Chapter 3

Poppy

The forest by the river was mostly quiet as the birds sang out of reach. Squirrels jumping from branch to branch, chittering noisily as they were spotted moving through the undergrowth. Poppy flicked his ears in irritation, but swallowed his annoyance to focus on the young blue-gray she-cat who needed to learn how to hunt. Usually the father would take their oldest kit hunting, but after the leaders had grown older, the Council-cats began to train the Shards. Ever so slowly, it felt more right for him the more he walked with her. She was not his by blood, but he was still her father in many more ways. He made sure she had enough to eat, able to learn to hunt in peace, and be with cats more around her size. His heart ached for the young she-cat, she would never know what happened to her real parents or her littermates. All she will know is that she is loved and cared for and that they are missing from her life. A sorrow so deep, it may take many more seasons and moons to ever escape from. A sorrow that he knew all to well himself.

He had family, yes; a mother, a father, countless siblings and a few littermates. However, the things he had seen, the things he felt, it had torn him to shreds to his very core. His mother was ruthless to any cat who do not want kits or to kit them. Any cat who dared to "endanger" their fragment had to be exiled and never seen again. As one of the older siblings, he had to see what this so-called "exile" was like. He shuddered inwardly at the thought, snapping out of his memories thanks to those curious blue eyes. He could never tell another cat the things he had seen. His lost-mate would; no, should be teaching Mint to hunt while he taught her to fight. Hunting always left Poppy's head to be filled with the past as that was how he had escaped. He claimed to go hunting and just never looked back and abandoned the only fragment he ever called home. He always had a bad temper and it had grown worse before he met his now lost-mate. Together, he felt complete, but now that they were apart in mysterious ways he wasn't sure how he could ever move forward. His lost-mate would help him figure out what his strange dreams meant and would have helped him focus and see how well Mint was growing up.

"Is something wrong?" came his adopted daughter's kind mew.

He forced a cheerful purr. "Not at all. Just my mind running without me again."

"About your lost-mate?" Mint asked, her eyes round with sympathy.

Pain flared in his chest, but he ignored it as he nodded. "Yes."

He didn't have to say more, Mint simply rubbed her head against his shoulder affectionately. A sympathetic purr rumbling in her throat as he wished, even for a moment, that he actually had a true family to miss other then the one that took him in before the Twoleg Attack. With a soft sigh, Poppy forced himself to focus, heading into the brush with a flick of his tail. Mint followed, excitement glittering in her blue eyes as they entered the brush as silently as possible. Despite it being her first real hunting outing, she was clearly doing her best to be the perfect huntress along side him. Pride flared inside his chest, a memory filling his mind when he watched his lost-mate's cream and white fur billow in the wind while walking with a nearly full-grown Shard. The affection in their eyes glowing while he watched feeling his heart grow fuller and fuller. Suddenly energized, he decided to not live in the past anymore. It would be hard to move past the things he had seen and getting over the painful ache in his chest for his lost-mate, but he was going to try even harder then ever before. Anything so his lost-mate, wherever they were, would be proud of him for training his eldest daughter in hunting.

Poppy moved slowly through the brush, ferns and reeds barely rattling as he led the way to the more forested area of the territory. This was the perfect place to practice hunting should they move from the river in the future. No birds sang their alarm calls, even as Mint crawled forward, her hunting crouch perfect beside his own. Before them was a flock of finches hunting bugs and forage seeds with some squirrels racing o the trunks of the trees, stopping to check for danger. Clearly, ever since they moved in, their prey had began to work together for their safety. Or perhaps, he was imagining it as he gazed through the clearing. The squirrels beady eyes made his fur crawl, almost as though it could see them before looking away to play on the trunk more. Suppressing a shudder, he looked to Mint, whose eyes were full of wonder and excitement. She had never seen live prey before, well not as lively as these were. Dapple often brought dazed prey for them to practice on and it had been easy for them since they were confused and running into paws all over the place.

"Alright, you need to pick the weakest looking prey." Poppy whispered to her.

Mint looked up at him, her blue eyes round. "Why?"

