The long journey back to the Barn was travelled in dead hanging silence. Patchkit shivered in fear. While Appledusk stared at the floor, his eyes blaring with a green flame. Exhaustion and hunger were starting to overwhelm her, as she struggled to keep steady on her paws. Luckily, the large looming red shape of the Barn in the thick fog of the dark night. The shift in the air; from crisp and chilled to fresh and warm, told her that dawn slowly approached.
By the time they entered inside the gloomy towering insides of the Barn, Tulipfur immediately came over to the greet them. Mapleshade stood there unfocused and lifeless. Her head and tail drooping. "Oh, you poor thing.", Tulipfur whispered. Her mother took hold the dazing kit from Mapleshade and flicked her tail towards a large bundle of hay.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Patchkit, you just get some sleep.", she took a hard look at Appledusk, "Both of you, I guess.", she mewed reluctantly. Tulipfur softly placed Patchkit in a pile among his sister and brother. She didn't have to energy to argue or even say 'Thank you'. All she could do was pad over to the edge of a golden lining and fall into it in a giant heap. The straw was itchy, digging into her skin slightly. Feeling Appledusk lay next to her, fur pressing against her. His breath hot on her face. She couldn't even be bothered to push his away. Consciousness slipped away like trying holding clear water in your paws. Murky darkness forming over her sight. Within heartbeats, she gave in to deep yet restless sleep.
As she began came round, she found herself lying on a stiff back, her belly exposed and hollow of food. Glowing orange light surrounded her. Her nose twitched as she tried to make sense of the world around her, like a newborn kit opening their eyes for the first time. A scent was urging her to get up, something familiar. Not wasting time, she heaved herself up, feeling heavy, sluggish and dazed. She allowed her nose to guild her as her eyes still adjusted. The feeling of homecoming over her. She blinked. A small chestnut-brown plump mouse lay at her paws. Fresh too.
Smiling, she knelt down gratefully, starting to chew at slowly. The juicy taste of the meat filling her tongue. Mapleshade purred. Much better than Appledusk's frog. Then she spotted Tulipfur padded past her, more mice dangling from her jaw, "Enjoying it?", she asked. Mapleshade swallowed another mouthful, "Yes, thank you.". Tulipfur placed more mice at Mapleshade's side, "And you'll be getting more where that came from", she confirmed.
"I knew you still had the hunting instinct in you.", Mapleshade commented. Tulipfur nodded proudly, "And it will be for a long time to came. It takes a lot to bring down this old she-cat!". The two shared a purr of laughter.
Mapleshade grabbed the half-eaten mouse in her mouth, about to pad over to her kits but the lilac cat dashed forward, stopping her. "Don't worry.", like she always said. Her mother insisting her, "You'd been through a lot, so just relax. I'll keep your kits in line.". Mapleshade shrugged, maybe it would be nice to have sometime to herself. Tulipfur turned and walked away, "It might be the last time I see them anyway.", she mewed sadly. Mapleshade's head hang lower.
Then she noticed the itchy texture in her fur. She twisted to see her back, it was covered in Appledusk's cream moulted hair in her ginger and black pelt. Gross. Then came his loud snoring as behind her as he slept. And there went the good mood...
The rest of the day was sent in a dreamlike daze. Tulipfur agreeing to stay until Sunhigh at least. They sent the next several hours relaxing on the endless layers hey as the Larchkit and Petalkit played. Patchkit is the corner, staring blankly at the wall. Mapleshade licked her lips with stratification, her belly bloated with the mouse. But Appledusk just grumpily complained that it wasn't fish. The walls of the barricaded any glimpse of sky, all sense of time lost.
Soon came the time for Tulipfur to leave. It came too soon. They touched noses and she was gone, just like that.
Mapleshade returned to the stake of hay at the front of the room, Patchkit and Appledsuk still glaring at her. Despite the blood being washed off a long time ago. She yawned. Moving away, to the far end of the Barn, into old of the damp shadow-fill corners. Sitting down, she closed her eyes in thought. This didn't feel right. Having this much prey with this little effort. Having no duties to do. Living in this type of isolation from the outside world. In this strange limbo, devoid of time. Getting the taste of damp, rotting wood, gave her a sudden desire to return; to a lush forest with low trees, with fresh rainwater trickling from the branches, the sky covered by a green canopy but the sun always managing to shine through. She gritted her teeth. She wouldn't let her or her kits become kittypets.
