same gray as her. Wisteriakit liked being gray, it made her feel closer to Rushseed, but it if weren't for Lilackit, she would wonder if she was even related to her ginger sisters at all. Trouthowl told her she had the same purple eyes as Lavenderkit and Iriskit, but Wisteriakit had never seen her own eyes, so she didn't know if it was true. Wisteriakit wondered if Lilackit was so competitive because of her gray patches, as if she thought she could beat Wisteriakit to Rushseed's approval because of it.

"I don't want to go with Lilackit," Wisteriakit complained, once she was done glaring. "I can do it by myself!"

"I'm sure you can, little one," Trouthowl reached her head down to lick Wisteriakit's head, "But let Lilackit go with you. In fact, all five of you should go, it's about time you got some fresh air. Seedkit and Fallowkit are already out there."

"I don't want to go! I want to stay with you!" Lavenderkit whined, leaning in to Trouthowl.

"I'll be right here waiting when you return, my sweet," Trouthowl reminded her.

"Alright, alright, let's go then," Wisteriakit tried to hide her annoyance, but she couldn't stop her tail from flicking.

Gingerkit fell in beside Wisteriakit as the six of them scrambled out of the nursery and out into the newleaf sun. Wisteriakit looked up at him in awe, glad that he had at least chosen to walk beside her.

He leaned in, close to her ear and whispered, "We can ditch them all later, if you want."

"So, Gingerkit, where did you come from?" Lilackit bounded up before Wisteriakit could respond.

"I dunno, out there somewhere," Gingerkit flicked his tail towards the camp entrance, which was a tunnel within the thornbushes that surrounded the BleakClan camp. "I was napping, and woke up to hear fighting. Then, this gray cat came, the one who brought me here, and told me that my parents had gotten very hurt, and she had promised to take me somewhere safe. I wanted to say goodbye, but she said they needed their sleep. They must have been so tired, they were very still."

"That gray cat is our mother, Rushseed," Wisteriakit explained.

"Well, she's not our real mom," Violetkit explained. "She rescued us too, like she rescued you. We don't see her much though. She told us that if we get big and strong and become good warriors to the clan, then she will be proud of us! So we have to train very hard so she'll like us!"

"That's where I got these scars from!" Wisteriakit puffed out her chest to show two straight lines on her chest. "Apparently we were stuck, and Rushseed had to use her claws to get us out! She accidentally hurt me, but it's what we had to do to keep us alive. Trouthowl says it's they are special scars, because it means we were able to survive."

"You must have been very brave," Gingerkit said, tilting his head as he looked Wisteriakit up and down.

"I was!" Wisteriakit held her head up high. "Oh look, there's Pondpaw and Yewpaw! We should go say hi!"

Wisteriakit bounded over to the apprentices den, which was in a hollowed out fallen tree not far from the nursery. The two apprentices were cleaning out their nests and laying down new moss.

"Hey, little kits!" Pondpaw called in greeting, waving her tail. According to Fallowkit, the black tabby had been apprenticed just last moon, around the same time Wisteriakit and her sisters had been born.

"Don't call us little!" Wisteriakit frowned. "We came to see if you need any help! We're showing Gingerkit around, he's new!"

"I saw Rushseed bringing him in! Is he our newest BleakClan recruit?" Pondpaw asked.

"I guess I am," Gingerkit shrugged.

"Pondpaw, get these kits out of our fur and help me with the nests!" Yewpaw hissed. "We don't need them messing everything up." The light brown molly glared at the kits. Her face and tail were darker than the rest of her body, and she had intense white markings above her eyes and down her nose.

"We better get out of here," Iriskit said quietly.

"Yeah, Yewpaw is a big meanie!" Violetkit yowled, clearly making sure that Yewpaw could hear her. "It's funny, because Yewpaw is Trouthowl's kit, and Trouthowl is so nice."

"Yeah, and Pondpaw is Puddlebud's kit, but Pondpaw is really nice and Puddlebud is really scary," Lilackit explained, clearly not wanting to be outdone by Violetkit.

