It was sun-high, the day before the gathering. Frostpaw lounged in a patch of sunlight at the edge of camp near the thorn bush that sheltered the nursery, thrown across the warmed earth so her fur could soak up all of the heat. Autumnpaw sat at her side, grooming his ears. A few tail lengths to Frostpaw's left, Mosspaw and Murmurpaw were engaged in eager conversation, and a little ways to Frostpaw's right, Poolpaw, Pinepaw, and Dewleaf were chatting and having some fresh-kill. Frostpaw's eyes drifted half-way shut as the warmth from the sunlight made her sleepy, but her ears stay pricked as she listened to her neighbors' conversations.
Sedgestar had announced the gathering patrol only moments before. Frostpaw and Autumnpaw had not been picked, although Pinepaw and Poolpaw would be going, as well as Dewleaf. Dewleaf seemed excited to attend her first gathering as a warrior. Mosspaw and Murmurpaw had also been chosen, and the sisters were both very eager to attend their first gatherings at all.
"I'm going to talk to as many cats as possible," Mosspaw was saying now. "But, especially SkyClan and ThunderClan cats. I'll be the one to figure out what's going on with them!"
"There was a SkyClan apprentice that I talked to last gathering, Larchpaw, I think is her name," Frostpaw said, opening her eyes. "She was nice. You should try to talk to her, if she is there."
"Good idea!" Mosspaw said with an excited nod.
Frostpaw purred and nodded back, but her mind had already drifted to Paledusk. She was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to talk to him this gathering. Now she would have to wait a whole other moon before she would be able to see him and talk to him about how he knew May. Frostpaw huffed.
That feels like forever from now.
"What's wrong?" Autumnpaw asked, picking up on her annoyance.
"You know," Frostpaw muttered.
"Yeah, I'm disappointed that we don't get to go to the gathering too," Autumnpaw admitted. "But, it's not like Sedgestar can take every cat to the gathering every time. And, besides, there will be other full moons. We have our whole lives of gatherings to look forward to!"
"Do my ears deceive me, or do I hear Autumnpaw being reasonable for once?" Pinepaw's snarky voice cut in.
Frostpaw looked over at her. The she-cat had finished her food, and while Poolpaw and Dewleaf were still deep in some conversation with each other, she was looking over at Frostpaw and Autumnpaw with an unbearably smug look on her face.
"For once? I'm reasonable a lot," Autumnpaw argued, turning to glare at his sister.
"Ha. Are not," Pinepaw said with an amused huff.
"Well I'm also glad that I don't have to spend all night with you, you annoying fur-ball," Autumnpaw said, swatting a nearby twig in Pinepaw's direction. She ducked it, and it hit Poolpaw smack in the back of the head.
"HEY," Poolpaw said, whirling around to rake Autumnpaw with a look that was as sharp as claws, and Pinepaw choked back loud purrs at the chaos unfolding before her.
"Run!" Autumnpaw yelped, giving Frostpaw a nudge and springing to his paws.
"Me?! I didn't do anything!" Frostpaw protested, but she obediently scrambled to her feet.
"You were sitting next to me, which makes you an accomplice!" Autumnpaw shouted over his shoulder as he booked it across camp.
Frostpaw was hot on his heels, and Poolpaw only a tail-length behind her.
"Faster Frostpaw!" Autumnpaw panted, dodging around warriors sleeping in patches of sunshine. "If he catches us, he'll sit on us until we're flatter than a leaf!"
"Climb the Oak Tree!" Frostpaw said through her panting breaths.
They sprinted over to it, Autumnpaw leading the way. Frostpaw took a flying leap at it, hooking her claws securely into the bark of the trunk. Tree climbing had always come naturally to her, and with only a few bounds of her powerful hind-legs, she had overtaken Autumnpaw and was fox-lengths up the trunk. Poolpaw frustratedly paced at the bottom of the tree as Frostpaw settled on a branch with Autumnpaw a few limbs below her.
