Chapter 11
Dewleaf crouched in the dense undergrowth, her blue eyes fixed upon her target, a brown wood mouse. It was sitting on its haunches, clutching a seed in its forepaws. The black pelted she-cat stalked several steps forward, silent and steady. When she judged that the time was right, she leaped. The mouse saw her, heard the rustle of the cat's feet against the ground, felt the rush of air. Nevertheless, it was too late. Dewleaf's outstretched paws came down upon the prey, trapping it. She gave it the final blow, killing it. She then buried it swiftly. It was leaf-bare, and she knew she was lucky to have caught something healthy and somewhat plump.
"Good catch," said Forestlily. The brown0furred cat twitched her tail thoughtfully. "I couldn't find anything. I'm sure the scarcity will get worse if, or rather when, it starts snowing."
Dewleaf nodded, sighing. "Leaf-bare's always been this way."
Forestlily nodded in agreement. "You might as well dig that mouse bag up. We've been at it all morning and I doubt we'll find anything else."
"All right," Dewleaf replied.
***
The two she-cats returned to camp. Dewleaf added the wood mouse to the very low fresh-kill pile, then glanced around curiously. There was a commotion near the nursery.
"What's going on?" mewed Forestlily from beside her.
Dewleaf shrugged in response. "I'm not sure," she said. She turned to the nearest warrior, Whitepelt. "What's going on?"
The warrior turned to face her, eyes bright. "Lightheart had her kits. Neither Mosspelt nor Frostpool would tell us anything else, though."
Dewleaf's blue eyes widened. "Really? How many?" She was bubbling with questions.
Whitepelt shook her head. "Like I said, they wouldn't say anything else. I don't know. But they seemed glad. I suppose Cloudstorm and Lightheart will be the ones to reveal anything."
Dewleaf's eyes brightened and her tail swished back and forth. The news was in her brother's favor. They'd finally gotten the litter of kits they'd been hoping for. They were a bit too young to be parents, but they loved each other extremely and were both responsible warriors, assets to the Clan. She supposed Cloudstorm was in the nursery with his new family.
As everyone else began to return as they were, Dewleaf still lingered near the nursery. It wasn't long until Cloudstorm emerged, smelling of milk.
"Congratulations," she purred, padding forward to touch noses with her brother.
His eyes were very bright, his long fur fluffed out. "I still can't believe it," he breathed. "They're beautiful, Dewleaf."
"Well, can I see them? Would Lightheart mind?"
Cloudstorm hesitated. "She's tired, but, if you make it short…"
"Okay," she answered.
"Wait a moment. Lightheart said she was starving," the tom said. He bounded toward the fresh-kill pile, looking down at the low pile. He sighed and chose a scrawny vole. Any cat would understand that it wasn't enough to sustain an exhausted queen with many mouths to feed. "This'll have to do," he muttered.
Dewleaf flicked an ear in understanding, following her brother into the nursery. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. She could make out Lightheart's form, slumped on the moss with exhaustion. There were four tiny bundles at her side, suckling. They didn't even look like kits… they seemed so small and weak.
Cloudstorm went to the queen's side immediately, dropping the vole close to her and grooming her ears briefly. "The fresh-kill pile was nearly empty," he said apologetically. "I promise, I'll go hunting and bring you something soon."
Lightheart mumbled in response and began to wolf down the fresh-kill. It was gone in a few heartbeats.
"Dewleaf came for a short visit," Cloudstorm meowed, flicking his tail toward his sister.
Lightheart's eyes flickered up to the she-cat. "Oh, hello."
"Congratulations," Dewleaf said. She lowered her head toward her kits.
Lightheart purred feebly, nudging them softly with her muzzle. "Thank you." She turned to nose Cloudstorm affectionately.
"Have you named them?" Dewleaf asked curiously.
Cloudstorm nodded. "Of course we have."
