"Voletail!" Russetstripe called, bounding over to the brown tom by the fresh kill pile. "Brightwing is kitting."
Voletail swallowed the last of his squirrel and raced across the camp to the nursery to see Poppyleaf standing over his mate.
"Is she okay?" Voletail asked.
"Yes," Poppyleaf absently replied. "She's already got one―oh! There's the other one."
Poppyleaf licked the kit vigorously until it opened its mouth and let out a yowl.
"Congratulations, you have a she-cat and a tom."
Voletail looked as if he would burst with pride as he gazed down at his two kits, Brightwing leading them to her belly. The tom looked just like him, with a dark brown pelt.
"Brightwing?" Voletail said.
"Yes?" Brightwing replied drowsily.
"Let's name the tom Mudkit."
Brightwing nodded and looked at the grey and white she-cat nuzzling against her belly. Her pelt was long, and almost feather like.
"This one will be Featherkit," Brightwing confirmed.
Poppyleaf shooed Voletail away. "Those are great names, but let Brightwing rest for a while."
Voletail padded out of the nursery, his head and tail held high. Russetstripe padded alongside him.
"How many were there? What are their names?"
"A tom and a she-cat called Mudkit and Featherkit."
"That's amazing. I would love to have kits of my own."
Voletail glanced sideways at the ginger she-cat, wondering if something happened between her and the deputy, Flameheart. Shaking off the thought, he veered away from Russetstripe and towards Flameheart, who was organizing patrols. Flameheart acknowledged Voletail with a flick of his ear.
"You can go on the RockClan border patrol with Brackenstorm, Sandpelt, Badgerclaw, and Hareleap," he directed.
Voletail glanced up at the gorse tunnel just in time to see the last cat's tail disappear. Bounding to the camp entrance, he caught up with the patrol, slowing to a trot at Hareleap's side.
"I heard about the kits," Hareleap commented.
"Yeah. Featherkit and Mudkit, she-cat and tom."
"Congratulations."
Badgerclaw glared at Voletail. "We're on a border patrol," he growled. "Not in the elder's den."
Voletail opened his mouth to retort when they reached the border. As Brackenstorm and Hareleap renewed their borders, Voletail noticed a RockClan patrol on the other side of the border. He could distinguish the cats as they came closer; Berrytail, Ashwind, Grassheart, and the deputy, Iceheart.
"Hey, rabbit-eating prey-stealers!" Iceheart yowled.
Voletail's fur bristled as the revolting scent of RockClan drew closer. "Prey-stealers?" he growled.
The rest of the SwiftClan patrol stood, their pelts bristled, eyes glittering, and claws unsheathed.
"Speak for yourself!" Badgerclaw spat.
"We've seen your flea-ridden pelts on our territory countless times!"
Sandpelt padded closer to Iceheart until they were nearly nose-to-nose.
"Take one step closer and I'll rip your throat out!" Iceheart hissed.
"Then do," Sandpelt challenged.
Iceheart lunged at Sandpelt without any second thoughts, latching his jaws on her throat, not letting go until blood was spilling onto the floor. Ashwind grabbed onto Iceheart's scruff and pulled him off, but it was too late. Sandpelt was motionless on the ground, blood pouring from her neck and her eyes blankly staring into the sky.
"You… you killed her," Badgerclaw murmured.
Voletail took a few paces back, staring at the lifeless body. Without any other words, he hauled Sandpelt onto his back and he and the patrol padded solemnly back to camp.
Gasps of shock filled the clearing as the patrol entered the camp, laying Sandpelt's body onto the ground. Badgerclaw stormed to his den, obviously very upset by the death of his mate. Jetstar padded over to the lifeless cat, his eyes glazed with grief for his sister.
"How did this happen?" Jetstar demanded, his voice surprisingly stable.
"Well," Voletail started. "We ran into a RockClan patrol. Iceheart challenged her, and… this happened."
"We can't just let this slide. Something has to be done!"
Yowls of agreement filled the camp, and two apprentices were already drawing out battle plans in the dirt. Sandpelt's body was taken to the center of the camp to get ready for the death vigil. Voletail padded to the nursery, his head low. He brightened up a little when he saw his kits snuggled against each other next to Brightwing's belly. Brightwing looked up, a somber look on her face. She turned her head towards Riverpelt, who was mourning the death of her daughter. Sandpelt was a young catㅡas were Graystorm, Flameheart, and Jetstar. Riverpelt wasn't taking it very lightly; she sat with her head down and her claws working at the ground. Her two-moon old kits, Rowankit, Windkit, and Honeykit were desperately trying to calm her down.
"I didn't realize how much Sandpelt meant to a lot of cats," Voletail murmured to Brightwing. "She must have been a great mate, sister, and daughter."
Brightwing nodded in agreement before bending her head to nurture a now mewling Featherkit.
Voletail arched his back in a stretch before padding out of the warriors' den to see the elders carry a cream she-cat's body away to bury. He hadn't sat vigil; he didn't know the cat very well. His gaze drifted to Russetstripe, who was pressed to Flameheart's side. I guess there really isn't anything wrong between them.
"Voletail."
Voletail turned his head at Jetstar's voice. "Yes, Jetstar?"
"We will battle with RockClan soon. I want you to fight with us."
Thoughts of Brightwing and Featherkit and Mudkit suddenly raced through Voletail's mind. They couldn't lose him. He couldn't imagine his kits growing up without knowing their father.
"Voletail?"
Jetstar's voice brought Voletail back to reality. "Okay. I'll fight."
Voletail immediately raced to the nursery, skidding to a halt at the entrance. "Brightwing, I need to tell you something," he said, silently padding to his mate's side.
"Tell me," Brightwing mewed.
"I know this is so soon after Sandpelt's death, but I'm going out to battle soon."
"What...? Just... be careful. I love you."
Just then, Featherkit and Mudkit looked up at Voletail with big blue eyes.
"I love you, too," Voletail murmured.
Yowls of triumph filled the air when RockClan retreated. But the only cat who wasn't sharing the victory was Voletail, who lay on his side, convulsing and blood slipping from a wound on his side.
⃟⃟⃟
"Poppyleaf, Voletail is badly hurt!" Brackenstorm yowled as he and the other battling cats raced into the camp.
From the nursery, Brightwing could hear Brackenstorm's cry. I told him to be careful. StarClan please let him survive. And with that last thought, she curled up with her kits and fell asleep.