As a kit, Flower grew up as a kittypet. Not knowing the thrill of clan life, she lived with her mother, siblings, and twolegs, believing that eating, sleeping, playing, and breathing was all there was to life. But read this story, and feel as if you are part of her, a part of her adventure, finding that her future has something much different in store for her.
Prologue[]
"Mama! Ray kicked me!" squealed the tiny gray she-kit snuggling close to Belle.
"Ray dear, be more gentle with your little sister," Belle murmured.
The little gray she-kit curled up and fell to sleep. In her sleep, she saw a golden colored she-cat. She was graceful and beautiful.
"Flower, dear. I am the mother of Sunstar--the leader of SummerClan. Welcome to the hunting grounds of StarClan," the beautiful she-cat meowed.
The little she-kit tilted her head curiously. "What's SummerClan?"
"A large group of cats that live together, fight and hunt for each other. They live in a forest together. They have a territory, and they are surrounded by the territories of other clans--WinterClan, SpringClan, and AutumnClan. Sunstar is the leader of SummerClan. Your destiny lies with SummerClan. You must remember this..." and the beautiful golden she-cat drifted away.
The tiny gray kit woke up and looked at her mother. She looked up at the large window above them. She bounced onto a chair and leaped onto the windowsill, and looked out the window at the big world. One day, I'll go explore. And I'll find SummerClan--whatever and whoever that is--and do what that pretty she-cat said, she promised herself.
Chapter One ~ Flower Gets Kicked Out[]
"Mother, can we go explore today?" asked Flower, who was 6 moons old.
"How many times, Flower, must I tell you no?" Belle sighed to her daughter sternly. She was growing tired of caring for Ray and Flower. She was ready to kick them out.
"I want to go."
"No."
Flower glared at her mother and leaped down from the windowsill. She bounded to Ray. "Mother is so mean! She never lets me do what I want. I'm tired of waking up in the mornings, eating, looking outside and wishing I could go explore, breathing, eating, and going to sleep. Doesn't life mean any more than that?" she complained to her brother.
"I don't think so," Ray responded lazily.
"You're no better than mother!" Flower retorted.
Flower stomped to her mother. "I'm going no matter what you think. There has to be more to life than what you and our housefolk are giving me!"
"Go for all I care," growled Belle.
Flower stared at her mother, a little surprised at how easily she was letting her go.
Flower took a step toward the small door in the large door. "Bye then..." she meowed, and padded out of the house.
Chapter Two ~ Intruder[]
Many moons later, Flower was padding in the forest. Life was easy. She knew by instinct how to catch prey, and her fighting skills were not all that bad. But she still hadn't found SummerClan, and she was lonely and skinny.
She padded into an area with a different smell. It was pleasant and welcoming.
She sensed a group of cats were padding close to her. She hid in the bushes.
She peeked through it. "Moonstorm, your scaring all the PREY away!" complained a blue gray she-cat. A white tom with a black tail rolled his eyes and purred. He licked the blue gray she-cats ears and they continued on past Flower. A little behind was a ginger-colored she-cat. "Hurry up, Firesky!" the white tom with the black tail called behind his back. "I'm coming!" called the flame-colored she-cat.
SummerClan cats? Or rogues? Like the cat named uh..wait....Sunstar I think it was...? They have really weird names... thought Flower.
A couple sunrises later, Flower had stayed in the territory uncaught, and she had spied on the many groups of cats that had come in and out of a clearing...which Flower guessed was their camp. She held her breath and hid behind two bushes in front of the entrance.
She had been spying no longer than 2 minutes...but she heard someone yowl, "Intruder!!!!"
The white cat with the black tail stormed out of camp and saw her immediately. "Intruder! What are you doing here?!"
Flower remained silent. "This is the world. Nobody's entitled to only a portion of it. Live with it," she finally said.
Moonstorm growled. "I'm Moonstorm of SummerClan."
Chapter Three ~ Stubborn Loner[]
Flower looked up. "And I'm Flower. I had a dream about SummerClan when I was a kit...is your leader Sunstar?"
Moonstorm glared at Flower. "Spy! You've been spying on us!" he hissed.
"No, I swear, I haven't. I had a dream! Sunstar's mother herself sent it to me!"
Moonstorm flicked his tail in annoyance and anger. "You ARE a stubborn loner."
Flower stood her ground.
"Come into camp. You had a dream about Sunstar's mother, we'll see what Sunstar has to say about it. For now, until she returns from border patrol, you're staying in the old burrow," Moonstorm sighed and led Flower into camp.
Flower felt sort of sad...was she really prophesied to be part of a clan that was as mean to her as Moonstorm currently was?
She laid down in the really stuffy tunnel and rested her chin on her paws. Moonstorm came back with a rabbit. "Here's some freshkill. Thought you might be hungry," he meowed.
Flower dipped her head gratefully and took it.
Suddenly the blue gray and the flame colored she-cats she had first seen padded to her.
"Moonstorm, who the heck is this?!" the blue gray she cat yelled to Moonstorm.
