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Chapter IV

Christmas Present

For a second, Tigerstar was shocked. Then, sadness started coming up on him. How could he have been such a mouse-brain? He'd pushed away the she-cat that he'd loved, over a matter of blood!

For a moment, he grieved in silence. Eventually, he managed to pull himself together. Calming down, he lay down to sleep again.

Suddenly, another light filled his den. He jerked up, wondering if Graystripe had come back. But that couldn't be right: Graystripe's light had been white, and extremely bright, while this light was yellow, and a lot dimmer. Turning, he saw a sphere of the light hovering in front of him. As he looked at it, it began floating away. Tigerstar, wondering what was going to happen this time, followed, a little nervously.

As he approached the entrance to the camp, a voice spoke. "Well, what are you waiting for, Tigerstar? Come out here, get to know me better, cat!"

Tigerstar, still cautious, stepped out of the camp. He turned and gasped at what he saw.

A little away from the camp, there was enough food to feed all the clans for several moons to come. It wasn't all fresh-kill, either. There were things like honey, and berries that would be nice to eat more often, but were medicine, and yet there were enough here to cure whatever sickness came, have some for the taste, and have enough to cure sickness again! There was an indentation in the ground, where a liquid he wasn't familiar with lay. In the center of all this was the cat that had spoken: a black-furred she-cat.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Christmas?" She gave a small laugh. "Come, and get to know me better!"

"Who are you?" Tigerstar asked, stepping forward.

"My name is Yellowfang," she said. "I am the Spirit of Christmas Present. Maybe you know my littermates?"

"I'm not sure I do," Tigerstar admitted. "How many do you have?"

"One for every Christmas that's passed. So, quite a few."

"A large family to look after, then?"

Yellowfang didn't look happy thinking about it. Finally, she said, "Well, yes."

"What's this?" Tigerstar asked, indicating the liquid in the puddle.

Yellowfang looked at him. "It's the milk of kindness, something you've been denying your fellow cats for a very long time. Take a drink."

Tigerstar looked at her. "Why?"

"Why not?" Yellowfang countered. "You don't have to drink, but I'm giving you the chance."

Tigerstar moved forward slowly, and started to drink from the puddle.

He gasped. It was the most wonderful thing he'd ever tasted: better than his first mouse, or water on a hot day, or anything else. He looked up at Yellowfang. "It's great," he said.

"Why have you been refusing to share this with your clanmates, or the other clans, or even rogues and loners?" Yellowfang asked. She didn't sound threatening, it was just a question.

"Why should I?"

"Because, you are offered it several times. Not only do you not allow others to have it, you also deny it yourself."

"Who offers me kindness of any kind?" Tigerstar asked, looking at her, slightly angry.

"More cats than you know," Yellowfang said. "Come on, we have a lot to see before we run out of time."

"What do you want me to do?" Tigerstar asked.

"Touch my fur," Yellowfang said, looking at him. Wondering what this was about, Tigerstar moved forward and brushed up against Yellowfang.

Suddenly, he found himself in front of a place he knew very well. He looked up at the abandoned twoleg nest that lay at the edge of Thunderclan territory. There were the sounds of a party going on inside. Yellowfang moved towards the entrance, motioning for Tigerstar to follow. Wondering what this was about, Tigerstar followed.

Inside, he saw a group of cats. They had some food that must have been provided by all four of the clans; there were mixed scents on them. There were also things there that couldn't normally be spared, like catmint, and some berries. As he watched, he suddenly recognized Brambleclaw among the cats. He was standing up and moving towards the center of the den. "Anyone want to play 20 Questions?" he asked. Several of the cats gave small cheers. "Right! I've got a good one, I'll go first."

"Of course Thunder goes first!" called out a voice Tigerstar recognized: Blackstar. However, there wasn't any hostility in his voice: he was joking this time. Tigerstar had never heard Blackstar make a joke before...

"Says the shadow-dweller," said Brambleclaw, though he sounded like he was kidding too. "Okay, anyone want to take a guess?"

"Is it alive?" came a voice from the other end of the room. Tigerstar recognized this one too: Stonefur, from Riverclan.

"Arguably," Brambleclaw said, his eyes glinting with humor.

"I mean, does it have a heart?"

"Literally or figuratively?"

"Literally."

"Yes, it does."

"Is it a cat?" That was Onestar, from Windclan.

"In the loosest possible sense of the word," Brambleclaw answered, still with that gleam in his eyes.

"Is it real?" Russetfur, Shadowclan.

"It's not not real," Brambleclaw answered, to a few scattered laughs.

"Is it likeable?" Tigerstar recognized Longtail, from his own clan this time.

"It depends on your point of view, of course, but for the most part, and usually, no."

