First of all, sorry for the delay. I have had SO much stuff going on. And second of all...I am so thrilled that all of you loved the climax. Okay, maybe let's say loved the story and not what happened. Actually, I may want to modify that. Hated that Creamstep died and was happy Rosethorn crossed the rainbow bridge. There were mixed feelings about Spruce, but honestly I am happy I wrote him out.
Anyway, so this chapter focuses more on the effect of the trauma that Dappleleaf went through. Next chapter you will she how Rainstorm and Foxstep handle things, but for now this is Dappleleaf's point of view. Gotta say, I like writing this.
Also, I really, really want to give some spoilers for the sequel, but I can't without revealing what'll happen in this story! Ugh!
Fact: In the very early stages of this story, I knew Creamstep would die. For a brief moment I considered it being Rainstorm (that's when she was supposed to be evil) or even both sisters.
"Dapplekit! Stop!" Creamkit squeaked, battering with soft paws at her older sister's stomach! "Get off me!" She squirmed away, starting to run toward the hole that led to the outside world.
"No!" Dapplekit squealed, chasing after her. "Wait! Hold on!" She skidded to a halt, dirt flying up in the air. At her sudden, screeching stop, Creamkit froze, causing her to tumble over herself and roll in the dust.
"Hey! What did you do that for?" Creamkit meowed, unhappily shaking out her fur. "That is so not fair! I was about to get away before you told me to stop!" She fluffed up her fur in attempt to regain her pride, but it only made Rainkit, who stood on the side, let out a mrrw of laughter.
Dapplekit rolled her eyes as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Uh, clearly you were about to run out of camp! We are not allowed, and you know it!" She sniffed, brushing out her own fur with a few swipes of her tongue.
Creamkit flattened her ears. "Who made you in charge?" the less-fluffy kit cried out, turning away as soon as she realized what she had said. "I mean...sometimes you're just so bossy!" She cringed away at those words. She knew they were the wrong thing to say.
Dapplekit's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" she snapped, padding over to her sister. "Is that any way to treat your sister? I don't think so, and I hardly think I am the boss of anybody." She hesitated. "This is for Foxpaw, isn't it? Get over it, Creamkit. He's an apprentice. He would never fall for a cat as young as you."
Dappleleaf cringed in her sleep, the harsh, biting words that she had said to her sister suddenly ringing in her ears.
"I don't love him!"
"Oh really?" Creampaw argued, tail lashing. "You tried to chase me away from him all the time when we were kits!" The cream colored cat's blue eyes narrowed into slits. She took a threatening step forward.
"Why in the name of StarClan would I care for him?" Dapplepaw snapped back, irritation seeping into her voice. Why was Creampaw being like this? She hadn't announced it, but the only tom on her mind was Ashpaw!
"Don't think for one second that I don't know what you're up to! I know, Dapplepaw, that he follows you around everywhere! He always checks to make sure that you're okay, or that you haven't been hurt! Why else would he do those things unless you two had some sort of a relationship?"
Dapplepaw whirled around. Because of Sweetpaw! He thought I was Sweetpaw! She wanted to scream out that Foxstep had believed that she, Dapplepaw, used to be his one true love named Sweetpaw.
Dappleleaf jolted awake, a shiver running through her. We fought, she thought regretfully. Ever since Creamstep had died, she dreamed of all their fights. She relived them.
Ashfall had told her to try and remember all the fun, loving, and good memories that they had spent together. Dappleleaf tried. Every single day she tried to imagine all the love they had shared. Instead, her mind was instantly plagued by all the arguments and disagreements. Not even sleep could pull her away from that.
And when she wasn't being tortured by the memories of the bad times that she and Creamstep had, she was dwelling on the fact that she killed a cat.
Dappleleaf killed a cat.
The horror, the realization, the facts...they all scared her. She ended a life. Spruce could have been living the life he wanted as a kittypet without Rosethorn in his life. Anger had gotten the better of her and she had acted on it. She had let anger control her, just like Rosethorn.
I am not Rosethorn, she chanted at herself. I am not a killer. I am not a murderer. I am not Rosethorn. She is a killer. A murderer. I am not her. I am not a killer. I am not a murderer. I am not Rosethorn.
Dappleleaf quickly got to her paws, stepping out of the warrior's den. She hesitated, feeling slightly self-conscious. She had been so captured by her thoughts that she forgot that she and Ashfall were meeting with Hollowstar that day to explain themselves and Rosethorn's surprising death.
