A/N: For undisclosed reasons, I'm going to save all of my blah blah for the end of the Chapter. But! To my reviewers:
Pandean: There will be more Nettlepaw very, very soon, fear not my dear! (She may not be injured, and I do apologize for that _''')
Kai Lover911: It's totally okay. I laughed while I was writing. I just kept shaking my head and telling myself, "You've reached a new low by making these cats act like they even remotely stand a chance against this bear."
ALSO: I am looking to give Snowpaw his warrior name soon; I've already received a few suggestions, but if anyone else would like to suggest something, this will be your last chance~ (yay!)
Chapter 23
Hollystep narrowed her eyes against the slanting rain. It fell in sheets, pummeling the earth with all of the fury Hollystep felt in her heart. She had sat vigil beside Mousefur, pressing her thicker pelt against the elder's scrawny flank. Now, as Leafpool trotted briskly towards them, Hollystep began to wonder if she should have forced Mousefur to take better shelter. But Leafpool only blinked gratefully at the tabby warrior.
"Thank you for staying with her," she murmured. Then her amber eyes were narrowed thoughtfully in her direction. "You shouldn't be out in the rain either though, Hollystep."
"That's a shame, because I have a patrol to lead." Hollystep stood stiffly. She could see Brackenfur and Brambleclaw huddled at the edge of the warriors' den discussing patrols. Before she could join them, Leafpool shouldered her way in front of her.
"To my den," her voice was soft and level and held all of the authority of StarClan. "That's an order from your medicine cat. I'm going to see to Mousefur, then I'll be with you." She didn't leave room for argument as she gently nosed Mousefur towards the elders den. Longtail was waiting for her, sorrow in his sightless eyes. With a furious hiss, Hollystep snatched a piece of fresh-kill from the pile for Dustpelt and stalked to the medicine den.
"Hollystep?" Her father sat up slowly as she thrust her way through the brambles. He took in her wet, matted pelt and sighed in understanding. "You stayed with Mousefur, didn't you?"
"Yes," she dropped the bony vole at the injured warrior's paws. "Leafpool's got it in her head that she needs to see me, so I brought you some breakfast."
Dustpelt rolled his eyes. "I've got one bad leg, I'm not so helpless that I can't get my own fresh-kill." Still, he sniffed at the vole appreciatively before taking a small bite. He swallowed and flattened his ears. "Well? Have a share. You're going to want something in your stomach when you hear what Leafpool's got to tell you."
Hollystep joined Dustpelt with a suspicious glance. She took a ginger bite. "Do you know what she's going to say?"
He glanced her up and down through critical amber eyes. "I have a feeling."
Before Hollystep could ask any more, Leafpool padded into her den. The lithe medicine cat nodded approvingly. "Good, you've eaten."
Hollystep swallowed the bite she'd been chewing. "I don't have any chills," she huffed pointedly. "Can I go hunting now?"
"Not until I've checked you thoroughly." Leafpool moved to her side and started nosing her from her ears to her tail-tip. Finally, she sat back. "It's just as I thought."
"What is?" Hollystep fur wet fur was bristling with frustration. Dustpelt's eyes flashed with humor.
"I'm going to go stretch my leg." He made as swift of an exit as he could, leaving Leafpool and Hollystep alone in the shelter of the medicine den.
"Well?"
Leafpool took a deep breath. "Hollystep, you're expecting kits."
"Ha!" Hollystep snorted. "That's rich. Nice one, Leafpool." She moved to leave, but Leafpool blocked her exit.
"I'm serious," the medicine cat growled. "I've suspected for a few days now, but I was hoping you'd start noticing the changes on your own."
"Changes? Nothing about me has changed!" Her tail was lashing furiously. Leafpool didn't flinch back from her anger.
"Not much, not yet," she conceded with a nod. "But your scent has changed considerably. Despite the drought, your flanks look as they did in new-leaf. Not because you're eating more than other warriors, but because the kits have begun growing."
Thunder shook the earth. Hollystep hardly noticed. Kits?! She sank her claws into the ground, feeling as if it was falling away beneath her paws. "I can't…" The dark warrior shook her head. "I…" I'm going to flay Rainwhisker…! "I have to go." She brushed past the medicine cat and out into the storm. Lighting stabbed through the sky, lighting the hollow a brilliant white for a heartbeat before it faded. It was hardly past dawn, but the clouds above the forest were as black as night.
