Leaves in the Wind
Chapter One
. . .
Leaf
A lone mouse scuttled through the dense foliage of mud and leaves, taking great care to mask its scent as it went. A pair of bright green eyes scanned the high tree tops of looming trees, a thick, furry tail absently coiling around a set of paws. Suddenly, the mouse sprung from its hiding place, scurrying through wide parted paws. But before it could fully escape, paws had pounced on it, sharp claws tearing into fur and ripping into flesh.
Leaf immediately bit into the squirming animal, sighing as the juicy meat touched her tongue. After only one bite, another paw settled on her catch. As soon as she caught sight of fiery red fur, Leaf hissed, her fur bristled and her tail curled protectively around her meal.
Her sister, Fern cast a sheepish glance in her direction, utter longing soaking the deep green pools of her eyes. "Can I have one bite, Leaf?" She pleaded. "Just one?"
"Catch your own!" Leaf hissed. She didn't even glance in her sister's direction as she continued to munch on her tasty meal.
"Leaf!" Fern whined. "I haven't eaten since the day before yesterday. I'm so hungry!"
"Fern," Leaf mimicked, not even pausing. "And I caught this fair and square! It's mine! So if you're that hungry, run over to mother and get her to feed you like a little kit!"
Fern shot her a withering stare, her ginger tail flicking dismissively as she stalked in the opposite direction.
Leaf scoffed, turning her attention back to her own meal. Due to the horrible pangs of her stomach, the mouse was devoured in seconds. When she finished, she buried the remains and set off in the direction her brother had stormed off to earlier. It didn't take her long to arrive, and as she had predicted, Fern was whining needlessly to their mother.
"-and Leaf wouldn't let me have a bite-"
"Because it was me that caught it!" Leaf hissed, her eyes narrowing angrily.
"That is enough!" Their mother, Rose thundered sharply. "You are acting like kits, especially you, Fern!"
As Leaf shot her sister a smug look, Rose continued, "And while you may be six moons already, that is not how you will treat your sister, Leaf. You know how scarce food is, and yet, you refuse to feed Fern."
"But mother," Leaf whined. "Why can't she catch his own food?"
"Not buts, Leaf," Rose retorted firmly. "It's bad enough that we're loners, but now that you've caught prey in ThunderClan territory, they're bound to know."
"How can they know if one mouse goes missing?" Leaf questioned dubiously.
"They send out patrols," Rose replied. "And if you were to come across one, Leaf, you will run. That includes you as well, Fern."
"Why do we have to run?" Fern asked, her eyes sullen.
"You cannot trust them, as soon as they're done with you, they'll stab you in the back and toss you out like you're nothing," Rose answered, her blue eyes cloudy with unshed tears. "And all because I fell in love with the wrong cat."
"You were with the Clans?" Fern said incredulously.
"Yes," their mother said. "But I won't tell you which Clan-" when Fern pouted, she smiled reassuringly, "-however, I can tell you my warrior name."
"You mean it's not 'Rose?" Leaf piped up curiously.
Rose smiled sadly. "No, it was not 'Rose', but 'Rosestream'."
"Rosestream," Fern tested then grinned. "Cool. Can I have a warrior name, mother?"
"No," Rose murmured.
"Why not?" She whined, twining her fiery tail around his paws. "I hate my name. It's so boring!"
"Be content with your name, Fern," Rose hissed. "After all, it was your father who named you."
"My father?" Fern breathed. "My father named named me? Who is he anyway, mother?"
Rose sighed sadly, "I can't tell you that. But what I can tell you is that he loved you very much. Both of you," she added when she caught sight of Leaf scowling.
Leaf scoffed at that admission. "If he loved us so much, mother, then why isn't he here? Where is he now?"
"He left," Rose retorted harshly.
Leaf didn't bother replying.
Not that it would help anyway! She thought furiously.
Rose sighed in exasperation before moving forward. Leaf stiffened when a tongue rasped over her ear, she shot her mother a withering look.
"Not this again, Leaf," Rose sighed. "You really must learn how to behave."
"How can I?!" Leaf spat. "How can I possibly behave when I just learned that our father abandoned us to this horrible life?! And if he loves us so much, then where is he?!"
