Finally, Chapter 25! I'm really excited about that- we're at a quarter of 100 chapters! I recently spotted another mistake- I switched Cinderpaw and Redpaw's mentors! In chapter 17 it said Cinderpaw was Snowcloud's apprentice and Redpaw's mentor was Graydust, but they mysteriously switched.. Well, let's just say Cinderpaw was always Graydust's apprentice and Redpaw was always Snowcloud's. Sorry about that! Ugh, so many plot holes in this story... But I'm doing my best!
Kuroimori- I know I'm evil… but I'm feeling less evil so maybe it'll get better sometime soon? Fingers crossed…
Peaklog3727- I can't say exactly what Sweetbreeze will do but for one, I'm sure you remember what happened to the previous deputies and two, keep in mind Sweetbreeze has a lot of responsibility so it might not be too long before she cracks…
WildKat12- I agree with you! The only reason Waterwish was added was so that Waterwish could chuck the kits at ThunderClan. And I reveal the most about the story here so yes, it is a good idea to read here… And thank you so much for your kind words!
Without anymore rambling, let's just get into the chapter…
Shadows and shadows, and light is light.
Shadows always want to be dark.
Willowfeather remembered last night's dream. It was only morning- Sweetbreeze hadn't even assigned patrols yet- but she was itching to get back to sleep again. She needed to ask Ambereye and Darkshadow what they meant!
"What did you mean, Ambereye? Could you explain, Darkshadow?" She asked softly.
"Ambereye and Darkshadow?" Flamepaw asked from behind Willowfeather, and his mentor jumped in surprise. "Sweetbreeze says you can take over the training of Cinderpaw. She also said she needs you to take Lilypaw out too, because she's busy trying to make a deal with Waterwish. Snowcloud will go out with us."
"Alright," Willowfeather walked out of her nest and picked a stale mouse- the only item on the fresh-kill pile. She ate it quickly. "Let's go hunt, maybe," She suggested.
"I wanted to do battle training," Flamepaw responded as Willowfeather's new apprentice bounded over with Lilypaw, Snowcloud and Redpaw.
"The clan's needs are more important than your wants. You listen to your mentor. I have two apprentices to manage now, you realize," Willowfeather snapped. "I have less time to focus on both of you. I'll try my best. Snowcloud can help today, as well. But I beg you, please try to be a little bit kinder to both of us."
In the forest…
"Usually, splitting up is a much easier way to hunt," Willowfeather sighed. "But Breezefur put a stop to walking alone. Maybe we should go and hunt near the Twoleg home. The clearing is always rich in prey and it's bare enough for all of us to see each other."
At the Twoleg Home
There was a large stone beside the Twoleg home, right near where Leafkit had lost his life. Where the badger had murdered him.
Cinderpaw and Redpaw both seemed a little shaky, and they hunted clumsily. Cinderpaw allowed a mouse to escape through her paws, while Redpaw alerted a squirrel by accidentally stepping on a stick. Lilypaw and Flamepaw actually didn't do much better- Flamepaw seemed slow and he complained about a cough, while Lilypaw lacked a tail and her balance was so off she didn't catch anything. The area was fine, though, it seemed- Snowcloud successfully took down a rabbit, rare in the woods,while Willowfeather caught three whole mouse, practically a feast for the tiny clan.
"It's like you forgot all of your training!" Willowfeather scolded to Lilypaw, Cinderpaw and Flamepaw, the apprentices she was in charge of. "Lilypaw, you've been taught how to control your balance without your tail, and Flamepaw, you're not that heavy, how were you so slow?"
"I just feel sick, that's all," Flamepaw protested. "I'll get checked by Spottedbird when we get back to camp."
"And I'm just spooked because this is the place Leafkit died, that's all," Cinderpaw explained, clearly eager to get out of trouble. "It's one of my first times- Graydust was kind enough to keep me away from here until his death."
"And I was just having an off day," Lilypaw jumped in. "We're all sorry."
"Well, I suppose as long as you don't keep this behaviour up, we'll be fine. Let's go back, it's about sun-high. Sweetbreeze will want to reassign patrols."
When they get back…
"Spottedbird says this might be a touch of whitecough," Flamepaw said uncertainly a few hours later. "Apparently I'm not allowed to go out for three sunrises, and then she'll give me a final check and see if I can go out."
"That's not good," Willowfeather admitted. "But you're healthy and young. You'll be back on your feet in no time- my concern is that you might pass it to Shadestar, Dawnflower or Sweetbreeze. Try to keep away from others to lessen the chances of sickness reaching our leader. At least I can focus on Cinderpaw for once."
"At least we have a deputy now," Flamepaw offered. "We have someone who can become leader when Shadestar passes away."
"If only Ambereye had never died," Willowfeather mourned, thinking about her friend, before the message came back into her head. "She would have been a great leader," She added quickly, before she could accidentally reveal the dream.
"Maybe," Flamepaw conceded. "When I was a kit, just a newborn, Shadestar was so strong. Lilykit used to pretend to be her. But then she was poisoned and she hasn't been the same since. I hate it. Most apprentices are concerned about warrior names, a she-cat or tom they have their eyes on, or something. I'm concerned about my leader's life."