Hollystep stuck her head into the warriors' den. "Where is Rainwhisker?"
Sunpetal started from where she was sharing tongues with Ashfur. "Rainwhisker?"
"Yes," Hollystep snapped. "Did I stutter?"
Ashfur flicked his ears. "He was on the dawn patrol," he offered. "They'll probably be back…"
Hollystep was gone before he'd finished speaking. Her paws shook as she pushed her way out of the thorn tunnel and into the forest. She couldn't tell what caused the tremors—fury or fear.
She'd hardly made it three rabbit hops before she heard a cat calling her name.
"Hollystep! What are you doing out here?" She was surprised to see Sorreltail's tortoiseshell and white pelt trudging towards her through the storm. Her paws were muddy and her eyes round with concern.
"Was Rainwhisker on your patrol?"
"I'm right here," Rainwhisker brushed past Sorreltail to Hollystep's side. Hollystep recoiled from his touch with a cross lash of her tail. He looked taken aback, but didn't push the matter. "Couldn't you have waited until we got-"
"We need to talk," Hollystep growled. She didn't wait for an answer as the rest of the patrol joined them. She whipped around and stalked into the forest. She heard Rainwhisker's exasperated sigh as the gray warrior chased after her.
"Hollystep, stop. What's going on?" He caught up to her near the Sky Oak. With a rough nudge, he pushed her under the cover of its arching roots. It was quiet and warm in the small space. Rainwhisker stretched to touch his nose to her ear, but Hollystep jerked her head back. "Hollystep…"
"I'm expecting kits." She spat the word kits as if it was a curse. Rainwhisker's eyes shot wide.
"W-what? Hollystep, that's…"
"Terrible!" She wanted to wail her frustration at the sky. "I never wanted this!"
Rainwhisker swept his tail down her flank. "It's going to be okay," he murmured. He tried again to scoot closer to the fuming she-cat, but she spat at him.
"No, it's not. Snowpaw is too close to earning his warrior name for me to have to bother with kits—I wanted to mentor one of Squirrelflight's litter—there's a bear on our territory…"
A mouthful of Rainwhisker's tail cut her off. She had half a mind to sink her teeth into it when Rainwhisker leaned forward and drew his tongue across her ear. "I know you're scared," he whispered gently.
"Scared?" Hollystep scraped her claws through the damp moss. "I'm not scared, I'm furious. I've never wanted to claw you so badly in my life."
"Go ahead." Rainwhisker's lake-blue gaze met her own blazing amber eyes evenly. "If that will make you feel better, go ahead and claw me."
"I don't want to feel better, I want things to stay how they were!" Hollystep jumped to her paws again, unable to contain herself. "Kits will just hold me back." She shook her head. "I don't want them!" Before Rainwhisker could try to soothe her again, Hollystep fled their small shelter. The storm still raged overhead, more powerful than ever. Hollystep couldn't see where she was going. She hardly heard Rainwhisker yowling behind her.
She wasn't sure how far she'd gone or where she was when she finally slowed. She stood shaking in the downpour. How am I supposed to become deputy if I've got to stay in the nursery for six moons? Another claw of lightning split the air, followed by a deafening peal of thunder.
"Hollystep, move!"
A deafening screech nearly drowned out the yowl that reached her ears. Hollystep jerked her head up, her eyes going wide as she saw a tree limb plummeting towards her, its broken end flaming from where the lightning had struck it. Something hit her from behind with the force of a lion. Hollystep shut her eyes tightly as the branch crashed into the place she'd been standing only a heartbeat before.
"Do you have thistledown for a brain?" Rainwhisker's eyes were icy with a mixture of fear and anger. Hollystep blinked up at the gray warrior, her heart pounding in her chest. I almost died. A crippling panic shot through Hollystep's veins. Rainwhisker almost died to save me. "Hollystep…?"
The dark tabby stood shakily and pressed her nose into Rainwhisker's sodden pelt. If he'd died—if I had—what would be left? "I'm sorry," she muttered.
Rainwhisker sighed, but his eyes grew softer. "These kits will join us forever," he murmured as if he could read her mind.
"Yes," the thought sent a thrill through the warrior. She forced the feeling down to fix Rainwhisker with a half-hearted glare. "Just don't expect me to lay around in the nursery all day."
