The Heart of a Lion

Chapter 20: Rejection

Lionblaze braced himself as he pushed through the camp wall. He didn't even try to look up at his Clanmates as he trotted toward the nursery. Obviously hoping he wouldn't be noticed wasn't going to make that a reality. Almost immediately cries of surprise erupted all over the clearing.

"Look! Kits!" Icepaw shrieked. "Dustpelt, come look!"

"Did I hear something about kits?" Squirrelflight meowed.

Soon everyone was murmuring and trailing after Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather, staring at the little bundles of kit they carried with them. Just three more tail-lengths to the nursery…

"Lioblaze. Hollyleaf. Jayfeather!"

He halted in his tracks, Silverkit mewling impatiently and trying to squirm free. He could imagine Firestar's authoritative figure towering majestically on the High Rock behind him. He knew he couldn't hide in the nursery from his leader or his curious Clanmates. Lionblaze turned around, straightened his back, and tried to meet his Clanmates' stares with pride.

"ThunderClan, quiet," Firestar ordered over the mumbling.

"Have him explain why he has those kits," Daisy meowed. She was restraining her maternal instincts and barely stopped herself from going over and tackling the kits in a grooming frenzy.

"I should have known you three were up to something," Firestar said, acknowledging all the mischief the three littermates always got into. Maybe bringing orphaned kits in the Clan wasn't a surprise to him. "Will one of you explain where you got them?"

Hollyleaf and Jayfeather remained silent. They turned to looka t Lionblaze. They didn't know more about the kits than anyone else. They were waiting along with everyone else to hear him explain them.

"I found them." Lionblaze realized how shaky his voice sounded and quickly cleared it to sound more convincing. "They were all alone."

"I smell WindClan," Thornclaw hissed suspiciously. The brown tabby warrior flattened his ears as if the small kits were really a threat.

"I found them along the WindClan border," he lied. "They must have carried some of the WindClan scent from the moorlands."

"So you took them?" Firestar confirmed. "They don't belong to anyone?"

"No," Lionblaze answered. "Hollyleaf and Jayfeather helped me look around. We didn't see anyone. They were just abandoned. I couldn't leave them."

"Lionblaze, tell them what you were doing on the ThunderClan border," Hollyleaf prompted.

Lionblaze gave her a hard stare. Whose side was she on? Did she weasel over to side with her Clanmates because by the warrior code, she had to side with her leader? "I was just out hunting by myself. That is when I stumbled across them."

"Hollyleaf and I were looking for herbs," Jayfeather added. "We found Lionblaze with these kits, so we helped him carry them here. They need someone to care for them."

Daisy was the first to break out of the crowd and smother the kits, stealing them from the three immediately. "Oh, you poor dears. Of course I will look after you. Come on. Let's get you a nice nest."

The kits were still shaken from being taken away from their home and trekked all the way across the forest, but they found comfort in Daisy. They liked her immediately and followed after her. Lionblaze watched them go, glad to see they would be safe. He hoped they didn't say anything about living in WindClan. They were probably to young to blurt out anything like that, he reassured himself.

"Firestar, what do you want to do?" Brambleclaw, the deputy, asked. He had been sitting passively by the whole time.

"This is a lot to take in at once," Firestar admitted. "I guess we have no choice but to keep them. We will send a search patrol to find any cat who might have lost them. It is awfully suspicious that kits were abandoned. There haven't been any signs of rogues or loners for moons, but if someone comes to claim them, we will give them back. Daisy has already agreed to take care of them."

Lionblaze breathed a sigh of relief. "They won't be a trouble, Firestar," he promised. He stood there until his Clanmates broke apart. Brambleclaw ordered a patrol to go back to the WindClan border while others resumed their usual activities. Others mingled in tight groups, muttering and glancing at Lionblaze, undoubtfully talking about his kits. He made a move to go in the nursery to check on them.

Jayfeather stopped him. "Lionblaze?"

"What?" he asked, sensing that Jayfeather knew more than he was letting on.

"I know you were lying about those kits," he whispered.

Lionblaze stared back, astonished. "What do you want me to say?"

"You don't have to say anything," his knowledgeable brother replied. "I just want you to be careful. I won't press you for details, but I know there is a bigger story behind those kits. We all know you finding them abandoned in the woods is a pack of lies. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. As far as you're concerned, I believe your story."

"Thanks, Jayfeather. I don't want to be secretive. I just need time to think." Then he vanished in the nursery.