Book: Ivyleaf's Destiny/Prologue

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*"The kits! The kits are coming!"* Lichenfern blinked open her eyes. *Rainpelt's kits are due this moon?*
Fernfall poked her head in at the entrance. "Lichenfern! Come quick, Rainpelt's kitting!"
Hurriedly, Lichenfern grabbed a bundle of herbs in her jaws — namely chervil, ragwort leaves and fennel — and dashed away to the nursery.
"Honeypaw!" she called to her apprentice. "Fetch some soaked moss and a stick!"
The young cat came padding out, a stick in her jaws. She placed it in the nursery before coming out to fetch the moss.
"Rainpelt! I'm coming!" A large dark brown figure exploded from the warriors' den with a yowl. Owlfeather rushed to the nursery to his mate and pushed Lichenfern aside. The ThornClan medicine cat hissed and shoved her way through the ferns.
Her sister lay on her back, twisting and turning frantically.
"Lichenfern!" she called out desperately.
"I'm here," the medicine cat replied. Honeypaw came in carrying a wad of soaked moss. Lichenfern rolled it to Rainpelt. "Here, drink this. It'll help, I promise."
Rainpelt nodded feebly and began to lap at the moss. Owlfeather was pacing the nursery recklessly, picking at bits of moss from Leafcloud's nest and Rainpelt's. The brown-and-cream queen stood spectating Rainpelt and Lichenfern. Her own two kits, Birdkit and Larkkit, were asleep.
"Lichenfern!" Rainpelt called out again as a wave of pain convulsed through her pelt.
"It's alright," the medicine cat soothed. "The first kit's coming!"
As she spoke the words, a small bundle of black fur slid out. Lichenfern expertly nipped open the sac so the kit could breathe and passed it over to Leafcloud. The queen began licking the kit as to warm it up.
"A tom!" Honeypaw declared. She reached out to help her mentor as another kit slid out.
"A she-cat," Lichenfern mumbled. She passed the wailing kit over to Honeypaw. Rainpelt was still twisting in agony.
"Calm down," the medicine cat mewed. "One more to go.."
"I can't," Rainpelt gasped. "It's too much."
Lichenfern sighed. It was her sister's first time having kits. She was rather old to be kitting a first litter. *I hope she's not thinking of having more.* But her sister's face told her enough. *She doesn't like it like this. She wants to be out on patrol, like a ThornClan deputy should.*
Another wet bundle slipped out. Lichenfern began to warm up the kit. She invited Owlfeather over with a flick of her tail. "A tom and two she-kits," she announced, pride clear in her voice.
"Eat this," Honeypaw mewed, tearing off a part of chervil root with her claws. "It will help with your bellyache."
Rainpelt nodded and struggled to chew the root. Eventually, some of it found its way to her belly and she sighed. Her eyes looked dazed, and Lichenfern wondered for a heartbeat if she was going to die.
"What are you going to name them?" Owlfeather asked softly, distracting Lichenfern from her thoughts. In ThornClan, it was a tradition that the she-cat named all her kits unless her mate disagreed.
"I'll name this one Darkkit," Rainpelt mewed, "because of his dark pelt. And this one is Lilykit."
The tortoiseshell she-kit sneezed. Her eyes remained shut. *Should I tell her?* Lichenfern wondered. *It's* her*kit that's sickly. No, I won't. She'll only worry a lot more.*
"And this one?" Owlfeather prompted. "Her golden-and-white pelt is so pretty!"
"She will be Ivykit," Rainpelt whispered.
As Owlfeather repeated the young she-kit's name, Lichenfern saw a vision in her mind. Ivykit, as a warrior, stood beside the river and solemnly stared across as if expecting sometime to happen. Confused, Lichenfern trudged forward, her paws sinking deeper into the mud as she tried to read the young cat's expression. The ThornClan warrior gave nothing away, but dipped her forepaw into the river. The ripples formed a curious shape: the shape of a cat. Lichenfern stared, dumbfounded, as the ripples formed a cat who padded up onto ThornClan territory. He nuzzled Lichenfern's Clanmate, and the she-cat purred. *A RippleClan cat!*
Lichenfern was brought back to the present by Honeypaw's call. "Lichenfern, we should get back." Her apprentice was already heading out of the den.
Mutely, the medicine cat nodded. The vision was still in the back of her mind.
Chapter 1 —>