Featherstar's Destiny

Chapter 3

"This is Thornkit, Patchkit, and Tawnykit", Dawnmist  meowed. 

"They are so perfect!", Sunleap purred.  Russetpelt, who was beside him nodded. 

"Sunleap and Russetpelt are Dawnmist's parents", Silvercloud informed her kits. 

The queens and elders were discussing the newborn kits that had just arrived. Featherkit and Stormkit had followed their mother and were now were listening to the idle gossip. Stormkit pricked his ears at the mention of Graypelt. Featherkit had seen the gray tom some times around camp and the sudden memory of the elderly tom getting between her and Smokepaw flooded her mind.

"Does that mean Graypelt is kin to us?", Stormkit asked. 

Featherkit chased her thoughts away and listened to the cats again.

"Yes, Graypelt is my father", Silvercloud meowed with a nod of her sleek silver head.

"The deputy is kin to us too", Stormkit mewed proudly. 

Featherkit looked at her mother to see if her brother was right.

"Stonepelt is my brother", she mewed to her kit with a purr. 

"Let's go Smokepaw", Stonepelt called. 

Featherkit padded past Dawnmist and her parents with a dip of her head and looked out of the nursery into the clearing.  Smokepaw was following the deputy out of the camp, while Mistcloud and Mintpaw were practicing their battle moves. 

"Fight me", Mistcloud meowed and crouched down a few lengths  in front of Mintpaw. The light gray apprentice jumped on top of his mentor and they fought. 

A lean black-and-white tom leaped down from a ledge at the edge of the clearing and padded up to the two cats. 

"Great job Mintpaw!", he purred. With a look at Mistcloud, he asked, "Is he ready?"

"He is ready", Mistcloud meowed with a look of pride at her son and apprentice.

"That's Flickerstar", Silvercloud meowed. 

"I'll be Featherstar one day", Featherkit mewed to herself.  

Stormkit looked at the silver kit with surprise.  "What?", he asked.

"Nothing", Featherkit mewed quickly. She couldn't believe that someone had heard her.  I have to be more careful, she thought to herself. 

"You two are ready", Flickerstar meowed. His meow shook Featherkit of her thoughts. She realized he was talking about Willowpaw as well. More cats had padded out of their dens to see what was going on.  "Mistcloud, is Mintpaw ready?", Flickerstar asked. 

"Yes", the gray-and-black she-cat replied with pride.

"Mintpaw, are you ready to take on full warrior tasks?", the OakClan leader asked. 

"Yes", the light gray tom meowed with bright eyes. 

"Then you will become Mintnose. We welcome you as a full warrior of OakClan", Flickerstar meowed. 

"Sunstrike, is Willowpaw ready?", the leader asked the golden she-cat who sat beside Mistcloud. 

"Yes", Sunstrike meowed with a look at her apprentice. 

"Willowpaw, are you ready to take on full warrior tasks?", Flickerstar asked the mottled gray she-cat. 

"Yes", Willowpaw replied with wide amber eyes.

"You'll become Willowclaw. We welcome you as a full warrior of OakClan",  Flickerstar meowed.

"Willowclaw! Mintnose! Willowclaw! Mintnose!", every cat yowled. 

"We will be up there one day", Featherkit meowed to Stormkit with bright blue eyes.

Stormkit nodded, his tail flicking excitedly. He seemed to only want to start his training but Featherkit knew it would bring her one more pawstep towards her destiny. Ambition flooded through her paws as she watched the cats congratulate the two new warriors.