Alright guys~! Welcome to another update. So, before we get into this chapter, I just want to say that this chapter is very important! Something that happens in this chapter is going to change the plot forever! So prepare yourselves, because this chapter has a lot of drama!
Before we get into that, to my delightful reviewers:
Kuroimori- You'll find out soon enough! You'll just have to wait and see! -Dun Dun Dun-
PoppyRitz- Haha, this chapter is in Whitepool's POV. Whoops.
And yeh, Silverpaw~. Hehehe ;3 He should be fun to write about.
A sea of mist unpleasantly welcomed Whitepool into a clearing, only lit by the claw-shaped moon that hung high in the sky. Whitepool sniffed around, attempting to decipher where he was.
Where am I? Am I dreaming? He wondered.
To his relief, the mist cleared, revealing to him a painfully familiar glade. The soft grass beneath his paws welcomed him into the clearing, this time more pleasantly than the mist had earlier. Trees were lined neatly in a circle around him, thick fern bushes at their roots. He once again analyzed the scent in the clearing, each sniff becoming more and more nostalgic. He observed the trees, until he was astonished by the heart carved into one of them.
Birchpool Place! Whitepool suddenly realized.
"Birchpelt?" Whitepool called into the dark clearing, his voice echoing across the forest as if hundreds of other cats joined his desperate call, also baffled on where they lay.
"I'm always here, beloved."
Whitepool squinted his eyes as a bright, starry figure formed in front of him. It was Birchpelt!
Birchpool's starry pelt gave off light like no other, rivaling the sun's furious rays of radiance during a Green-leaf sunhigh. The clearing ignited into a beautiful scene, one of a dream Whitepool had never thought to have ever come true. The low hanging branches swayed in the subtle breeze, its leaves glittering with starlight. The soft grass beneath Whitepool's paws shimmered, as if the stars from silverpelt had been scattered across them. A single curtain of light, from the claw-shaped moon, settled on the cat of Starclan.
"I am always here," She echoed, her voice as smooth and sweet as the purest honey.
"Birchpelt," Whitepool choked out, as he burst into a run, burying himself in Birchpelt's starry pelt.
"I'm so sorry! I know why you're here!"
"Indeed," Birchpelt agreed, her pretty eyes darkening.
"I… I don't know how it happened! I don't love her at all!" Whitepool mewed softly, "I love you, and only you!"
"I love you too." Birchpelt purred, " But I also brought you here to tell you a new prophecy,"
"I'm no medicine cat, and you know that."
"Yes, but you are the… Father..."
"Huh?"
"I come here to let you," Birchpelt began "Even the shallowest pool of water can drown the whole of a clan..."
"What does tha-"
"But as the moon's bright light dries up the puddle, the clans will be saved.."
"Moon? Like Moonclan?"
"No, no, dear. The Moon, not a Moon."
Before Whitepool could get his questions answered, his vision faded, and the musky feeling of fog engulfed him into the darkness.
"Birchpelt! Come back!" Whitepool helplessly called into the gloom, "I already lost you once! I can't lose you again!"
Whitepool woke abruptly, blinking his mismatched eyes into focus. He glanced around the Warriors' Den. Stoneclaw was in his own nest, to Whitepool's right, dozing off; His nose tucked between his paws and tail wrapped around him. To Whitepool's left was Blacktail.
Blacktail seems to be having a nice dream… Whitepool thought, amused.
Blacktail was laying on his back, his paws churning occasionally in his sleep.
Probably chasing squirrels…
And directly diagonal from Whitepool is Birchpelt's- was Birchpelt's nest…
"B-Birchpelt..." he whimpered.
Panic struck him suddenly.
Stormbreeze! I have to tell her that I can't be with her…
"Birchpelt. I'm doing this for y-"
"Who- Who are you talking to?" a voice mouthed, a sleepy yawn in between their words.
"Blacktail?" Whitepool realized.
