Goldenshine's POV
I quickly scooted out of the way as I saw a mossball fly in my direction. The moss flew into the nursery near where I was sitting. Swiftkit was right behind it, who dove into the nursery to retrieve it. Not even a heartbeat later, he padded out of the nursery with the moss in his mouth and his tail straight up in the air. I gave him a quick lick on the head before he then tossed the mossball forward, and Cherrykit, Molekit, and Snowkit all dove for it at once.
I purred with amusement as I watched them, but I couldn't hold back waves of sadness as well.
It had been a little over a moon since Swiftkit's fox attack and Thornclaw finally getting out of the medicine den from his mysterious injuries. Now, to my disbelief, Swiftkit and Snowkit were becoming apprentices tomorrow. I almost wanted to whimper out loud at the thought. It had truly felt like just yesterday that Snowkit and I were leaving the nursery to become apprentices, but now, my son was leaving me to become one.
It feels like he was just born! How do queens handle this so often? I wondered.
I also couldn't believe that Snowkit, or Snowflight rather, was becoming an apprentice all over again along with Swiftkit. I watched her as she lightly dove onto Molekit as he was about to leap at the mossball, and she gave him a soft, claws-sheathed blow to the muzzle. I could already see that she had the makings of a great and strong warrior.
But... Snowflight had wanted to become a medicine cat, I realized. Will Snowkit want to do the same thing? I wonder how Jayfeather would feel about that...?
As much as these thoughts could overtake me, I realized that I shouldn't let them. It wasn't my choice at all, it was Snowkit's. She had the right to choose any path that she wanted. It is completely up to her. If she is anything like Snowflight, she'll make it clear as to what she wants to do.
As for Swiftkit, I had no doubt of the direction he wanted to take. He was meant to be a warrior. He, first off, had made it pretty clear that that was what he wanted to do, and I could already see from the way he played from the other kits that he was meant to hunt and fight for his Clan. He was incredibly clever and agile, and I suppose... swift in his movements. It would be hard for prey or another cat to keep up with him!
You'd almost think that he's already been somewhat trained already... I realized. Whoever gets him as a mentor will be lucky. The only downside to training Swiftkit would be his impatience!
Although, even thought I knew Swiftkit would be an impatient little furball as long as he lived, I had already noticed a drastic change in his behavior over the past moon. He was a little snappy sometimes, yes, but he had seemed much more lively and kind to others when he could. He also had been playing with the other kits significantly more, and they had completely welcomed him as one of their friends now. With Molekit, of course the two of them being the only tom kits in the nursery, they connected pretty well. Cherrykit, impressively, seemed to take an incredible liking to Swiftkit despite how snappy he was with her sometimes. But, she managed to bring out Swiftkit's softer and kinder side every once in a while. He always seemed to feel incredibly guilty after getting mad at her for something.
Snowkit and Swiftkit had seemed to connect from the first day they met. Snowkit had been so shy, and Swiftkit had been the first cat she had opened up to. And now, they were going to train alongside each other, which I'm sure would make them even closer.
I wonder if it's because they're sort of... kin that they have a special connection? I wondered. Whatever the reason, I can tell that they are going to become amazing friends.
I was still enjoying watching the other kits play when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pippy and Dusty trot into camp with Hazeltail and Mousewhisker right behind them. Hazeltail and Mousewhisker went over to grab a quick meal from the fresh-kill pile, but when Pippy and Dusty noticed me over by the nursery, their eyes lit up and they both padded quickly over to me.
"Hi, Goldenshine!" Pippy practically squeaked.
I let out a purr of amusement as I stood up. "Hi, Pippy!" I purred. I then shyly looked over to Dusty, my ears suddenly growing hot. "Hi," I murmured to him, smiling.
"Hello, there," Dusty purred, touching his nose to mine.
"We just had the most amazing training session!" Pippy began. "Dusty and I learned so many battle moves! Heck, you could throw us into battle right now, and we'd flay those mouse-brains!"
"Easy there," Dusty meowed, nudging his sister with his paw, "Let's not ask for a battle!"
