𝙰𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚣𝚎

Judging by the lack of scent marks, Amberhaze had made landfall outside of MoonClan territory. She shook out her pelt vigorously, which stuck to her body, wet and unpleasantly cold, so that the drops flew in all directions.

Even though her legs trembled with every step and threatened to give way beneath her, she dashed off. Panic tightened her throat until she caught a glimpse of the kit again.

Hold on a little longer, please. Gradually, the heathery scent of MoonClan grew stronger. Not much longer and she would cross the border. Just before it, she stopped, undecided.

The warrior code forbade crossing Clan borders without a good reason. However, it also said that kits in danger could not be ignored. With this thought in mind, Amberhaze stepped back into the shallow water and crept crouched past the boundary markers. Code or not, she still preferred it if her scent wasn't found on MoonClan territory.

Every now and then she feared that a patrol would appear from behind the hills after all. But nothing stirred for far and wide. The Shadowless have attacked here only a few days ago. Amberhaze shuddered. Surely MoonClan simply needed a while to recover from the shock.

As she approached the kit, she noticed that its eyes were still tightly shut and its ears were pressed to his head. It had to be barely a few days old, which fuelled Amberhaze's pity even more.

"Hello," she whispered, although she realised that it couldn't hear her yet. Its short fur was the colour of the sky at sunset and except for its face, legs and tail it had no stripes. The tip of its tail was white.

Amberhaze lowered her muzzle to sniff at it, reflexively backing away as it snapped open its small, toothless mouth and hissed at her intently.

She purred. "Is this the thanks I get for risking my life?"

But she couldn't be angry. It was just a small, abandoned kit that must have been terrified. How lucky for it that she had come by.

From the smell, it was a tomkit. But that was all she could tell. Is it a rogue?, she wondered. Why would any she-cat leave her kit behind?

The kit hissed again, crawling forward and trying to pull himself up Amberhaze's foreleg. She stared down at him, stunned. This kit had no one left. If she hadn't come here, he would have died soon.

She licked him over the head until he stopped hissing and curled up. Warm bliss flooded her from nose to tail tip. "I'll protect you," she promised, "forever and ever. No harm will ever come to you. From now on, you are my kit."

Even though she would have to give him to Reddapple to nurse and she was in no way related to him, she already felt a strong bond with him. No matter what happened, she would never leave him again. Not like his real mother.

Amberhaze looked suspiciously along the shore. She still couldn't believe that the tomkit was lying here so abandoned, but judging by his pitiful whines, he had been waiting far too long.

If she comes back now and he's gone, it's her own fault, Amberhaze thought angrily. Just as she was about to pick the kit up, something occurred to her.

He still needs a name! Perplexed, she looked down at the red-orange bundle of fur. He's as small and sweet as a cherry, but there's something wild about the way he's hissing around here. Like a wild cherry. A gean.

She paused. That name fitted perfectly. Overjoyed, she lowered her muzzle and nudged the kit. "Your name is Geankit now," she whispered, hardly waiting for him to hear his name for the first time.

When she grabbed Geankit by the scruff of the neck, he squirmed defiantly for a while, but soon held still. So she ran off in the shallows, careful not to leave her scent on MoonClan territory. Her fur prickled with unease. Only now did she realise how strange it was that no MoonClan patrol had found Geankit before her. The border scents were intense, and Geankit couldn't have been lying there for much longer than a night.

Something wasn't right here. Maybe he had been overlooked. It was quite possible that he had simply been hiding.

Amberhaze twitched her tail in frustration. But they should have noticed the scent! The longer she thought about it, the stranger it seemed to her. No Clan cat would ever ignore a kit in danger. That must mean they really hadn't noticed him.

Nevertheless, Amberhaze still felt doubt. Added to that was guilt. After all, she had entered the territory of another Clan alone and without express permission.

Fearful that she would be caught at any moment, she stared over the hills. The fact that she couldn't see any movement did little to calm her.

Geankit let out a soft, defiant squeak and twitched his paws.

Hold still, we'll be there soon. Amberhaze aimed for the tree trunk. She wouldn't risk swimming again, especially not with a newborn kit.

She shuddered as she was involuntarily reminded of her helplessness in the water. How narrowly she had escaped death, and that thanks only to the mysterious voice.

When she reached the tree trunk, she clawed her way up and felt her way forward step by step. Below her, the river flowed calmly, danger hidden beneath its surface.

Was it really a StarClan cat? It didn't sound like anyone I know. Maybe...

