Hawksun9592 - Poor Hornetrun just wants a family, and um...we'll see on how SaltClan reacts with Smallbee being gone for over a year.

October, 14th, 2020

All of her limbs felt stiff as she stretched out her legs. Pelt bristling out against the cold as she yawned, sharp teeth glittering in the weak sunlight.

Pollenkit was curled up against the curve of her stomach. Fluffy tail wrapped over her nose as she kicked her little paws. Smallbee rested her head down against her paws. Ears twitching as she spotted Whitebelly shifting uncomfortably in her nest.

"Are you okay?" Smallbee asked, she kept her voice quiet in fear of waking anyone else up.

Whitebelly nodded, but her gaze showed pain as she tried to lift herself to her paws. "Can you get Silvermist? I thin-" Gasping the queen fell to her side, body rippling as a contraction racked her slim form.

Quickly she scrambled to her feet. Head lowered as she blinked, ears flat. "O-okay, I'll be right back!"

Outside the dim sunlight did little against the bitter cold. And her limbs felt stiff and unusable as she pushed past the ivy. White snow glittered on the ground as she swiftly made her way across the camp and into the medicine den.

"Silvermist!" Smallbee scanned the dark corners of the stone den. Only to find nothing but a mess of herbs, all dried out and dead.

It looked like someone had went through the entire den an wrecked everything. Tossing thing to the ground, tearing up herbs and letting them rot on the cold stone floor.

A sharp nip made her jump, tail bristled as she growled. Eyes narrowed she turned and stared down the medicine cat apprentice who looked back with a huff. "Out, we're busy."

I can see that. Smallbee gave an irritated huff. She wanted to claw the she-cat's ears, give her a reason to be so moody. What even gave her the right to speak to her like that? "Whitebelly is having her kits. Can you deliver?" Asked the young queen impatiently.

The golden she-cat twitched her tailtip. There was hesitant before she nodded, claws digging into the dirt. "Grab a stick, I'll get what we need." She ordered quickly before running off deeper into the den.

Without warning she was having to crouch down beside the older queen. Her eyes narrowed in consitration as she snipped open a sack and started cleaning off a mewling kit.

It was a solid white she-cat, she had bigger paws then normal, but seemed healthy. Another kit came just after, and this time it was Rainnose who nipped open the sack and cleaned off its white tabby coat.

Duskpaw had her paw resting against the queens stomach. Ears twitching as she gave a small sigh of relief, eyes shining proudly. "That's it. All the kits are delivered."

Whitebelly purred softly as she kicked away the other queens. Pulling her two newborn kits to her stomach, where they suckled quietly.

The golden apprentice gathered her supplies. Wrapping them up into a large leaf, where she turned to Smallbee. "Get the warriors to give her a wet-moss-ball, she doesn't need to go out into the cold."

"I'll tell Icaruswind," she replied curlty.

Duskpaw nodded. There was a small pause as she gazed at the kits. Tail lashing before she sighed heavily, picking up the leaf, and leaving the den.

Before she could move someone cleared their throat behind her. Curious, she turned to see Whitebelly staring back at her. "Thank you," she rasped, "would you like to know their names?"

She sat down with her fluffy tail wrapping around her hunches. Although she wanted nothing but to curl up in her warm nest, but curiosity got the better of her. "Sure, why not." She mumbled softly.

Whitebelly tapped on the head of the solid white she-cat. Pausing before she mewed, eyes shining. "Her name will be Downykit," she decided, "and his name is Stripekit."

Downykit is different. She thought. Raising to her paws she dipped her head, ears twitching as a new draft made her spine fur bristle.

"Do you need anything?" Asked Smallbee. An itching irrtation started to make her paws knead into the moss as she glanced back at her warm nest.

Getting the message Whitebelly gave a raspy purr. Paw waving as she curled closer to the two little kits that now mewled at her belly. "I'm good. Just get the message out to my mate and son?"

Smallbee relaxed as she nodded. "Of course." She happily returned to her nest. Dropping down onto the soft moss as she wrapped Pollenkit closer to her muzzle, burying her nose into the long golden fur.

*

Night settled over the crisp stone landscape. Each gray, jagged outline now was glowing silver as the young she-cat padded out of the den. Something felt off, but she couldn't tell exactly what.

Unsettled she crept over the hard snow under her paws. Over time the snow had just hardened, and now, even if the top layer somewhat melted, it never was truely gone.

Smallbee knew this was a bad sign. Already just a moon into Leaf-fall and they were dealing with this much snow. Prey was much, much harder to find, and no herbs grew to heal wounds or nurse the sickly.

Then why am I out here? Didn't it make more sense to curl back up in her nest? To stay out of the coldness that froze her bones and had a high possibly of getting her ill.

Head shaking she twitched an ear tip. What had called her out of the den in the first place? It felt like she needed to be out here, but why?

Smallbee walked slowly to a stone that raised into the sky. It had been the result of a earthquake, which bad crumbled an entire den, almost killing a few warriors. Now this broken piece of earth was left to grow ivy, moss, and create little rivers that would fill up through the cracks of the rock.

Unsheathed claws scraped across stone as she leaped. Heaving herself up, and carefully she made her way up the mound of stone and snow. As soon as she reached the top she felt at peace. It was like her entire body relaxed under the crisp moonlight.

Sitting down she swept her tail across her paws. Eyes wide, but not in fear, concern, or anything else. Just wide to look up at the star speckled sky that held a big, shining moon in the middle.

Clouds passed by slowly, but even they weren't able to block out it's magnificent light. Smallbee let her muscles relax and her gaze grow lazy, shoulders sagging down as she sighed.

A breath of cold clouds blew from her muzzle. It was tossed back by a gentle breeze that fogged her vision before clearing up. Once her gaze focused she spotted something, a shimmer in the night, like a small...ribbon.

Smallbee watched as a lavender ribbon landed at her paws. Caught on the tiny, fluffy gray tabby paws that were frozen to the earth. Eyes wide she leaned down to sniff at the piece of tattered headwear, visibly shaking.

It smelled of alcohol and bad, cheap, perfume. The edges, tattered and ripped, were stained with the liquid that overpowered it's overall scent. Smallbee felt her eyes shine over with unsheathed tears. Lip quivering as she could barely contain her own whimpers, cries that wanted to yowl out into the silent night.

With one shaky paw she lifted the ribbon. Pale eyes staring at the piece of cloth as if it was a ghost - and infact, it might as well be. "How..?" She couldn't understand. Was this real?

"How did my ribbon get here?" Breathed the young she-cat with a tabby coat and pale green eyes that shined like jewels - like jewels made of jade.

I know I finished off this book very soon, at only Nineteen chapters. But I think that it's fine, as most Warrior books stopped at Twenty-five chapters (around that number).

Anyhow, the third book in this franchise will be coming out soon! If you want, before the next book happens, you all can give ideas that you'd like to see in the next book.

October, 15th, 2020.