Havenspirit's Heart - Chapter Three
Chapter Date:
WARNING: 2.1K WORDS AHEAD. BRACE YOURSELVES.
The patrol of four she-cats roamed the wide and vast moors of DeltaClan territory. All the time, Ottertail was bouncing around the two black she-cats, and Havenkit was starting to get annoyed from all of the noises that echoed into the wind. She looked up at Snowheart, who was still carrying her. Havenkit's eyes sparkled with mischief when a question formulated in her head. She turned back to the moors that lay in front of them, looking away from the she-cat. "Snowheart," The black she-cat blinked and her ear twitched in reply. Satisfied that Snowheart had her attention, Havenkit continued. "How do you bear with Ottertail?"
Snowheart blinked, amber eyes (I think... It wasn't in the description) sparkling with surprise. She stopped briefly, a stutter in her step, but the black she-cat still padded on. "What do you mean, Havenkit?" she mumbled around the kit's scruff fur. Havenkit continued watching the landscape change around her, not bothering to turn her head to answer.
"I think I know what you think I mean." The grey and white mottled tabby she-kit answered Snowheart, her right ear flicking. Snowheart couldn't reply, too stunned that a kit like Havenkit would question her like that.
"We don't deal with her. She is our Clanmate, and she has earned her place in DeltaClan, making her a respected, yet energetic warrior." Snowheart muttered. "This her personality, and I've known her for almost all of my life. She hasn't changed, and she never will." Havenkit nodded. "Sometimes, young Havenkit," Snowheart continued, her voice still muffled by the fur. "We are given gifts, and it our choice on what we do with them." Snowheart turned her head in the direction of the bouncing she-cat. "Ottertail is a gift, and it's our own choice on what we make of her."
Havenkit didn't respond, and Snowheart sniffed, slightly miffed. "She's asleep, isn't she?" Ender came into close contact of Snowheart.
"I'm... I'm not sure." Ender nodded, and dipped her head to Havenkit's level.
"She's knocked out."
"The poor scrap. I wonder what she has gone through in her short life."
"Hopefully not anything traumatic." Ender sniffed, eyes flashing purple in the midday sun. "Ironheart and Revenant would decide on what to do with her."
"What about the queens?" Snowheart whispered, careful not to disturb Havenkit. Ender looked away.
"They'll have a say in this too. One of them has got to adopt her." She looked at Ottertail, who had bounded ahead of both of them. "I bet I know what Ottertail is going to do."
"Spreading the word. Looks like she can't hold it in." Snowheart agreed, her amber eyes sparkling. "The temptation is too great."
"Great VoidClan." Ender muttered, as she padded away to catch up to the bouncing black and brown speckled white she-cat. "I can't deal with this anymore." Snowheart watched her clanmate, watching her run towards Ottertail and give her a few stern words, only for them to bounce off and fall onto deaf ears. Snowheart purred quietly, her chest vibrating slightly, but the movement alerted Havenkit, who stirred, giving out a small mew.
We'd better get this kit to safety. Snowheart thought, picking up her pace, and trying unsuccessfully to catch up with the pair, who were leaving her behind. Oh well, there's no point in keeping her asleep. We're approaching soon, and I really need to catch up to them. Sorry Havenkit. She continued to steadily picked up the pace, and started running, making Havenkit bump into her chest over time and time again, waking her up.
"Wha...?" She groggily murmured, still bumping against Snowheart's white chest. Squeaking in surprise, she was surprised to see the land under her slightly blur, meaning that Snowheart was running. Fast. Really, really, fast. Within what seemed was a few seconds that had past by, Snowheart stopped, the land slowing down, and gaining more clarity and definition of shape.
Together, the patrol approached a large patch of boulders, with sheer cliffs shielding something on the inside. Havenkit could only watch as Ottertail yowled out, signalling something, and from on top of the right-hand side of the cliff, a shadow moved, getting up to it's feet, and dashing off, streaking away, as if it had never existed. Havenkit looked up at Snowheart, who was now only slowly padding, pacing back and forth.
