Morningkit was staring at her brother sleeping on the nest. She had gotten moss from her own nest and put it into his. She hoped that he would wake up soon. For now, she was alone.
ThunderClan had won the battle by a hair. The rogues promised that they would be back before hurrying out of the camp.
Jayfeather had sent the least hurt cat- Lionblaze- to fetch either Leafpool or Alderheart from SkyClan. The entirety of ThunderClan had at least one major wound, which would require medical attention.
Luckily, the only casualty was Cinderheart.
Unluckily, that cat just so happened to be her mother.
When Lionblaze had left, Morningkit had looked at her father with pleading eyes, begging him for comfort. He had coldly left her in the clearing sobbing over her mother's body.
Just earlier today, everything was fine. What did we do to deserve this, StarClan?
Morningkit moved towards Fallenkit and snuggled up to him, her body keeping his warm. She rested her head on her paws and listened to the tom's steady breathing.
"Things will never be the same, will they?" She whispered into his ear, despite knowing that he probably wouldn't respond.
"At least I still have you," she sighed. "At least Cinderheart is in a better place now. She'll watch over us from StarClan. I'm sure of that."
In response, her brother groaned in his sleep. Morningkit got up and looked over at Jayfeather. The blind gray tom was treating several cats at the same time. Morningkit didn't know how he did it, especially without his sight.
"Is there any way I can help?" She mewed, approaching the tabby.
Without stopping, using his tail he pushed an odd-smelling brown herb towards her.
"Chew this up into a poultice," he quipped. "Make it snappy."
Morningkit did as told and put the bitter-tasting herb in her mouth and began to chew. How did Alderheart, Leafpool, and Jayfeather do this all of the time?
She spat it back up when it was soft and moist enough and pushed it towards Jayfeather.
The tom grunted in thanks and applied it to a large scratch on Cloudtail's leg. The white tom hissed in reaction to the stinging.
"Get used to it." Jayfeather lashed his tail and went on to the next cat.
I hope everyone will get better soon, Morningkit thought, worry flooding her mind.
She peeked outside of the den. Injured cats waiting for the medicine cat den to be empty were scattered throughout the clearing. Bramblestar was talking to Squirrelflight about what they should do next.
She walked out and angled her ears towards their conversation.
"Bramblestar, as long as these cats are hurt, we can't send out any patrols." Squirrelflight's eyes narrowed. Morningkit noticed several claw marks on her sides. "We'll have to survive on the prey we have until everyone's healthy again."
"I know, Squirrelflight," Bramblestar sighed. "I know."
"I can't believe that a group of rogues would just burst into our territory. This hasn't…" Squirrelflight trailed off.
"The Kin." Bramblestar whispered.
"It can't be," The russet-furred she-cat worriedly looked around. "Darktail was killed and all of his 'kin' left."
"Don't you remember what Alderheart told us?" Bramblestar retorted. "The loner named Tree that was brought into SkyClan can bring cats back from the dead. Darktail could still be around, but this time, we can't kill him."
Morningkit had heard stories about Darktail. He was an evil, savage cat who headed a group of rogues called "The Kin." The cats in ShadowClan- or, what used to be ShadowClan- had joined the group. Most never returned.
The golden tabby she-cat returned to the medicine cat den. This was enough drama for one day.
She brushed past Jayfeather and all the wounded cats until she reached Fallenkit's.
To her surprise, the black and white-spotted tom was awake, but staring at his own paws as he sheathed and unsheathed his claws.
"Fallenkit! You're awake!" She happily chirped.
She frowned when Fallenkit didn't reply.
"Fallenkit!"
"Why are you here?" Fallenkit murmured, still sullenly watching his claws come in and out. His usually bright amber eyes seemed dull and depressing. There was no hope in them.
Her eyes widened at her brother's response. "I'm your sister! I want to make sure you're okay. We may still be kits, but we need to take care of each other."
"He's in shock." Jayfeather called out from the other side of the cave, still working. "Leave him alone for a bit. He'll be fine later. Go talk to your father or something."
How does he know what's going on when he can't even see?
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure. Go. Please."
She worriedly looked back at her brother before padding out of the cave. Fallenkit has had problems before. Cinderheart's death is just going to make them worse.
Her blue eyes glanced towards the middle of the clearing. Her Clanmates were already setting up Cinderheart's body for the vigil coming up that night.
It's already sundown, she realized. The day had gone by so fast.
The golden-brown tabby she-cat padded up to her mother. Her face looked… peaceful.
Her ears perked up as paw steps padded into camp. Lionblaze had arrived with Alderheart.
"I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been here earlier." Alderheart looked at the camp.
"Thank StarClan." Bramblestar ambled over to greet his son. "We need you in the medicine cat den as soon as possible. Jayfeather has his paws full of so many cats who need care."
"Of course." Alderheart dipped his head and pranced over to the medicine cat den.
Lionblaze bent his head towards the leader and made his way to the Warriors den, ignoring Morningkit as he passed her.
Despair waved over Morningkit. It's almost as if I've lost both parents.
Bramblestar looked over at Morningkit and her sorrowful expression.
"Your father needs time to cope with the loss of Cinderheart. Once he's ready, he'll warm up to you. Every cat deals with loss at some point." Bramblestar meowed. "Don't worry about it."
Morningkit nodded. "Thank you, Bramblestar." She mewed as Bramblestar headed back towards Squirrelflight.
The tabby she-cat decided now was a good time to rest. She would be alone in the nursery that night. Fallenkit was stuck in the medicine cat den. Lionblaze was blatantly ignoring her. Cinderheart was dead. This was all too much for a small kit.
She strolled over to the nursery and found her nest. The kit curled up and rested her head on her paws.
"Goodnight, Cinderheart."
"Goodnight, Lionblaze."
"Goodnight, Fallenkit."
Fallenkit looked around the grassy green setting. He didn't remember being here before.
I must've fell asleep, he thought.
"Is anyone there?" He called out, staring at the horizon line where the sky and the grass met.
After a few moments of waiting, he sighed. The tom sat down and closed his eyes, feeling the wind brush the grass against his black fur.
"You're not alone anymore." A deep voice sounding like silk meowed from behind him.
Fallenkit jumped and turned around. A white, muscular tom stood in front of him, with a dark raven-black tail behind him.
"Who are you?" Fallenkit stared into the tom's deep blue eyes. They looked just like Cinderheart's, but… tainted. He couldn't describe the sensation.
"You'll find out eventually," the tom continued. "Until then, you can just call me a friend."
"Okay… 'friend.'" Fallenkit shifted closer to the tom.
"I know how you feel."
"What do you mean?"
"We have both felt loss. We have both felt like our world was crumbling under our paw steps. We have both felt utter despair."
"That's… true." Ever since Cinderheart's death, Fallenkit felt… wrong. He felt like the world was cracking and breaking but nobody but him seemed to care. Morningkit seemed fine without Cinderheart. Lionblaze seemed fine without Cinderheart. So why couldn't he feel fine? Why did he have to constantly feel like every step away from Cinderheart's body was a step towards his demise?
"I know you feel terrible right now. But don't worry. Things will get better. I will promise you that. Until things get better, I will guide your paw steps to a better future." The tom whispered, leaning down so that he and Fallenkit were at the same height.
"I will be there everywhere you go. I will make sure that you will always be happy. I will make sure that you are the best cat you can be. Does that sound alright with you?"
Fallenkit nodded.
A few moments of silence passed between them before the tom spoke up once again.
"My name is Darktail."