Flamestar looked over at Dappledcrow. He went up to her and she smiled. Dappledcrow was going to have her kits soon. Rosedust, a former kittypet, did not like the idea of the leader and deputy having kits. "She's the deputy, she can't have kits!" Rosedust always said. Flamestar was annoyed by the way he and his mate were being treated.
Dappledcrow started to panic. "What am I going to do?! I can't be a deputy with kits!" Flamestar sat next to her in his den. "You will be a queen until they become apprentices. Then, you will go back to being deputy," he said calmly. Dappledcrow calmed down, but still was worried.
Pigeonfoot was medicine cat, not being treated the same way as Dappledcrow when she had kits. Rosedust was a former kittypet, treated like every other FireClan cat. This annoyed Flamestar. The couple walked over to Rosedust, Mudtail, and Sandpaw. Rosedust turned her head in disgust. "Hey, Dappledcrow, you're rather fat," she said as Dappledcrow picked up a vole. Flamestar hung his head. Dappledcrow took a bite out of the vole and passed it on to Flamestar. "Thanks..." Rosedust looked at Dappledcrow again.
"You're having kits!? Unacceptable!"
Flamestar hissed. Mudtail and Sandpaw's heads turned. "They can't have kits!" Mudtail said. Sandpaw nodded. "You're lucky I let you in the clan, Rosedust! And I'm happy I killed Chris!"
"And I gave you food for leafbare! We're equal," Rosedust replied, a hint of regret in her voice. Flamestar looked at her in fury. "If we're equal, why are you talking about me and Dappledcrow like this?" Rosedust ran off in sadness. Chris was her friend as a kittypet and loner. In a fight to see if they were worthy to join the clan, Flamestar murdered Chris after the fight.
"Chris was weak anyway!" He said to his mate. Dappledcrow nodded. "I'm not letting Rosedust treat us like this, Dappledcrow!"
A while later, Pigeonfoot visited Flamestar. "Flamestar, I'm getting too old. I'm going to drop out and become an elder with Scareye and Blacktail." Flamestar nodded. Pigeonfoot smiled. "Thank you, Flamestar. Thank you for everything you've helped me with." Pigeonfoot walked out of his den, and he followed her out and gathered the clan. He looked at the cats. All of them were either happy or sad.
"Well, today was weird, but that doesn't matter. Now me and Pigeonfoot talked."
Everyone turned and looked at Pigeonfoot.
"She said she was getting to old to be medicine cat. Now we'll have to respect her as an elder. Her medicine cat days are over."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
"But, other than that, we have two new apprentices! Dovekit and Graykit, please step forward." The two gray kits stepped forward. "You both are now 6 moons old, old enough to earn a new name and have a mentor to guide you through what makes us FireClan. Dovekit, you will be known as Dovepaw until you are good enough to receive your warrior name. Snowpatch, you are a great warrior. You are trusted to mentor Dovekit."
Flamestar was reminded of him and his mentor when he saw Snowpatch and Dovekit touch noses.
"Now, before I go to Graykit, does anyone here volunteer to become the new medicine cat?" The first cat to call out was Rosedust. Of course, he had to accept, because no one else volunteered. "Graykit, you are old enough to receive your apprentice name. You will be now be known as Graypaw until your mentor is satisfied with you. Your mentor, a former medicine cat, will be Rosedust."
He had nothing to say about Rosedust...
"Graypaw! Dovepaw! Graypaw! Dovepaw!" The clan rang out with the two new apprentices names.
Pigeonfoot looked proudly at them. She slightly smiled. Even her mate, Stoneclaw looked overjoyed. Rosedust touched noses with Graypaw, and walked straight into the medicine cat den. Graypaw followed.
The next day, Graypaw and Rosedust went to the moonpool. It was a pretty normal day. Dovepaw was training with her mentor. Firekit, Nightkit, and Dawnkit were at the Elder's den. Flamestar was sitting with Dappledcrow talking, Mudtail and Sandpaw were training. Gingerpelt, Silverfeather, Swallowpaw, and Shadowpaw were paid hunting and pair fighting. Blackfeather, Hawkcry, and Ashleaf were on a border patrol. Whitepaw, Hazelpaw, and Duskleaf were talking in the camp. Yet something seemed different.
Dappledcrow was acting differently, and so what Rosedust. Whenever someone over than Flamestar came up to her, she would help at them.
Rosedust ate more foot and spent more time with Mudtail. She also looked a bit chubbier. "Does she have an eating disorder?" Flamestar asked. Dappledcrow rolled her eyes. "It's obvious, she's having kits! Duh." Dappledcrow seemed quite calm for a situation like this. Flamestar looked at her. "Why are you acting so calm?" He asked her. "Well, she's been making googly eyes at Mudtail for moons now. What do you expect?" Flamestar nodded. She was hanging out with Mudtail an awful lot. It distracted her and Graypaw. Dappledcrow walked out of his den. Rosedust looked at her, with regret in her eyes and expression. "What happened Rosedust?" Dappledcrow wanted to see her reaction. Rosedust began to cry. "Please, don't tell anyone! I'm expecting kits, and I was actually planning to give them to you when they were born." Dappledcrow looked at her with disgust. "After all the things you did?" Rosedust was pleading, begging, and crying. "I want to be a medicine cat..." She murmured.
"Fine."
"Really?"
"I'll take care of the kits, as if they were my own."
Dappledcrow began to regret everything she has ever said to Rosedust. "I promise, Rosedust, you will always be a medicine cat."
Rosedust was overjoyed. "I'll tell Mudtail the kits are all dead. Thank you, Dappledcrow, how can I repay you?"
"With the kits. I love kits!"
"It's our secret, Rosedust. I swear not to tell anyone. You?"
"I'm not spoiling one thing about it, even to my friend Chris."
"Chris?
"Yes Chris, my best and most trusted friend."