Chapter (goes back to check) 24 of 'Heart of the Willows'! Last chapter, we reached 30,000 words yay but don't worry, I won't annoy you again until this story reaches 50,000 words. The goal is to reach 50,000 words at all at the moment but if we do reach the goal, it might change. We'll see :)

Brambleflower- Yes, I know! Willowfeather acting like deputy when she refused to be one, Wildwind not being a brat, and Waterwish dying on the floor (The three 'w's made me really confused when I was writing…). And yes, Finchcry and Dustfoot are being jerks as usual. But life has no point without the mouse-brains. Thanks for the review and your encouragement! And yes, I know I'm evil…

Onto the story…

"I don't think we should take them," Snowcloud said sullenly. "Yes, they're healthy kits, yes, they would be an asset, and yes, they need a home. No, they need a good home. And that home will be WindClan. We can't provide the protection for two newborn kits who need milk. We don't even have a nursing queen!"

"Yet," Wildwind argued.

"What?" Snowcloud looked around wildly. "Willowfeather wouldn't be having kits, so it must be you…"

"Sweetbreeze, you mouse-brain!" Wildwind slapped.

"But she hates Finchcry!" Willowfeather said, bewildered.

"Well, apparently not, considering she's having his kits. They're due in a moon," Wildwind revealed. "But how will we care for them before she has kits?"

"That's only assuming we will take these kits," Willowfeather grumped. "I make this final decision. Waterwish asked me."

"Well, maybe I should have asked Wildwind, considering she agrees with me," Waterwish mewed, panting with the effort of just staying upright. "Please, this stress brings me closer to my death and I still haven't found a home for these kits. Thistleheart doesn't want them, okay? Please!"

"How about she comes with us and feeds the kits for as long as she can, which might be a few days. And that's a few days to think of an idea," Wildwind suggested. "Sweetbreeze might start producing milk in a few weeks so it's not that much of a gap."

"But spending nearly a moon without milk might scar the kits for life," Willowfeather protested. "Say, Waterwish lasts for a week at most. And Sweetbreeze starts producing milk two weeks later. That's still two weeks without milk for the kits."

"Borage will help Sweetbreeze and Waterwish-" Wildwind began.

"Sweetbreeze hasn't even agreed to this plan!" Willowfeather exploded.

Waterwish caused a slight diversion by crumpling onto the edge of the river, her kits spilling into the water. Willowfeather, Wildwind and Snowcloud, united by panic, scooped up the queen and her kits and dragged her slowly back to camp. Even if the kits wouldn't stay at ThunderClan, they would stay alive.

At the camp…

"Well, I'm happy to care for the kits," Sweetbreeze said mildly, taking a look at the two kits. Dapplekit's short fur and long legs made her a perfect runner, while Frostkit had long, silky fur that would be hard to camouflage. "They're healthy, strong, and they would be an asset for this clan. I don't see why I can't take them."

"You'll have to move to the nursery earlier, then," Sunheart pointed out. "I thought you said you wanted to keep going with your duties for as long as possible?"

"Hang on. How did everyone know except me, Sweetbreeze's mentor?" Willowfeather barked, feeling rather left out. She watched Spottedbird drag Waterwish away.

"That idiot couldn't stop himself from telling all of his friends," Sweetbreeze scorned, giving Sweetbreeze the iciest look Willowfeather had ever seen. "I can do this all myself, thank you."

"Wait a moment," Willowfeather interrupted. "You're planning to care for kits, be carrying kits yourself, carry out your duties, train two apprentices that know different things, keep an eye out for both Breezefur and ShadowClan, possibly fight in a war and cope with the fact that your brother just died and now you have to train his apprentice AT THE SAME TIME?"

"Obviously," Sweetbreeze said, looking unfazed. "I'm good with time management and dealing with stress."

"Oh," Spottedbird called from where she was treating Waterwish. "Shadestar said Sweetbreeze will be the next deputy."

"Alright, that's fine," Sweetbreeze said breezily, stretching out her legs.

As Willowfeather congratulated the new deputy, she hollowly thought about how she could help Sweetbreeze. The young she-cat acted confident but Willowfeather could see in her eyes a shadow, a spark of self-doubt. Perhaps it would be better for her to take over the training of Cinderpaw. One less apprentice was one less worry for the new deputy.

There wasn't much else that Willowfeather could do to make a difference.

Nothing important…

The night had fallen but cats were still wide awake. Spottedbird was awake, mixing a new poultice for Waterwish. Dustfoot stood guard at the entrance. Finchcry boasted about a fat squirrel he had caught the day before (it had been Redpaw, actually) while Wildwind and Sunheart pretended to listen. Sweetbreeze had long gone to sleep.

"What are we going to do?" Willowfeather breathed to Snowcloud. "What can we do?"

"I don't know," Snowcloud mewed, watching as the apprentices drowsily walked into their den. "How is Flamepaw doing?"

"He's doing well, but I can't do the usual hunting assignments because he can't be alone. How is Redpaw?" Willowfeather returned.

"Fine, but like you, I can't do all the assessments I would usually do. Breezefur, Mousetail and Kestrelwing have left their mark on the clan," Snowcloud answered dully. "Maybe I should fall asleep. It's the only time I feel like I'm truly safe."

"I think I will go to sleep," Willowfeather said, wondering if StarClan would visit Spottedbird and give them an answer any time soon. "Good night."

Once she falls asleep…

A mouse!

Willowfeather followed it eagerly. I love hunting alone, she thought, but then realized there was a smaller cat running beside her- Flamepaw! But Flamepaw slowly got bigger and bigger, until he was about the size of Snowcloud- no, it was Ambereye.

The amber-eyed StarClan cat stopped suddenly and Willowfeather halted to listen to what Ambereye had to say.

"Your clan has been going through trouble lately," Ambereye purred, her voice echoing in Willowfeather's mind. "But just remember this, and you'll be alright."

Another cat stepped out from the shadows, black and sleek. Darkshadow.

"I know from experience," Darkshadow said, her voice kind and motherly. "Shadows want to be dark, Willowfeather. Remember that, take that to heart, and surely you will survive this. Surely this clan will survive."

"Shadows are shadows," Ambereye said, her eyes glittering with kindness and wisdom. "And light is light. But shadows always want to be dark."

And with that, Willowfeather woke to morning sunshine.

This chapter was a bit on the shorter side (it barely made it past 1000 words) but not all chapters can be the lengthy, bulky ones, can they? Also, do you think I can manage more than one fanfiction at one time?

Thanks so much for reading this chapter, and I hope that you don't have to wait too long before the next chapter comes out. But in the meantime, please review!