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CHAPTER 35
Dawnstar bolted through the forest with the hunting patrol. He was chasing a rabbit through the trees. He was closing in fast. It tried to dodge an apple tree, but Dawnstar quickly pinned it and gave it the killing bite.
Dawnstar trotted back to the patrol. "Impressive catch!" said Whispershine.
"Yeah!" said Snowypaw around a fat mouse.
It was well into newleaf by now. The sunhigh warmth was beating down on the cats. Dawnstar, Whispershine, Snowypaw, Fawngaze, Sableheart, and Clovermist each came back to camp with a piece of prey.
Dawnstar squeezed himself through the stone crevice into the camp, dropped his prey on the pile, and rushed to the medicine den. It had been half a moon since his last sign from StarClan. Cherryfoot was chewing some leaves into a pulp and applying it on a she-cat's leg.
"There you go, Amberstrike," she said. The ginger she-cat got up and stretched, thanking Cherryfoot. Amberstrike left the den, giving Dawnstar a kind smile.
"Dawnstar!" Cherryfoot came over to him. She rubbed his muzzle. Her belly was bigger, but not too much. Any cat could just assume the prey was running well. "How was hunting?"
"I caught a rabbit." He shrugged.
"That's so great!" she replied enthusiastically. "I just get so bored in here, anything is interesting."
Dawnstar smiled and licked her forehead. "Where's Finchpetal?"
She shrugged. "Probably out in the forest. She went with Poppybreeze to get some borage and catmint and stuff near FieldClan. Mistyfur wanted to see you in the nursery, too. Good luck!" she laughed.
"Thanks." He nuzzled her lovingly one more time before leaving.
Dawnstar padded over to the nursery. Acornkit and Viperkit were playing with Starlingkit and Frostkit outside. He went around them and into the cave. The cave was well lit. Squirrelcloud was sleeping with Firekit, Leafkit, and Stormkit beside her. Rosefang was snoring loudly beside Sundance; they must not have gotten much sleep since Rosefang's kit were born. Mistyfur was awake, to the side of the sleeping queens.
"Dawnstar, I'm so excited for them to become apprentices!" she said happily. Her face grew serious. "Not to say I don't want them with me, but they are so excited to be apprenticed! Who are their mentors?" Mistyfur tilted her head.
"Well, I was thinking that Amberstrike could take Springkit, and Patchkit could be mentored by Lightwing," he answered.
She processed his decision carefully. There was a deep-thinking look in her eyes. "Good choices," she said finally.
"Thank you. I was actually going to do their ceremony tonight. How about it?"
Her eyes widened. "Wow, really? If you think that's fair..." she trailed off.
"Great!" He smiled kindly. "Where are your kits, anyway?"
"Probably exploring somewhere." She didn't seem extremely interested in wherever they were.
"Okay. Well, you have a good day now."
Dawnstar headed over to the apprentice den. The big bush was blooming with little purple flowers. He ducked his head in and saw Springkit and Patchkit flinging the moss around.
"Kits!" he said. Springkit and Patchkit looked up, startled. "Shouldn't you two be in the nursery with your mother?"
"Nuh-uh!" Springkit said. "We're over six moons old now! We deserve to be in the apprentice's den. We were making our new nests!"
"Well, you're taking moss from Snowypaw, Butterpaw and Rainpaw's nests! Go on now, back to Mistyfur." Springkit frowned. Patchkit just looked bored. They ran out of the den. Dawnstar fluffed the moss back into shape and went back out.
Dawnstar went over to the prey pile. He picked out the mouse that Snowypaw had caught and sat down beside Shadefire and Spottedclaw. They talked about random things; how the prey was running, the kits, the other Clans. By the time they stopped talking, it was almost dusk. The patrols came flooding in. Cats put their prey on the pile and the other ones went to their dens.
He and Mistyfur locked eyes. She nodded. He scrambled up the boulders to the ledge and called, "May all cats strong enough to catch their own moles gather under the High Bluff!" Most of the EarthClan cats were already there eating dinner, so they sat up and looked up.
He climbed down the rocks to the ground. "Today, we have new apprentices!" Murmurs echoed through the clearing. "Springkit and Patchkit, please come forward."
Mistyfur and Thrushfall were beaming. The kits' mother tried to hold them back, fixing the fur on their heads, but they scampered away before she could. Springkit and Patchkit sat proudly in front of Dawnstar.
"Springkit," Dawnstar began. "Do you promise to train in the ways of a warrior, and learn the warrior code so you can serve EarthClan?"
The little she-cat nodded. "I do!"
"Then until you earn your warrior name, you will be called Springpaw. Your mentor will be Amberstrike, a considerably new warrior, but one who has proven herself worthy of an apprentice." The ginger warrior padded up with her tail fluffed up, touching noses with Springpaw. Springpaw licked her shoulder and they moved to the side.
"Patchkit, do you promise to learn the ways of the warriors, and train to defend EarthClan?" Dawnstar asked.
The little tom nodded calmly. "I do."
