Larchkit's new surrounding was massive and terrifying. Threatening pine trees towering over the tiny kit, a constant intimidating presence. All sight of the pale sky above, almost completely blocked out, reduced to nothing but blue specks. The only bright colour came from the melting frost, now mushy slush in the midday sun, turning the earth muddy. The pines cast a seemly unnaturally dark layer of shade over the bare damp woodland floor, in a thick black sheet. The eery chatter of mischievous crows echoing throughout the spiked canopy looming above.
Black shapes moved as the crows idly hopped from one branch to other, peering down at them with those large round unblinking eyes. Judging if Larchkit and Mum was a pental meal in this unforgiving season of Leaf-bare. A low growl thumbed in Larchkit's throat. He'd send them all away screeching before they even had the chance to peek out their eyeballs. You didn't past Larchkit, the greatest warrior in all the Clans!
Seeing his badly-bleeding mother limping and having enough, he pressed himself against her flank, "Here, rest on my shoulder.", he suggested with a positive voice. The only response he got was a quiet grunt as she accepted his offer, leaning against him. Ok, that was quite worrying actually. Mum never accepted his offers of help, saying how it was always weak. It didn't matter now. All he needed was focus on getting out of this creepy place, find a good patch of bushes and rest. A good sleep always worked for him back in the nursery, of the few memories he still had of that place. His mind briefly flashing to Tulipfur. Was she ok there?
However, over time, he becomes quite exhausted. His walking becoming slower and slower as the weight of Mum's weight increased. It was like trying to carry a pile of boulders! But he pressed on, Mum wouldn't give up if this was him and neither would he. Yet, the weight continued to increase as Mum began to completely slump over him. It soon became almost impossible to stand, gasping, "Mother please, try to walk for yourself a bit more, I can't carry all of you.". However, he was then forced to duck away from her collapsing not wanting to be crushed under her.
He rushed to Mum's side, desperately shaking her, "Mother?", he asked, "Get up. We can't sleep here, we need to get out of here.". Yet no response. He shook her again. Yet nothing. Growing frustrated, he climbed to other side of her. Rearing up onto his hind legs, he jabbed down onto Mum's soft exposed belly. This had to get a reaction! Yet, all it did was make Mapleshade twitch a few times before going limp again. Panicked breaths escaped from his mouth.
What did he do? Out of desperation, he turned to the empty space surrounding him, shouting out into the gloom of the strange forest, "Help! Someone, please! My mother- I think she's sick!".
His cries carried one through the trees, echoing for a long time before eventually fading into the lingering silence. "Hello!?", he repeated, "Help me! Anybody!".
Just then his ears pricked as he heard the distant sound of a twig snapping and leaves rustling. A new, foul scent clung to his nose. Worse than the Thunderpath he'd been fighting next to just a few heartbeats ago. Swift shapes darted from one bush to the other, too fast to catch. Like flashing shadows. But they weren't the crows from earlier.
Slowly, Larchkit turned around to see the distant figures of cats coming out from the darkness. And they weren't friendly. Lean builds, worn down pelts and paced muscles. Their lips were drawn back to show dastardly-looking teeth. Teeth that could some serious damage to him or Mum. He shrunk down into his mother's thick fur, somehow expecting to be hidden from them.
Four cats were now gathered around him, snarling, their eyes gleaming.
The patrol contained to frantically pace around the helpless cats, like crows circling a rotting corpse. They chattered to each other with sharp tongues, but the fear that consumed Larchkit, was so much, their words were only muffled meaningless babble. All he could do was hung onto Mum slightly tighter, burying himself in a mass of long fur like a forest of ginger stems. A large black tabby she-cat with white muzzle stepped forward, the tips of her fangs showing threatening through her lips. She leaned in right into the kit's face, so much, that he could feel her breath on his thin whiskers, "What happened to Mapleshade then?", she slowly mewed, menacingly.
Larchkit gulped, steadying his breathing, trying to get grip of his nerves. If he was going to get out of this unharmed, the last thing he could afford to do was panic. He stiffened up his muscles, getting control of himself, "Att-Attacked by a Thunderclan patrol.", he muttered. At those words, the she-cat drew back, turning to her fellow Shadowclan warriors, beginning to speak among themselves. Every word as clear as freshwater not even trying to hide their conversion.