"Stubbornest loner I ever saw. Her name's Flower. She wants to join. She got a dream when she was a kit or something. Anyways yeah, she is SOMETHING," Moonstorm yelled back.
"Let's just hope that they're just friends--not more than that," Silverflower heard Rainface mutter to herself.
The blue gray she-cat turned to Flower. "Heya Flower, I'm Rainface, Moonstorm's mate."
There was some wistfull look in the flame colored she-cat's eyes when Rainface said that Moonstorm was her mate. "And I'm Firesky," the flame colored she-cat meowed.
Chapter Four ~ Unconcious[]
Rainface turned to Firesky, and whispered to her, "You should know I'm expecting kits," Flower heard Rainface murmur to Firesky. Rainface padded away and Firesky followed her, with some dramatic thing they were dealing with.
Flower sighed. She felt so left out of everything and at the moment it didn't feel like she was welcome in SummerClan, despite her dream.
So she escaped and ran out of camp. She found an old badger set between the Winterclan and Summerclan territory, and curled in there. She almost fell asleep when she smelled an acrid scent, and when she peeked out, she saw a Winterclan patrol staring at her with evil, cold eyes.
"Attack her!" said a large black Winterclan cat. Flower yowled as the Winterclan cats piled on top of her. She used all her fighting skills to throw the cats off of her, but the injuries applied on her were too deep.
Slowly, the world began to fade away and she lay on the ground, only a small amount of life left in her. She winced as the black Winterclan cat who had ordered everyone to attack her leaned down to bite her neck. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to sear through her neck.
In the meantime, Rainface had heard a yowl and rain over to where it came from. She saw Flower being attacked so Rainface threw them all off. She saw Flower about to be bitten so Rainface pushed him away.
She started clawing everyone she could, and heard Firesky fighting along side her. Then she felt claws sink into her back, which is when Rainface yowled in anger. She felt teeth penitrate the back of her neck. Rainface fell to the ground, trying to stay still for awhile, so they thought she was dead.
Back at camp,
Moonshade woke up from his long slumber and looked around the warriors den. "No one is here, i guess i overslept......again. i guess i'll catch up with my duties and hunt a bit." He padded out of his den and saw Skymist enjoying a small mouse. "Er, i'll leave her alone." He left the camp and started to look for prey.
He found heard noises coming from a far, he started walking that way hoping it would be a rabbit or something. Then he saw Firesky with Rainface, he trotted up at them looking at the blood on the trees and floor "Firesky, Rainface, what happened!?" He asked urgently.
Flower felt the life seeping out of her, but she summoned all her strength and courage. She dragged herself up and flung herself up at the Winterclan cat who had attacked her.
Raking her claws across his flank, she chomped off a part of his ear. She slipped below him and knocked him off balance, and pinned him to the ground. He kicked her off with his massive hind paws and flung her against a sharp rock.
It scraped her right above her eyes, and she lay unconcious on the blood spattered ground.
Chapter Five ~ Accepted[]
Flower opened her eyes. As soon as she did, pain seared above her eye, and claws marks on her back and flank stung like a thousand nettles
. She whimpered in pain but managed to look up, seeing the clearing spattered in blood. She saw Rainface and Firesky fighting a black she-cat. Despite her pain, she leaped on the black cat helping them, and chomped down on her flank. The black she-cat wailed in agony and ran off.
She looked around and saw that no more Winterclan cats were in the clearing, just Summerclan cats. She winced in pain and sat, licking at her wounds.
She tried to drag herself into the depths of the old badger set, but was to weak to try. "But I can't go back to Summerclan camp--I've already seen I won't be accepted there," she thought, with the pain bolting through her flank.
Rainface looked at Flower, seeming to know what she is thinking. "Flower, you will always be accepted in SummerClan, even if we don't act like your there, we know your there. Whenever you want to join, just ask us, we will probably be the first and only clan to let you join."
Rainface got to her paws and waved goodbye to Flower and ran back to camp, with Moonshade and Firesky hard on her heels.
"I think Flower should join, she is a good fighting but she's injured we can't leave her there. What if the Winterclan come back and kill her?! We have to bring her back to camp and let Luckshine treat her." Firesky meowed to Rainface as they walked back to our territory.
"I agree with Firesky, even if Flower doesn't want to join, we can't just leave her to die. It's not the right thing to do." agreed Moonshade.
The three cats turned back around and helped Flower go back to SummerClan camp. "Your going to stay in the warrior den, only because you hate that burrow you were in, ok?"
"Welcome to our camp Flower! Follow me, I'll take you to Luckshine so she can tend to your wounds." Firesky told Flower and led her to the medicine cat's den. "Wants some prey Flower? I'll fetch you some." Firesky meowed to her as a left and came back with a squirrel.
Moonshade was tired from the battle so he decided to take a short rest before he went back into the forest for a quick hunt. He settled himself in a shady spot under a large oak tree, "I hope Flower is allowed to stay." he thought to himself.
He went over to the freshkill pile.
