Warriors: The Prophecy

Chapter Four

"HELP ME!!!"

Fernkit's eyes whipped open and she yowled in fear. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the memory of her dream replayed in her mind.

Water... and it was cold... that's all I can remember. She thought.

But she could remember the terror perfectly clear. Fernkit took a long, deep breath and looked around the empty nursery.

It must be past sunrise...

She stumbled to her paws and stretched, before padding out of the den and into the soft sunlight of the Riverclan camp.

She sat down and gazed around, trying to get her mind off of her unsettling dream.

Her two siblings, Mudkit and Briarkit, were sitting with her mother and father, Sparrowheart and Cottonclaw, by the warriors den.

Riverclan's medicine cat, Pearlfeather, was sorting through some herbs outside her den. While a group of warriors, Rainfall, Treeleap, Fishpelt, and Sagebreeze, talked amongst themselves by the fresh kill pile.

Fernkit closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh new leaf air, glad to be clearing her mind. The lovely silence was broken, as small paw steps sounded in front of her.

Fernkit opened her eyes to see Mudkit and Briarkit bounding towards her.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Briarkit meowed as she reached her sister.

"We didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful!" Mudkit chimed in.

Well my dream certainly wasn't... Fernkit thought.

"Sparrowheart is finally letting us explore along the stream outside of camp! Cottonclaw convinced her by promising to watch us." Mudkit purred. "Along with the fact that we're going to be apprentices in five sunrises." He added.

Fernkit stood up in excitement, her dream leaving her mind.

"Thats great! Let's go then!" She raced over to where Cottonclaw and Sparrowheart were sitting, her siblings close behind.

"Ready?" Cottonclaw purred as the three kits trampled to a stop in front of him.

"Now hold on." Sparrowheart meowed worriedly. "Promise me you'll keep a good eye on them."

Cottonclaw nodded and licked her ears affectionately. "I promise. They'll be fine."

The queen nodded slowly, then flicked her tail.

"Come on!" Mudkit yowled in excitement as he bounded towards the camps entrance. Fernkit leaped after him, dodging warriors and apprentices as they walked by.

She came to a stop next to her brother as he peered into the stream surrounding the outside of camp. Briarkit padded up to them, followed by Cottonclaw.

"This way." Cottonclaw purred as he began to walk along the side of the stream.

The three kits followed close behind in wonder, sniffing the air and leaping over rocks.

Fernkit stopped and gazed into the water, seeing her reflection.

"Look at that log in the middle of the stream!" Mudkit was behind her and staring at a small looking log, stuck in between a few rocks in the water.

"I bet if I leaped high enough, I could get onto it." He meowed mischievously.

"Don't even think about it." Fernkit hissed quietly, glancing at Cottonclaw who was awhile away, speaking with Briarkit as they both gazed into the stream.