Suddenly a blur of gray darted out of the forest onto the badger's back. The cat began to ferociously claw the badger's back. Shadowblaze took advantage of the distraction and heaved herself onto her paws, she quickly went invisible and scrambled into the bushes. Usually she would fight, but in her current condition she didn't really think that that was a good idea. She resigned herself to crouching in the bushes and watching the fight, but after watching for a few moments her paws began to itch and a small voice in the back of her head began to nag that she hadn't had a good fight in forever. Shadowblaze growled, trying to push down her battlelust but she wasn't exactly successful. Eventually she just gave in, she darted out of the bushes and found that the cat still hadn't managed to chase off or kill the badger. She grinned, letting her dormant battle powers and Founderblood powers take over. It felt like she had just found an old friend, the powers rolled into her and she unsheathed her claws and leapt into the badger's back. The badger let out a roar of pain as her claws caught it's flesh and dug in deep. As soon as she landed on the badger's back Shadowblaze knew that she'd made a terrible mistake, her strength wasn't what it used to be and she could already feel her grip on her powers slipping away. As the badger lumbered around in a circle trying to dislodge Shadowblaze she stubbornly clung on, for how much longer she didn't know but she suddenly got a bolt of strength and she lunged forward, digging her claws into the badger's pelt, she soon reached it's head and then she wildly swung her paw towards its face. Her paw hit it's target and the badger let out a earsplitting roar and in the chaos Shadowblaze lost her grip on the badger's pelt and she was flung to the side of the clearing. Thankfully the badger ran off and Shadowblaze heaved herself to her paws and almost fell over from a wave exhaustion. She limped over to a sunny spot in the clearing and flopped down with a tired sigh. A voice called, "Hey!" Shadowblaze whipped around and spotted the other cat padding toward her, "What do you want?" she hissed, immediately wary of this new cat, "Woah, is this how you thank your savior?" Shadowblaze thought for a moment and then replied, "Thank you. Now what do you want?" the cat sighed,"Hostile aren't you? Well, I'm actually looking for a group of cats called… the clans, I think." Shadowblaze sighed, "They left, I was with them but I couldn't go with them. What's your story?" the cat grimaced, "Let's just say that I don't have such a pretty past." Shadowblaze nodded, "Well, thanks for saving my butt but I'm outa here." she walked away from the cat and out of the clearing. Halfway back to her camp Shadowblaze heard pawsteps behind her, "Wait! You never told me your name!" she groaned, "If I tell you will you go away?" "Maybe. My name's Soot." she sighed, "Fine, my name's Shadowblaze."
The smell of fresh kill woke Shadowblaze, her stomach growled and urged her to eat. She padded out of the old den that her mother had used and into her clearing, there she found Soot sitting by a pile of prey, gnawing on a mouse. Shadowblaze wrinkled her nose as she saw the small flecks of sticks and mud stuck to Soot's pelt, "Do you ever wash?" she questioned as she snatched a few pieces of prey, "Swmtwomes." Soot replied through a mouthful of mouse, "When I'm not saving stupid she-cats from badgers." Shadowblaze rolled her eyes, "I could've defended myself you know." "Yeah, sure. That's why you were lying in the dirt waiting for death." Shadowblaze didn't bother to answer, she just leaned over and cuffed Soot over the head with her paw, turning on her strength for good measure. "Ow!" "You try to fight while expecting kits!" Soot shook his head wildly and snapped back, "I bet I could!" "Game on!"
"Alright, this should do it." Shadowblaze stepped away from Soot and examined the contraption that she'd attached to her temporary campmate. "The objective is to get through your daily routine without breaking that egg." Shadowblaze instructed, "What! That's impossible! This thing will break if I do so much as poke it!" "Exactly, now either you do the challenge or you accept the fact that it's hard to fight while expecting kits." Soot grumbled in annoyance but nodded in agreement. He then turned off and went out to go through his usual routine which was go hunt and then return to the camp to laze around for the rest of day. Shadowblaze shook her head and returned to the camp and flopped down in her nest. The recent days hadn't gone too well with her, after a few days of watching Soot freeze his furry behind every night outside her camp Shadowblaze had caved and allowed Soot to take shelter in her camp. She had allowed him to sleep in the den with her too, as long as he stay on the other side of the den, she didn't need another Hawkclaw incident. Even thinking about Hawkclaw made a bitter wave of anger rise in Shadowblaze, "That little piece of-"(the rest of this thought has been censored for the innocent childs reading this) After finishing her rant Shadowblaze relaxed into her nest and began to gently groom her pelt. As she cleaned the fur on her stomach a small squirming feeling tickled her tongue, she smiled happily, her kit was moving. "OH CRAP!" a voice yowled and Shadowblaze jerked up and scrambled to her paws. She darted out of the den and found Soot standing in the entrance of the camp, covered in the goo from the bird egg Shadowblaze had strapped to his stomach. Shadowblaze looked at him and then burst out laughing, "I told you it's hard!" she bent over laughing, tears formed in her eyes as she laughed, "It's not funny!" Soot yowled. Then it was as if somecat had slammed her into a tree, Shadowblaze gasped in pain, "Soot!" she managed to squeak out, "What? What's wrong?" "I-I think the kit's coming." the playful smile melted off of Soot's face and he darted to Shadowblaze's side and muttered, "Go into the den, I'll go try to find someone, some will help." Shadowblaze barely heard him, but her paws subconsciously led her over to the den and she dropped into her nest, stifling a yowl of pain.. She remembered the countless times Fernshine had lectured her about what to do if her kits came, push. "Push! I have to push!" Shadowblaze gritted her teeth and began to push.