"She's going to die anyway, so let's just kill her now and get it over with.", a grey mottled tom mumbled. Larchkit's ears pricked and eyes widen. Kill her? Luckily, the she-cat didn't seem to agree, shaking her head, "Ain't you forgetting she has a kit, Swooptalon?", she reminded her clanmate with a harsh tone. Yet Swooptalon just flicked his small head, uninterested, "Just chase him out.". The two warriors at the back muttered their quiet approval.
However the she-cat remained stubborn like a tree against the battering wind, "That's no better than killing it ourselves, it'll die out there without its mother.". Swooptalon was now standing squarely at his clanmate as if he was facing an energy warrior, his own mortality being questioned. They stare at each other hard in the eyes. Before anything could start, a small tabby tom stood in between them like a log, blocking them. He turned his attention to the black she-cat, "Silknose, unless you can think of alternative, Swooptalon right.". A smug smile came over Silknose's lips, as they'd blindly fallen right into a spider's web, "I can actually.".
The patrol looked blankly at her for aa while before the small tabby's eyes finally narrowed, "You're kidding, right?". Larchkit blinked in confusion, still not understanding. Silknose nodded while sighing, "We haven't got much choice." she pointed out, "Unless you three want the blood of a kit on your paws.". This took all of them off guard, a wave of fear rippling through them, striking them right at the core. But as the bewilderment faded on Swooptalon's face, it was soon replaced by anger, storming up to her, "Don't you dare accuse us of being kit killers! We just don't want to help a foxhearted rouge.". He spans round, flicking his long fluffy tail over Mapleshade's limp body.
He continued, "The only way to keep her alive, is through herbs. Herbs, I remind you, that can be used to save the life of someone who actually deserves it.". After Swooptalon's compelling speech, even Larchkit, for the briefest of moments, agreed with the warrior. Before the realization of Mum being the one they were talking about, came crashing in again. Foxheart and rouge, ringing his small head. Having heard those words used against her, too many times now.
Unlike the rest of the cats, Silknose remained unhinged. Immediately, she barged past him, shoving him aside with broad shoulder and starting to give out orders as if Swooptalon had said nothing at all. She turned to a pale ginger she-cat, "Warmpetal." she instructed, "Run ahead to camp and warn Snakestar and Sloefur they'll be getting some visitors.". With a slight hesitation, the cat known as Warmpetal nodded, dashing off into the distance. In the background, a storm cloud was forming over Swooptalon's head, his lashing tail, causing the layer of dead leaves to scutter. "What, so you're going to completely ignore me now?", he demanded to know.
"I'm the deputy around here, not you. So I'd watch your tongue.", Silknose countered, beginning to approach dangerously close to Larchkit and Mum. He flexed his claws, arming himself if the need arose. Suddenly, Silknose's head snapped forward, grabbing Mum by the neck and beginning to roughly drag her across the muddy forest floor. It happened so quickly, the force caused Larchkit to lose his grip on her flank, tumbling down, landing heavily on a tough bark wall, as he hit a tree root. Getting hold of blurred sense again, he threw his body forward, landing on his mother's slug-like tail. "Let go of her!", he hissed.
Silknose blinked at him for a moment before handing the collapsed Mapleshade over to the two Shadowclan warriors, "Take her.". With a mutter of annoyance and clear disgust, Swooptalon latched his jaw around her scruff while the tabby tom took the back legs. With their combined strength, they easily lifted Mum off the ground slightly, her paws dangling. Then they began marching off with her, to Larchkit's dismay. The panic building up like storm clouds, Larchkit raced forward, ready to fight for his life to save her. Before he could get within a fox-length of them, a swift paw suddenly swept in, grabbing Larchkit by the chest and slamming him into a pile of pine-needles. Freezing up after he realized Silknose stood directly over him, trapping him.
"Do you know anything about herbs, kit?", she asked with a sarcastic dry voice. He blinked up at her, "Why would I?".
"Exactly. So we're the only thing standing between your mother and death. So I suggest you corporate.", she advised, raising her head to the sky, making her look like a giant. Without even needing to look at them, Larchkit could sense the long claws curling into the dirt right next to his head. Her fur was still spiked, eyes glinted hungrily and lips edging up upwards, threatening to form into a snarl. "What makes you any different from the Thunderclan cats?", he muttered suspiciously. The she-cat scoffed, "A lot of things.", she boasted.
