Songleaf's Fate (1) Prologue: Hoots filled the forest as a cat, weak from kitting recently, hobbles toward the RiverClan border through ThunderClan. Her den-mates warned her not too, but RiverClan prey is always better than ShadowClan prey. Especially for kits just a few days old. She struggles to push the kits along, but they struggle against their weak mother. "My kits, you must..." she whispered. After a while, she heard the roaring river, and she saw a RiverClan patrol. "Just my luck." she grumbled angrily. One of the cats spotted her, and he called out "Who are yo-" He stopped when he saw the cat. "Shadowstar, what are you doing here?" he asked, confused and angry. "Riverstar, I have kits." said Shadowstar. "Our kits." She pushed the two kits toward the river, for their father to retrieve them. She said to the kits "Songkit, you will be the greatest cat ever." She stared at her daughter's healthy form. Then she looked at her son, who was not so lucky. He was stooped over, and he was coughing ever so slightly. "Barkkit, you are very handsome, and I wish you luck. Both of you, know that your mother loves you." Then she left, back towards ShadowClan, back toward her home, and away from her kits. Riverstar looked at his kits, and retrieved them from the far side of the river. He started licking them, but Barkkit kept coughing. Songkit, however, was fine. Riverstar and a fellow warrior picked them up and brought them to camp. "Dapplepelt!"he called. The medicine cat raced over, and picked one up. The patrol was just sitting around, shifting uneasily. "Well? Go find prey!" snarled Riverstar. "Finstone! You too." He picked up Songkit and raced after Dapplepelt and Barkkit. They were brought to the nursery, and Softfur was asked to take care of them. "Softfur, it's just two extra kits! Surely it would be fine taking care of Songkit and Barkkit, even with Maplekit and Pouncekit?" mewed Riverstar. "Well... I don't know." Softfur responded. "It is leaf-bare, and my milk is almost dry. "Okay, listen." snarled Riverstar. "You're asked to take care of a leader's kits, and you refuse?" Softfur growled silently, then agreed. She knew it would be useful to take care of the leader's kits. The kits ran over to her welcoming milk, and soon fell asleep. Riverstar and Dapplepelt left the nursery, and talked on their way back to their separate dens. "Riverstar, don't you see? Remember your dream! 'The song and bark born from night will bring destruction, then harmony!'" Dapplepelt insisted. Riverstar growled, then responded "Dapplepelt, right now they're kits. Let's enjoy that while we can. I mean, come on? What can a kit do? They'll bring destruction and harmony later." Chapter One: "Songkit!"said Maplekit. "I dare you." Songkit grumbled, she was never big on dares. Pouncekit and Barkkit were looking at her, looking bored. "Come on, Songkit! ShadowClan will learn to fly way before you're done!" mewed Maplekit. Songkit sighed. Maplekit was the adventurous one, not her. Pouncekit was lazy, but she still had fun. Even Barkkit, when he was extremely sick from whitecough, still had fun. Thankfully, Dapplepelt gave him tansy, which helped him a lot. Songkit was the one who disliked adventures. Songkit swallowed her fears, and started walking on a very wet tree. Very slippery, and if you fell you would fall right into cold water. It wasn't deep, but the fall was about two tail-lengths far. All hights scared Songkit, and she was terrified to admit it. Songkit was about halfway across when she looked down. Big mistake. She saw quite a few fish, and her mouth started to water. She realized she hadn't had breakfast; she was too busy with the other kits. She saw a special rainbow fish, and knew she had to have it. She leaned down, but she leaned forward too much, and fell straight into the water. She popped her head above the fast currents, and managed to lodge her claws into a fish. She kept it with her as a warrior dragged her out of the water. "Songkit, easy there! I know you want to catch a fish, but try not to drown yourself." a cat said. Songkit groaned, it was Riverstar. The amazing leader of RiverClan. The first leader of RiverClan. And her father. "Thanks, dad." she managed to say. "Songkit! Songkit!"she heard Softfur cry out. "It's okay mom. I'm okay." Songkit said. At the word mom, Softfur flinched. Even Riverstar flinched. What? What had she said? She was on shore, and she started to cough up a lot of water. When she was finished, she realized she still had the fish in her claws. Amazingly, it was the same fish that had caught her eye earlier. She raised her paw and called out "Breakfast!" She heard happy cries coming from Barkkit, Maplekit, and Pouncekit. With a start, Songkit realized she caught her first prey at 6 moons, while being a kit! That's the earliest a cat ever caught prey. "Well down!" purred Softfur. Other cats that had gathered moved away. Songkit heard an elder say "Great StarClan, kits keep