CHAPTER 6

The sun was high in the sky as Solstroke padded into the camp her mouth full of prey. She and Rosethorn had been hunting together again and Solstroke was starting to feel better after Rainstorm died. While they were hunting they had scented badger again and Solstroke had planned to tell Brackenstar. Solstroke dropped her sparrow in the fresh-kill pile and turned towards Brackenstar's den but Rosethorn was ahead of her.
"Err…I'll tell him this time," she said Solstroke purred and watched her friend head for the leaders den and she wondered when Rosethorn was going to admit she loved Brackenstar. Solstroke sighed and grabbed her sparrow back from the pile and took a bite from it. While she was eating she spotted Leafwhisper pad from the warriors den.
"Nice day isn't it Solstroke?" she purred and padded up to the ginger she-cat and took a small thrush from the pile and joined Solstroke. She watched as Leafwhisper was joined by Brightpelt who wrapped his tail with hers and gave her head a lick. A slight twinge of pain reminded Solstroke of the love she and Rainstorm could have shared. When she finished the sparrow Brightpelt and Leafwhisper were sharing tongues.
"Want to go hunting with me?" she heard Leafwhisper purred as they finished. Brightpelt looked at the grass and shook his head.
"I have a patrol in a little bit," he said and stood up to meet Lionclaw who was waiting for him at the entrance of the camp. She heard Leafwhisper sigh and turned to Solstroke.
"Would you like to go hunting?" she asked and Solstroke sighed. She didn't want to go hunting again and be with a happy cat.
"I just went," she said and shrugged and Leafwhisper looked away.
"I guess I can hunt alone," she whispered and stood up and Solstroke watched her pad out of the camp.

Solstroke spotted Rosethorn pad from the leaders den with Brackenstar at her side. Solstroke padded up to her, but Rosethorn shook her head as Brackenstar climbed onto the tallrock.
"Let all cats old enough to catch prey gather here beneath the tallrock for a Clan meeting!" he yowled as Solstroke spotted Whitekit bound out of the nursery without his sister.
"Solstroke and Rosethorn have scent badger on our territory again and from now on until the badger has been chased away no warrior will leave the camp alone! Any apprentice must be accompanied by a warrior," Solstroke listened as Brackenstar continued to list safety tips and felt something stir in her belly, but she couldn't quite put her paw on it.

"Solstroke!" she heard Whitekit squeak and turned to see the little tom bounce up to her.
"Can I take the badger?" he squeaked and leapt and twisted in the air swiping his paw at something that wasn't there. Solstroke was impressed.
"Who taught you that move?" she asked, not answering his question.
"Oh, Ashstorm has been spending a lot of time with me," Whitekit purred and the white tom pounced on a small leaf on the ground.
"Are you excited to become an apprentice in a moon?" Solstroke asked and the little amber eyes looked up at her.
"Am I?!" he yowled and spun around cheerfully. Solstroke purred in amusement and glanced around the camp.
"Where is Smokekit?" she asked him.
"I don't know," he mumbled and raced back towards the nursery. Solstroke shrugged and spotted Rosethorn talking to Brackenstar quietly, their tails were twined.
Finally.

As the sun was sinking lower into the sky the patrol returned and Brightpelt padded up to Solstroke.
"Where is Leafwhisper?" he asked her and she felt the same twinge in her belly from before.
"She went hunting," Solstroke replied and spotted Lionclaw speaking quietly with Ashstorm from across the camp. Curiosity burned at her pelt but Brightpelt stood in her way.
"With whom?" he growled at her.
"She went…alone…" Solstroke trailed off as she realized Leafwhisper had left the camp alone!
"What?!" Brightpelt yowled and Solstroke took a step back.
"I'm sure she is fine, Brightpelt," she mewed calmly. Brightpelt turned and ran out of the camp, Solstroke followed since no warrior could go out alone. As she caught up to him she realized he was following Leafwhisper's scent trail.
"Brightpelt she is fine she probably got caught up in hunting," Solstroke said, trying to calm the tom. Solstroke slowed as her scent trail started to turn towards the forest.
"Leafwhisper!" Brightpelt called and Solstroke heard a voice coming from behind her.
"Brightpelt over here," she said and followed the sound of the voice. She winced at the sight she caught and heard Brightpelt let out a gasp. Leafwhisper was lying on her side, her fur was spiked with blood and her belly had a huge gash along it.
"Leafwhisper who did this!" Brightpelt yowled and padded up to his mate and began to clean the blood from her pelt. Solstroke was frozen, she couldn't move as memories of Rainstorm flooded in her mind, he was lying on his side his flank was scratched up and his throat had a long gash in it.
No
His fur was spiked in blood and his voice was weak with pain and his eyes were closing.
No
Solstroke watched him die over again as Leafwhisper was there and being calmed by her mate.
"We need to get her to Smallfern, NOW!" Solstroke yowled, not wanting her brother to go through the same thing she did.