"Wanna share?" Firesky asked him after she got back from grabbing a squirrel for Silverflower. "Sure," he responded, and the two cats shared a rabbit. Afterwards, they groomed each other. Silverflower glanced wistfully at them from the Medicine Cat den and rested her chin on her paws.
Chapter Six ~ Trust[]
Later that day, Silverflower was resting in the medicine cat den. Luckshine turned to her.
"Sunstar's back," she informed Flower.
"I should go speak to her now..."
"No, Rainface did for you. You'll have your naming ceremony this evening. But afterwards it probably would be best if you explain all the details of your dream to her."
Flower nodded. "Thanks, Luckshine." She slowly got up and padded out into the clearing. She sat beneath a tree and saw Moonshade pad towards her.
"Hello, Flower," he meowed.
"Hi, Moonshade. Thanks for helping me out earlier...with those cats..."
"WinterClan cats."
"Ah."
Moonshade flicked his tail over to a she-cat slightly smaller than Silverflower. She had light gray fur and green eyes. "That's my sister--Skymist."
Flower nodded greetings to Skymist and from where Skymist was standing, Skymist dipped her head in return.
Flower began to think about the fact that she was ONLY allowed to sleep in the Warrior's den because she hated the burrow she had been staying in, and Rainface muttering to herself about she and Moonstorm being a 'thing.' Rainface really hated her that much? She sighed.
"Whats wrong? Are you okay? I hope you are, i don't like seeing my friends sad." Moonshade mewed nervously, hoping she wouldnt get mad or upset.
Flower sat up and curled her tail around her paws. She wasn't upset at all. "It's just--I always wished I could belong somewhere besides by myself, eating every scrap of crowfood I could find just to survive. But obviously, some of the cats here don't trust me, like Rainface and Moonstorm," she explained. She looked down at her paws and sighed.
Moonshade sat down in front of her. "Well, i trust you, so does Skymist, and i think firesky does and hopefully Sunstar will let you stay here. I know how it feels to not have home, and how other cats don't know you because of your past. Some cats still dont trust me and Skymist because of our short time as kittypets," He sighed and thought about the time when he first asked to join Summerclan.
Flower looked down and mewed, "I didn't know. I trust you, Moonshade. And Skymist and Firesky. I want to trust Rainface, but I wish she could trust me--and Moonstorm just seemed to think I was nothing by trouble by the way he reacted when he first saw me in front of camp." she paused and then added, "I'm willing to commit my life to hunting and fighting for clan rights. Living as a rogue has taught me that there is safety and security in numbers, and I would give my life for Summerclan."
Moonshade smiled and then Flower heard a call from what was called 'Highrock.'
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath highrock for a clan meeting!" Sunstar yowled.
Chapter Seven ~ The Dream[]
"I, Sunstar, leader of SummerClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat. She claims she will serve this clan by the code and with loyalty, and I commend her to you as a warrior. Flower, do you promise to uphold the Warrior code and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Flower meowed solemnly.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Flower, from now on, you will be known as Silverflower. SummerClan welcomes you as an honorable warrior.
Silverflower dipped her head. "Thank you, Sunstar."
"Silverflower! Silverflower!" all the cats cheered.
"Silverflower, I'd like to speak with you in my den," Sunstar meowed after the crowd had cleared. "Yes, Sunstar," Silveflower replied.
In Sunstar's den, Sunstar sat in her nest, and Silverflower stood before her.
"Moonshade told me what you talked to him about...you said that you're willing to commit your life to hunting and fighting for clan rights..that you would give your life for SummerClan. Is this true?"
"Yes, Sunstar."
Sunstar purred. "I welcome you to SummerClan. I trust you, Silverflower. I'd like to know about this dream that Rainface told me you had as a kit."
"Well...well there was a cat...a she-cat...she was graceful and beautiful, and very much so like you."
Sunstar's eyes filled with sadness. "That was my mother, Goldenpelt."
"Wh...what is StarClan? She said 'Welcome to the StarClan hunting grounds.'"
Sunstar smiled. "The StarClan hunting grounds is the place where all StarClan cats live. StarClan is a clan much like us, only all cats of all the clans live in one clan after they die...then they are part of StarClan. All the cats there are our ancestors...and we treat them with respect. They sometimes send us prophecies and warnings."
"Oh...so then your mother is a part of StarClan..because she died..."
Sunstar's ears drooped in sadness.
"Yes...the leader before me, Heatherstar, appointed my mother deputy after I was born. Goldenpelt was killed by WinterClan in a battle...right after I finished mentoring my second apprentice. I was a very experienced warrior by then...and Heatherstar considered Goldenpelt one of her best friends. So she chose me, her best friend's daughter, as deputy. After Heatherstar died, I became leader."
Silverflower touched Sunstar's shoulder with the tip of her tail. "I'm sorry."
"She died many moons ago...probably a moon or two before you were born."
Silverflower nodded.