Then, she tugged at his short tail like plucking a worm from the earth, roughly pulling him to his paws. Turning away, she rounded him up with her bushy tail, gilding him in the direction of the other warriors, now in the far distance. She looked at him one final time, with a harsh glare, "I'll allow you walk for now.", she warned, "But try anything and I'll drag you all the way there.". All Larchkit could do, was miserably nod, reluctantly following. His paw pads tingled as they began to veer off to the left, between two large thorn bushes, coiling around like a frozen pile of withered brown snakes. Well, he yowled out for help and he was getting it. He thought. Still unsure of whether he could trust them. Were they any different from the other Clan cats? He just swallowed, hoping he wasn't being led to his death.
As they padded past the towering tree trunks of the pines, he began to run through: every situation, every scenario, every word that could possibly happen. Preparing for the apposite worst. A small smile grew over his mouth, as the sinister plans began to take shape in his mind like bitter frost forming over a tree branch. He wouldn't just get himself out but Mum as well. Nothing would stop him. Not even the most victorious of winds or the fiercest of fires could hold him back.
As the two warriors lay Mum in a thick clump of moss with Sloefur at the back of the damp cave, grumbling angrily. The walls of the dens were foreboding and long like a hive, as if a massive wasp had carved it. It was dimly lit, covered in a fog of thick gloom, appearing as solid black in the deepest of the creeping cracks. The swallow breeze that managed to burrow its way into the haunting cave, would quicking ware itself out, soon fading into an echoing silence.
Continuing to stare at it, a sense of bread hooved over Larchkit's head like a rotten foul odour. Before he could back up, an overhanging presence of larger cat crept up behind him, his fear too much to check who it was. A boney hard muzzle swept across his spine, knocking him into the unsettling Medicine den. He stumbled, just managing to use his sturdy tail to balance himself again. Glancing around the cave for more detail, he noticed the brown and green piles of various; leaves, roots, and stems, stacked up against the dull grey stone walls. With no clear system of organization.
He swallowed as crept past the scrawny medicine cat crouched down, chewing up some crispy leaves into a slimy mash. Hopefully, that would be the stuff that saved Mum. A long line of shadows seemed to be streaked across Sloefur's face, hiding his expression but Larchkit didn't need to see his face to know how he was feeling, his neck fur was spiked, the anger scent almost radiating off of him. The beam of dull sunlight that managed to burrow into the narrow cave kept flicking in and out of existence, as Shadowclan cats lingered around the entrance, trying to catch glimpse of strange new cats in their camp.
Some of the cats' eyes glinted with harmless curiosity while others' teeth glinted as they bared their fangs, making Larchkit retreat deeper into the den. Beyond the spying cats, he spotted the freshly caught prey stacked in the centre of the clearing, making his mouth water. He'd do anything to get a meal after him belly had so empty, for so long. Without even realizing he stranger in the wrong direction, hitting a wall of fur and bone. Instinctively, he immediately rolled away, twisting to face his opponent with tail and fur flaring. But his fur flattened as he saw it was only the Medicine cat blinking at him, a pile of herbs at his paws.
"Good reflexes for a kit.", he muttered, "Too good.", his eyes narrowing, tinted with suspension. Though Larchkit's fur wasn't on end anymore, he still stayed in his defensive position, standing his ground, tail swishing, irritated, "Is that meant to be a compliment?". He shrugged half-heartedly while padding over to his only patient, still unconscious, "You take it however you like, but you better cherish it because I won't have anything nice to say after that".
Larchkit shuffled closer to the Medicine cat, a growl threatening to escape his lips, "Why do you hate me?".
Imminently, Sloefur stopped dapping the leaf mash on his mother's deep bite mark on her leg and turned to the kit, scoffing, "I have no reason to hate you, kit.", he then flicked his fluffy black tail over the defenceless cat, "It's her, I hate.". An awkward silence hung over them as Larchkit attempted to process Sloefur's words. "Why?", he muttered.
