Starpool's Secret- Book 1

Chapter Two

[Chapter Two]

"Wait up!" Starkit called as her sister headed towards an old log. It had a weird smell to it as if someone were sick, but voices came from inside.

"Mama said this was a den, she didn't say whose den though!" Lemonkit called back to her littermate as if she hadn't heard her Starkit's plea for her to slow down.

A small ball of irritation grew in her belly as she struggled to keep up. By the time she had gotten inside the foul-smelling den, Lemonkit was sitting at the paws of a scraggly old cat.

"An' I was cornered," a black and brown tabby tom was saying gripping the attention of the yellow colored kit, "There was no way out...not even a single hole or patch to escape through..." 

Starkit only tuned in for a minute because a gleam of white catching in the corner of her eye. It was a pure white shecat she hadn't noticed before. The elderly cat rolled her milky colored eyes. That startled the ginger kit. Why are her eyes weird? She wondered. As if the shecat had heard her thoughts, she turned her blank gaze to Starkit and answered her silent question softly, "I'm blind, no need to be afraid, young kit," she then beckoned Starkit closer with her tail. Starkit hesitantly came nearer asking quietly, "What does blind mean?"

The snowy white cat let out a rusty purr of amusement, "Blind, my dear, means you can't see," Her voice was soft and frail-as if it were part of the wind- and even though she was sightless, her eyes held warmth to them, "My name is Frostface, what might yours be?"

Being blind sounds awful.. Starkit inwardly thought but replied, "My name's Starkit! Willowcloud and Blackice's daughter, and my sister is Lemonkit!"

Frostface was silent for a few moments-her face suddenly having an unreadable expression- before meowing cheerfully, "Oh, I bet you haven't met your father yet, right?" Starkit shook her head, but remembered she was blind and meowed, "Nope! Is he here?"

The snowy white elder smiled, "He should be now, I heard him go out on patrol earlier. Why don't you two lovely kits go meet him, hm? He should be in the warriors den. Now run along," she nudged her with her nose. 

By this time, the story the other elder had told was finished and Lemonkit was within earshot. "Yea! Let's go meet him," Lemonkit agreed with enthusiasm.

"Goodbye Frostface!" Starkit called as she made her way out.

"Goodbye Mossfur!" Lemonkit called. They both heard faint farewells come from the den as they padded further away.

Once the littermates exited the den, they paused in the clearing, eager to talk about what they both had experienced.

"Mossfur is a great story teller," Lemonkit purred, "He told me about how he escaped a pack of dogs!" She was bouncing on her paws by now her seemingly everlasting excitement and enthusiasm kicking in, "These dogs were huge! Bigger than us combined!" The little kit stretched up on her hind legs, reaching one paw into the air to show emphasis.

"Well, I spoke with Frostface," Starkit purred, "She's blind and-"

"I already saw her," Lemonkit interrupted, "She didn't look very interesting," Lemonkit paused, looking around, spotting a large bush secured with interwoven vines and brambles, "Let's look in there for our father!" Without wasting another moment, Lemonkit began to walk over, leaving Starkit to follow.

"Looks like Lemonkit is the leader of the two," a golden shecat meowed, her green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Seems so. Maybe Lemonkit would be a leader one day. After all, Starkit couldn't possibly be leader with a name like that. It would have to be changed," A light grey shecat agreed as she made a small, almost inaudible grunt of disapproval, her unusual darker grey-blue stripes shone in the afternoon light and reflected off her blue eyes.

The shecat's words burned in both the young kit's ears, but each had very different reactions. The words of approval that went towards Lemonkit only boosted her growing pride. The words of disaproval towards Starkit's name only pierced her heart. Why don't they like me?, her bright expression was tainted with hurt.

Not paying attention, Starkit bumped into Lemonkit's flanks. "Took you long enough," Her sister muttered under her breath, "Let's go," Filling her tiny chest with air, Lemonkit called, "Blackice? Are you here!?" She kept this up for a few minutes before a large, muscular silhouette aroused from the shadows.

"What are you two doing in the warriors' den," he grumbled. Starkit began to say something quietly but she was cut off once again, by her prideful sister.

"We're looking for Blackice," she announced boldly as she looked into a pair of gleaming pale blue eyes. The odd thing was, they were a bit more purplish.

"Well, he's not in here," he meowed coldly, "Now get out. I don't need to be bothered by some pesky kits." Nothing else being said, he turned his back to the newest clan members. 

"Rude," Lemonkit scoffed before barging past Starkit only to run into a brown pair of legs, "Now what," She snapped, looking up frustratedly at a pair of green eyes. I can see why she's called Lemonkit now, Starkit thought with an amused twitch of her whiskers.

"Hello kits," the shecat purred, ignoring Lemonkit's rudeness, "I happened to hear who you're looking for. Blackice, correct?" The two kits nodded, "Well, he just went into the nursery. If you hurry, you can catch him," She gave them a smile and bid them farewell before padding away.

"Thank you!" Starkit called. This time, she took the lead and made it to the nursery first. Slowing to a walk and shaking out her fur, she strode into the nursery with Lemonkit at her heels.

"There you two are! Your father wanted to see you," Willowcloud purred as her daughters sat in between their parents. They both looked up to see a large black and white tom with sparkling blue eyes.

"Hello kits," He chuckled, licking each of their heads affectionately, "You will both be strong warriors," He rested his piercing gaze on Starkit for a moment, "I know it," nodding to the kits and licking Willowcloud's cheek, he padded out of the nursery.

"Time for you both to get some sleep little ones," Willowcloud meowed, purring softly. Neither of the kits could complain. Both of them were worn out from their exploring.

I'll be a great warrior one day, Starkit thought, sending her into a calm state as reality around her slowly slipped away.

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A/N: Annnnnd thats it for kithood! Stay tuned everyone!

May you find shelter where you sleep, swift hunting and guidance from the stars,
~Crystal