"Well, the dream was right after my brother, Ray, kicked me. I fell asleep...and I was in a beautiful field. Your moth-I mean, Goldenpelt, met me in that field. She told me that my destiny was to become part of SummerClan...to meet Sunstar, the leader or SummerClan. Then she explained to me what a clan is. I told myself after that that I would never stop searching until I found SummerClan. When I was 6 moons old I set out to find SummerClan, and today I finally found it," Silverflower explained.
Sunstar smiled. "Well then, Silverflower. Welcome to SummerClan."
Chapter Eight ~ Mixed Emotions[]
Silverflower padded out of the Warrior's Den the next morning to an early morning mist. She saw Moonshade.
"Hi, Silverflower," Moonshade meowed.
"Hi."
"Have you seen Skymist this morning?" Moonshade asked.
"She's still asleep," Silverflower informed him.
Moonshade sighed worriedly. "That was what I was afraid of."
"What's wrong?" Silverflower asked.
"Well--she's just been more tired recently and I can never find her around as much as I used to..anyways, maybe I'm just getting too worried about my little sister. If she doesn't get back by sundown I'll go look for her."
Silverflower watched as Moonshade nervously paced up and down the clearing. She watched for a few minutes and then mewed, "If you're going to keep pacing like there's nothing else in the world to do, then you'd better go look for her now," she mewed jokingly, then caught his gaze and looked in his blue eyes. Then she looked away. He's rightfully Firesky's..who could fall in love with a rogue anyways? she thought. "I can help you look if you want," she mewed, looking at her paws.
Moonshade had sensed that Silverflower felt slightly uncomfortable. "Everything okay?
Silverflower looked up and shuffled her paws. Is this it? Am I going to tell him how I feel? she thought. She looked up and opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. What do I say? How do I say it? She decided she'd tell him. She looked up. "I--I don't know how you feel, Moonshade..." she began. "And I know Firesky really likes you..." she paused and tried to think of what to say. "But I really like you." She closed her eyes and braced herself for whatever Moonshade might say next.
Moonshade smiled for a moment, then sighed, then he looked down, "Well I haven't really told anyone this, but the truth is I have liked Firesky for a while now, then you came to Summerclan, and I really started liking you. So now I like both of you and I seriously have had no clue what do these past few days." He sat, down quietly, all his feelings worrying about Skymist were currently gone and were replaced with mixed emotions.
Silverflower purred. "Well, I'll let you choose who you like better," she meowed, glad that now her feelings were out in the open.
"Wanna go hunting?" Moonshade asked.
"Sure," meowed Silverflower with a smile. And the two cats padded side by side out of camp.
Chapter Nine ~ Skymist's Betrayal[]
Silverflower and Moonshade later arrived back to camp with a lot of prey. She purred and looked into Moonshade's eyes.
The two dropped their catch in the freshkill pile. Moonshade had started to look around for Skymist, and there she was, under a big oak tree. She saw him sigh in relief.
She was about to ask Moonshade if he wanted to share something with her from the freshkill pile, but Firesky beat her to it. She sighed and got a mouse for herself.
Rainface has eventually gotten used to Silverflower, and so had Moonstorm.
Silverflower saw Skymist look around, get up, and casually padded out of camp. She was tempted to tell Moonshade and follow her with him, but Rainface padded up to her."Wanna go on a walk?" her new friend asked.
Silverflower nodded and the two she cats padded out of camp. Suddenly they smelled WinterClan..and...and... Skymist?! thought Silverflower in alarm. She glanced at Rainface and Rainface nodded, signaling to Silverflower that she knew what was going on.
They peeked through the bushes and saw Skymist and some black WinterClan cat pressing against her. Silverflower gasped--she recognised the black cat as the tom that almost killed her that night..right before Moonshade, Rainface, and Firesky had saved her. It hurt too much to think about...but Skymist was in love with a cat that had tried to kill one of her clanmates??
Rainface stepped out. "What exactly might you be doing, Skymist?" she demanded the she-cat. Skymist spun around and gasped, and the black tom hissed and unsheathed his claws.
"Nightpelt, don't hurt them!" Skymist pleaded the big WinterClan tom.
"Traitor!" growled Rainface.
"What's going on?!" whispered Silverflower. Skymist glanced back and forth helplessly between her clanmates and her forbidden mate.
Chapter Ten ~ "Who are you more loyal to?"[]
In the meantime, Moonshade had been back at camp, worrying about his sister. He looked at Firesky. "Wanna come with me and help me find Skymist?" Of course, Firesky leaped at the opportunity to spend more time with Moonshade, but she was genuinely concerned about Skymist's constant disappearances. "Of course," she meowed to the SummerClan tom.
As they trudged deeper into the forest, Moonshade caught the scent of his sister. "Skymist.." he whispered. He started running and broke through the brushes.
Silverflower turned on heel as Moonshade ran through the bushes. "Skymist, I was so worried! I.." he stopped in the middle of his sentence, seeing Nightpelt standing beside Skymist. "What are you doing with my sister!?" Moonshade yelled. "You tried to kill Silverflower once!"