"Puddlebud is Yewpaw's mentor, maybe she taught her how to be scary," Wisteriakit offered.

"That's not what Fallowkit says. Fallowkit shared the nursery with Yewpaw for a moon before she was apprenticed, and she says Yewpaw was scary before she was Puddlebud's apprentice." Violetkit said, shrugging. "Some cats are just like that, I guess."

"Oh, here's the warrior's den!" Wisteriakit interrupted, bounding over to a large cluster of shrubs. "It's very big, but only Rushseed, Puddlebud and Sleekbloom sleep there right now. Trouthowl says BleakClan has lost a lot of warriors recently, and that's why it's a good thing there are so many kits!"

"There won't be so many kits if they keep disturbing my nap," A growl came from the warrior's den as a large black and white marbled tom emerged. His purple eyes glinted menacingly, and his fur was rumpled from sleep.

"Oops," Violetkit giggled. "Sleekbloom doesn't like kits, run away!"

The six kits scattered as they raced away from the grumpy warrior, screaming and laughing as they went. They regrouped on the other side of camp, next to another shrub, out of breath and giggling to each other. Only Lavenderkit wasn't laughing, and instead was looking around, wide-eyed and nervous, as she cowered behind Gingerkit.

"Soon, Sleekbloom will be an elder," Violetkit smiled. "And then he'll be stuck in this old den all on his own. It's empty, BleakClan has no elders right now. Trouthowl says elders are really important because they have served the clan for a long time and they can share their wisdom with younger cats. They often tell stories to kits and apprentices, Sleekbloom will hate that!"

"I hope you weren't bothering Sleekbloom, all the warriors have had to work extra hard to bring in enough prey to feed you kits, not to mention all the battles we've had to fight recently. He's earned his rest." Antlerfleck's words were harsh, but there was a good-natured gleam in his yellow eyes.

"Antlerfleck!" Wisteriakit exclaimed, running up to the warrior. He was a cream coloured tom with one brown back leg. The kits had grown to like Antlerfleck. He had been staying the nursery with Fallowkit since she was weaned, to let his mate Shadowstar return to her duties, and he always came up with a lot of great games.

"I heard we have a new kit in our midst, welcome Gingerkit!" Antlerfleck grinned.

"We're giving him a tour!" Lilackit puffed out her chest.

"I can see that!" Antlerfleck said. "How about I show you the leader's den? That's an extra special place, only Shadowstar and I can go there without permission, but I can give you permission for a little bit."

"Yes please!" Wisteriakit beamed. She had only been in the leader's den once before, when Fallowkit had shown her and her littermates around shortly after they had opened their eyes. She was excited to see it again.

Antlerfleck led the group of kits towards a large tree on the edge of the camp, a little smaller than the one that the nursery was under. There was an entrance carved out of the tree near the roots, which lead to a winding tunnel sloping upwards. The den was about halfway up the tree, near a hole that lead to a branch where Shadowstar called clan meetings.

The leader was waiting for them. Shadowstar was a pale ginger flecked tabby with hazel eyes. Trouthowl had told the kits that she was very young to be clan leader, and had gained the position because her mother, Dapplestar, had been the previous leader of BleakClan. She had only been leader for five moons, which seemed like an eternity to Wisteriakit, who had only lived for one, but Trouthowl assured her it was a very recent development.

"Well, what do we have here!" Shadowstar grinned as the kits marched in, following Antlerfleck in a neat little line. "Rushseed had told me she found another kit to take in. Gingerkit, it is a pleasure to meet you. Have you met Fallowkit yet? She's our daughter." Shadowstar gazed lovingly at Antlerfleck.

"Not yet, but I will soon!" Gingerkit puffed out his chest.

"Well, if you kits ever need anything, I'm here," Shadowstar said. "You are all going to be fine warriors, I am certain of it."

Wisteriakit puffed her chest out in pride, noticing her littermates were doing the same. Only Gingerkit didn't respond. He probably didn't realize what it meant yet, but he would.