Poor Flamepaw, Willowfeather thought. But surely, he's happy because the lack of deputies and weak leader paves a way for his leadership.
"But doesn't that make it easier for you to become deputy?" She ventured, trying to test his loyalty. Is he willing to get rid of say, Sweetbreeze, to 'serve' his clan?
"Maybe," He responded. "I won't be doing anything with this cursed Whitecough, though, but Sweetbreeze is a queen about to have kits…"
What?
Was he waiting until the kits were born to kill of Sweetbreeze because the kits had potential?
"What do you think of Waterwish's kits?" She asked hurriedly, in a rush to find a new subject.
"Frostkit and Dapplekit? Dapplekit is strong and sturdy, unlike most WindClan cats," Flamepaw mewed. "And Frostkit has the long legs of most WindClan cats. They will both hopefully grow to be strong warriors. This might sound horrible, but we need to think about replacing our fallen warriors."
Two days later…
Flamepaw's whitecough quickly developed into greencough, and spread to Finchcry, Dawnflower and worst of all, Sweetbreeze. Luckily, the young queen was in great condition, nearly ready to get on patrols again, but Spottedbird wanted her to stay back. She needed all of her strength that was possible for her kitting, which was only three weeks away, and Spottedbird said it was even possible that the kits would come a week early, Sweetbreeze's belly was so big. While most queens became unnaturally crabby when they were expecting kits, Sweetbreeze was kinder than ever and she even accepted Finchcry's everlasting boasting.
"Having kits are great of course," Sweetbreeze said animatedly to Willowfeather, disobeying another one of Spottedbird's rules. Sweetbreeze was supposed to be alone and resting all day, but was the young queen going to listen? No way. In fact, Finchcry was the only one really paying attention to the rules- perhaps his quietness was what made him so bearable to Sweetbreeze.
"If I'm going to have kits with that tom, I might as well be agreeable about it," She said matter-of-factly, as she tucked into a juicy vole. "He can be a bit annoying at times, but he's got a relatively good heart, doesn't he?"
"Personally, I've never seen that relatively good heart before," Willowfeather grumbled. "And he hates me. He's only civil because he likes you."
"Like, not love," Sweetbreeze said simply. "Honestly, at the moment, I feel like the whole world is wrong for all of us. I'm bringing kits into the world that weren't made by love, like all kits should be, and our leader is weak. We don't feel safe in our own territory and one of the clans on our borders despises us. We've taken in a dying queen and her young kits. Yet life goes on. Because StarClan knows how we will go."
"Not necessarily," Willowfeather returned carefully. How do I warn Sweetbreeeze about the future dangers without telling her about my dream? "Those trees' shadows… don't they scare you?" She ventured, testing the waters.
"When I was an apprentice, I was terrified that anything could hide in the shadows," Sweetbreeze answered, her voice distant.
"But shadows are shadows," Willowfeather began.
"Yes, shadows are shadows," Sweetbreeze agreed, grooming her fur. "My mother used to tell me, shadows are shadows and they are nothing to be scared of. Just stay in the light."
Willowfeather blinked- that was exactly what Ambereye and Darkshadow had said!
"That was moons ago, of course. Seasons. I barely remember my mother now, or any of my family, really. I've even lost Graydust, who I always thought, annoying as he was, would always be there. I'm alone, now. It's up to me to keep my family's legacy alive."
Willowfeather blinked.
"My family believed that reputation lives forever, even if lives don't. That service is the most important thing in the world. I don't know if I agree, but I will teach my kits that if it's the last thing I do. We will truly be disgraced when the line dies out. Maybe my ancestors are waiting for the moment the last of us dies to punish everyone," Sweetbreeze said softly, slight bitterness creeping into her voice.
"And you never told me?" Willowfeather asked in surprise.
"That isn't included as part of our honourable heritage. My ancestors were stern about the rules on both sides. My parents weren't in love. The only thing I remember about them is that they had kits to continue their legacy and because of their families' similar rules. T-that's why-" Sweetbreeze's voice broke. "That's why if I ever had kits, I wanted to have them with a loving mate. Because I learnt the hard way that not every kithood is a fantasy, and because my kits deserved better. But I broke my own promise to myself."
Sweetbreeze seemed to have been pushing down her feelings for a long time, and she was explaining it all to herself rather than explaining to Willowfeather. But Willowfeather knew that when it came to horrible feelings, it was easier to let the feelings come out, no matter how painful they were.
Sweetbreeze let out a low wail. "Now I have to have kits with a cat I can barely stand! I've had self-control until now- I've made sure to be polite to everyone, do my best in my duties, to mourn Graydust without getting distracted. But I'm so selfish I've let my own life take over when I should be focusing on trying to let Graydust go!"
She gave Willowfeather a wild, drunk look, drowned in her pain. Sweetbreeze was no longer the calm, controlled queen from twenty minutes ago.
"I-I-" She broke off and raced into the Warriors Den.
Left behind, Willowfeather realized her life wasn't the only horrible one.
And for the first time, she thought about how her life- not only hers, but others' lives as well- could be improved if she just learned to listen.
What did you think of this chapter? It was a bit on the longer side and I think it was a bit of a filler, though I think the last part was dramatic enough and I tried not to leave it on a terrible cliff-hanger.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review!
