The Snowy Find

Mosspaw padded into camp next to Flintfang, carefully helping guide him down the ravine face as he carried the precious white bundle that dangled from his jaws. Still purring soothing words to the she-kit as they finally made it to the rebuilding camp, she had completely forgotten about the cobwebs strewn across her back as she settled in the middle of the camp, gingerly taking the kit from Flintfang and placing her between her forepaws protectively, wrapping her tail around them for warmth. Once the kit was settle, warm and comfortable, she looked up to her father. "Could you go get Leopardstar? And let everyone know? The sooner we find someone that can nurse her, the better off she'll be... We might also want Pricklebush to come look her over in case she's hurt, in case there's something I missed."

She waited as her father went off to go fetch their leader, and bent down to gently nuzzle the kits head, pressing her nose to the top of it as she purred. "Everything will be alright now little one, you'll be safe here, and taken care of. We'll get your mother and bring her back as well, do not fret."

The path back to camp was a form of superficial peace. The small white kitten dangled from Flintfang's jaws, he had to lift his head from time to time to keep her from bumping against the ground. The tom turned his eyes to Mosspaw, watching as her calico pelt maneuvered between the undergrowth. Their walk had been fruitful, and they had found more than just herbs. For a moment, Flintfang wondered if his act of saving the small kit would win him favor in his clanmates' eyes. But the tom reminded himself he didn't need to care about that. His mind would continue to march on whether it was liked or not.

The two cats reached camp and Flintfang set the kit down in Mosspaw's reach, watching sheepishly as she nuzzled the small sack of fur. Leopardstar... Flintfang thought, feeling as though he couldn't move his paws any further. The gray tabby had been avoiding the leader ever since the clans returned home. Flintfang knew what he was, and felt no need to grovel for trust from ThunderClan's king. The gray tabby was a lost cause, no leader could save him from that. "Leopardstar." The warrior whispered, peeking into his den. "Mosspaw and I found a kit in the forest. Her mother is... dead." Not wanting to stand and talk for any longer, Flintfang turned tail and padded back out into the clearing, coming to a halt by his daughter's side. Cats were already beginning to gather to watch the commotion. The gray tabby meant each and every one of their eyes with a defiance only he knew. A scoundrel bringing back a kit. How's that for irony, ThunderClan?

One of the cats gathering to watch the commotion in ThunderClan's camp was Emberheart. She found herself wondering what, exactly, her Clanmates were doing with such a small kit. They would have to have found it somewhere, wouldn't they? Had it been abandoned, left in ThunderClan's territory? Or had something worse happened? She had several questions, actually. Not least of which being whether there was someone to care for the poor thing yet.

"Mosspaw, Flintfang, what's going on here?" she asked. There was no hostility in her voice, only curiosity and a hint of concern. "Where did this little one come from?" Privately, she noted the cobwebs on Mosspaw's back with a hint of amusement, but chose not to mention them. There were, after all, more pressing matters to deal with.

Graykit,being the curious kit she was,raced up to see what was going on. She didn’t really ask any questions,not out loud anyway. Her mother always said no cat liked a nosy kit. And she didn’t want to be disliked. So she kept her trap shut. Still she couldn’t help but wonder. Who was that kit? Why was it here? Where was it’s mom? So many questions with so little answers. But no cat liked a nosy kit so she never asked.

The she kit crept forward, wanting a better view. It was a tiny little thing,most likely younger than her. But like all cats, it needed a home. Would Leopardstar let this be their home? But who would take care of it? It was so young!

Though distressed by Flintfang's sudden appearance, Leopardstar nodded seriously and followed the tom out into the clearing, quickly catching sight of the snow-white kit curled between Mosspaw's paws.  The poor thing...  Over the moons he had seen his fair share of abandoned kits, and each one summoned unpleasant memories from his own kithood.  Lost in the snow with nowhere to turn...ThunderClan had been his last and only hope, and he gladly continued to reach out just as Darkstar and Blizzardstar before him had done.  With a sympathetic purr, he glanced between Flintfang and his daughter; "You say her mother is dead?  Were there any other scents that could belong to a father or siblings?"  He didn't have much faith in his own question, but it was a necessary one.  A kit without kin in an unfamiliar place was bound to feel lost and confused, and any kit left to wander in the forest would not last long.

The calico lifted her head to look at her mentor, and a small, sad smile spread across her face. "We were out looking for herbs and found this kit. Her mother..." Her voice trailed off as she thought of the mother's body laying in the clearing. Not wanting to disturb the young kit, she merely stated quietly. "We will have to get her mother soon." She hoped with all of her being that Emberheart would understand, and gave her a look that she hope explained that there was something going on but she didn't want to reveal too much with the kit there. She turned to look at the young kit that approached and smiled at her. "Hello, little one."

As Leopardstar approached, she lifted her tail in greeting. Solemnly nodding in response to his question, she mewed. "There was no scents or any sign that she was not alone, Leopardstar. We'll have to get her mother though... We can't leave her out in the forest." She lowered her muzzle to gently bump the kit's head with her nose, and relief filled her as she realized the small scrap of fur was warming up steadily. Raising her eyes to meet Leopardstar's, they pleaded with him silently. Please Leopardstar... Don't have me turn her away. I won't be able to.

She was carried back to ThunderClan's camp and her still kit-blue eyes looked around big and wide. She had never seen anything like this before. She was placed on the ground beside Mosspaw as Flintfang went to find Leopardstar and alert him that she was there. As the warrior went to fetch the leader, more and more cats were gathering around to see what was going on.

The snowy-furred blinked curiously up at Graykit as the older kitten made her way over to her, sniffing her. Maybe this could be one of her new friends? The clearing was becoming more crowded as more cats came forth and the tiny ball of fur moved closer to Mosspaw, not used to so many things all at once. It was overwhelming.

