Warriors An Awaiting Dawn: A Doused Star

Chapter 14

The wind gave the fact that the season would change soon. Silver Leaf and Thresh were practicing battle moves together, but the silver tabby was being gentle with him. Fish Scar was practicing with Little Ear. Eagle's Speck's kits watched with interest. "Can we fight?" Curly Branch squealed.
"Absolutely not! You'll get hurt!" Her mother fretted.
"Aww!" The three kits whined. Hawk's Cry stomped a paw. "I want to fight mama!" He protested.
"It's never too late to learn." Dapple Spots encouraged. The tortoiseshell she-cat sighed. "Alright. But be careful with them! They're your kin you know!" She snapped to her brother.
"I would never hurt them." Dapple Spots mewed kindly.
"Yay!" The three kits cheered bouncing up and down with glee.
"What are we going to try first!" Hawk's Cry asked. "I saw some one doing this move!" he meowed dropping lower to the ground, trying to balance on three legs but only falling on his side.
"Be patient." Silver Leaf mewed soothingly. "Ug, fine! I just wanna learn!" The gray tom scrambled to his paws.
"The first move is the leap-and-strike." Dapple Spots replied. "Now imagine I'm an enemy. What are you going to-Aah!" He was barrled over by the three kits onto his back on the ground.
"Take that!" Curly Branch declared landing mock blows. "And this! And this! And that!"
"Curly Branch!" hisses the kit's mother. "That is not how you act when someone is trying to help you learn!" She stared down at her daughter.
"Ah go easy on them, if I've been through wolves I can face three fine fighters." The tortoiseshell tom purred cat hing his breath. The three kits looked up gratefully while their mother rolled her eyes and nodded for them to continue the small training session. "Now, show me your best crouch." He encouraged. The three kits lowered themselves. They all looked off balanced, tails sticking up and twitching as they waited.
"Hm. A bit more balance like this." He demonstrated.
Curly Branch copied Dapple Spots almost perfectly while her littermates mimicked very well dispite being a but higher off the ground. "Good!" He chirped.
All three kits purred. "What do we do next!" Stone Frost mewed.
"Fish Scar?" He mewed to the mackerel tabby. "Hmm." Fish Scar looked at the kits. "Their a little small, but you could try some defense moves."
"Oh no no! My little ones have learned enough. Come my little darlings, you are in need for a nap." She mewed. Curly Branch flattened her ears and looked at Fish Scar and Dapple Spots. Hawk's Cry yawned slightly and walked to his mother's side with Stone Frost who sighed.
"Eagle's Speck, calm down." Dapple Spots soothed.
"No! I am not loosing my kits like how I lost Stone Storm!" She growled then snapped her jaws shut. The cats around her flattened their ears. Her kits looked at her with wide eyes. Pigeon Talon turned her head. While Thresh and Gorse Feather were looking confused.
"What happened?" One of the kits asked her. "Your father, died three moons ago. You three are all I have left of him.." she replied, her voice growing sadder and sadder with each word as it came out like water dripping from soaking moss as she said them not only to her kits, but to her group mates as well.
"Don't be sad.." Stone Frost mewed, curling around his mother.
"Yeah, we're strong mama!" Curly Branch mewled spiritedly beside Hawk's Cry, who was comfortingly nuzzling her.
"Oh Hawk's Cry, you have your father's pelt. Stone Frost, you have his eyes just like your brother. My little Curly Branch, you're so precious. So much like me, nice and so determined." She purred sweetly. The kits curled around their mother, nuzzling her softly. Dapple Spots smiled at them as he nuzzled his sister as well. The area was silent in a soft mourning for their lost group mate, but hope for their future and the future of his kin still held strong.