Chapter 2
Oh StarClan, make it stop! Mapleshade writhed in agony and sank her claws into the dried moss.
“Relax,” Ravenwing instructed, placing one paw on her rippling flank.
You try to relax with this happening to you , Mapleshade wanted to screech at the medicine cat, but she barely had enough breath to survive the spasm that wracked her body. She clenched her jaw and resisted the urge to sink her teeth into Ravenwing’s thick-furred black leg.
“It’s a tom!” gasped Frecklewish. “Oh, he’s magnificent!”
Ravenwing turned to look. Mapleshade sprawled in the nest with her eyes closed, trying not to think about the pain yet to come. Something wet and squirming was shoved against her muzzle. She opened her mouth to protest—and smelled the sweetest scent she had ever known. She lifted her head and blinked down at the dark brown bundle of slick fur beside her. Oh Appledusk, you have a son.
And he’s beautiful!
“Lick him, Mapleshade,” Ravenwing mewed. “It will help him to breathe.”
For a moment Mapleshade wanted to tell the other cats to get out, to leave her alone with this tiny precious creature. Nothing would ever be as special as this heartbeat, when she met her first kit. Then her body buckled under another wave of pain and she cried out. Ravenwing hastily pulled the kit away. “You take him, Frecklewish,” he ordered.
“Gladly,” came the she-cat’s mew. “Come here, little one. Let’s get you clean and dry.”
Mapleshade tried to say that she could take care of her own kits but the spasm grew stronger and suddenly there was another kit lying beside her, his mouth wide open in a soundless mew, his fur patched with ginger and white like his mother’s.
“Another tom,” Ravenwing announced. “You’re doing great, Mapleshade.” He ran his paws along her body. “One more, and that’s it. Come on now, stay focused.”
An irresistible longing to be alone with her kits gave Mapleshade a fresh surge of strength and the final kit slithered out almost at once.
“A she-cat!” purred Ravenwing. “Smaller than her brothers, but in excellent shape. Your turn to take over, Mapleshade.” He nudged all three kits into the curve of Mapleshade’s belly. She propped herself up and twisted around to gaze at them in astonishment. I did it, Appledusk! Two sons and a daughter!
“They are gorgeous,” Frecklewish whispered, her voice husky with emotion.
Ravenwing nodded. “You did a great job, Mapleshade. We’ll leave you alone to rest, but I’ll come back with some herbs for you after sunhigh. Do you feel okay?” There was a flash of concern in his dark blue eyes, and Mapleshade felt a surge of sympathy toward the young medicine cat. He had been in sole charge of ThunderClan for just two moons since the death of Oatspeckle, and this was one of the first deliveries he’d had to supervise.
“I couldn’t be better,” she told him. Her throat felt dry and sore. “Could I just have some water, please?”
“I’ll fetch it,” Frecklewish offered, hopping out of the nest and vanishing through the brambles.
Ravenwing watched her leave. “You have made her feel as if life is worth living again,” he commented. “She took the loss of her brother hard.”
Mapleshade buried her muzzle in the soft, damp fur of her kits. “These kits are my gift to the whole of ThunderClan,” she murmured. “I will thank StarClan for them every day for the rest of my life.”
The medicine cat touched her lightly with the tip of his tail. “And ThunderClan thanks you,” he meowed.
As will RiverClan, Mapleshade added silently. The feud over Sunningrocks will be forgotten when the Clans realize that they share these perfect warriors!
“Are you receiving visitors?” rumbled a voice at the entrance to the nursery.
“Of course! Come in,” Mapleshade mewed somewhat breathlessly while trying to coax the she-kit off the top of her head. At three sunrises old, they astonished Mapleshade with their ability to be all over the nursery at once, while at the same time constantly nuzzling at her belly.
Oakstar’s broad dark brown face appeared through the branches. “Hello, little ones,” he purred.
The she-kit jumped at the sound of his voice. Releasing her tiny claws from Mapleshade’s ear, she slithered onto the moss with a thump.
“This is Oakstar, the leader of ThunderClan,” Mapleshade told her kits. She tried to nudge them into a line. But their eyes were still closed and the smell of a different cat was just too much to resist, so all three tottered toward Oakstar with their stubby tails held straight up, mouths open in high-pitched mews.
Oakstar gently herded them back to Mapleshade with his paw. “I’m not just their leader,” he reminded her. “Birchface was my son. These cats are my kin.” His eyes clouded with emotion as he stared down at the kits. “If only Birchface could see them.”
Mapleshade’s fur felt hot and prickly. “I’m sure he’s watching from StarClan,” she murmured.
Beside her, the kits started nuzzling at her belly and fell silent as they began to suck.
“My son was a great warrior,” Oakstar went on. “The Clan is honored if his spirit lives on through his kits.”
There was a rustle of bramble fronds and Frecklewish appeared with a vole in her jaws. She set it down beside the nest. “I took first pick of the fresh-kill pile for you,” she told Mapleshade with pride.
“Thank you,” Mapleshade meowed hoarsely. She wondered if it would be rude to ask Oakstar to leave. His scrutiny was making her more and more nervous.
Frecklewish turned to Oakstar. “Aren’t the kits perfect?” she purred. “I can see Birchface so clearly in each of them!”
Mapleshade glanced at the tiny bodies in the curve of her belly. Apart from the tom who was patch-furred like her, they were the exact soft brown shade of Appledusk’s fur. Birchface had been a dark brown tabby, almost black. Her heart pounding, she waited for Oakstar to comment but instead he asked if she had chosen names for them.
Mapleshade used her tail to indicate each kit without disturbing them. “I thought Larchkit for the brown tom, Patchkit for his brother, and Petalkit for their sister.” She paused as her tail-tip rested on the tiny she-kit. She was the fluffiest of all and her ears were so small they barely peeked out of the fur on her head. Mapleshade felt as if her heart would burst with love. If only you could see them like this, Appledusk!
“Excellent names,” Oakstar meowed.
“Didn’t you want to name one of them after Birchface?” Frecklewish asked. She sounded disappointed.
Mapleshade didn’t lift her gaze from her kits. “I want them each to be their own warrior,” she explained quietly. “Not an echo of a cat that has gone before.”
To her relief Oakstar purred. “ThunderClan is blessed to have you as a queen, Mapleshade. I look forward to watching these kits grow up.”
“I can’t wait to see RiverClan’s faces when they hear about them at the next Gathering,” Frecklewish hissed.
Mapleshade’s heart began to beat faster. “I wish I could be there to see that, too. Make sure you tell them that I’ve had three perfect, strong kits who are going to be great warriors!” she told
Frecklewish. “Especially Appledusk. Tell him first.”
The pale ginger she-cat blinked. “Why would I speak to that mange-fur?” she growled. “He killed Birchface!”
“Exactly!” mewed Mapleshade hurriedly. “He needs to know that ThunderClan is stronger than ever, thanks to these kits.”
Frecklewish nodded. “Of course.” She unsheathed her front claws and sank them into the mossy litter on the floor of the nursery. “Our enemies have even more reason to fear us now!”