"They're the easiest to catch for first timers since they are slower." He explained gently in a hushed mew. "See how fast those squirrels are? If you went after them, they would outpace you from here and be up that tree faster than you can say 'mouse tails'. And see how wary the finches are, it would be hard to get a healthy one easily. I would show you how it's done, but that would scare away all the prey here."

"So how would you pick?" Mint asked softly.

"I'd choose one of the closer finches. They would be fast, but they would be much closer to you." He advised. "Now, remember how to stalk birds?" She nodded. "Good, go for it and take your time."

The blue-gray she-cat crept forward, her paws ever so carefully being placed down as she approached as close to the edges of the reeds and leaves and she dared. Her muscles taut beneath her thick pelt, poised to strike like a snake, while the birds continued their foraging. Poppy stayed still, not wanting to move so much as a whisker just in case he ruined her first hunt. If she hunted well on her first try, then the rest of their fragment will see her as a potentially excellent huntress for them. Not to mention that her huntress genes would be valuable enough for her to be sought after as a mate. Although, even with that being a potential even Poppy knew that it was based on luck and the individual cat rather than their genes. The mother or father could be a grand hunter, able to catch the fastest and strongest prey, but their kits could struggle to fill in their big paw-steps because of it and feel intimidated and ashamed should they not be as grand as their parents.

Poppy blinked slowly, watching the young she-cat gage her distance as a finch hopped closer, little head bobbing warily to the shadows of the reeds and ferns. As it drew closer and closer, Mint pounced. The flock fluttered into the trees, screeching their warning calls in alarm while the squirrels chittered and squealed in panic. In the flutter of feathers, dust, and empty shells, Mint had captured not a finch, but a mouse that had been lost in the cacophony of alarm sounds. So confused and terrified that it had gotten lost among the darting shadows in the leaf clutter, it's seeds long forgotten as it struggled to find a hole hidden in the fluttering leaves. The young she-cat had her paws holding it down as it squealed in fear, her jaws nipping their fragile neck and spine swiftly to dispatch it. She had clearly found what she was more familiar with capturing and caught it instead to test her skills on the field.

Should he be upset that she didn't go for the finch that had grown so close to her? Poppy found it hard to be. Pride flared in his chest with a warmth he had only felt when his lost-mate hunted with an older kit. His amber eyes felt teary at the thought that one day she would be able to try different, trickier, prey soon enough. She turned to him, holding her catch in her jaws with pride in her eyes. Poppy purred as he got up and padded out into the open. The prey wouldn't be returning to this spot for a while, that much he knew from experience. His jaws parted as he began to speak, his own pride overriding whatever their leader would ever say about the single small piece of prey.

"You have done well to catch a mouse." He praised her warmly. "Next time, you should try a bird when it is near enough. They're trickier, but if you can get a mouse this easy, then that is the next step up for ground prey."

"I will, I promise." She mewed around the mouse's fur. "But that means I'll have to hunt in the river too?"

"There are fish there and they are just as good as any other prey." He reminded her.

Mint wrinkled her nose at that. "I hate eating fish though."

"Other cats like it, so you have to catch something for everyone at some point." Poppy meowed sternly.

Mint nodded, her ears drooping at the thought of fishing for her fellow cats. He couldn't blame her, not even he liked getting his paws wet, but there was nothing he could do about it. As long as Fawn ordered them to hunt without restrictions, they had to hunt in the river as well to use all of their resources for prey. All to keep their cats as full-fed as possible. Without the Giant Garden and the Twolegs there that kindly fed them, breaking their trust when they attacked and broke families apart for moons; they had no choice but to attempt to keep their rather large fragment from starvation. It was a careful balance of hunting in spots and using the river when land prey were too wary. Poppy had to make sure Mint understood that she could not be picky about her prey. Food was food, even if the taste isn't as appealing to her, it would be to another cat.

Slowly, they plodded back home, Poppy keeping his sight trained around them for both prey and danger. There were no dogs in the forest, as far as he knew, but he was never sure what more could be lying in wait. He had to protect her, keep her safe and be a perfect father in her eyes even if she was not truly his kit with his blood. The ache blossomed in his heart, stronger than ever before. How could no mother or father not love their kit as they are and as they become their own cat? Memories began to trickle into the foreground of his mind, no matter how hard he tried to fight it, they were bubbling forth like the unyielding falls in the gorge. His paws carried him further and further with Mint, even if the painful meow echoed in his mind.