He had given them a quarter moon to recover. Dappleleaf honestly thought that he didn't care about Rosethorn's death at all. No cat really missed her, but they also gave the two new warriors skeptical glares anyway.
"Dappleleaf," a voice meowed, making the she-cat turn to see the deputy, Sagewhisker, watching her. She padded over and nodded her head to greet Dappleleaf. "Are you ready?"
"Ready?" Dappleleaf asked, unsure. "Ready? Oh. Right." She took in a wary breath, sighing. "All I can say is the truth, I suppose."
"And what is that?" Sagewhisker asked, genuinely curious. The she-cat glanced around, checking to make sure no cat was eavesdropping. "I want to know. I always understood how selfish Rosethorn was, but a murderer? I can't see how she could be clever enough to pull off anything like that."
Dappleleaf sighed, suddenly questioning the believability of her explanation. "That's where you're wrong, Sagewhisker. She was responsible for the DuskClan and SunClan war. She did cross the border. They weren't lying. She had my sister's life in her hands and threatened to kill her. She ended Creamstep, and then my sister Rainstorm avenged her death. I killed...I killed that kittypet, who didn't kill Pinepaw, by the way."
Sagewhisker was silent. She stared at her paws for a long moment. "That's pretty hard to believe, don't you think? Besides, you're an outsider in this clan. Ashfall was the tom who fell for a she-cat in LeafClan. Neither of you are that trustworthy at the moment."
Dappleleaf swallowed, nervous. "It does not sound logical, but it's the truth. The truth prevails. I have to believe that. Am I supposed to feel better if I lie my way out of this mess? No. If Hollowstar banishes us...well, then, we'll leave. Maybe with my sisters if their fate doesn't play out so well either."
Sagewhisker nodded. "Come on, then." She beckoned Dappleleaf forward with her tail. As Dappleleaf stood, the former LeafClan cat glanced behind her to see Ashfall padding after them, right on time to meet their leader.
"That's certainly some story," Hollowstar muttered skeptically. "Rosethorn is hardly capable of any of the crimes you claim she's committed. Starting a war? Why in the name of StarClan would she do that, hmm?"
"Because she wanted Dappleleaf dead," Ashfall replied, a worried look in his amber eyes. "She loved me. Okay, yeah, sure, that sounds pretty self-centered. But it's true. Besides, we didn't kill Rosethorn, alright?"
"No, your mate's sister did," Hollowstar countered, his tail starting to swish.
Dappleleaf flattened her ears, hearing the words as an attack on Rainstorm. "Rainstorm killed Rosethorn. We were not conspiring with her at all to murder her! In fact, I tried to stop her. And why should she be blamed? She is in another clan, so therefore she wasn't killing her own clanmate. Sorry, but you have no reason to inflict any punishment upon us!"
Hollowstar jumped to his paws, but Dappleleaf had already started for the entrance. Ashfall trailed after her, glancing over his shoulder to look at Hollowstar. "Don't act like you're not happy she's gone."
The release from the leader was a relief, but constant thoughts swarmed in Dappleleaf's head. Her head ached, and she wanted to sleep, yet she knew that the nightmares would attack her if she did. It was hopeless, perhaps. What was worse? Nightmares or thoughts?
Dappleleaf rested her head on her paws. She was already curled up in her nest, visions of Spruce's bloodied body at her paws. Stop! Stop thinking like this! You survived Rosethorn's attacks. You have a mate who loves you. You cannot be brought down by your own mind!
Despite Dappleleaf choosing to try and stay awake, sleep tugged her away. As normal, she woke up in the LeafClan forest, Creamstep standing beside her. Now what argument had they fought over? Dappleleaf swore that her dreams were on repeat.
"Dappleleaf," Creamstep meowed, taking a step in her direction. "Dappleleaf, listen to me." She waved her light colored tail and paused, her paw in mid-air. She tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? I keep reliving every bad moment we ever spent together, Creamstep! It's eating me alive! I want it to stop! I want to take back all the awful things I ever said to you, and I can't! You're dead, Creamstep! I can't ever make it up to you because you died!"
"Dappleleaf, I am not dead," Creamstep murmured softly. She seemed sad and sympathetic. What was this argument? Of course, Dappleleaf was spitting out things that the Creamstep of that time wouldn't understand.
"Yes, you are. I have to accept it, but I can't. It's my fault, you know? We could have saved you...somehow. I'm so...so sorry." Dappleleaf looked down, unable to meet her sister's blue eyes.