"I think I've got it!" called out Tigerheart, another Shadowclan cat. "Is it in Thunderclan?"

"Yes!" Brambleclaw said. Tigerstar suddenly felt like he knew what it was. And sure enough...

"It's Tigerstar, isn't it?" Flametail shouted out.

"And the shadow-dweller gets it!" Brambleclaw called out.

"Well, I don't know what you mean by, 'It depends on your point of view,'" Leopardstar called. "He's the least likeable clan cat I've ever known!"

Tigerstar felt a jolt in his stomach, hearing someone talking about him like that. How many cats thought it?

"Well, from some points of view, like mine, we should feel sorry for him," Brambleclaw answered. Tigerstar felt some affection for his nephew. He was defending him, even after earlier.

"I don't know where you get off saying that, Brambleclaw," Crowfeather said from one corner of the room. "Why should we feel sorry for that mouse dung?"

"Because," Brambleclaw said, looking over at him, "at the end of the day, who really suffers because of his arrogance, his complete inability to trust anyone other than himself, and his cruelty? He does. Because of it, he rarely, if ever, knew love or friendship, and anyone who has to go through life without that deserves pity."

"Are you making excuses for him?" called out Thornclaw.

"No, he has done terrible things," Brambleclaw admitted. "I'm just saying that, when you really think about it, he suffers because of it just as much, if not more, than the rest of us do."

"Whatever you say, Thunder," Silverstream, another Riverclan cat said.

Yellowfang motioned that it was time for them to leave. Tigerstar followed her out. As they left, Tigerstar heard a cat talking to Flametail. "Hey, Flametail, do you want to go out on the ice later?"

"Are you kidding? That's begging for an early death." (1)

Once outside, Yellowfang turned to Tigerstar. "He cares for you," she said.

"He does," Tigerstar agreed. "I never realized how much until now, but..." He shook his head. "I sometimes forget that he's Goldenflower's kit."

"You shouldn't," Yellowfang said, looking at him. "You should have accepted his invitation, for Goldenflower's sake, if not for his."

"I know," Tigerstar said, looking at the ground. "Is there anything else you have to show me?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yes," she said, and turned and walked again. Tigerstar followed. After a flash of light, he looked around to find himself in front of a twoleg nest that seemed to be on the opposite end of the lake. He heard voices coming out of it. Yellowfang was already at the door. He bounded towards her.

On entering, he could make out what was being said. "Tiny, do you think I'm going to make it?"

"You are. You have to!" That voice sounded familiar...

Entering the room with the voices, he saw why it did. It belonged to a young cat- a kit most likely, or at least the right age to be a young apprentice- with black fur, except for one white paw. The cat he'd threatened earlier. He was with two other cats. "And what do you think, Socks?" said a she-cat lying on the floor. She didn't look good.

"I tried to get some herbs from that group of cats on the moor," said a tom that seemed to be the oldest of the three there. "They didn't have the herbs for whatever you have. The herbs they were using were for greencough."

"At least you tried," said the she-cat. "Tiny?" She sounded a little desperate.

"I went to the cats that live in the forest, near the abandoned nest," Tiny said, looking at her.

"And?"

Tigerstar winced. Tiny looked troubled for a moment, then said, "They didn't have any either."

"Why did he lie to her?" Tigerstar asked Yellowfang.

"Because he loves her more than you can imagine," Yellowfang said, looking at him. "He doesn't know if she's going to live, but if she doesn't pull through, he doesn't want her to die with her faith shattered. Their family is built on faith in the kindness of others, and themselves. Tiny doesn't want to ruin that idea by telling her that he was chased away by a cat who refused to help his dying sister. It would be like your medicine cat telling everyone that there's no Starclan."

Tigerstar looked at Tiny, who looked miserable at the idea that his sister might die. "Is she going to die?"

"Why should you care? You're the pure-blooded leader of a clan! What right do lowly, mud-blooded creatures have to ask you or your clan for help?" Tigerstar felt a pang of shame in his stomach. "Tigerstar, when you die, you may discover in the afterlife that those creatures of dirt's lives matter more than your own, when you live in bitterness, while they know the joy of love and friendship. Can you say the same?"

The she-cat on the floor suddenly spoke. "Hey, how about a song, Tiny? You're the best singer here."