Brightpelt shot his head up and glared at Solstroke.
"Like Smallfern would help her," he hissed and whispered in his mate's ear.
What did that mean?
Why wouldn't their medicine cat help one of her Clanmates?
"Badger," Leafwhisper croaked and shut her blue eyes.
"NO!" Brightpelt yowled Solstroke felt her legs begin to crumble from beneath her weight. Leafwhisper opened her eyes one last time.
"Take care of our kits," she whispered and she sighed for the last time. Solstroke barely heard Brightpelt's yowl of agony as she collapsed to the ground and felt the pain of hundreds of claws slashing at her heart.
She felt a cat standing beside her, turning her head she saw a misty cat figure next to her.
"Rainstorm?" she whispered and he was gone. Taking a deep breath and padding up to Brightpelt's side she nudged him gently.
"We have to take her back to camp."
"What about my kits?" he wailed and pressed his muzzle into her fur, the pain in his voice and the pain in his eyes was enough to make Solstroke start wailing too.
"Come on," she said and let him grab his dead mate by her scruff.

When the two cats returned to camp she heard gasps of horror and shock coming from cats from the camp.
"Leafwhisper?" she heard a squeaky voice come from the apprentices den and spotted Birchpaw and his siblings watching Brightpelt. Her heart wrenched. Brightpelt placed the she-cat in the middle of the camp and leaned over her body and placed his muzzle into her fur. Solstroke watched Birchpaw, Rabbitpaw, and Beetlepaw slowly pad out of the den and they were watching their mother.
Do they not realize she is dead? Solstroke wailed to herself. She approached the three siblings, their eyes wide with worry and confusion.
"What is wrong with Leafwhisper?" Birchpaw whispered not breaking his gaze from his mother.
"Come with me," Solstroke whispered and led the kits to a small mossy place in the camp.
"Sit down," she said, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.

Solstroke tried to be so nice to them; she tried to do it gently.
"Leafwhisper won't be with us anymore," she said.
"Is she like Rainstorm?" Rabbitpaw asked innocently that sent thorns into Solstroke's heart and she struggled to breathe steadily.
"Y – Yes." And Beetlepaw let out a cry of pain and dashed over to the tabby she-cat, the other two were frozen in shock.
"She's dead?" Rabbitpaw whispered her eyes were glazing over with misery. Solstroke tried not to look at Birchpaw but gave up as he let out a similar wail to Beetlepaw and padded up to his mother and stuck his muzzle into her fur.
"Rabbitpaw?" Solstroke whispered to the little she-cat who was still staring after the body.

It was moonhigh and four cats were still sitting vigil for Leafwhisper.
Brightpelt, and their kits.
Solstroke watched from the warriors den as Brightpelt sent the kits to their nests for the night and Brightpelt lifted his muzzle into the sky.
"Great StarClan give us answers!" he yowled into the sky and his eyes glimmered in the moonlight. Brightpelt leaned down and nuzzled his mate's fur again and looked around the empty camp. Brackenstar padded from his den his fur turned from brown to silver in the moonlight.
"We will mourn your loss, but now we must continue on." He mewed to Brightpelt. Brightpelt turned from Brackenstar as if he refused to let her go.
"These are tough days, we have lost more warriors than we have ever before just these few seasons." He growled, his whiskers twitched and his eyes were harsh.
"But we cannot swim in our own grief or RainClan will die! All of us!" he hissed to Brightpelt who still ignored him.
"I cannot let go. This cat was not meant to die." Brightpelt finally answered.
"Is any cat meant to die?!" Brackenstar hissed, his voice was rising into a yowl. Brightpelt glanced back up to the sky, it was still cloudless.
"How could StarClan let this happen?" he whispered. This time Brackenstar looked down and his eyes brimmed with sadness.
"StarClan is no longer with us. They have abandoned us in our time of need." Brightpelt shot his head up in shock, his eyes still traumatized from the death.
"How can you say that?!"