"I'm going for some fresh air.", Mapleshade muttered as she passed Appledusk, not bothering to see his reaction. She slipped under the thick Barn wall, her belly scraping against the sharp sand. As she made it outside, she sucked up the frosty Leaf-fall air, filling her lungs. A pale sun flew up in the cloudless sky like some kind of elderly fireflies, losing its glow. Mapleshade continued to sit there peacefully as a mild breeze steer the shaded farmlands around her, causing tall grasses and bushes to sway.
Her ears then pricked as her nose began to uncontrollably twitch like mouse's. There was a piney soft of scent lingering. Thunderclan? Her heart sank to her paws. Thunderclan!
In the far distance, outlines of different pelted cats moved across a dim field, straight towards the Barn at a steady speed, their features too blurred to name individuals. The large patrol was made up of half a dozen warriors at least. Panic began to surge through her; How they know they were here? They were already exiled, why were they still after them? This wasn't about Ravenwing was it? They couldn't of known about it so soon, could they?
Slamming the questions to the side of her head, Mapleshade took action. Springing to her paws, she stumbled to get under the swallow dip in the earth, trying desperately to get into the Barn, like a flailing rabbit trying to cowardly retreating into a barrow. Her legs flailed as she tried to get to grip on the ground. As soon as her claws hit the ground, she violently flung herself into the Barn, with a cloud of sand and grass. Larchkit and Petalkit stopped play fighting. Appledusk was immediately on his paws, rushing over. "What's going on?", he demanded. Mapleshade met his lime green gaze, breathing heavily with panic, "Thunderclan- Thunderclan! An entire patrol.", gasping for air slightly. Petalkit stepped forward, "Mommy, what's going on?", worry draining off her like sun-heated rain, turning to steam and rising into the air. "Petalkit, Larchkit and Parchkit! Stand there and don't move!", she mewed with a harsh tone, swiping her tail to a bare patch of stone on the floor, not covered with hay. The kits did as they were told, sitting on the stone in a tight bundle, shaking.
Appledusk froze for a heartbeat, before leaning forward, about to poke his head out, but Mapleshade grabbed him by the tail, yanking him away. He fell onto his side, making a strange grunt as he landed. "Don't give away our position!", she spat in his face.
"Like you didn't do that when you were getting your 'fresh air'.", he argued back. Mapleshade cuffed him over the ear, "Shut up.", she ordered. They might in be life or death situation, the last thing they needed was pretty bickering among themselves. She hurriedly looked around the Barn, trying to get her thoughts together. What should they do? It would suicide to try and stay and fight. Yet again if they tried and ran, would they be fast enough? With one of them having to carry two kits? Was there even time and an opening for i- The scent of Thunderclan was distinct now. It was a hounding noise as a forest of paws struck against a gravel path and muffled anxious voices. The patrol was only a few tree-lengths away.
Mapleshade went for broke, going for the only thing she could think of in that split heartbeat. Scooping up a massive leap of hey, then slammed it down onto the entrance. Before jabbing it with her front paw, packing into the dip, making it denser. But it created nothing but a thin layer of grass, no thicker than a leaf, even light managing to get through. Appledusk just stood with a stupid flabbergasted look on his face. "Fill in the entrance with as much hay as possible, quickly!", she insisted. "That's our only way out!", he pointed out.
"And their only way in!", she remarked.
Appledusk bit back the irritation of being wrong, sped to the closet pile of towering golden grass. Mapleshade gripped a few grass blades between her claws, dragging them across the floor and shoving them into the thin barrier. Appledusk returned with a pathetically small mouthful of dried grass. As he dropped it onto the floor, Mapleshade's heartbeat rang in her ears with frustration, "Get more, a lot more!", she snapped, kicking him in the chest, so he stumbled towards the yellow mountains. This wasn't enough. They would notice the movement of shadows from inside the Barn at any moment. And at this point, one good shove would be enough for the entire thing to collapse. They needed more and fast.