"As soon as you come down here, Autumnpaw, I'll throw not just a twig, but a whole bramble bush in your face!" Poolpaw said, glaring up at his brother.
"I'd like to see you try!" Autumnpaw challenged, tauntingly lolling his tongue out at Poolpaw.
Pinepaw sauntered over to Poolpaw, with Dewleaf, Mosspaw, and Murmurpaw following her, all four of them purring so loudly Frostpaw could hear them from her perch all the way up in the tree.
"What's all this commotion?!" a voice snapped.
Frostpaw's heart sank rapidly as she recognized the arrogant voice, her amusement evaporating like a shallow pool of water on a blistering day.
Dampfang pushed his way out of the warriors' den, his fur still ruffled with sleep, and his green eyes narrowed in annoyance as he took in the scene. He strode over to the group at the base of the tree, his chest puffed out and muzzle angled upwards disdainfully.
"I can't believe you all, running around camp—" Dampfang said to Poolpaw, before looking up at Frostpaw and Autumnpaw. "And, climbing trees like kits!"
"Well we can't all be as virtuous as you, Dampfang," Autumnpaw said in a mocking voice. "Imagine, if I also had your personality, we would have to make camp 10 times bigger just so it could hold both of our egos. How inconvenient would that be?"
"Hilarious, Autumnpaw," Dampfang sneered. "I mean, I know you are only apprentices, but, Poolpaw, Autumnpaw, as ShadowClan cats, I expected better."
Frostpaw felt anger starting to simmer deep down in her belly as she noticed he deliberately didn't call her out.
I guess as a "non-clan" cat, I can't help my immature "kit-like" nature.
Frostpaw briefly allowed herself to fantasize about knocking a branch down onto Dampfang's head.
"Sorry. Being non-clan born makes me horribly clumsy."
"Ugh, put your claws away Dampfang," Dewleaf's voice cut in, pulling Frostpaw from her thoughts.
"Yeah," Pinepaw added. "It's sun-high so we don't have to hunt or patrol. We were just having some fun."
"Were you involved in this?" Dampfang asked Pinepaw, narrowing his eyes at her. "I expected better from you."
Frostpaw thought Pinepaw seemed to deflate some. But, Frostpaw's gaze was quickly pulled from the black-furred she-cat when she spotted new movement at the roots of the Oak Tree. Sedgestar emerged from the tunnel leading down into his den, his sharp eyes quickly taking in the scene before him before flicking up towards Frostpaw and Autumnpaw in the tree and settling on them.
"I thought I heard voices out here. Not sleepy this sun-high?" Sedgestar quipped.
Autumnpaw and Frostpaw mutely shook their heads. Frostpaw felt herself tense as she prepared for the possibility of a scolding from their clan leader. But, Sedgestar just turned aside, and Frostpaw thought she spotted his whiskers faintly twitching in amusement.
"If you are going to the gathering, make sure you don't wear yourself out too much. I don't want my cats falling asleep during the other clan's announcements. That'll seem rude," Sedgestar said over his shoulder as he padded off towards the fresh-kill pile.
"But, Sedgestar! Autumnpaw and Frostpaw are in the Oak Tree!" Dampfang protested as Sedgestar padded away.
"I noticed," Sedgestar said drily as he continued to walk away.
Dampfang huffed, but knowing there was nothing more that he could do, he too whipped around and stalked off, heading back into the warriors' den.
The mood was dampened by the confrontation with Dampfang, like a grey cloud had drifted over the group. Poolpaw backed away from the base of the tree, giving Autumnpaw and Frostpaw space to scramble down. When Frostpaw reached the ground, she gave her pelt a shake, wishing she could shake off this frosty interaction from her pelt as easily as she could water.
"Leave it to Dampfang to suck all the fun out of everything," Autumnpaw muttered bitterly.
"Tell me about it," Poolpaw said, sticking his tongue out and screwing his face up in a disgusted expression.
"Hey, shut up!" Pinepaw hissed, whipping around to glare at her brothers.
