Moosestar's Story

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Moosepelt, come and catch me!" Moonkit yelled as she ran from the deputy. Moosepelt laughed and chased the kit, making sure to keep a slower pace since she was quicker than the kit. Moosepelt pounced and landed in front of Moonkit. "Got you!" Moonkit squeaked with surprise and that's when Moonkit let out a shriek and then Midnightkit attacked Moosepelt. "Ah!" Moosepelt meowed with surprise at the surprise attack. Moonkit joined in, pouncing onto Moosepelt, helping Midnightkit take her down. Both kits had the deputy pinned. "Okay, okay, you got me!" Moosepelt said, surrendering. "You guys are tough!" "Just wait until we become warriors!" They both said in sync and let the deputy up. "All the predators in the forest would fear you two! They wouldn't stand a chance!" Moosepelt laughed. "Moonkit, Midnightkit!" Goldenfur called. Both kits looked up at Moosepelt sadly. "We have to go," Midnightkit told her. Moosepelt nodded and nudged them in the direction of Goldenfur. She walked away afterwards and went to Silverstar's den. "You can come in," Silverstar said before Moosepelt could open her mouth to speak. Moosepelt entered and took a seat in front of Silverstar. "What is it?" Silverstar asked. "I'm just curious to which one I'll be mentoring, is all. If you've chosen already, that is." Moosepelt curled her tail around her front paws. "I've chosen you to mentor Moonkit. I'm sure you expected Midnightkit, but I didn't want you to train the kit that was named after your father. I didn't want there to be fears if you trained him, since... you know." Silverstar raised her head as she spoke to Moosepelt. The Warrior nodded. "I understand. Moonkit and I get along well," Moosepelt commented. "I'm glad." Silverstar's eyes sparkled and Stormfeather came in. "Hello, Stormfeather," Moosepelt greeted. "I was just leaving." Stormfeather nodded and then Moosepelt made her exit.

As Moosepelt headed to the Warriors' den, she was ambushed by Moonkit and Midnightkit. She let out a shocked mew and stumbled, not wanting to step on the kits and she lost her balance when they leaped onto her back. She fell to her side and both kits put their paws on her so she couldn't rise up. "Wow! You two are strong," She laughed. "I told you she'd never see it coming," Moonkit told her brother happily. "You were right!" Midnightkit squeaked and bounced over to Moosepelt's head. "Will you give us a ride?" He asked. "Sure," Moosepelt said, "but you have to let me up, first!" Both kits got off and moved out of her way quickly. Moosepelt scrambled to her paws and she lowered herself to the ground as if she was doing the hunting crouch. "Hop on!" She told them and they immediately obeyed. She pushed herself to her paws, struggling slightly from the weight of two kits on her back, but she then walked and managed to carry them without falling. They had fun and leaped off after they had circled the camp... twice. Moosepelt stretched. "How about hide-and-seek?" She suggested. Both kits nodded and then ran off, expecting Moosepelt to let them hide first. The deputy quickly closed her eyes and she waited a bit, until she was sure the kits were ready. She went to find Midnightkit first. She sniffed, but the scents were all tangled since she walked past every other cat in the camp. She finally found Midnightkit in a bush that was near the back of the camp, by Silverstar's den. Now she had to find Moonkit. She could've sworn she's searched the entire camp and couldn't find Moonkit. The little kit didn't go outside camp, did she? "Give up?" Moonkit's voice filtered through Moosepelt's ears from behind her. "No I-" Moosepelt stopped and turned around. "You are a sneaky little kit, you know that!?" Moosepelt half-whispered, half-yelled, her voice filled with joy. She was excited to be able to train Moonkit. They bounced around and played, but by Nightfall, Goldenfur had called them back to the Nursery to eat and then sleep.