Then a thought occurred to her. The cat had known her name, had even called her 'my love'.

Could it be Twilightwing?

Amberhaze stiffened. Twilightwing had no reason to seek her out. Warriors were never contacted by StarClan. Besides, she had never cared about Twilightwing.

Trembling with rage, Amberhaze stared into the water. I never knew you. Swallowfern will always be my mother. Not you. Don't you dare save me next time.

She paused for a moment, faintly expecting that Twilightwing would reappear. But of course, nothing stirred.

Shaking her head, Amberhaze jumped back to shore. The mossy, damp earthy odour of her own boundary markers met her olfactory senses. A relief after all the time she had spent inhaling only the pungent heather.

She didn't even have to look for her patrolmates. At the same moment, Blossompaw leapt out from behind a tuft of tall grass. When the apprentice spotted the reddish-orange bundle of fur, she gasped loudly.

"Is that a kit?" she squeaked delightedly. "Where did you find it?"

Full of eagerness, she wanted to sniff Geankit, whereupon Amberhaze took a step back. He is not an 'it'. And you shouldn't overwhelm him like that.

Blossompaw scrutinised Amberhaze with narrow eyes. "You're all wet!" she realised in surprise, as if she had only just noticed. "Did you fall into the river?"

For a moment, Amberhaze felt as if her heart would stop. Never, ever could she tell any cat that she had crossed the border in such a foolish way. It would only cause her problems. In the worst case, she would be punished and shunned.

"I... um..." she began to mumble awkwardly.

Her uncertainty grew even more when Birchpelt joined them. "Amberhaze? What happened? Why are you wet?" he enquired, aghast.

Amberhaze flinched barely noticeably. "Nothing, I... I just slipped on the gravel."

Birchpelt tilted his head. "That has never happened to you before, though..." When he finally spotted Geankit, his words became slower and quieter, his fur ruffled. "What? How did that get here?"

For the last time, Geankit definitely smells like a tom! Amberhaze glared angrily at the brown and white tom from dark eyes.

Without warning, Birchpelt stretched out his muzzle and sniffed Geankit extensively. At the same time, Blossompaw ventured forward again and did the same.

Visibly overwhelmed by all the scents that surrounded him at once, Geankit meowed continuously until Amberhaze laid him down on the grass and placed a paw lightly on his back. "I found him... um... over there," she lied, gesturing with her tail to the spot where she had checked the border.

"Where did he come from?" Blossompaw wondered, before Birchpelt had a chance to reply. "He doesn't smell like he's from any Clan."

"Then he must be a rogue kit." Amberhaze was getting impatient. Geankit needed milk urgently. They should take him to the camp as quickly as possible.

"Can we keep him?" Blossompaw looked questioningly at Birchpelt, her paws twitching with excitement.

Birchpelt flattened his ears and turned away. "For now, yes. We don't have any other choice."

He had barely taken a few steps when Amberhaze growled softly. How can you doubt saving a kit?

Blossompaw wrinkled her muzzle. "What's wrong with him?" she grumbled.

Amberhaze could only respond with a helpless twitch of her tail. She had never known this side of Birchpelt. In fact, she hardly knew him at all, but he had just surprised her, and in a rather negative way. Without him having to say it, she knew that he distrusted Geankit.

Because he's a rogue? You'll see that you're wrong.

"Listen. I saw you on the other side of the river," Blossompaw suddenly meowed.

Cold horror crept into Amberhaze's bones. Oh no. No, no, no.

"Don't worry, I won't tell on you." As she passed by, Blossompaw brushed the tip of her tail against Amberhaze's shoulder.

That calmed Amberhaze down a little, although her heart was still beating like crazy. Hopefully Blossompaw would keep her word. "What else could I have done?" she whispered hoarsely. "Ignore him and hope that MoonClan's next evening patrol would find him?"

Blossompaw shook her head. "Then it would already be too late for him." She looked at the kit with a twitching nose. "He still needs a name, doesn't he?"

Amberhaze quickly raised a front paw. "I already gave him one. His name is Geankit," she explained.

"You were rather hasty. Normally, it's the mother who names her kits," Blossompaw snorted, but her twitching whiskers showed that she didn't mean it maliciously.

She was absolutely right, Amberhaze knew that. Still, if any cat had a problem with it, she would stick with the name. She would stick with Geankit. After everything he had been through, he deserved to have a mother, whether she was related to him or not. Even though she knew that Reddapple would largely fulfil this role, Amberhaze would not stay in the background. Geankit would know that she was the one who had saved his life and that she would love him more than anything else.

