Book: Ivyleaf's Destiny/Chapter 1

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*Ferns swished as a cat padded* into the nursery. Ivykit pressed deeper into her mother's fur out of fear.
"Have they opened their eyes yet?" a voice asked, sounding more like a growl.
"Darkkit and Lilykit have," Rainpelt murmured, weak with exhaustion. "But not Ivykit."
Hearing her name, Ivykit gave a high-pitched mewl. She looked up, eyes still tightly shut, and tried to locate the tom.
"Those kits were born a quarter-moon ago!" a new voice complained. "How come Ivykit hasn't opened her eyes? Now Dawnpaw and Stormpaw have already moved out of the nursery."
"Steady, Leafcloud," the tom mewed. "Now there's more room for your kits to play without disturbing Ivykit."
"Play?" Rainpelt snorted. "Birdkit and Larkkit don't even stay *in* the nursery!"
"More room for our kits then," the cat murmured, amused. *That's my father?* Ivykit thought, still trying to pinpoint his position.
"I hope they'll be fine soon," Rainpelt continued. "I want to go back out on warrior duties. What does the Clan do when their deputy is stuck in the nursery? Are *you* alright, Owlfeather?"
Owlfeather grunted. "The Clan understands that you've just had kits. Why would they care about whether you're on warrior duties or not? As for me, I've been participating in as many hunting and border patrols as I can without wearing myself out."
Without another word, Owlfeather swished his tail over the leaves in the nursery and stalked out.
"Is that our father?" Darkkit squeaked.
"Yes," Rainpelt sighed.
"Why didn't he come and visit earlier?" Lilykit asked.
"He visited you when you were born," Leafcloud replied. Ivykit strained her ears to locate the cat. "But your eyes weren't open yet."
"Like Ivykit," Darkkit murmured. A paw prodded her side. "Come on, Ivykit! There's so much to see, and you can't do that with eyes closed."
Grunting, Ivykit turned on her back and blinked open her eyes. "Does this make you happy? You've been poking me all night!"
"Yes!" Lilykit squealed. "Now we can go out of the nursery!"
The tortoiseshell she-kit dashed around the nursery and hurtled out of the ferns. "Come on!" she called, her voice muffled by the thick stone walls. "Let's go and look!"
Darkkit followed close behind her, and Ivykit padded out more slowly. She turned back to her mother. Rainpelt was now talking to a brown-and-cream she-cat. "Is it dangerous outside?"
It was the new cat who replied. "Of course not! You're in the camp, for StarClan's sake! Birdkit and Larkkit are already out there if you need help."
"Who are they?" Ivykit asked.
Rainpelt snorted. "They're Leafcloud's kits. You don't think she's here just for fun, do you?"
Ivykit solemnly shook her head and continued to head out of the den. She paused to rub her sleepy eyes with a white forepaw.
"Ivykit!" Darkkit called, his tail waving over to her. He was playing with Lilykit near what looked like another den. "Come play with us!"
Ivykit scampered over to join them. At the same moment, a large ginger-and-cream cat padded out of the den. The cat was at least twice the size of Ivykit.
Darkkit tossed the moss-ball over to Lilykit, but it was quickly intercepted and snatched out of the air by the strange cat.
"What are you doing near my den?" the cat asked, sternly but gently.
"We're just playing," Lilykit mewed, looking up at the cat with large, dark brown eyes.
"You're Rainpelt's kits, aren't you?" the cat continued.

Darkkit nodded importantly. "I'm son of the deputy!:
"I'm Rainpelt's sister," the cat meowed. "My name is Lichenfern."
"I'm Lilykit," Lilykit introduced herself.
"I'm Darkkit!" the black tom mewed.
"And I'm Ivykit." The small she-kit padded out to join her littermates.
Suddenly, Lilykit exploded with a hacking cough.
Ivykit's eyes shadowed with worry. "Are you alright?"
"Yes!" Lilykit mewed, eyes sharp. She coughed again. "I'm… fine."
"No, you're not fine," Lichenfern told her sternly. "Come into my den for herbs."
"Herbs?" Lilykit asked, screwing up her face. "They're yucky!"
Darkkit prodded her with a brown forepaw. "Come on, they'll make you feel better!"
Muttering, Lilykit followed Lichenfern into the den.
"Let's explore," Darkkit suggested, scampering off. Ivykit ran after him.
"Is this the fresh-kill pile?" Ivykit's littermate halted suddenly, and she crashed into him. In front of the two young cats was a pitiful pile, consisting of one or two mice and a vole. The catches were scrawny, and certainly wouldn't be able to fill a cat.
"Yes, this is the fresh-kill pile," a deep mew rumbled behind them. "But the hunting parties are out. It's leaf-bare."
Ivykit turned to see the cat who was talking to them. "Who are you?" She narrowed her eyes and examined the cat.
He purred. "My name is Wildfire. And I'm guessing you're Darkkit and Ivykit."
Ivykit's eyes stretched wide. "How did you know?"
"I saw you yesterday, in the nursery."
"Oh." Had every cat seen them? How did they know who she was and sis didn't know who *they* were?
"Come on, Ivykit!" Darkkit's mew sounded in her ear. "Let's explore some more."
"How about Lilykit?" The tortoiseshell cat was still in the den where Lichenfern had led her. Was she alright? "Shouldn't we wait for her?"
Darkkit grumbled. "Lichenfern wouldn't have taken her into the medicine den if she was alright. She'll stay in there for a while."
"Medicine den?" Ivykit echoed.
"Of course!" Darkkit swiped a paw at his sister's muzzle. "Couldn't you smell the herbs? Didn't you hear Lichenfern mention the herbs? She's the medicine cat!"
"Of course I knew," Ivykit lied. "It's just that I thought… um… that Lilykit would be um… better now to leave."
Darkkit rolled his eyes. "Yeah right." He scampered off again and began sniffing around. Ivykit sighed as she followed him. *Leaf-bare. The time of sickness and starvation,* she thought. *Oh StarClan, please let Lilykit be alright!*
Chapter 2 —>