Sorry I haven't gotten around to replying to everyone's reviews! I usually do, but I just haven't had the time! I'm busy and stuff, but I promise I'll reply to as many reviews as I can, OK?
Note: Towards the end, a good period of time is skipped. The reason behind that is because nothing much happens during that time frame. If need be, I'll write a few flashbacks to that time.
Chapter 14
The next morning, Kite awoke early to go see Barley. When she entered the medicine den, Cinderpelt was sitting beside the tom's broken body, her eyes downcast.
"How is he?" Kite asked eagerly.
"I…" Cinderpelt looked up, grief clouding her eyes. "I don't think he'll live much longer. It appears he has several broken ribs, and they've probably punctured his lungs and heart by now. He's lost most of his claws, and his eyes are getting infected. We should probably just put him out of his misery."
"Ravenpaw wouldn't like that," Kite sighed. "You'd have to consult him before you go any further."
"I was up with Barley all night, trying to get him to fall asleep. I didn't leave his side until dawn." If Kite hadn't heard Cinderpelt's conversation with the mysterious tomcat last night, she might have actually believed the medicine cat. She seemed to be a very good liar.
"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" Kite asked. "Because I'd be happy to…"
"No, it's fine," Cinderpelt replied. "I'm going hunting today. Leafpaw's going to take care of Barley. In fact," Cinderpelt looked out of the entrance to the medicine den. Kite did the same. Glacierpelt, Ashfur, Rainwhisker, and another fluffy white tom whose name Kite didn't know stood waiting for the she-cat, flicking their tails anxiously. "There's my group. I'll see you later, Kite." With that, the she-cat padded away. Kite flicked her tail angrily. How dare Cinderpelt leave Barley in the hands of an apprentice in his time of dying? It was outrageous! Kite stalked out of the medicine den and into the clearing, where several warriors were munching on prey and sharing tongues.
"Hey, Kite!" Ravenpaw called from the group of warriors and apprentices. "Come and join us!" Kite padded over to join her friend. "I don't suppose you've met many of the ThunderClanners. This is Graystripe, the deputy, Mousefur, one of the senior warriors, Thornclaw, and Brambleclaw." He pointed to each of them with his tail, and they all mewed their greetings to her.
"So," Brambleclaw meowed. "You're Firestar's daughter, I hear."
"That would be true," Kite replied, dipping her head.
"What made you decide to leave the Clans?"
"I…I'm not quite sure," Kite admitted sheepishly. "See, I was only about three moons old when I left, and Clan life never really appealed to me."
"So you don't intend to come back?" Graystripe asked.
"It's never really…crossed my mind," Kite lied.
"Well…"Graystripe started, but was quickly cut off by Sootfur, who trotted up to the fresh-kill pile.
"Graystripe," he meowed. "It's urgent. We need you and as many warriors as you can take in the forest. Now. Bring Cinderpelt, too. We're going to need her."
"What's going on?" Kite asked.
"Whitepaw and
Squirrelpaw," Sootfur replied quickly. "They were out in the
forest alone, and they were attacked by the band of rogues. They're
as good as dead if we don't hurry! Come on!"
"Squirrelpaw?"
Brambleclaw cried, his eyes growing wide with horror. "She's
strong! She can't die, can she?"
"She will if we don't hurry!" Graystripe meowed. He turned to Kite. "You, go get Cinderpelt."
"She's not here!" Kite replied.
"Then get Leafpaw!"
"But we can't
leave Barley behind!"
"The lives of two Clanmates are more
important than the life of one loner," Brambleclaw meowed harshly.
"That's a lie!" Ravenpaw yowled, slashing Brambleclaw's muzzle with his claws. "Barley's just as important as Squirrelpaw or Whitepaw! In case you didn't know, he's saved your Clan countless times! You owe him some respect!" Ravenpaw turned back to Kite, who was standing there, claws dug into the ground, eyes wide with fright as the tom's sudden outburst. "Leave Leafpaw to take care of Barley," he ordered.
Kite expected Graystripe to cut in, but all he said was, "Well then, we should probably go now." So they all turned and bounded into the forest, with Graystripe and Brambleclaw at the head, and Ravenpaw in the back. Kite dropped back to keep pace with the young loner.
"What was that all about?" Kite asked.
