KITHOOD

In the heart of WindClan, nestled amidst the hills and tall grass, a smallblack and white kitten was born. She was named Juniperkit after her mother’s favorite berry was the only kitten to Russetpetal and Nettlebreeze. They were patient and nurturing and understood the boundless energy that came with being a kit. They encouraged a spirit that burned bright and helped develop the curiosity and sense of adventure that would define her.  

While the arrival of their only kit sparked joy in Russetpetal and Nettlebreeze, WindClan was experiencing a rough transition at the same time. Now that the clan rebellion was over, the kits and apprentices held hostage in WindClan and ShadowClan were resuming their training. Some earned their warrior names or were renamed if they received their names from a false leader. Cats were completeing their specialized rank training at last. Everything was starting to feel normal again. 

Shinepaw, a cross-clan apprentice from a WindClan and RiverClan warrior, joins WindClan after he is granted permission to leave RiverClan. Flamestar assigned him a mentor to teach him all he needs to know about their clan; the ways of a warrior and their culture. There was apart of Juniperkit's parents that were relieved that their kitten would know nothing about the rebellions except what would be taught to her. Even if she would grow up in the aftermath, she didn't have to experience the rebellion itself.  

From the moment she first left the nursery, the world beckoned to Juniperkit with its endless wonders. Her tiny paws eagerly carried her through the camp, darting between the legs of her clanmates and playfully leaping and bounding. She explored every nook and cranny of the camp, leaving no stone unturned.   Sagestar, RiverClan's leader, had sent three runners to each of the other clans to deliver a message only for the leaders. They returned home just as quick and it didn't take long for rumours to begin to spread about what RiverClan wanted with the other three leaders. Juniperkit was hardly old enough to understand what was going on, but nevertheless, the sight of a strange cat with an unfamiliar smell in their camp sparked interest in the small kitten. She didn't think they were supposed to be there, but she hardly knew who many of her clanmates were. Perhaps the strange smell wasn't the cat but something else entirely.  

Juniperkit reveled in the joy of chasing butterflies, springing into the air and pinning the small creatures with a flick of her paw. She didn’t keep them contained for long, but instead let them go as soon as she managed to pin them and would start the hunt all over again. The thrill of the hunt, however fleeting, brought her immeasureable joy. She played among the flowers found in their camp and would watch as warriors went to and from patrols. With wide eyes and a yearning to join them, she would peer out at the territory that lay beyond the camp from where she sat inside. The rustling leaves and calls of birds fascinated her, but she never successfully managed to make it past the warriors that stood guard by the entrance of camp.  

By the time she was two moons, the first gathering since the rebellion was held. She knew her protests would be useless, but the she-kitten pestered and whined to any who would listen; why couldn't she go? She could protect herself, there was no need to worry! When she heard that all four leaders revealed that they and their medicine cats had received signs that there must be a group to leave the territories and venture on a journey to fulfill a prophecy handed down by the deceased Hawkstar in StarClan, Juniperkit insisted that she must be one of the cats. Why wouldn't she be?  

Ultimately it was decided that three cats from each clan would embark on the Journey and Flamestar had chosen WindClan's cats to be Finchfeather, a tunneler, and two other warriors, Thistlebreeze, and Thornshadow. The twelve cats announced were to leave on the Journey in only 10 days times.  The kitten's disappointment at her name not being called was quite obvious to her parents when they shared the news. Despite their chuckles at her naive hope, they assured her that maybe if she was a warrior, she might have been chosen, but no kits could go on a journey like that. Juniperkit sighed, deciding that she would then have to be the best warrior she could be. Maybe she'll even try to become a tunneler, who knows? The twelve cats officially departed on the Journey at the end of the 10 days, bidding farewell to their clanmates and loved ones. They met at the Gatheringplace and left from there to each the outside lands and beyond. 

Martengale, Widowtrance, and Birchshadow, three warriors of ShadowClan, brought back three orphaned and rouge-born kits to their camp. They were eventualy revelaed to be the kits of Dixie, the kittypet gang leader, who died in labour on ShadowClan territory. Aware of the danger that ShadowClan's cats potentially held over the kittens due to the trauma they endured during Dixie's regein, the leader sent runners to each of the other clans to inform them of the events and determine where they kittens might be able to safely reside. Flamestar informed one of the runners that WindClan would take them in and placed with the most senior caretaker of the clan, Dapplebrook, and raised as full members of WindClan. Flamestar set strict expectations to the clan that the kits were not to be mistreated in order to not have history repeat itself. It was hoped that these kits could represent the turning of a new leaf. Juniperkit had heard some stories about the rebellion and this supposed kittypet gang leader, Dixie, at this point but she still didn't have a full grasp on all of the events that happened. From what she did understand, she wasn't sure why someone would turn the hatred and anger that they held of this Dixie onto her kittens, especially when they were so young and didn't know who their mother was.  

When the she-kit wasn’t playing in the open camp or listening to the gossip shared around camp, she found comfort in her mother’s gentle touch. She would groom her in between storytellings, feeding her the stories of bravery, love, and adventure that she would hold onto as she grew older. She would curl up beside her mother in the warm nursery, dreaming of the wild adventures that she told her about.  

By the next gathering, Juniperkit had a better understanding about why she wasn't allowed to attend until she became an apprentice. It didn't ease the disappointment she felt as she watched the group of cats leave, but it definetely saved her some embarassment by not whining and pestering to join. The cats that had departed on the Journey had made their return during this gathering, each sharing the truth of the clan's history as they learned from Stag, an outsider who roamed the forest during the time of the war to save StarClan. There was disappointment and heaviness that lingered as all the cats left to return home; everything that they have ever known was a lie. The news wasn't hard for the kitten to grasp as she overheard her parents discussing it. She was just learning their history now, it didn't make that much of an impact to realize that it was wrong if she only knew it for a few moons. She was curious, however, as to why they had always thought otherwise. 

 As if to feed into the kit's sense of wonder and adventure, a cat deemed Ernie who deals in exotic goods with the clans arrived and introduced two new faces, Teko and Flick who are from a newly-discovered beach. They had come all this way to offer new, strange goods to the clans in exchange for help in tending to the ocean. Warrior-aged cats began to travel back and forth from the forest to the beach to help and learn about this new place and it was a welcome repreive from the forest's usual drama. While she was disappointed, yet again, that she couldn't attend something due to her age, Juniperkit revelled in hearing about the tales from the cats that did wander to explore this new-found beach.  

The reprive didn't seem to last very long, though, when Flamestar called a clan meeting to announce that the exiled rebels may return home. They were to sleep separately from the rest of the clan and were not to leave camp along without a chaperone for the time being, as well as bearing the title of 'on trial' until further notice, but it didn't help ease the blow of the decision for the clan.  

Despite the news of rebels returning to the camp, Juniperkit’s kithood continued to be filled with mischief, laughter, and hunger for the world beyond. On the night of her apprentice ceremony, she wouldn’t let her mother groom her fur but instead insisted that she do it herself. Afterall, she was grown now.                                                                       

apprenticehood

Juniperkit tried to present herself in a manner that she thought made her look mature and ready to begin her training. She sat still, her fur recently groomed and her chin held high. She felt his cheeks burning as the entire clan's attention rested on her. She listened as she was given her new name, Juniperpaw, and made sure to speak up when she was supposed to. She looked around the camp, wondering which one will be her mentor. 

To be continued in RP . . .

Adult Life