Hi! It's me again! Goldenpaw's death is really sad, I know, but it happened. So, just to explain, I would do online roleplays as Natureheart with other people and their OCs, so all of this actually happened. At the very last chapter, I will be giving fun little facts about the littermate's original storylines. And I think this chapter and a specific later chapter are the only happy chapters in the whole book. Sad, really, but anyway, Enjoy!
Natureheart continued padding next to Hollowstrike, who had his ears and tail drooping. They were padding back from Goldenpaw's grave. It was only two sunrises ago when Graypaw rushed back fearfully, announcing the dreadful murder of Hollowstrike's sister. Apparently, Claw had fallen in love with Goldenpaw when she was only a kit, and was hoping for a future with her (Anyone thinking of Ferncloud and Dustpelt?) but her wish to become a medicine cat broke his heart, so he sought out revenge. But by murdering the cat he once loved? Isn't that a little mousebrained? Who am I kidding, it is incredibly stupid she thought as she padded down the hill. Her leg that had broken when she was an apprentice was limping slightly, enough to where cats notice, but nobody paid attention. She could walk and hunt and fight ok, so it didn't matter. She and the brown tom approached the camp, where they could see Claw being exiled.
"You are lucky we aren't heartless enough to kill you. Unlike yourself" Ravenstar snarled after the brown menace as he padded away. Natureheart heard Hollowstrike snarl beside her.
"He deserves to" he whispered. Natureheart sighed. She looked around for her littermates. Firepelt was next to Shrewheart, who was just about ready to give birth to her kits. Firepelt helped Shrewheart limp into the nursery as she spasmed. On the other side of the clearing, Waterclaw was talking to Oceanheart, the deputy. The two would commonly converse, Oceanheart finding an interest in Waterclaw's knowledge and experience. My brother would make a great deputy one day she thought. Ravenstar padded up to Hollowstrike and Natureheart.
"I am sorry for what has happened to your sister. Many of my warriors didn't trust Claw. I was insolent enough to accept him when I shouldn't have" Ravenstar admitted. Hollowstrike dipped his head.
"it wasn't your fault, Ravenstar. But I am afraid that we cannot stay in this clan any longer" Hollowstrike said. Natureheart nodded. Waterclaw, Firepelt, Hollowstrike, and herself had a conversation and all agreed to leave after Firepelt helped Shrewheart with her kitting. Natureheart explained it all to Ravenstar and Ravenstar lowered his head.
"Of course. I don't expect you to enjoy staying in the clan where your sister was slaughtered" Ravenstar meowed sympathetically. Hollowstrike nodded. Then they heard yowling coming from the nursery. This is it. Shrewheart is kitting she thought. After a while, the yowling died down, Squirrelmist the medicine cat left the den and Firepelt poked her head out.
"A tom and two she-kits. Come see Ravenstar. They are beautiful." She said. Ravenstar padded into the nursery to see his mate and kits. A while later, Natureheart poked her head inside. Ravenstar was crouching over the beautiful black she-cat, who had three little bundles at her belly. The tiny tom was black like his mother, the bigger of the she-kits was brown like her father, and the smallest she-kit was a mixture of both, being brown with soft black striped. She purred gently before backing up. She imagined having her first litter, watching them tussle in front of the nursery and gently grooming their kit-soft pelts as they fell asleep at night. She turned to Hollowstrike, who seemed to be reading her mind.
"Having kits would be a joy, wouldn't it?" he questioned. He moved to sit next to her, and he laid his bushy brown tail over her thin black one. She sighed.
"Yes, it would." She smiled. She licked his cheek. As long as they are yours, she couldn't help but think.
Natureheart felt a paw prod her awake from her sleep on top of Waterclaw. Firepelt was on top of him too. He grew so big that he took up almost half of the warriors den, so the only place her and her sister could sleep without getting squashed was on top of their oversized brother. A couple of the other warriors would take turns sleeping on top of him actually, since he is really comfortable to sleep on. And he wouldn't mind. But that usually led to Waterclaw being impossible to wake up. She flickered her eyes open and saw Hollowstrike prodding her, also standing on Waterclaw. He learned to balance well on the cat behemoth.
"Come on, we got to go. Wake up Firepelt and Waterclaw" he whispered to her.
"I'm already awake" Firepelt mumbled, stretching her legs out and yawning. "But waking up Waterclaw will probably take up to sunhigh" she mused. Natureheart snorted. Neither of the sisters took any worry about his size, but they would constantly joke about it. Hollowstrike smiled a bit, and then leaped off of Waterclaw's back and approaching his head. It did disturb Hollowstrike though, that a tom half his age grew bigger than him before either even became warriors. Hollowstrike poked the black and white tom's nose. Nothing. He nudged his cheek. Nothing. He prodded his half-closed eye. Nothing.
"Here, let us try" Firepelt said. She and Natureheart padded down his neck and both faced an ear.
"One, two three…" Firepelt said before both sisters bit down hard on both of Waterclaw's ears. He shuffled and twitched them, before blinking and sitting up.
