The rising of a warm sun and a gentle breeze couldn't have been made colder by the caterwauling of a distraught mother. Silentpaw's heart filled with a dreadful cold sensation as he woke to Ferretwing's cries. He lay in his nest listening to hushed concern as cats searched everywhere for a sign of the kits. Only himself and Cloudfang knew that not a whisker would be found.
As he tried to get himself back to sleep he could hear Cloudfang move with haste, exiting the den and hearing him faintly talk to Ferretwing. Desperately he clamped his paws over his eyes. If he could just trick his body into thinking it was night again.
His lip trembled and he flattened his ears. This was the outcome of last night and he hoped to Starclan he'd done the right thing. He begged for Lilytail to talk to him again, but her voice was nowhere to be heard. In a panic he ran from his nest to the sandstone shelfs eroded into the den's side. Some shrivelled poppy-seed heads were on the topmost ridge. He flicked one with a claw, a few seeds scattering out onto the shelf like droplets of rain being expelled from a rain cloud.
He pressed the pad of his paw down onto them, collecting a few. With little hesitance he licked about five off his paw. He felt the black outer shells pop between his teeth. He hoped that they'd be able to get him to sleep again and get him to see Lilytail. The effects felt surprisingly instantaneous as his paws buckled beneath him.
With a grunt he pulled himself up, wobbling over to his nest and clumsily tumbling down into it. His long legs spilled out of his nest and his eyelids felt as heavy as boulders. The world around him began to shimmer and swim around him as his eyelids finally dropped.
Gingerpaw and Glowpaw were rummaging around the darkness of the elders den, looking for any sign of the kits. "Starclan it smells like old cat in here" Glowpaw grumbled as he rooted through Troutfin's nest. It looked like the elderly tom had been taking second helpings of bedding and it was holding a pungent stench. "Are you done yet!?" Troutfin's scratchy voice echoed from the entrance. Gingerpaw shot a disgruntled look at Glowpaw, who in turn rolled his eyes.
"Yes we're done, no kits" Glowpaw shouted up. The pair of them padded back into the sunlight, thankful for some fresh air. "Told you there wasn't any kits, Its bloody Meadowclan, they've stolen her kits" Troutfin spat at his den mate, Firsky. The other elderly tom looked half asleep. "We haven't got anything to say its Meadowclan yet" Gingerpaw explained calmly. "Well I say Meadowclan killed Leopardheart and now they got her kits!" The tom yelled at her indignantly. Her pelt prickled as she opened her mouth.
Silentpaw knew the poppy seeds had worked when the acrid smell of pine filled his nose. Pine needles dug uncomfortably into his fur as he lay on the forest floor, trying to recuperate his thoughts. The trees loomed over him like strange old gods looking down upon their subjects. He rocked on his side to try and stand up but it was to no avail. He guessed the poppy seeds had made him subconscious self wobbly as well. "Lilytail! Lilytail!" He shouted out, his voice echoing through a thousand pine trees. He lowered his head down, the sound of his own voice hurting his ears.
"What in the dark forest were you thinking?!" He couldn't have been happier to hear her scolding voice. He opened his eyes to look at her and momentarily recoiled. The small she-cat's flesh was crisp and black, most of her fur seared off. Her face was a twisted mess of its former self, a single yellow eye stared out at him, the other socket drooping with a sliver of red damaged eyeball.
She seemed to notice the look on his face and shied away. "Lilytail what happened to you? Are you okay?" He asked, face softening with concern. "It happens when I get stressed or upset, It'll go away eventually" She told him as she stared down at her small paws. "Why haven't you been talking to me? I was worried something had happened"
The she-cat sighed wistfully. "Going to the Moon crystals was difficult and seeing you go through that memory and watching myself-' Her voice cracked 'It was horrible, all those kits- my family, my friends, my home" She spoke quickly and with distress. Silentpaw reached his paw out to place it on hers, trying to ignore the sensation of wet skin as it gave slightly. "I had no idea, I'm so sorry" It was all he could think to say but it felt so typical.
She snorted, wiping a tear away and laughing a bit. "I can't believe you'd do something so stupid to see me. Don't ever do anything like this again" Silenpaw closed his eyes and chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not planning to"
"I wanted to say that what you and Cloudfang did last night was the right thing to do. You saved those kits, you really did. I was surprised at Cloudfang that's for sure" He felt his nerves ease as she looked down at him, a hint of pride in her eye.
"Lilytail, I need you to be honest. What happened at the ashfields? What's Nightclan? Why were those kits in danger? What can I do to help you?" The tone of voice he used was almost that of begging. Lilytail seemed to look past him and out into the forest surrounding them. A few pine needles fell from a tree to settle on the pool of water behind her. She inhaled decisively.
"Alright then. I'll tell you everything. For once you inability to speak will save you"
Reviewer responses!
Succulentsofa: The threat is in plain sight and all around...Bramble and Frost will definitely keep them safe though, Silentpaw and Cloudfang are going to have to be very careful
I'm really sorry about how short this chapter in, I didn't realise it was going to be this short. I've planned up to Chapter 15 (big mistake) and whilst I know what needs to happen with the rest of the plot I'm really stuck on how to bridge this part of the story with the second half. The next chapter is probably going to be a larger one, my plan for it is a lot longer. If Theres a break in updates I'll start working on some challenges and maybe a shorter story as a precursor to my next story. Thank you for reading and reviews are really useful :)