Berrynose's Prophecy

Chapter 2

Berrykit watched Snowkit's tail flick enticingly, and pushed away the urge to leap on it and pin it to the ground. She didn't dare risk getting her pelt dirty.

"And remember," Moonflower said, giving Berrykit's ears another wash, "sit up straight and be polite."

Berrykit rolled her eyes.

The three of them were waiting at the edge of the clearing.

"It'll be the first time Tigertail's seen you since you opened your eyes," Moonflower reminded them unnecessarily. Berrykit's belly had been knotted with excitement all morning. She wanted her father to see that she wasn't a tiny, mewling kit anymore.

Moonflower glanced at the gorse barrier. "He promised he'd be back from hunting by sunhigh."

Berrykit kept her paws rooted to the ground. It was still hard sitting still when the camp was so busy with new smells and sights.

Mumblefoot and Larksong had come out of the elders' den. Featherwhisker was padding toward them with a ball of moss dangling from his kaws. Berrykit guessed there was something stinky in it, because he was wrinkling his nose as though he were carrying fox dung. Beside the nettle patch, a large tom with a pelt as fiery as the sun was sharing prey with three warriors.

"Is that Sunfall?" Berrykit asked.

"Yes." Moonflower had begun grooming Snowkit. "And that's Robinwing, Tawnyspot, and Fuzzypelt with him," she meowed between licks. "Oh, and Thrushpelt has just come out of the warriors' den."

Snowkit fidgeted beneath her mother's tongue, complaining to Berrykit. "Did you wash you this hard?" But Berrykit hardly heard; she was too busy gazing at the warriors. She wanted to memorize Robinwing's brown pelt, so she could always pick her out from the others in a battle. Tawnyspots would be harder to make out, she decided, because of his pale gray tabby fur. But his ears had tufts on the tips- she'd remember that. Fuzzypelt would be easy to recognize anywhere; his black fur stuck out like a hedgehog's bristles. Thrushpelt was sandy gray, like the pebbles she and Snowkit played with in the nursery. He had bright green eyes and a splash of white on his chest that looked like a fluffy cloud. He was much smaller than the others.

"Didn't Thrushpelt grow properly?" Berrykit mewed to her mother.

Moonflower purred. "No, little one- he's just the youngest warrior. He received his name only a quarter moon ago. He'll grow- you'll see."

The gorse barrier swished and Berrykit glanced around. Was it Tigertail? Disappointment hit her when Stonepelt padded into the clearing with a bird in his jaws. She shuffled her paws, hoping he wouldn't notice her. She wasn't sure if he'd forgiven her for crashing into the warriors' den.

"That was a sneaky move!" Dapplepaw yowled on the other side of the clearing. She rolled away from Whitepaw and leaped to her paws. The two she-cats were practicing battle moves beside the tree stump.

Whitepaw shook out her fur. "No sneaky! Pure skill!" She stared at her denmate crossly, ehr cloudy eye glinting in the sunshine. Berrykit knew she couldn't see out of that eye, but she could hear so well, it was impossible to creep up on her. Berrykit and Snowkit had tried several times.

"Lucky hit!" Dapplepaw retorted. "Patchkit could be better."

Where was Patchkit?

Berrykit scanned the clearing. There! Leopardkit and Patchkit were crouching outside the warriors' den, glancing at each other as if they were planning something. What were they up to?

"I'm clean enough!"

Berrykit's attention snapped back to her sister as Snowkit ducked away from their mother's tongue.