This is my entry! :3 TERMS Not everyone has read warrior cats, so I'm going to put some confusing terms below, before my story! Starclan-Cat heaven Twoleg-human Clan-group of cats who work together Windclan-A clan of cats who live on the moor Leaf-bare-Winter New-leaf-Spring 1 moon-1 month Deputy-second in command, becomes the leader after the leader d1es. NAMES Another weird warriors thing, the cats have a suffix and a prefix. When a kit is born, their parents give them a prefix (such as Ice or Fire), and their suffix is kit (Icekit or Firekit). When they are 6 moons, they become and apprentice, and their suffix becomes paw (Icepaw or Firepaw). Their prefix NEVER changes. After their mentor says that they are ready to protect and hunt for their clan, they get their warrior name. Warrior suffixes are lots of different things, and no cat has the same name as another. Some examples are: Icegaze, Firepelt, Birdflight, Redclaw, etc. When a cat becomes leader of the clan, their suffix changes to star (ex: Graystar), and they get their 9 lives so they can protect their clan for many moons to come. A CAT'S PREFIX CAN NEVER BE STAR for that very reason. STORY Icegaze was running. She was going to catch that rabbit and give it to the elder. It had been a harsh leaf-bare, and several of the Windclan cats had gone to Starclan. /Well, at least this prey will keep Birdflight from passing, if only for a little bit longer/ she thought. The elder had been refusing the fresh kill the apprentices brought her, saying "the young'ns need it more than me." /Well, I'll make sure she eats it this time/ Icegaze thought, gaining speed at the thought. She reached and hooked the rabbit on her claw. It struggled, but when she gave it the k1lling bite, went still. Silently thanking Starclan, she carried it over to where the rest of the hunting patrol was waiting. "Good catch!" Firepelt said. "Thanks," she said with a blush. "Well, let's take this fresh kill back to camp," Redclaw, the clan deputy, said. Icegaze noticed that besides her rabbit, they had only caught a single blackbird. Prey was to scarce, and she was worried to lose more cats. Her sister's kits had all d1ed from the cold, and the one that survived was on the verge of starving. /I won't let Leafkit d1e. Snowbird is already sad enough/. Stepping into the camp, she looked around. Leafkit was rustling around in the snow, but that was the only sign of real life. Everyone else was hiding in their dens, shivering from the cold. They started to trickle out into the clearing when they heard the hunting patrol, and Icegaze ducked into the elder's den. Birdflight was awake, and she snorted when Icegaze dropped the rabbit at her paws. She laid down and snuggled into her grandmother's fur. "And you /have/ to eat it this time," Icegaze said promptly. Birdflight sighed and took a small bite. She pushed the rest towards her granddaughter. Icegaze took a small bite and pushed the rest towards Birdflight. Birdflight's mother was born in the tribe of rushing water, and had taught the clan some of their ways, but although it was polite to share, Icegaze suspected she was trying to worm her way out of eating. /You are too thin for this/, she thought. Once the prey was in their bellies, Icegaze nodded goodbye and left. Most of the clan had gone out on more hunting patrols, so not a lot of cats were in the camp. A squeal pulled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see Leafkit pounce onto Firepelt's back. He wasn't big enough to get all of the way up, and slipped, spewing snow everywhere. Some of it landed on Firepelt's nose, and he started chasing Leafkit around with a snowy mustache. "I'm a evil twoleg, and I'm going to make you a kittypet!" Firepelt laughed. "Leafkit! Milk!" Snowbird called from inside the nursery. "But I don't wanna!" He wailed. "Rawr!!" Firepelt ran at him, and Leafkit ran into the nursery for protection from the evil twoleg. Firepelt walked over and sat down next to Icegaze. "Hello," he said, winding his tail around hers. "Hi there. How's Leafkit?" She asked, flicking the snow off of his nose with a paw. "I think he's doing well. I just wish there were other kits for him to play with... I love him and all, but sometimes I feel that me going on a patrol is heartbreaking for him." He looked sad for a moment, so she leaned into his shoulder. "Well, that might change soon!" Icegaze smiled. "What do you mean? Is Applefur expecting?" Firepelt said, cocking his head in a confused way. "Not Applefur..." Icegaze purred. "Meadowbloom said there are three kits coming soon!" His eyes grew wide with shock, and the grin on his face was unmistakable. "Seriously? My kits? This is really happening? They are really coming?" He leaped to his feet and faced her. "Hey, they're my kits too!" "We should celebrate!" He replied. (8 moons later)