Luckily, Appledusk came back again, this time with a heap of hay as big as a log. That was more like it. Appledsuk shoved it into Mapleshade's paws, dashing back. She got back to work as well, using her experience building den walls, she weaved it between the other blades, like a spider's web. Tightly packing it in until it was as solid as a rock and as tangled as a nettle bush.
Suddenly, Mapleshade stopped, ears pricked. She held up her tail for Appledusk to halt. Just beyond the barrier, came the same voices, much closer this time. A growl formed as Oakstar spoke, dangerously close, "I thought you said the scent trail ended here?", sounding impatient. She gained a sudden urge to tear open the barrier and rip his face off. The one that had put her into this mess in the first place. Then came another tom's voice, Seedpelt, "It does, I swear, just give me a bit of time.". Puffing noise came from just a few mouse-lengths away, as a twitching noise smelted the air. Though the cracks in the yellow wall, Mapleshade could just make out a white and brown head, Seedpelt looking directly at her. They blinked, holding their breath. Than Seedpelt twisted on the spot, yowling off his head like a sparrow. "Here, Oakstar! They're over here!", he shouted.
Without Mapleshade needing to tell him to, Appledusk ran. Damping the hey and scripting over to get more. She grabbed, forcibly jamming it, desperately trying to block the Thunderclan cats getting in. Shadows danced beyond the entrance, as more cats gathered round, with hurried voices, Mapleshade too frantic to make sense of. Another hey pile came. She slammed it in. Her front paws beginning to tire. She began panting. No, it wasn't enough. "Mapleshade!", Oakstar rang, "We know you're there! If you have any honour left, came out and face us.", he voice booming, shaking the air itself. Mapleshade didn't bother responding, she just kept on piling on every scrap of hay she could in reach.
Despite, his mother's earlier orders, Larchkit left his brother's and sister's side and went over to his mother, "Let us help!". Mapleshade froze. Then she started hearing scraping noises of claws against diet, "Dig through.", Oakstar ordered. Every little bit helped. "Fine.", she mewed quickly, "Copy what's Appledusk doing!". Before turning away from the dark brown kit, starting to kick at the hey barrier with her back leg, trying to make more solid. The kits got to work, grabbing small mouthfuls of hay from round the Barn and taking it over. With the extra hay, progress was faster, making the barrier larger and larger. The shape of a warrior made her flinch. They'd already dug halfway through the barrier. This was serious.
Not caring anymore, she reaches through the grass, outstretching it until she felt the warrior's head. She caught a glimpse of Seedpelt, giving her half-hearted growl as a retort. Her leg ached as it was stretched too far but she dug her claws into Seedpelt's head anyway. He staggered back a few paces to avoid the pain. Luckily, only one cat could hit in the entrance at the time. They had that advantage at least. She doubted the laid back Seedpelt even cared about this whole situation.
Slowly, the family lost their basic system. Instead of beginning to simply; to wildly charged back and through, damp as much as hay onto the growing pile and occasionally ramming into to make it more compact. Many attempts were made by the patrol to breach the Barrier but all failed. Both sides were now tiring. With Oakstar getting angrier and angrier. With his frustrated yowls and hisses filling the air, after every failure. The barrier was so paced, it was the size and strength of an anthill now. Until eventually he decided to switch up tactics. Just as Mapleshade collapsed to the floor in exhaustion, Oakstar began to try to yell through the dried grass wall, his voice ridiculously muffled, "If you cooperate with us now. We'll only partially blind you and Appledusk.". Her kit's eyes widen in horror as they waited from afar.
She and Appledusk stared worried glances. Mapleshade tried getting up on shaky paws but failed, ending up crawling up to towards the wall and pressing her head against it, "So is exiling my entire family and ruining our lives, not enough for you?", she hissed through the wall. The wooden wall shifted very slightly as Oakstar leaned up against the same wall, his enraged scent draining from him. It was like venom to her nose. "We know what you did, Mapleshade! Darkstar told us. You killed Ravenwing and his death won't go unaveraged.". Darkstar? How could the Riverclan leader possibly know about Ravenwing? Then it struck her. Echopaw. She knew she should deal with that pest of an apprentice more efficiently. Wishing she'd given Echopaw a good scatch or two, to drill in the message.
