Warriors || Tainted Blood: Book 1

Chapter 2

He was in his dreamworld again. Rowankit stood in the forest this time, not in the camp. The forest around him was blurry except for the clearing that he stood in. In the clearing, the sun beat down on his pelt and he felt safe from the shadows that haunted him.

Rowankit opened his jaws to taste the fresh air, to savor the sweet scent of wildflowers and fresh rain. The dirt beneath his paws still felt slightly damp and he wondered how it could rain in his dreamworld. Wasn't it only exactly how he imagined it?

Suddenly, the undergrowth quivered and Rowankit froze in fear. His heart started racing in his chest. The tall grass parted and a white face popped out. It was the same white she-kit from last time!

She purred a greeting and bounced around him excitedly. "I missed you, Rowankit! Why did you have to leave?"

"I'm sorry," He meowed, and he sincerely meant it. "I didn't want to leave." He nosed her white fur and purred. "You never told me your name."

"I don't have one." The white she-kit stopped prancing around and stopped. She lowered her head and avoided his gaze. "Mama never gave me a name."

Rowankit frowned and studied her in a quizzical manner. "What do you mean she never gave you a name? All mothers name their kits!"

She shook her head slowly. "Only if they have the chance to live first."

~

Rowankit opened his green eyes and found himself back in the HiddenClan nursery. Oh no! He'd promised her that he wouldn't leave! Now she was all alone in whatever that place was.

He sat up and tried to come to terms with it. Why didn't she have a name? And what had she meant by "only if they have the chance to live first"? It made no sense!

The nursery was empty except for Starlingwing, the pregnant tortoiseshell queen. She would have her kits any day now, at least that's what he'd overheard the medicine cat, Mistypool, say. Rowankit crept past her and left the nursery.

Outside in the sunshine, Rowankit was reminded of the white she-kit. He pitied her that she didn't have a name. Even he had a name and was despised by his entire clan. She seemed stuck in some kind of alternate world all alone. Rowankit didn't think she was in StarClan because then there would be other cats there with her, right?

What if he gave her a name? It might make her happier and then he wouldn't have to keep referring to her as the "white she-kit". Rowankit sat outside the nursery in the shade as he thought about names. He's never had to name another cat, so he had no idea.

Maybe he could ask Mistypool? The medicine cat was probably the one cat in the clan that didn't hate him. She had been there at his kitting and told him many times the story of his mother's death.

Rowankit couldn't blame the clan for hating him. Mistypool described his mother as the most beautiful and beloved she-cat in the clan. Her name was Ivorymoon and she had a snow-white pelt with faint black tabby stripes and striking blue eyes. She was compassionate, friendly, and an excellent warrior.

Mistypool explained that if the clan were like one big family, Ivorymoon was the tiny sister that everyone loved. The one that could do no wrong. Everyone in the clan loved her. She was the darling.

She died because of him. Rowankit took away the clan's beloved darling, their precious sister. It was his fault, everyone said so. He's been told countless times since birth that it was his fault, and now, he was beginning to believe them.

Rowankit pushed away those thoughts and approached the medicine cat den. He poked his head inside and heard Mistypool towards the back. There's been countless nights where Rowankit would seek refuge in Mistypool's presence. Mistypool was about the only cat in the clan whom he trusted.