Chapter Sixteen

Talonclaw crouched down, her fur standing on end as another huge monster roared by. They were traveling along the Thunderpath, to avoid WindClan territory. During the night, the Thunderpath had been relatively quiet, with only the occasional monster rolling slowly by. By now though, dawn had passed and the midday sun beat down. The hard, shiny pelted animals were frequently racing by on their huge black paws. Talonclaw knew that she must not be the only cat terrified of being crushed underneath the clumsy beasts.

She plodded ahead of Thrushpelt and caught up to her brother. "Snowowl, we're past the Clan territories. Why don't we stop and rest?"

He didn't look at her, but continued to stare ahead. "Soon." He looked at his mate. The kit she was carrying swung limply from her jaws, and her eyes drooped in exhaustion. Thrushpelt had offered to carry the kit, but she had refused.

Talonclaw knew the queen must be terribly weak. A long journey, so soon after having kits wasn't good for her at all.

The tabby looked to the edge of the path. The huge fields had stopped, and a forest had begun.

"We'll stop here." She announced.

Snowowl didn't say anything. He rested his tail on the queen's shoulders and guided her into the woods. Talonclaw followed, Thushpelt behind her.

They made camp beneath a large bush. Talonclaw scooped a small crater in the earth for Sunstripe and the kits.

"Thrushpelt, will you take care of Sunstripe? Snowowl and I will hunt." The sandy tom nodded, so they headed off.

They hunted in silence.

Say something. She pleaded silently.

Snowowl brought down a squirrel.

"Good catch." Talonclaw purred.

He grunted.

Doesn't he realize this is the last time we'll ever hunt together again? Doesn't he care?

A long sigh escaped her. "I'll miss you." She murmured.

He slowly padded towards her and licked her ear. "I'll miss you more than anything else, Talonclaw." He sighed. "I wish I could have said goodbye to Adderfang and Swiftbreeze. I wonder if the Clan will hate me for all of this."

Talonclaw felt a surge of conviction. "No. They won't. We aren't like Heatherstar." Rage burned inside of her. That she-cat had caused so much distress. Talonclaw knew deep inside, though, that Snowowl had started it, the prey stealing and the mate. But it was Heatherstar's decision to attack ThunderClan and banish Sunstripe.

The littermates went back to camp with two mice, Snowowl's squirrel and a rabbit. They gave the biggest prey, the rabbit, to Sunstripe.

Talonclaw watched as Sunstripe put her head on her paws with a sigh and closed her eyes. The kits lay in the curve of her belly, her tail wrapped protectively around them. All three kits were toms.

Snowowl lay down beside his mate. She lifted her head. "They need names."

The white cat looked proudly at his sons. "Windkit." He nosed the heather colored kit with long legs like his mother.

"Thunderkit." Sunstripe licked the black kit who was bigger than the others.

Snowowl looked at the last kit. The tiny tom was white with a brown muzzle and ears. Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he let out a feisty mew. Like all newborn kits, his eyes were blue. But... such a startling blue. They flashed fire.

"Talonkit." Snowowl let out a rumbling purr.

Talonclaw meowed in surprise. She stared at the kits, her kin. "Thank you."

Chapter Seventeen

The sun was setting and a cool breeze was drifting through the trees.

Leaf-fall is coming...

She lay watching the rise and fall of Thrushpelt's flank. He had insisted on coming with them. He refused to let Talonclaw make the long journey home alone.

I love him. She suddenly realized that that was the first time she had admitted that. She had said she cared for him, but never said she loved him.

I love him...

~

By the time she awoke, it was night. Grey clouds covered the moon, and the air smelled damp. The leaves were turned down and that eerie warmth floated around her.

Calm before the storm.

She shook Snowowl awake. "We need to start moving. Now. Before the rain."

He stood up and shook himself, scattering leaves. "We're not leaving." He saw her surprise. "Sunstripe and I talked. This is a good place. There is plenty of prey, and good shelter." He flicked his tail towards the woods. "Come on and we'll scout around - to make sure there are no badger, fox, or rogue scents."

"You can't sleep under a bush you know." She said as she walked beside him.

"We'll look for possible shelters as we go."

"It's dark."

He ignored her. "The sooner the better. I don't want Sunstripe and the kits to be out in this storm."

Talonclaw stopped dead. "Look, Snowowl!"

A large boulder sat on the hill ahead of them. Two trees sheltered it and it was covered in moss. A hole, three tail lengths wide and two high gaped in the front.

"It's perfect." Snowowl breathed when he stood in front of it.

It was strange that anything should be so convenient. Talonclaw scrabbled up the boulder and peered over the other side. She hissed and backed away from the edge immediately. The whole hill dropped away in a sheer cliff where a brook bubbled over rocks at the bottom. It was much smaller than the gorge at home, but was still several fox-lengths down. The warrior jumped back down to Snowowl.

She explained what she had seen. "Not a good place to raise kits. They could tumble at any moment down that bank."

Talonclaw saw the familiar stubborn look cross the white tom's face. "No. This cave hasn't been used in seasons. I'll build a bramble wall around the edge so the kits won't go near it."

She had to admit the plan sounded good. Before she could say anything, a distant boom sounded. Raindrops splattered around her.

"Come on!" She hissed and dashed down the hill towards the camp.

***

As soon as the rain let up, Talonclaw and Thrushpelt stood up.

"We have to leave, the Clan must be worried about us." Thrushpelt meowed.

Sunstripe nodded. "You must explain to them."

"Yes." Talonclaw agreed. She padded over to the kits and nuzzled each of them. Thunderkit and Windkit still had their eyes shut, but when Talonclaw nuzzled her name sake, he blinked owlishly at her and pawed her leg with his paw.Don't go. He seemed to say.

"I'm sorry, Talonkit." She whispered into his ear. She wondered if she would ever see him again. "Take care of your family."

The tabby and white she-cat turned to Snowowl. He flicked her playfully with his tail. "Come visit, bumble paws."

"Are you sure you'll be alright getting to the cave?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes." He touched noses with her. "I'll miss you, very much Talonclaw... Remember our race to the Great Sycamore?"

"I'll never forget it. You leaped through the trees like a squirrel."

"I beat you to the medicine cat den."

"No, I did! I remember standing on the rock and proclaiming myself Talonstar, leader of KitClan."

He purred. "Goodbye Talonclaw."

"I'll see you again." Please.

As Thrushpelt and her headed out of the camp and towards the Thunderpath, she turned around to see Snowowl staring after them. At his paws, Thunderkit and Windkit, blue eyes wide open, scuffled with their littermate.

May StarClan light your path.