Hey y'all! To clarify, Dreamcloud WILL have kits in this fic, since one reviewer was unsure of that... HOWEVER, whether Dreamcloud and the kits will be Ok is a different story... Btw.. I once AGAIN made the mistake of putting Leafpool in the last chapter...

Chapter Nineteen: Lightfur's Choice

Dreamcloud sighed, looking up at the sky. Cool air ruffled her long fur.

"She's been like this for a while," came a hiss. "I wish she would just get over whatever's bothering her..."

Dreamcloud turned her head slowly to see Lightfur whispering into Whiteleaf's ear. The paler of the two queens looked uncomfortable; of course kind Whiteleaf hadn't been the one speaking. Tail lashing back and forth, Dreamcloud began to pad over to her former friend.

"You can stop gossiping about me now," she spat, pelt bristling. "I have noticed my own behavior, and don't need you to so obviously point it out."

Lightfur seemed miffed, but a malicious glint came into the tabby's eyes. "You haven't been spending much time with Robinpelt, I've noticed," she commented innocently. "Kind of odd, seeing as he is your mate. Isn't he?"

Whiteleaf's green eyes darted between the two queens, and a worried look crossed her face. "You know," she said, standing. "I think we should all calm down, and-"

Dreamcloud gave the she-cat a kind glance. "I suggest you go tend to your kits," she murmured. "It would be best, you know. This has nothing to do with you."

After a moment, Whiteleaf dipped her head and backed into the nursery.

"Now," Dreamcloud continued, her eyes meeting Lightfur's. "Let's get back on topic. What exactly are you assuming?"

Lightfur's ears twitched. "I've seen you sneak off," she admitted. To Dreamcloud's surprise, there was a touch of hurt in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell," Dreamcloud lied. "Maybe I was just... getting some air."

"Hmph," Lightfur snorted, giving one paw a lick. "Interesting way of 'getting some air'."

And that was it.

"How dare you!" Dreamcloud snarled, leaping at her. The queen's claws were unsheathed, long and dangerous...

xxx

"I can't believe it's you!" Swift cried happily.

Blizzard simply gave the tip of her nose sticking through the mesh a quick lick. Windstar shifted his paws from side to side uncomfortably. Finally, Blizzard seemed to catch sight of him.

"Who's this?" He asked. "A cat?"

"Windstar, leader of Shadowclan," Swift explained. "He's living here with me."

"You live here?" Blizzard was taking in the Twoleg nest now, surprise on his face. Swift sadly dipped her head.

"Their catchers got me," she sighed. "I can't find a way out."

Blizzard's dark eyes scanned the area quickly and quietly. "Interesting," he murmured. "I wonder..."

"Blizzard's always been good with things like this," Swift muttered to Windstar. Her eyes were shining-but not just with the anticipation of escaping.

xxx

"Dreamcloud!"

Robinpelt pushed himself roughly in front of her, amber eyes confused.

"What did you do that for, you furball?" Dreamcloud snarled, snapping long fangs inches away from Lightfur's face. The tabby queen glared at her, and turned on her heel, throwing one last comment over her shoulder.

"Looks like Tigerstar's blood skips a generation."

A wave of shock rushed over Dreamcloud. Lightfur, accusing her of following after Tigerstar? But Dreamcloud's heart pounded just a bit more as she looked down at her paws-with their long, long claws.

Tigerstar's claws.

"Why didn't you just let me scrape some of her fur off?" Dreamcloud spat. "She was insulting me!"

"Yes, I overheard," Robinpelt growled. "And isn't she right?"

Without another word, the tom stalked off. Oh, deal with it already, Dreamcloud thought to herself, but flinched as a familiar voice came to her.

"Dreamcloud," Brambleclaw sighed, rasping his tongue over her ear. "Lightfur didn't know what she was talking about."

Dreamcloud let out a breath of relief. He hadn't heard. She looked up into her father's eyes, eyes that mirrored her own. "Are you so sure about that?" She murmured. "I mean, Firestar's blood is my blood, your blood is my blood... but with that is Tigerstar's blood."

Brambleclaw was silent for a moment before nodding his head toward a shadowed ledge. "Let's go talk over there."

Dreamcloud obediently followed him, and sat down, facing her father.

"Hawkfrost did get Tigerstar's blood," Brambleclaw murmured. "He was evil. And for a while, many cats-including myself-thought that maybe I had Tigerstar's blood. Yes, technically, of course I have his blood, you have his blood. But I mean, as in, has his spirit. But... Hawkfrost was trying to use the fact that he was my half-brother to get to me. And it worked-for a while. But finally, it came down to where he was hurting your mother-that was it."