Lightheart beckoned toward a tiny, especially small, light gray, almost white kit. "This is Littlekit. All of our kits are a bit smaller than they should be, but she seems to be the runt." The queen then touched her nose to a gray male tabby. "This is Pinekit."
Cloudstorm licked one of the kits. It had a solid, dark ginger pelt. "I named him. He's Emberkit," the father mewed proudly.
Dewleaf nudged her brother playfully.
"The last one is Shadowkit," Lightheart said softly, nodding to a black kit that resembled Lightheart's father, Shadowclaw. Cloudstorm rasped his tongue over his mate's muzzle as she spoke.
Dewleaf nodded. "All of them are beautiful. I'm happy for both of you."
"Thank you," Lightheart meowed with a twitch of her whiskers. She glanced down at the kits momentarily. "I just hope that leaf-bare won't be too difficult…"
Dewleaf glanced up and met Cloudstorm's worried eyes. He shook his head and said, "We'll be fine."
"I'll leave you to rest," Dewleaf mewed with a small sigh.
Lightheart nodded. "Thanks for coming," she replied, her voice heavy.
Dewleaf flicked her tail in acknowledgement and left the nursery. She headed toward the warriors' den to rest.
Different POV
I eye the tiny mouse as I stalk forward, carefully planning each step I take. But one of my paws scuffles against the hard, cold earth, and the mouse flees with alarm. I growl in agitation, my tail lashing. It's freezing out here, and there's no prey. I can't return to Lightheart empty-pawed. With determination, I scent the air again. Nothing… It's hopeless.
I continue on in the forest, keeping silent. Finally, I smell something… There's a little sparrow fluttering about on the ground. Upon closer inspection, I realize it's injured. My eyes glow as I stalk forward. It sees me and tries to get away, but it's too late for that now. I kill the helpless creature, muttering gratefully. At least it's something.
I wander around the forest for a while longer, and am lucky enough to catch a small squirrel. I decided to turn back, to head back to camp.
As I duck through the thorn tunnel, someone calls out to me. It's Frostpool, beckoning to me with her tail. Still clutching the fresh-kill in my mouth firmly, I nod and rush toward her. She leads me to the medicine cat's den. Looking around, I see that Mosspelt isn't around. Perhaps she's out collecting herbs.
Frostpool gingerly pushes some herbs toward me, nodding. "Give these to Lightheart."
"Thank you," I mutter as I reach down to take them.
"Wait," Frostpool mews abruptly, taking me by surprise. She hesitates before going on, "How is she… and the kits?"
I sigh. "They're doing all right. Leaf-bare's a tough time, but we're all doing our best." For a moment, I feel so relieved at talking about how hard it is, for all of us. I blink up at Frostpool and sigh again.
My mate's sister nods comfortingly, touching her nose to my muzzle briefly. I blink up in surprise, is that affection I see in her blue eyes? My mind flashes back to the time when I was an apprentice… when Frostpaw and I had feelings for each other…
"Frostpool," I say in warning.
"I'm sorry," she says to me. "It's just… she's my sister, and your kits are my kin. I'm as worried about them as you are." With a heavy sigh, she goes on, "Lightheart is my best friend. But sometimes, I can't help but be jealous of her…" And she presses her muzzle into my flank.
I hesitate and relax for a moment, feeling a rush of emotion course through me. But then I think about Lightheart, and the kits, and I push her aside, picking up the herbs and the two tiny pieces of fresh-kill. I give her a warning glare before fleeing. I love Lightheart…
So can anyone guess who the Different POV was? It's not that hard...
I'm glad I updated. :) I sort of read back through the other chapters of this, and I realized I forgot a lot that I wrote... like when Falconclaw saved Dewleaf's life after she was attacked by a fox? Just a suggestion for my readers out there, but read back through the chapters and refresh your memory. Since it's been so long since I updated, I think it would really help you guys with the course and plot of this story. :)
Anyway, thanks for reading. Please leave me a review, I live off them.