Icegaze bit down on the stick. Her entire body was convulsing, as 3 small bundles slid out, one by one. "One tom and two she-cats!" Meadowbloom exclaimed with a smile."Oh... they're beautiful!" Firepelt said, licking the tom and helping him toward's Icegaze's belly. She watched, eyes shining, as the kit squirmed and wriggled to get the best suckling spot. "What should we name them?" Firepelt asked. "The dark red she-cat, Emberkit," Icegaze replied. "And the tom... Lionkit!" Firepelt added, as Lionkit shook out his golden fur. "And then... Daisykit?" Icegaze said with a smile. Firepelt's mother, Daisyheart, had been lost to a twoleg monster a few moons earlier, and she knew he would love the name. "Yes, Daisykit," he curled around her, and she leaned on his shoulder. "KITS!!! KITS!!! DAISYKIT!!! EMBERKIT!!! LIONKIT!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!?!" Icegaze was yelling, joined by Firepelt and the rest of her clanmates. "Where are they, where are they?" "FAN OUT! SEARCH THE MOOR!!" Greystar called from the greatstone. Cats streamed out of the camp, running in small groups. "C'mon! We've got to find them!" Firepelt called from where he was standing with Leafpaw. She ran to join them, and then found a small scent trail, barely there unless you knew it well. "Emberkit!" Icegaze said, following the smell. Firepelt and Leafpaw followed, but soon tired as she kept running. Icegaze ran on without them, knowing that they would come when she most needed them. She could hear small squeaks now, and tiny paw-prints were laid out in the dirt. Icegaze came to a clearing, where her three kits were caught in a twoleg trap. "Mommy! Save us!" Lionkit called upon seeing her. "What happened?" She crept closer and tapped at the cage with a claw. "Well, Lionkit said that if we went out and caught some prey, Greystar would make us apprentices early! So, we snuck out, and we wandered around until a twoleg cage dropped onto us!" Emberkit tattled. "Well, Lionkit, you are wrong. Even if you /had/ managed to catch anything, you would NOT have been made apprentices early!" She bit at the latch and found that it tasted almost like bl00d. Bite, bite. Her kits whimpered inside as Icegaze's teeth chomped and chomped. A click, and then the entrance was swinging open. The kittens tumbled out, and she grabbed Emberkit, threw Lionkit onto her back, and started walking quickly towards the direction of camp. "Come on, Daisykit!" Lionkit called. Icegaze looked back and found Daisykit staring in horror as a twoleg and 3 giant dogs ran towards them. The dogs snapped their teeth as they ran, ready to k1ll, and k1ll, and k1ll. "DAISYKIT!! RUN!!" Icegaze yelled. The she-kit didn't move, and the dogs were getting closer. She climbed a tree, dropped Emberkit and Lionkit into a small hole, and then ran back to fetch Daisykit. The dogs were almost upon them now, and she had about 2 seconds before they reached her daughter. "No!" Firepelt rammed into a dog, claws unsheathed. Redclaw, Applefur, and Treefrog followed, letting out yowls as they clawed and clawed at the dog's shocked faces. Icegaze ran and grabbed Daisykit by the scruff, darting towards the tree where Emberkit and Lionkit were safely tucked away. A screetch of protest came from the twoleg, and he raised a large, black, stick. Bang. Bamg. Bits of sand and dirt flew up into the air. A loud scream came from just in front of Icegaze. 'Lionkit? Emberkit?' No, it wasn't either of them. It was Daisykit, bl00d pouring from a large dent in her fur. 'No. No. NO!!' Icegaze found sudden energy in her legs, climbing up her tail and spreading to her ears. She ran faster, faster then any Windclan cat, and found the tree where her other kits were hidden. "Meadowbloom?" The medicine cat emerged from the hills as soon as she said it, running at top speed. In her mouth was a bundle of herbs, and she mumbled "leave her to me" as she passed by. Icegaze gave the kits one last look, and heard more bangs, more screams. She shot to the clearing and found that the dogs had gone. The twoleg had gone. And all of her clanmates were ok. "The kits! Where are the kits!" Firepelt ran up to her. "Meadowbloom has them, but... Daisykit was hit by those things the twoleg was sh00ting at us," Icegaze replied. "I'm going to find them!" Firepelt and the rest of the cats ran off, hoping to get away before the twoleg and its dogs came back. Icegaze was left alone in the clearing. No, no, not alone. A small shape was walking towards her. "Daisykit? How did you get here?" "I am not Daisykit." The kit announced. "My name is Snowkit, and I am your brother. I was stillborn and raised in Starclan. But I need to tell you something. Your kit is dy1ing, but it is not yet her time. And you... well, you'll have to sacrifice something to save her. Your life." Icegaze's eyes grew wide. "I... I'd do anything for my kit, so long as I walk with her always." She said. "Good. You have saved Daisystar, and you will walk with her always!" Snowkit smiled.