Sloefur suddenly burst in a fit of amused purring as if it should be obvious, completely dumping his herbs at Mum's side, his full attention now on Larchkit, "Because the foxheart killed Ravenwing.". It felt a stick had pierced through his heart from the annoyance as if Sloefur had insulted him directly. Why would this stranger know or even care for Ravenwing's murder? "But you're a Shadowclan cat!", he protested, "You shouldn't care what Thunderclan cats do to each other.".
Another fit of laughter came as the argument continued, "If I was a regular warrior then maybe yes, but I'm a Medicine cat, we're beyond petty Clan quarrels over prey or territory. I watched Ravenwing grow from a timid apprentice to a wise Medicine cat. Or that's how it should have been. But your mother cut that short, he was too young to die and now Thunderclan will be crippled for moons without a Medicine cat.". The invisible branch stabbing into his chest, now twisted, cracking Larchkit's heart as the anger surged through, the tips of his fangs being bared, "He deserved it!", he spat bitterly, "He sent us all into exile, Mum was only getting rightful justice!".
Instead of his mouth opening to respond as Larchkit expected, it remained sealed, instead, the emotion coming from his eyes, cold and calculating. He leaned over menacingly, hoving over him like a shadow giant, "Was that really what happened, kit? Was he the one to give the order to send you into exile? Was he cheering as you were dragged out of camp?". Larchkit swallowed, he wasn't to be intimidated. But on a second glance, Sloefur still sent a chilly ice ripple down his back. "N-no.", he blurted without thinking.
Sloefur nodded, "Because he's not that kind of cat. Just remember, it Oakstar who choose to punish you for your parents' foolish actions. No one else is at fault.". Larchkit mind started to cloud up with confusion, "Mum isn't foolish! I-it is his fault- Mum said if he hadn't said anything then none of this would have happened.", he retorted.
"Of course, she would have said that.", he hissed at the open-air disgusted, "If Ravenwing the sole course of this all; then he's the one who betrayed Thunderclan, getting pregnant with a Riverclan cat's kits. Oh, and he must have been the one to lie to you and your littermates about your father being Birchface!", the mockery in his voice was painfully obvious, even to a kit like Larchkit. He becomes startled by this. But Sloefur didn't stop, containing to challenge him, prodding him in the chest with a boney paw, "So it true then Larchkit? Did Ravenwing do those things?".
The edges of his mouth grew dry as looked down at the cold hard stone floor in shame, "No.", he finally admitted. "Then who was it?", Sloefur muttered in a harsher tone. "Mapleshade.", he mumbled under his breath. Despite his answer being a whisper, Sloefur's muttered ears still managed to pick it up, "Never forget that.", he finally mewed with a sigh, slowly padding away and returning to treating Mum as if nothing had happened. Stretching spider's web between his toes, he began weaving at the edges of the open flesh, slowly sealing each one shut. Clear force in his movements, reluctant to help the cat he hated. Larchkit just watched in silence at the back of the cave, trying to process what he'd just heard. Putting down the last of the white silk, he then began to place the leafy plop onto the sealed wounds.
All Larchkit could do now was settle into the thick moss sheets, burying his head into the green mass as Sloefur carried on working. He pressed himself into the curl of his mother's belly, being drowned in her dropping body heat. He half-expected to feel his littermates press against his dark pelt in a massive bundle like they always use to do. But they didn't. Only thick damp air pressed against him, ruffling his fur like the wind gushing through the brown leaves of a stiff tree branch. Pressing his ears hard against his head and forcing his eye shut, he tried to dream away the harsh reality around him.
Wishing that a spiritual ancestor would come to whisk him into the bright starry seas of Starclan. A soft purr rumbled his throat, as he imagined his groggy pelt shattering into tinted blue sparks, becoming sleek and shining with a million flecks of light. His grandfather, Dullface would be there. He'd heard so much about from the nursery tales, apparently him being a spitting image of him. He'd died saving Mapleshade and Bloomheart from a trespassing loner. In Starclan, Dullface would be a young tom in his prime with massive paced muscles, chestnut dark brown fur, a darker face and paws with a cheesy grin and glinting amber eyes. A grin edged over Larchkit's own face, Dullface's gift to the world, Mum had once called him. Dullface was now padding towards him with no effect, almost gliding across the shimmering floor, as light as air. Larchkit stretched up higher and higher to greet his lost kin, preparing for the deep emotions.
