"Splashkit! Pass it to me!" Dewkit squealed.
"No, me!" Silverkit yowled. Splashkit kicked the moss ball towards Dewkit. Dewkit shrieked as it landed on her light gray fur. Splashkit tried to contain a mrrow of laughter, but Silverkit burst out laughing and rolled on his back, right into Mistflight, one of the RiverClan queens. Silverkit looked up from the ground and squeaked as he saw Mistflight standing over him. Dewkit gave him a look that said 'That's what you get!' and stalked off towards the nursery.
"I don't want to play this anymore," she grumbled. Splashkit turned her head towards Dewkit and mewed, "Dewkit, wait! Come back!" Dewkit kept walking.
"Sorry, Mistflight." Splashkit whipped around and saw Mistflight smiling as Silverkit apologized.
"Quite all right, young one," she mewed. "Why don't you and Splashkit go join Dewkit and Lakefern for a nap in the nursery? That's where I'm headed."
"But I want to play moss-ball!" Silverkit whined.
"Yes, can we stay out a little longer?" Splashkit pleaded, trotting forward. As Mistflight was about to respond, Lakefern walked out of the nursery.
"Come, kits." Lakefern's voice was soothing. "I know that you want to play longer, but we should stay quiet and let Mistflight rest. Those kits will be coming soon."
"Please, Lakefern?" Silverkit mewed. "Just a little longer?"
"No." Their mother's voice was stern. "Come, let's join Dewkit in our nest." Lakefern nodded politely to Mistflight as the queen passed them and walked into the nursery. Splashkit's tail drooped and she sadly trudged after Mistflight. She slowed down and walked with her mother and brother across the RiverClan camp, entering the nursery. Splashkit spotted Dewkit and curled up beside her.
"Hey," Splashkit whispered to her sister, "I'm sorry. You know... about the moss ball."
Dewkit lifted her head and blinked at her. "It's all right, I guess." Dewkit purred and batted at Splashkit's ears. "I know you were just playing." Splashkit buried her head in Lakefern's side so Dewkit couldn't bat her ear. Lakefern bent down and licked her three kits.
"Kits, please." Lakefern looked exhausted as she spoke. "Please try to get some rest." She droopily lowered her head, and in a few moments, Splashkit's mother was asleep, along with her sister. She felt something hit her tail and turned around, careful not to wake her mother and sister.
"Silverkit!" Splashkit scolded quietly. "Don't do that."
Silverkit shrugged. "Sorry," he mewed. "But it's not like I hurt you."
Splashkit rolled her eyes. "Still, it scared me!" She shifted herself so she wasn't facing him anymore, closed her eyes, and slowly went to sleep.
. . .
Splashkit was walking in a strange forest she had never seen before. Could this be ThunderClan or ShadowClan territory? She opened her jaws to taste the air, but she didn't taste any prey. This can't be any place near the clans, she realized. It would be filled with prey. It is green-leaf, after all. Suddenly, a great swoosh came from in the trees. Splashkit jumped back. Whatever was in there, it was fast. Then a loud BOOM shook the forest. It started pouring down rain, with thunder roaring through the trees and lightning striking the sky.
"Hello?" Her voice came in a quiver as she called out in the storm. "Is any cat there?" Splashkit heard a loud CRACK! Turning around, she watched in terror as she saw a silver cat hanging on to a tree, the same cat that had rushed past her. The tree was, in a few heartbeats, struck by lightning. As the cat yowled in fear Splashkit realized she knew this cat. Where have I seen him before? she wondered. The tree fell in a nearby river, with the cat still desperately clinging on.
Suddenly, with a jolt of pain she realized who it was. That's Silverkit! Why hadn't she recognized him before? She realized Silverkit was bigger. He's twice my size here, but in RiverClan, he's smaller than me. Splashkit shook her head furiously. What is he doing here? She tried to move, but her paws were rooted to the ground. She looked desperately where the tree had fallen and saw a lifeless corpse floating on a log in the river, slowly giving way as his claws slipped and he disappeared under the ripples.
"NO!" Splashkit shrieked. Her paws were moving, she could almost get them off the ground.... Suddenly she heard a voice. "Splashkit," the voice whispered in her ear, "this is how it has to be."
"No. No..." Splashkit whispered back. "I won't let this happen!"
"Splashkit," Maplestar mewed gently. "You must." Then another voice rang in her ear.
"Splashkit! Splashkit!" The voice got louder.
"Splaskit! WAKE UP!" Splashkit blinked open her eyes. Her sight was blurry. All she could tell was that she wasn't in the nursery. She reached her nose out for her mother's soft pelt, but found nothing. Her nose only touched hard rock. Her vision cleared and she jumped out of the moss nest she was laying in.
"Splashkit!" Splashkit saw Dewkit standing next to her, and felt her brushing up against her pelt. "Thank StarClan you're okay! I'd better go fetch Bluemuzzle. She'll want to know you're up... I'll be right back," she mewed, and scurried out of the den. Splashkit saw different herbs laying around the den, and cobwebs in a corner. This must be the medicine den. And Bluemuzzle is the medicine cat. But why am I here? She lifted her muzzle off her paws, and started to stand up. Her legs wobbled and she collapsed back down into the nest. As she was about to try again, Dewkit walked in with Bluemuzzle. Dewkit was talking to her about something.
