| abstract
| - The she-cat placed each paw delicately as she crossed the muddy ground. It was dark, the earth beneath her paws was slippery, and she was weighed down by her rounded belly. Slipping now would be the worst thing that could happen. She couldn't fall now, not when she was so close. She had meant to travel further, of course, before the birth, but you couldn't always choose your time. Sun had carried enough litters to know that when the first pains began, there wasn't long before the kits followed. This litter was different, though. These kits were unlike any others she would ever send into the world. Sun trembled a little, knowing what was in store for her final litter. The previous one, Rascal and Goldbird and Sangha... they were happy, and they were safe. She had made sure of that much, at least. The rogues couldn't hurt them now, since he had extended his protection. She let a sigh brush past her lips, then stiffened at the slight noise in the silence. Moving onwards now, Sun gritted her death against the pain coiling in her belly. She could scent other cats here, and she had to make it past their territory. If her kits fell into the paws of other cats, to be used as pawns in games of power... well, it wouldn't be right. Stumbling now, tripping and falling over tussocks of grass, she came across the beginning of a fallen tree, and stepped up onto it, crossing over the water that roiled beneath her. The storm was beginning to rage, and thunder cracked above her, loud enough to drown all else. Dimly, Sun wondered what the lightning had struck, but the pain was too great to allow for much thought. As she reached the end of the tree bridge, she froze, realising she had made a terrible mistake. The scent of cats had become stronger here, and as she looked up she beheld thirteen cats staring at her. She appeared to have interrupted some kind of meeting, but that didn't bother her now. Toppling to the ground, she let out a yowl of agony as the rain began to pour down. Instantly, a dappled golden she-cat was at her side. Pressing her paw gently against Sun's distended belly, she hissed between her teeth. "She's kitting!" she called. "Now!" A grey tabby tom weaved to her side, his blue eyes glaring at the rogue she-cat. "It's a large litter," he noted dully. "We can't let this interrupt the meeting," a large white tom announced. "This Gathering is too important for a loner to spoil. StarClan sent us here." "Maybe StarClan sent her here too, Blackstar," a small tabby tom soothed. "Everything that happens is preordained." The grey tabby tom snorted. "Give us a break, Littlecloud," he said scornfully. "StarClan doesn't decide everything, you know." Suddenly, five of the cats froze where they were crouched over the she-cat. Littlecloud shivered from head to tail, and the grey tabby's eyes opened wide. Then, in an instant, it was over. A grey tabby she-cat looked up at the cloudy sky in wonder. "StarClan just sent us a message," she meowed in amazement. The dappled golden she-cat beside her looked at her sharply, but didn't comment. "What did they say?" a ginger tom asked urgently. "What was the messgae?" "These kits, the ones that are about to be born," Littlecloud meowed hesitantly. "They have a prophecy about them." "They're supposed to live in the Clans," a mottled grey tom added. "Aren't they, Barkface?" The short-tailed brown tom beside him nodded. The grey tabby looked concerned, but he didn't speak. The ginger tom nodded. "I trust StarClan," he said solemnly. "The kits can come to ThunderClan." Blackstar stiffened. "Not so fast, Firestar," he spat. "If these kits really are special, and I'm not saying they are, then they shouldn't go to one Clan. ShadowClan has no wish to see ThunderClan rise above the others." A dark ginger she-cat nodded quickly. "Blackstar is right," she insisted. "I agree," a brown tabby decided. Firestar turned to a spotted golden she-cat, his expression curious. "I can't see how we can decide which Clan to send the kits to," she said slowly. "There is bound to be a Clan that misses out." "Leopardstar's right," said a dark brown tabby. "We should at least wait until the kits are born." Sun watched the exchange with amazement, until suddenly, coinciding with a crack of thunder, more pain gripped her, and she heaved helplessly. "A kit!" the dappled golden she-cat exclaimed. She gripped the tiny bundle between her teeth and started to lick it firmly. The tiny tom mewled in protest, squirming around. His golden fur was plastered close to his sides with rain and blood. The second kit followed quickly, a white she-cat, and a third, tabby brown tom. And then they all waited. "Perhaps there are only three," the ginger she-cat said at last. Littlecloud shook his head. "No, there are two more, Russetfur." "Two!" the little grey tabby exclaimed. "I've never heard of a litter larger than four." "It's rare, Willowshine," the dappled golden explained. "But it does happen." "Push now!" the tom with the blue eyes yowled suddenly, and Sun shivered as a spasm travelled the length of her body. The last two kits appeared together in a tangled mess of limbs, and Willowshine darted forwards to untangle them. When at last they were separated, the five cats gathered around Sun were all licking at rubbing at the fur of a kit each. The grey tabby stopped licking the kit at his feet. "This one's dead," he said quietly. Sun struggled to reach the kit beside him, but her head spun and her paws flopped weakly. "She's losing a lot of blood," the golden she-cat murmured. "I don't know if we can save her." Sun had been prepared for this. Her death was a part of the prophecy... but these strange group of cats were not! They made her uneasy, with their strange names and talk of 'Clans'. She didn't want her kits to stay with them. "You should name them now," Willowshine whispered to her. "Quickly." Gently, Sun flicked her tail over the downy-soft pelt of her first-born. "Lion," she said weakly. "Snow," for the she-cat's white pelt. "Tiger," for his stripes. "Night," for the shiny black pelt. "Opal." For the eyes that her dream had shown her. The sounds of the strange cats talking seemed to fade in and out of her head. She could hear them now, but couldn't quite understand what they were saying. And that didn't matter. She was too tired to think. She just wanted to sleep. "Alright then, it's decided. Lionkit will come to ShadowClan," Blackstar said firmly. "Snowkit to ThunderClan," Firestar agreed. "WindClan will look after Tigerkit," the brown tabby said. "And that leaves RiverClan with Nightkit," Leopardstar said. "What about Opal? Or Opalkit?" "Just Opal, I think," the brown tabby tom decided. "I'll stay here, and bury her," the grey tom meowed. "Don't worry, Onestar." Onestar dipped his head. "Thank you, Jayfeather. This meeting is over. StarClan have brought us the promised sign, and now we must all return to our Clans. When morning comes we will all have a new addition to care for."
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)