Battle of Shadows || WARRIOR CAT FANFICTION

PROLOGUE

Tree's swayed back and forth throughout the forest, there large trunks creaking with the weight of the swinging branches above them, leaves fell everywhere as the wind was being more then unforgiving in the late leaf fall season. For a split second, a crack of lightning lit the ground up, just enough to see the small shadow of a she-cat hurrying her way towards a thick mess of brambles, before squeezing herself inside. 

"Mistypaw!" A sharp voice barked from one side of the clearing that she had entered, turning, she saw her mentor, Foxash standing outside the nursey, his voice was followed by a low trembling moan from inside the shelter which could only mean one thing. 

Surely not yet, right? Mistypaw thought to herself, the closest queen to kitting was Pinewhisker, and she wasn't due for another moon and a half. Foxash's voice brought her back from her wondering thoughts, "For Starclan's sake, Mistypaw! Did you hear anything that I just said?".

"Uhm, sorry no". She called back over the wind, puffing up her fur against the rain bellowing down on her. 

"I said go to the den and bring some borage and Chervil, Pinewhiskers kits are coming and they're not going to wait all night for you!"

Slightly rolling her eyes and swallowed a retort at the sharpness of his voice, as if he wasn't the one who had sent her out earlier to go and see if she could find anymore catmint before the cold of leaf bare came and brought greencough. Sprinting towards the medicine den she dived down into the narrow entrance and made her way into the back stashes, moving some moss to uncover a few pitiful leaves almost shriveled up in small separate dug out holes. 

I really hope these are enough to work.

Grabbing a mouth full of the two herbs he called for she jogged across the clearing, nearly bumping into large tawny brown tom who was pacing out in front, "sorry" he murmured, his eyes glistening with distress. It was Hawkeye, one of the best warriors that Nightclan had currently, and also the father of these kits. Blinking sympathetically at him, she ducked inside the den to be met with the smell of fear along with a sweet scent that brought her back to when she was a kit, and for a split second she imagined herself curled back up against her mothers belly, fighting for milk against her siblings with nothing to worry about the next day except where to find moss for the next moss ball game. 

Once again, her mentors bounced her out of her thoughts as a wet bundle of wiggling fur was dropped down at her feet, "the first one is here. Lick its fur in the other direction to warm it up"  He instructed before turning back to the dark brown queen who was panting in the nest. "I can feel maybe two more in there Pinewhisker" he said briskly running a paw along her flank, "They won't take long to get here now". 

Dipping her head to drag her tongue across the kits wet pale golden brown body she was suddenly overcome with happiness as it wiggled against her tongue. These kits are going to be the next generation of Nightclan and grow up to be the best warriors they can be, Starclan knows we need them more than ever lately.                           

 Just 6 moons ago the former Nightclan deputy Nightclaw had be exposed for plotting with the Dawnclan deputy Shadowglow to kill the two clan leaders and take over the other clans, while working from the inside with some other cats in the clans who wanted more power than they had. In the end it turned out to be a battle between all the clans and ended up in Nightclaw's death at the paws of his own brother in Thistledazzle, but not all was peaceful considering Nightclan had lost its deputy, their leader Oakstar had lost two of his final 5 lives, and half a dozen warriors, including Mistypaw's mother Whisperbreeze, who had been stricken down by Nightclaw himself.         

A pang of sorrow pierced thought Mistypaw's heart as she thought about her gone mother, she was a medicine cat apprentice with a connection to Starclan, but she still hadn't seen her mother in the rolling hills on her dream nights. "A healthy she-kit!" she meowed excitedly, hoping her cheerfulness hid the longing in her heart well enough, as she placed the kit at her mother's belly, as she spoke a wet bundle of ginger fur came into the world with a high pitch squeal.

"A tom too" Foxash added, placing the dark brown shape he was licking alongside his sister, "One more Pinewhisker, one more good push and you'll have a litter of four perfect kits" 

Pinewhisker let out a long painful groan, her belly visibly spasming as she strained to get her final kit into the world. 

"Another she-kit! Well done, Pinewhisker, you have three beautiful daughters and a son, Mistypaw take her and lick her while I give her the borage".

Nodding, she took Foxash's spot at the queen's flank and reached her head down to the tiny she-kit. Like her siblings she had the tabby markings of both her mother and father, while being a dark grey color at the same time. 

As Mistypaw's tongue hit the kits fur, a wave of energy overcame her, and it felt like she was floating around the nursey for a few heart beats. Voices filled her head, hissing and yowling as if there were fighting right outside the den, then mournful yowls of sorrow, followed by the sound of laughter and birds chirping. All at once that stopped only to be replaced by a stunning grey tabby, she-cat with blue eyes, that she had never seen before, but the stars glistening in her fur told her she was a Starclan cat. 

"Beware Mistypaw," as the strange cat spoke, the nursey started to swirl around her again, faster and faster but the cat stood still Amidist all looking in her eye. "There is a great battle in the future that only a few cats have the power to stop, a great evil that wants nothing but revenge on the clans for past history".  The nursey stopped spinning, but she wasn't in it, instead she was in a damp, moldy smelling forest and when she looked up there were no stars in the sky, only emptiness. 

The place of no stars! 

A shudder came over her as she thought about all the evil the cats who called this place home had done, and as she looked out into the forest, she thought she saw a pair of all too familiar yellow eyes glaring at her, the same eyes who had held the look of triumph and glee as he bit down onto her mother's neck, delivering the killing blow. 

 Plunged back into the nursey before she could say anything, she looked down at the kit that was still squriming at her paws and the cats voice ran loudly in her ears, "Head this warning well Mistypaw, When darkness falls and Shadows rise, A kit shall emerge with eyes that surprise, Born of hope and light, she will face the darkness and ignite the fight". 

To Mistypaw's surprise, for a split second it looked like the she-kits eyes opened wide, looking right at her with a bright and dark blue gaze that took her breath away and she let out a slight gasp, blinking to make sure she wasn't crazy, but the kits eyes were glued shut like every newborn. 

Embarrassed she had hoped that she hadn't caught Pinewhiskers attention, but the she-cat and newest queen of the clan was too busy purring as Hawkeye who had come in after the final kit was born was washing her ears happily, while looking at her kits with a gaze that a mother's love could only match. 

Foxash however looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything, turning to the two new parents. "What are you going to name them?" He asked curiously. 

Letting out another purr Pinewhisker touched the tip of her tail to the golden colored she-kits head, then the tom, "Her name is Sunkit, while his is going to be Eaglekit".

"That one is going to be Sedgekit". Hawkeye added, pointing with his tail at the palest she-kit of them all who was also the first born. 

"And this little one," Pinewhisker dipped her head down to touch the grey kits head with her nose, who let out a wail of protest before going back to her mother's milk. "Will be Ravenkit".

Foxash let out a purr, "all wonderful names for wonderful kits".

Nodding her agreement Mistypaw looked down at the kits again, noticing that Ravenkit had propped herself up on her forepaws and seemed to be trying to look around although being just freshly born. The voices that had been when she had been washing the kit came back to her, mixed with the smell of the dark forest and sight of the yellow eyes in the trees watching her, only to be replaced by those stunning blue eyes. 

Oh, great Starclan, what do you have in store for my precious clan this time? And what does it have to do with this tiny kit?