"...and this one time Silverkit said that he was going to show us how to hunt, and then I told him he's never been hunting before. So you know what he did? He marched right over to the fresh-kill pile and dragged a squirrel from the top and into the nursery. And then-"
"I'm sure it's a very fascinating story, Dewkit, but I need to look over your sister. Go do whatever kits do." Bluemuzzle padded over to Splashkit and looked her over.
"You know, me and Splashkit and Silverkit are almost 6 moons old. In the next half-moon, we'll be apprentices!" Dewkit exclaimed. "I wonder who my mentor will be. I hope it's not someone cranky like Reedmouth! Because I can't deal with someone like Reedmouth for a whole apprentice-ship. I'm happy he still has Pebblepaw as an apprentice! I wonder if Pebblepaw will turn out like him."
"Dewkit!" Bluemuzzle snapped. "I said go!" Dewkit's fur seemed to be radiating embarrassment and she slunk away with her tail dragging on the ground, her ears flattened to her head.
Bluemuzzle rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "annoying little kit." Splashkit wished she had said something to Dewkit before she left to make her feel better. As she opened her mouth to speak, Bluemuzzle gingerly felt along her back, pressing near her tail. Splashkit winced.
"Does that hurt?" Bluemuzzle asked.
"A little," Splashkit admitted.
Bluemuzzle studied her for a few more heartbeats, then reached for some moss that was barely a rabbit-length away. Taking the moss in her teeth, she dipped it in a shallow pool near the cobwebs.
"Drink," she said to her, pushing the wet strip of moss. Splashkit lapped up the dewdrops gratefully. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was. When she felt like she had drunk enough, she looked up into the medicine cat's blue eyes.
"What happened to me?" she asked, her voice coming out as a whisper.
"What happened is you had a dream." Bluemuzzle turned around and started sorting her herbs that were scattered around the den.
"I mean... how did I get in here?" Splashkit tried again, her voice louder this time.
"Dewkit and Lakefern brought you in here," Bluemuzzle answered, not turning to face her.
"But why did they bring me in here?" Splashkit almost yowled. She was losing her patience with the old she-cat.
Bluemuzzle's tail swished back and forward on the ground, and she paused her herb sorting temporarily. "Because you were thrashing in your sleep, and you felt warm. Lakefern said once you started thrashing, she bent down to lick you, and you felt warm. They brought you in here. By the way the stormed in here, you would've thought all the clans were on fire. I fed you the last of our feverfew, but you still wouldn't stop thrashing. I told Dewkit to watch you and was trying to collect more feverfew when the annoying furball told me you had woken up." Bluemuzzle went back to her herb sorting.
"So... I can go, then?" Splashkit had already crept toward the entrance, not sure if she was supposed to stay.
"Yes, you can go," Bluemuzzle meowed. "Just let me know if you feel queasy."
Splashkit was relieved. She hadn't wanted to stay in there all day. She looked around the camp for Dewkit and Silverkit, spotting them near the fresh-kill pile. As she got closer, she could hear them arguing.
"I want a fish!" Dewkit yanked a fish off the pile and tossed it at Silverkit's paws.
"No, a vole!" Silverkit grabbed a vole by the tail and batted it towards Dewkit with a paw.
"You've got bees in your brain!" Dewkit retorted. "RiverClan cats eat fish!"
Splashkit noticed the senior warriors muttering angrily under their breath and to one another.
Lakefern poked her head out of the nursery, spotted her kits, and rushed towards them.
"Be quiet!" she scolded. "Your bickering is disturbing the other cats. Since you two can't agree, I'll choose." Suddenly Splashkit had an idea. She ran towards Dewkit and lept on her, tackling her and pinning her to the ground, purring with delight. Splashkit couldn't stand it when her brother and sister argued. If someone was going to stop them from arguing, it would be Splashkit.
"Splashkit!" Lakefern mewed with relief, looking up from the pile, and at the same time Dewkit hissed, "Hey!" Dewkit playfully pushed Splashkit off and rose to her paws, giving her fur a shake.
Lakefern walked towards Splashkit and licked her between the ears.
"Eww! Stop!" Splashkit batted at Lakefern's head. "I'm almost an apprentice. Stop treating me like a kit!" Lakefern ignored her and continued licking.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Lakefern purred. She turned around and picked up salmon from the fresh kill pile and walked into the nursery. Splashkit and her littermates followed, SIlverkit glaring at Dewkit, who was racing ahead. Splashkit and Silverkit arrived at the nursery entrance after Dewkit. Splashkit saw Mistflight squirming uncomfortably. As she was about to step forward to ask Lakefern, who was standing over her, what was wrong, Dewkit shot past Splashkit, nearly knocking her off her paws.
"Dewkit! Wait!" Splashkit called to her sister. Silverkit turned around and raced after her.
Dewkit skidded to a halt, but Silverkit kept running in the direction of the medicine den. Dewkit turned her head over her shoulders. "Come on! We have to fetch Bluemuzzle! Mistflight's kits are coming!"