"And one of my warriors is half-blind because of you as well.", he added, his anger starting to get the better of him as he started to scrap at the wall with his claws. He deserved it. Mapleshade secretly responded. Mapleshade quickly ran through the things she could say to the questions she could ask. She knew she had limited time before he lost his impatience for good. "How did you even track us down?", she asked.
"You're mother, Tulipfur. Took us a while but she eventually confessed.", Oakstar ruffled slyly. Mapleshade felt like her all legs had turned to twigs, she could barely stand. Being choked by an invisible cat. She finally snapped out of the confused daze, "What have you done to Tulipfur?!", she demanded. "We haven't hurt her, If that you're thinking.", Oakstar insured, "But it's your fault that she'll be spending the rest of her life confined to the Elder's den." , he snapped like an enraged banger, a hint of guilt in his voice for a heartbeat. Mapleshade's heart became stone and hollow. She wouldn't be able to visit her father's grave anymore. The flowers couldn't be left to rot, it was a mockery of Dullface's name.
"You'll never touch me, Oakstar. No matter what you do!", she muttered, turning her back to the wall and padding away. Tulipfur would want her to be stronger. And she wasn't going to disappoint. He wasn't worth anymore. None of those low-lives was. If they either wanted to forget about her or to kill her. Fine, she didn't care. She was too good for them. She stared at them; Larchkit, Patchkit, Petalkit and Appledusk. Those were the only cats that mattered now. No one was going to get in their way. No was going to get close to them and get away with it. They'd be better than any Clan cat.
Oakstar's howl out a cry of uttered rage, as loud and as piercing as a Owl's screech ringing throughout a dark forest.
He then began addressing his warriors, "We're wasted enough time here. Let's get back to camp". It was the songs of Starclan in Mapleshade's ears, letting off a massive sigh of relief.
But then that crumbled when Oakstar muttered his next orders, "Seedpelt, Trushtalon, you two stay here. You're on guard duty, they'll have to come out eventually.". Then was shifting of gravel and loose stones as Oakstar twisted round, "Don't think this is over, Mapleshade!", he called, "Ravenwing won't go, unaveraged.". The shuffling of paws, that slowly faded away as the patrol set off, walking further and further away.
And so it went on like this several hours, dragging on and on. The kits finding it harder and harder to entertain themselves at the back of the Barn. The shift in the air was the only sign that night was beginning to set in. They'd been in this confined Two-leg nest for an entire day. Mapleshade dropped on top of the barrier, feeling like a hollow trunk, struggling not to let sleep overcome here. Appledusk loomed over to her like a bad smell, "Are they still there?", he asked for the third time to in a row. She tasted the air, the tangy smell of Thunderclan meeting her nose. "Yes.", she muttered, annoyed. How much longer, she began to wonder. If they were trying to starve them to death, it wouldn't work, they had a steady supply of mice to last them moons.
She was even starting to hate the Barn air; this stuffy, heavy, thick, humid air. It was horrible to breathe.
Appledusk eyes narrowed, beginning to scrap at the first few layers of the hay pile they'd created. "What are you doing?", she snapped, wondering why in the name of Starclan he was tearing down the only thing keeping them safe. His gaze gleamed with a bright and determined spark, "Let me check out there at least once. Oakstar only said 'Seedpelt and Trushtalon' to guard. That'll be two on two. We could take them.", he suggested. If he'd said this earlier, she would've called him 'mousebrained' but by this point, she was getting desperate.
However, that didn't stop her doubting his words, "How? An entire Thunderclan patrol couldn't break through here. What are you, a Windclan tunneler?". Appledusk shrugged, having more confidence then he should, "I won't be having to dig through extra layers added every heartbeat. Trust me, I swim underwater every day, how much different can hay be?". Before she could stop him, he padded on the centre of the barrier. Drawing his claws to full length, he began pulling heaps of golden grass, throwing aside in the massive clouds. It began raining down with yellow grass blades.