"Cats who refuse to have kits, refuse to have a mate that is not the same as them, they will be exiled forever." The voice snarled.

"Poppy?" Mint's mew, muffled by fur, shattered the memory that threatened to overcome him.

He glanced to her, realizing his fur had began to stand on end. Worry glistened in her eyes, making his heart ache with guilt. An ache that could replace any painful memory in an instant. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

She placed her mouse down, having come to a full stop for him. "I'm not a kit anymore." She meowed softly. "I know something is worrying you, whatever it must be... maybe it would help if you could tell me?"

He hesitated, in some ways she was right, but he knew he could never tell her. This fragment was not like his birth-fragment at all, no matter what the memories he ran from said. No matter what the anger of all he had to lose and hate himself for could fill him. This was something he could never burden his own kit with. In some moons, at least four more of them, she would be considered grown-up enough to be a fragment. He looked past her, seeing the reddish-brown tom pushing his way into view, holding a water shrew and what looked like the chunkiest carp Poppy had ever seen.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." He dismissed Mint, pretending to not notice the flicker of pain in her eyes as he added in gently. "But, when I am ready I promise to tell you."

"Is it so bad that you can't tell me?" She sounded hurt, her mew almost cracking.

"It's not that." He told her. "It's something very personal to me, Mint. I carry it in my heart whether I like to or not. I've carried it long before I met my now lost-mate. It took me many moons to even tell them. When I am ready, I will tell you, I know I will. It's just until then, I must find a way to be able to tell you and explain how it even takes me so long to."

"You better." Mint huffed, picking up her mouse again. "I don't have a mom or a dad anymore. I don't have brothers or sisters with me anymore either. I don't want any secrets between us. So you better keep that promise."

"I will." Poppy murmured, knowing he would have to find the most secure place to tell her. After all, if Fawn found out, she might become just like his own mother and "exile" him permanently. He had to keep is promise, anything so she knew what happened in his head, even for a moment.

The reddish-brown tom had already vanished from sight as they picked up the pace. He had to hope that he didn't hear the concerns Mint had. He wasn't sure if he could trust the cat who was chosen by the heiress of leadership to not tell Fawn anything concerning. After all, anyone would want to so they could be seen in a better light to the leaders. Shaking out his pelt, he followed Mint as quickly as he could. There was no telling what could happen with stranger-cats living together under one leader. Especially one so old that they used their age to their advantage to find old friends with ease. If Poppy was remembering correctly, Bush, the tom who had vanished further ahead, was from the original fragment that Fawn had control over. So, he was most likely to have his loyalty to them. At least, that was what Poppy thought. He would never know until they were back in the camp.

Mint pushed her way into the camp, her tail raising in pride as Fawn climbed her way down from the root of the willow tree. Her ice-blue eyes gleaming with interest as she approached as swiftly as her ancient body could allow. Her sharp joints poking through her pelt as she slinked closer and closer to them. Her jaws parting with huffing pants, fatigue was keeping her camp-bound. Poppy had heard stories of how she was once the swiftest cat in Twoleg Place, but now she looked so far from it. The tall stone trunks of the Twoleg Place were probably barely even stones high enough to jump up onto when she was a kit. Although, he wasn't sure how any of the Twoleg dens were even grown in the first place.

"Welcome back. I see you caught a mouse on your first hunting expedition." Fawn panted, trying to act as though her many moons of life had no effect on her. "An easy catch, don't you think?"

Mint blinked, putting her mouse down. "It is, but I always wanted to know if I could actually catch one like everyone else can."

The leader nodded, seeming sympathetic. "I understand, you are new to hunting so you wanted to try something you were more used to seeing in the nursery."

"I plan to try harder prey next time though." The blue-gray she cat prompted, obviously feeling the pressure of unsaid critiques. "I promise, I know it's not enough to feed the group, but I will make up for it next trip."