After what felt like an eternity the pain stopped and Shadowblaze looked down at the precious kit that she had birthed. Only then did she notice that there was more than one. Her mind began to spin, "There's only supposed to be one!" she thought as she looked at her kits, sadly both of them looked like their father. She gently turned the bigger one over and began to search the tom-kit's fur for the snake marking that the prophecy had said there would found the marking on his face, a black, twisting mark twined around his ear and then ended with the head sitting on his cheek. She sighed, this was a sure sign that the prophecy would come to pass. Sure, Shadowblaze had known that it would happen but she didn't expect to be raising the kit alone, actually it was kits.
The little tom-kit opened his eyes and Shadowblaze was surprised to see that the kit had her own blue eyes. Shadowblaze smiled and watched the kit for a moment longer before turning to the other kit. It was a very, very small she-kit, she had dark brown fur and black markings all over, on her front right paw there was a snake, it twined around her paw and it's head rested on her chest. It let out a pitiful meow and curled into a tighter ball, it was shivering. The bigger tom-kit heard his sister's wail and began to blindly squirm over to her, when he found the she-kit the tom pressed himself against her and the she-kit curled into his side, pulling from his warmth.
Shadowbaze's heart melted as she watched the two littermates and she pulled them close with her tail and decided to name them, "Twig." she decided as she looked at the tom-kit, he'd already shows that he was compassionate like her old mentor, she hoped that she could keep him that way and save the world from the Gloomforest. If she was honest to herself Shadowblaze didn't really think that the she-kit would make it through leaf-bare, and there were two more moons of it.
Snow crunched under somecat's paws as they entered the clearing, Soot poked his head into the den and his eyes widened when he saw Shadowblaze curled around the kits, "You had them." it was a simple statement but Shadowblaze could hear the undertones of relief in his words, "Yeah," she answered, "I've named the tom, this is Twig." "What about the she-kit?" Shadowblaze looked down and then lifted her head and answered, "I'll name her if she makes it through leaf-bare. Soot stared at her with a look of slight anger, "She'll make it!" Shadowblaze shrugged, "I just don't want to get too attached, all of the cats that I've ever cared for have either died or betrayed me." Soot sighed, "Fine, but please name her soon." Shadowblaze nodded, "I will."
Soot turned to go go but Shadowblaze hesitantly called, "Soot?" "Yeah?" "Will, you, will you help me raise these kits?" Soot looked surprised, "Where's their father? Shouldn't he raise them with you?" she shook her head, "He betrayed me, these kits will never know of him." Soot paused and Shadowblaze could see him thinking, "Yes, I'll help you raise them." "Thank you!" Shadowblaze grinned, "Also start calling me Shadow, I'm not in a clan anymore so I may as well change my name." he nodded and then hesitantly said, "Could we call the she-kit VIper?" Shadow smiled, "Sure."
"Mommy?" Shadow looked up from where she was reinforcing the camp wall and down at Twig, "Yes?" Twig shifted uneasily, "Viper's coughing and wheezing, she says that she's fine but I don't think she is." Shadow's eyes widened, "How bad's the coughing?" "Really bad, sometimes she hunches over, the coughing is so bad." Shadow dropped the repair supplies and instructed Twig, "Go find Soot and tell him to go look for feverfew, ok?" Twig nodded, looking worried. As soon as he left Shadow ran over to the den and found Viper in the corner that the kits liked to play in, coughing up a storm. When she caught sight of Shadow, Viper straightened up and meowed, "I'm fine." Shadow could see that she wasn't fine, even at the moment the kit was holding in coughs, "How long have you been coughing?" the kit looked uneasy, "Not long, just a few d-" the reply was cut off as Viper hunched over again, coughing out her lungs. When she stood up again Shadow could see flecks of blood on her muzzle.
