Hi, sorry for not uploading earlier. Those who follow my story might have noticed they got the notification for my new chapter but the link didn't work? Well thats because for some annoying reason fanfiction deleted my chapter after I had edited it a load and didn't have the copy of the good version. Anyway, I lost all determination and motivation to rewrite it so I didn't upload for ages. It really dampened my spirits XD

I'm sorry for this tiny chapter, I just could not be bothered rewriting it. I hope its not too bad ugh I think it is

Theres also a tiny time skip after this, I still feel like I'm rushing things, I'll try to slow down.

(Slight gore warning, just a bit of blood and small description of neck breaking, its not that well explained since I suck at writing)

(THE WEBSITE DECIDED TO TURN MY STORY INTO CODE SO I APOLOGISE FOR THAT)

Sootpaw woke up as yowling rang through the apprentices den, interrupting her peaceful sleep.

Her yellow eyes widened as she jumped out of her nest and poked her head out of the den, her fur bristling with worry.

A wind swept through the camp as she took a step out, the cold creeping along her warm body.

She shivered as she blinked the sleep from her eyes and observed the scene in front of her.

Cloudfur was lying on the ground, his stomach convulsing, thick, red blood pooling beside his mouth.

Blizzardsong was beside the white warrior, shushing him and putting a strange herb in his mouth.

Sootpaw raced over to him, stumbling over her tired paws, her heart pounding.

"What happ-" she whipped around as another yowl interrupted her words.

Swanstar was racing from the nursery, her soft white fur bristling in the cold. Her blue eyes were silver in the moons gentle gleam.

"Who did this?!" she demanded, throwing herself at her son, growling at the warriors surrounding her.

Her mate sprinted after her, his squinted yellow eyes fighting back tears. Sootpaw watched as Tallscar gently grabbed her by her scruff and pulled her away.

"No one did anything," Windleap stepped in front of the leader, her green eyes narrowed with concern, "we found him like this. We were patrolling WaterCla-"

"So they did this," the leader hissed, her blue eyes narrowed.

Sootpaw stepped back.

She had never seen her peaceful leader be so… rogue-like.

She moved closer to the dying white warrior on the ground as he started spluttering and gasping, the blood congealing in his throat.

"No! We were patrolling and then decided to hunt. Cloudfur said he'd seen a squirrel along the trees and decided to chase after it. We helped by scaring the squ-"

"Skip the details!" Swanstar pressed her paw against her sons body as Blizzardsong gently lifted his head and laid some moss undearneath his cheek.

Swanstar's blue eyes were welling up with tears.

"He fell from the tree and landed on his neck," Windleap finished, looking down at her paws.

Swanstar's mouth opened and closed as she touched her small paw to her sons shoulder as his body began shaking from his violent coughing fit.

Sootpaw looked up as Duskpelt walked into camp, his brown fur ruffling in the gentle breeze. A bright white mouse in his mouth, its thin tail almost brushing the grassy floor. He dropped it as soon as he saw his brother lying in the middle of the clearing.

"What happened?!" he gasped as he sat down beside the white warrior and pressed a paw to his brothers cheek, his blue eyes darting across his body.

Sootpaw felt her heart break into a million pieces as she saw Cloudfur's usually bright yellow eyes begin to glaze over.

Blizzardsong hissed with frustration.

"Come on, Cloudfur, don't leave!"

Sootpaw felt Beetlepaw press against her as she bent her head, tears slipping through the black fur on her cheeks.

Please StarClan, she pleaded, please let Cloudfur stay with us.

She opened her eyes as her clanmates slowly stepped away from Cloudfur's body. Windleaps head was bowed as she pressed hard against the grey and white pelt of Splashtooth. Bluegaze was also with the patrol, her hazy blue eyes softening as she looked at Cloudfur's warm body.

Swanstar stayed with her son, her nose buried in his cold fur, her fluffy tail turning red as it swept through Cloudfur's blood.

"Cloudfur…" Duskpelt whispered, pressing his brown muzzle into his brothers white shoulder.

He raised a paw and gently closed the warriors dead yellow eyes.

Cloudfur's mouth was open in a silent plea, blood still dripping from his lips.

Sootpaw took a few trembling paw steps towards her father. His eyes were closed, moss stuck to his paws.

She pressed against him and rested her head against his shoulder.

.

Sootpaw looked up the tree at her friends bright white pelt as he stalked a big brown squrrel, placing his feet delicately on the fragile branch he stood on.

Her eyes widened as she saw his white paws slip off the bark, sending showers of tree rind to the forest floor.

She desperately ran towards him, hoping she would break his fall. The squirrel sat on the tree branch, curiosity showing in its beady black eyes.

It stared until the heart-wrenching snap of Cloudfur's neck slamming against the ground frightened it away.

Sootpaw watched as the squirrel scuttled away and Cloudfur's body slumped on the floor in front of her.

"Sootpaw, help!" he cried, his yellow eyes pleading.

She ran towards him as his body started to fade, showing the soft green grass beneath him.

"Sootpaw!" he called, reaching his paw out.

Sootpaw cried out for him, her mouth opened wide in a desperate yowl.

"Sootpaw! Wake up!"

The apprentice jumped up, her claws shredding the moss beneath her. Looking wildly around she realised she was no longer beneath the tree Cloudfur fell out of.

A tail touched her paw.

"Sootpaw, its okay," a soothing voice whispered beside her.

She turned her head to see Beetlepaw, the apprentices grey fur was bristling.

"Sorry," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "I'm not sure why I can't get Cloudfur from my mind."

The grey tom sighed and shook his head.

Sootpaw looked back at him and saw the dim glow of his green eyes in the darkness.

"Honestly, I can't get him out of my mind either," his eyes saddened and for the first time Sootpaw saw Beetlepaw's soft side. Sootpaw pushed her nest closer to her friends and moulded the two together.

Sootpaw pushed her nest closer to her friends and moulded the two together.

"I can't sleep by myself in my own nest," she explained, lying down in her and Beetlepaw's nest.

"Guys?" Pinepaw whispered, stepping towards the pair, her blue eyes sad.

Sootpaw rested her tail on her friends soft grey back.

"You can join too,"

Pinepaw smiled gratefully as she curled beside Sootpaw.

Beetlepaw stepped into the nest and rested his head on his sisters back.

"StarClan look after Swanstar's son," Sootpaw whispered.

"Duskpelt's brother," Beetlepaw added.

"And our friend." Pinepaw sniffed. Sootpaw sighed as the warmth from the siblings' soothed her mind. She found herself drifting off to sleep quickly.

Sorry if the grammar is bad or something, I didn't really read through this that much because it still annoys me that the website got rid of my chapter but anyway thank you for reading, if you did.

Here's a fact of the day: I originally planned for Sootpaw, Beetlepaw and Pinepaw to be siblings. Mistblaze was to be their mother and their father passed away before they were born. I wasn't going to mention the father much at all because I didnt know what colour he would be and wanted it to be up to others imaginations since they all have different eyes I would have felt bad if the father and mother didn't have the same coloured eyes as the three siblings.

Happy Hunting!

~Fernsky