The smug, self-satisfied amusement that had been on her face earlier was replaced with hot anger, although Frostpaw thought she could detect a bit of hurt swirling in the amber depths of her eyes as well.
"What! It's true!" Autumnpaw protested.
"You frog-brains! It's your fault that Dampfang is mad at me now!" Pinepaw spat.
"What are you meowing on about? He was the one that ruined it. I'm pretty sure you were having just as much fun as we were, until he showed up," Autumnpaw growled.
"Was not," Pinepaw growled back, her fur bristling. "I was just watching."
Frostpaw spotted Dewleaf, Mosspaw and Murmurpaw slowly backing away from the bristling siblings as the argument between them heated up. Frostpaw wished she could edge away as well, but she was trapped with the Oak Tree behind her, and her two snarling den-mates in front of her. Poolpaw and Frostpaw's eyes met, and they shared a concerned look about Autumnpaw's and Pinepaw's argument.
"You all were acting like kits!" Pinepaw spat.
"Is that what you really think, or are you just saying that because Dampfang did?" Autumnpaw asked, his tail twitching.
"I can think for myself," Pinepaw growled, taking an aggressive step forward so she and Autumnpaw stood nose to nose.
"Come on, let's just calm down…" Poolpaw said hesitantly, but his siblings barreled on.
"Can you though?" Autumnpaw retorted back, ignoring Poolpaw's interruption, putting on a taunting falsetto. "'Oh, Dampfang, said that. Oh, Dampfang did that.' You never shut up about him."
"Don't mock me," Pinepaw snarled, her amber eyes narrowing into furious slits. "This is just what I was talking about. You're so immature Autumnpaw; you'll never become a warrior at this rate."
"If Dampfang is so much better than me, then why are you wasting your time hanging out with us!" Autumnpaw shouted. "Well, fine then! I hope I never see your stupid frog-face around me again! I don't want you here!"
Pinepaw's eyes went wide, and she blinked hard at Autumnpaw—shock, hurt, and anger clearly written across her face.
"What's going on here?" Grovepelt's stern voice broke in.
He was padding over to the group of apprentices, drawn in by the yowling.
"Nothing!" Pinepaw said, quickly choking the word out before whirling around and dashing around Poolpaw to charge towards the apprentice's den, her black pelt disappearing under the holly bush.
"ShadowClan does not fight within itself," Grovepelt said firmly to Autumnpaw, locking the apprentice in a firm gaze.
Autumnpaw just shrugged, staring down at the ground with his chin set mutinously, not responding to the deputy. As Frostpaw watched the still shaking branches of the holly bush, she felt her stomach slightly twist in sympathy for Pinepaw.
"You went too far," she muttered to Autumnpaw as Grovepelt padded away again.
"What! Me?" Autumnpaw said, turning to look at Frostpaw with wide eyes. "You're not on my side? Are you seriously defending her and Dampfang? When he's always so horrible to you?!"
"I'm not on anybody's side," Frostpaw muttered, her tail-tip twitching slightly. "I'm just saying you were a bit mean to Pinepaw."
Autumnpaw just huffed.
"And, how many times has she been mean to me? Or, you?" he muttered.
Frostpaw's tail twitched, but she didn't respond. Frostpaw padded away from him, heading towards the apprentices' den. She hesitated at the entrance for a few heartbeats before pushing her way inside. Frostpaw blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the den. Pinepaw was alone in the den, curled up in her nest, covering her face with her paws.
"Go away," Pinepaw growled without uncovering her eyes.
"I…I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," Frostpaw muttered. "And, say that I know Autumnpaw didn't mean what he said…"
"Why do you care, frog-brain?" Pinepaw snapped, uncovering her eyes with her paws to glare over at Frostpaw. "It's not like you ever liked me anyway."
Frostpaw blinked, her brow furrowing.
I never like you? You never liked me!
But, Frostpaw clenched her jaw to bite back the words. Pinepaw's gaze narrowed at Frostpaw like she had somehow seen her thoughts.
"Whatever," Pinepaw growled, turning away from Frostpaw. "Just leave me alone."
