The Forgotten Clan
Opal and Ice
By: MarissaNeal
Chapter 1
LeaderRubblestar- blue-black tom with light gray patches and green-blue eyes
DeputyPebblewing- brown she-cat with black tail tip and gold eyes
Apprentice- Sealpaw
HealerFallenpoppy- black-white-and-golden she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentice-Flowerpaw
Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits)
Stoneclaw- blue-gray tom with amber eyes; Gravelfur’s brother
Gravelfur- light gray tom with light blue eyes; Stoneclaw’s brother
Shadowflame- black tom with ginger stripes like flames and amber eyes; Pepperleg’s brother
Apprentice- Zappaw
Buzzardclaw- golden-brown tom with green eyes
Apprentice- Beechpaw
Echowhisper- brown-and-gray she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentice- Hazelpaw
Swanfeather- white she-cat with gray tipped ears and crystal blue eyes
Lilycoal- blue-gray-and-ginger she-cat with gold eyes
Apprentice- Mallowpaw
Pearlpelt-gray-white she-cat with pink fur tips and green-blue eyes; mother of Sealpaw, Witherpaw and Mallowpaw; mate of Stormstripe
Pepperleg- gray tom with black legs and paws and amber eyes; Shadowflame’s brother
Slatefur- cream-and-brown tom with green eyes
Apprentice- Witherpaw
Diamondstorm- black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes
Toxicclaw- gray tom with sharp claws and gold eyes
Apprentice- Skunkpaw
Fawnpelt- brown she-cat with white spotted back, cream belly and gold eyes
Sagestorm- cream-and-gray she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentice- Leafpaw
Granitefoot- white tom with gray, black spotted, paws and amber eyes
Stormtripe- light gray tom with darker stripes and blue eyes; father of Sealpaw, Witherpaw and Mallowpaw; mate of Pearlpelt
Apprentice- Reedpaw
Moonshine- pale yellow-gray she-cat with pale blue eyes; Starshine’s sister
Starshine-white she-cat with blue eyes; Moonshine’s sister
Halfwhisker- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentices (kits more than six moons old; training to be warriors)
Flowerpaw- black she-cat with white muzzle, belly and chest and blue eyes; very fluffy
Zappaw- black, golden tabby, tom with gold eyes
Beechpaw- brown-and-ginger tom with green eyes
Mallowpaw- gray-and-white she-cat with gold-green eyes; Witherpaw’s and Sealpaw’s sister
Reedpaw- blue-gray-and-brown tom with gold eyes
Hazelpaw- blue-gray she-cat with green eyes and black tail tip
Sealpaw- gray-white she-cat with blue eyes; Witherpaw’s and Mallowpaw’s sister
Skunkpaw- black tom with white stripe going down back, and green eyes
Witherpaw- gray-and-white she-cat with green eyes; Sealpaw’s and Mallowpaw’s sister
Leafpaw- brown-and-white she-cat with green eyes, black spotted tail; Beechpaw’s sister
Queens (she-cats expecting or nursing kits (cats’ less than six moons))
Moonbird- silvery-gray she-cat with white paws and blue eyes; Nursing Buzzardclaw’s kits: Wolfkit (gray-and-brown tom), Frostkit (silvery-gray she-cat), and Goldenkit (golden-brown she-cat)
Snowmist- white she-cat with light gray patches and light blue eyes; NursingGranitefoot’s kits:Destinykit (golden-brown-and-gray she-cat), Nightkit (black she-cat), Bravekit (gray-white-and-black tom), Whisperkit (gray she-cat with black patches), Opalkit (white she-cat with gray patches), Icekit (black she-cat with gray patches)
Elders (retired toms and she-cats)
Ryethorn- gray-and-light brown tom
Creekpearl- blue-white she-cat with pink eyes and gray paws
Teatherpelt- black-and-gray tom with green eyes
Gritclaw- brown-and-gray tom with blind gold eyes; Echowhisper’s father
Warm scents surrounded me as I slept in a soft nest, whispering murmurs around me. I felt crowded with fur brushing on all sides of me, but it made me feel safe. I sighed silently, and stayed unmoving as I drifted back into sleep.
My ear twitched as hot breath tickled my ear fur. There was a chuckle, and then a soft, soothing rasp of my mother’s tongue on my head. It continued for a while until I felt clean and refreshed, and then my mother nestled back down, purring with content.
“Snowmist,” ashe-cat mewed from somewhere behind me, “your kits are so lovely. I bet Granitefoot is proud of them.”
I felt eyes on my pelt, and my fur twitched with unease. Then the uncomfortable sensation left, and then I could feel one of my siblings pressing up against me, my sibling kicking in its sleep.
Purring built up in my mother’s throat, but when she spoke it was full of guilt. “He’s extremely pleasedand he knows that they will make great warriors. I just wish Thornkit had lived.”