Energy blazed fiercely in the young kit, suddenly pulsing through his veins. In his excitement, his head thrust up and eyelids shot open, "I want to go to Starclan!", he blurted. Immediately the frosty blue landscapes of Starclan washed away from his vision like water, to be replaced by a familiar cracked rock wall of the den, his daydream shattering. Dread hung over him, realizing it had nothing but a thin fantasy created by a troubled youth. It was just then he noticed Sloefur standing over him, eyes as large as boulders, "What about Starclan?", the black tom asks, concern in his raspy voice. Larchkit attempted to string together a sentence but all that comes out was meaningless silence. "You didn't have a vision from Starclan, did you? What was it? Who was there?", Sloefur insisted, throwing endless waves of questions at him, not letting the kit speak. It would have been nice if he was one of Starclan's chosen cats. But he would be lying to himself and Sloefur if he said yes. Starclan wouldn't want him. He'd heard Bloomheart's ramblings, Starclan hated them. They were stains on the warrior code that needed to scrub away.
Fate forced Larchkit's honesty, "No.", he muttered, "I was only daydreaming.". Sloefur's ears twisted back in irritated, "So what all that about then?", he demanded, putting on a high-pitched voice, " 'I want to go to Starclan'?". His impression was so honestly terrible, it sounded more like a baby mouse then kit. Larchkit fidgeted around in the moss nest, to find a comfortable position, where he wouldn't have to see Sloefur's ugly face anymore. He buried his face deep into the ocean of green mass and dark fur. With a sigh, he admitted, "Because that's where I'd rather be right now.". Surprisingly, he felt a fluffy tail lay across his shoulder, trying to confident him, "If something happening out there, you need to tell me immediately.". Slowly, Larchkit straightened up, turning towards the Medicine cat.
Out of nowhere, two long black shadows were cast over the already dark cave as two large figures stood at the entrance, blocking the arms of the pale sunlight from reaching Larchkit. They slowly approached the helpless mother and kit with a stiff calmness. Instantly he recognized the black tabby she-cat from earlier, Silknose. The black of her pelt mixed with creeping shadows of the cave-like mud and water, to wash away any humanizing figures, only leaving an emotionless void-like creature as dark as the night sky with no stars.
The cat next to her was a stranger, a great hulking tom, with long snake-like legs and striking black stripes, like ripples on a calm lake being whipped by a gentle breeze. But that wasn't the most distributing thing about this cat, something that made Larchkit feel the bile creep up his throat like a spider. One half of his face was larger then other as if it had been crushed in by a sharp rock, the left eye reduced to amber and white mash. His lips and jaw were almost founded over, exposing the raw pink muscle underneath and his teeth in all their glory, long and needle-like, rooted in his gums like weeds. "What's wrong with him?", Larchkit exclaimed to Sloefur quietly, horrified. Hearing those words, the Medicine cats twisted on his heel, cuffing the insensitive kit behind the ear, "Don't be rude.", he snapped, "It's a birth defect.". Larchkit stared up at him blankly, now sitting up, a little startled.
Sloefur padded away hurriedly to greet the black striped tom, with a low respectful bow. Didn't Silknose mention she was the deputy? So if Sloefur was greeting this cat over the deputy, that must mean, he was the leader. The heartbeat pounding hard in his chest, quicken just a little more. Surprised that a cat could lead a whole clan despite his face, it was really impressive. Larchkit straightened up and cleared up his throat, respect instantly sparking for Shadowclan's leader, despite now uttering a word to him yet. "Will she live then?", the leader questioned. Sloefur slowly nodded, "She's in a stable condition now, Snakestar. She could come through quite soon.", he muttered, with clear spite. A frown came over Snakestar's face, "I see.", he mewed with narrowed eyes.
With a nod, Snakestar's one good eye drifted over the darkest corner of the cave, where Mum and himself lingered. The leader strode over with great distance between each stride, reaching him within less than six steps. "And this is the runt?", he asked, standing over Larchkit like a mountain. flicking his long tail for his deputy to join him. Silknose quickly sped over to join him, to confirm his guess, "Yep, that's the one. Found him screaming like a crow on the border with Mapleshade bloody and unconscious.".