At the end of her tirade, she choked on her words and looked down, avoiding her mother's eyes. Rose looked down at her daughter with eyes filled with sympathy and pity.
"There is only one thing I can tell you, Leaf," Rose spoke soothingly. "Your father's Clan had found out about the affair between him and myself. They gave him a choice: his Clan or me. Do you know what he chose?"
Leaf sniffed as she paused to glare rather heatedly at the ground. "His Clan," she bit out. "He chose his Clan over you. That's why he's not here right now."
Rose nodded sadly as Leaf's furry tail drooped.
"Is there even any point to our lives, mother?" She whispered.
"Of course there is," Rose answered reassuringly.
"Yeah," Fern piped in, her green eyes wide and happy.
"No there's not!" Leaf spat. "How can we even live like this?! We barely eat anything and Fern doesn't even know how to catch prey properly! Why do we have to be loners?! I hate it!"
"That's enough!" Misty hissed sharply.
Leaf shut her mouth, glaring at the ground.
"Have you any idea how I felt when I had to leave my Clan? Do you?!"
"No," Leaf muttered sullenly.
Rose's hard eyes softened at her daughter's soft voice and she answered softly, "I'm sorry that I'm being so harsh, Leaf. But you must understand, I know you dislike our lives as loners, I do as well and I'm sure Fern does too."
"You got right," Fern muttered
Leaf sighed as she murmured harshly, "Sorry."
Rose merely hummed in response, content with washing her daughter's flaming red pelt, all the while Leaf protested.
It was many hours later when Rose was urging her kits to sleep that she caught wind of a foul smell wafting in her direction. As soon as Leaf smelled it, she was on the alert. Fern on the other hand, seemed to have no grasp of the current situation. But Leaf seemed to recognise what it was at once.
Fox!
Leaf pricked her ears and crouched low, mimicking her mother and pressing herself flat to the ground. Not that it would do much, she knew her mother was perfectly camoflagued as her pelt was a dusky ginger. Leaf's fur was a flaming red and she was sure she would be the first to be picked off.
From the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Fern standing where she had begun. It was easy to tell that she was terrified, her limbs were stiff and her fur was bristled.
"Lie down," Leaf hissed.
Shakily, Fern copied her movements until she, herself, was lying flat on the ground. Leaf's breath caught in her throat and her blood turned to ice when something abruptly crashed through a nearby bush. Leaf froze as the creature bounded around, sniffing here and there, until it finally stopped above her.
Her breaths came in short, sharp gasps and she was afraid of what she would see if she looked up. Without even thinking, Leaf lifted her head, fearing what she would see.
The fox towered above her, its beady eyes creased and tongue lolling hungrily. Its fur was patchy and its skin seemed to hang off its body, its ribs jutting out sharply.
Leaf barely refrained from yowling in terror at the sight. Instead, she pressed herself closer to the ground, fervently preying that the fox hadn't seen her.
It seemed as if luck wasn't in her favor as the fox let out a fearsome growl, one that rumbled in its chest and crouched down, its bushy tail lashing. Leaf uncurled herself and mimicked its position, all the while glancing sharply to where Fern was hidden.
"Run, Fern," she hissed. "Run."
At the sound of her hissed command, the fox let out a snarl and lunged forward.
Leaf blanched, twisting her body to avoid its teeth, the fox's jaws snapped sharply at nothing.
"Mother!" She gasped. "Help me!"
At her whispered plea, a pale red blur streaked past her, slamming into the fox. The fox let out a horrible whine as claws dug into fur and teeth ripped into skin.
"Run, Leaf!" Rose screamed. "Run and take your sister! Find a place to hide while I hold it off! I'll find you as soon as I can!"
Leaf's mind was on overdrive as she ran, nudging Fern in the opposite direction. As she ran, she heard her mother's screams of pain and the excited growls of the fox. Leaf sighed sharply, turning around. She pierced her sister with sharp green eyes.
"I want you to stay here," she ordered. "I'm going back."
"But Leaf-" her sister began. Leaf wasn't able to hear the remainder of her response as she'd already run off.
"MOTHER!" She screamed.
As Leaf bounded forward, the fox paused, turning its head to gaze at the newcomer with wide eyes. That turned out to be a grave mistake as Leaf smashed into it, her claws raking across its side.