"Brambleclaw needs to watch himself," was Ravenpaw's reply. "Or he's gonna end up with one eye and no whiskers."
Kite had to admit, the thought of Brambleclaw one-eyed and whiskerless made her purr, though she was sure it wouldn't be a very pretty sight in reality.
It wasn't long at all before the patrol of warriors reached the site of Squirrelpaw's and Whitepaw's attack. Kite tried to restrain a squeal of fright at the sight of them. The two she-cats were sprawled across the ground, stained with their own blood. Their eyes were rolled into the backs of their heads, and both their mouths gaped open, as though frozen in a silent scream. Their limbs were splayed out in front of them, some bent in unnatural angles, indicating broken bones.
"Squirrelpaw!" Brambleclaw yowled, rushing forward.
"Be quiet!" Graystripe commanded, stepping in front of Brambleclaw and pushing him back into the ring the patrol had formed. "The rogues may still be lurking. Kite, you and Sootfur take the apprentices back to camp. Thornclaw, Mousefur, Ravenpaw, Brambleclaw and I will stay behind to patrol the area."
"OK," Sootfur meowed, dipping his head. He and Kite padded forward, each grabbing an apprentice, and headed off towards camp.
"Keep Squirrelpaw safe!" Brambleclaw called. Graystripe hushed him, and Sootfur and Kite carried on.
It wasn't long at all before the two of them reached camp again. Kite noticed Cinderpelt sharing tongues with the fluffy white tom, Ashfur, and a golden brown warrior by the fresh-kill pile. She looked up as Sootfur and Kite entered the clearing, and her eyes immediately widened until they were the size of moons.
"What happened?" she cried, darting forward to Sootfur.
"The rogues," Sootfur mumbled around Whitepaw's scruff. "We haven't checked them out for any serious injuries, but I'm afraid that they might die if you don't do something quickly."
"Don't…" Kite began, but was cut off by a sudden shriek of terror. It was Leafpaw. She darted toward Whitepaw and Squirrelpaw, her eyes clouded with grief. Great, Kite thought. I knew it would be bad to let Leafpaw see her sister like this.
"What happened?" she demanded, whirling on the warriors. "How could you let this happen to my sister? And what about poor Whitepaw? What did you do to them?"
"It was the rogues," Cinderpelt explained calmly. "Don't worry, young one. We're going to heal them as quickly as possible. Now, I need you to focus. What do we use to stop infections in open wounds?"
"Ummm…" Leafpaw paused for a moment, seeming to calm down a bit. "Goldenrod?"
"Very good," Cinderpelt nodded, meowed. "I need you to go get some goldenrod set up in the medicine den." As Leafpaw scampered off, Cinderpelt turned back to the fresh-kill pile and called for the white tom, whose name turned out to be Cloudtail, and the golden-brown tom, Brackenfur. The two of them carried the apprentices into the medicine den, and Kite turned and headed back towards the nursery.
"Wait!" Sootfur called as Kite padded away. The she-cat turned to face him, slightly confused. "I'm sorry I stressed you out. I know you're expecting kits soon, and I hope I didn't put too much strain on your little fluff balls." Kite purred at his affectionate reference to her kits. "Would you mind if I got you something to eat?"
"Thanks," Kite meowed, dipping her head. "That would be very kind of you."
"What would you like?" Sootfur asked. "Vole, mouse, squirrel?"
"Anything will do," Kite replied. "I'll be in the medicine den." With that, she trotted off to the small den at the edge of the clearing. Inside, Cinderpelt, Brackenfur, Cloudtail, and now Ashfur sat over the two apprentices. "Come on, come on!" Kite cried. The four cats looked up at her, obviously unaware of her entrance. "Give them some room to breathe!" Ashfur and Brackenfur backed up, but Cinderpelt and Cloudtail sat rooted to the spot.
"You do not tell me how to treat my patients," she meowed sternly as though Kite were a misbehaving kit.
"Squirrelpaw is my sister," I mewed. "I should have some say in what happens to her. And how's Barley?" Kite looked around the medicine den, only to find that all the other nests were empty. The she-cat's mind raced. Where could he possibly be?