"True that!" I exclaimed. "But anyway, that's great! Maybe you two could test them out on me once I've gotten rid of this rascal?" I then meowed, nodding my head towards Swiftkit, who had Cherrykit pinned down.
Pippy then began to lick at her claws. "Hm... you might regret that!" She teased.
"Look who's talking!" Dusty meowed, shaking his head slowly. "Goldenshine would have you on the ground whimpering within heartbeats!"
"Oh, whatever!" Pippy then purred, giving me an affectionate and teasing gaze. Her big green eyes then went to the fresh-kill pile where Mousewhisker and Hazeltail were settling down. "I'm starving, Dusty! Let's get something to eat!"
The two siblings then nodded to me in farewell before excitedly trotting over to the fresh-kill pile. I looked over to where the four kits were still playing, and then glanced over closer to the nursery to see Poppyfrost watching them close by.
I suppose I'm kind of hungry too! I realized. Maybe I'll grab something really quickly while Poppyfrost is watching the kits.
Acting on this, I quickly traveled to the fresh-kill pile, realizing more and more how hungry I actually was. I grabbed a small mouse as I noticed Mousewhisker beckoning me over with his tail. Hazeltail was nowhere in sight, and I realized that she had probably joined the hunting patrol that had just left.
I smiled at the gray and white tom and settled down beside him, excited to get to talk to Mousewhisker. He was one of my closer friends, and he had even posed as the father of Swiftkit when cats became suspicious of Breezepelt and me. I knew that Mousewhisker and I would always have a special connection.
"Hey, Goldenshine!" Mousewhisker said kindly. "It feels like forever since we've talked!"
"For sure!" I agreed. I then smirked as my eyes went to the two former-kittypets, who were talking excitedly to each other as they shared a vole. "You've been so caught up with those two!"
Mousewhisker then snorted. "I certainly have! They both have incredible enthusiasm. Hazeltail and I can't get enough of them!"
"How are they coming along in their training?" I asked him. "They certainly seem to be enjoying it!"
Mousewhisker's eyes were glittering with satisfaction. "Hazeltail seems very happy with Pippy! Dusty is fantastic. I'm honestly happy that Firestar let him in. He was made to be a warrior. He hunts and fights as if he's been here for moons!"
I then tilted my head as I noticed that Mousewhisker seemed to be suppressing a purr of amusement. "What?" I asked, purring myself.
Mousewhisker shook his head slowly before looking up to where Dusty still was. "As true as all of that is, that Dusty can still be as daft as a new apprentice!"
"How so?" I wondered aloud.
Mousewhisker then met my gaze, his green eyes glittering with amusement. "As I said, he's fantastic. That is, when you're not brought up or thought about at all!"
My stomach then seemed to fill with butterflies. "Meaning...?" I asked, trying to suppress a smile.
"Who knew that I'd have to refrain from saying a warrior's name in a training session?" Mousewhisker purred. "Well, I do! Because, Goldenshine, if you are mentioned, Dusty can't focus for the rest of the session!"
Mousewhisker then lightly nudged me, his eyes still teasing. "You'd better stop being so charming, or Dusty will never become a warrior!" He purred.
Shyly, I looked down at my paws, trying to hide my extreme excitement at what I was hearing. "Aw, I'm sure it's not that bad..." I muttered.
Mousewhisker then snorted again. "I would ask you to come see for yourself, but that would defeat the whole purpose, wouldn't it?" He teased.
As I was purring and flicking one of Mousewhisker's ears with my tail, I was suddenly struck when I noticed something strange over towards the medicine den.
A certain small, gray and white cat with sparkling blue eyes was making their way towards the medicine den entrance. Her eyes were wide and curious. She was wandering all around the area, the tip of her tail twitching.
Shocked and a little nervous of what I was seeing, I turned over to where the other three kits were left playing. My eyes locked with Swiftkit's, so I gave him an inquiring look while nodding towards where Snowkit was still wandering. All my son did was glance over at her, shrug, and then go back to playing.