The fox howled in pain, its jaws snapping for her neck. Leaf twisted her body, avoiding the blow before she aimed for its neck. The fox's howls gradually faded to whimpers as her sharp teeth ripped into the delicate skin of its throat. In a last ditch attempt to throw her off, the fox bucked, raking its claws across her side, blood streaming from its mouth.
Leaf yowled, her back arching sharply as the fox fell to the ground with a barely audible thump. She panted harshly as she felt the warm soak of blood in her fur, the horrible sting of her wounds.
She'd done it.
I killed the fox! Leaf thought, the adrenaline of battle fading from her body.
As as soon as that thought faded from her mind, another struck it.
Where's mother?! And Fern?!
As she thought this, Leaf heard a very distinct groan, it was tinged with pain and weariness, almost as if the life was going to flicker out in a second. Ever so carefully, Leaf padded forward, her ears pricked and her flaming fur bristling.
Who is it? She wanted to whisper.
But as soon as she caught sight of a pale ginger pelt matted down by blood, she unwittingly took a step back. A whimper rose from deep within her throat as a sharp pain lanced through her chest.
Her mother's blue eyes were cloudy and glazed, but she wasn't dead.
Not yet.
"M-mother?" Her voice was trembling and Leaf hated that. She didn't want to appear weak, not in front of Rose.
"Is that you, Leaf?" Her mother rasped, Rose eyes flashing to life.
"Yes, it is."
Rose sighed, "Good. Is your sister there? Is Fern there?"
Leaf eyed the opposite direction, all the while wincing at the pain it brought her.
"She's not here," she admitted. "I made her hide, I don't where she is right now."
"She's right here," a familiar voice mewed.
Leaf felt an unfamiliar feeling jolt through her, it was nothing like the painful one from before.
Is it relief? Am I relieved at Fern's presence?
Leaf wasn't sure and she didn't dwell on it as her sister had already leapt upon her, showering her face in licks.
"I thought you were dead!" She cried.
"Well I'm not!" Leaf hissed, shoving her off. "Don't touch me again!"
"Someone's touchy," Fern muttered before she suddenly asked, "What's wrong with mother? Is she dying?"
Leaf didn't reply, instead choosing to press herself to her mother's icy flank, nuzzling her cheek with her muzzle.
"Mother?" Leaf whispered. "Are you still there?"
Rose sighed softly, a pained groan escaping her lips as she mewed, "I'm here, Leaf."
"You're not going to die, are you?" Fern whimpered, sounding like a frightened kit.
"I'm... afraid I am, Fern," Rose winced. "It's... too much... I'm... fading... StarClan is calling me..."
"Y-you can't!" Fern all but yelped. "I won't let you! StarClan won't take you away!"
"I'm sorry," Rose whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."
"It's alright," Leaf murmured, pressing herself closer, seeking her mother's warmth as she would have done as a kit. "We don't blame you. If you hadn't stepped in on time, then I would have been dead. I was only able to kill the fox because of you. You injured it enough so I could kill it. But when I did, I didn't expect... this." Leaf's words were choked as she continued, "I didn't expect to see you lying on the ground about to d-die."
Leaf stiffened when Rose shakily reached up to touch noses, all the whispering, "I am so proud of you, Leaf, Fern. I love both of you so much, my little kits. Make me even prouder..."
The remainder of her sentence faded to nothing, and when it did, Leaf let out a choked whimper and bowed her head, pressing her muzzle to her mother's cheek.
"Is she dead?" Fern rasped, her bright eyes seeming dull in evening moonlight.
"Yes," Leaf murmured, her usual prickly tone free from emotion. "She's dead and we'll never see her again."
"Yes we will!" Fern piped up in a determined manner. "We'll see her in StarClan!"
"And until then," Leaf hissed. "How will we survive?! We might as well kill each other now, I can't hunt for two cats! Anyway, there's not even a point in living," she muttered sourly at the end. "Not without mother."
"There is a point to living!" Shee raged. "Don't you want to settle down, have kits?"
"What use do I have for kits?" Leaf sneered, her tone dripping with poison. "Besides, we're barely kits ourselves with no idea how to survive!"