"Alright kits, you should probably go. Shadowstar is very busy," Antlerfleck said, flicking his tail towards the winding tunnel. "I'll see you at the nursery later."

Wisteriakit took the lead before Lilackit could beat her two it, and lead the kits down the tunnel. There was only one thing left in camp to show Gingerkit, and that was the healer's clearing.

The healer's clearing was through a stone tunnel in the middle of a boulder. It was a small clearing, only a third of the size of the camp, and it was dotted with boulders of various sizes. The largest housed the healer's den and the majority of the healing herbs, but there were dens in all the other boulders as well. Trouthowl had explained that this was so if cats were sick, they could be kept separate from other sick and injured cats to stop the spread of disease. Each boulder had their own small stock of herbs, in case the healers needed to get supplies in a hurry. On the edge of the clearing was a small stream, not deep enough for fish, but the perfect size to have constant access to water.

Wisteriakit lead the group of kits to the healer's den, hoping that Primrosestripe would be in. To her delight, the light brown tabby was there, placing a marigold poultice on the tail of a silver and white masked tabby molly.

"Oh, kits! You should come back another time!" Primrosestripe urged. "Puddlebud got injured in the fight against the rogues earlier today, I'm just patching up her tail."

Wisteriakit knew she should listen to Primrosestripe, Trouthowl had told her to always listen to a healer, and Puddlebud wouldn't like her getting too close, but curiosity got the better of her. Besides, she wanted Gingerkit to call her brave again. Making sure to move slowly, she made her way up to take a closer look at Puddlebud's tail.

The tail looked ripped up quite badly. Multiple patches of fur and flesh were missing, leaving oozing wounds behind. Wisteriakit was entranced, and there was something about the smell of blood that felt... almost comforting. She would have stood there for moons, it felt like, if Puddlebud didn't turn and snap at her.

"Listen to Primrosestripe, kit," The silver-and-white molly growled, baring her teeth. "I don't need everyone poking around my wound."

Backing away a little ways and trying not to shake, Wisteriakit looked back up at Primrosestripe. "Will she have a scar like me?" She asked

"We'll see," The healer grimaced. "Now, please go, kits. You can show your new friend around when I'm not busy."

Wisteriakit knew better than to disobey Primrosestripe twice, and turned away, walking back towards the other kits. She was happy to see a gleam of respect in Gingerkit's eyes, and in most of her sisters'. The only one who did not seem impressed was Lavenderkit.

"I'm telling Trouthowl that you didn't listen to Primrosestripe," She stuck out her chin, clearly trying to hide how scared she was.

"Tell her what you want, I don't care," Wisteriakit lied. She hoped the bravado would be enough to dissuade Lavenderkit from telling, she didn't want Trouthowl to be upset with her.

"Can we go back to the nursery now?" Lavenderkit asked, looking away. "We've seen everything now."

Wisteriakit had to admit she was getting tired. It was almost time for their afternoon nap. Taking the lead again, she led the rest of the kits back towards the gnarled tree that the nursery was beneath. As she went, she looked at Gingerkit. He looked back at her and smiled.

***

Wisteriakit was roused from her sleep by the voices of her friends. A quarter moon had passed since Gingerkit had joined BleakClan, and he had gotten quite comfortable. He had a natural confidence to him, and seemed to like to take charge in the same way that Wisteriakit did. It wasn't annoying the same way it was with Lilackit though, he wasn't competing with her. In fact, he respected Wisteriakit's own ideas and leadership, and the two often took charge together.

Gingerkit's voice was one of the voices that had woken her. As she blinked the sleep from her eyes, Wisteriakit realized that the voices were coming from outside the nursery. Careful not to disturb her sisters sleeping next to her, Wisteriakit crept outside to see what was going on.

Gingerkit was talking to Fallowkit and Seedkit just outside the nursery. They stopped when they saw Wisteriakit emerge.

"If you're talking about something secret, you should go further away," Wisteriakit warned. "You woke me up, you could wake up Antlerspeck or Trouthowl."