Snakestar settled down next to the moss nest, laying on the bare stone, paws tightly tucked under. "There's a whole Clan out there demanding answers, so I'd like to get them quickly. I can only help you if you tell the truth, understand kit?". His throat became bone dry. What should he say? He couldn't tell this cat everything, could he? He looked over his shoulder to Mum, laying there in dull moss, in a restless sleep. Would she allow it? Snakestar seemed to read his mind, "Don't worry about her, she can't hear you yet. This is just between you and me. So please. What happened to you two?", he instituted.
Larchkit was taken back, this was the first time in many moons he could speak freely without Mum constantly breathing down his neck. Something like this may never happen again with his half-clan heritage. This may be his only chance to ever get help. With a final sigh, he nodded, ready to spill the truth. "I and Mother have been trying to hunt down and kill the Thunderclan cat, Bloomheart for about a moon now.", he explained, the three cats hovering around him, listening in silence, "And earlier, we finally managed to find him. But he must have had it planned out or something because he managed to lure us to the Thunderclan border and we were attacked by a patrol.-".
"Hold on.", Silknose interrupted, "Why Bloomheart? Wasn't he Mapleshade's mentor?". Larchkit shook, the dark memories boiling to the surface, making him feel physically sick. The image of his sister being snatched in Bloomheart's vicious jaws and violently thrashed around, blood going everything, flashing in his mind, consuming his vision for a heartbeat. He tried sucking in the bloated air, desperately trying to control his breathing. At least, now he'd be able to share them, freeing himself from this emotional confinement Mum had forced him into. "He thinks our Half-Clan status will bring bad omens and is trying to kill us for it. He's already permanently scared Petalkit and just tried to kill me during the patrol attack.".
The small crowd gathered around him, shared disturbed glances. "Charming.", Silknose uttered. Snakestar turned to him with a sudden state of urgency, "Where are your littermates now?", he asked sternly. Larchkit flattened his ears, he could be enough danger himself. He wasn't going to rat out Patchkit and Larchkit to those strangers, so he decided to go vague, "Patchkit is with our father and Petalkit is living with a loner.", he told them, shuffling nervously against Mum's belly. "And why are you all scattered?", Silknose asked, taking a step forward, sniffing at him like a wary rabbit.
"Because Mum tried killed to Dad.", he blurted.
This made Sloefur flinched back in disgust, his anger boiling up, foam fizzing in his mouth as he snarled at Mapleshade as she lay there. "Thanks for making me waste herbs.", he hissed at his deputy. Too prideful to admit her own mistake, she spat back at the grumpy Medicine cat. Larchkit looked among the faces of the surrounding Shadowclan cats confused. Was that really such a shook? Snakestar just shook his head in disappointment, as if he wasn't surprised.
"Anyone else?", Silknose exclaimed with almost crazed eyes, with a tint of mockery. It sounded like she was joking but sadly she was right. "Yes, actually.", he mumbled, "When patrol attacked, Bloomheart shoved Frecklewish into the Thunderpath for refusing to kill me and so Mapleshade did the same to Dawnfeather in retaliation. They were both hit by the same monster.".
Silknose threw her tail into the air in defiance, pacing around the enclosed area, "Of course they did.", Silknose exclaimed even louder, "And cats call us the evil ones.". Even Snakestar seemed taken back this, closing his eyes thoughtfully for a moment. As he opened them again, there had been a shift in his emotions. Suddenly, he started being battered with angry ramblings from both sides, Sloefur stood nose to nose with his leader, tail lashing, "If she's willing to do all that to her own Clanmates. She won't show a hint of remorse towards us. We need to kill her now or she'll hurt someone for sure!". Before Snakestar could respond, Silknose came in with her own argument, "Get her out of my camp, now!".
Larchkit flung from the nest, baring his teeth, "If you kill her, you'll have to kill me too!", he threatened.
Quickly reacting, Snakestar gathered up his deputy and Medicine cat with his long tail, taking them to the other side of the den, to discuss the matter in private. Larchkit felt helpless in his little corner, shrivelling up into a ball, wishing he hadn't said that. At first, the chatter was too muffled to hear but pricking his ears and focusing like a bat, he finally managed to pick up snippets of the heated conversation, "She's only one cat against an entire camp.", Snakestar pointed out, "She's not stupid enough to attack anyone.". Though Silknose still snorted, unconceived. Snakestar bowed his head, seemly understanding his deputy concerned, "As soon as Sloefur gives the clear, I'll have Mapleshade and Larchkit escorted out immediately .".