"W-we'll go to the Clans!" Fern blurted. "We may be loners, but a Clan is bound to accept us. And since mother was a Clan-cat herself, we're what, half-Clan?"
"And that's the problem," Leaf murmured. "We don't know which Clan mother was born to. It could have any."
"How about we try ThunderClan?" Fern put in, her eyes shining hopefully. "We're on their territory anyway, that's what mother said anyway."
"Right now?" Leaf inquired sceptically. "When it's still dark?"
Fern scoffed. "Of course not. What are you, a mouse-brain?"
Leaf sniffed, shooting her sister a dirty look. "We need to bury mother anyway."
"Yes," she agreed. "We do."
Leaf was surprised at how mature her sister was acting, normally she was as immature as the youngest kit. If they ever did join a Clan one day, then she'd be a great Leader.
That night, she and Fern buried their mother's body then layed over it, huddling and pressing together to keep warm.
. . .
The next morning, Leaf was awoken by the scent of something freshly killed. She sighed as the smell invaded her senses and she reluctantly cracked open one green eye. Just brushing her pelt, she saw a freshly killed mouse.
And standing in front of her was a sheepish looking Fern.
"How did you catch this?" Leaf questioned, fighting down a mrrrw of laughter. "You're horrible at hunting, Fern."
"I know," Fern responded, still looking sheepish. "I spent until at least sunhigh hunting for it."
"Sunhigh?!" Leaf all but yelped. "It's sunhigh?! Why didn't you wake me, Fern?! I could have helped!"
"Sorry," Fern muttered. "But you looked really tired and you were tossing and turning all night. I decided to let you sleep in."
"Mother never lets us sleep in," Leaf pointed, but instantly regretted her words when her sister winced.
"I know," Fern bit out sharply.
Her hard eyes softened when Leaf suddenly stiffened. Her ears pricked upwards as her fur bristled. She was just about to apologize for her harsh words when Leaf hissed, "Find a place to hide. Now."
Fern didn't have to be told again, she followed her sister's example as she scrambled up a nearby tree trunk, following on closely behind just as four figures burst into the clearing.
Leaf's heart was in her throat as the three creatures... were they cats? scurried around the clearing. As their scent hit her, she realized with startling clarity that they were cats.
And they were rapidly nearing the tree that she and Fern were huddled in. As she preyed that they wouldn't find her or her sister, she heard snippets of their conversation.
"... I'm telling you, Foxheart," a cold voice growled. "That I scented not one, but two cats in ThunderClan territory. They stink of the fox you were hunting yesterday and also... also of ShadowClan."
"ShadowClan?" A low voice scoffed. "Honestly, Ashpaw, your senses must be failing you, I only smell the fox, definetly not ShadowClan."
"Listen to Foxheart," a light voice piped in. "He's the deputy after all."
"It's always about Foxheart," Ashpaw bit in icily. "What about me, Blackpaw?"
"What about you?" Blackpaw responded venomously.
Ashpaw hissed in derision and looked ready to pounce until a very harsh voice cut. "That's enough, from both of you."
"Yes, Darkfire," Ashpaw muttered, bowing his head.
Darkfire scoffed, shaking his own head. "I expected better of you, especially on your first patrol, it seems that I was wrong."
Ashpaw seemed to scowl but Leaf couldn't see from her position in the tree.
"Now, Ashpaw," Darkfire growled. "What were the ShadowClan rogues you were yapping on about?"
Ashpaw didn't reply, merely padding to the foot of Leaf and Fern's tree, Blackpaw following on behind. Beside her, Fern shifted, causing the slightest of twigs and leaves to rain down. At the bottom, Ashpaw stiffened, casting his narrowed gaze toward the tree top.
"You can come down," he meowed gleefully. "Otherwise, I might have to kill you."
"Ashpaw!" Blackpaw gasped. "Why would you want to kill them? It's against the Warrior Code!"
"The Warrior Code didn't stop that scum from murdering my sister," Ashpaw responded coldly.
"Jetpaw was my sister as well," Blackpaw mewed softly.
Ashpaw scoffed, shaking his head. "You aren't even our real sister."
Blackpaw looked affronted as she mewed sharply, "Goldenlily took me in all the same after my mother died during her kitting!"