The next day, both kits were up bright and early, wanted to play with Moosepelt from dawn to dusk. Moosepelt was getting ready for her duties today when she spotted them. They obviously spotted her as well because they came bounding over, shouting, "Moosepelt!" loudly. "Sh, don't wake the rest of the camp," she told them, her voice low. The Camp's Nightguard heard them and he retreated to the Warriors den, since Moosepelt was awake. They acknowledged each other's presence with a nod. "I can't play with you today, guys. I have to do my part. I didn't do anything yesterday, so I need to redeem myself. You guys can go play with Ravenheart when he wakes up. I'm sure he wouldn't mind," she said with a sad tone. She wanted to play with them, but she couldn't. She had work to do. The kits frowned but they only nodded and headed back to the Nursery, sitting half-outside, half-inside. They had their gazes set on the Warriors' den, waiting for Ravenheart to come out.

Moosepelt sat in a small clearing, also waiting for some other warriors to wake up. Icestorm was one of the first ones to wake up. She was followed by Blackpelt and they walked over to Moosepelt, seeing what they'd need to do. "Hey," Moosepelt greeted them. "Hi, Moosepelt," Icestorm said happily. "The Medicine Cats are fine, and Bluesky wanted to get out of the camp some more, so you two and him can go hunt and remark the borders. How's that sound?" She asked. Blackpelt tilted his head. "He knows how to hunt?" Moosepelt nodded. "Yes. Ravenheart and I taught him a few things while we were searching for this place. Maybe you can teach him a few more tricks," Moosepelt suggested. Icestorm and Blackpelt didn't argue. It was like having an apprentice of their own. They nodded and went to the Medicine Cats den, waking Bluesky up and taking him out as soon as possible. Moosepelt watched them leave, joy sparkling in her eyes. She was glad the Clan was getting along well. Ravenheart came out next and the kits bombarded him almost immediately. He was confused and Moosepelt saw and laughed. "You're in charge of watching them for Goldenfur, today!" She called out to him. "You'll be fine!" She added as both kits took him to the ground. She watched and then other Warriors finally woke up. She sent Thunder and Rocky out to do some hunting and had the other cats set into Hunting patrols wait until they came back to leave. She knew that Bluesky, Icestorm, and Blackpelt would be out for a while, working on their training skills. Once patrols were arranged for the day, Moosepelt walked to the Prey Pile and grabbed a mouse for the kits to share and a squirrel and vole for her and Ravenheart. She carried all of it over to where the three were playing and set the prey down. The kits squeaked happily and took the mouse, eating it. "Whatever you don't eat, take it to Goldenfur," Moosepelt instructed as she settled down to eat her vole. Ravenheart laid beside her, the squirrel in his paws and he started biting into it. The kits ate their mouse quietly while Moosepelt and Ravenheart shared a few words. The mouse was half-eaten and she told them to bring it to their mother. They both carried it to her happily. Once they came back, the other warriors had finished eating and they were cleaning out their ruffled pelts. Moosepelt picked up Midnightkit and placed him on Ravenheart's back and then crouched, letting Moonkit ride on her back. They trotted through the camp, acting silly.

All the Hunting patrols had left and come back and now the sun was starting to set. Ravenheart asked Moosepelt if they could go hunt and she agreed. The kits let them go without a fight and found something else to do while they were gone.

"How are you liking the new camp?" Moosepelt asked once they were out in the forest. "It's great. I'm glad the rest of the Clan is liking it," Ravenheart responded. "And if they don't, they surely don't say anything," he added. Moosepelt nodded. She was heading towards the stream. She was thirsty from playing with the kits all day and she was glad to have a break, even if she was out hunting. "Have you noticed how little Silverstar comes out of her den anymore?" Ravenheart asked. "Yeah. Stormfeather says that its just the old age is catching up to her," Moosepelt said. She lowered her head down to the stream and lapped at the water. It sent chills throughout her and she welcomed it. Ravenheart mirrored her actions. "I feel like StarClan is getting ready to take her," Ravenheart said out of the blue. "Don't talk like that. Silverstar is going to be fine." Moosepelt shrugged. She sat in front of Ravenheart, tail across her paws. Ravenheart purred softly. "Either way, I know you'll make a fantastic leader." "Thanks," Moosepelt purred loudly and rubbed against him.