“I’m sorry about your loss, dear,” the other cat muttered, sadness shifting around the den as a stern mew came from my sibling still pressed up against me.
“Do you think they know Thornkit isn’t here?” my mother exclaimed. She was up in a flash and I could feel her whiskers tickling my cheek as she calmed down the kit beside me. “Shhh, Icekit,” she soothed, the kit settling down.
Suddenly, the den was filled with demanding mews of sadness from all the kits around me. I stayed quiet; I was trying to sleep, and yet, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“They must realize he’s missing,” the she-cat behind me replied, the small squeaky calls from my siblings settling down. “Or they just want more milk.”
I felt a swish of my mother’s tail across my back, making me shiver as she calmed down the rest of her kits. “They do have other things to think about other than food, Moonbird,” Snowmist objected, the feel of her stepping over me scaring the fur off my pelt. “They sleep, eat… uhhh…”
“And when they get older, they can play with us!” This was a new voice, about the same as my siblings, but not as squeaky, and of course, worded. The new cat came off to my right, where I had felt heat striking my pelt, but there were three scents, not one.
“Go back outside, Wolfkit,” Moonbird ordered with a motherly hiss. “Don’t disturb Snowmist’s kits while they’re sleeping.”
“Their eyes aren’t open yet?” a different, deeper toned, voice asked, sniffing coming close to my ear. I flicked it, and hit something on the cat near me.
“No, now go outside.” Moonbird’s stern mew had become more angered and demanding.
There was a snort, and then a yowl came from Wolfkit once they were a ways away, but I could still hear his play with the others. I yearned to join them, but I still had some complications: I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t walk yet. I needed both of those tactics to play with other kits.
“How come their eyes aren’t open yet?” Moonbird mewed after a few moments of silence, my mind drifting off into sleep. “My three kits opened their eyes two days after they were born; it’s been three days for your six.”
Waves of annoyance signaled off her pelt, telling me that she didn’t like to much of what her denmate had just said, but my mother stayed calm as she replied, “Give them time. They’ll open them at their own pace, meaning when they feel like it.” The last few words she said slowly, possibly to get her point through to Moonbird.
Pawsteps sounded outside the den, where Wolfkit and his littermates had been before. Wolfkit’s voice rang out in excitement as he brushed back into the den.
“I heard you talking about them opening their eyes!” he squeaked. He sounded like he was jumping on the nests, the cracking of something sounding underneath him. “Does that mean they can play now?”
Anger came from Moonbird, but my mother shushed her with a purr before Wolfkit’s mother could say anything.
“When they open their eyes, we’ll let you know, okay?” Snowmist offered, her voice sweet and loving.
“Okay,” Wolfkit sighed. I heard a tail drop to the ground.
“Then why were you talking about them opening?” a small voice muttered.
“If you had listened, Goldenkit,” Moonbird growled, something hitting the ground with loud thumps, “you would’ve heard us talking about when they should open their eyes. Now run along, and don’t get under anyone’s paws.”
A huff a frustration came from Goldenkit and then she stomped off with her brother to the outside world. I chuckled at how emotional the two kits of Moonbird could get, but then I realized that their mother was the same way.
I curled up into a tight ball, and scooted closer to my mother’s stomach, hoping that maybe I would get some of the rest that I been so hard at trying to conserve, but wouldn’t stay.
Opening my jaws in a wide yawn, I let my mind go blank, so that I could relax.
“Destinykit just opened her eyes!” Snowmist exclaimed, leaping over me in order to get to my sister. “They’re light blue like mine.” I fell over with a squeak when my mother’s belly left my support.
“That’s great!” Moonbird was just as excited, even though she wasn’t Destinykit’s mother, but she shared our den, so she had to share our excitement, or at least my mother’s excitement.
I scoffed at the thought of being beat out by my sister. I would’ve opened them first, but I had wanted a nap before that, because once my eyes were open, they’d stay open, and I was still too tired to stay awake any longer.
“They’re all opening their eyes!” my mother added, her excitement growing. “Nightkit has green; Whisperkit has green; and Icekit has icy blue,” she burst out as I lay in my nest crossly. Since all of my siblings had their eyes open, I knew now that I had to too.
Lifting my tired head, I first gave a wide yawn, and then slowly blinked my eyes open.
I gasped as my blurred surroundings became clear in my vision. My eyes darted everywhere in the den I sat in; cave walls lined with moss protected the cats inside the den and gave the den its warmth. Moss and feathers gave the floor of the den its perfect nesting spot for about six queens and her kits. Looking up, I found brambles covering the view of what I could see of a blue sky. Sunlight tried to peep through some of the tiny cracks in the roof, but the sun wasn’t positioned right at the moment. Then behind me was a small opening covered by dangling moss from the outside; sunlight flowed through the opening where it had struck my pelt earlier.