"We moved him to the back so he could rest," Cinderpelt replied. "And I absolutely forbid you to go back there. Your presence causes him a good deal of stress. Every time your name is spoken, and whenever you enter the den, his heart starts pounding, even when he sleeps, and his limbs will twitch. He just needs to relax."
"OK, fine," Kite meowed, stalking out of the den. "I'll be in the nursery." As she re-entered the clearing, she saw the patrol returning to camp. Each cat wore a different expression: Graystripe was worried, Brambleclaw, was angered, Mousefur was sad, Thornclaw was eager, and Ravenpaw was frightened.
"Kite!" Ravenpaw cried, his expression quickly changing from fear to relief when he saw the she-cat. He bounded forward to meet her. "I'm so glad you made it home alright! We didn't see Sootfur when we came back, and we couldn't find you, either, so we assumed that you had been taken down, and we were about to send a search party back into the forest to look for you. Thank StarClan you're alright!" he licked her ear affectionately, and then pulled back when he realized what he had done. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I…"
"It's fine," Kite replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to go back to the nursery. These kits aren't going to deliver themselves!"
--X
It had been nearly two moons since Squirrelpaw's and Whitepaw's injuries. Today, Squirrelpaw would be receiving her warrior name. Kite sat just outside the entrance to the nursery, her belly now extremely swollen, as the meeting commenced.
"Cats of ThunderClan!" Firestar called. "This cat has trained for many moons, and, despite a few injuries in the past, has been unstoppable. Therefore, today, I call upon my warrior ancestors to welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan. From this day forth, this cat shall be known as Squirreltail. StarClan honors your courage and energy. Tonight you will sit vigil in the camp."
"Squirreltail! Squirreltail!" the Clan chanted the new warrior's name. Kite watched as she went around, touching noses with every cat in her Clan, then sat down beside Brambleclaw, who probably planned to spend the whole night with the new warrior as she sat vigil.
Kite thought back to the time when Ravenpaw and Barley had been in the Clan. She began to long for them, especially her good friend Ravenpaw, who had sat with her all night when Barley died. The two of them had gone with the elders to bury his body all the way out by the barn in which he had lived, and Ravenpaw had decided to stay there rather than return to ThunderClan. Kite knew in her heart that she would never forget Barley's dying moments.
"Barley!" Kite wailed, rushing at the frail tom. "Barley, please, don't go! I won't let you go! You need to stay! You promised you would help me name my kits, remember?"
"It seems I must break my promise to you, dear one," Barley wheezed. "Never forget me, dear one."
"I could never, ever forget you!" Kite meowed. "Please, Barley, stay!"
"Oh, how I wish I could," Barley sighed. "I'm sorry that I can no longer see. I just wish I could gaze upon your lovely face one last time."
"Don't speak," Kite begged. "Save your energy. You have to hang on. Come on, I'll get Ravenpaw. We could keep you alive. There has to be something back here that will keep you alive!" Kite regretted that Cinderpelt and Leafpaw had decided to accompany Firestar to the Moonstone that very night.
"I…" Barley started, only to be cut of by Kite.
"I told you to be quiet!" she cried. "You want to stay, don't you? Don't you want to stay with me? With Ravenpaw? With ThunderClan? Please, Barley, please!"
"Begging will get you no where," Barley meowed, a hint of humor in his voice. "Before I go, I must tell you one thing, and you must promise me this: You must promise that, no matter what you think of what I am about to say, you will be kind to Ravenpaw. For me."
"Ravenpaw is my friend," Kite replied. "I would never disrespect him."
"Good," Barley mewed. "Now, what I have to say, I promised I would never tell, and StarClan knows I'm terrible at keeping secrets. If I don't tell, I'll go absolutely bonkers." He purred weakly at this. "Anyway, I just need you to know that over the last few moons, Ravenpaw has developed feelings for you. He loves you very dearly. I just wanted you to know that before I passed."
"He…" she meowed. "He…loves me? Huh. Imagine that. Ravenpaw, in love with me! Isn't that something...?" A sudden gasp cut her off. It was Barley, he was flailing around again, like he had been doing on and off for a long time.
"I have to go now," Barley whispered. "Remember, Kite, there are many cats in this world. And many bad things happen to many good cats. I just want you to remember to never lose hope, no matter what may happen to you. I will always be watching over you. Always." Barley let out a sigh, and was gone. Kite let out a mournful wail and buried her muzzle in his side, breathing in his scent for the last time.