Skymist gasped and looked at Nightpelt. "What?!" she cried. Nightpelt glared at Skymist. "Well, make your choice. Who are you most loyal to? Me, your your terrible excuse for clanmates?" Skymist's eyes welled up with tears. Silverflower felt a tear run down her cheek. She ran through the foliage and ran away. Rainface gave one last hiss at Skymist and Nightpelt and followed Silverflower.
Firesky swallowed and looked at Skymist. She flicked her tail sadly and followed her friends. Moonshade stood where she was and looked at Skymist, searching her eyes. "Skymist..?" he whispered. It was more of a beg. She looked at her paws. Moonshade ran away.
Skymist's ears drooped as she watched her clanmates, one by one, disappear into the bracken. Then she looked into Nightpelt's eyes...those eyes which she had once thought beautiful and handsome and understanding...they now looked cold and bitter and evil. She slowly backed away. "I...I don't know what I saw in you...I...I loved you, Nightpelt...I thought you were different from the other WinterClan cats..." she whispered sadly, her voice cracking with grief and shock.
Nightpelt growled, turned swiftly around, and disappeared into the bushes, leaving Skymist alone in the tiny clearing. Skymist swallowed, trying not to cry, but tears trickled down her face as she sat alone.
Chapter Eleven ~ Hot Clouds & Cold Clouds[]
That evening, as the sun was setting, Skymist padded quietly into camp. The evening shadows spread over the clearing floor. Silverflower noticed and so did Moonshade, but nobody else did. Silverflower padded to Skymist. "Hey, Sky..." she murmured to the cat she had become close friends to. "How are you and Nightpelt?"
"Over." came the monotonous response from the still-shocked she-cat. Silverflower sensed exhaustion and grief coming from the small she-cat. She licked her ears and let Skymist disappear into the warrior's den for the night.
In the meantime, Firesky was already curled up in her nest in the warrior's den. She went to sleep and dreamed. She saw her parents and they walked towards her. "Firesky! Beware of a danger that is coming! The hot clouds will warm everyone,but the cold ones will freeze and destroy them all," they both yowled at the same time. It echoed in my head. Then she was in a field of flowers and grass, there were white clouds above her and it was warm. But then dark gray ones rolled in and destroyed the white ones and it became cold,very cold. Everything went black and there were cats yowling in pain and fear. She woke up to Moonshade poking her awake. "Firesky? Are you alright? I saw you kicking and turning and you were saying something out loud." Moonshade meowed to her. "I....I think Starclan sent me a prophecy,but why me? Why not Luckshine,she's the medicine cat?" she whispered to Moonshade, careful not to let anyone else hear about it yet. "I don't know why they would send it to you rather than Luckshine. Who told you the prophecy and what was it about?" Moonshade replied settling down to rest. "Do you promise not to tell anyone else yet?" she murmured hesitantly and he nodded. "Ok, my parents told me the prophecy. They said 'The hot clouds will warm everyone, but the cold ones will freeze and destroy them all.' then I was in a grass field and there were white clouds above me and everything was warm,but then dark gray ones rolled in and destroyed the whites one and then it became very cold. Then everything went black, and I heard cats yowling in pain and fear," she kexplained to Moonshade making sure that nobody was eavesdropping.
Silverflower woke up to see Firesky telling Moonshade something. "...Destroy them all." was all Silverflower heard her say. Immediately Silverflower's ears perked up, she padded over to Firesky's nest. "Is everything okay?" Silverflower asked in concern and alarm.
Moonshade looked over. He was about to tell her what Firesky had told him, but Firesky jammed her tail into his side. He clamped his mouth shut and flicked his tail in slight pain from Firesky.
"I'm sorry Silverflower, I trust you....but I don't want to tell anyone else just yet. I have to make sure if I was right about it. I hope you understand!" Firesky meowed in a sweet but serious voice. Silverflower paused and then nodded. "I understand, Firesky." She padded out of the warrior's den...understandingly. Slightly hurt, but understandlingly.
Chapter Twelve ~ Prophecies[]
A few months later, Rainface's kits, Graykit, Riverkit, and and Eclipsekits were born. Everyone was content and the prey in SummerClan territory was running well.
Lavastorm, the SummerClan deputy, padded out of the Warrior's den and summoned Skymist, Moonshade, Silverflower, and Firesky. "I'd like you to go on a hunting patrol," he ordered them. All four cats nodded obediently and immediately padded out of camp. A few hours later, they came back with loads and loads of prey, filling up the freshkill pile with a sufficient amount of food for the clan for 3 days! "Wonderful job, warriors," Sunstar praised the cats as she was eating her evening meal.
Rainface was sharing a meal with Firesky, but then suddenly she blacked out and in the darkness, a secretive, mysterious voice whispered in her mind, "Summer and Winter willl meet in battle. Winter's coldness will wipe out Summer's warmth, leaving only devestation amoung us." Rainface blinked and asked herself, "What just happened??" Firesky looked at her friend. "You okay?" she asked Rainface. "I...I think a prophecy just brought itself to me..." Rainface said. "I've had prophecies come to me too.." Firesky said, seriousness draping over her bright face. "We'd better talk to Luckshine." and the two cats padded to the medicine cat den.