In no time, Appledusk had managed to make a shallow tunnel, chucking more hay behind him like a rabbit. Mapleshade lay crouched at the tunnel entrance, tail swaying. "If they're still there, come straight back.", she warned. If they were, she'd know how to deal with them. The creamy shape of Appledusk slowly become smaller and smaller as made it through the large barrier, the cycling of the tunnel managing to hold. Appledusk came to a halt, before then jabbing the hay with a front paw, hard. The wall in front of him collapsed, letting a beam of moonlight shine through. It made her smile for a quick moment to see the outside again. Cautiously, Appledusk crept out into the night's chip's air, looking around. He then stepped to the side, out of view for a moment. Abruptly, there was a mass of sharp sounds, hissing, and yowling.
Appledusk leapt back into view, locked in combat with Seedpelt. The two cats rolled over each other, with Seedpelt trying to bite down into her mate's neck. Mapleshade's fur spiked and tail lashed. Luckily, Appledusk managed to get a grip on the warrior's underbelly, flinging him off with his back legs. As soon as he was free, he instantly dived into the tunnel, flailing slightly in panic. But Thrushpelt and Seedpelt were hot in pursuit.
With Thrushpelt only a rabbit-length's away from Appledusk's boney tail. As soon as Appledusk reached the Barn, he threw himself out, rolling. With Appledusk out the way, she immediately leapt into the air, slamming down onto the hay pile with all her weight. The tunnel quickly gave way under the pressure. Like a cave-in, clumps of golden grass began falling onto the two Thunderclan cats. Their cries of terror being cut off as they were buried alive. The cats around the Barn barely moved for a few good heartbeats.
Then a terrified kit's voice came from being behind her, "How could you kill more cats?!", Patchkit whaled out. Mapleshade calmly turned to her son, "It's hay, Patchkit. It won't kill them.", she explained. Patchkit fell silent. A growl of anger formed in Mapleshade's throat, they're were in an even worse position now. The Hay pile could only keep them trapped for so long, when they finally managed to dig their way out.
Then they would be trapped inside with the two Thunderclan warriors, with nowhere to go and three kits to defend.
Then there was a large crashing sound coming the far counter of the Barn. A strange black and white tom with a brown collar looked around the barn, confused. "Tulipfur? Are you alrig-", he called out but he was cut off when he noticed the strangers standing in front of him. "Who are you?", Appledusk growled. An enraged Mapleshade dashed straight for kittypet before he could reply to Appledusk. She rammed into him, tackling him to the ground and placing her paws on his chest and neck. Pinning him down. "How do you know Tulipfur? How did you get in here, kittypet?!", she demanded.
However Petalkit grabbed onto her tail, "Mum, stop! Myler on our side. Tulipfur allowed him to play with us while you were out with Patchkit!", she explained while shouting. Mapleshade held back a growl, hating the idea of her kits being allowed to mix with a kittypet. She was resistant at first but she eventually she stood aside, "Get up.", she instructed the kittypet. Myler quickly shuffled to his paws, bowing his head politely. At least he knew to respect Clan born cats. "Sorry for coming uninvited like that. I heard the hissing and I thought something had happened.".
Mapleshade was about to speak, but before she could, Appledusk barged past, going nose to nose with Myler, "Wait. If you got in- You can get us out.", he mewed excitedly. Then it hit Mapleshade, then she stepped forward, "How did you get in?", she demanded.
The kittypet staggered back a few paces, in surprise but soon shrugged and flicked his tail towards the left top corner of the Barn. It took a lot of squinting and heartbeats, but eventually, Mapleshade managed to spot the tiny slit in the bark wall, serval fox-lengths off the ground. It was next to one those darker brown lines in the wall, that stuck out slightly to make a narrow ledge. "Sure.", Mapleshade snorted, "We'll just head up there as soon as we sprout wings.".