"Can we trust you to keep to that promise?" Fawn growled, her tail lashing in anger. "You failed us by catching something so small!"

Poppy stepped in, not stopping himself with a hiss. "She is doing her best, Fawn. I suggest if you want my kits and myself to stay here for your group, you see that she still has good intentions."

"Good intentions don't feed bellies!" The leader snapped.

"This mouse can still fill someone's belly for more hunting. We have plenty of cats for hunting." He growled.

She sniffed. "Bush brought in plenty of prey today and usually that tom brings in nothing." Her ice-blue eyes glanced over to said tom, who was washing his face. "Look at him, acting like he had been providing for moons! I don't want her ending up like him!"

"Who would even pad after me like Cedar does to him?" Mint suddenly asked. "I didn't see her with him, so clearly he was successful because your daughter wasn't causing him any trouble."

Fawn looked offended, her jaws open for a stinging retort, but Poppy beat her to it. "She will go back out tomorrow for more hunting. Her skills need to be praised and nurtured properly. If you cannot give a simple praise and question our loyalty we will have no other choice but leave your old bag of bones behind. And don't think I wouldn't leave for less then a whisker, a scale, or a feather. I have left my birth-fragment for nothing in return before and I am not afraid to raise these kits on my own without your group."

A flash of fear appeared in those ice-blue eyes. Poppy felt as though he had won. They were important in having kits and if Fawn let them go she would be seen as weak and give every cat a reason to just leave her or worse, challenge her for her position of leadership. She swallowed thickly, anger making her pelt spike along her spine, but she nodded stiffly with her eyes narrowed. Her tail lowered and swaying to and fro like a snake that was watching a predator to strike properly. Fawn turned away, a scowl on her face as she accepted her defeat against Poppy's warning.

"Very well, I will put my trust into you, Poppy, and young Mint." She began to pad away, her body thin and clearly not doing as well as it once had many long moons ago. "But if she fails to bring any prey and you fail to bring some for her stead, Poppy, I will have no choice but to exile you and Mint from the group."

"What about Leaf?" Mint asked, her eyes wide with horror.

Poppy looked to Fawn, seeing the darkness in her gaze and the twisted way her tail flicked teasingly. "Not without Leaf."

"Leaf has potential for our group, Poppy." Fawn mewed sweetly.

"She is only a kit, not even an older Shard."

"She will stay with the group where she belongs. Your lucky I'm even letting you go with Mint." She pointed out, sounding like she had already won.

Cats had heard, looking over at the show of power. All the while Poppy stood there, feeling his heart break. Leaf was good friends with Morning, but he would never leave Leaf after promising her to stay with her. He dug his claws in and made a single challenge, raising his voice loud enough for every cat to hear. "If that's how you want to play your kit-games, then let us play your kit-games Fawn."

The leader stopped in her tracks, glancing back with confusion in her gaze. "What do you mean? I'm not playing any kit-games here, Poppy. I'm serious."

"I've told you, I have left for nothing before. And I will take my kits should I have to leave." He narrowed his amber eyes, lashing his tail as he let out a screaming yowl. "I will never leave my family behind! I will fight for them even if it means putting your old bones to rest permanently! You want to exile me? You'll have to kill me first you ancient she-cat!"

"They don't even have your blood!"

"And which cat here has your blood? Heather, Falcon, and Berry. Who has Light's blood? Cedar, Falcon, and Berry. The only cats who are truly you and your mates is Falcon and Berry. All of The Council gossips about it and you know it is true. The real heir is Falcon, but you lie and say Cedar is, but what about Heather? If she is not one, than is blood so fickle that you can only choose one cat over the rest?"

Fawn stared at him, horror in her gaze. "You dare spread my dirty nest lining all over the camp!?"

"You dared to question me and my kits. They don't need my blood to be mine. They have lost their families and I am willing to be their parent. Which is more than what I can say about you!" He shrieked.

