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Chapter 4

As they padded past several cats, she could feel their scornful and prying gazes drilling into her back, but there was one particular set of eyes that made her fur prickle, and she lifted her head to look for the source.

She started to pull her lips back into a snarl, but froze when her eyes caught the stare of a large tom amidst the parting crowd of cats, partially hidden in the shadow of one of the dens.

The sheer intensity behind those yellow eyes was far deeper and more complex than the shallow disgust of the others, and it caused a shiver to run up her spine.

For the first time since she and her litter-mate arrived in RiverClan, true fear slithered through her like a snake, wrapping around her heart and lungs, squeezing until she felt as if she would faint if she didn't look away.

So she did.

She growled low in her throat, and with a lash of her tail hurried to catch up with Winterkit who had stopped when noticing her pause and was watching her with worried eyes.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, turning to continue following Flamewave when she reached him.

"Nothing." She snapped, then at the hurt look on his face she sighed, her voice softening. "Everything's fine, stop worrying."

His blue eyes watched her for a moment before a hesitant smile twitched at his mouth. "That's kind of impossible, you know."

She rolled her eyes, flicking his flank fondly with her tail before Flamewave stopped in front of them, nearly causing Coal to run into his haunches.

The older tom didn't seem to notice her glower as he stepped toward a den that looked more reedy than the others. More protected from the weather. She noticed silently, her eyes pausing on little glittering things sticking out of the reeds.

Before she could ask what they were, a furious yowl exploded from the den, and Coal peered around Flamewave's legs to spot a hissing mad she-cat with long silvery-gray fur.

"I WILL NOT LET THOSE KITTYPETS ANYWHERE NEAR MY NEST."

"Then move to a new one further away." Came the ginger tom's even reply, which only infuriated the queen more.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! MY KIT AND I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE OUTSIDERS, FIND SOMEONE ELSE'S NEST TO DROP THEM INTO."

Coal's ears were started to hurt from all the yelling and she flicked them back against her head, her paws itching for her to run away from all this madness. Oh, how badly she wanted to. But she couldn't leave Winterkit behind. He was all that she had left, she realized with a pang, and she would do anything for him. Even if it meant dealing with insufferable, narcissistic leaders and screeching queens.

But that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Goldenstar wants them to stay in the nursery, and they will, with or without your consent."

Despite the spittle that flew out of the she-cat's mouth, Flamewave's expression stayed the same, but Coal thought she heard his voice grow a little harder.

With a frustrated hiss, Cinderfrost whipped around, stomping back into the den.

The older tom turned to them, his tail twitching towards the opening. "There. Get yourselves settled."

And then he left, stalking back through the snow before disappearing into Goldenstar's den.

"That's it!?" She seethed in disbelief, staring after the warrior. "He's not going to tell us where everything is? What the rules are? Just: 'Get yourselves settled'!?"

Winterkit shrugged, his eyes wandering over the clearing, which was starting to empty as cats wandered back to their dens. "Maybe the other cats will help us out."

She doubted that very much, but the snow was started to nip harshly at her nose and she huffed. "Lets go inside, my nose will fall off at this rate."

Winterkit nodded, a relieved look crossing his features as he padded in at her side, his fur brushing against her own comfortingly as a pair of unwelcoming eyes glared from the furthest corner of the den.

"Don't even try to come back here. Stay away from us."

"Gladly." She muttered under her breath as her litter-mate gave a mute nod, and the two of them climbed into a nest closer to the opening. The draft was terrible, but she had Winter to curl up with, and it was much better than finding one closer to the queen, who would sooner claw off their ears than let them near.

Wait...us?

She peered over at the ill-tempered queen, who had her back to them, and spotted a pair of pale green eyes staring right back at her.

She jumped slightly, but Winterkit was already fast asleep and didn't notice. He must have been more tired than she thought.

The green eyes tried to maneuver around the queen, and she made out its small white form.

But this one didn't just seem small, but also frail and twig-like.

Like Streak.

Coal snapped out of her reverie as the queen growled, pulling the kit back towards her by it's tail. "Don't go near them Whitekit, they're outsiders...and they probably have fleas."

"But-"

"No buts. I don't want you going near them at all, you hear me? Now go to sleep."

Her teeth ground together as she turned away from the two, burying deeper into Winterkit's thick fur and tried to ignore them. She didn't have fleas! She didn't remember actually having fleas now that she thought about it. Their two-leg always made sure of that.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force the thick, cloying scent of blood out of her nose as the memory of that night resurfaced, and tried to focus on something else. But every time she tried imagining Tinsel, she saw the sightless blue eyes, and the ripped fur that stained her pretty white fur in red.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, curled tightly against her litter-mate as she battled with the dark memories, but eventually she fell into an uneasy sleep, the world fading away around her.

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