Larchkit jumped excitedly in front of her, his tail hooked at the end with determination, "Oh no, Mum. You don't need wings. Myler showed us how to do, come on!", before she could stop him, the over adventurous kit began scaling up the largest mountain of hay in the entire Barn. He looked like a chestnut-coloured cricket bouncing wildly among the golden grass. She twisted to face Myler, what had he'd be teaching her kits? But a pale brown tail lay on her chest, blocking her. Appledusk slowly shook his head. Mapleshade just scoffed, storming off. One by one the family started to follow Larchkit up the mountain of hay. The Queen leaned over, but before she could grab Patchkit, he jerked. "No!", the tom squeaked like a mouse, "I'm not letting you carry me, I can do it myself.".
The male kit then stomped off in a puff, after the rest of the group. Mapleshade followed on behind, speechless.
When she'd reached the top of the grass mountain, she warily tests the platform's surface, scraping her twisting claws against it. Seemed like to be made of some kind of wood. She struggled to find words to describe it, it was either a very thick square branch or twolegs had somehow leant to makes logs float in midair. Either way, they were everywhere attached to the roof of the Barn, crisscrossing.
A groaning noise was the only thing that took her away from her confused state. Like the fish he hunted, Appledusk flopped up the haystack, tripping as he went. Wanting to just get out of this Barn, she grabbed him by the scruff, struggling under his massive weight, flinging him over the ledge. She neatly leapt on over him, as moaned to himself and continued on creeping the bark ledge. For cats their size, it was easy for them with the kits already at the end, waiting with Myler at the small slit. A dim moonlight beam, reflected off the damp surface of the bark, turning into a pale grey. Taking the lead, moving past everyone else, Mapleshade stuck her head out into the fresh night air, taking in the moment of freedom from suffocating atmosphere of the Barn. If was as if she'd surfaced after being trapped under the murky surface of a river. Then one look down, she saw the steer drop below her.
"Can we jump down there?", Larchkit asked from behind her, his ears twitching. "No.", she immediately responded, grabbing the kit before he could do anything stupid. Larchkit just let out a squeal of irritation. This jump would hard enough for adult cats let alone kits. With one last sigh, she bent her legs and launched herself down. The windswept past her face, causing her face fur to flatter like a desperate pigeon trying to avoid the snapping jaws of a fox. Suddenly her paws meet the ground; the air was forced from her lungs, her legs snapped like twigs as she fell over and the blood rang in her ear tips. Larchkit has knocked away from her grip, sending him scribbling across the dirt floor. They were finally outside. Groaning slightly, Mapleshade rose to her paws, looking over to Larchkit, shaking the specks of earth from his dark pelt. "I could have jumped myself, you know.", he boasted. He was fine.
Appledusk and Myler followed, falling like pebbles. Her mate tripped like her, making Patchkit fly off. While Myler, with clear experience, neatly landed on all fours, only giving off a slight grunt of pain. As soon as Mapleshade made eye contact with the unwelcome ally, Myler knew to drop Petalkit away from him. Straightening himself up a bit, the Riverclan tom turned to the kittypet, curiosity making his nose twitch like a rabbit's, "How do you even find that tiny hole in the roof?", he questioned.
"This Barn was kind of mine before- well before you lot took resistance there.", he joked, bursting out into a fit of purring laughter at his own joke. A blazing fire crept down into Mapleshade' tongue.
"Enough!", she snapped, Myler's laughter trailed off to an awkward silence. She turned to Appledusk, "More Thunderclan cats could show up at any heartbeat, we need to go now.".
They were nothing but fasting moving black outlines against the cloudy night sky, devoid of all stars. Mapleshade and Appledusk sped across the flat dull farmland field, their kits holding on tightly as they ran with the speed of foxes. They needed to get as far away as possible. They ran and ran, not stopping until the Barn was nothing but a small red bot against this massive landscape of grasslands and strong standing twoleg nests. Gradually, coming to a complete halt at the border of one of the endless farms. She left Petalkit on the upturned muddy soil, trying to catch to her breathe.
Instead of scent marks, the Twoleg seemed to mark their borders with fences instead but this was a type she'd never seen before; It was serval fox-lengths high with weird silver vines that coiled around each other like a web, supports by smooth shiny black sticks, with scrawny dried weeds the only plants able to grow there. They couldn't be climbed like the usual fences made of bark, they would need to find a crack or hole to get through. Giving in to the exhausted she leaned up against a stumpy tree.