"Until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Patchpaw. Lightwing will be your mentor, an experienced warrior. She will train you well." Lightwing touched her new apprentice's nose, and he licked her shoulder. They joined Amberstrike and Springpaw.
"Patchpaw! Springpaw! Patchpaw! Springpaw!" The Clan cheered. Dawnstar nodded and lashed his tail. "The meeting is dismissed. Good night, everyone!"
"G'night," replied Springpaw alone. She smiled. He smirked. The Clan cats retreated to their dens.
Dawnstar caught up to Cherryfoot, who was heading to the camp entrance. "Where could you be going? It's sunset!"
She looked nervous. Her eyes were bloodshot. "I-I need to get some... borage for Sundance, and some blackberry leaves... C'mon Finchpetal, we have to go." The other medicine cat nodded.
Dawnstar was concerned. "But it's sunset! Can't you wait until morning?"
"Kits don't wait for others!" She clamped her mouth shut. "I... I mean, Sundance is due any day now, and she might go into labor overnight... so unless you feel like Sundance can do it by herself, I need some borage. Thank you. Let's go..." She shoved past him, head down, and Finchpetal followed. She gave him a sad look and mouthed, "I'm sorry."
Dawnstar watched them helplessly as they left. Something wasn't right...
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Cherryfoot trudged through the dark forest angrily. Finchpetal padded beside her frantically, trying to overcome her. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"
"Of course I'm sure. Coalstar came to me in a dream. He said, When the kits' time comes, you must go to Star Lake. We will guide you from there. He also told me to find an excuse to leave. So, it was pretty clear to me that I should go there when it was time, so I am. Urgh!" She collapsed as a sharp pain sent a chill through her spine. "Yep, it's time," she groaned.
They trudged on. Cherryfoot would randomly grab herbs off of bushes on the path, in case she needed them at Star Lake or back at camp. She made sure to get blackberry leaves for her excuse to Dawnstar to make sense. "So, where are the kits going?" Finchpetal asked. "I mean, you can't raise them yourself!"
Cherryfoot sighed as another spasm gripped her. "I haven't decided yet. I have no idea what I would do. If all else fails, I'll stay outside the camp with you. We can just live like loners on the farmlands." Finchpetal said nothing to this answer.
They finally reached the Star Lake, and the moon was high in the sky. Stars reflected on the puddles in the well-worn path beside the pond. They found their normal EarthClan place on the shore, sitting on the sand behind the reeds, listening to the small waves slap the shore. They plopped down on the sand.
"What next?" Finchpetal asked.
Her question was answered. Four little stars that reflected on the water caught Cherryfoot's eye, and she watched as they swirled around each other, growing farther apart until they created a square of starless black water. A cat's face appeared in the water.
"Cherryfoot," Coalstar said. "Time already?"
She grunted as another sharp shock of pain passed through. "My thoughts exactly."
The black leader nodded. "Fine. Just lay down and try to relax."
"I brought moss," Finchpetal said, dropping her green bundle that Cherryfoot hadn't noticed she had.
Coalstar nodded. "Fine. Wait a second..."
Suddenly, the reeds rustled. Coalstar stepped out, in his life-size starry form. Finchpetal tilted her head. "Are you trained to deliver kits?"
Coalstar nodded. "You can learn anything in StarClan. I picked it up from Whiteberry." He looked at Cherryfoot, who was biting back a painful yowl. "Okay, let's get started."
Cherryfoot let the yowl out. It echoed on the water. Coalstar sighed. Finchpetal put the moss behind the other medicine cat. She gave her borage, chamomile, and chervil, all to help with delivery. Cherryfoot didn't feel much less pain, and took it as Darkwing's foretold punishment. It felt like forever before the first kit came.
"Get ready," Finchpetal said. The first kit came easily. "It's a she-cat," Coalstar reported.
The second one came soon after. Cherryfoot felt ready to growl and scratch. The herbs definitely weren't working! she thought. "A tom," Coalstar told her.
The third surprised her; three kits? Kit birth was probably Darkwing's form of punishment! It felt like razor-sharp claws shredding her from the inside! "Another tom!" Coalstar said. He sounded just as surprised as she felt.
The fourth was definitely unexpected. "Last one; a tom!" Coalstar concluded.
Finchpetal licked them all and sent them to Cherryfoot's belly. Cherryfoot thanked StarClan that there wasn't another! Four kits was more than average for most queens, and she'd delivered enough kits to know. She looked at her kits and felt overwhelming love... but then guilt. Not once had she thought of Dawnstar during this whole ordeal. He loved her, she loved him. These were his kits, as well. They were theirs, and nothing could change it.
She looked at her kits. The first born was a dark brown she-cat that looked like Dawnstar and Whispershine. The second kit was a black tom. The third was a light hazel tom, and the fourth was a gray tom. She had perfect names for them.
Finchpetal looked at them admiringly. So was Coalstar. "What are their names?" he asked.
"The she-kit is Hazelkit. The black tom is Buzzardkit, the brown tom is Moorkit, and the gray tom is Floatkit."
Coalstar smiled. "They're adorable. Now, it's time to kill them."