"Look at me," Creamstep ordered. Dappleleaf cringed away from the thought, but shyly gazed up at the dead cat. She let out s startled gasp, surprised. Creamstep's pelt was shimmering with stars, and her coat was sleek and healthy, nor scruffy like it had been as an apprentice. "I'm here."
Dappleleaf sprang forward, nuzzling the dead cat. "How am I seeing you? Why are you visiting me? I can't believe it's really you!" She breathed in Creamstep's familiar scent and sighed, remembering the smell.
"I came to visit you because I want to help you, obviously." She stepped back, glancing Dappleleaf up and down. "You're slowly killing yourself, you know that, right? Think about it, sister. We had far more happy memories than sad ones."
Dappleleaf let out a shaky sigh, switching directions and taking a few paces away from Creamstep. "All I can think of are the bad ones. I try and remember the good, I really do. I can't."
"Here," Creamstep padded up beside her, leaning in and touching her nose to Dappleleaf's.
Creamkit flattened her ears. "Who made you in charge?" the less-fluffy kit cried out, turning away as soon as she realized what she had said. "I mean...sometimes you're just so bossy!" She cringed away at those words. She knew they were the wrong thing to say.
Dapplekit's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" she snapped, padding over to her sister. "Is that any way to treat your sister? I don't think so, and I hardly think I am the boss of anybody." She hesitated. "This is for Foxpaw, isn't it? Get over it, Creamkit. He's an apprentice. He would never fall for a cat as young as you."
"Stop!" Dappleleaf gasped, jerking away from Creamstep. "That was a bad memory! What are you doing? Aren't you trying to make me remember the good ones?"
"Be patient," Creamstep chided. "Now, you're thinking of the fight, but remember what happened after?" She leaned closer to touched noses with Dappleleaf once again, sweeping them into Creamstep's old memories.
"So you're saying that I am not good enough?" Creamkit asked in disbelief. "Says who? You? Why in the name of StarClan do you think your opinion matters so much, Dapplekit? I don't care! Love is love!"
Dapplekit rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine, Creamkit. Fine. You love him. I am just trying to protect you. Don't you see? I don't want you getting hurt." She took a step closer and nudged her sister. "You matter to me, a lot. I don't want this fight to come between us."
Creamkit sighed and nodded, realizing the justification in her sister's argument. "Yeah, I suppose. I mean, he won't be after me anyway. Not with how he's grieving over Sweetpaw. It's too bad we never met her. She sounded so nice."
Dapplekit nodded her agreement. "She did. I bet she was a wonderful cat. If only I could be like that. A wonderful cat, I mean."
"Oh, Dapplekit, you are a wonderful cat already!" Creamkit squeaked. She nudged the fluffy kit gently. "I mean, sure, you can get a bit controlling at times, and maybe you have a bit of a princess-like attitude, but you are still a wonderful cat. I'm glad that I have you for a sister."
Dapplekit's green eyes brightened. "I am a wonderful cat, aren't I?" she meowed proudly, making Creamkit roll her eyes. The older sister's gaze softened. "Creamkit, you are a wonderful cat too. Remember that. And hey, perhaps Foxpaw will go after you. Anything can happen."
Dappleleaf was suddenly out of the memory, blinking. She glanced at Creamstep, who's blue eyes were warm. "I was a bit of a brat, wasn't I?" Dappleleaf meowed, attempting to make a nice comment.
"Yeah, you were pretty hard to deal with. It didn't matter. You were my sister. I loved you above everything," Creamstep mewed, looking down. "I have to let you wake up now, alright? Oh, and you aren't a killer. You are a wonderful cat, Dappleleaf.
Dappleleaf's heart lurched at the thought of her sister leaving her for a second time. "Wait! Will you visit me again? I mean, surely you want to? Maybe take turns between visiting Foxstep, Rainstorm and I? I miss you."
"Yeah, I know. I miss you too." Creamstep sighed, regret and remorse lingering on her face. "I plan to see you all only once. I'm not coming back, okay? You need to live your life. Be happy. Don't forget about me, obviously, but still live your life. I will always watch over you." She leaned forward and touched Dappleleaf's ear. "Goodbye, Dappleleaf. Have a wonderful life."
As you know, I must know what you think. 393 reviews for a new chapter! Now, I'm going to be honest, that last part was so sad to write!
Next chapter: Foxstep again lost the cat he loved, causing him to make a decision about how he lives his life. Scared for him, Rainstorm reveals information to him that could persuade him to change his mind.
Question: Do you think Dappleleaf's reaction was appropriate? How do you think Rainstorm and Foxstep have handled things? Let me know!