Silence filled the clearing, Poppy standing his ground while Fawn stared back in shock. The anger, bitter and hot, filled his veins and every tip of his fur. His ears roaring in fear, his heart pounding in his ribcage at the thought that she was going to take his challenge of death for real. He was afraid, but not for his own demise, but for his poor kits being left alone because his temper had finally flared back to life towards a leader. She was not his mother, so he did not fear her, but she was still a cat in power and could order her most loyal cats to make him an example. He was prepared for the sting of claws and to fight for his very life like his own litter-brother before him all those moons ago.

Light rose to his paws, blind from age and all, he still made his way down the gnarled root and found his way with ease. The gray and white tabby tom approached carefully. "My sweet Fawn, are you throwing your weight around again?"

"I'm not!" She hissed indignantly. "I'm just reminding them who is in charge!"

Bush snorted, his fluffy tail wrapped close to himself. "You mean bully the young she-cat who caught her first mouse without assistance? Sure, that's showing how much 'power' you have in this group."

Poppy twitched his ears, surprised to have some support, but ignored it the best he could. Focusing on the pair of mates before him. "Light, how much do you know about Fawn wanting to remove us for not hunting well?"

"I did not know of such a thing." He meowed.

"So you say." Poppy grumbled, looking to Mint. "Take your mouse to Dapple, the young Shards will enjoy it." Mint nodded, obeying as she picked up her cold prey and headed to the Shard's den. Poppy, looking back to the leaders and snarled. "If I ever have to raise my voice again to either of you I'm taking my kits away from here. IF I so much as feel unwelcomed or even a whisker that I cannot trust either of you anymore, I will leave with them both. Is that understood?"

"Like clear-stone." Light promised, while Fawn looked away in rage without a word.

Poppy huffed, padding after where Mint had gone, snapping to the other cats. "It's over! We aren't something for you to be staring at like a bunch of owlets!"

They flinched, all except Bush who had sat still, his amber eyes watching him with a odd twinkle in them. Was it amusement? He was not sure, but it made him feel uncomfortable. There was something happening in that tom's head and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. However, to get to the Shard's den, he would have to pass by him. He lifted his head with the pride of a Council-cat and padded over and past him. However, the tom still managed to send him a whisper of a message.

"May the stars shine for your protection should you ever leave." He breathed.

Poppy nearly stopped mid-step, he turned his head to the tom. Before he remembered that it was a common saying among this fragment. One that was created when the Blood Gathering had formed after the Twoleg Attack several moons before. He nodded to Bush and continued his way to the Shard's den. For a heartbeat, one terrifying heartbeat, he had thought that Bush knew something about the strange cat that was in his dream that morning. Feeling a little embarrassed, his ears burning, he slid into the reeds and weeds to see how Mint was doing after the confrontation. She was huddled close to Leaf, rasping her tongue over the kit's head like she really believed they would be separated. His heart ached making him wonder, for a brief moment, if his own parents ever felt this hurt that he had left without a word. Whether they knew he was dead or alive, he didn't care at the time, but now he had to wonder. Did they still love him despite how haunted and afraid he was after what they had done to his litter-brother? Did they ever feel any guilt like he did now? The guilt of a father who may have brought embarrassment upon his own daughter, that was all he felt as he closed his amber eyes slowly. His dark ginger fur suddenly feeling too heavy for him to carry as he sat still and watched his kits act as though these were their final moments together.

How can Fawn be so cruel to break apart sisters like this? They do not have the blood of kin, but family is stronger than blood. It's about love and care and wanting to protect them. How could she not understand that and have kits of her own living her under her protection? He mused sadly, before getting up to pad closer and whisper sweet promises that they would always be together. Would it be true? He honestly hoped it would be, as he would fight for them with everything he had just to end the bitter leafbare of his heart.

Author Note:

If any paragraph seems a little off and not long as usual or too long, this is because I magnified this so I can see better.

I have nearsightedness, which means I see well within 5 to 3 feet in front of me. But little letters at a foot or two is very difficult for me without and with glasses! So, I did my best to write even more to compensate it! I just need to get new glasses and then I will be much happier to write comfortably.

Also Happy New Year from my side of the world! Hope it will be better for everyone this year and if not, may something good happen to make up for it.

Until then, thank you for reading, have a fantastic morning/day/afternoon/evening/night and if it's not I hope it will get much better for you soon. - NightSky