"Bloodcough." Shadow whispered, "Viper, stay here, go to you nest and STAY THERE, ok?" the kit looked confused but she nodded and began to trudge over to her nest. Shadow backed out of the den and when she emerged into the clearing she found Soot and Twig play-fighting in the clearing. "Soot!" she called, Soot looked up and tipped his head, a silent question, "I need to talk to you." she hissed urgently. He stood and followed Shadow into a corner of the camp, "Viper has bloodcough." she said. Soot let out a small yelp of shock, "What?! Can we cure it?" Shadow shook her head, "Thunderclan once had an epidemic of bloodcough, evercat that was affected, died." Soot looked down, "So there's nothing we can do." Shadow shook her head.
"Mommy? Daddy? What are you talking about?" Shadow look up and found Twig standing next to her, "Nothing, dear. Just talking about camp repairs." Twig looked up at her, innocent as a kit could be, "Twig, I need you to stay away from Viper for now, ok? She had sniffles and you don't want to get them." Twig nodded and meowed, "When will Viper be better?" "Soon." Shadow replied, trying not to feel guilty about lying to her kit. Twig nodded and went off to play with a leave that had somehow survived the snow, "When are we going to tell him?" Soot asked Shadow shifted and replied, "When he realizes that Viper isn't going to get better." Soot sighed, "I guess…" Shadow turned away and returned to the den and called to Viper, "How are you doing?" "I don't really feel good." Viper replied, her voice sounded weaker than it was before. "Hold on little one, you'll feel better soon." Shadow said, trying to convince herself more than Viper but apparently it worked because Viper let out a sleepy sigh and murmured, "I think I'm gonna take a nap." Shadow slipped quietly out of the den and hissed to Soot, "Stay here, I'm going to go back to Thunderclan territory and see if there's any feverfew or catmint." Soot nodded, "Be careful."
Shadow followed the trails through the clanless strip of woods that was her home and she smiled a little as she remembered the last time she walked this path, she had been going to Thunderclan to visit Twigstar, then Twigclaw. When she shook herself out of her thoughts Shadow found herself on the Thunderclan border, only now it didn't smell like Thunderclan, it smelled like the disgusting Gloomforest cats. Shadow wrinkled her nose and crossed the border, she walked further into the forest, heading towards the camp. When she reached the camp she found a pair of guards sitting at the entrance, scanning the trees for any movement. Her senses told her that these weren't Gloomforest cats so Shadow turned invisible and slipped past them into the camp. Almost immediately she knew that she had made a huge mistake as some of the cats turned toward her and growled rumbled in their throats, these were the Gloomforest cats. Shadow hesitantly took a step towards the medicine cat's den and the cat's eyes followed her every movement. She briefly wondered why they weren't attacking her, then she remembered the prophecy, these cats didn't know that she had already had kits so they couldn't hurt her. They would need her alive to have the prophecy come true in their favor, she smiled grimly. She would never let them find her kits.
Carefully watching the cats, Shadow made her way over to the medicine cat's den and slipped inside, she grabbed a bundle of herbs and unrolled it, she sniffed the contents and was met by a bitter scent, definity not catmint. She went through almost all of the herb packet and was about to give up when she smelled the sweet smell of catmint rising from the last packet. She didn't even bother to open it, she just grabbed it and darted out of the den. However she was stopped dea in her tracks when she saw what was going on in the clearing. A she-cat and her two kits were huddled in the center of the clearing, the cat of Shadow's hate stepped forward and meowed, "Take the kits, and kill her." Shadow gasped as she saw the mass of cats work together to wrench the kits away from their mother and they were thrown into the old apprentices den. The she-cat struggled against the cats holding her and she yowled, "Give me back my kits!" Hawkclaw chuckled evilly, "No, they're our warriors now. Kill her." the she-cat let out of yowl of fear that was quickly cut off as one of the cats slashed his caws across the she-cat's stood frozen for a moment before darting towards the exit and into the forest.
She paused at the border and replayed the events that she'd seen. The she-cat was obviously a rogue which meant that the Gloomforest cats were coming the woods for kits, which meant that Shadow had to be ready to move if they began to get close to her camp and her kits. A stick cracked in the forest right behind Shadow and she whirled around. Coming face to face with Hawkclaw, "What do you want?" she spit as venomously as she could, apparently Hawkclaw didn't think she hated him that much as his eyes briefly widened with surprise. Then he regained his composure and replied, "I just want to know why you're roaming the territory as if you were still a Sandclan cat." Shadow glared at him, "I don't know where your brain went but this was never Sandclan territory, this was, is and always will be Thunderclan territory."
