Got a little free time, so I typed this up. Not my best chapter, most likely better then the last one, but it's more of a filler chapter anyways. Snakeheart confronts Blackstipes' killer! Enjoy
Darkflower took Blackstripes' death the hardest. She could hardly even lift her paws to drag herself back to the camp, let alone carry back any of the prey, and as soon as she reached the camp, Brownleaf swept her away into her den for herbs, dampening the shock.
After Darkflower though, I was probably hit even harder then Smokestar. I had enough strength to help Bronzepaw pull Frostfoots' body back to camp, but as soon as I got there with Darkflower, I had to go to the warriors den and collapse in a fit of crys and silent sobbing. Pain whelled in my chest. I couldn't see, my eyes were burning. I couldn't hear, there was blood roaring in my ears. My paws were numb, my nose was clogged, and all I could do was take breaths in ragged gasps.
Brownleaf came to me after he had seen Darkflower, and quickly brought me to his den, where he gave me a variety of herbs, and eventually my nose unclogged, my eyes stopped burning, and i began to feel my paws again, but my ears were still roaring, later on Brownleaf would tell me it was from shock, and that even the herbs he had wouldn't dampen it.
He gave me his nest for the night, and, although I didn't know it, he slept beside me halfway through the night, when a sudden icestorm hit and i had gotten shivery. That morning Darkflower had returned to the Medicine Cats' den, requesting borage before leaving to settle in the nursery.
"I wish Blackstripe hadn't died," snarled Brownleaf as he organized herbs, i looked up from where i had been poking at a mouse Bluestorm had brought to me in confusion, and Brownleaf, who had noticed he had caught my attention began to talk.
"He was a good warrior, strong, brave, elegant in battle," meowed Brownleaf, shuffling through feverfew, "I was an apprentice when he and Smokestar were born, they were the most beautiful kits." Brownleaf sighed, "Their mother was named herself after her brother, Smokepaw, died shortly before her warrior ceremony, and she became Blacksmoke. When she grew ill with greencough and died, her mate, your grandfather, who was the deputy, named your uncle and your father after her."
Brownleaf snorted now, "And then your grandfather died, and Smokestar became the deputy. I told the leader before him, Darkstar, that it was a bad idea to make him deputy, and that Blackstripe would be a much better deputy. But Darkstar was blinded, blinded by the love that his daughter, Diamondshine, had for Smokestar, and ignored me."
I lowered my head now, dejected, and thought over many differnet things in my head, things of death, and of life. Births of healthy kits and crippled stillborns. I thought of healthy warriors struck down in battle or wasting away in the elders' nest. And then I thought of Darkflower, and her love for Blackstripe, even if he didn't return it at first.
"Snakeheart, you're not listening to me, are you?" demanded Brownleaf, fluffing up his dark fur before swishing his tail irritably, then sighed and came over to me, nosing me to my paws. I hissed grumpily, slashing my split tail at him, but he ignored me and pointed his tail at the exit of the medicine den.
"Get up, move around then," he growled, "Go visit Darkflower, she's in the nursery with Diamondshine, who, by the way, just gave birth to four healthy kits." Before i could protest he shooed me out of the den, and i padded across the frozen clearing to where the sheltered ferns where the queens slept.
Darkflower was sleeping inside, and though she was still sleek and elegant and small, her belly bulged slightly and her scent was changing. She was expecting kits. Diamondshine was in the nursery as well, tucking three little kits to her side. Two were just like her, Silverpaw, and Marshpaw, white-silver, with long fur and green eyes. But another sent a chill down my spine, a dark tabby tom, with yellow eyes and black-and-dark-gray fur. He was big for his age too.
Diamondshine looked up at me, a little surprised to see me, and flattened my ears to my skull awkwardly.
"I... I wanted to see Darkflower," I murmured awkwardly, "But I guess she's asleep." i kneeded the ground with my paws, sheathing and unsheathing my claws, "I... Brownleaf is waiting for me." I hurried to leave but Diamondshien flicked her tail gently, motioning for me to stay for a moment.
