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nettleclanstale · 5 months

Text

MOON 70

NOTES:

-Pebblecatcher retires.

-Cloverlight, Badgerfall, and Whimsybeam earn their full names.

-Perchwish, Snowypoppy, and Princessbramble are expecting kits.

-Yewkit recovers from greencough.

Relief flooded through Badgerfall's body as the first rays of sun made themselves visible through the trees. Her silent vigil, along with Cloverlight's, had been rather uneventful.

Rustling from the warrior's den caught Badgerfall's attention. Mothflower crawled out from the bush, shaking out his pelt and blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning!" Badgerfall called, her eyes lighting up with joy. Her vigil was over!

The tom froze, looking at Badgerfall with wide eyes. It was as if he had seen a ghost. After a few seconds, he relaxed, sighing in relief.

"Oh, Badgerfall, good morning. You scared me!" Mothflower glanced around camp, then his voice dropped to a whisper. "You're not supposed to talk, yet. You must wait for Meadowbreeze to dismiss you…"

Badgerfall stood up straight, silently nodding.

Mothflower chuckled.

"Don't worry, he'll be awake soon," He stated, turning to Cloverlight. "Tempestpool will be out to dismiss you, also." With that, he padded off, out of camp.

As the sun rose higher, more cats began to stir. Badgerfall shifted her paws anxiously, casting glances towards the warrior den entrance.

It wasn't long before Tempestpool exited, yawning and stretching his legs before striding over to Cloverlight and touching his nose to her shoulder.

"Congratulations, Cloverlight. Your vigil has ended." He purred. Turning his head to Badgerfall, his dipped his head in apology. "Meadowbreeze will come soon." He hastily meowed before walking away, gesturing for Cloverlight to follow.

Badgerfall let out a sigh as her sister padded away, and continued to wait. Finally, Meadowbreeze came out of the den. He immediately padded over to Badgerfall, and nervously touched his nose to hers.

"I'm sorry for the wait," He awkwardly meowed, before clearing his throat. "…Your vigil is over. Congratulations."

Badgerfall dipped her head. "Thank you."

Meadowbreeze flicked his tail, turning away. "Get some rest. You earned it." Was all he said as he left.

Badgerfall stood, her legs feeling like mush as she awkwardly stretched and let out a yawn. Her paws felt numb, and the snow beneath the spot she sat had long melted away. A chilly leaf-bare air swept through her body, and she shivered.

Giggles could be heard coming from the nursery, and Badgerfall watched as Bramblekit ran out, followed by his littermates Robinkit and Yewkit. She was relieved to see Yewkit active and doing so much better, his kithood having been stolen away by an awful case of greencough.

"We're gonna be apprentices next moon!" Bramblekit chirped, running in circles in front of the nursery before leaping into a small pile of snow with a soft poomf. "I'll be the best warrior ever!"

"Not if I do it first!" Robinkit teased. She looked back at Yewkit, swishing her tail at him. "You're gonna be a warrior too, right?"

"Of course I am! I'll be better than both of you!" Yewkit crouched, wiggling his rump before leaping onto his sister and biting her ear. Robinkit squealed, before beginning to engage in a mock-battle with her littermate.

"I don't think it's fair to make it a competition." A new voice said. Brackenberry padded out of the nursery after her kits, looking back inside. "Come on then, Squirrelkit. You too, Flamekit." She meowed. The exhaustion on her face was clear, just barely masked with a gentle smile as two more kits followed after their mother.

Badgerfall approached Brackenberry, who flinched when she arrived.

"Oh, stars! Badgerfall, you scared me!" Brackenberry exclaimed. "Hello! Congratulations on the warrior name, it's very…" She cleared her throat. "…Fitting."

"Thank you." Badgerfall peeked into the nursery, a purr escaping her as she saw Hazybloom curled in his nest, his side slowly rising and falling. Curled up at his belly were his own two kits, Owlkit and Rowankit. "Only a few more moons until the nursery is empty..."

"Oh, no, quite the opposite." Brackenberry chuckled, sitting down and sweeping her tail to the other side of her body as Squirrelkit pounced onto it, earning a surprised squeak from the young tom as he stumbled to the ground. "We'll be getting new litters soon."

"What!?"

"Mhm," Brackenberry let out a purr of amusement, leaning down to give her fur a few licks before looking back up at the she-cat. "Snowypoppy's expecting a second litter, and...Perchwish and Princessbramble are also going to be bringing kits to the clan."

"Oh, how exciting." Badgerfall found herself glancing towards the clearing, where Perchwish and Princessbramble were chatting. The two toms were laughing to each other, batting at each others' faces. "Wait, how..."

"Don't ask." Brackenberry shook her head. "Now...I can tell you're exhausted from your vigil." She waved her paw in a dismissive yet playful way, chuckling. "Go, get some rest."

Badgerfall nodded, bidding the ginger queen and her kits goodbye before heading off. On her way to the warrior's den, movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

A very groggy Whimsypaw entered camp. She was followed by Twigsplash, the large she-cat lumbering after her apprentice. Despite her thick fur, her exhaustion was evident.

"Whimsypaw!" Badgerfall exclaimed, rushing over to her sister and pressing her head against her fur. "How did it go? What's your new name?"

"...Whimsybeam. My name is Whimsybeam now." Whimsybeam half-heartedly gave her sister a nudge, before padding to the medicine den and looking over her shoulder. "Sorry, I'm just...I'm so tired. Please, let me get some sleep."

"Oh. O-okay! Bye, Whimsybeam, congratulations!" Badgerfall meowed after her littermate, forcing a smile before continuing on her way to the warrior's den.

A new nest had already been built for her. Letting out a pleased purr, Badgerfall sunk into the soft moss, curling up.

When she finally drifted off to sleep, her mind was filled with pleasant dreams of starry fields.

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