His eyes turned to the stormy clouds above them. "I wouldn't dream of it." He rasped his tongue across her ear. "We should get back to camp. No cat should be out in this."
Hollystep fell in step beside her mate as they padded back to camp. They didn't speak, but their pelts brushed. Even soaked through to the skin, Hollystep felt warmth seeping into her paws. I'm not happy about it, but… maybe it won't be so bad.
The next day, Hollystep woke with two prominent thoughts. The first was speeding up Snowpaw's training. The second was that something still needed to be done about the bear.
The tabby she-cat stretched the stiffness from her limbs and padded out into the steady rainfall. Brambleclaw was near the fresh-kill pile, his ears flattened against the rain as he assigned patrols for the day. Hollystep padded to join the half-circle around their deputy. Snowpaw came to her side immediately.
Noticing her, Brambleclaw flicked his ears in her direction. "Hollystep, just in time. We need fresh-kill. I want you and Sandstorm each to lead a patrol. Take whichever cats you want, but I want Brackenfur and Brightheart for the sunhigh patrol."
Leaders assigned, the cats started mingling to set their patrols. Rainwhisker called Ashfur, Spottedpaw, and Sunpetal for the dawn patrol. Hollystep turned to Cloudtail. "Care to hunt?"
"Sure," Cloudtail flexed his claws. "Who else should we bring?"
Hollystep glanced around. Birchfall was already joining Sandstorm's patrol. "Fenneltail," she called finally, beckoning the tortoiseshell tom with her tail. Snowpaw at her shoulder, Hollystep led her patrol out of camp and into the sodden forest.
Their hunt was more successful than Hollystep was expecting. Before long, Snowpaw brought down an impressive blackbird and Cloudtail snagged two mice as they ventured out of their den. Hollystep was stalking a magpie when a crashing in the undergrowth sent the bird to sky, a loud alarm call echoing dimly in the rain.
"Mouse-dung!" Hollystep whirled to give whatever had scared her catch a piece of her mind. The tabby warrior's wet fur bristled when she saw them—two twolegs, stomping through the forest towards her. They didn't seem to see her. Every few steps, they would bend and examine the ground. Are they following a scent? Hollystep backed into the undergrowth. "Snowpaw, Cloudtail!" She hissed as loudly as she dared for her Clan-mates. "Fenneltail, get over here!"
"Twolegs?" Cloudtail unsheathed his claws. "Out here in this weather?"
"It looks like they're tracking something," Hollystep muttered. "They keep bending over like they're trying to pick up a scent they lost."
Snowpaw lashed his tail. "They must be here for the bear…!" He exhaled. His pale amber eyes glittered with excitement. Fenneltail flattened his ears at his friend.
"Don't sound so excited about it," he hissed flatly.
"Don't you see?" The white apprentice looked ready to jump out of his fur. "This is our chance to do something about it!"
Hollystep started to despair that somewhere along the lines, she'd done something horribly wrong with Snowpaw's training. Before she could comment, she realized Cloudtail was nodding slowly.
"He's got a point," her former mentor meowed thoughtfully.
"What can we do?" Hollystep flicked her ears. "Lead them to…" Understanding dawned on her. "Lead them to its den," she shook her head. "You're brilliant, Snowpaw."
Fenneltail still didn't look convinced. "But how?"
"Look at them," Hollystep rolled her eyes. "They obviously can't track in the rain. We just have to show them the prints. Their eyes can't be as dull as their noses."
Cloudtail snorted. "Don't count on it."
Leaving Snowpaw to keep an eye on the twolegs, the patrol fanned out. They all knew where the bear made its den—it was a matter of finding fresh tracks in the rain. It didn't take long. When they met back with Snowpaw, Hollystep raised her tail.
"I've found some towards the ShadowClan border," she reported. "It must have gone to drink from the stream there."
"Good work," Cloudtail praised her as if she were still his apprentice. "Now we just need to get their attention."
Taking a deep breath, Snowpaw stepped out of hiding. He mewed pitifully, and one of the twolegs immediately turned their heads. Hollystep followed him, forcing back a shudder as the twolegs approached. They crooned jumbled sounds in hushed voices, squatting down in front of the two cats. Hollystep jumped away as one reached for her. Cloudtail, however, slipped from the undergrowth and pressed his head into the twoleg's hand. Snopwaw meowed loudly, padding towards the ShadowClan border. The twolegs followed, mystified. One of them let out an exclamation and pointed to the tracks Hollystep had seen. On Hollystep's signal, the patrol scattered. The twolegs hardly noticed.