Fine.
Frostpaw's tail twitched, and she turned, pushing her way back out of the den.
Frostpaw gave her pelt a shake as she entered back into the sunlight. She saw Autumnpaw and Poolpaw had moved across camp, and were sitting in the shadows cast by the thorn thicket that surrounded camp. Frostpaw gazed over at them, hoping that Autumnpaw wasn't also mad at her now like Pinepaw was. Frostpaw sighed.
Why do Autumnpaw and Pinepaw always have to fight? Wouldn't everyone be happier if they could just go a day without ruffling each other's fur?
Frostpaw took a deep breath of the warm air, letting it soothe her as she steeled herself to walk over to Autumnpaw and Poolpaw.
"Lizardkit! Watch where you're going!"
Snakeeyes' voice rang across the clearing as Lizardkit came barreling in front of Frostpaw, nearly crashing into her as he shot after a moss-ball. Frostpaw stumbled slightly as she swerved around the small, pure-white kit. Lizardkit showed no sign of stopping though, until he finished the chase and caught the moss-ball. He gave a squeak of victory as he pounced on it, whirling around to gaze up at Frostpaw with the scrape of moss hanging from his mouth, his bright blue eyes gleaming in delight. He trotted over to Frostpaw, his tail stuck up proudly, the moss-ball dangling from his jaws like it was some great catch that he wanted to show off to her.
Autumnpaw's and Pinepaw's argument forgotten at the appearance of the kit, Frostpaw peered down at Lizardkit, purring encouragingly at him. Snakeeyes kits were all around one moon now, and they seemed to be turning into very boisterous little things. They had just recently starting exploring the camp, and Lizardkit seemed to be the boldest of the three.
"I told you three to keep your play close to the nursery!" Frostpaw could hear Snakeeyes scolding her kits. "You'll just be under-paw if you play in the middle of camp!"
"Sorry!" Featherkit squeaked, her words still having a kit-like lisp, like her mouth hadn't quite mastered the art of speaking yet. "I hit it too hard!"
"Lizardkit, come back over here!" Snakeeyes called.
Lizardkit had dropped the moss-ball on the ground in front of him and Frostpaw and had been batting it back and forth between his front paws. But, he seemed to ignore his mother's call, and instead he tilted his head up to gaze deliberately into Frostpaw's eyes. With a wave of his paw, he made a gesture like he was going to hit the moss-ball, but Frostpaw watched as he seemed to intentionally miss the ball before sitting back, curling his tail around his paws, looking up at her expectantly.
"It sounds like your mom wants you, Lizardkit," Frostpaw said.
Lizardkit tilted his head at her, his gaze carefully trained on her mouth. Lizardkit looked back down, and Frostpaw thought he would get up, but again he just carefully mimed hitting the moss-ball before looking back up at Frostpaw.
Frostpaw's brow furrowed.
"I can't play with you right now. Your mom is calling for you," Frostpaw repeated.
Lizardkit sighed and flopped dramatically onto the ground, going back to hitting the moss-ball between his front paws, but doing so a bit more subduedly this time.
Snakeeyes padded over to them. Lizardkit's gaze flickered over to her as she approached, but he still didn't get to his paws or come over to her.
"Come on. Back to the nursery, you," Snakeeyes said, nosing her son to his paws with her muzzle.
Lizardkit made sure to snatch the moss-ball back up in his mouth as he got to his feet. Snakeeyes nudged him towards the nursery. Lizardkit took a few steps in that direction before turning to look back at Snakeeyes.
"Go," Snakeeyes said with a firm nod.
Lizardkit continued on towards the nursery, his slow steps turning into a quicker trot as he approached his siblings, who greeted him with excited squeaks as he pounced on his brother Yewkit, and the three of them went scampering back into the darkness under the thorn bush.
Snakeeyes sighed as her kits disappeared into the nursery.
"Sorry if Lizardkit was bothering you, Frostpaw," she said, her brow furrowed.
