Dawn of EchoClan **DISCONTINUED**

Chapter 2: Tragedy

Darkkit and Sparkkit... Young. Innocent. Naïve. Trusting. Strong...
Yet so fragile.

"Com' on," Sparkkit shouted at her moon-and-a-half-year-old brother, jumping up and slashing at her brother. Darkkit hunkered down and made a mock whimpering sound. "Be'a rawwior!"

Darkkit waited for a moment, the right moment, then leapt at his sister, crashing into her. They rolled for a few paces, then Sparkkit kicked Darkkit away.

Darkkit let out a 'deafening' yowl and charged again, with Sparkkit running at him, but was stopped by a heavy weight on his back.

Pops!

"Kits." Cedarwhisker's deep brass voice growled, and Darkkit wondered if his father was actually angry. It would be unlikely, considering this was Cedarwhisker. He never got angry, or even relatively annoyed.

"What are you doing, playing with each other..." he continued, letting Darkkit go and stalking around the siblings, tail lashing. Suddenly he grinned and let his bristling fur go down. "...when you could be playing with me!"

Sparkkit laughed and jumped on Cedarwhisker, batting at his long russet whiskers he had been named for. Darkkit joined in, rolling under the big ginger-brown warrior and gently slashing at Cedarwhisker's belly.

Their father shook them off and fled to the nursery, his tail between his legs. "Foxtail, help!" he cried as he threw himself at Darkkit's mother. "These two warriors want to eat me!"

Sparkkit play-hissed at Cedarwhisker. Though maybe it was a real hiss, Darkkit couldn't tell. He could really never tell with his fierce sister.

Darkkit laughed and trotted over to Cedarwhisker, who cowered behind Foxtail. "I'mma not gon'a eat ya!"

Foxtail pushed Cedarwhisker at the two kits. "Well, you should." she said playfully. "He is a mousebrain and deserves to be eaten by two fierce warriors!"

Darkkit knew he wasn't fierce; at least, not in comparison to his sister—or father. He'd never seen his father fight harder than a few gentle bats, but remembered once, around ten or fifteen sunrises ago, when Cedarwhisker had come back from a border battle with SkyClan, his fur matted with blood—his own, but mostly his enemies'. Everyone in camp had talked about what a great fighter Cedarwhisker had been.

Darkkit wanted to be whispered about, to be looked at in awe just because he was 'fierce'. But he knew that would never happen. Darkkit was not fierce and that was that.

Cedarwhisker smiled and led the way back out of the nursery, nuzzling Foxtail as he went by. The three, two kits and a warrior, started playing, a wrestling game where Sparkkit always won.

Darkkit was about to tackle his father when Rustgaze, a shy she-cat, let out a warning yowl. "Eagle!" she shouted, and Cedarwhisker immediately gripped Darkkit's scruff and whisked him into the nursery. He went started going back out for Sparkkit, but a terrified cry made Darkkit's father stop him in his tracks.

Sparkkit.

Foxtail suddenly sprinted past them both, and Darkkit saw a giant brown bird flying away, Sparkkit in its talons. Foxtail ran after the eagle and launched herself at it. Darkkit gasped as the eagle dipped and let out a piercing cry. Other Clan members were rushing out to help, but Foxtail seemed to be handling the eagle.

But, just then, the eagle bucked and dropped Sparkkit. Darkkit's sister hit the ground with a sickening crack and thud. He ran out, despite Cedarwhisker's strangled warning, and skidded to a stop next to the limp Sparkkit.

He nuzzled her and was surprised to find that she was cold. No heat came off of her body, unlike normal. Darkkit sat, confused, and a sudden screech made him look up.

His mother was still wrestling the eagle, and now she was in the talons of the great beast, though struggling. Darkkit watched silently as the eagle screeched once more and flew off, carrying Foxtail with him.

Slowly, one by one, the rest of the Clan crept out of their hiding places. They saw Darkkit sitting next to the cold and limp Sparkkit, they saw Cedarwhisker climbing the ridge to try and see Foxtail and the eagle. Reedwish, the medicine cat, padded to Darkkit.

"Are you alright, little one?" he asked Darkkit, who nodded.

"Where's Momma go'ng? And why's Sparkkit all cold?"

Reedwish looked at something above Darkkit, and the little shaken tom saw the medicine cat nod just barely. Then Reedwish nudged Darkkit away from Sparkkit and led him into the nursery.

Reedwish gathered the mossball and rolled it somberly under his paw. "Darkkit, Sparkkit is in StarClan now."

Darkkit tilted his head. "Where's that? I wanna go!"

"No, little one, you don't want to go to StarClan just yet," Reedwish said, pausing to lick Darkkit's head. Darkkit leapt away, shaking his head and growling playfully at Reedwish.

The medicine cat sighed and stood, rolling the mossball at Darkkit. The dark gray kit pounced on it and tumbled onto his back, snarl-snorting like a proper little kit-warrior.

Reedwish sighed again and exited the den. He had work to do, and number one on his list was making sure everyone else was okay.

Though I doubt Cedarwhisker will be 'okay' after losing his kit and mate.