"Well, if you insist, Ruby," said Tiny, looking happy for a chance to lighten the mood. He sat where he was, and started to sing. "The first Noel, the angels did say-"

Suddenly, everything was dissolving around them. Tiny's voice started changing along with their surroundings, until they were standing in the Riverclan camp, with Mistyfoot, the deputy, singing to the kits. "-was to certain poor loners in fields as they lay-"

And it was happening again. The voice changed, their surroundings reformed, until they were watching Rowanclaw sing in Shadowclan. "-In fields where they lay, keeping their feet-"

And next they were seeing Dustpelt and Thornclaw, of all cats, singing in Thunderclan! "On a cold leafbare's night that was so deep-"

Tigerstar thought he knew what was coming next. Sure enough, they were now in Windclan. This time, Ashfoot was singing. "Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the king of the four clans-" (2)

Tigerstar found himself going through space again, which confused him. Who else was there? But still, the voice kept on singing. Suddenly, they dropped into the horseplace. Somehow, the horses weren't there. But there were a group of cats, including a cat he recognized as Sandstorm, Fireheart's mate. She was the one singing: "Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the king of the four clans!"

She finished the song and turned to the others around the table: four she-cats and two toms. "Cloudtail, where's your uncle?"

"Probably still at the daylight gathering," Cloudtail, a white tom. Tigerstar knew what that was about. Some of the cats celebrated part of the day at a daylight gathering on the island. He'd never been there himself. Suddenly, a third she-cat burst in: completely black.

"He's coming, he's coming!" she said.

Sandstorm turned to two of the other she-cats. "Dovepaw, Ivypaw, go hide," she said, motioning to the door of the twoleg den.

As the two ran in, Fireheart himself came into the place, with another tom leaning against him. As he looked around, the new tom, a golden-furred cat that Tigerstar recognized as Lionpaw, Fireheart's son, sat by himself. A tom Tigerstar recognized as Jaypaw leapt towards him. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Just fine," Lionpaw said. "I wish you'd stop asking, mouse-brain." But he didn't sound like he was trying to sound insulting, and Jaypaw gave a small laugh.

"Where's Ivypawl? Dovepaw?" Fireheart asked, looking around.

"Oh, we're sorry, Fireheart, they can't come today," Sandstorm said, managing to look convincing.

"Not... Not coming?" Fireheart asked, looking stunned. "On Christmas?"

Suddenly, the two apprentices leapt on top of him. He fell to the ground, laughing as he wrestled with them. "We got you!" Dovepaw said happily.

"Yeah, I guess you did," Fireheart said, laughing as he pulled himself out from under them.

"How was the gathering?" Leafpool asked.

"It was great," Firehear said, looking at her. "Lionblaze told me, on the way home, that he hoped the clans noticed him, and it would help them remember who made blind cats see, and crippled cats walk."

"I'd like to meet him," Jaypaw said, walking by.

"Nice," Fireheart said, giving a small purr of amusement. "He said he wanted them to remember Him, and maybe we could be more united during the year."

"Wishful thinking," Squirrelflight said. "I'd like it too, but it's a little too unlikely."

Tigerstar turned to Yellowfang. "What's wrong with Lionpaw?"

Yellowfang, turning to him, said, "A lot, I'm afraid to say."

"Will he make it?"

"If he dies because the medicine cat was slacking off around Christmas, what does it matter to you?" Yellowfang asked sharply. Tigerstar recoiled, but she softened. "He is seriously sick. Windclan is the only clan that has medicine for him, but you turned them away. If nothing is changed, I see an empty den where Lionpaw once slept, and three siblings taken down to two."

Suddenly, tigerstar realized that they weren't there anymore. It was night again, and they were on the island. He realized that Yellowfang suddenly looked a lot older than she had earlier. "I don't mean to be rude," he said, "but you've aged a lot since you took me out of camp. Are spirit's lives unusually short?"

"The lives of me and my littermates are," Yellowfang said. "We last only as long as the holiday. I will die at midnight."

Tigerstar thought he saw something behind Yellowfang. "I don't want to pry, but is there something behind you?"

"There could be," Yellowfang said, moving aside to reveal the two most repulsive cats Tigerstar had ever seen. They looked about apprentice-age.

"Are these yours, Yellowfang?" Tigerstar asked.

"No, they belong to all the cats of the world. The she-cat is Want, the tom is Ignorance. Beware them both, but the tom especially."

The two started going away. "I must leave now, too," Yellowfang said.

"You're leaving me for the last spirit?" Tigerstar said, getting an ominous feeling.

"Yes. Go, and get to know him better, cat," Yellowfang said.

Suddenly, a fierce and savage wind blew into them. Tigerstar had to dig his claws into the ground to stop himself from being blown away. He watched in shock as Yellowfang, still looking at him, began to turn to dust that was blown away by the wind. It started at the tip of her tail, and at her paws, and spread up her, until only her face remained, still looking at him. All at once, she was blown away completely, the wind stopped, and Tigerstar was alone again.

(1) I don't mean to offend anyone with this.

(2) I know it doesn't really rhyme, but I don't think they've heard of Israel.

And that's all for now. Thanks to everyone supporting this story. Please R&R, constructive criticism appreciated, flames are bad, Gamer4 out.