"No, it's fine," Frostpaw said, studying the worried look on the queen's face. "Is something wrong, Snakeeyes?"
Snakeeyes hesitated for a moment.
"I'm sure it's nothing…" she meowed slowly. "But, I'm just worried about Lizardkit. He hardly listens, and he's been taking longer than his siblings to learn to talk. When I speak to him, I'm not even sure if he understands what I'm saying at all half the time."
Snakeeyes shifted her weight from paw to paw like just speaking her fears out loud made her uneasy.
"I just hope that he's not sick… or something isn't… wrong…" she muttered.
"He seems bright and curious to me," Frostpaw said quickly, trying to reassure the queen. "But, if you are worried, why don't you have Clearstream take a look a him and check?"
"Yeah, maybe I will ask Clearstream to make sure that he's healthy," Snakeeyes said, sounding slightly relieved. "In fact, I'll go get her now. Do you mind keeping an eye on my kits for a moment?"
The three of them had wandered back out of the nursery, but were wrestling close to the entrance of the thorn bush.
"Ok," Frostpaw said.
"Thank you, I'll be back in just a flick of a tail," Snakeeyes said, padding quickly over towards Clanrock, and the medicine cat's den that it sheltered.
Frostpaw padded over to the kits. They were so busy playing with each other and scraps of moss that they hadn't even noticed their mother walking away.
Lizardkit was the first to notice Frostpaw approaching them. He tilted his head back to look over at her from his perch on top of his brother's back. Yewkit was pinned to the ground beneath him, his silver striped fur writhing as he tried to escape his brother's grip.
"Who are you?" Featherkit chirped to Frostpaw, dropping the moss-ball she had been playing with and bounding excitingly over to her.
"I'm Frostpaw," she said.
"Wow, you're an apprentice? Mom says that cats that have 'paw' in their name means they're apprentices," Yewkit said, stumbling to his paws after Lizardkit finally let him up.
"Yep that's right," Frostpaw said.
"Have you fought a lot?" Featherkit asked, her eyes wide.
"I've been in one battle against WindClan," Frostpaw said. "And, a few border scraps."
Yewkit and Featherkit squealed excitedly at her answer, leaping around. Frostpaw glanced over at Lizardkit. He hadn't let out the same excited noises as his siblings, but when they started leaping around, his ears pricked in excitement, and he too rose to his paws.
"Does Lizardkit talk much?" Frostpaw asked Featherkit and Yewkit as they settled down some, her brow furrowing in slight concerned as she looked at the all white kitten.
"No. He doesn't like to talk," Featherkit said in a matter-of-fact voice.
After his siblings had stopped jumping around, Lizardkit had sat back down. Now he was watching Featherkit's mouth move as she talked with a slight head-tilt in the same way he had watched Frostpaw talk earlier.
"Why don't you like to talk, Lizardkit?" Frostpaw asked him.
Lizardkit didn't look at her. He was still staring at his sister.
"He doesn't understand," Yewkit said. "You have to go like this."
Yewkit waved his tail. Lizardkit's gaze snapped from his sister to him. Yewkit nodded towards Frostpaw, and Lizardkit's gaze moved to her. Lizardkit's ears pricked in attention, and he gave Frostpaw a happy blink, letting out a quiet, inquisitive "mrrow?" noise. He rose to his paws, picking up the moss-ball Featherkit had dropped, and trotted over to Frostpaw, carrying it over to her. He dropped it on the ground in front of her, and mimed hitting the ball as he had done earlier.
Frostpaw's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You want me to hit it right?" she asked.
Lizardkit again watched her speak, but didn't respond. Frostpaw slowly reached a paw out, and sent the moss-ball flying with a firm hit.
Lizardkit went shooting after the ball, making a big leap to snatch it out of the air before it got too far away. He trotted back with it quickly, his tail stuck up in excitement. He dropped the moss-ball again at Frostpaw's feet, and made the same gesture of hitting the ball, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Frostpaw hit the ball again for him. As she did, Lizardkit whirled around in an excited circle before charging after the ball. Frostpaw purred at the little kit's exuberance, feeling the concern she had felt before about him melting away. He was a bit odd, yes, but it seemed clear that Snakeeyes' worries were unfounded. He was still a happy, healthy kit.
