Chapter 29 Poppycloud's death
A few days had passed since Stormeyes and the other apprentices got their warrior names and it was a snowy day. Lightclaw was at the fresh-kill pile, picking out a piece of prey he wanted to eat. Cloudberry approached Lightclaw and she looked…upset.
"Lightclaw." She meowed.
Lightclaw looked over and saw his despondent aunt; Lightclaw feared for the worse.
"Poppycloud wants to talk to you." Cloudberry meowed.
Lightclaw didn't want to ask, he nodded and went to the medicine cat den. He peaked in and saw Poppycloud laying on the moss nest. She looked a bit cleaner, but she was breathing raspy and looked a bit sick. Poppycloud opened her eyes and saw Lightclaw at the entrance.
"Lightclaw, is that you?" she rasped.
"Yes, it's me." He meowed.
Lightclaw approached Poppycloud and sat in front of her. Poppycloud coughed harshly and it alarmed Lightclaw as, he didn't want to get infected. Poppycloud smiled weakly at Lightclaw.
"I'm so glad to see you, it's been a while. I haven't seen you since you were an apprentice." She meowed.
"Yeah, well…a lot of things happened." Lightclaw chuckled.
"Remember when you were a kit? Brightshine and Wolffang never paid attention to my stories, but you did. Every day, you'd visit the elders den to hear my stories; sometimes even Patchtuft's and Archwillow's." Poppycloud smiled.
Lightclaw chuckled at the memory, he remembered it like it was yesterday. Every time he visited the elders, he would hear stories about his mom, the days of Pondstar and Snowstar, and funny stories of when Poppycloud and Patchtuft were kits and apprentices. Darkpaw would sometimes be there with Lightclaw as they listened with awe into the elders stories. Lightclaw felt bad now, he hadn't really seen Poppycloud, Patchtuft, or Archwillow since Darkpaw's death and his apprentice and warrior duties had kept him busy, and even when Lightclaw had spare time, he would just mope in the punishment den. Lightclaw's ears flattened and looked down, he felt guilty to have abandoned Poppycloud, Patchtuft, and Archwillow like that and now, it seemed that Poppycloud was dying. Poppycloud looked down sad.
"I'm going to die, Lightclaw." She meowed.
"Don't say that Poppycloud, you're going to be fine." He perked surprised.
"I appreciate that, Lightclaw, but you don't need to worry about me, I'm not afraid of death. Though, the same can't be said to my kits." Poppycloud meowed.
Lightclaw looked at her, surprised. He actually forgot that Snaketooth, Icetuft, and Daisypetal were Poppycloud's kits, but he was confused. Poppycloud was known as a great mother to her kits and she treated every new kit like if they were her own, but the way she say that made it sound like she was disappointed in them, but why?
"What do you mean?" Lightclaw asked confused.
"Don't get me wrong Lightclaw, I love my kits, but I'm disappointed in them. Two of them are proud slave supporters, one isn't and he isn't doing anything to change the slave law." Poppycloud explained.
"But surely you're proud of how far they've come, right? Their accomplishments? Snaketooth having a mate, Daisypetal being clan deputy, and Icetuft for being a loyal warrior?" Lightclaw asked.
"Of course I am, but this is different…I won't live to see the slave law abolished. I'm disappointed in every cat Lightclaw, well…except you and…Riverstripe. You were always my favorite, Lightclaw. You have a fire that I only saw once in your mother, she was…a good warrior, Lightclaw; don't ever forget that." Poppycloud meowed.
"But, what about your brother and Archwillow?" he asked confused.
"Patchtuft and I did our best, Archwillow did all she could, but we didn't do enough. To be honest Lightclaw, I'm more disappointed in myself." Poppycloud meowed.
"You shouldn't be disappointed in yourself, Poppycloud. You did the best you could." Lightclaw meowed.
"Perhaps, but I should've raised Snaketooth and Daisypetal better, they're just like their father." She meowed.
"They're father?" Lightclaw asked confused.
"His name was Viperfang, he was a proud slave-supporter." Poppycloud explained.
"How did you two become mates?" Lightclaw asked confused.
"Every relationship can have disagreements, Lightclaw; even your parents had disagreements." Poppycloud meowed.
"So, what happened to him?" he asked.
"The starvation happened, Daisypetal, Snaketooth, and Icetuft were still kits when he died." Poppycloud explained.
Lightclaw nodded, he contemplated on Poppycloud's words and wondered whether or not he should argue or protest that she shouldn't be disappointed in herself. The fact of hearing those words made Lightclaw wonder if he had really knew her at all. Poppycloud was known as confident, kind, and she was like a mother to all her clanmates; the fact that she was disappointed in herself concerned Lightclaw and it made him wonder if he should carry on with the conversation. After a few moments of thinking, Lightclaw decided that the conversation was over and he turned around and started to leave. Poppycloud looked up.
"Change the slave law, Lightclaw, change Lightclan, be the leader your clanmates need, and end the chance for another cat to bring back slavery ever again." Poppycloud pleaded.
Lightclaw stopped and turned around.
"Don't worry Poppycloud, I promise." He meowed.
At night
When moonhigh came and pass, Lightclaw was in the punishment den; laying in his nest and pondering on what Poppycloud said. Her words had convinced him that he needs to carry out his plan and it needed to happen soon; otherwise, he would regret not doing it sooner. As Lightclaw continued thinking about his plan, he heard a yowl from the camp. Lightclaw ran out of the den and headed towards the camp. Once he got there, Lightclaw stopped and saw a crowd in the middle of the clearing. Cats looked like they were mourning and Lightclaw could see Patchtuft laying on top of something and he was crying. When Lightclaw got closer, he could see Poppycloud laying on the ground; she was dead. Patchtuft covered his head on her belly and Archwillow was beside him; crying and buried her head in Poppycloud's fur. Daisypetal and Icetuft had their heads down and were crying. Snaketooth had his head at top of Feathershine's and both cats were crying. Whitestar looked upset and had his ears down and had tears forming in her eyes. Cats around the group either looked sad or somber. Every cat either had tears forming in their eyes or were already crying. Lightclaw couldn't believe it, Poppycloud was dead and he had just talked to her, only a few hours ago. He looked at her and laid down and buried his head into her fur. Then, he started crying and mourning for his dear friend.