Hi guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while! Happy belated Halloween! I went trick-or-treating in Golders Green (London) and I went to Jonathan Ross's house. It was really crowded. Okay, enough about my halloween. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Twenty-eight
Dovewing sat in front of the Sky Oak while Jayfeather paced madly in front of her. They had started meeting in the forest, because the space behind the nursery had become much too small for four full grown cats. Ivypool sat next to Lionblaze across from Dovewing. They'd been listening to his ranting for a while, ever since Ivypool shared her news about the ambush.
"What are we going to do?" hissed Jayfeather. "We have to find out the cats in the prophecy before this ambush happens!" Dovewing blinked calmly back at him.
"We should divide and conquer." She announced. Ivypool nodded, but Jayfeather and Lionblaze stared blankly at her. "Ugh! Okay, imagine that…the prophecy is a battle- or, or, a raging illness. Would you run around in circles, or would you break it into smaller parts so it's easier to handle?" Dovewing sat back, pleased with herself. Jayfeather was nodding, but Lionblaze was still frowning.
"I don't know, I might just charge at the enemy." He meowed. Jayfeather and Dovewing sighed in unison.
"That was just an analogy, mousebrain! What I'm saying is that we should each do one thing to help decipher the prophecy." Dovewing snapped, rolling her eyes. "Right Ivypool?" she asked. There was no response, and Dovewing looked over to where her sister was sitting. "Ivypool?" her sister had dozed off on the spot. Jayfeather prodded her with a paw, and she shot up.
"Sorry, sorry! I've just been pretty tired lately. What were we saying?" Ivypool asked, blinking rapidly. Dovewing frowned; something was up with her sister. She just had to find out what it was… She was jolted out of her thoughts by Jayfeather's voice.
"Okay, Lionblaze says who he thinks is part of the prophecy, and Dovewing investigates it. I'll keep a close eye on the prophecy, and Ivypool can discover more about the ambush from the inside. Sound good?" Jayfeather asked, looking carefully at each cat. They all agreed. Lionblaze and Dovewing ran back to camp together, since Ivypool went hunting, and Jayfeather herb collecting.
"Something's up with Ivypool." Lionblaze and Dovewing chorused at the same time. Dovewing stared at Lionblaze, and he stared back.
"What are you talking about?" Dovewing asked. "Because I'm just saying that she's not acting like herself. I don't have any hard evidence or anything, but she keeps taking naps." Lionblaze nodded.
"And I think she's having relationship troubles with Toadstep." Lionblaze and Dovewing were both silent for a moment before Dovewing spoke again.
"Well, I don't know what it is that's bothering her, but I'm going to find out." Dovewing's blue eyes glinted. "Remember to tell me any ideas of who you think is involved in the prophecy." She meowed before Lionblaze went off to the highrock to organize patrols. He flicked his tail to show that he'd heard her. Dovewing slid into the nursery and sent out her hearing. Disappointed, she found that Ivypool was hunting a mouse, and had already caught a shrew. So she had really been hunting, and it wasn't just a cover up. Dovewing had no sooner woken her kits from their nap then Lionblaze came running in, flanks heaving with excitement.
"Can I speak to you, outside?" he asked eagerly. Dovewing felt her heart leap. What if he found a cat in the prophecy?
"Stay here for minute." She instructed her kits before following Lionblaze outside. The golden tom began pacing excitedly. "Get on with it." Dovewing instructed her former mentor.
"Okay, okay- Fernpaw's got powers!" he exclaimed. Dovewing's mind began racing. Fernpaw? It was possible. "She was just looking at me, and her eyes were shining! I mean really brightly. It's gotta be some sort of power!" Dovewing felt her enthusiasm deflate.
"Shiny eyes?" she asked dubiously. When Lionblaze nodded eagerly, she sighed and shook her head. "It was probably just the sun reflecting off of her eyes." Dovewing told him. Lionblaze wasn't stupid, but he could be reckless and over excitable.
"Oops." He said. "Well, I better get back to patrolling." He embarrassedly licked some of his chest fur before bounding off. Dovewing sighed and shook her head again.
When Ivypool returned from hunting, the first thing she did was lie in the sun and eat one of her mice. She watched Bramblestar coming out of his den and stand on highrock. She wondered what was happening. But when she saw Lionblaze and Cinderheart's kits come bouncing out of the nursery with their pelts neatly groomed, she could imagine. When the whole Clan had assembled, Bramblestar started the ceremony.
"Honeykit, do you also promise to uphold the warrior code with your life?" Honeykit was quivering with excitement.
"I do." She squealed.
"Then from this day until the day you receive your warrior name, you'll be known as Honeypaw. Leafpool will be your mentor." There were some gasps from the Clan. "Leafpool was a great medicine cat, and is an equally respectable warrior." Bramblestar meowed firmly. Leafpool and Honeypaw touched noses cautiously. He went on to apprentice Thistlekit to Berrynose, Dreamkit to Brackenfur, Hollykit to Cloudtail, and as promised, Goldenkit to Thornclaw.
