Chapter Eleven:

Jewelshine woke up the following morning curled up next to her new mate. Hawkwhisker smiled warmly at her.

"I never imagined I'd ever wake up next to my favorite cat in the world," he purred against her softly.

"Alright, lovebirds," mewed Angleclaw, nudging his sister. "You're a warrior now, sis. It's time to go hunting."

Jewelshine stood up with Hawkwhisker.

"Simpletooth, Tinyfoot, Lilysky, and I will go with you."

Jewelshine walked with her mate out to where her former mentor stood, next to her old nursery mate, Lilysky. They had obviously been in conversation and Lilysky shoved Tinyfoot teasingly and they both laughed.

Jewelshine was grinning a little too impishly, so both cats asked her, "What?"

She didn't bother to tease Tinyfoot's obvious liking to Lilysky. Instead, she trotted into the forest with Hawkwhisker and Simpletooth. Angleclaw and Maisie weren't far behind with Tinyfoot and Lilysky.

"Look there, Jewelshine," mewed Simpletooth. He came upon a recently killed mouse. "I'm going to eat it; I'm starving."

Her brother had already taken a large bite by the time Jewelshine had reached his side. "Simpletooth, this is really a bad idea, I have a bad feeling about this. You shouldn't eat it."

Simpletooth acquired a funny look on his face suddenly. "I feel...funny."

Jewelshine pawed at his face. "Spit it out! Did you already eat some?"

He spit some out. "I already swallowed some..."

She started looking in the mouse when her brother suddenly gasped and collapsed, convulsing on the ground. Jewelshine urgently searched through the mouse as Tinyfoot rushed up to help.

Deathberries. Jewelshine unfolded a part of the mouse and found it overflowing with deathberries.

"Tinyfoot," she whimpered.

Her mentor knelt next to her. "oh, Jewel. He doesn't stand a chance."

So the group just stood around him silently. Jewelshine brought her dying brother some poppyseeds to ease the pain as he gasped and panted and howled and convulsed.

"Jewelshine," Simpletooth groaned in pain, writhing. "Purposeful...someone...left...mouse. Purposeful...purposefully."

"He's right," Angleclaw meowed. "Someone must've left it intending to kill someone."

Jewelshine tried to comfort Simpletooth, but he just whimpered as he slowly lost energy and passed out. His last breath lasted only a second, and then he stilled.

"Oh, StarClan," murmured Hawkwhisker. "I'm sorry, Jewelshine. I know Simpletooth was a wonderful cat."

Jewelshine just stood and stared at her dead brother in shock and disbelief. Angleclaw and Hawkwhisker gently carried Simpletooth away.

Lilysky knelt next to Jewelshine quietly.

"There is nothing you could've done to save him, Jewel," said Tinyfoot as he knelt at her other side.

She started to sob, shaking with grief.

Lilysky brushed against her. "Oh, oh Jewelshine, I'm sorry about Simpletooth."

"Somebody left that mouse purposefully, Tinyfoot," Jewelshine sobbed. "Purposefully to kill one of us."

Tinyfoot and Lilysky gently led Jewelshine back, trying to console her and calm her, but she was overwrought. Hawkwhisker was the first to meet them and walked up and took their place in calming her. They lied down next to Simpletooth's body, pressing their noses into his fur.

Tinyfoot relayed the whole story to Followstar, who seemed to grief stricken to think straight. He and Whirlwind stood together, and Echovalley also came over to comfort her brother.

"Who did it, Tinyfoot?" whispered Whirlwind. "I'll kill 'em, I swear I will."

Tinyfoot gently rubbed his head against his brother's. "I don't know, Whirlwind. We were near the NightClan border."

The clan was in a state of shock. They gathered around Simpletooth in grim, numb silence, dismayed and grieved at the tragedy.

~~In NightClan~~

Creeklight watched as Sootclaw, Blizzardstream, and Mistdawn walked into camp. It killed her to watch Mistdawn walk so close to Sootclaw - she loved the tom with every inch of her being, but she didn't know how to tell him and she was afraid to.

"Where were you guys?" she asked casually, trotting over to them. Blizzardstrream and Sootclaw had been her close friends since apprenticeship.

"Blizzard and I were hunting, and we found Mistdawn near the LakeClan border by herself so we walked back with her. We were going to invite you but Sweetdawn said to let you sleep since you were sick earlier. Are you feeling okay?"

Creeklight stared into Sootclaw's perfect brown eyes, feeling butterflies in her stomach at the thought of his concern. She was sure her expression was incredibly mushy, and she couldn't get herself to think straight.

"Creeklight?" Sootclaw asked again.

Oh, the way he said her name was so perfect. He made it sound so beautiful. Wait, he said something.

"What...what did you say?" she asked awkwardly.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh...oh, yes. Yes, much better.". Creeklight smiled shyly at him. When he smiled back, she found herself captivated again.

Sootclaw opened his mouth to say something to her, but Mistdawn interrupted, "Well, come on Sootclaw. Let's go eat."

Mistdawn turned and started to walk away, expecting Sootclaw to follow her. He looked at Creeklight apologetically when she had a hurt expression on her face. She quickly tried to hide it and waved him off with her tail even though she was very sad.

He followed Mistdawn quietly, but Blizzardstream stayed next to Creeklight. "You look sad, Creek," Blizzardstrream mewed. "And I think I know why."

She sat down, looking at her paws. "I'm just, I am no good at expressing feelings or anything like that, and I'm hopelessly in love."

Blizzardstream chuckled. "That's obvious, my friend. You've been hopelessly in love with him ever since our first fighting lesson as apprentices. And before that, for him."

"He's not in love with me. And I can see why, considering how much better she is than I anyway," mumbled Creeklight sadly.

"He is too," Blizzardstream replied. "That's even more obvious than you. And he would never choose Mistdawn over you. She's just doing that because she's always been out to get you."

"Why?" groaned Creeklight.

"I honestly don't know. Whenever you and Lilyflower were around each other, she yelled at you two. Now Lilyflower is gone and she has to do anything to get back at you."

"She can hold a grudge for that long?"

"Some cats can."