The Exile of Shrikerush Pt.1
“Papa, story?” Grousekit sleepily mewed, nestling into Harestar’s warm side. Toms did not usually care for kits, especially leaders, but that idea was of the long past and the defeat of the dark shadow that walked the land of the living as the impostor of Bramblestar is definitely proof that things have changed. Besides, who else would Harestar allow to raise the little loner tom he found in the snow?
He hardly called him Papa any more now that he’s learned his name, so Harestar definitely would treasure this.
“This is a story about the unlikely hero of WindClan, long before you or even I were born. Long ago...”
WindClan’s warriors were divided into two kinds. The moor runners and the tunnelers, and a brave tom called Rattledance was one such tunneler... one day he went down into the tunnels to hunt weasels, and he was lost forever.
His mate Pigeontail was distraught, because now he’d never see their little kit. The kit, Skipperkit, was something special altogether ; he was a male tortoiseshell... but Pigeontail didn’t know that. She thought Skipperkit was a molly because tortoiseshell were almost always mollies!
But Pigeontail had been heartbroken since her beloved mate died, and a few moons after that she herself passed away in her sleep. Skipperkit got very little milk, so he was tiny - yeah, that’s right, just like you, Grousekit, but you grew big, didn’t you?
“And one day I’ll be big as you, only I’ll be a medicine cat so I can help others!”
“That is very good, Grousekit.”
I had you memorize the leaders’ names, right? Heatherstar, Tallstar, Onestar, and then me.. but two leaders before Heatherstar was Buckstar, a very wise tom. He decided that it would not do for Skipperkit to be an orphan, so he asked his mate Hailfleck to take him in. Skipperkit and Buckstar’s kit ; Dogkit, who was named that because he was very large, became like siblings. “
This happiness did not last so long. When it was time for the two young toms to be apprentices, Dogpaw stopped caring so much for Skipperpaw because he didn’t understand the fact that Skipperpaw knew he was actually a tom. A Changeheart may be accepted now ; you know, like my brother Kestrelflight, or you’ve met Fernsong of ThunderClan, but it was not always so back then. Dogpaw started being mean to Skipperpaw, like tripping him during battle practice and eating his prey and embarassing him in front of Duskpaw, who Skipperpaw really liked.
Skipperpaw decided that this disrespect wasn’t going to stand, so he challenged his brother to a battle and if Skipperpaw won, Dogpaw would have to apologize to him. “Claws sheathed, so there’s no wounds and Buckstar won’t know we fought,” they agreed at the gorge (that was the outskirts of WindClan’s territory back then) , and they were just about to pounce on eachother when Dogpaw spotted the scent of another cat - no, two cats - at the gorge with them. It was two lost kits, so young they couldn’t even mew, and their mother looked badly hurt!
“Why’d you stop there, Harestar?”
“Because that is all I’m telling you tonight. Get some sleep, small one.”
“I’m not tired,” his foster son protested, but the kit was already yawning and fast asleep within a heartbeat.