Dreamcloud gazed at her father for a moment-he had a point. She finally sighed, and touched noses with him.

"Thank you, Father. That means a lot."

xxx

Lightfur's PoV(starting back when Dreamcloud gave her a little... reality check)

I stood in shock, watching as my friend-was she still that?-stalked away from me, her amber eyes burning. My heart sank. It was a tough thing to realize, but...

Dreamcloud and I had been friends ever since kithood. She had been her parents' only kit, so I felt bad for her, and we developed a bond. I was apprenticed a moon or so before her, but soon, we were training together. At first, I was proud of being the older of the two of us, and felt a bit superior.

But then...

I was jealous of her.

Dreamcloud, though she had been a cute, but admittedly runty kit, and I had been the preferred of the two of us. But now, she was fiesty and caught the attention of cats. And not just the other mentors-toms. I felt kind of plain. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. Her pale pelt would gleam like copper in the sunlight, the mischevious glint in her amber eyes would catch the eyes of any tom... and even as an apprentice, she had a handsome warrior wrapped around her paw.

Robinpelt.

This hurt. I kept it well-hidden from the Clan, but I did have feelings for him. 'Oh well,' I decided. 'He loves Dreampaw.'

My affections turned to an older cat-Spiderleg. It took me forever to get his attention, and even when I was a warrior, it seemed like he payed so much attention to that medicine cat apprentice.

And he wasn't the only one.

Dreamcloud was getting to be closer friends with Calicofur than she was with me. All I heard was, 'Sorry, taking a walk with Calicofur'. But then, it wasn't just that-she was sneaking off.

To meet a tom.

I never told her I knew that the kits weren't Robinpelt's, but a ShadowClan cat. And not just any ShadowClan cat's-the new leader's.

It hurt me so much that she hadn't told me... and I knew the friendship was over.

Still...

Even I knew that the Tigerstar comment was out of line. I guess part of it was what I heard the other day...

I heard Spiderleg confessing to Calicofur that he still loved her. I heard them say that it couldn't be...

And soon after my fight with Dreamcloud, I made my decision.

Walking deep into the forest, I set what I had been carrying down at my paws, and pictured Spiderleg's kind amber eyes. It wasn't his fault that he was in love with someone else. It wasn't Calicofur's fault that she was in love with him.

I gazed down at my still-flat stomach.

"If I could do this without killing you, I would," I sighed. "But we'll be in StarClan... together."

Slowly, I bent my head down to the scarlett berries at my paws. Three of them. That would be enough. One by one, I took them carefully in my mouth, not breaking the skin of them until the right moment.

And finally...

My sharp teeth split them all at once. The bitter juices flooded into my mouth, and I swallowed quickly. Too late to turn back now.

A terrible burning suddenly seized my throat, and I sank to the ground on my side. Numbness spread through my limbs...

Pain.

A cry was ripped from me, one that didn't even sound like my own voice. I had hoped no one would be there...

Within mere moments, cats who had recognized my voice were around, but I only saw two:
Spiderleg and Dreamcloud.

"Get Calicofur," Spiderleg was ordering some other cat. I remembered faintly that Leafpool was gone...

"No," I croaked.

"Lightfur!" Dreamcloud's frantic voice split through the fog. Her amber eyes settled on my foaming mouth, and I know she saw the red flecks. "Oh, Lightfur, why did you do this to yourself?"

"I'm sorry," I moaned. "About the Tigerstar thing..."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" She insisted, but I could see the disbelief of her own words.

"You were a good friend to me," I sighed. "My envy ruined it."

"Envy?"

But I moved on to Spiderleg. "You don't love me," I said, managing a chuckle.

"I do!" He protested, but I shook my head.

"You love Calicofur," I whispered. "Be with her."

Slowly, my eyes began to close...

A wave of scarlett plunged me away...

xxx

Dreamcloud nudged her friend frantically, but Lightfur was gone, her eyes still staring up at the sky. A long spasm passed through her body.

Spiderleg just stared in shock. Finally, he spoke.

"What do I do?" He rasped.

Dreamcloud met his gaze with her soul-searching one, and scoured him. Finally, that familiar, bossy look came into her eyes, and she jerked her head towards Lightfur's body.

"You heard her."

xxx

See, Dreamcloud is the bad girl! Plus, in my opinion, she redeemed herself with that line. The kits will be born SOON, by the way.