Needing to know what was going on, I looked back over to Mousewhisker and touched my nose to his. "As much as I'd love to keep chatting, I think I need to deal with this little one over here," I meowed, lashing my tail towards Snowkit.
Mousewhisker dipped his head. "Good luck! I'm sure you know by now that those kits have minds of their own!"
I gave Mousewhisker one last smile before padding over to Snowkit, who was now sitting and staring towards the entrance to the den. I held back extreme bouts of emotion as I was suddenly brought back to the first time I had noticed that Snowflight wanted to be a medicine cat. She had been doing what Snowkit is doing right now, sitting down in front of the den, staring in awe.
Is that what is happening right now? I wondered. I then sat down beside Snowkit and lightly ran my tail down her smaller flank.
Snowkit then seemed to be snapped out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened and she immediately looked up at me. "Oh, hi, Goldenshine!" She mewed kindly.
"Hi, there, Snowkit!" I meowed back. I took a deep breath. "What are you doing here? You looked like you were having so much fun with the other kits!"
Snowkit then nodded quickly. "Oh, I was! But I just had to take a look around here for a bit."
My stomach seemed to twist at her answer. "And why is that?"
Before Snowkit could answer, I then heard urgent footsteps come from inside the medicine den.
Hm... I wonder who that could possibly be? I wondered, rolling my eyes.
As I predicted, Jayfeather then poked his gray tabby head out of the medicine den. He stared at Snowkit as if he could see, his teeth barred.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed, clearly trying to hide any more emotions he had with just anger. "I don't need kits wandering around my den."
"Sorry," Snowkit simply said, not being phased by Jayfeather's tone. Snowflight never was, I realized. Snowkit then went on, her eyes filled with awe once again. "I just... I had to look around a little bit. I feel like I've been here before."
Jayfeather was silent for a few heartbeats before muttering, "Well, you were in here about a moon ago, pestering Swiftkit when he should have been being cared for..."
"No, no," Snowkit immediately responded, to Jayfeather's dismay and annoyance, I'm sure. "Every detail... it all seems so familiar...."
As Snowkit then seemed to drift off into her thoughts, I glanced at Jayfeather, my eyes wide. Clearly, Snowkit was remembering her time as a medicine cat, incredibly. If nothing else confirms that Snowflight is in there, this definitely will, I realized.
I turned away from Jayfeather's gaze and looked back at Snowkit. "Do you... do you have some sort of draw towards being a medicine cat, Snowkit?" I reluctantly asked. I knew that Jayfeather would be uncomfortable with the question, but I knew that I might as well ask the question so we could start dealing with the answer.
To my surprise, Snowkit then looked disgusted. "No way!" She meowed, her pink nose wrinkling. She then gave Jayfeather a sympathetic look. "I mean, it looks awesome and everything, but I really want to be able to hunt and fight for my Clan!"
I, along with Jayfeather seemingly, was suddenly overwhelmed with relief. She wants to be a warrior. As much as I wanted Snowkit to follow what she wanted to do, her being a medicine cat all over again would have been quite strange to deal with, especially for Jayfeather, I'm sure. He had made that pretty darn clear already!
Before Jayfeather and I could say anything in response to what Snowkit said, Snowkit let out a long sigh and took one last scan at the medicine den as if she was any other cat looking back at their old home after many moons. "So weird..." she then muttered before trotting back over to the other kits.
I immediately faced Jayfeather after Snowkit left. "Satisfied?" I murmured, raising an eyebrow.
Jayfeather rolled his eyes. "Hardly," he muttered before turning back into the medicine den.
I narrowed my eyes before following him in. "What do you mean?" I asked. "She doesn't want to be a medicine cat!"
Jayfeather blind eyes then fell dark. "As much as a relief that is... that's what scares me."
I didn't say anything, suddenly very intrigued. I simply tilted my head as Jayfeather went on, who was seemingly deep in thought and a bit worried, to my surprise. "If Snowkit's... or Snowflight's destiny rather, is not to be a medicine cat... then what is it?"