Crookedstar's Promise/Chapter 1

If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.


 * Chapter Number: 1 (of 40)
 * Page Numbers: 9-16

Chapter Summary
 Stormkit's PoV 
 * Stormkit is dared by his friend Volekit to climb across a slippery branch that has fallen over the river. The bark is frozen and hard to get a grip on, but Stormkit continues to try to cross. He can see al the way down the river, even to the stepping-stones and Sunningrocks. Stormkit's brother, Oakkit tells him to be careful, but he is quickly hushed by Stormkit, because he is a "warrior". He is close to the other side of the river; the forest is visible behind bulrush and reeds.


 * Stormkit sees a school of minnows swimming bellow him. He, wrapping his hind-legs around he branch and pressing his belly close, tries to break the ice and reach for a minnow, and when Oakkit asks what he's trying to do, he is quickly hushed by his mother, Rainflower. Wind buffets Stormkit's fur; black and white feathers flash past him and he recognizes a magpie. As the talons of the magpie scratch his spine, Stormkit falls onto the ice, and it breaks easily. He tries to find the shore, but he cannot find it. Stormkit is saved by the RiverClan elder Tanglewhisker, who plunges through the reeds and river plants and grabs the kit by his scruff. Volekit and his brother Beetlekit tease Stormkit, saying that Hailstar should rename him "Birdbrain", but are stopped by their mother, Echomist, and Petalkit makes it known that she wasn't teasing Stormkit, she says she thinks he was even brave to try to cross.


 * Tanglewhisker's mate, Birdsong rushes over to him, shouting that he'll catch a cold, but Tanglewhisker says that if he didn't help Stormkit, he would drowned. Birdsong retorts that a warrior could've helped him. Tanglewhisker says the warriors are busy, but Rainflower purrs that her brave little kit could have found his own way out of the river. Stormkit's fur warms at the sound of his mothers praise, and he looks around the camp; the camp of RiverClan, what he thinks is the best Clan. He watches as cats work to get the dens patched up, carrying reeds to one another and weaving hem into the tattered dens.


 * It is revealed that a whole moon had passed since the storm in which Stormkit and Oakkit were born. The nursery and the elders den just needs a few more reeds weaved into it here and there, as does the nursery. But the rest of the camp is very damaged and needs much repairing. The warriors den had been completely swept away, so all the rubble had to be cleared so that a new den could be woven against the thick trunk where the warriors den once was. Hailstar had been sleeping outside, despite the cold weather, because he will not sleep in his own den until the den's for his Clanmates were repaired.


 * Oakkit is trying to dry off Stormkit by weaving around his brother and soaking the water into his own pelt. Oakkit says he told Stormkit to be careful, but Stormkit retorts that he wouldn't have fallen if it wasn't for the magpie. The kits father, Shellheart, appears, says that it wouldn't have happened if the kits had of stayed in the clearing. Hailstar jokes to his deputy that Stormkit will be a great warrior if he doesn't drown before then. Shelltheart and Hailstar start to talk about what they should do with the magpie, and they decide that they should catch it, once Rippleclaw's patrol returns.


 * Stormkit, Oakkit, Volekit, Beetlekit and Petalkit go to help out Whitepaw and Softpaw with weaving reeds into the apprentices' den.