Appledusk soon joined at the tree, letting Patchkit and Larchkit to ground. He tried to mew while his breath was heavy with panting, "Shouldn't we go further?". Mapleshade glanced over to the Barn in the far distance, nothing but a red speck. Thunderclan territory was almost non-existence in her line of sight, a very thin green line of the horizon. She closed her eyes, "It's going to take a while for Trushtalon and Seedpelt to get out of the hay and get back to camp.", she pointed out.".
Appledusk rolled his eyes, still thinking he's right, "You can never be too safe you know.".
Mapleshade wasn't done though, "We can't get much travelling done tomorrow if we exhaust ourselves beforehand.", she tried to then ensure the paranoid cat, "We're fine for tonight. We'll get travelling done tomorrow." . He just sighed, before nodding.
Pleased to have Appledusk's complaining out the way, she padded over to her kits, they blinked as they looked around the strange new environment. Skimming over the nearby undergrowth, she looked for a place to sleep. Petalkit muttered into her mother's ear, "When can we see Myler again?", she asked. "Hopefully never.", she sneered, carrying on with her search for shelter. "Mapleshade, don't say that to a kit!", Appledusk exclaimed.
Trying to ignore the annoying comments coming at her at every direction, she slipped away nearer to the Undergrowth next to the fence. However, all the undergrowth was too low and tangled to climb into to sleep in. She growled to herself.
Just then familiar scent insanity put her on edge, including Appledusk. A nearby Thunderclan scent. Her kits quickly pick up on their parents' aggression, banding together and watching intensely. Suddenly came a darting grey fur at her left, rushing straight towards her kits! Before she could fully react and stop him, Bloomheart launched at the three kits. Why had he come here? Was this the same cat she once knew? Grabbing the nearest kit to him, Petalkit was forced into snappy wild jaws, she screamed out with a mix of terror and pain. Bloomheart trashed the helpless kit violently, like a massive two-leg with a piece of prey.
As she stumbled to save her daughter, she felt like she had the whole strength of Starclan on her side. Like a badger, she pounded Bloomheart into submission with her front paws. A blood-soaked Petalkit was thrown to the floor, with deep teeth marks on the back of her neck. Appledusk moved into to help Mapleshade, but she spat at him while struggling to keep Bloomheart from recovering, "Protect the kits, you mousebrain, not me!".
Under her paws, Bloomheart gathered his strength and dug his back legs into her underbelly. "You've destroyed my future!", he yowled into her face. She could only gasp as she was flipped onto her back. Already grabbing his chance, Bloomheart hurried to his paws. Before he could do anything more, Mapleshade grabbed his lashing tail with needle teeth, yanking him towards her. Leaving traces of blood. The savage staggered against the flurry of front blows against his muzzle.
In that heartbeat, she noticed the three fresh scars creeping up his face, ending with a blind eye. That wouldn't be the only scars he'd be getting tonight, if they weren't enough to kill him. How dare her mentor attack her! In her fit of rage, she becomes unfocused and clumsily, leading to sloppy attacks. The siamese tom quickly managed to duck under the next paw swipe, leaping at the opening.
Both were sent to the floor, hissing. They were now in a storm of endless teeth and claws as neither of them refused to break. The amount of hate that blazed in his eyes and edged his voice was ridiculous. She began to question if this was even a Clan cat she was fighting. The well-being of her kits took her away from the battle slightly, as Bloomheart clawed to get through her paws covering her face. Luckily, Appledusk stood over them, tail lashing. He was struggling to not to leap into the fight. Only there when she needed him.
Knowing they were safe, allowed Mapleshade to focus on tearing Bloomheart to scraps. Breaking away from his slashing range, rearing up onto her hind legs, about to bring down her paw to batter his head. However, Bloomheart swept his leg under her, causing her to crash to the ground. He moved quickly, pressing his foot into her exposed stomach and dig his claws deep into her throat. She choked as he went deeper and deeper until his claws were up against her windpipe. She stopped resisting. Bloomheart leaned down and spat into her face, his rotting breathes in her nostrils, "You've always been like this, Mapleshade - Never thinking of the consequences. Because of Ravenwing's murder and my injury, Oakstar shoved me into the Medicine den. Because of you, my family can't a second litter. Nettlepaw will grow up without siblings!.