"Thanks, Wisteriakit." Seedkit blinked at her. The gray spotted molly was very close to Wisteriakit and her siblings, as she also was growing up without her real parents. "Do you want to join us?"

"Seedkit, she's too young," Fallowkit frowned. "No offence, I like playing with you, but I'm worried you'll get in the way." The older kit was mostly white, but also had some gray and ginger spots. She was getting close to being an apprentice, and seemed like far less of a kit than the others.

"Oh, let her come," Gingerkit pleaded. "Wisteriakit can handle anything."

"Alright, but lets go, before we wake up anyone else," Fallowkit said impatiently. "I don't want Lavenderkit telling on us again."

"Again?" Wisteriakit's eyes widened. "Are you sneaking out of the camp?!"

"Shhh, not so loud!" Fallowkit said. "Keep this quiet, and I'll make you deputy when I'm leader."

Wisteriakit followed the older kits in silence, eager not to be sent back to the nursery. Sleekbloom was on guard at the entrance to the camp, and the kits kept close to the thornbushes around the edges. Wisteriakit had wondered how they would get past Sleekbloom, until Fallowkit pointed out a small gap in the camp wall. It was too small for a full grown warrior, but the perfect size for a kit. Fallowkit led the way, followed by Seedkit, Gingerkit, and finally Wisteriakit.

The world outside the camp seemed massive. Trees stretched on as far as Wisteriakit could see, dressed with moss and undergrowth. At first, she was overwhelmed by how vast everything was, but she quickly got herself together. She didn't want the older kits to change their mind and send her back.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"I want to see if I can find my parents," Gingerkit admitted. "I love BleakClan, and I want to be a warrior, but I want to be sure that they know I am okay."

"That's where we've been going, every night," Seedkit said. "We haven't found them yet, but I know I wouldn't stop if I could find my mom."

Wisteriakit felt a strange tug in her heart. Somewhere out there, she had parents too. Parents who had given birth to her. Would they be proud of her, if they knew her? Did they miss her? She pushed the thought away. Rushseed was her mother now, she didn't want to think about her other parents. It hurt too much.

Gingerkit led the way now, trying to remember which way Rushseed had brought him. It was hard to tell which scent trails were from the right day, she went out on so many patrols. Wisteriakit followed, trying to ignore how much her feet were starting to hurt.

Eventually, they reached a point where BleakClan scent was dizzyingly strong. Wisteriakit realized this must be the border. There was no strong scent just beyond it, so it wouldn't be any border shared with the other five clans. None of the other three kits hesitated before crossing it, so Wisteriakit didn't either.

It wasn't long after crossing the border that Gingerkit realized where they were. He was running now, Wisteriakit could barely keep up. Fallowkit noticed and let the young kit scrabble up on her back, carrying her the rest of the way. The two of them had fallen behind now, but Fallowkit managed to follow their scent trail and catch up.

Seedkit was standing at the roots of the tree, a little ways away. Wisteriakit could smell her fear-scent, and wondered what was wrong. It was then that she saw Gingerkit, a little ways ahead. In front of him were two grown cats, one completely ginger save for white paws and tailtip, the other was mostly white save for some gray markings that looked similar to Gingerkit's. They were completely still, and they smelled awful.

Wisteriakit couldn't tear her eyes away. The grown-up cats had been hurt quite badly, dried blood poured form gaping wounds, staining the grass beneath them. Their eyes gazed on, fear and anger etched into their faces. Flies were buzzing around them, and there were chunks taken out of them, like they were mice bitten by very large cats.

"Please get up, I'm okay! Primrosestripe will make you all better, but get up! I'll take you there!" Gingerkit urged, alternating between nudging them and trying to pull them up. He turned back to the other kits. "Please help me! You've got to help me get them to Primrosestripe!"

"I'm sorry, Gingerkit," Fallowkit said in a voice so quiet it scared Wisteriakit. "Your parents are dead."

Something is wrong with Huskkit. Cornkit reminds himself that it'll be ok.

Prev