Sloefur shuffled nervously as he sat there like a fidgeting kit, too fearful to utter the words. Snakestar flicked his tail, ordering the black cat to speak up. With a slight pause, Sloefur finally muttered, "Larchkit can't go with Mapleshade.". Silknose narrowed her eyes, squishing her face into something ugly, "Why?", she mewed slowly, heavy with suspension. Even Snakestar gazed at Sloefur, confused. So the Medicine cat began to explain, "You've seen the condition Larchkit in.", he mewed, "If she's willing to try and murder her own mate, she could lash out at her kits as well. And she has. Have you seen all those scars on him?".
After Sloefur's words echoed out of existence, Larchkit quickly flinched away from his mother as he released her breathing was beginning to quicken, her eyelid twitching very subtly. He wasn't looking forward to her reaction to finding herself trapped in an enemy camp, for all he knew, it could end up being violent. So for the time being, he decided to keep his distance, pressing himself against the cold wall, trying to focus back on the conversation, it was Silknose speaking now, looking quite irritated, "If it's parents' clans won't take reasonability of it, why should it be ours?", she retorted.
For once the two cats agreed, Sloefur nodding his head to show his approval, "We should give him to Appledusk or that loner.", he suggested, now facing Snakestar. Unlike his two clanmates, he still seemed doubtful, "But that would require me to send out a patrol for starclan's knows how long, to track down cats that could be literally anywhere.", he pointed out, "In the middle of leadbare.". A mixture of emotions swept through him, he'd loved to see his siblings again, especially Petalkit, whose fear had forced her to hide away behind thick red walls, to protect herself from the likes of Bloomheart.
A hiss threatened to escape like an angry wasp trapped within a spider web. He shouldn't have failed to kill Bloomheart. Now Dawnfeather was dead, forced to take the fall of her mate's crimes. He shivered at the image of Frecklewish and Dawnfeather being crashing under the speeding Monster, their warm blood splashing onto Bloomheart's muzzle, as he tore away from him, utter terror in his eyes. His mind went frosty for a moment, maybe Bloomheart had already been punished enough. Losing his mate- he should understand n never mess with him or Mapleshade again.
Then Silknose's sharps words brought him to the chatter almost forcefully, "Dump it in twoleg guardian then. It can become a kittypet for all I care.". His neck fur rose, over my dead body! But Sloefur quickly came in, almost offended, "No!", he objected, "Twolegs are too unpredictable, one could try to pet and feed you and another could kick and throw stones at you.".
"We can't let it's mother or father have him and we can't let twolegs have it. What are we supposed to do with it, toad-brain?", Silknose mewed, voice raised. Snakestar slowly lifted his head, "What else? We have to take him in.", he mewed calmly. Instantly, Larchkit froze on the spot as if he'd just been turned to stone. Join Shadowclan? His mind went numb, completely unsure of what to think or do. He stared at the three cats and then out onto pine-needle covered camp beyond, with groups of cats flicking past the entrance like streams of pelts. The groups of cats chartered happily among themselves, relaxed.
No constantly strained muscles, constantly feeling on edge and constantly barking orders, like it always was with him and Mum. A thorn of jealousy gripped his heart. If he said yes, this would be his home. Those cats would be his clanmates. And his new kin. Swallowing, he turned to stare at his mother, still so blissfully unaware of what was happening and what could be greeting her when she woke up. Guilt stabbed him in the chest like a sharp stone. But the three cats were still talking in the distance. Reluctantly, he turned away, pricking his hear to catch the last of it.
Silknose held her forepaws to her head, flexing them in annoyance, the debate lost. Surprisingly, she eventually nodded though still with a frosty bitterness glowing in her pale eyes, "If we're going to do this, then it'll need to go back in the nursery, it still technically a kit.". Yet they still continued to disagree, Snaekstar shaking his large head, "There's not much point.", he meowed, "He's almost 6 moons anyway and he's already had training.". Next, it was Sloefur to speak, with an eerie quietness to his words, like fading echoes of the past, "The Clan won't be happy about this.". Silknose shuffled slightly closer to her fellow Shadowclan cat, to say her approval, physically taking his side, "I'm certainly not.", Silknose bluntly and rudely interrupted.
