Skypaw had left eariler in the morning, watching as Smokekit and Mousekit wrestled around. She loved her younger brother and sister, and seeing them play made her grin.
After coming back from apprentice training, news spread quickly of Mousekit, Lilykit, and Smokekit's disappearance.
Frightened, Skypaw searched throughout the camp, suddenly getting cut off by a screech.
"MY KIT!" It was Rosefur, screeching loudly. The noise came from the medicine cat den in a large, booming sound. "FIX MY KIT!"
Skypaw turned to Petalpaw and Cloudpaw, and the three quickly padded towards the den. As Skypaw peeked inside, she let out a gasp. Laying in a nest was their sister, Mousekit. Her fur was coated in blood, and her eyes were closed. She remained motionless, not the slightest movement coming from her. Smokekit sat crouched in the corner, looking down.
"I've already told you this, Rosefur," Nightwhisker tried to say as calmly as he could. "Mousekit is dead! There's nothing I can do!"
Skypaw felt her stomach drop, and she let out a moan at the news of Mousekit's death.
"What kind of medicine cat are you?!" she hissed. She then turned to Smokekit in a rage. "YOU! YOU DID THIS! Why did you go into the forest?! You know how dangerous it is!"
Smokekit shrunk down, ashamed.
"I-I didn't know," he mewed quietly.
Rosefur swatted at her kit and ran off. Petalpaw and Cloudpaw quickly ran after their mother, leavingt Skypaw to watch over her brother.
His blue eyes were glazed with diamond tears.
"I didn't mean to," he began, looking up at Skypaw.
Skypaw shushed him and grabbed some cobwebs from Nightwhisker's stash, beginning to clean the claw mark down his cheek.
"Come with me," she said softly, leading him outside of the den. She led him to the front of the apprentice den where they sat down.
"What happened?" Skypaw asked.
Smokekit looked down before answering.
"Well, Lilykit and I thought it would be fun to go out into the forest. Mousekit didn't want to go, but we called her a coward, and she decided to come. We weren't there that long, honestly. A big, white cat named Bone came out of the bushes. He reeked of MoonClan, and he was really scary."
"I bet he was," Skypaw sighed.
"I called him a few names because I didn't think he'd hurt a kit, but he clawed me," he whimpered, turning to show Skypaw a large claw mark that crept down his hip, though it had just been tended by Nightwhisker.
"Mousekit got angry, and she bit his ear. There was a small chink missing in his hear, and then he-he attacked her. A fox came out of the bushes, and I thought it was going to kill us, but it scared Bone off. The fox looked at Mousekit's wounds, and Mousekit died in the fox's arms. The fox spoke cat, Skypaw! It was trying to help Mousekit! But Mousekit died, and the fox left. And we came back here..."
A cat-speaking fox? It sounded pretty unrealistic.
"Rosefur said she's never going to forgive me," Smokekit whimpered.
Skypaw sighed and wrapped her tail around the tom. "Well, I still love you, Smokekit. It wasn't your fault, but you should definitely stay out of the forest. It's too dangerous to enter right now."
After the words came out of her mouth, Skypaw froze. She knew Petalpaw sometimes snuck out into the woods at night. Skypaw had to warn her of the dangers.
Smokekit curled up against his sister and fell asleep. Skykpaw smiled at the white and black tom, and for once, she didn't think about Blacktail.