Silverflower watched as Firesky and Rainface padded into the Medicine cat den to speak with Luckshine. She grabbed a rabbit from the freshkill pile and walked over to Moonshade. "Share?" she asked. He smiled and nodded. They contentedly shared the rabbit and then groomed themselves. Silverflower purred contentedly and then yawned. "I'm tired. I think I'll rest for a while." She padded to the Warrior cat's den. She curled up in her nest and drifted off to sleep.
She had a dream in her sleep. In her dream, she was hunting in a field with Moonshade, Firesky, Rainface, and Skymist. Her clanmates and her were contentedly hunting together. The prey was running well. "Life as a clan cat could never be better," she heard Moonshade murmur in her ear. Silverflower purred in agreement. The fields were golden and lush, with field mice crawling literally under her paws. She hunted happily alongside her clanmates.
All of a sudden, cold black clouds covered the once-sunny sky. All the prey scampered off, and the lush field crumpled up into brown, dead blades of grass. The air turned cold and a chill ran up her spine. She heard Rainface's kits back at camp yowl, "It's cold! Mama, where are you?!"
Silverflower looked around in panic, turning to look at her clanmates, only to see that they had disappeared. She scented Winterclan cats, but she couldn't see them. She couldn't see her clanmates either, but she could hear them yowling in destress, pain, and fear. Silverflower bolted through the frozen dead grass, shivering from the chill. "Where are you?!" she yowled to her clanmates. But she found herself lost, and couldn't hear her clanmates anymore, though the smell of Winterclan was growing stronger and stronger.
"The warmth is where you will find protection and strength. The golden, warm grass is safety. It's a shelter for your clan. But cats with cold hearts will bring destruction to the warmth of the golden grass. They will attack. You and your clanmates must protect each other. Do not leave each other's sides. You will find it most hard to stand strong, but trust in yourself and your clanmates, and you will have the strength to defeat the coldness of the hearts that belong to your enemies."
Silverflower gasped as the voice spoke to her. All of a sudden she was back next to her clanmates. Her clanmates stood defensively next to her. She saw the kits hiding in a bush. Rainface was crouched over them, but she bounded to her clanmates to help.
She saw Nightpelt and the whole of Winterclan attacking. But together, she and her clanmates fought. Pretty soon, Winterclan retreated, and so did the cold black clouds. The fields were golden and lush again, and warmth returned. Prey were soon scampering through the grass, and the sun bore down on the field. Rainface's kits were play fighting in the grass, and all was soon to normal.
Silverflower woke up. Pretty soon, she knew what Firesky and Rainface were talking with Luckshine about. I have to tell them, she thought. And she padded out of the den to find them.
Chapter Thirteen ~ The 3 Kits[]
Silverflower was running to Luckshine's den to tell her about her recent prophecy/dream, but only to interrupt Rainface, Firesky, and Luckshine's conversation about their prophecies. Firesky took one look at Silverflower and her eyes grew soft. "You've had a prophecy." Silverflower nodded.
She explained everything to the other 3 she-cats and fear filled all of their eyes as they listened intently. Silverflower herself felt fear creeping into her heart.
"You'd best keep your kits safely in the nursery until whatever danger these prophecies are predicting passes," Silverflower told Rainface. Rainface nodded slowly, fright making her green eyes glassy. "But Rainkit...he wants to be a medicine cat apprentice with all his heart when he becomes a paw. I think he should still be able to visit Luckshine when he'd like to." Silverflower nodded in agreement, and so did Firesky and Luckshine. "But," Luckshine said, "Silverflower is right. If there is anything that WinterClan cats would take, it would be young, healthy, strong kits with a bright future..."
As night fell on SummerClan camp, the she-cats departed. Rainface padded to the nursery and curled around her 3 shivering kits. Eclipsekit rested her head on Rainface's foreleg, and Graykit laid on his back with his head on Eclipsekit's flank, and Riverkit had somehow managed to completely creep underneath his brother and sister to keep warm. Rainface purred and curled her tail around them and laid her head down next to them, drifting to sleep.
She dreamed that she was in a field...it looked exactly like the one that Silverflower had described. In the middle of it, though, she saw her 3 kits, lying, injured, barely breathing. She yowled in anger, fear, sadness, grief, and shock. Then she woke up. She started to panic but then saw her kits lying, sleeping, ever so quietly by her side.
She breathed in relief and then peeked outside into the clearing. She saw the dawn patrol leaving as the sun just barely peeked up over the grassy hills of SummerClan's hunting grounds. She was finally able to breath and she breathed out slowly. She layed down beside her kits once more and closed her eyes.
Chapter Fourteen ~ Reality[]
Silverflower had a good night sleep that night. She awoke that morning to a bright and positive mood. She took a shrew from the freshkill pile and ate it in a few gulps. Then she turned to grooming herself. After she was finished, she just sat there, watching as the sun began to sink its rays onto the Summerclan territory.