getting crazier and crazier." Soon, the only cats left were Riverstar, Softfur, and Barkkit. Riverstar cleared his throat, then said to Softfur "It's time. They will be apprentices soon." She nodded her head, and said to the kits "Songkit. Barkkit. Your father has something very important to tell you, so please listen carefully." Riverstar went right to the point. "Kits, Softfur isn't your mother. You kits know what ShadowClan is? Good. Shadowstar, their leader, is your mother." A voice rang out from the other side of the river. "You better believe it. And I want my kits back!" Songkit and Barkkit gasped, Softfur ran off from fear, and Riverstar growled. "Welcome, Shadowstar. But I'm afraid the kits will stay in RiverClan." Shadowstar growled, and soon a group of cats from RiverClan had gathered. Songkit looked up at her father, and said "Dad, that cat won't take me and my brother, will she?" Shadowstar looked at her kits, and said "That cat is your true mother, and you were given to RiverClan for one reason, ShadowClan was starving and I wanted you to survive." Barkkit wailed like a much younger kit, and cried out "But I want to stay in RiverClan with Dad!" Shadowstar looked at her kits sadly. "I know, Barkkit, but your true place is in ShadowClan, with your mother, who has missed you." Barkkit was still scared. "But, Softfur is our mother!" Softfur who had raced into the nursery, shouted "I was asked to take care of you!" Songkit knew Shadowstar was telling the truth. She remembered being carried, and she remembered that cat. She went to Barkkit, and placed her tail on his shoulder. "Barkkit, she is our mom." Barkkit looked at Songkit in disbelief. Shadowstar purred, and said "I expect them by the next Gathering." Songkit had been tracking the sky, and the Gathering was in one half-moon. Shadowstar snarled at her former mate, and went back into ShadowClan across ThunderClan territory. Barkkit looked at his father. "Riverstar? You won't really let our mom take us, will you?" Riverstar looked at his kits, and said "Of course not! But it is time for your Apprentice Ceremony!" Chapter Two: The four kits fidgeted as Riverstar started talking. "By naming apprentices, we show that RiverClan will survive and remain strong. Songkit, from now on you will be known as Songpaw. Dapplepelt, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Songpaw's mentor. Barkkit, from now on you will be known as Barkpaw. Finstone, you are also ready for an apprentice. You will be Barkpaw's mentor. Maplekit, from now on you will be known as Maplepaw. As I don't have an apprentice, I shall mentor you. And Pouncekit. From now on you will be known as Pouncepaw. Twistpelt, your apprentice has moved on and is now a warrior. Your new apprentice will be Pouncepaw." Riverstar stopped talking as all the other RiverClan cats called out the new apprentices' names. "Songpaw, Barkpaw, Maplepaw, Pouncepaw!" they called out. Riverstar coughed, and called out "Softfur wishes to move into the warrior den, as the nursery is empty. Welcome, Softfur back to the warrior den!" All of the cats cheered, and Maplepaw and Pouncepaw raced toward their mother. "My little apprentices! You better go towards your mentors, they're waiting." Softfur mewed. The two apprentices races toward their mentors, Riverstar and Twistpelt. Barkpaw were already waiting with Finstone. Clawpaw and Greenpaw were at the apprentice den, laughing at the new apprentices. "Look how small they are!" Clawpaw mewed to Greenpaw. "Rainmist and Brightstem walked up to their apprentices, and nudged them toward the training area. Songkit was looking at the warrior apprentices going off to train. Dapplepelt was next to her, and said "Ready to become a Medicine Cat?" Songpaw nodded her head, and walked with Dapplepelt to the Medicine Cat den to learn about herbs. "Dapplepelt?" Songpaw asked. "How did Riverstar and you know I wanted to be a medicine cat?" Dapplepelt sighed. "That story is a long and boring one. I'll tell it to you later." Songpaw nodded, as they reached Dapplepelt's den. A while later, Dapplepelt has taught Songpaw about tons of herbs, medicines, and their uses. "Songpaw, what best heals Greencough?" Dapplepelt asked. "Hmm... Catmint!" Songpaw mewed. Dapplepelt purred, then said "It's been a long day for a 'paw to go without food. Go and see of the other 'paws hunted!" Songpaw raced out of the medicine cat den, and saw something horrible. "Pinepelt!" she shouted. "What happened?" Pinepelt looked at the medicine cat apprentice. "It all happened so fast! One minute we were hunting, and the next..." Pinepelt said. "Next, ThunderClan ambushed us and Riverstar lost his sixth #life! Then, Sunrise, the deputy, killed Slashfur!" Songpaw gasped in horror. "Not Slashfur..." she whispered. Slashfur was Pinepelt's mate, and Clawpaw's and Greenpaw's father. Dapplepelt emerged from her den, and saw the commotion at camp. Riverstar took her aside, and explained everything. She