As Lizardkit came trotting back with the moss-ball, Snakeeyes came walking over as well, with Clearstream in tow.
"Hello, Frostpaw," Clearstream purred in her delicate voice as she padded up to her and the kits. "How have you been doing?"
"I'm well, Clearstream," Frostpaw said with a respectful head dip to the medicine cat.
"Thanks for watching them," Snakeeyes said, settling down as her kits ran over to her, casting curious glances at Clearstream.
"Who are you?" Featherkit said in her squeaky voice, and Frostpaw couldn't help but purr slightly as she parroted the same inquisitive question that she had asked Frostpaw only a few moments before to Clearstream.
"I'm one of your medicine cats," Clearstream said with a warm purr. "My name is Clearstream."
"Are you here to play with us?" Yewkit asked excitedly. "Frostpaw was playing with us."
"I'm here to see how you three are doing. You said you were playing with Frostpaw. Do you all like to play?" Clearstream asked, her blue eyes shimmering.
"Yes!" Yewkit and Featherkit chorused, leaping around excitedly.
Lizardkit leapt to his paws, watching his siblings with an equally excited gaze.
"What about you, Lizardkit?" Clearstream asked, turning to look at the white tom.
He didn't respond, his gaze still on his siblings.
"He likes to play the best!" Yewkit answered for Lizardkit. "Look!"
Yewkit sprung at Lizardkit, and the two went tumbling both letting out excited squeaks.
"Ok, that's enough you two," Snakeeyes said.
Yewkit disentangled himself, but Lizardkit still tried to grapple his brother.
"Mom said we have to stop," Yewkit said, giving Lizardkit a slight push away.
Lizardkit settled down at his brother's words, turning to lick down a piece of ruffled fur on his side.
"Lizardkit," Clearstream said. "Can you tell me the names of your bother and sister?"
Lizardkit didn't look up from grooming his side. Frostpaw noticed Lizardkit's siblings began to shift uneasily as the moments stretched on and on, and all the while Clearstream's gaze continued to be locked on Lizardkit, and he continued to remain seemingly oblivious to her question. It looked like that while a few moments before, the kits had just been excited to meet Clearstream, a new cat, now they seemed to sense that she was here for a reason, and that something might be wrong.
"Why does that matter?" Yewkit finally piped up.
"Yeah, he knows who we are!" Featherkit chimed in.
Featherkit flicked her tail at Lizardkit, and he snapped his head up from grooming his side, blinking curiously at his sister.
"Right, Lizardkit?" Featherkit squeaked. "You know who we are!"
Featherkit flicked her tail at herself and at Yewkit as she spoke. Lizardkit let out a quiet "mrrow!" and padded over to them, giving both of his siblings an affectionate head-bump before flopping on the ground next to them and picking his grooming back up.
"Of course he does," Clearstream said reassuringly to the kits, but Frostpaw noticed a shadow of sadness creeping into her gaze.
Snakeeyes was gazing at Clearstream in concern. Clearstream inclined her head, indicating for Snakeeyes to lean closer to her. Frostpaw's ears pricked to listen in.
"I'm sorry, Snakeeyes," Clearstream murmured in a quiet voice so the kits could not overhear. "I'm afraid that Lizardkit appears to be deaf."
Frostpaw's eyes went wide with shock.
Deaf?
"No… He can't…" Snakeeyes said, her mismatched eyes wide.
Frostpaw could see a battle waging in them, between fierce denial that anything could be wrong with her kit, and the obvious truth that was staring her right in her face.
"This is my fault," she growled.
Snakeeyes crumpled over like she had been struck by a physical blow. Clearstream wrapped her fluffy silver-striped tail supportively around the queen as Snakeeyes buried her face in her paws. Frostpaw felt her heart sink down to her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Featherkit demanded, gazing at her pained mother with eyes wide with fear. "What's wrong with Snakeeyes? What does 'deaf' mean?"