"And I don't expect them to.", Snakestar replied, the tip of tongue edging against the tips of his fangs, slightly nervous, "But with enough time, they'll learn to treat him like any clanmate.". Was Snakestar seriously nervous around his own deputy? He was the leader, for starclan's sake! It should be Silknose shaking in her pelt like a terrified mouse, not the other way around.
She gave a quick glance behind her shoulder, suspension glinting in her eyes, "But he's half-clan. How can we trust him with his loyalty split three ways?".
Though Snaekstar raised his head proudly, "If I could surpass all extractions and become leader, then Larchkit can do the same.", he encouraged, then turning to the black and white she-cat "Some faith in him would also help, Silknose.". His only response was a snort. Larchkit's heart sunk to the floor, realizing what they were about to offer him. "Then it's decided.", Snakestar remarked, twisting on his heel, finally having that argument out the way. His heartbeat quicken when he released Snakestar was heading straight for him, so acted quickly, twisted until he lay facing the wall, trying not to make it obvious, he had eavesdropped on the entire conversation.
Tightly shutting if he eyes as if asleep, he heard the gentle tapping of paw steps on stone, as the three cats approached him. The air was taken out of him as an alarmingly heavy paw jabbed him in the back, hard, trying to wake him from his fake sleep. Larchkit violently flinched, trying to get away from the paws causing him pain. He predicted to blinking sleepy but that was quickly replaced with a sharp annoyance when he realized it had been Silknose prodding him awake. Had that even been necessary? He held back the urge to snappy at her like one of those annoying tiny yapping dogs. Instead of straightening up as he turned towards Snakestar.
Snakestar meet the kit straight in the eye as if he was staring right into his core, their gaze locked. Larchkit gulped, already knowing every word he was going to say. But he still drained it. Suddenly, Snakestar seemed a lot taller, like a giant Lionclan warrior as a huffed up his chest and held his head high, "Considering you're harsh circumstances, we've decided to offer you a place within Shadowclan.". Larchkit was about to open his mouth to speak, but Silknose was too quick, yanking his opportunity to speak away from him, "Only on the condition, you agree to leave Mapleshade and swear loyalty to us.".
In that heartbeat, his whole world came crashing down. "What?!", he exclaimed, horrid. The three cats around him remained silent, as desperately tried to gather his thoughts. The world around him become blurred, almost spinning as he thought he about to lose his mind. Would he be betraying Mum if he said yes? But- this is what she wanted, surely. For at least one of her kits to grow up safe in the four territories. He could properly fulfil her desire to be the mother of the most powerful warrior in the Clans' history. "Would my littermates be able to join too?", he asked in some vain hope. Silknose narrowed her eyes, "Don't push it, kit. We're not making this offer lightly. We won't offer it again.".
His bleak eyes fell to the bare barren stone floor, his mind drained off of logical thought, only hollow emotions. Just as he thought the situation couldn't get worse, he heard a shuffle of moss behind him, as Mapleshade steered in her nest, groaning. Before he could even react, Snakestar wrapped his tail around him like a brown snake, leading him away, "We can't do this here, let's take this to my de.n", he gently mewed, like a truly lovely queen to her kit.
Hurriedly Snakestar gave out the orders as Mapleshade began to moan, his voice now sharp as flint, seriousness in his tune, "Sloefur, make sure she doesn't injure herself and Silknose, put some warriors on guard duty in here, quickly.". With question or even hesitation, the clanmates lunged themselves to their ordered duties, Sloefur skipped over to his patient like a fawn while Sloefur barked like a furious fox, shouting out her out orders, echoing throughout the whole massive pine forest. As he was forcefully dragged out into the open air, Larchkit half expected himself to whale out in terror as he was forced away from his mother, sleeping there helplessly, covered in head to tail in deep wounds, only a tooth and claw away from being taken away from him forever. But instead, he felt a strange hollowness, almost trusting the Shadowclan cats as he left them with his mother's fate in their capable paws. And if it eventually comes to Mum making a fool's decision and the Shadowclan cats were forced to slay the beast that was his mother.