OMG I am soooo sorry for not updating, I have been super duper busy with life and haven't had a chance to write.
By the way, for the people who guessed, the answer to my quiz last update was indeed Ivypool, cookies to those who guessed correctly :D
Enjoy the update.
Lightblaze stretched in the warm light of the sun, after spending the evening sharing prey with Birchflight she felt good, the handsome pale brown tom made her heart flutter.
Her belly growled and her gaze wandered to the prey pile, licking her lips, she padded over, she bent down to pick up a couple of mice but was shouldered aside by a bright ginger tom that looked painfully like Flamekit.
"What are you doing, she-cat?" he snarled, "that prey is for the toms!" Lightblaze growled, "and what makes you say that you need it more then me?" she asked evenly, the toms smug look wavered, "well... you're a she-cat!" he mewed, "that means you are less then the weakest tom!"
Lightblaze purred, "which of course, is you?" the toms green gaze widened and his pelt bristled, "how dare you?!" he cried and lashed out, his unsheathed claws slicing through her cheek, the creamy she-cat stumbled back, flinching as the tom stood over her.
"Learn your place, she-cat," he snarled, but a smaller blue-grey tom rested his tail on the ginger toms back, "hey, Sparkclaw, relax," he mewed, "the she-cat learned her lesson, she won't mess with you again," Sparkclaw growled but let Lightblaze be.
"you're right Stormnose," he purred, sweetly, "she has," and with those words, the two toms strode off.
Lightblaze slowly dragged herself from the ground, her cheek stinging, with her ears pinned to her head and tail trailing in the dust, she padded to the medicine den.
As she entered the silver medicine cat looked up and rolled his eyes, "pick a fight with a tom, Creamy?"he mewed, grabbing a pawful of cobwebs, "well... yeah..." sighed Lightblaze, hissing as he slapped the webs onto her face.
"How's Feathermoon?" she asked once he was done, the tom shrugged, "not to good, I guess, the infection's gotten worse and she barely manages to keep the herbs I give her down," he mewed calmly, "I just don't see how she'll live much longer, hm... pity, Sparkclaw will be disappointed his mates dead."
Lightblaze let out a quiet mew of grief, "may I see her?" she asked, the silver tom shrugged again, "do what you want, Creamy, but my nest needs cleaning later," he mewed before padding away, Lightblaze hurried to the secluded area for patients and sat by Feathermoon's nest, the she-cats once neatly groomed silver fur was matted and dirty, with crusted herb pulps and blood.
So, with the gentlest care, she began to groom her friend, easing the tangles from her fur and cleaning the blood and herbs away, while she groomed, she talked to Feathermoon, telling her how Darkkit and Hailkit liked to play mossball with Mistkit and Butterflykit, how Birchflight made her feel and about Sparkclaw.
After a while Feathermoon's pelt was soft and clean, as she stood and turned to leave, she felt eyes on her tail and turned around to see Feathermoon's golden eyes meet hers, "Lightblaze...?" she mewed, softly, "Feathermoon!" she squealed, eyes widening in delight.
The she-cat blinked at Lightblaze before letting out a quiet moan of pain, "StarClan..." she whispered, "why does it hurt?" Lightblaze's happy face fell at her friends words.
"Feathermoon, your mate, hurt you in the forest, I found you... don't you remember...?" whispered the creamy she-cat, sitting at the she-cats side, Feathermoon shook her head and winced again.
"Lightblaze," she mewed, her golden eyes searching her face, "I know we haven't been friends for long, but, when I join StarClan, please, take care of my toms until they are taken."
Lightblaze gasped, her blue eyes stretched wide in shock, "Feathermoon!" she cried, "don't talk like that! Icefall will heal you, he has too!" Feathermoon shook her head and smiled gently.
"Lightblaze, no," she mewed, "Icefall is one of the few good cats here, he has done his best, but soon I will be with my lost daughters, and my sister, Palerose..."
Her eyes drooped and she let out a shaky breath, "please... tell Hailkit and Darkkit I love them very much," she whispered, before the warm light in her golden eyes dimmed and Feathermoon's breathing stopped.
Tears began to leak out of Lightblaze's eyes, as Feathermoon's soft pelt began to stiffen in death.
"Icefall!" she wailed, and the silver tom ran over, eyes widening at her body, "so Creamy..." he mewed stiffly, "Feathermoon is gone?" Lightblaze nodded and the tom walked a little closer, then rested his tail on her shoulder and dropped his usual sarcastic manner.
"Creamy, she was a good cat, she never lost hope, so don't you OK? There are other cats here who care, that will lift you when you fall, so be brave Creamy," he whispered, his blue eyes meeting hers.
Lightblaze nodded through her tears and Icefall dipped his head, "hurry along now," he mewed, his mew becoming brisk, "tell Hailkit and Darkkit about their mother," with those words he shooed her from the den and left her to stumble across the ground to the nursery.
As she passed a group of toms Sparkclaw, the ginger tom stuck out his paw and sent her tumbling, Lightblaze gasped as her nose thumped into the ground, but she struggled to her paws and continued on her way, the laughter of the toms ringing in her ears.
She flopped down in her nest and the she-cat to her right, a creamy brown she-cat with small white dapples shot her a worried look.
"Mama!" came a squeal and two little shapes launched to her side, but their cheerful grins faltered as they saw the expression on their mothers face, "m-mama?" whispered Mistkit, "what happened?" without a word Lightblaze pulled her kits close to her side and beckoned Feathermoon's.
"Kits," mewed the cream she-cat, her head lowered, "Feathermoon is no longer with us, she has left for StarClan," one of the two toms let out a scream of anguish and collapsed sobbing in a ball, but Darkkit turned on her, rage filling his young gaze, "you let her die!" he snarled, tears dripping down his cheeks, "it's true, everything father told me, she-cats are useless, they always fail you."
With those words he hauled Hailkit to his paws and led his shaking brother out of the den and Lightblaze collapsed sobbing.
Lightblaze only lifted her head when a cool, slippery mew rang through the den, "oh my dearest mate..." called Coldstar, "bring me my daughters and your lovely face," the she-cat looked at her pelt, it was dirty and tear stained, if Coldstar saw her like this, he would no longer want her for she was not beautiful and kill her.
The she-cat next to her hauled herself to her paws and slipped out the entrance, her voice was a muted hum as she spoke with the leader, she returned with a pale slice on her ear but a triumphant smile, "he has given you a little while to ready yourself," she mewed, green eyes flashing, "I'll mind your daughters while you groom."
Lightblaze dipped her head in thanks to the she-cat and busied herself with grooming her pelt.
When she was done, she took her daughters from the she-cat, who's name she had found out was Fawnleaf and padded out of the den, Butterflykit and Mistkit padding somberly by her side, the white tom was sitting in a patch of sun when she arrived.
"Coldstar," she mewed, crisply, "you wanted me," the tom opened his eyes and smirked, "show some respect for your mate and leader, beautiful," he purred, the smirk turning into a sneer, then he lashed out with his paw and left his cold steely claws pressed lightly on her neck, "I wouldn't want to do something I regret, hmm?" he purred, pulling his paw away.
Lightblaze shivered as the tom looked at her, an amused glint in his eyes, but as she gazed into the orbs, she saw pain, loss and a huge desire for blood and pain to sate his own...