What nonsense was he spouting now? How could any cat possibly predict that? Mapleshade fought through the pain of the claws inside her flesh and growled back at him, "Don't blame me for your stupid eye! You attacked me first - A Queen!".
On Bloomheart's face, a crooked scowl grew like a weed, "You were never a respected Queen in the first place. Your crimes brought an evil cat's spawn into this world.", drawing in his claws deeper now.
Appledusk bared his long white fangs in an enraged snarl, "Get off her and leave my family alone, foxheart!", he demanded. As Bloomheart attention turned to the other tom, she felt the pressure on her neck soften slightly. "And don't think I've forgotten about you, murderer.", he whispered dangerously, "Don't talk to me about families when you took Flowerpaw away from me."
Appledusk staggered back but steadily gained his composure. "I swear on my life, I'd never kill an apprentice on purpose. It was an accident. But how can you justify dragging an innocent kit into this? You're just branded yourself with the title of murderer as well.". He whipped his tail towards the battered kit, partly breathing under the layers of dried blood and shredded fur.
At Appledusk's accusation, Bloomheart recoiled with disgusted, "Those creatures ain't kits! They're a prophesied evil, who will become murderers like their parents. If have to take Ravenwing's place in Starclan's plan, I'll do it as a warrior, not a medicine cat!"
While Bloomheart was distracted rambling, Mapleshade grabbed her slim chance. Chomping down on Bloomheart's leg, made him jerk away in shock. Keeping up the assault, she drove him off his paws by landing heavily on his back. She then placed her fangs around his neck. He lashed out with flailing paws but none worked to knock her away. All she had to do was tighten her grip on his neck and he would dea- "Mum, don't!", cried out Patchkit.
All turned to the tiny ginger and white kit with black speckles, "You can't kill another cat, it's bad. Tell her, Dad. Tell her it's bad.", turning to Appledusk for back up. The tom seemed to be taken back slightly, being called 'Dad' the first time but he quickly snapped out of it and responded, glancing at the bleeding Petalkit under his paws, "I'm sorry, Patchkit. But I don't know if a kit-killer is redeemable.", he bitterly growled.
Larchkit's angrily swiped at the air as he stood over his injured his sister, he faced his brother, "He did this to our sister.", anger gripping him, he turned to his mother, "Do it, Mum! Kill him!". Mapleshade's stomach curled up with disgust, her legs betraying her going shaky and weak. In desperation, Bloomheart landed a direct front slash over her nose, making her taste the diet under her as she fell. Appledusk yowled a warning. Free from her grip, she expected the scarred tom to instantly leap towards her kits however he ended up twisting on his heel and rushing off without another word. His dull fur merging into the black void of the night.
Glancing at Petalkit's deep wounds, Mapleshade thought she'd collapse from the stress. How could they possibly save her with injuries like that? She'd already killed Ravenwing, the other Medicine cats would run away from her on sight. Warping Petalkit in her paws, the desperate mother pitifully tried washing away the blood. "Mapleshade-", Appledusk began.
"What?", Mapleshade snapped in fury - The last voice she needed to be hearing right now was that faithless tom's. Taken aback, Appledusk steadied his breathing, determination sparking in his green gaze, "We have to ask Myler for help. Twolegs are known for having powerful herbs."
Her fur instantly bristled. The black and white tom had already influenced her kits enough with his kittypet softness. Yet for the sake of keeping Petalkit alive, even Mapleshade wasn't stupid enough to decline. Giving Appledusk a single nod, she gently lifted Petalkit, barely breathing. Appledusk's tasted the air to pick up Myler's disgusting scent and flicked his tail for them to follow. Patchkit and Larchkit scrabbled at their father's paws, but Mapleshade gave them a muffled call, which they miserably obeyed. If Petalkit's life was endangered, she wants her sons at her side, not the faithless tom's.