Her eyes landed on Emberheart as she came to speak to the apprentice and the two spoke to each other while the newcomer looked around at... everything. It was a lot for her to take in all at once. Everything was happening so fast that it made her head spin. It wasn't long before Flintfang came back with Leopardstar following closely behind. The kitten looked up at the large cat with wide eyes.

While she didn't understand what was happening, Mosspaw had promised her that she would be taken to a place that was safe for her. A small purr rang from her throat as the older she-cat gently bumped her on her head. The only thing left now, was to see if she would be allowed to stay.

Already she hoped so. Even without knowing who any of these cats were, the kitten didn't want to leave. Where would she and her mother go if they weren't allowed to remain here? The dead cat, Song, had promised her that they were going to find somewhere they could call home together.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen now. Not with the tabby laying dead in the forest. In a way though, Song had kept her promise. Unknowingly, she had wandered into a territory of a Clan that would accept her kit and give her a home that she couldn't. It was a blessing in disguise.

If Leopardstar allowed her to stay in ThunderClan anyway.

Since he’d gotten old enough to be allowed out of the nursery, Galekit had spent every moment he could get in the camp—more than enough time to understand that there was always something happening in ThunderClan. But this commotion seemed bigger than most. He sat up to squint at the growing crowd in the distance, pinning the leaf he’d been playing with under a paw. All at once, he made up his mind; picking up the leaf (on the off chance that this was the boring sort of commotion, he wasn't going to let one of his denmates take it while he was away), the gray kitten trotted over to the group and planted himself firmly beside Graykit. There, he found the source of all the fuss: a gray-and-white bundle of fur pressing itself into Mosspaw.

Galekit knew one scent, the scent of his home. This other kit's scent was distinctly...not that. Galekit's eyes narrowed, but the curiosity in them overpowered the suspicion easily. "Who's that? Why's she here?" he mewed, voice muffled by his efforts to keep the leaf in his mouth. She had to be important if Leopardstar was here. Still, she was just a kitten—younger than him, even! Could she have done something that required Leopardstar's attention?

The kitten looked up at the other kit that had appeared beside Graykit. All this attention was frightening to say the least. She wasn't used to it at all. But Mosspaw had told her that this place was good. It was safe and she'd be taken care of here. It helped ease her fears some. The first kit had asked for her name, right? There was a problem with that. She had no name. Her mother wasn't able to give her one before her death.


"I don't have a name," she squeaked out in reply to the other kits.

Leopardstar had been summoned, and Flintfang began searching for the nearest place to slink away. With the golden tom came Emberheart, and then a parade of kittens. The gray tabby groaned. He enjoyed the forest walk with his daughter, yes. And despite stumbling across a corpse, they found a new hope in a kit, a redemption. Flintfang would accept the relief, but didn't want to stay for the aftermath. As long as he felt good, he didn't care what his clanmates thought. Luckily, Mosspaw answered Leopardstar's inquiries for him, and the warrior sat in silence.

"Her mother's dead, that's why." Flintfang wanted to speak to the ever curious Graykit, but he stopped himself. He was cruel, but not is such a bad state to ruin a kit's innocence. Not today. "Emberheart, Leopardstar." Flintfang dipped his head in turn to address the two senior cats, hissing internally. "Her mother... passed, and like Mosspaw said, there was no other scents to signify any other family." Those foxhearts abandoned her. The gray tabby thought, wondering where her father could possibly be. But it struck a chord too close to home. He had abandoned Falconwing, too. Flintfang didn't want to imagine what would happen if Falconwing happened to die out in the forest, leaving Mosspaw and Lilypaw alone. I guess that makes you the foxheart, idiot. He scolded himself, further worsening his mood.

They’d found her? No wonder she smelled so strange. At least he wasn’t the only one who didn’t recognize her scent. In response to Graykit’s question, Galekit hummed for a moment, then said, ”Probably.” Neither a definite “yes” nor a firm “no”; that way, no matter what the real answer was, he couldn’t be wrong. With that, he turned his attention back to the kit, who seemed slightly uncomfortable. Galekit decided that was to be expected; he’d been a little nervous his first time out of the nursery, even if his nerves had faded after all of a minute.

Then the strange kit spoke, and said something completely unbelievable. In his haste to answer, he spat out the leaf. ”But everyone has a name!” He had a name, Graykit had a name, every cat he’d heard of within the walls of ThunderClan’s camp had a name. Even if she was from outside, there was no reason for this kit not to have one! At least, there wasn’t until Flintfang provided an explanation, at which Galekit faltered in his questioning. He knew what "passed" meant—in this situation, it meant that he and the strange kit had something in common. "Everyone needs a name," he amended, using a much less skeptical tone. "Maybe that's why Leopardstar's here." That seemed a more reasonable explanation than the grand exploits he'd been imagining. From what he'd overheard, Leopardstar and Marshstorm dealt with names quite a bit.

Mosspaw looked around at all of the gathering cats, and the two kits that approached. "Hello Graykit, Galekit, this is...." She realized at the same time that the young kit said it that she hadn't given a name, and apparently didn't have one. She gazed down at the beautiful white fur of the kit and looked up to Leopardstar. Please, Leopardstar, I think her name should be Snowkit. She leaned down and licked the small head of the kit before her, before turning back to the other two kits while Flintfang spoke to Emberheart and Leopardstar more.

"I'm sure her mother had her reasons, don't worry." She glanced over to Flintfang, and noticing his sudden foul mood, reached her tail up to let it brush his shoulder. A worried, questioning expression crossed her face as she gazed at him before turning back to the kits. "She could be your new friend, would you like that?"