***

"You found a kit on our territory?" Palestar sounded at least as confused as she looked. Her blue eyes, usually so narrow, were round as two moons, her ears flat against her head as the grey-white leader looked at Geankit, who had curled up asleep between Amberhaze's paws.

Secretly, Amberhaze was infinitely glad that Palestar did not react dismissively to the kit, as Birchpelt had. On the way back to camp, he had made it quite clear that he did not like the idea of taking in Geankit at all.

Fortunately, the other cats had not been so upset and had shown more empathy. Bramblepaw and Silversky were particularly interested in Geankit. No wonder, because if Reddapple did adopt him, he would belong to their family.

"Someone must have abandoned him there." Amberhaze struggled to get the words out of her mouth. "In any case, I couldn't detect any other scents."

"If you say so, it must be true," Palestar purred. "I'll go get Reddapple. I think she's asleep right now."

No sooner had she left for the nursery than Birchpelt approached. "I don't like this," he growled. "Who knows if he really was abandoned."

Amberhaze's fur began to tingle with anger. Suddenly, she found Birchpelt more than repulsive. Unbelievable that she had almost developed feelings for him.

"What makes you think that?" Honeyclaw twitched the tip of his tail tensely. "No queen would willingly leave her kit alone for such a long time."

Birchpelt slowly stepped back. "I'm just saying. You can never be too cautious with rogues." Then, without further explanation, he walked away.

At that moment, Palestar returned, with Reddapple in tow. The brown and white tabby she-cat with orange spots looked more exhausted than usual. Her fur, although rather short, was dishevelled and her light golden eyes were barely open.

It was obvious that her pregnancy was sapping her energy. She was normally a very active she-cat. Hopefully, this would not have a negative effect on her unborn kits.

But at the sight of Geankit, the sparkle returned to her eyes, albeit briefly. "He can't be more than two or three days old," she said as she cautiously approached him and sniffed him. "It's lucky you found him, Amberhaze. Otherwise, it would most likely have been the end of him."

Amberhaze's chest swelled with pride at the older cat's compliment. It had been the right decision to save Geankit, even though she had had to risk her life to do so.

"Do you want to nurse him?" Palestar asked.

"Who else would be able to do it?" Reddapple murmured without taking her eyes off Geankit. "I'm already lactating, said Fruittail. I think he'll be fine."

Satisfied, Palestar lowered her head. "You should ask Fruittail for borage soon. With an additional kit, you should produce more milk."

Still not looking at Palestar, Reddapple nodded.

"Better not get too attached to him," Palestar warned coolly. "Over the next few moons, we'll keep a close eye on the outer borders in case his real mother comes looking for him after all."

When she heard that, Amberhaze wanted to howl in defiance. No, she won't! She definitely abandoned him. A she-cat who leaves her kit alone for so long that it starts to whine doesn't deserve to get it back.

Reddapple lifted Geankit by the scruff of his neck. She didn't answer, making it impossible to tell what she thought of Palestar's words.

"If you need help, ask Flutterflight. She knows how to deal with newborn kits." Now Palestar sounded as friendly as ever. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have something to discuss with Rainsplash."

Will Rainsplash be punished for what she said to Bramblepaw, Blossompaw and Toadleap this morning?, Amberhaze wondered. She still shuddered when she thought of how obnoxious the grey and white she-cat had been.

There had to be a good reason why she had suddenly reacted so irritably. If it wasn't because Lakepelt had been away for so long, then what was it?

"Would you like to give him a name?" Reddapple's voice unexpectedly interrupted Amberhaze's restless thoughts. "I know it's rather unconventional, but after all, you were the one who found him."

"Oh. Um, well, his name is G-geankit," Amberhaze replied hastily.

Reddapple whiskers twitched slightly. "You decided on a name quickly. But I must say, I like it. Short and unusual. If only I could find beautiful names for my kits. I know it's silly to want to name them now when I don't even know what they look like. But I don't want to make any rash decisions. They'll keep part of their name forever. I don't want them to be unhappy with it."

"That's true," meowed Amberhaze curtly.

With a flick of her tail, Reddapple scampered off to the nursery where Flutterflight was already sitting.

For some reason, Amberhaze began to feel a strange emptiness, as if something essential had been ripped from her. I hope Geankit's real mother will never search for him. From now on, he is part of RoseClan.