Chapter 12: Chill Day in Camp (Until Drama Happens)

It had been slow days after the training day with the apprentices, and everyone was excited to hear that all four would be receiving their warrior names. Toastfire sat by Normaltail, tails curled together, as he stared up at Goodstar and Stevehawk. He took a glance and did rolecall of everyone. Him, Norma, Monkeytail, the high ranks, Heartburn, Shiningbeauty, Ricetooth, the four apprentices, Budlight, Moonshine, and Newsky and Lizardsneeze. The clan felt smaller than it once was.
"Scotchpaw, Hardpaw, Salmonpaw, and Palepaw, step forwards!"
The four cats stood up proudly and walked up as if they had practiced all day. They looked a lot more mature than how they did a couple days ago, which was fairly odd to witness. "You four, you have trained hard and well, it is my honor to bestow these names upon you." Goodstar smiled. Toastfire glanced at Budlight and Moonshine, the parents of the new warriors. The two were smiling at each other, something that never happened for either of them often. Budlight was usually too dazed to show much emotion, and Moonshine was usually just cranky. It was nice to see the two happy together. Toastfire glanced at his mate, and smiled. The grey she-cat glanced at him and smiled back. They both cuddled together as Goodstar continued.
"Scotchpaw, from this day forwards you shall be known as Scotchdrink. Hardpaw, you shall be known as Hardwhisker. Salmonpaw, you shall carry the name of Salmoncreek. As for Palepaw, you shall be known as Paleale. May Starclan watch over all of you." The brown and grey tom smiled down on them, Stevehawk gave a nod of approval.
"Scotchdrink! Hardwhisker! Salmoncreek! Paleale!"
Everyone suddenly got up and went to do their own thing, mostly walking up to the newly made warriors. Toastfire stared at Normaltail and jerked his head over to them, "Should we go congratulate?" He asked, and the medicine cat agreed. Suddenly, Newsky's call made cats heads turn. The siamese brown she-cat stood proudly by the taller black warrior Lizardsneeze. "Me and this big fluffball are expecting kits!" Newsky happily shouted, followed by more congrats. Her mate seemed proud, but never spoke a word. Heartburn bumped into the dark brown tabby and flashed him a smirk, "You and your pretty girl planning on kids anytime soon? I need kits to make proud warriors." She teased as Toastfire grew red with embarrassment. Normaltail laughed awkwardly. She lowered her ears and turned to her mate, "I'm gonna go speak to my family, be right back." The grey she-cat then turned and raced towards the three figures of Goodstar, Shiningbeauty, and Ricetooth. Monkeytail soon joined in on their conversation, apparently making fun of her leader brother from what Toastfire could see.
Stevehawk and his son ate a squirrel together as the energy died down, and everyone settled down for the night. The newest warriors went to the entrance of camp to guard. All except Scotchdrink. The ginger she-cat simply stared at the two. Stevehawk flicked his blood red tail and pointed to her siblings with his head. "You should be over there."
"I need to speak with your son, sir." The warrior said in an oddly polite voice, but not in a creepy way. The tom could still hear her childish tone in her voice, but it was mostly drowned in monotone. Stevehawk glanced awkwardly at Toastfire, but hesitantly agreed. "Okay, kid. Just get back here in at most ten minutes to start your vigil." Scotchdrink smiled and kicked the brown tabby with her front foot. "Come on, we need to talk."

As soon as the two reached a fair distance from camp, Scotchdrink started breaking down. She collapsed onto the ground, crying. "Woah, woah, woah! Scotch, what happened? Did someone say something at the ceremony?" Toastfire immediately raced towards her, but when he went to set a paw on her shoulder, Scotchdrink hissed and backed away. "N-No... It's about Breadclaw..." She said, choking on her own tears. Toastfire flinched, "What did he do to you? Are you hurt at all? Do you need to see Monkeytail or Normaltail?" He asked in a tense voice.
"I-I'm fine... But he... He..." She choked again, but refused to let her friend help. She continued. "He hates me probably, he's gonna kill me. I can't escape him, he's going to find me soon."
"Scotchdrink, calm down, please-"
"I'm expecting his kits."
Something in Toastfire died a little inside. It felt like the world had frozen. "O-Oh..." Was all that came out of Toastfire's mouth. "Are you going to... Keep the kits..?"
Scotchdrink hesitated. "Yes, of course. I couldn't ever give them away." Her gaze shifted to her paws, tears watered the soil. Toastfire gazed to the side, and spoke. "Come on, we should get you to camp... Don't worry, we'll help you with this. If you need to talk, I'm here." The brown tabby and the ginger she-cat slowly started to make their way to camp, not a word was exchanged between them the whole rest of the night.