A moon had passed since Rockstripe demanded Valorclaw find a new mate, yet he still hadn't told Whispersong. His fathers words echoed through his mind all the time, and he purposely avoided her through out the day. Whispersong grew confused and worried, she could tell something was bothering her mate. Frost settled on the colorful leaves in the clearing now, it was getting colder each day. The sun was dim as Whispersong padded outside the Warrior's den. Scanning the clearing for any sign of Valorclaw, she sighed and trudged over to her favorite spot in the camp; the beech tree where she used to share her meals with Valorclaw everyday. The tree was bare now, its leaves carpeted the ground beneath it. She sat and waited for Valorclaw to return from his personal hunting trip.
The sun was slowly sinking by the time he returned with a small chaffinch and a mouse. He dropped the chaffinch at Whispersong's paws and turned to leave.
"Wait! What's wrong with you lately?" Whispersong blurted out, jumping up. Valorclaw looked up at her with sad eyes.
"Just a bit of a bellyache, but it's nothing..." he quickly invented. She didn't believe him.
"You can tell me, you know? I'm your mate. I'll listen to whatever you have to tell me." she persued eagerly. She didn't like her mate telling her lies.
"I told you I'm fine!" he replied and dashed off before she could say anything else.
Angrily, she ate the chaffinch then stood up. The sun was still up, it wasn't too late to go hunting. She trotted out of the camp and into the woods beyond.
Valorclaw wondered through the forest, angry with himself for snapping at Whispersong. He couldn't bare to tell her what Rockstripe told him, it'd break her heart. His paws took him to the north side of the forest where he rarely ever hunted. The trees were bare further this way, and the wind blew the leaves into the air then back down again. Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from in front of him. Valorclaw sniffed the air but there was no scent of an intruder. The sound came again, followed by a sudden stop. He froze, wondering if it was a squirrel digging up it's supplies for Leafbare. Less than a heartbeat later a cat flew out of the bushes behind him and crashed into Valorclaw with a yowl. The stranger bowled him over and pinned him to the ground on this back. Valorclaw opened his eyes and blinked. Staring down at him with both paws on his shoulders was a beautiful she-cat with grey fur that looked slightly pink in the sunlight. Her eyes were a shining teal color and their gazes locked for a moment. In that single moment, time seemed to have stopped between them. He was glued to the spot, his limbs unable to move. The she-cats eyes were round and captivating, Valorclaw couldn't stop staring. It was the she-cat who broke the connection and looked away.
"Oh I-I'm really sorry! I thought you were a rogue or something..." she stammered nervously. The she-cat jumped off him to allow him to stand back up.
"I-it's ok, you just shocked me a little. Nice leap by the way. What's your name?" he asked, smiling.
"Thanks. My name is Lilyheart." she then replied blushing.
"I'm Valorclaw. I haven't seen you around camp before."
"Oh I've only been a warrior for a moon." Lilyheart answered. She turned and noticed a scratch was bleeding on his shoulder.
"You're bleeding! I'm so sorry, let me help you." she fretted, lapping at the blood. Valorclaw winced as her rough tongue ran over his wound.
"It's not too deep, but you'll need to get it treated as soon as possible. It can get infected." she meowed between licks. Valorclaw nodded. She let him lean against her as they plodded back into camp. In the medicine cat den, Valorclaw was laid in a nest with some strange smelling herbs plastered on his shoulder wound.
"Thanks Hailcloud. It feels much better now." he thanked the medicine cat. Hailcloud smiled with acknowledgement.
"No problem. You can go now, but come straight back if it starts bleeding again." he nodded then went outside. Lilyheart was waiting patiently.
"I'm fine now, thanks for helping me back." he meowed thankfully.
"I'm glad you're ok." Lilyheart sighed with relief. "Um, do you want to share this squirrel I caught today?" she added hastily, nudging a squirrel on the ground.
"Sure!" Valorclaw replied quickly. The two settled beside the fresh-kill pile with the squirrel between them, eating happily.
Whispersong trotted back to camp with a large rabbit. A perfect meal to share with Valorclaw while discussing his worries and problems. As she approached the fresh-kill pile, she spotted Valorclaw sat with another she-cat. Frightened and angry, she dumped her kill on the pile and stomped up to Valorclaw. The way the two sat together made her uneasy.
"I caught a rabbit for you, but it seems you've already eaten." she gulped down her anger. Lilyheart looked up at her with curiosity.
"Hi there, why don't you eat with us?" she asked politely. Whispersong was starving after her hunt, but she resisted the tasty looking squirrel.
"No thanks. Can I have a word with Valorclaw?" she smiled innocently at them both.
"Sure, excuse me Lilyheart." Valorclaw answered getting to his paws. Without a word, the two padded to the back of the medicine cat den where no one could overhear their conversation. Whispersong rounded on him.
"Who's that?" she meowed as innocently as she could. Valorclaw shuffled his paws.
"Just another warrior who wanted to share their squirrel with me. Why are you making such a big deal about it?" he snapped angrily.
"I saw you! Both of you in the forest today! Do you really love me, Valorclaw?" she hissed back through clenched teeth.
"Of course I do!" Valorclaw replied astonished.
"It doesn't look like it to me. You've been avoiding me for over a moon now, you won't tell me what's wrong, you're lieing to me everyday, and now you're hanging around with other she-cats!" she blurted out, panting heavily now. Valorclaw went silent and daren't look up at Whispersong.
"I'm fed-up with this now, Valorclaw. You can have you're pretty Lilyheart! I hope you're happy." she shouted furiously at him. Valorclaw opened his mouth to answer back, but Whispersong had already stormed off to the other side of the clearing. Sadly, he traipsed back to Lilyheart who had finished the remains of the squirrel.
Whispersong ate her rabbit alone at the edge of the clearing, ignoring the questioning eyes looking towards her from around the camp. Once she had finished, she groomed her pelt then padded into the Warrior's den to sleep. She chose a nest at the back of the den, furthest away from Valorclaw's usual spot, and settled down to sleep. I have absolutely no regrets about today. She told herself, somehow she doubted her own words. She closed her eyes and let sleep wash over her.