Chapter 2
Hollyleaf's Guilt
The sun was still high in the sky by the time Hollyleaf padded back into the Thunderclan camp. She saw her brothers, Lionblaze and Jayfeather, talking outside the medicine cats den. She placed the mouse she had caught on the fresh kill pile before joining Lionblaze and Jayfeather.
"Hey," she meowed.
"Hi Hollyleaf," Lionblaze meowed, "how was your patrol with Squirrelflight?"
Hollyleaf shrugged, "it was the same as any patrol but she did tell me something," she meowed.
Lionblaze twitched his ears, "lets talk at the usual place," he meowed, "too many cats can overhear what we are saying here."
Hollyleaf nodded before padding toward the fresh kill pile. Whitewing padded out of the nursery and Hollyleaf could see she was getting bigger. I wonder when her kits are due, she thought to herself as Whitewing veered to join her.
"Hi Hollyleaf," Whitewing meowed as she came within earshot.
"Hi Whitewing," Hollyleaf replied politely.
"How was your patrol?" Whitewing asked.
Hollyleaf shrugged and replied, "it was okay."
Whitewing sighed, "what would I give to be patrolling once again?" she murmured.
Hollyleaf seemed shocked by that, "don't you want your kits?" she asked curiously.
Whitewing purred, "of course I want my kits," she meowed, "but I'm going to be stuck in the nursery until they are apprenticed and they still have to be born."
Hollyleaf nodded, "well, I'd better go, bye Whitewing," she meowed.
Whitewing purred, "bye Hollyleaf," she meowed before padding past her to the fresh kill pile. When she was sure no one was looking, Hollyleaf padded toward the warriors den and slipped behind it to see that Lionblaze was already waiting for her.
"Lets wait for Jayfeather," Lionblaze suggested.
"I'm here," Jayfeather replied from behind Hollyleaf. The black warrior struggled to move to let her brother into the small area. "We seriously need to find somewhere else to meet, it's getting to crowded in here," he meowed.
"Yes, I know, but for now this will do, so what did you want to talk to us about Hollyleaf?" Lionblaze asked.
"Squirrelflight told me that our mother is still alive and that we were born in Thunderclan," Hollyleaf replied.
Jayfeather's ears twitched, "was that all she told you?" he asked.
Hollyleaf nodded, "I tried to get her to tell me the name of our mother but she wouldn't, she kept saying she had promised someone she wouldn't say anything," she replied.
"Great, at least we know we were born in Thunderclan so maybe we are the Power of Three," Jayfeather meowed.
Hollyleaf snorted, "there are plenty of queens who could have been our mother and not all of them are related to Firestar so I wouldn't count on it," she meowed.
"We should try to find out who are mother is," Lionblaze meowed, "it would help us to figure out if we truly are the power of three or not."
Hollyleaf nodded, "but where will we start?" she asked, "and if we go around asking cats questions, they are bound to be suspicious and we can't afford suspicion, not now anyway."
Lionblaze opened his mouth to protest but Jayfeather interrupted, "she right you know, it's bad enough we are already keeping what happened to Ashfur a secret, we can't afford to have everyone else think we're keeping other secrets as well," he meowed.
"Yes but wouldn't it have been wiser to tell Firestar what we knew about Ashfur's death?" Lionblaze asked.
"Use your brains, Lionblaze," Jayfeather snapped, his sightless blue eyes glaring at the golden tabby tom, "if we told Firestar about what happened to Ashfur, it is likely he'll want to know how we knew and that would mean he would find out that Squirrelflight lied and he would assume we knew all along."
"Oh," Lionblaze lowered his amber eyes, "I hadn't thought about that."
"We'll have to think about something else," Jayfeather continued, "for now, I think the best thing we can do is lie low. Do as we are told and don't show unnecessary hostility toward Squirrelflight," he glared at Hollyleaf as he said those last words.
Hollyleaf snorted, "I'll try," she murmured.
"Good, now we'd better get back before they notice we're gone," Jayfeather meowed and before Lionblaze or Hollyleaf could say anything, he sprang to his feet and padded back into the camp. Lionblaze and Hollyleaf soon followed him, going at different intervals to avoid suspicion.
"Hollyleaf!" Hollyleaf turned toward the voice that called her as she padded toward the fresh kill pile. To her dismay, Firestar was padding toward her.
"Firestar," Hollyleaf meowed, dipping her head.
Firestar sat down beside her as Hollyleaf chose a mouse from the fresh kill pile and sat down to eat it, "whats gotten into you lately Hollyleaf?" he asked as the silence stretched onward for a few moments.
"Nothing," Hollyleaf replied, swallowing a bite of the mouse.
Firestar didn't look convinced, "you've never acted hostile toward Squirrelflight before, Hollyleaf," he pointed out, "whats the matter?"
"Nothings the matter, Firestar," Hollyleaf replied. Mouse dung, I should have taken Lionblaze's warning and not acted hostile toward Squirrelflight, she thought to herself.
"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me," Firestar meowed, looking at Hollyleaf with curiosity and worry in his eyes.
Hollyleaf sighed, "I would but I can't," she murmured and almost as soon as the words came out, she wished she could snatch them back.
"Can't? Why can't you?"
"Never mind."
Firestar sighed, "alright," he meowed, "if you want to talk about anything, you know where to find me." Nodding in farewell, he got to his paws and padded over to join his deputy below the highledge. Hollyleaf watched him go, feeling a wave of guilt flow through her. She desperately wanted to follow Firestar and tell him everything she knew but she knew she couldn't do that.
Why do we have to keep so many secrets? she thought to herself, Ashfur's death, Squirrelflight's secret, why can't we just tell Firestar what happened? But she knew the reason why they couldn't say anything to anyone.
Some secrets, she thought to herself, are better left a secret.
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: I liked it but it's not for me to say, please review
Tigerstar: and she's sorry for not updating sooner
Blaze: I was going to say that
Tigerstar: oh sure
Blaze: I was, the reason I haven't updated is because my computer was being a jacka....
Tigerstar: (cough)
Blaze: er, an idiot and I couldn't log on, let alone type up my chapters and update them
Tigerstar: except for Dark Moonlight
Blaze: I told you Tigerstar, I typed Chapter 3 before my computer went haywire
Tigerstar: oh sure
Blaze: why do you keep saying that?
Tigerstar: how should I know?
Blaze: well stop, it's getting annoying
Crimson: it really is
Tigerstar: (jumps into the air) Crimson, don't do that!
Crimson: (laughs) sorry
Tigerstar: (restarts heart) you seem to have the knack for walking into places as silent as a cat
Crimson: whoa, I'm as silent as a cat and yet I'm more silent than you
Tigerstar: I resent that
Crimson: whether you resent it or not, it's still true
Tigerstar: (grumbles)
Blaze: (laughs) please review, next chapter as soon as I can