fell down, probably from shock. Slashfur was also her brother. Songpaw pulled out some poppy seeds from the collection, and have some to Dapplepelt. Then she asked Riverstar to talk to the camp. He said "We lost a great warrior today. And that a warrior had a family. And friends. Every cat knows he will live on through their hearts." Then, he went into his den to grieve for his friend. Songpaw and her Clan grieved for Slashfur. Poolberry and Hawkspot soon carried their fallen Clan-mate out of camp to bury him. Some hunting parties brought back food, but Songpaw wasn't hungry anymore. When the the elders returned, most of the cats stayed up all night, holding a vigil for Slashfur. Songpaw wanted to stay up, but Lilysky made her go to sleep. "Songpaw, you already mourned for Slashfur." Lilysky had said. "Anyway, you'll need to get up early if you want to help Dapplepelt." Songpaw unhappily agreed, and went to sleep. Chapter Three: "Silverpool? What's the plan?" a female voice asked. Another she-cat said "At the Gathering, Shadowstar will talk about Songpaw and Barkpaw, and how they deserve to be with their mother." A tom said "Good idea, Silverpool. Shadowstar will find this idea wise." Silverpool cleared her throat, and said "Thanks, Switchpelt." Switchpelt coughed, and said "Well, Stripepaw? Do you get the idea?" The first female voice, who was apparently Stripepaw, mewed "Yes, I do." Another cat walked up, and he said "It is unwise to keep your leader out of the loop." Stripepaw hissed, and said "You're one to talk, Pebbleheart. Still haven't told Shadowstar about the prophecy?" Pebbleheart looked down, and said "Fine. This and that will be kept a secret. At least, until we tell Shadowstar." All the cats nodded, and went back to their dens. None of the ShadowClan cats saw Songpaw, glittering and crouched in a tree. She stared, gaping at the cats who talked about her and her brother. How did they know they were apprentices? "There must be a spy..." she hissed. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she found herself back in the apprentice den. She looked to the corner, and saw Greenpaw shivering. He had lost his father earlier. He must still be grieving. Songpaw moved next to him, and Greenpaw flinched at her touch, then he relaxed. Soon he fell asleep. She thought about moving away, but the dream from StarClan about ShadowClan's plan scared her too much, so she stayed where she was. In the morning, Songpaw awoke to find all the apprentices still asleep. She got up and stretched, only to make Greenpaw's eyes fling open. Greenpaw's green eyes were full of fear, but they soon closed, very slowly. Songpaw carefully walked out of the apprentice den, and toward the leader's den. She had to tell Riverstar about her dream. When she got there, it was empty. She saw Finstone walk by, and rushed to him. "Finstone, where is Riverstar?" she blurts out. Finstone thinks, then mewed "Hunting party." Then he walks off to send out a patrol. She sees Dapplepelt, and decides to tell her about the dream. "Dapplepelt!" Songpaw shouted. Quickly, Songpaw tells Dapplepelt about ShadowClan's plan. "Hmm..." Dapplepelt said. "That doesn't make sense! Pebbleheart is a medicine cat! Switchpelt is the deputy! They are loyal to Shadowstar, they would never keep anything from their leader!" Dappleheart started pacing madly. Songpaw watched her pace, then finally asked "Dapplepelt, what prophecy? Stripepaw mentioned a prophecy." Dapplepelt growled, then said "I'll tell you later. When you're older." Songpaw hissed silently. She got that answer a lot lately. She started collecting herbs with Dapplepelt, and the days blew by quickly. Moontail had Sunkit and Birdkit, Twolegs finally left RiverClan territory, and soon, it was time for the Gathering. Dapplepelt had told Riverstar about Songpaw's dream, and he was very worried. "Switchpelt is deputy. Pebbleheart is the medicine cat. Silverpool is the smartest warrior. And Stripepaw is the strongest apprentice." he had said. "If they came up with this idea for Shadowstar, we're in trouble." But the cats couldn't do anything about it. As RiverClan was walking to the Gathering, Barkpaw and Songpaw were nervous. Their mother wanted to take them, and she had a plan. Riverstar, Finstone, and Dapplepelt were talking with each other. Songpaw listened to them, and they were talking about ShadowClan. "Riverstar, Finstone, we need to tell them about the prophecy!" Dapplepelt mewed. Finstone looked at the medicine cat, and said "What prophecy?" Riverstar hissed, and growled "That was for the medicine cat and the leader to keep to themselves. Finstone, fine. I'll tell you when we get back from the Gathering. Songpaw growled in annoyance, more talk about a prophecy! She had better listen to them later, she thought as she continued walking. Shortly, she started to hear other cats. After a few more seconds, she saw WindClan. She saw four trees. She was at her first Gathering!