"I was… I was talking to- myself,"
"It's too late- To do such things. I'm tired," Blacktail spat, another yawn intercepting his words.
"But I-"
Blacktail interrupted, playfully sneering, "Shut it, Whitepool,"
Not one trace of venom dripped from the words, but Whitepool still felt the need to obey the order.
A sudden groan broke Blacktail's much-wanted silence.
"Is it sunhigh already?" Stoneclaw groaned as he rolled over, onto his back.
"Relax, new deputy! It's not even dawn!" Whitepool replied half-heartedly.
"You're still grieving," Stoneclaw scoffed, "Because I'm the deputy and Birchpelt is not."
Grieving. The word made Whitepool feel sick.
How am I supposed to not grieve? My pregnant mate died in a storm.
"No sympathy?"
"No. Birchpelt is one cat. Both my siblings died before we were made apprentices. Sympathy is for special occasions."
"She was more than one cat. She had my kits inside her! This is more than one of those special occasions! "
"Nah."
"Oh come on! There's a difference! I had a deep connection with Birchpelt! We were going to have our own family! And you hardly even got to know your littermates that well-"
"And that's just it!" Stoneclaw scoffed, "That's what I longed to do! I wanted to get to know them! But I never got the chance to!"
"Well, I still think that losing your whole family is worse!"
"Maybe she's not even dead; just lost."
"We've been searching for, like, three moons!"
"Yeah, and in three moons you're still grieving!"
Whitepool shakilly got to his paw, flicking his tail in annoyance.
"It's been three moons and you still show no sign of sympathy!" Whitepool mumbled under his breath as he hurried out of the cave-room.
"Still grieving!" Stoneclaw called after him in a snicker.
Whitepool forced himself to not respond. He had more important matters to attend to, like confronting Stormbreeze.
As Whitepool made his way into the camp's clearing, he was met halfway by Moonkit and his sister Sapphirekit.
"Whitepool! We're going to sneak out of camp!" Moonkit exclaimed, his tail waving frantically in the air.
"You Badger-brain! We weren't supposed to tell anyone!" Sapphirekit growled.
"Ohhhh. Oh yeah!" Moonkit giggled, "Oops!"
"You shouldn't sneak out of camp so early in the morning, kits!" Whitepool warned, "Foxes and badgers like to eat kits in the morning!"
Moonkit gasped, his small, pink mouth agape.
"L-let's get father to teach us battle moves instead!" Moonkit muttered, his tail between his legs.
"But I wanted to go exploring! Daddy is still sleeping anyways!" Sapphirekit argued, digging her tiny claws into the soft earth.
"Let's get mama to tell us a story!" Moonkit suggested, his tail shooting up in the air with excitement.
"Okay!"
The two kits scurried off, back into the Nursery; where they were supposed to be.
I really do wish I had kits of my own. But after I tell Stormbreeze we can't be together, there is no way she's letting me keep them…
Whitepool trudged forward, his tail dragging along the sandy earth.
This is for you Birchpelt!
As he made his way into the nursery, he paused as he neared the steps down into the heart of the Nursery cave. He strained his ears to listen for movement. As he stalked forward, silent as a mouse, he crept among the cave walls, he managed to hear a few cats- or kits- murmuring.
"Mama. Can you tell us a story? Please, mama!"
That's Moonkit. He's still awake.
"Moonkit. It's much too early."
And that's Rainleaf.
"But Mama!"
"Hush now."
"Mother! We're not tired!"
And there's Sapphirekit.
"What did I just say?"
"Yes Mama..."
"Okay Mother.."
Whitepool had to try hard to stifle the laughter rising in his throat. He straightened up from his crouch.
Well. It's time to-
"Ahem."
A plumy tail ran across his spine, and Whitepool spun around, bewildered.
"O-oh. Stormbreeze. I was- I was just about to visit you.."
She narrowed her pale orange eyes, as if trying to read his thoughts, but then they widened in delight.