"Honeypaw! Thistlepaw! Dreampaw! Hollypaw! Goldenpaw!" the Clan yowled cheerfully, Ivypool among them. When the ceremony was over, Ivypool went to the warriors' den for a nap. As she entered, her flanks scraped against the sides of the opening. Ivypool wasn't dumb; she-cats who were constantly hungry, tired, and getting fat were usually expecting kits. But she hadn't ever… oh wait. There was that one time… But still!
She couldn't tell anyone. She wasn't even sure if she and Toadstep were mates or not. Lately he'd been trying to talk to her, but she'd always been too busy. She couldn't remember if she saw him at the ceremony just now or not. Speaking of ceremonies, Snowpaw's warrior ceremony would be coming up very soon. Where would she be then? Would she go to the nursery, or stay a warrior? Ivypool curled up in her nest, and fell into a deep sleep.
Luckily, it was dreamless, and when she woke up, it was late afternoon. Her stomach growled, and she ate a squirrel before glancing around the clearing. Toadstep wasn't among the cats in the clearing, although she wished he were. When he came back from his hunting patrol, Ivypool cornered him.
"Toadstep, we need to talk. In private." She demanded. She and Toadstep went out to a secluded clearing in the forest, far from camp. "Listen," she said. "Are we mates or not?" she asked. Toadstep looked overjoyed.
"Do you want to be?" he asked excitedly. "I've been trying to talk to you for moons, but you blew me off every time." Ivypool felt relieved and guilty at the same time. It was true, though.
"Well we better be mates." She told him seriously. "I'm expecting kits, and you're the only one that could be the father." She searched Toadstep's face. He looked happy.
"That's great, Ivypool. A cloud of confusion crossed his face. "Are you going to move into the nursery?" he asked. Ivypool paused, and then shook her head.
"I have to keep being a warrior at least until Snowpaw becomes a warrior. Which shouldn't be long now. But don't tell anyone about the kits. I'm not sure if I want anyone to know yet." Toadstep frowned.
"Not even your sister?" he asked. Ivypool let out a rueful laugh.
"Especially not my sister. She loves kits so much she'd probably tell the whole Clan in a heartbeat."
Jayfeather was sorting dock leaves in his den when Lionblaze raced in.
"I found a cat in the prophecy!" he exclaimed. Jayfeather sighed and continued stripping the leaves off the stalk of dock. "Really!" he insisted. "I did!" Jayfeather continued with his work for a bit longer just to annoy his brother.
"This isn't another 'shiny eyes' theory, is it?" Jayfeather asked casually. Lionblaze rolled his eyes.
"No! It's Goldenpaw! Everyone was training their apprentices down by the mossy hollow, and Goldenpaw beat her mentor on the first try. Do you know what Thornclaw said then? He said that she inherited her father's skill at fighting. Do you get it? She's really good at fighting, like me." Jayfeather was impressed. After Dovewing told him about Lionblaze's first speculation, he thought maybe he'd given him the wrong job. But this actually made sense. Goldenpaw was related to Firestar through Lionblaze, and it was very possible that she had a special power.
"Hmm. Alright. Why don't you go tell Dovewing?" Jayfeather suggested. Lionblaze raced out of his den, still excited. The second he left, Ivypool crept in, her head down. Jayfeather frowned; he racked his mind, trying to remember if he asked Ivypool to meet with him for any reason. He came up blank, and decided that she showed up for reasons of her own.
"Hey Ivypool. Can I help you?" Jayfeather asked as he picked up a wad of marigold leaves and put them in the stored. Ivypool shifted her weight from paw to paw. Jayfeather thought she looked nervous.
"Do you promise not to tell anybody this?" Ivypool asked. Jayfeather tried to think of something so secretive that he couldn't tell anybody anything about. Finally he made up his mind.
"Fine." Jayfeather relented. He did want to hear what Ivypool had to say. He was the medicine cat; it was his job to help the cats who needed it, especially if they wanted privacy. Ivypool took a deep breath.
"I think I'm expecting kits." Ivypool said. Jayfeather wished he could say that he was surprised, but he had thought it only a matter of time before she and Toadstep had gotten together officially.
"Cool." He said, drawing his paw over his ear. Ivypool glared at him and paced around the clearing.
"That's all you're going to say?" she demanded. Jayfeather shrugged and continued grooming his pelt.
"Tons of she-cats have kits. You're not the only one. What do you want me to say?" he asked. Ivypool shrugged.
"I don't know. Something useful, maybe. I don't know whether to go to the nursery or not." She told him. Jayfeather guffawed.
"So you're just planning on being a warrior right up until the minute your kits are born?" he snickered. Ivypool paced across his den, kicking over a pile of dock leaves in the process. Jayfeather squeaked in protest.
"I just finished sorting those!"
Ivypool's expecting kits! I love Jayfeather's reaction 'Cool'. Okay, I'll try to update soon. R&R!