Chapter Text
A low moon hung brightly in the sky, lightly the trees underneath, producing an aura of peace. Many small creatures hid in the dark, faint squeeks sounded every now and again. The grass rustled as three shapes emerged in the night. The three she-cats stood out in the clearing.
The first, a young brown she-cat, lifted her nose, sniffing suspiciously, "There's something wrong."
"What do you mean, Deernose?" her companion, a lithe black she-cat, meowed, "I don't smell anything unnormal. All I can scent is kittypet." she spat the last word. "We are close to Twolegplace."
"I think Deernose is right, Ravenfeather," the other cat, a black and white she-cat said. "The scent is a lot stronger here than it should be."
"Well then Leafstorm, it might just be an adventurous kittypet exploring the woods. Which makes it an intruder!" Ravenfeather hissed. "I say we follow the scent and drive it out."
"And what if it's only a kit?" Deernose asked as her companions took the lead, following the strong scent. "I heard that a warrior in ShadowClan almost killed a kit. Just because it wasn't born in the wild, doesn't mean that it has to be punished. Young cats can sometimes stray."
"I heard that story," Leafstorm nodded. "Honeyfang was boasting about it. I didn't say anything because I couldn't agree with her decision. Sometimes, I'm glad I'm not a ShadowClan warrior."
"Will you two hurry it up?" Ravenfeather lashed her tail. "If it is a kit, then I'll give it a warning. And Honeyfang is a loyal warrior. But ThunderClan is the bravest Clan. Now let's catch this kittypet."
"Lead the way," Leafstorm grew quite to listen to her pawsteps. Deernose knew that she could blend in well with the night, but the quirky she-cat wasn't the most graceful cat in the forest. But being apprenticed around the same time, she grew to enjoy her laidback company. The deputy on the other paw. . .
Rustling made all of them stop as a shape limped out into the light of the moon. It was a cat! It had to be a queen, since she had a bundle in her mouth and had the scent of milk. But what startled Deernose were the claw marks and blood on the brown she-cat. She never saw a kittypet so injured.
"What happened to you?"
"Fox attack," the kittypet panted, "I stopped it from attacking my kit. I don't think I have much time left. I heard from my siblings about the forest Clans. I'm asking you. Please protect Willow." Must have been the name of the brown kit. The kit herself was crying, trying to hide from the bigger cats as her mother collapsed on the ground.
Leafstorm panicked, "Should I run and get Thornberry?"
"It must be too late," Ravenfeather looked at the kit with disgust. "I don't want to bring that tiny thing into our Clan. The last thing we need is another mouth to feed. And we have to report the fox to Bumblestar."
Deernose pressed her nose into the body of the kittypet mother. There was no reaction. No movement of her chest or pulse. The mother had passed. Deernose felt sorry for the kit, "We can't leave this poor kit alone. She'd die out here! Leafstorm, take her to the Clan for me. I'll bury the mother."
"I'll have to ask Bumblestar what to do," Ravenfeather huffed as Leafstorm picked up Willow. The kit grew silent, so Deernose assumed that she was grieving for her mother. But after a few seconds, the poor thing yawned. It was quite cute to Deernose. Since Ravenfeather was deputy, she had to wait for Bumblestar's choice. After all, a leader's word was law.
As she watched her clanmates go back to camp, worry flooding through her. Now that she was alone, she could really smell the fox. It must be close and very hungry. Foxes weren't known to eat full grown cats, but it might make it more aggressive. Deernose couldn't let the kittypet become crow-food. She picked up the kittypet and dragged her until she was close to the Twolegplace. She felt reassured knowing that she wouldn't be spotted. It was rare to see one at night.
Once she was done burying the kittypet, she safely made her way back to camp. When she arrived, she could see that the whole Clan was gathered, listening to Bumblestar speaking. She could tell that most of her Clanmates were woken up for this. A lot of them looked irritated.
"So you want us to care for a kittypet? Are you mouse-brained?" a tom yowled.
"It's done nothing wrong. Even if it has kittypet blood," Bumblestar argued, "I can't let an innocent kit die. What kind of leader would I be?"
"It clearly needs a mother."
"None of our queens will want it."
"I will care for it," a she-cat spoke up, her gaze a bit saddened, "I lost a couple of my kits and my remaining one could use the company."
"Alright," Bumblestar nodded at her, "We will take this kit and raise her to be a warrior. Dismissed."
Deernose could hear muttering as the Clan seperated, many cats giving the kittypet kit nasty looks. She didn't think she deserved it. She hasn't done anything wrong. She had one more thing to do. She went into Bumblestar's den. She wanted to apprentice the kit. Since she knew that a lot of her Clanmates wouldn't want to.