"We should keep an eye on them," Fenneltail growled. Hollystep nodded her assent. They followed the twolegs' slow progress through the forest, their hunt long forgotten. When they reached the den, the twolegs started moved with exaggerated caution. It only made more noise, Hollystep thought with a snort, but at least they were trying. The lay on the ground, one of them fiddling with something long and shiny.
"What do you suppose that is?" She murmured, narrowing her eyes as she tried to figure it out.
Cloudtail shook his head. "No clue."
As they crouched there, Hollystep felt the faintest of movements—not from her Clan-mates, but deep within her stomach. Her eyes widened minutely.
"Are you okay?" Fenneltail frowned at her.
"I… yes." The scent of bear washed over them as the great creature clambered from its den. There was soft click, then a sound like no other Hollystep had ever heard. She started and dug her claws into the ground. Cloudtail's fur was fluffed out, and Fenneltail had leapt back nearly a fox-length. With an agonized groan, the bear crumpled. Hollystep caught a trace of blood mingling in the earthy scent of rain. The twolegs scrambled to their paws, shouting and jumping. When they had finished their strange ritual, they went over to the bear and lifted it between them.
"It's… dead." Snowpaw blinked, seeming unable to believe it.
Hollystep felt a tension she hadn't realized she'd had leave her shoulders. Cloudtail turned an approving blue gaze to her apprentice. "You acted as a warrior today," he rumbled. "Firestar will hear about this."
Hollystep tilted her chin up, pride filling her chest. "Let's get back to camp." They collected their pitiful catch as they went, though none of them were willing to complain knowing the news they had to share with the Clan.
"Bad luck?" Spiderleg looked up from the thrush he was eating as Hollystep's patrol deposited their catch.
"Better luck than you," Fenneltail boasted. "Just wait."
Hollystep followed Cloudtail to the high-ledge, urging Snowpaw to join them with a wave of her tail. Hesitantly, her apprentice came to her side as they sat before Firestar.
"We've got quite the report for you, Firestar," Cloudtail began, his eyes glittering. "While we were out hunting, Hollystep caught sight of twolegs wreaking havoc through our territory. Snowpaw saw the advantage in it, and thought to lead them to the bear's den. We found some fresh tracks and led them there. Once they found the bear, the struck it with something from a couple fox-lengths away. After that they picked it up and carried it to their monster. The bear is gone."
Firestar's eyes had grown progressively wider as he listened to Cloudtail report. "It's gone for good?"
"Yes," Hollystep confirmed. "I could smell the blood. Whatever they struck it with killed it." She glanced at Cloudtail, who nodded, before continuing. "Snowpaw was the one who thought of the plan though; he showed the forethought and courage of a warrior today. I think it's time he took his warrior name."
Firestar dipped his head. "I couldn't agree more. We'll hold the ceremony at sunset."
Hollystep felt a tingle of pride and joy, not only for her apprentice, but for what they'd accomplished. We've killed two mice with one blow. She took a starling from the fresh-kill pile and took shelter under the outer branches of the warriors' den to eat. She purred loudly when Rainwhisker joined her.
"I felt them move today," she whispered to her mate. The gray warrior purred, pausing in his meal to lick her ears.
"That's wonderful, Hollystep." His eyes smoldered with the strength of his affection. Hollystep realized idly that she'd gladly drown in the depths of his shimmering blue eyes any day. I hope they have blue eyes. She pushed her nose into his fur as he abandoned his vole altogether to groom her rain-matted pelt.
"The rain will stop soon," Hollystep heard Mousefur from where the elder was emerging from her den. And even though there wasn't a single break in the stormy gray clouds for as far as Hollystep could see, she believed her words.
Alright guys. There it is. The moment you've all been waiting for. Hollystep is going to have kits!
I'm sorry if this chapter is a little jumbled. There's a lot that I wanted to get out of the way, so I shoved as much as I could in here ^.^'''
ANYWAY, I'm sure you all know what's coming next.
I want your thoughts and opinions on Hollystep and Rainwhisker's kits. How many should she have? What shoulder they look like? What should they be named? I have stopped myself from thinking on it just so I could ask you all, so don't hesitate to send in suggestions!
I love you all, and can't wait to post my next update for you! See you next chapter!