Life as a clan cat could never be better, she found herself thinking as a flock of birds flew across the pink sky. Then she realized something. That was exactly what Moonshade had told her in her dream! Suddenly, black clouds enveloped the sky. It was cold and she saw the dawn patrol running into camp. "We found Winterclan scent in our territory!" they yowled. She looked around panicked.
The prophecy was becoming reality.
Sunstar and Lavastorm were having a meeting in the leader's den. The two quickly rushed into the clearing, claws unsheathed. Luckshine watched from the medicine cat den, her eyes full of fear and knowledge. Warriors came from all directions, the training grounds, the warrior's den, and from the entrance.
Rainface ran outside the nursery, alarm in her bright green eyes. Rainface sniffed the air then let out a yowl. "WinterClan is not far from camp! Get ready for what is ahead!" Rainface turned to Riverkit. "Go help Luckshine." Riverkit nodded and raced to Luckshine's den. Rainface turned to Graykit and Eclipsekit. "Stay out of this fight, it's only for warriors. I, your father, Silverflower, Firesky, Sunstar, Lavastorm, and everyone else. You need to stay in the nursery...go, quick!" Rainface stood next to Moonstorm, ready to fight alongside him.
Silverflower stood between Firesky and Moonshade at the entrance to Summerclan camp. She heard the battle cry of many Winterclan cats. They were closing in on the camp. All of a sudden, the walls of the camp were broken as Winterclan cats poured into camp. "Somebody guard the nursery!" Silverflower yowled as she tackled a white Winterclan she-cat.
Rainface yowled in anger as she saw a black and white tom rush to the nursery, his face sinister. She leaped onto him and slashed at him. He chomped down onto her shoulder and she yowled in pain, and he tore into the nursery. The kits squealed in terror as he was about to grab them but she leaped on him.
"Fool! It's part of the Warrior code! No warrior even touches the kits...it's disgraceful and unmerciful!" she growled. Applying a few extra wounds for the WinterClan medicine cat to tend to, she tackled the WinterClan tom. He ran, screeching in agony, out of the damaged walls of SummerClan camp and back to WinterClan territory.
Chapter Fifteen ~ Not in the Nursery[]
Silverflower saw Moonshade tackle Nightpelt along with Skymist. Serves him right, the poor excuse for a pile of fox dung, she thought before she ran at a black tom with white paws. She swiped her claws across his muzzle and chomped down onto his shoulder and pinned him to the ground, steering clear of his flailing hind paws.
She watched in satisfaction as the tom ran out of camp, wailing in anger and in pain.
She felt the burning pain of claws digging into her shoulders. A gray she-cat was sinking her claws down her back and into her flanks. Silverflower yowled in pain as she flung the gray she-cat off of her. The gray cat had good fighting skills to match with Silverflower's.
With the furiosity this cat's fighting with, I'm guessing that tom was her mate, thought Silverflower as she kicked the gray she-cat off of herself.
She lunged to chomp the she-cat's ear off, but the cat dodged to one side. Silverflower turned and leaped onto the gray-she cat but the she-cat flung her off. She hit the ground with a sickening thud as she heard a crack come from her paw.
Fox dung! My paw's broken. Now I can't fight! she thought. Nevermind the pain, she was there to fight, not to cause the medicine cat some herbs.
The gray she-cat just smirked and then leaped onto another Summerclan cat. Silverflower got to her paws, putting no pressure on her broken paw. She did all she could to fight. She limped to the nursery to help Rainface defend her kits. Wish I could do more but with a stupid broken paw I'm a worthless lump of fur in a battle with these cats.
Rainface nodded to Silverflower and gave her room to stand by her. Two would be enough to guard to stubborn kits. Rainface heard Graykit whine. "I want to help fight!" he complained. "Stay where you are, there is no time for me to lose a kit cause the kit was being stubborn." Graykit pouted then curled up next to Eclipsekit. Rainface saw a gray she-cat coming towards her. The same she-cat that attacked Silverflower. She lunged at her and clawed her and then chomped down on her shoulder and her ear and her tail. The she-cat fled out of the camp and Rainface went back to where she was standing.
"Thanks," murmured Silverflower, watching in satisfaction as the cat who was the cause for her broken paw scrambled out of camp. She peeked into the nursery to check on Graykit and Eclipsekit and saw that there was a hole at the base of it. Oh great, it's big enough for a Winterclan cat to go through without us noticing and big enough for the kits to...
Silverflower gasped as she realized the kits weren't in the nursery. "Your kits--they're not in the nursery!" Silverflower said in panic. She looked around camp frantically and then she saw two Winterclan cats--Nightpelt and a white she-cat, each holding one of Rainface's kits--bolting out of camp.
Chapter Sixteen ~ Flying Cats[]
Rainface chased after Nightpelt and the white she-cat, hoping she could get her kits back. They were far out of her camp when she was close enough to pin them both. She lunged at them and pinned them. She grabbed her kits by the scruff and bolted back for the camp, not checking back to see if they were following her all the way back to the camp. She set them down and gaurded the whole at the base of the nursery, to make sure no one else stole her kits.