Kite sighed, wishing she could wipe that memory from her mind forever. Just then, Sootfur padded up and sat down beside her.
"Those two sure are a funny couple, aren't they?" he asked, gesturing toward Squirreltail and Brambleclaw with a nod of his head.
"Mmhmm," Kite murmured. "But they are cute together, there's no denying that."
Sootfur sighed. "You're right," he meowed. "I wish I knew love like that. They look so happy together."
"They do, don't they?" Kite agreed. "Love like that is pretty hard to come across these days."
"It is," Sootfur agreed. "Hey, would you like to share a meal with me? It's OK if you don't want to. I just thought I'd offer."
Kite was about to reply, when a searing pain ripped through her chest. Her body convulsed, and she felt as though she would be sick.
Sootfur must have noticed her pained look, because he immediately meowed, "Oh my gosh, Kite! Are you OK? What's happening?"
"Get Cinderpelt," Kite ordered in a strained voice before turning and dragging herself back into the nursery. Goldenflower was in the medicine den today, since she was sick with a light cold, and didn't want to hark Kite, therefore the queen was all alone with no idea of what was going on.
It wasn't long at all before the medicine cat and her apprentice arrived in the den. "Are you delivering?" she meowed. "Here, quick, take these." She nosed forward a pile of herbs. Kite devoured them obediently. Sootfur shoved his way into the den and sat at Kite's head, stroking her ears with his tongue in an attempt to calm the queen. Kite was completely numb to the whole thing, following Cinderpelt's urgent orders to push harder or eat more herbs. Finally, one kit was delivered, and another was on the way. Cinderpelt nosed the kit toward Sootfur, who licked it furiously until it was clean, then nosed it toward Kite's belly, where it immediately began to suckle. This continued until five kits and one stillborn had been delivered. Kite didn't have time to mourn time the loss of her sixth kit, as Cinderpelt ordered Leafpaw to carry it away as quickly as possible, so its siblings would not catch any disease it might have been carrying.
After it was all over, Kite only felt one emotion, and that was love. Overflowing love for her kits, whether she had originally wanted them or not. She loved every single one of them dearly.
"So, what will you name them?" Sootfur asked eagerly as his eyes swept over the kits.
Kite shrugged, then took a good look at each of the kits.
The firstborn was a tiny white she-cat with a very pink nose. She was still suckling for milk, furiously shoving away her siblings as they all tried to search for something to drink.
The second kit was a rather large black tom with a white tail. This cat reminded Kite of Ravenpaw. For a moment, she wondered why the cat was black, then remembered Glacier's parents, when they had still lived in the Twoleg nest with Glacier. His mother was black, and his father was white. This kit seemed to resemble Glacier's mother more than his father or himself.
The third kit looked the same as the first kit, a small white she-cat, but with one ginger paw. The fourth kit, a tom, was ginger-furred with one white paw, almost exactly like Squirreltail. The fifth kit, also a tom, was probably the smallest of the group. He was a black-and-white tom who was shoveling his way toward his mother's belly. She watched with amusement as the young kit shoved his oldest sibling away and took over suckling milk.
"I think I'll name the first kit Snowkit," she meowed. "The second kit I'm going to call Nightkit, and the third kit will be Gingerkit. The fourth kit will be named Talonkit. And the fifth one…" she trailed off, staring down at the fifth kit. He look so much like Barley. She had another name in mind for the kit, though, and she opened her mouth to say it, but what came out was, "Barleykit."
"You're naming your fifth kit after Barley?" Sootfur asked. "I thought you'd at least name Nightkit after Ravenpaw, since he loved you so much."
"Jealous much, Sootfur?" Kite asked teasingly.
"Yes, actually," Sootfur admitted. "Very much so."
"You know I never said I felt the same way about him," Kite meowed.
"I know," Sootfur sighed. "But…The way he looks at you, and the way you look at him…It's just so…" He trailed off, gazing down at his paws. "I'm going to go now. I'll have Brackenfur bring you something to eat."
Kite sighed as her friend padded away from her. She longed to reach out to him, to tell him everything would be alright, but she knew that he would want to be alone, so instead, she bent down and groomed her kits until they each fell asleep, one by one.