Thanks to Flock World of Make Believe, Jay Witness, Fioralba, and Willowfur (Yeah, I did. Hey, it was an extra review =shrugs=) for reviewing! Yup, Lilac is being Little Miss Contrary at the moment... And I know it's been a while. Again. I'll try and get things moving better lately...
DISCLAIMER: I own Warriors. Please send royalties. ...Actually, I lied.
Seven
"Windflower would have wanted you to come."
Chicory saw that Holly was close to begging when she arrived with Lilac. Holly seemed to be speaking to Poppy, Windflower's sister, in particular, going for the guilt-trip tactic. There was pain and worry shadowing Poppy's eyes, but her mate and kits simply looked uncomfortable. Lavender or Cornflower - Chicory couldn't tell which was which, as their pelts were an identical blue-grey - was shifting her weight from paw to paw, looking as though she were painfully eager to leave the conversation.
Crocus stepped forward. "We've got to stay with Bluebell and Gaillardia," he emphasised. "Poppy doesn't want to leave her parents - and she doesn't want to leave Scilla and Stitchwort, either."
Chicory stayed a cautious pawstep back from the crowd, but tipped her head onto one side in confusion. Bluebell and Gaillardia? she wondered. Scilla and Stitchwort?
Not missing this, Lilac rolled her eyes. "Bluebell and Gaillardia are - were - Windflower's parents, and Scilla's his brother. Stitchwort's his sister," she hissed. "Where have you been?" she added cruelly.
Before Chicory could open her jaws, Lilac had darted away to rub muzzles with Lavender and Cornflower, purring in a sad farewell. Chicory knew Lilac too well to delude herself into thinking that Lilac had dashed off so quickly because she was guilty at what she had said.
She gritted her teeth, annoyed. You haven't known them three sunrises! she wanted to spit. Don't act like they're your sisters and I'm not!
Trying to shut out her mother's whiny, still-begging meow, Chicory looked around swiftly for other things to occupy her mind.
A little way off sat an elderly dark red tabby, his tail around the shoulders of a small, frail-looking brown and white she-cat. Despite the tom clearly being in the position of comforting the other, he too was gazing upon Poppy with an anxious expression.
The realisation that they must be Bluebell and Gaillardia came with a rush of emotion that Chicory couldn't quite identify. So soon after losing Windflower, it was strange to discover that he had had all this family - and Chicory wasn't sure that it was strange in a good way, either. Her cousins had spirited away her sister, and now Holly seemed to have changed into a totally different, desperate cat with the knowledge that her mate's family wished to stay.
Vaguely, Chicory thought how finicky they all were. Crocus and Poppy had been the ones to speak out for leaving in the first place, and now, because of some cats with a couple of fancy names, they had snapped in a heartbeat and changed their minds.
"Cats who wish to leave!"
Chicory's head whipped around as Heather's mew rang out again, confident and commanding.
"We leave at dawn!" The dark silver she-cat's mew was greeted by yowls of approval from the rest. "Rest; we may have a long journey ahead."
Poppy's eyes flickered awkwardly between Holly and her own parents. "I have to go..." she murmured, sounding slightly unwilling to have to say the parting words. "My brother and sister are waiting."
For the first time, Chicory saw two younger cats next to her grandparents - a dark red tom not unlike Gaillardia, and a brown and cream she-cat.
"Come on, Poppy!" called the tom impatiently. "Daffodil's waiting!"
Poppy managed a slight purr. "His mate," she mumured, half to herself. "That cat is like a moonstruck rabbit around her." A heartbeat later, she shook herself, blinking, before padding forwards to touch noses with Holly.
Both she-cats looked like they wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words. Eventually, Poppy ducked her head and padded slowly towards the dead tree, Crocus, Lavender, and Cornflower following.
"I'll miss them," meowed Lilac sorrowfully, almost as an afterthought.
An angry hiss behind Chicory made her jump. She hadn't known Pine was there, too, but to be honest, there had been bigger things than her brother on her mind.
"Then why don't you join them?" The dark brown tom spat out each word.
Lilac assumed a hurt, martyred look. "Why would I do that? You're my family."
Pine's only reply was a low growl in the back of his throat. Chicory guessed that he was distressed, but afraid to show it. Tentatively, she licked his flank.
"Oh, just leave me alone, Chicory."
Stung, Chicory flinched away.
Holly did nothing to stop her bickering kits. She simply gazed after Poppy and Crocus with a wistful expression.
A shudder rippled along Chicory's spine. There was something deeply, deeply wrong with all four of them.
###
"Celandine!"
A wail ripped through the silence of dark, startling Chicory into consciousness. Peering in the near-blackness, she was able to make out a couple of white-furred cats standing not far off. There might have been others, but Chicory's eyes wouldn't respond to any more squinting.
Several cats made hushing noises towards the cat who had wailed.
"We'll look after her. We'll look after her!" hissed a voice, evidently trying to calm down another. Straining her ears this time, Chicory realised there was a sound underlying all - a detatched panting that sounded close to hysterical.
"Can't leave - family - never see her - again!" The new voice was muted but shrill the gasps, and the words were slotted around wild gasps.
"Please, calm down!" begged the first mew. "I promise, we'll take good care of her."
A young cat mewed, sounding quite wary, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Chicory settled her chin back onto her paws and closed her eyes. It was another cat who had decided to leave the rest of their family. Scenarios like this one had been breaking out all night - kits mewling, frightened, mothers losing kits, and siblings being parted. Chicory could only hope that every cat would be sorted by morning, and the last bonds, however painful, would have been broken.
This time, it seemed that one of Snowdrop's sisters, Celandine, had decided to leave. The knowledge came as mildly suprising - their whole family had been among the most eager to stay by the loch.
"I'm sorry, Fuschia. I'm sorry," Celandine repeated, sounding defeated.
Chicory wondered how long away dawn was. Exhaustion would have slowed her paws had she gotten up now, but at the same time, her mind seemed fully awake and functional.
She could hear the deep, slow breathing of Lilac, Pine, and Holly nearby. It saddened her that she wasn't on very good terms with any of them at the moment - unless you counted Holly to an extent, and Chicory was rather afraid to go near her.
After Windflower's death, she had been acting so strange... Kit-like, almost... Kits... Snapdragon was a kit. Was Snapdragon leaving with Marigold and Foxglove...? Chicory hoped so... she missed the ginger tom's boundless enthusiasm, and... energy... and... and...
...And Chicory was running through a fully-restored forest, untouched by the loch's flooding. She felt as though joy should have swept away every other emotion, but an odd sort of sorrow ran through her core.
Sorrow? How did that even make sense? Her home was back...
But it's not my home. It was never my home.
She tried to ignore the voice in her head, to concentrate on running though the trees... But they were too dark, too close together, and the sunlight didn't dapple the ground enough for her to feel safe...
Chicory wasn't sure when the panic first hit her, but suddenly she was hyperventilating like the cat Fuschia had been for Celandine, terror washing over her in waves.
And then there were the voices, all shouting her name. Different, but seemingly one.
"Chicory!"
"Chicory!"
"Chicory!"
"Chicory!"
The forest vanished. Pine was leaning over her, a disgruntled look on his face. Chicory's heart was still racing, and her eyes were wide as she gazed up at her brother.
"Chicory, it's time to leave."