"Ender, are we able to pass now?" Snowheart muttered. Ender flicked her ear just as a yowl came from within the cliff, and Havenkit flinched in shock, her tail twitching nervously. The other black cat, now known as Ender, padded forward, and squeezed inside a reasonably large, yet cosy gasp between the rocks, and Ottertail followed her, followed by Snowheart with Havenkit. Havenkit, now confused, watched as the landscape changed around her, shifting from an open moor, to a cozy, yet comfortable cove that was overlooking the sea, sandstone and stone walls with paths surrounding them.
Large caves dotted the walls, and when she squinted in the light, Havenkit could see that there were bodies of cats inside of them, resting in the shade. Near the edge of the clearing, on the furthest edge, closer to the sea, was a hanging old willow tree, and when Snowheart padded closer, Havenkit could see that there were holes wide enough for cats to comfortably pad into. In the shadows of the tree though, inside the cover of the leaf-filled branches, Havenkit caught the gleam of silver eyes, staring at her, and a ghostly white pelt.
Gulping, she looked back up at Snowheart, who's gaze was still fixed on the far edge of the clearing, fixed on the white cat. Who in VoidClan is that? Meeting Snowheart's gaze unflinchingly, he nodded slightly, and a tremor passed through Havenkit.
Oh geez. He's scary. She thought, and Snowheart turned away, heading to one of the dens near far edge of the clearing, at the bottom of the cliff. Ivy draped the entrance of the den, and the sun shone through, creating shadows that overwhelmed the inside. "Where'd Ender and Ottertail go?" she murmured to Snowheart. Snowheart tipped her head in reply, dropping Havenkit outside the ivy-covered entrance of the den.
"They're... somewhere." Havenkit noticed Snowheart's amber eyes gleaming with a slight discomfort, and the black she-cat looked away, catching a glimpse of Ender entering one of the tunnels under the willow tree. Havenkit didn't seem to notice the movement, as she was too busy yawning, jaws gaped wide in exhaustion, showing a baby-pink maw, lined with sharp little teeth. Mid-yawn, Havenkit stopped, noticing Snowheart staring at her. Closing her jaws quickly, she flattened her ears as a rumble was heard. Snowheart had her ears flattened in surprise, as she heard the rumble.
"Sorry." Havenkit looked away, avoiding eye contact with Snowheart. With a small sound, Snowheart purred and padded away, bounding to the other end of the clearing with swift bounds, leaving Havenkit alone.
Slightly afraid and alone in this unknown camp, Havenkit felt stares piercing her fur, from all around her. Wincing, she caught the eye of a ginger tom with black stripes, his amber eyes catching her blue-green ones, and he turned away, whispering something into another cat's ears, a lithe amber and silver calico, amber eyes gleaming with interest and curiosity. Havenkit tore her gaze away, and focused on other things, watching cats nestled in a den diagonally above her, their gazes burning.
One of them, a dark grey tabby tom with white paws and a muzzle, stared at her, and she unflinchingly met his gaze. A pretty amber-gold she-cat with green eyes was whispering something to him, but he turned to her and snarled something back, and she hissed, turning her head away and flattening her ears, before proceeding to talk to a silent white tom with cobalt eyes, with something red around his neck area. He stared at he unblinkingly, and Havenkit stared to get up, wanting to get away, but a tail wrapped around her.
She flinched, and stood stock still. But as soon as she blinked, she relaxed, and a familiar scent wafted over her nose. "Snowheart," she shuffled her paws uneasily. "Why is everyone staring at me?" Snowheart only replied by dropping something in front of Havenkit, who eyed it suspiciously. The thing looked slimy in the sunlight, and it's skin was a reflective silver, flashing a rainbow in front of Havenkit. She pawed it uneasily. "What is... this?"
Snowheart stopped grooming herself. "It's a fish." Telling Havenkit as she kept pawing it uneasily. "Stop doing that. You're going to spoil it." The kit looked disgusted at the sight of it. "Are you going to eat it?"
"It looks disgusting!"
"It's food. You're hungry right?"
"Yes, but..." Havenkit trailed off. Snowheart sighed, exasperated.
"But what?"
"Nevermind." Havenkit reluctantly bent her head down and sniffed it, smelling it's wet skin, before taking a bite out of it, savouring the flesh. Havenkit didn't look back up. Snowheart recognised the gleam in Havenkit's eyes, purring.
