Warriors || Hopestar's Choice: Book 3 (3 of 3)

Chapter 12

"Be quiet, Riverkit! We don't want to wake her!"

Hopeflame stirred in her nest in the nursery at the sound of Shadowkit's voice. She slowly opened one eye just enough to glimpse her four kits sneaking towards the entrance. As usual, Riverkit was in the lead, her tail fluffed out in excitement.

Thunderkit glanced nervously over his shoulder back at her and she quickly pretended to be asleep again. "What if Mother gets angry when she realizes we snuck out?"

Oh, my sweet Thunderkit, Hopeflame thought to herself with a purr.

Windkit followed his gaze back to her. "We're only going outside." She reasoned out loud. "It's not like we're sneaking out of camp."

"Come on!" Riverkit squealed excitedly.

Hopeflame decided that now was the time to let her kits know she was awake. She stretched out her forelegs and yawned dramatically. Her kits each jumped in surprise then hurried away from the entrance. Hopeflame attempted to withhold her amusement.

"Good morning, kits," Hopeflame purred.

They each murmured their responses. She looked down at each of them quizzically. It was hard for her to believe that they were nearly a moon old. She could remember clearly the day they opened their eyes or their first time out of the nursery. Soon she'd blink and they'd be apprentices.

Shadowkit stepped forward, lifting his green eyes to her. "Mother, can we go outside the den? We promise that we'll stay together and we won't get under any cat's paws."

Riverkit bounced excitedly. "We promise! Please!" Her green eyes gleamed.

Hopeflame thought back to when she and her littermates were kits. Sandstorm almost always let them explore the camp whenever they asked. "It's okay with me, but one claw out of line and you're back in the nursery."

The kits bounded out of the nursery and debated which game they would play. Hopeflame followed them, stepping into the weak leaf-bare sun. She noticed her kits racing to join Silverkit and Stormkit in their game of moss-ball. Featherstream lay nearby with a half-eaten trout in front of her.

Hopeflame padded to join her half-sister. She greeted her with a soft mrrow and touched noses with her. Their kits tumbled and played nicely together. Silverkit and Stormkit were only about a moon older than them.

"They're getting so big," Hopeflame bemused.

Featherstream sighed, stretching out her forelegs. "Before we know it they'll be warriors and having kits of their own!"

Hopeflame huffed in disbelief. "Mine are only a moon old."

Her green eyes took a moment to survey the camp. Tawnyfur shared tongues with Goldenflower, Owlgaze and Ebonypaw were returning from a hunt, and Whitetail led a patrol out of camp. It almost seemed peaceful in camp. There hadn't been an argument or fight between clanmates in a quarter moon. Maybe TigerClan would be unified from now on.

A horrible thought robbed all the peace from Hopeflame's mind: what about what StarClan was asking her to do? Her eyes landed on every cat who'd been born since Tigerstar killed Bluestar and Fireheart. Would any of them exist in the alternate reality? Those of half-clan birth certainly wouldn't.

She banished the thought. Right now, life was good and she wanted to focus on raising her kits. She didn't want to spend all her time daydreaming about what might or might not be.

Brambleclaw appeared at the camp entrance with his apprentice, Pinepaw, on his tail. With them were Thornclaw, Runningbrook, and Smokepaw. He brightened as soon as he noticed their kits playing in the camp clearing. The dark brown tabby tom said something to Pinepaw and the rest of the patrol before padding over to the kits.

Hopeflame couldn't hear what he said to them, but they immediately began attacking him with excited yowls. Her heart warmed at the sight of her mate playing with their kits. Not every tom was as active a father as Brambleclaw. She was grateful to him.

Movement under the Great Rock caught her attention as Tigerstar emerged from his den. The large tom's pelt gleamed in the sunlight. He leaped onto the Great Rock and yowled for the clan to gather.

She got to her paws and called her kits to her side. They reluctantly joined her, Featherstream, and her half-sister's kits to watch the meeting. Tawnypelt appeared from the nursery, round and slow, to sit at Hopeflame's other side.

"I can't wait until these kits are born," Tawnypelt muttered to her.

Hopeflame didn't have time to respond before Tigerstar began speaking. "Cats of TigerClan, it is time for two kits to be made apprentices." He beckoned Spiderkit and Shrewkit forward. She remembered momentarily their dead littermates: Hollykit and Larchkit.

Tigerstar jumped down from the Great Rock to stand in front of Spiderkit. The young black and brown tom stood a little taller. "Spiderkit, until you draw blood like a warrior, your name will be Spiderpaw. Your mentor will be Hailfrost."

The clan called his new name eagerly: "Spiderpaw! Spiderpaw!"

Tigerstar moved on to Shrewkit. "Shrewkit, until you draw blood like a warrior, you will be known as Shrewpaw. Hollytail will mentor you."

"Shrewpaw! Shrewpaw!"

The clan broke apart, some going to congratulate the new apprentices. Hopeflame tried to ignore the pang in her heart. She hadn't been able to continue Ebonypaw's training because she'd had to move into the nursery. Someday, she hoped to have the opportunity to fully train another apprentice.

"Mother?" Windkit looked up at her with round, yellow eyes. "Can we continue playing with Silverkit and Stormkit?" The rest of her kits looked on.

Hopeflame nodded, "Yes, but soon it'll be time for your nap."

"Thank you!" They all chorused before running off to join the older kits.

Brambleclaw approached her, rubbing his cheek against hers. "The forest is starting to warm. It'll be new-leaf soon."

Hopeflame purred. "The kits will be apprentices by then."

"Just in time for you to join me on patrols again." Brambleclaw pointed out. "Tigerstar said when it's time for them to be named apprentices, he'll ask for my input."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he doesn't want his kin to be trained by just any cat."

Brambleclaw's pelt bristled. "I'm sure he just wants to make sure our kits get the best possible training. He'll do the same for Tawnypelt's kits."

Hopeflame's gaze wandered to where Tawnypelt shared tongues with Rowanclaw, her mate. "I just hope our kits are mentored by good, honorable cats."

"I wouldn't let it be any other way." Brambleclaw assured her.

She stretched her claws out as she thought. Tigerstar's idea of honorable certainly wasn't the same. If she could choose the mentors for her kits, she'd probably choose cats like Whitestorm or Mistyfoot.

Brambleclaw nosed her shoulder. "That's three moons away. We don't need to worry too much yet."

He was right, the reasonable, level-headed tom as always. Still, Hopeflame couldn't shake off her anxiety. What if Blackfoot or Jaggedtooth were named mentors to any of her kits? They would be the last cats she'd want to train them.