"Why don't you come inside?" she offered, gesturing towards her nest, which was made inside a small cozzy, cave-room, "It's probably very cold."
"Um, I was actually meaning to talk to you in private..." he drawled, scuffling his paws awkwardly.
"Oh?" She raised a brow, curiosity swimming in her pale orange orbs. "Well then..."
"Well..." Whitepool began slowly, anxiety gnawing at his stomach, "I-"
He glanced to the side, refusing to meet her gaze.
Starclan, help me!
Whitepool was tempted to just flee, but he knew that this was something that had to happen. He released a wavered sigh, and pressed on bravely, "This isn't going to work."
"What isn't?" she asked.
She has no idea what's coming… I almost feel bad for her…
"Us," Whitepool replied simply.
"Us?" Stormbreeze echoed, confused.
"I-I'm sorry Stormbreeze. But I- I don't think we can be mates anymore."
"Wh-what? W-why? I thought we..." she trailed off, her eyes darkening in sorrow.
Whitepool swallowed the lump in his throat.
This has to be done…. I don't love her….
"Birchpelt visited me in a dream. And well, she-"
Stormbreeze interrupted, in a tone that hinted she was fighting to old back a growl, "That's all you ever talk about, isn't it?"
"Huh? No- I-"
"My stupid Sister, Bitchpelt!" she snarled, every word rising at an alarming pace.
"She's not stupid!" Whitepool hissed, a bit too quickly.
A silence hung over the atmosphere. Whitepool sneaked a glance at the she-cat he had once called a mate, horrified to see a scorching fury burning in her eyes.
Stormbreeze tossed her head, realising a wail, a mix of grief and anger, "Why? Why can't you just forget about her, and love me?!"
"Stormbreeze! I-"
"For all the things I've done for you! Remember when we were apprentices? I taught you the basics of swimming; And look who's the best swimmer in the clan: You!" she rambled on, "I was the one that taught you how to catch squirrels in the trees, how to dive for the juiciest fish, how to make a new nest..."
She ducked her head, squeezing her eyes shut.
"It was like I was your mentor!" she raised her head, and Whitepool noticed the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks.
"Remember when we went on walks together? When we found that rabbit that was as big as a fox? When we chased off those Sunclan intruders? Did any of those times mean anything to you? Anything at all?"
She held Whitepool's frightened gaze, not wavering.
"Well… Birchpelt was the one who convinced me to go on those walks with you. She said it would make you feel better..."
"Why can't you ju-"
Suddenly, Stormbreeze came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes widened into pale orange full moons.
"She.. She did what!?" A stream of tears ran down her cheeks, her lips quivering as she fought hard to hold in her wails.
"Y-yeah.. I would always try to tell you, but you would never listen."
Thank Starclan she's not angry. That would have never went well.
Stormbreeze released a low, vicious growl.
Nevermind.
"You never loved me! You never even liked me for that matter..." she uttered, lashing her tail.
"Stormbreeze. I'm sorr-"
"Don't give me that fox-dung!"
"No, really! I'm sorry I- I'm sorry we Lied to you like that..."
"You are the worst tom to have ever walked the forest!"
"See. It was never meant to be."
"I never want to see you again! The kits are yours! I'd never want to raise kits with your blood coursing through their veins!"
And just like that, the true-to-her-name Stormbreeze stormed off, leaving a trail of dust behind her.
Whitepool released a breath he didn't even realise he was holding.
I did it.
Heartbeats passed, silent and tense. But then..
"Father?"
Whitepool whirled around, only to see two tiny heads staring at him.
"Father? What happened."
Cliffhanger, kind of?
Anyway. I'm gonna be on vacation starting July 16th, so I may not update for awhile. I might just bring my chromebook with me, but who knows..?
So, it may have not seem that big a deal on what Whitepool did. After all, a Starclan warrior told him to, right? Well, soon, you'll see what the effect of this was. (Not too soon though...)
I hope I can update before I leave! Well, bye guys~!
Please review! I'd make my day