"Darkflower most likely won't recover from this quickly," she meowed softly, "Frostfoot was her elder sister, and, even though the two weren't very close, she would have missed Frostfoot dearly. And moments later she finds Blackstripe dead..." Diamondshine sighed, "It's a miracle if she bounces back at all."
I felt anger swell in my chest, and the fur along my spine prickle with intensity, "Miracles happen," i snarled, "You just have to wait for them." And i spun around and charged out of the nursery, storming across the clearing and back to the Medicine Cat den, where I collapsed again into Brownleafs' nest and curled up, quickly falling asleep and into a dream.
In the dream, I was walking along a marshy path, dark shadows cobwebbing the swamps around me. Ahead, the path opened up into a brightly-lit clearing, where i bounded too. Two cats were in the clearing, and i felt my chesdt suddenly risee when i spotted Frostfoot. She looked at me though, with a look that was neither proud of finding her nor joyful. Her eyes were pained, and she got up, leaving the clearing with me and th eother cat.
I felt my paws prickle then, it was her! The cat who had killed Blackstripe and Frostfoot, her pale fur glittering in the light, her dark eyes stormy and serious. She looked at everything around her with hatred, even at me. And she stood to pad over to me.
"You killed Blackstripe!" I hissed, "You killed Darkflower! You murdering rogue!" the she-cat didn't stop padding towards me though, her dark eyes felt like frost boring into my brain.
"A murdering rogue?" she laughed icily, padding past me and swishing her long, elegant tail, "What little lies they feed the apprentices of ShadowClan these days. Don't they ever telk you what happened in the past? Or do they wish to cover up their mistake?"
"What mistake?" I demanded, following her frightening dark eyes, they were so cold, i felt my paws go numb again, as if they were being frostbitten, "ShadowClan is an honest and brave Clan, we don't do things without good cause!"
"Lies!" hissed the she cat. She neared me now, and I saw something else flicker in her eyes, pain from her past, no, not her past. Something else, something bigger. I felt my paws begin to prickle again, this she-cat was younger then me, but she held something that could even overshadow the pain i felt day-to-day.
"Why is there pain in your eyes?" I asked, quietly this time, narrowing my eyes. The she-cat pulled back in shock, obviously flustered, and then dug her claws into the ground in frustration.
"Never mind," she hissed, "I'm leaving." She turned to leave but i stood up, digging my claws into the ground.
"Wait," i growled, and the she-cat flinched, but stopped, "My name is Snakeheart," I said slowly and clearly, "What about you?" The she-cat looked over she shoulder, hesitated, and then murmured before leaving.
"My name is Rain."
Hm... Rain... I like that name... I'll may put in a little interaction with the next two chapters with Bluepaw, Petalpaw, and Rain. Yeah... Snakeheart is begining to choose his romance...
And I put in these allegiances just for the heck of it.
LEADER: Smokestar - black and dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes
DEPUTY: Blackstripe - black and dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes
MEDICINE CAT: Brownleaf - very old dark brown tom
WARRIORS:
Bluestorm - blue-gray and black tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE, GRAYPAW
Snakeheart - black and dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes
Goldensun - long-furred golden tom with green eyes
APPRENTICE, SILVERPAW
Webfoot - gray and white tabby tom
APPRENTICE, BRONZEPAW
Brownstripe - brown and white tabbly tom
APPRENTICE, MARSHPAW
APPRENTICES:
Graypaw - skinny gray tom with a bushy tail
Bronzepaw - ginger she-cat with green eyes
Silverpaw - long-furred white-silver she-cat with green eyes
Marshpaw - long-furred white-silver tom with green eyes
QUEENS:
Darkflower - small black she-cat with dark eyes, mother of Blackstripes' kits, unborn
Diamondshine - long-furred white-silver she-cat with green eyes, mother of Smokestars' kits, Mistkit, Shimmerkit, and Shadekit
ELDERS:
Smallcloud - very pale gray tom
Copperflower - dark ginger queen
Duststripe - dark brown tabby tom
KITS:
Mistkit - long-furred white-silver she-cat with green eyes
Shimmerkit - long-furred white-silver she-cat with green eyes
Shadekit - black and dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes