MAN LOOK AT ALL THESE KITTIES

Sandkit was quiet as he stared at the new warrior who came over. Who was this Froststar he mentioned? What did he mean when he said they'd be freezing their fur off? The tom seemed to know what he was talking about, so Sandkit didn't question him. But he was curious about this 'Froststar.' "Who's that?"

OOC:

Spoiler:

IC: Reedheart's smile dropped at Cinderfur's last comment, but forced it back onto his face, maybe for the sake of the kits... or the sake of the warrior. "I wouldn't be so sure." he answered quietly. This would be the first Leafbare for many RiverClan cats... the memories of his first left scars. He'd never forget.

The warrior quickly turned his attention to the two small kits beside him. "Hello, little ones." he mewed in greeting, looking from Amberkit to the ginger tom-kit. "Froststar is our leader, given nine lives by our ancestors. Silvershade, by StarClan's mercy, will be leader after her."

Hazelkit joined Amberkit and Sandkit to listen about Froststar. This new cat seemed nice enough so she asked a few questions. "Where is Froststar? Does he still have 9 lives? Who's Silvershade?"

Amberkit was content to let the others do the asking, but she did venture to ask. "Do we all get nine lives?"

Looking back and forth from each cat who spoke, Sandkit shivered at Amberkit's question. "I would hope not. Then we'd all die nine times..."

It was funny to listen to the little kits and somewhat remembered herself asking some of the same questions. It was always so much fun to just hang around the camp with almost no responsibility, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Froststar had been around for quite some time. Of course, it wasn't a bad thing, but it made her wonder just how old the leader was. It was only when Sandkit spoke up did she start paying attention to the conversation again. She was a little shocked by the kit's comment, but she just shook her head. "Not all of us get nine lives. Only the leader gets that, and when the leader either moves on to Starclan or retires, then the deputy goes to be leader and he or she receives nine lives from Starclan."

Reedheart nodded as Cinderfur spoke. "Froststar is given nine lives only to guide our Clan for longer, so she may be the first to jump into battle and the last to eat prey at the end of the day." he explained. His mind went back to Froststar's big belly again, and that made his whiskers droop slightly in disappointment. Hopefully the kits hadn't remembered his jest earlier; things like that made an impression on them.

The warrior too wondered just how much longer they had with the calico... she had been leader since before he was born, Silvershade as well. Just how long had they ruled this Clan together? Reedheart reminded himself to take a visit to the elder's den later and ask a few questions, or perhaps to Morningfur's den. She was Froststar's sister, younger by many litters and only slightly older than himself, but still her sister. Did Froststar have any other family? Even a mate, at one time? If so, nobody ever talked about it. He was thoroughly surprised; how little he knew about his own Clanmates...

Amberkit let sighed, she didn't want to die more than once! "But what about when Froststar gets old? Will he die, then live a whole new life? Like as a kit again?" She asked. She hated not knowing this, and seeming foolish for asking questions. But, she was a kit, after all. "How many other cats are in the clan?" she asked after looking around and seeing so many dens. "Are there other clans, too?" she mewed.

Sandkit stared at Amberkit. Other Clans? Unthinkable!

Hazelkit gasped at the thought of even more cats. She thought she had met almost everybody already!

So many questions... it was beginning to make Cinderfur's head spin. She didn't really know how to answer the first question, though, about Froststar. That was something she had never really heard of. So, instead of answering that question right away, she quickly moved to correct the little kit. "Froststar is a she, actually," she said with a small chuckle before continuing. "There are still a lot more cats! And there are even other clans as well. We are, of course, in Riverclan. But there is Windclan who live in the moors just across the river of our territory. Down the river, there is also another clan's territory. They are Thunderclan who live in the forest with large trees and bushes everywhere! They're silly though because they don't even know how to fish and they 'claim' that Sunningrocks is theirs..." She quickly stopped, noticing that she was getting a little carried away. These kits wouldn't know what Sunningrocks is or what it looks like quite yet. So instead, she got back on track and continued. "And last but not least, there's Shadowclan. They live in a marsh but they smell really bad..."

Reedheart let Cinderfur do the talking. It was hard to remember that these kits knew nothing but the nursery. For every answer, two more questions, and such a naive and innocent understanding of the world. "They feast on carrion too, like crows." he said, referring to the marsh cats. He'd never visited any territory outside his own, and some curiosity nagged at him... but he still prayed that he'd never have to put a paw inside any foreign land. You did not step outside your own borders for casual strolls, or without a battle-hungry patrol at your tail.

He bent over and took another bite out of his glimmering fish, trying not to think of having to eat corrupted rats and mud-slicked snakes. No wonder ShadowClan cats were so bitter and cold; he'd be too if that was his existence. "Be glad that StarClan granted us the river, or else you'd be chasing rabbits or eating birds." Reedheart swallowed the fish and looked up from the freshkill, back at the kits. "It would be a fate worse than any of Froststar's nine deaths." The warrior tried to sound solemn, but he couldn't help the smile from returning.

Hazelkit gasped. "3 more clans!" There lives sounded terrible though. She was still curious about these different and odd cats. "Will we ever meet them? Not in a battle?"

Sandkit's amber eyes suddenly went wide, a look of fear and horror etched onto his face. A fate worse than dying nine times?! Can't we do something to help them? How can we sit by and let them suffer? He couldn't believe that the warrior was even smiling from the thought. And then he thought about the river. Surely they wouldn't ever lose the river... Right? Right?!

The young warrior simply shrugged. "Outside of Gatherings, there's not much of a possibility that we will meet them without some kind of fight. But once you become an apprentice, you will be able to go with Froststar and Silvershade when the moon is full to hear of what goes on in the other clans. It's very interesting!" she mewed happily. She had always been excited about Gatherings, except she never really enjoyed trying to talk to the other clan cats. It was a little strange to have to be around them, especially when most of them smelled so strange.