Ashpaw looked about ready to retort when Darkfire hastily cut in. "How many times have I told you," he hissed. "That when I say enough is enough, then it's enough?!"
"We're sorry, Darkfire," Blackpaw murmured. "I promise it won't happen again."
As Ashpaw scoffed again, Darkfire grunted out a simple, "Good."
As the four cats in the clearing seemed preoccupied, Leaf let a silent breath of relief and nudged Fern with her tail as she hissed, "Whatever you do, don't make a sound. And if that cat does spot us, then you'll run while I hold them off, do you understand what I'm asking of you, Fern?"
Her sister merely nodded, fixing wide green on the two cats resting by the bottom of the tree. Leaf held her breath as Blackpaw nearly tripped over something.
"Really, Blackpaw," Ashpaw sneered, tone dripping with venom. "You really should watch your step."
"Oh, shut up, you mouse-brain!" She hissed back.
But as her stared at what she had tripped over, her eyes widened with surprise. "Look at this, Ashpaw!" She gasped.
"What now?" Ashpaw responded, sounding annoyed. He flicked his tail irritably as his gaze came to rest on whatever Blackpaw was ranting about.
"Food," he murmured, giving the mouse an experimental sniff. "Freshly killed and stinking of Shadowclan," he growled.
"Darkfire, Foxheart," Blackpaw called. "Come and take a look at this!"
"I don't take orders from anyone but the leader and the deputy," Darkfire growled. "Especially by an apprentice."
"But you have to see this!" She insisted.
"Listen to what she's saying, Darkfire," the same low voice from earlier said. "Humour her."
"Very well, Foxheart," he responded smoothly. "I will humour the little apprentice."
Blackpaw was practically trembling as Darkfire moved forward, his cold eyes seeking the dead mouse. He bent his head, giving the mouse a curious sniff. His broad shoulders stiffened and his ears pricked upwards, as if he was contemplating of something of grave importance.
"You were correct, Ashpaw," he muttered grudgingly. "I do smell ShadowClan."
Ashpaw shot the older cat a smug and knowing look. But as Darkfire continued, it dimmed somewhat.
"But that is not all. I smell something else," he growled. "And it's none other than ThunderClan."
"ThunderClan?!" Blackpaw gasped. "But isn't that us?"
"Yes, you foolish apprentice!" Foxheart snapped.
Blackpaw seemed to flinch, but from Leaf's position in her tree, she couldn't be sure.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, bowing her head.
Foxheart grunted but didn't reply. Darkfire looked as if he wanted to tear something apart as his eyes came to rest on the tree.
"There," he hissed. "The filthy spies are in the tree!"
Leaf swallowed convulsively as Fern let out a choked gasp. "Run, Fern," she gasped. "Run and find somewhere to hide."
"I'm not leaving you," Fern argued. "Besides, what's the point if they've already found us?"
"True," Leaf murmured. She let out a sigh and pierced her sister with vivid eyes. "We should get this over and done with. Personally, I don't really care if I die, the only thing that matters to me right now is your safety."
"Leaf," Fern gasped. "Why are you being so negative?"
"Maybe because our father abandoned us and our mother is dead!" Leaf hissed, her eyes burning green fire. "Now hurry up!"
Without even so as much as waiting for a reply, Leaf slid to the ground and landed neatly on all fours in front of four dumbstruck cats. And just as suddenly as she had jumped down, she was tackled to the ground. Leaf grimaced as a cold nose pressed against her cheek.
"I knew it!" An icy voice spat. "ShadowClan scum!"
Before she knew it, Leaf had scoffed, shoved the cat off her and crouched in a defensive position, just as Rose-no, Rosestream had taught her. "Don't touch me!" She hissed.
The cat in front of her was entirely jet-black in colour apart from his white tipped tail. His eyes were a dark blue and burned as wildly as fire.
The black cat hissed in response, his cold eyes swirling like blue ice. Just as he was about to lunge, another harsh voice cut through.
"That's enough, Ashpaw!"
Almost immediately, Ashpaw shrank back, his ears lying flat on his head. Leaf looked in the opposite direction to see a medium sized cat with broad shoulders glaring at them with cold amber eyes. He was a grey tabby tom with darker stripes running the length of his back and tail and a lighter grey chest.