The three kits had grown greatly concerned at Snakeeyes sudden collapse, and they clustered tightly together, their small, fluffy faces each furrowed with confusion and fear.
Clearstream sighed quietly, evidently wishing that the kits had not overheard her. Frostpaw's heart twisted in sympathy as she looked at the little kits' frightened faces.
"It's okay," Clearstream said to them in a soothing voice. "Deaf just means… well you know how you can hear with your ears what I'm saying right now? Well… Lizardkit can't do that. He just sees my mouth move with his eyes, but he doesn't hear any sounds from it. It's like his ears are stuffed with so much moss no noise can get through."
"Then we can just take the moss out," Yewkit protested, pressing himself closer to his brother so his silver fur mingled with Lizardkit's white pelt.
"No…" Clearstream sighed again, shaking her head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, little one. There is no real moss in his ears. They just don't work."
Featherkit's and Yewkit's brows furrowed as her words sunk in. Lizardkit looked back and forth from his siblings to his mother, his face still creased with confusion as he appeared to try to decipher why exactly everyone was so upset. Lizardkit broke away from his siblings, padding up to Snakeeyes and gently nudging her head with his muzzle. Snakeeyes lifted her head with a shaky breath, and Lizardkit rasped his tongue across her cheek, burrowing himself comfortingly against her. Snakeeyes let out a quiet whine and wrapped her forepaws around Lizardkit, pulling him close to her chest. Snakeeyes pressed her face into her kit.
"I'm so sorry, Lizardkit, this is my fault," she repeated.
"You couldn't have known..." Clearstream murmured to her, but Snakeeyes just shook her head fiercely at her words.
"I can't hear out of one ear," Snakeeyes said, spitting the admission out venomously as she locked Clearstream in her mismatched gaze. "But, I never thought one of my kits…"
Snakeeyes' voice lost its anger as she choked up, and she seemed to deflate.
"Snakeeyes!" Rowanheart's voice echoed across camp.
The ginger tom came running up to his mate, his gaze flickering between her curled up form on the ground, the kits, and Clearstream.
"What's wrong? Is someone hurt?" he demanded, his gaze flying to Clearstream.
"No," Snakeeyes murmured, drawing his attention back to her. "It's... Lizardkit is deaf."
Rowanheart's brow furrowed, and his gaze flickered to Lizardkit.
"What? But, he..." Rowanheart started to protest before his voice trailed off as the words sunk in.
Frostpaw saw his gaze darken as he realized that it made sense in the context of his kit's behavior. Snakeeyes growled softly, screwing her eyes shut in pain. Frostpaw stomach clenched to see Snakeeyes so torn up. Frostpaw had always admired her as an amazingly fierce and strong warrior. She would have to be, to be able to deal with Swoopstrike as her littermate, and to fight back against others that judged her on her strange, odd-eyed appearance. Now though, Frostpaw couldn't help but feel like she was intruding, seeing the queen so broken and vulnerable. She felt like she shouldn't be here, involved in this private moment with Snakeeyes, Rowanheart and their kits. But, since Frostpaw was already stuck here in the middle of it, she also felt like she couldn't not say something to try to help Snakeeyes—not when the queen had been so kind to her in the past when she needed it.
"It's okay," Frostpaw murmured hesitantly. "Lizardkit will still be able to hunt. You've seen him chase after that moss-ball! And, I saw that he's always the first to scent anyone coming too! Before anyone else can even hear them."
Snakeeyes gaze flickered back open, and she turned to look at Frostpaw. Frostpaw saw hope begin to glimmer there.
"You're right. He's quick and clever. He understands gestures and signs," Snakeeyes said her words spilling out more and more rapidly as her hope built. "I bet I could teach him more. With enough, we would practically be able to talk to him."
"He already taught me one!" Frostpaw said with a soft purr.
She swatted her paw across the ground like she was hitting an invisible piece of moss.
