TC- Never Let You Down

"Thornfire! Come meet your kits!” the happy mew of Briarflower, one of the experienced queens, called. A handsome, broad shouldered tom, barged past the blue-gray queen and stormed into the nursery, where his mate, Graywind, was laying with two tiny kits suckling at her side.

“Graywind!” he whispered, staring at his two daughters.

The pale gray queen looked up. “Let’s name them,” she said to her mate, and Thornfire settled down next to her to get a closer look.

The bigger one of the kits was deep black, and she was very active, pushing and shoving at her little sister to get the most milk. “Ashkit,” he breathed, gently pawing her away from the smaller kit, who was pale gray like her mother.

“She looks just like you,” Thornfire purred. Graywind nodded.

“Can we call her Moonkit?” she asked, running her tail over the tiny kit’s back.

“I’ll never let anything hurt them,” Thornfire vowed. “They’ll be the best warriors ThunderClan has ever seen!”

Many moons later, Ashkit and Moonkit were much bigger. They were the best of friends, and they refused to do anything without each other.

One night, Ashkit started coughing. “Graywind,” she squeaked hoarsely. “My throat hurts.”

Graywind, being the overprotective mother, woke Briarflower. “Ashkit’s coughing,” she hissed in the dark.

“She probably just swallowed some moss in her sleep,” the older queen assured her friend. “Go back to sleep. She’ll be better in the morning.”

But Ashkit was not better in the morning. Her coughing got worse, and she had a fever. Moonkit came to see her. “Ashkit!” she cried. “Stormkit is going to play moss ball with us! Are you well enough to play?”

Graywind had drawn her sick daughter away and sent Moonkit outside. By the time Moonkit came back in, Ashkit had died.

Being three moons old, Moonkit did not understand why her sister was lying so still and why her mother was staring at her tiny black body, her eyes dull, with Briarflower stroking her back.

The little gray kit bounded over to her sister’s body. “Wake up, Ashkit!” she meowed cheerily. “Let’s go play now!” When Ashkit didn’t budge, Moonkit shook her a little, then leaped back in surprise when she felt her sister’s fur cold and stiff.

“Graywind!” she called to her mother. “Why isn’t Ashkit waking up?” Graywind opened her mouth to respond, then choked in grief and fell silent.

Brairflower came over to Moonkit. “Ashkit has gone to StarClan, little one,” she said quietly.

“StarClan?” Moonkit squeaked, confused. “When will she be back?”

“She won’t be coming back, Moonkit,” the queen explained gently. “She was sick, and she died when you were outside.”

Moonkit’s amber eyes widened. “T-Then she won’t come back to play with me anymore?” her mew trembled.

When Briarflower shook her head, Moonkit raced over to Ashkit’s body. “No!” she wailed. “Ashkit, wake up! You have to wake up!” She collapsed, her nose pushed deep into Ashkit’s still flank. “Ashkit, why did you have to die? Now I’m all alone…” She broke off into desperate sobbing, paws flailing like she was trying to push life back into her dead sister.

*I’ll always be with you, Moonkit.* Ashkit’s voice sounded in her head. *I’ll watch over you from StarClan.*

Moonkit lifted her head. *I’m going to be the best warrior ever. Not for me, but for Ashkit.*

“Ashkit!” she cried. “I won’t let you down!”