"Of course, Darkfire," Ashpaw mumured.
At the sound of those names, Leaf deduced that the remaining cats were Blackpaw-a prettyshe-cat with jet-black fur much like Ashpaw and light green eyes, and last but not least, Foxheart- a slim looking cat with bright ginger fur and a particularly bushy white tail. Leaf swallowed, the memory of the vicious fox the night before coming to mind. The scratches on her sides seemed to burn with the reminder and she grimaced, feeling the dried blood matting her flaming fur.
Darkfire then turned his attention to her. "Who are you?" He questioned coldly. "And why were you hunting on ThuderClan territory?"
Leaf shot him a defiant glare, refusing to answer, all the while preying that Fern had already gone.
"I'm not telling you," she shot back just as coldly.
"Are you a Kittypet then?" Darkfire growled, swishing his long tail around.
Leaf barely refrained from snorting. "Don't make me sick," she snapped. "I'm not a Kittypet."
"Then who are you?" A low voice questioned. "Tell us now before we resort to more grave measures."
Leaf sighed as Foxheart added, "And we will know if you're lying."
"Fine then," she murmured. "My name is Leaf."
"Leaf?" Blackpaw echoed. "Is that all? No 'paw' or anything else?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Ashpaw snapped. "It's quite obvious that she's a loner, despite the putrid stench of ShadowClan permeating off her in waves."
"Now that we've established that we know your name," Darkfire spat. "How about getting the other one to come down?"
How do they know about Fern? Leaf nearly slapped herself in ignorance. Of course, they must of scented her! But how do I stop them from killing her?
Looking up at the tree, Leaf mewed softly, "You can come down, they know you're there."
It seemed an eternity before Fern slid down the tree, landing directly behind Leaf. "Stay behind me," she whispered. When Fern nodding, gazing up at her with cloudy eyes. It took her more than a second to figure out that Fern was scared, no, terrified.
"It's going to be alright," she murmured in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. She'd never been good at comforting her sister, but she did her best.
"I'll ask you again," Darkfire snarled. "Why are you in our territory?"
Leaf ignored his question, giving Fern a comforting lick, but just as she was about to speak, Fern wiggled away from her hold and came to stand in front of her, meowing boldly, "We were only resting, I swear. Last night, we were attacked by a fox and our mother was killed."
At her innocent explanation, Darkfire's cold eyes seemed to soften considerably. "Very well," he rumbled. He then adressed Foxheart. "What would you do with them, Foxheart?"
The ginger warrior seemed to think before mewing, "Who was your mother?"
Without hesitation, Leaf replied, "Rose," while Fern replied with, "Rosestream."
All the colour drained from Foxheart's face and his mouth parted into an 'o' shape before he mewed faintly, "... did you say Rosestream?"
"Yes," Fern sounded confused, but Leaf was suspicious.
"Did you know her?!" She demanded.
"Of course I did," Foxheart answered with a hint of regret. "She's my sister."
Suddenly, time seemed to stop as both sisters comprehended what Foxheart had just uttered. She's my sister.
Around them, Leaf heard Blackpaw gasp. Really, she thought sourly. Is that all she does? Gasp?
Foxheart, the deputy of ThunderClan was their uncle.
Abruptly, Leaf felt an incredible rage. "Did you know we existed?!" She spat, her eyes only for Foxheart.
Her uncle didn't even hesitate in replying. "Yes," he responded smoothly completely surprising her. "I witnessed your kitting, I saw you open your eyes for the first time."
"Then where were you?!" Leaf cried. "Why were we living as loners when we could have been living in a Clan?!"
Foxheart appeared confused. "I don't understand," he mewed. "I thought you were dead. Rosestream thought you were dead. You disappeared from the nursery, your mother was distraught, but then she disappeared, never to be seen again."
He suddenly crouched in front of both Leaf and Fern. "Leafkit, Fernkit," he whispered. "Come home with me."
Leaf glanced at Fern, all the while her mind pondered over her name. Fern gave her an encouraging glance that seemed to say, 'we have nothing left, so we might as well go with the flow'.
"Alright," Leaf mewed. "Lead the way."