"That means 'Hit the moss-ball, frog-brain!'" Frostpaw said.
Snakeeyes pushed herself into a sitting position, her eyes gleaming as life seemed to surge back into her. She turned to looked down at Lizardkit, who was peering up at her curiously, noticing the sudden change in her demeanor. Snakeeyes made eye contact with him for a moment, before deliberately swatting her paw across the ground, making the "hitting the moss-ball" gesture. Lizardkit's ears pricked in interest. After a moment of hesitation, he started to pad away from her, over to where the moss-ball had been abandoned a few tail-lengths away. After he took a few steps, he looked at Snakeeyes back over his shoulder, as if to confirm. Snakeeyes nodded at him, purring encouragingly. Lizardkit's blue eyes lit up, and he dashed the remaining distance to the moss-ball, snatching it up and running over to Snakeeyes with it, dropping it on the ground in front of her. Snakeeyes sent the moss-ball flying with a powerful hit, and Lizardkit took off after it with his siblings dashing off after him close behind. Their distress seemed to be forgotten, at least for now.
Snakeeyes watched them run with eyes that shone with pride, but Frostpaw noticed that Rowanheart looked much more uneasy.
"Will Lizardkit ever be a full warrior though?" Rowanheart mumbled when the kits had run out of ear-shot.
"Of course," Snakeeyes hissed at him, whipping her head around to lock her mate in a searing blue-and-green gaze. "He will be whatever he wants to be."
Rowanheart's ears flattened, and he didn't protest his mate again, although Frostpaw noticed him and Clearstream exchange an uncertain look.
Frostpaw lightly cleared her throat.
"Um, I better get going," she said. "Sun-high has past, and Swoopstrike will have have my tail if I'm late for training."
"Tell Swoopstrike that if he tries to take your tail, I'll take his whole pelt," Snakeeyes quipped lightly, but her gaze was soft when she looked at Frostpaw. "Thank you for your help today, Frostpaw."
Frostpaw dipped her head to the pair of warriors and the medicine cat, and made a quick departure. But, as Frostpaw pushed her way out of camp, and padded off in the direction of the Burnt Sycamore, she couldn't help but think about poor, little Lizardkit. Frostpaw sighed quietly. She sensed that his journey to be a warrior would be more difficult than even hers.
Author's Note:
Sorry for the months long wait between chapters everyone. I hit a bit of a writer's block that made working on this story difficult. I did however write and complete a shorter novella on Leopardstar. If you enjoy my writing, and are following this story, but didn't realize I posted a new story, I definitely encourage you to check it out on my account and leave a review about what you think!
Reviews:
Kitty-Guardian Hootryd: Lol I didn't realize that was a Magic of the gathering card! And, thanks, I'm not a big fan of traditional naming either.
Hollyshade: Thanks for reading!
Guest: Swoopstrike and Dappledpelt weren't ever mates, but Swoopstrike might have a biiiiit of a crush on her, although he'd never admit it! So, right now they just have a playful and flirty relationship. And, I think grumpy Swoopstrike sort of likes that she's not afraid to stand up to him and claw his whiskers off when he gets too out of line :P
Brian.H.H: Hi! Yeah ThunderClan is in a bit of a rough spot currently, although the dynamics between the clans and what exactly is going on between Thunder and Sky will remain a bit murky for our ShadowClan protagonists for a while longer. As for WindClan, I think they're still nursing their hurt pride from their battle with ShadowClan, but they won't be out of the conflict for too long. And, RiverClan right now is sort of chilling in the background haha. They seem mostly content for the other clans to duke it out as long as they stay out of RiverClan's fur! (And, since RiverClan is on the totally opposite side of the forest than ShadowClan, I don't plan on their being much conflict between the two clans. As of right now at least.)
Mossyheart: Yes, Paledusk is Frostpaw's father. Frostpaw's mother came to him for help when Frostpaw was a kit, but he drove her away because he's kind of awful tbh. Frostpaw isn't aware that Paledusk is her father though, although she is starting to put some of the pieces together.