Chapter 31

"Seeds of the Smitten."

4/19/17 - 4/20/17

"Let's play hide and seek!" Drizzlekit, Seedkit and Creekkit look at Ripplekit.

"But we already played that two days ago." Drizzlekit said.

"So we'll play it differently."

"Like how?" Creekkit asks. "Go outside at night and play hide and seek then?"

Ripplekit slowly forms a smile. "That's actually a great idea!"

Creekkit bushes her light grey tabby fur. "Now wait a minute - it was a joke!"

"Didn't you hear about those strange animals that killed Cloudwind?" Drizzlekit put in.

"We'll be hiding." Ripplekit retorts, as if it was an obvious solution. "We'll be so well hidden that those animals won't ever find us!"

Drizzlekit and Creekkit were silently agreeing with Ripplekit, but Seedkit sits back, reluctant, and Ripplekit sees it.

"C'mon. You're not scared, are you?"

Something flared inside Seedkit's chest, and lashes his tail. "No!"

Ripplekit smiled at his response. "Good. Now we have to wait and let the games begin."

The darkness falls over the forest. Seedkit knew his littermates have already left, and he fakes sleeping to get out of it.

What if those beasts have already gotten them?

Seedkit lifts his head up. Spottedberry and her kits were sleeping, at least he hopes so, since Leopardkit is a light sleeper and seems to stick his nose into everything. Seedkit shies away from Sweetflower's tail, and climbs from the nest.

Seedkit pads out of the thorn barrier, and up the gorge, and blinks at the darkness and tall trees towering over him.

"Hey!"

The pale ginger tom jumped out of his fur and turns around to see Leopardkit.

"Leopardkit, what are you doing out here?!"

"What are you doing out here?"

Seedkit frowns. "That's only for me to know. Why don't you go back?"

Leopardkit blinks. "Oooh. I get it. You're on a secret mission!"

Leopardkit winks at Seedkit and pads back to the camp. Seedkit stands there, perplexed, and shakes his head and vanishes into the forest.

Pineheart takes over Blazefrost's guarding position. She yawns and keeps watch for anything. Pineheart needed a distraction from Hawkfeather and Mistpool. She knows her distance from her sister has made everyone talk about her, and tries to ignore them as she tries to get back to normalcy.

Pineheart smells a whiff of scent blowing through the air.

Why does it smell like milk from when Graystream…?

Pineheart feels her fur prick. She turns and goes back to camp and enters the nursery. Spottedberry's kits were accounted for, but Sweetflower's nest was empty.

"Sweetflower! Wake up, where are the kits?" Pineheart pokes the tortoiseshell and white she-cat's side, waking her up.

"Huh? Their right…" Sweetflower looks in her nest, and her green eyes widen with horror.

"W-Where are my kits?!" Sweetflower exclaims. Spottedberry woke up with alarm as Sunkit, Emberkit and Leopardkit look at the panicking Sweetflower.

"Sweetflower, calm down and use your nose." Spottedberry told her.

"Yeah, don't worry. They went on a secret mission!" Leopardkit piped up.

Pineheart and Sweetflower look at the dark brown tom kit. Spottedberry gives her son a look.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw Seedkit. I think he and his littermates are on a secret spy mission."

Emberkit glares at her brother. "If it was supposed to be secret then you shouldn't have said anything."

Leopardkit frowns and ducks his head with embarrassment. "Oh…"

Pineheart twitches her tail nervously. "I-I'll go and find them."

Sweetflower gives the reddish brown she-cat a pleading gaze.

"Please hurry and find my kits!"

Maybe this was a bad idea.

Creekkit lost sight of Ripplekit and Drizzlekit. She wanders aimlessly to the edge of the lake, and she sinks down toward the water when she feels teeth grabbing her scruff, and carrying her far away from the lake and dumping her on the ground.

Creekkit looks up and sees a white dog turning tail and running off into the forest, limping like it was injured.

"Creekkit!"

The light grey tabby looks from the dog and sees Nightsong, Ashcloud and Littlefalcon rushing to her.

"You are in so much trouble!" Ashcloud exclaims, wrapping his front paw around Creekkit protectively. Creekkit didn't respond. Instead, she looks back at the forest and thinks about that white dog.

Seedkit starts to become scared. He stops near the edge of the lake and looks at his darkened surroundings. A tan blur swoops down in the form of an owl with its talons reaching for him when Pineheart comes out of the shadows and struck the owl down.

Seedkit, surprised, trips backwards and falls into the lake. Seedkit fights to get to the surface despite sinking down. A cat dives through and swims down to him. A light brown paw pulls up Seedkit and grasps his scruff with her teeth.

Pineheart resurfaces with Seedkit and swims to shore. Littlefalcon, Nightsong, and Ashcloud spot her and wait by the shore with Creekkit. Pineheart pulls herself up and drops Seedkit, shivering violently.

"Seedkit, Seedkit, are you okay?" Ashcloud asks.

Seedkit trembles. "I'm cold…"

"Hold on, Pineheart." Littlefalcon nudges Pineheart on her paws, and she sneezes.

"Great StarClan… Let's get these two checked out by Hailstone." Suggested Ashcloud.

Darkstar's patrol didn't have to go far to find Ripplekit and Drizzlekit. They were caught in thorn bushes and were making enough noise to locate them.

Sweetflower and Ashcloud's kits were confined in the nursery except for Seedkit, who is recovering. In the early morning, Seedkit regains consciousness.

He opens his eyes and sees fur with the color of darkened fire, with the sun shining on her pelt. Pineheart's head is leaning over the rim when she opens one eye.

Seedkit notices the scratches on her face. "Where'd you get those?"

"... Owl." Pineheart's voice is hoarse. Hailstone pads inside the den with Duskshade right behind him.

"Duskshade, take Seedkit back to the nursery, he's not running a fever so he's good to go."

"What about her?" Seedkit asks as Duskshade carries him out. The medicine cat apprentice places Seedkit in the nest with his sleeping littermates.

"Pineheart needs to be looked over, but she'll be fine after a good sleep."

Pineheart. Seedkit watches Duskshade leave. He still remembers Pineheart's dark red fur coat and smoldering green eyes. His tail quivers.

Seedkit lies next to his littermates and closes his eyes, and remembers Pineheart's heroics.

Possible ship? I'll let you decide. ;) ~ Kyubi