In the far corner, behind where I had made my nest, was a silvery-gray queen, her blue eyes watching me with pride as I tried to stand. I was wobbly, but I didn’t fall over. When I did manage to stay steady on my feet, I looked over my white shoulder and found that my siblings were already on their paws too, jumping up and down in play and one that was already running over to me.
“Come play!” the black-white-and-gray tom kit squeaked loudly, crouching low, only to just fall over.I laughed out loud, and took a step. It was a little shaky, but soon I was running like the rest of my siblings.
“Opalkit, you’re awake,” a white she-cat with gray patches purred, stepping towards me. It was my mother; I had remembered her scent from lying next to her for three days and nights straight.So Moonbird is the silvery-gray queen, I thought in my head.
I nodded my head and skipped over to where my siblings were in play. I joined in, jumping around my golden-brown-and-gray sister, who was the biggest out of us all. The rest of us were the same size, of course smaller than my golden sister, except the one kit that stayed in one back corner of the den; the darkest corner that you could find in here. She was the smallest, most likely the runt of Snowmist’s litter.
I stopped my play and left my siblings, watching the black, gray patched she-cat. Her eyes were closed, so I think she was sleeping, but I wasn’t sure. Walking over to her, I stopped just shy from her nose, and stretched out a paw, prodding it into her side.
Her eyes shot open; icy blue and flaring with anger. “What do you want?” she hissed, glaring at me, and her hackles rose. “Can’t you see that I’m trying to sleep?”
“Just wanted to have you join in the fun with us,” I mewed, my tail raised in the air and waving. “You looked lonely so I thought I could help.” I bowed my head and looked up at her pleadingly.
“I’m too little to play,” she growled, turning her head so that she faced the wall. “The runts don’t get play like the normal kits.”
Moss crunched behind me, making me look. It was mother. “Now who ever told you that rule, Icekit?” Snowmist mewed, moving past me and grabbing Icekit by the scuff in her jaws. Icekit wailed and flailed her paws, sometimes hitting mother’s whiskers, but no real harm was done to either of them.
Mother took Icekit over to where our siblings were sitting in a line quietly, laughter gleaming in their eyes at the fuss Icekit was doing. I followed the two and joined the line next to the golden-brown-and-gray kit. Icekit was placed next to me. She nipped at mother, and she received a poke on the nose with the tip of her paw.
“Now behave, Icekit and listen,” Snowmist hissed, her anger rising after the stubbornness she had to put up with Icekit. She turned to all of us and her eyes moved up and down our line of six.
“Now I want each of you to come up and say who you are,” she explained. She nodded to a black she-cat to be the first to come up.
The black kit trotted out of the line and stood in front of us with a smile in her eyes, green eyes flashing in the dark den. “My name is Nightkit!” she mewed. Afterwards she moved back into the line. A gray she-cat with black patches stepped out next, her tail down and her ears pressed against her head.
“M-my name is Whisperkit,” she stuttered. Facing mother, Whisperkit added, “Please don’t make me stand in front of so many again, mother.” Without a reply from Snowmist, Whisperkit crawled back to where Nightkit waited.
The only tom of my siblings took Whisperkit’s place in front, the sunlight from the cave opening casting sheen to his black-white-and-gray pelt. “My name is Bravekit, and I will live up to my name when I become the best warrior ever!” he boasted, raising his tail high as he trotted back to his spot. The golden-brown-and-gray she-cat next to me got up and padded to the front.
“My name is Destinykit,” she purred, cocking her head to the side, her eyes going down the line of her siblings. “My destiny will lie in this Clan and help me become a better warrior than Bravekit.” She glanced to our brother and winked at his frustration.
I got up next and took Destinykit’s place, where the moss was becoming flattened from all the standing in the one spot. Watching my waiting siblings, I hesitated, not knowing what to say; I didn’t want to not have something to boast about like Bravekit and Destinykit.
I took in a deep breath and mewed loudly and clearly, “My name is Opalkit, and I will do all I can to fight for my Clan and protect it with the stars of Cometclan.” Cometclan was our warrior ancestors. I knew about it because that’s something mother and Moonbird had talked about a lot.
I looked over to my mother, and waited for her to say something, but all she gave me was a slight nod. My shoulders sulked as I crept back to my spot. I sat down, and shoved Icekit to move, but she didn’t budge.
I caught a glare from her as she opened her mouth. “My name is Icekit. Now leave me alone,” she growled, stalking back to her dark corner. We all watched her with confusion as she crawled under some lifted moss and curled up into a tight ball, her eyes glinting out from under the moss lip.
“Okay little ones,” Snowmist purred. “Good job and thank you for most of your ears.”
“Your welcome, mother!” Destinykit squeaked, jumping to her paws and running to the opening in the cave wall. “Can we go outside now?”
“Wait until the camp warms up, and after you eat, okay?” Snowmist padded back to her nest, and moved some moss out of a spot and then covered the bare patch with a hoard of feathers. She lay down in the spot and patted the moss next to her stomach. “Come eat.”