"Did a thorn get wedged in my ear again?" he asked. Natureheart shook her head.
"Nope, just us. Now we gotta go" she meowed.
"But where? We got nowhere else to go. Unless you count one of the other clans. And they were very hostile that last gathering we attended." He questioned. Hollowstrike nodded.
"Well, guys, don't you remember the old nursery tales Bloodstar have been telling us? About Bloodclan's old rival clan Oceanclan? They said that Oceanclan moved to live up to its name, and live close to an ocean" Natureheart said. Firepelt nodded.
"Yeah, and on our way here from Bloodclan, we passed a beach, and a wide stretch of water with no end. Bloodstar explained that oceans were another name for sun-drowned places, and that was it" Firepelt said.
"Yes, but I scented no cats as we passed, and saw none either" Hollowstrike said.
"Well, ocean is good enough for me! Let's go!" Waterclaw yowled, earning multiple "Shhhh" from around the warrior's den.
"Well, we got no time to loose" Hollowstrike said. "Let's go"
It has been multiple days since the four friends left the clans around the lake and started their journey to Oceanclan. They had to take multiple stops because their previous scents from their first journey had worn off and Natureheart wasn't feeling well. They all were resting in an old daisy bush when Firepelt gasped.
"Oh no..." she said, a look of horror glistening in her blind eyes. "Oh no no no no…"
"Firepelt, what's wrong?" Waterclaw asked.
"Sniff the air" she said. Waterclaw did so, and gasped.
"Oh you got to be kidding me" he snarled. Natureheart sniffed the air and gasped when a familiar tang hit her nostrils.
"No way…" she said.
"Oh yes way. Water, Fire, Nature? Is that you?" said a menacing voice. All four cats turned their heads to the owner and Waterclaw lept to his paws.
"Socks!" he snarled. Socks snickered.
"My my, my children have grown up in the past few months" he said. Waterclaw looked up at him. Yes, up. Socks was bigger than the lump. Well at least we know who Waterclaw got his behemoth genes from Natureheart sighed to herself. She tried to cheer herself up but Socks's presence forbid that.
"Is this your father? The one that has killed your mother and brother?" Hollowstrike questioned. Firepelt nodded, glaring straight at Socks as if she could see him.
"Yes, I have, and I take no regret in it. You kids were never meant to be born. Now, I have come to finish what I have started" Socks snarled. Then Waterclaw yowled.
"NO!" and lept at Socks. He tackled the bigger tom and shoved him down. Socks might be bigger, but Waterclaw spent moons of training, so he was stronger. He batted at his son's belly and threw him off before leaping at him. Natureheart left Hollowstrike's side and rushed to guide her sister away. The two sisters retreated, Hollowstrike following.
"Shouldn't we go help Waterclaw?" he questioned.
"Oh no, Waterclaw is fine. He can fight stronger than a monster if someone threatens us" Firepelt panted. Natureheart nodded agreement, before looking back to where the battle was. The noise died down into nothing and a few heartbeats later, Waterclaw padded back with blood coating his white paws. He gasped.
"This is it. He is dead. Both of our parents are dead" he whispered. Firepelt padded up to him and licked the blood off his cheek.
"Well, what's done is done. He can't hurt us any more" Firepelt said. Hollowstrike and Natureheart nodded at the same time.
"Well, let's keep on going" Waterclaw said. They were about to move when Hollowstrike stopped them.
"Wait, you guys go on ahead. I want to speak with Natureheart" he said. Waterclaw and Natureheart exchanged a glance before he nodded and he and Firepelt left the two cats alone. Hollowstrike sighed.
"Natureheart, I can't hold it in any longer. I just can't." He wailed. Natureheart tilted her head.
"Hold what in?" she asked.
"Since the beginning I thought I hated you. You were rough and annoying, that it set me off. But all of your bravery and talent really hit me. Natureheart, I love you. Please be my mate. I don't know where I would be right now without you" he blurted out. Natureheart was speechless. She never expected Hollowstrike, of all stubborn creatures, to be begging to be her mate. Her mate. She was overjoyed that the tom she loved, loved her back.
"Y-yes! Yes of course I will be your mate! Oh Hollowstrike, I love you too!" she said, rushing to him and burying her face in his fluffy chest fur. He licked her head, covering her with gentle strokes. She sighed happily. Oh Starclan, I wish this would never end, she thought.
Aaaand, that's that chapter. I told you it was happy! Well, other than Socks's attempt to murder his remaining children and dying himself. Dang, Waterclaw's vicious. I know some of you might be confused about the other three clans but I promise, they will be mentioned later on in future chapters. And now that the two lovebirds are mates, you can expect what will happen next… if you thought 'Oceanclan!' or 'Kits!' then you are right for both. And it will be happy! Oh, and in the heading it says that Natureheart is almost murdered when pregnant. Well, Socks's attack wasn't that. Natureheart isn't pregnant, just feeling a bit sick. That scene will come in really soon. Thank you all! You are awesome! Now baiiiii!