Hawkclaw shook his head sadly, "You don't understand, If you come back now we can become mates again, we can fulfil the prophecy!" Shadow snorted and hissed, "Like I would ever want to do that!" she could see that that wasn't the right thing to say as Hawkclaw's eyes hardened and he snarled, "Well you don't have a choice! You're coming back to Sandclan with me and you're never leaving me again!" when he finished he leapt at Shadow, claws outstretched. Shadow responded how she usually did, she unsheathed her claws and leapt to meet him midair. She felt his claws cut her pelt but she focused on sinking her claws into his pelt. They landed in a heap on the border, Shadow leapt up and slammed into Hawkclaw, making sure he stayed down. She placed a paw on his neck and hissed, "Give up already!" "Never!" he snarled and he slammed his hind paws into her stomach, she flew backward, the wind knocked out of her. Shadow rolled onto her side and looked up, just in time to see Hawkclaw lunging at her. She flung out her paws to stop him and shut her eyes. Instead of feeling Hawkclaw's claws digging into her flesh Shadow felt a thump as something hit the ground and a liquid lapped at her hind paws. She scrambled to her paws and gasped as she saw what she'd done. Hawkclaw lay at her paws, blood gushing from the wound in his throat.
"Hawkclaw…" Shadow stuttered, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" Hawkclaw's eyes settled on Shadow and he croaked out, "I was asking for it and you don't need to be sorry. I apologize, I was jealous and-" Hawkclaw broke off as he heaved and coughed on his own blood, when he finished he continued, "I know what I did was wrong, I regret everything, joining the Gloomforest, letting Sandfire kill Twigstar, everything… I hope you can forgive me." Shadow looked at the dying cat in front of her and truthfully replied, "I don't know if I can… you did so much, hurt so many." Hawkclaw nodded, "I-I understand." Shadow shifted and then blurted out, "Hawkclaw, I have two kits." even as he died Hawkclaw's eyes widened and he managed one last word, "Mine?" "Yes." Shadow whispered and then she watched as Hawkclaw's flank stopped moving and his eyes drifted shut. Shadow pressed her muzzle to his head for a moment and the left, on her way back to her camp and her kits.
"Shadow!" as she entered her camp Soot raced over to her, "Please tell me that you have the catmint! Viper is convulsing! I don't know how much longer she has!" Shadow's heart jumped, "She wouldn't let Viper die, she wouldn't lose another loved one. She bolted into the den and found Viper lying in her nest, writhing in agony. Shadow pried the kit's jaws open and dropped ashred of catmint in, "Come on, come on Viper, swallow." she whispered desperately, the kit showed no sign of even hearing her and Shadow's hopes plummeted. Soot crashed into the den and asked, "How is she?" "I think she's dying." Shadow admitted, turning away so that Soot couldn't see her tears. "Viper?" Shadow opened her eyes and found that Twig had somehow gotten past Soot and was now crouched next to Viper's nest, Shadow's oldest kit gently shook his sister while calling her name. Soot gently reached forward and drew Twig close to him, "Daddy? What's wrong with Viper? Why is mommy crying?" Soot looked at Shadow for help and she swiped a paw across her eyes to dry the tears and then she turned to Twig and replied, "Viper is going to join my mother in silverpelt." Twig looked confused for a moment before he realized what she had just told him, "No! She's not gonna die!" he tried to writhe away from Soot's grasp but he was holding the kit too tightly.
Twig began to wail and as Soot tried to quiet him Shadow kept trying to get Viper to swallow the catmint. Shadow pressed her muzzle to Viper's forehead and in that moment a blinding flash of light filled the den and a she-cat that Shadow recognized as Hawkclaw's younger sister, Finchpaw was left standing in the den next to Viper. She looked at Shadow with determination in her eyes, "I won't let another kit die young if I can help it." she then turned to Viper and gently pressed her nose to the kit's head, the Starclan cat whispered, "I give you this life for the hope of a future, live well little one." she then turned towards Shadow and said, "I saw you with my brother, thank you for trying to turn him." she then faded away, leaving only her fading pawprints and the sparkling aura around Viper. "What did she do?" Soot asked looked worried, confused and hopeful, "I don't know but I hope it was something to help Viper live." They turned and watched the small kit in the nest, hoping for some miraculous recovery, instead Shadow saw her daughter's flank move slower and slower until it completely stopped. She let out a shocked yowl, "She died!"
A/N and here is the rest of the chapter as promised I spent like three hours typing the rest of this so I hope you enjoy!