"So, how is it?" The black and white she-cat asked the small kit. Havenkit didn't reply, and only the purring and the soft munching of fish responded to the question.
It was a smaller sized fish than the average size of the fish that were caught in the nearby streams, so it was the perfect size of a meal for a three moon old kit. Within no time at all, Havenkit left the fish, leaving it's bones on the ground. Having the decency not to litter, she dug a shallow hole, and buried the bones.
By now, the sun was setting, and Havenkit was starting to yawn again. Sleepy and content, Snowheart lead the kit into the ivy-draped den. Inside, there were five she-cats, and all were welcoming to her, but Havenkit wasn't bothered about introductions, as she was too dazed to do anything other than to collapse by Snowheart's paws to fall asleep.
Havenkit didn't hear the murmurs of kindness as Snowheart picked her up, or even the movement of Snowheart picking her up and placing her under the care of Crystalheart, a she-cat with the same patched pattern, save for the mottling of Havenkit's fur. Her blue eyes gleamed with warmth as Havenkit was snuggled in, next to her now foster brothers and sister. Confident that she was in good paws, the black and white she-cat mewed her goodbyes for the day to the queens of DeltaClan.
"It's time." A black tom approached Snowheart, his white chest flashing in the dying sun. His white tipped tail flicked for Snowheart to follow him, bounding up on of the slopes leading up to the large willow. As the pair approached the tunnels, Snowheart turned her head to the tom.
"Does he know?" The black tom nodded, his green eyes reflecting the fading sunlight.
"Ender reported back to him as soon as her patrol came back." The black tom muttered. "And Ottertail has been blabbering to all of the news to everyone, so, I'm pretty sure that the whole of DeltaClan is informed." He growled, ducking into one of the tunnels and running. Snowehart followed the tom, feeling the walls made of sandstone and stone brush against her fur. Without warning, the pair emerged into a den, an opening in the tunnel, and it opened up to a spacious area, with a wall missing to show the view of the nearby large expanse of water that the Clan cats called 'The Vast Lake'.
At first glance, there was nobody in the den, except a few bundles of moss, but in the shadows, something moved. The black tom stepped hesitantly forward, closer to the shadows in the corner of the den. "We're here." Nothing moved, until a white and grey mottled tail peeked out of the shadows, and Snowheart caught the first glimpse of silver eyes, narrowed in curiosity. Slowly, one paw placed in front of the other, a white and grey mottled tom appeared, his fur sleek and shiny. His silver eyes gleamed in the moonlight.
"R-revenant." Snowheart greeted him. The ghostly tom nodded, and sat down in front of the two cats. He turned to the black tom.
"Ironheart. Is it true?" he asked, and Ironheart nodded, green eyes wide. He then turned to Snowheart.
"Tell me everything."
ASoBS Says ~
Hey there! Sorry for the late update on this! I'm pretty busy with my family, and we had a really fun time on Christmas eve and on the day. Thanks for all of the reviews! It's reassuring that I have readers. You guys deserve a long one today, due to the hiatus.
Shoutout Corner ~
I-Really-Hope-Not - First Reviewer!
Rubybird2329 - Second Reviewer!
Tawnypelt37 - Third Reviewer!
I want to give more shoutouts, but I've limited myself to three... I wish I could all thank you.
Review Corner ~
I-Really-Hope-Not ~ Good question deduction. Here's DeltaClan!
Rubybird2329 ~ Thanks! Updates are coming.
Tawnypelt37 ~ Thanks, and welcome! I am glad to hear that I executed Ender's personalty well.
Silverstream000 ~ Thanks. Everyone will remember Tigerstar though.
Mewkitcat ~ She certainly is. Thanks!
Shadowdapple of ThunderClan ~ Thanks for the review! It's true, that Havenkit should be more wary, but thinking about what's she gone to, you've got to give her some elbow space.
Breezestar of CinderClan ~ Well, you've got to find out!
GoldenOakLeavesOfWindClan ~ Yep! Thank you!
FuturisticVampire ~ We all want to see him bud, we all.
Question Corner ~
Thanks for all of the answers! What do you think of DeltaClan? And who do you think will cause trouble?
I'll see you next time!
~ ASoBS