Silverflower stood at the entrance while Rainface stood at the hole. No cold-blooded Winterclan cats are stealing Rainface's kits on my watch, she thought.
Rainface stood at the whole, and over her kits. Then she saw a white she-cat's head pop out of the whole. Then Rainface hit the top of their head and they fell back into the whole. She heard a russle coming from the entrance. "Silverflower, to your left." She sniffed the air. "That black tom that was fighting Firesky."
The black leaped out of the blue and swiped at Silverflower's muzzle. Silverflower dodged and leaped on the tom as he sailed over her. She pinned him down and flipped him over, then raked her claws down his belly. She heard him yowl in pain, but she wasn't finished with him. I picked him up by his scruff and lifted him up and threw him in the air.
"Heads up, Moon!" I yelled as the black tom sailed over Moonshade's head and landed with a thud on the ground. "That'll teach you to attack my friends!" I yowled after him. The silver she-cat who had been attacking Moonshade ran at me with many open wounds from when Firesky attacked her. She leaped on my back.
She dragged me to the ground but I flipped her over and flung her straight up in the air in the same direction I had thrown the black tom, straight over Moonshade's head. She landed in a pile on top of the black tom. "Flying cats. Who knew?" Silverflower heard Moonshade murmur.
Chapter Seventeen ~ A Claw on my Friends[]
Rainface felt claws in her back as she flung at cat out of the nursery. She turned around to see Nightpelt trying to take a blow to her neck. She kicked him away from her then stood over her kits, snarling at Nightpelt in anger.
"No one steals my kits and gets away with it." Rainface stood over her kits as she heard another russle and another cat entered the nursery.
"Silverflower! Help!" Rainface yowled as she was pushed away and she watched as they stole her kits, unable to move because the white she-cat had her pinned.
She braced herself to be killed by WinterClan, only because she wanted to protect her kits.
Silverflower heard Rainface's yowl for help. She leaped into the nursery to see Nightpelt carry Rainface's kits out of the nursery and a white she-cat pinning Rainface down.
"Nobody lays a CLAW on my friends!" yelled Silverflower and she slammed into the white she-cat. She raked her claws across the she-cats flanks and muzzle and chomped down on her tail.
The she-cat ran like a maniac after Nightpelt. "Are you okay, Rainface?!" Silverflower asked. She didn't give Rainface time to answer. She bolted after Nightpelt and the white she-cat and Rainface's kits. She bodyslammed them both.
Chapter Eighteen ~ Over the Ravine[]
Suddenly, Silverflower realized where they were. They were at the edge a ravine. At the bottom was sharp rocks pointed upwards. Nightpelt was holding the kits above the ravine. "If you don't give us your territory and scram out of our lives, you'll lose these kits and the fight will go on. If you do, your kits will be spared but you will have to leave," the white she-cat hissed.
Silverflower's heart stopped. Rainface, if you hear my thoughts right now, come help! she thought in panic. She looked up as Nightpelt was loosening his grip on the kits who wailed, flailing their paws, about to be dropped who knew how far down into the ravine.
Rainface sensed that Silverflower needed her help. She snuck out and went around the ravine. Her paws hurt from the sharp rocks jabbing into her paws. She came up behind the two with her kits and took them. She tossed them to Silverflower. "Take them back to camp!" She watched as Silverflower bolted back to camp.
Rainface looked at the rocks. Am I really going to kill myself over this battle? she thought. Rainface felt claws pushing her off the edge. She yelped for help. "Someone! Help me!"
Chapter Nineteen ~ Stay Here[]
Silverflower was running for camp with Eclipsekit and Graykit in her jaws when she heard Rainface call for help yet again. She put down the kits.
"Graykit, Eclipsekit, hide in that hollow log over there. I'll come back for you later. I need you to stay very quiet and still. Don't worry, it'll all be fine." Silverflower watched to make sure the two kits got safely into the hollow log.
She bolted back to the ravine just to see Rainface hanging off the edge. "Get your paws off of her!" she yowled. She leaped onto Nightpelt and bit his ear off, and raked her claws across his eye. He yowled in agony but turned on her and lashed out his claws.
Silverflower dodged and slid under his belly, raking his belly once again with her forepaws. He scrambled into the forest. She turned on the white she-cat but the she-cat didn't even try to fight. She scrambled into the forest after Nightpelt.
Silverflower dragged Rainface by the scruff up onto the edge of the ravine. "Rainface, are you okay?!" she asked. Rainface and her bolted into the forest. Silverflower picked up Graykit and Rainface picked up Eclipsekit, and the two brought them back to camp.
Rainface raced along side Silverflower. Eclipsekit was dangling in her jaw, mewling for help. She reared and went to the medicine cat den. There she saw Riverkit patting cobwebs on Moonshade's wounds while Luckshine helped Moonstorm. Rainface dropped her kits along with Silverflower.
"Now stay here you two," she said to her kits. They nodded and Rainface went back into the jumble of fighting cats, Silverflower at her paws.