Mad Father - Chapter 3

I do now own Mad Father. I do not own Warriors. I do not own anything written by Sparrowfeather1.

Chapter 3

Adalia

The darkness engulfed me as I padded into my small den. It wasn't incredibly small, but it wasn't large either; it was… a good, neutral size. My mossy nest lay on the right wall, but I ignored it as I padded over to the left back corner. Over there, was my small shrine that I had built for my mother. Well, shrine was an overstatement; it was just a small collection of things my mother had, or took interest in. There was a heart-shaped leaf that mother had found for me a year ago, just before she died that was now dried out and brittle; a clump of moss from her nest that still faintly bore her scent; and a beautiful, white stone that father had given her for their anniversary last year.

Father had his own little trinkets to remind him of Mother too, but he had let me have these since I loved them so much. I rolled the moss clump toward me and breathed in the delicious, warm, familiar scent of my mother, but it was fading. About a moon ago, I had been absolutely appalled when I discovered that my mother's scent was diminishing and mine was replacing it. After that, I had rarely gone near it to preserve one of the last tangible memories of my mother…

"Adalia, come here," Mother called. We were playing outside the caves. It was only a few sun-shifts away from evening, but the greenleaf sun still warmed my fur. The vibrant rays were attracted to my black pelt, ensuring the heat. My mother got off easier when it came to the heat—her pelt was long and fluffy, but it was the color of milk—soft and creamy.

I scampered over to her, the grass blades tickling my belly. She lay underneath one of the many fir trees that grew around our mountain, and once I reached her, the scattered pine nettles pricked my paws. I ignored them as I reached Mother and rubbed up against her, breathing in her wonderful aroma.

"Adalia, look at me," Mother mewed.

I did as she asked, and stood right in front of her, looking into her soft, loving eyes that were as blue as a crystal-clear lake. She leaned forward and pressed her muzzle to my forehead. Gently, she licked both of my ears, and then the space in between them.

"Mother, what are you doing?" I asked innocently, peering up at her.

Mother pulled away and smiled. "I have planted a good luck charm on you, Adalia. Now, wherever you go, you will be lucky."

I smiled. "Okay! That's good."

Mother smiled again, but stopped as a coughing spasm ravaged her body. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the pine nettles, as the spasm passed. Once it was over, she looked at me with tired eyes. "I will not always be here to protect you, Adalia, but even if you can't see me, I will always be looking out for you."

My eyes widened at that. "Mother? What do you mean? We'll always be together, right?"

Her normally clear eyes clouded over. "I will always be with you, Adalia. That's all you need to know."

My heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces the day Mother died; she'd passed away from one of her coughing fits. Mitzi was the one who had told me. She came up to my room and told me the news without even batting an eye. I'm sure that she was happy about this, though. She loved Father, just like Mother did. She wanted to be Father's mate, and now that Mother was gone, the way had been opened.

Mother never liked Mitzi, and because of that, neither did I. I was on Mother's side no matter what. I knew that Father liked Mitzi, but I also knew that he liked her way too much. Mother had said that he was cheating on her once… back when I heard it, I didn't understand what she meant, but now I do. Not even three moons after Mother's death, Father told me that Mitzi was his new mate, and she would be my new mother.

I hated the idea.

I hated her.

Unsheathing my claws, I stared down at the pile of my mementos. For a moment, the rage and hate I had for Mitzi burned like a raging fire within me, but I soon let it die. I sheathed my claws and padded over to my nest, shaking my head. It wasn't her fault Mother was dead.

As I slid into my nest, an unusual feeling came over me; I felt unease. Something was wrong—terribly wrong. I hadn't gotten such a feeling in a long time, but every now and then, I would worry for Father's safety down in the pit. However, I had just checked on him, so he should be fine. I let out a quick yawn before snuggling into the moss, trying to push that foreboding feeling as far away from me as possible.

A/N: Review?