Despite Frostmask's newfound interest in her role as deputy, to her disappointment, her change in attitude didn't magically make everything better. Of course, she knew at the core of her heart that that was a naive, kit-like thing to wish for. But, the universe didn't have to put her back in her place so harshly. In fact, it sometimes felt like the opposite of what she'd hoped for was true— instead of helping her out, the world was conspiring to make things as difficult as possible for her, as if taunting her for daring to try. It was exhausting, and as the days passed, it chipped away at her resolve bit by bit.
She was still sometimes late with patrol assignments. Her relationship with Sedgestar didn't immediately fix itself. And, Dampfang and his friends were still a nuisance, although no one outright called for her replacement anymore. It seemed that her clan-mates had accepted that Sedgestar changing the position now was impossible— it would make ShadowClan look weak, like they were crumpling to the pressure from the other clans.
That didn't stop Dampfang from still being a constant thorn in Frostmask's side, though. He just did it in slightly subtler ways.
It hadn't even been an entire moon-cycle since Lizardstrike's warriors ceremony, and yet he was already relentlessly pestering her and Sedgestar about making Cedarpaw a warrior. He'd again insisted on meeting with their leader, and so Frostmask found herself in Sedgestar's den with him and Dampfang for what was probably the twelfth time in the past half moon. She sat to Sedgestar's right and slightly behind him, trying her hardest to channel the calm energy Grovepelt always radiated and not let her boredom and irritation show on her face. Dampfang stood in front of her and Sedgestar, his dark form blotting out the little amount of light that made it down the root tunnel.
Frostmask would much rather let Sedgestar deal with Dampfang's complaining by himself while she attended to other things, but her leader insisted that she join him for these meetings. Sedgestar had called it a 'learning experience.'
So here Frostmask was, forcing herself to listen to what Dampfang was saying, even though she doubted it would be any different from the arguments that he'd posed the last several times.
"Cedarpaw fights and hunts just as well as any warrior," Dampfang meowed to Sedgestar. "He deserves to get his full name."
"That may be so, but his sisters haven't yet completed their assessments," Sedgestar responded. "It doesn't seem very fair to them to have him get his warrior name now, when they could join him in only another quarter moon or so."
Dampfang released a short, sharp breath between his fangs, something between a sigh and a hiss.
"And, what if it takes longer than a quarter moon?" Dampfang asked. "Cricketpaw's training has been all mixed up as she's been shuffled between Pineshade and Snakeeyes. Would you punish Cedarpaw for his sisters' and their mentors' failings?"
Defensive anger for Pineshade and Snakeeyes stirred in Frostmask's belly, but she decided it best to remain silent.
"Do you consider Cedarpaw getting his warrior name with his littermates a failure?" Sedgestar posed with a calm blink.
"When he's already ready to be a warrior now, yes," Dampfang said with a faint growl.
"Come watch one of his training sessions, you'll see what I mean."
"And, what does Cedarpaw think about all this?" Sedgestar asked. "Is he as impatient to be a warrior as you are for him?"
Dampfang's ears flattened.
"So you're refusing to assess his progress?" he demanded. "You didn't have a problem stopping by on practically all of your grandkits' sessions."
"You didn't answer my question, Dampfang," Sedgestar said.
"You didn't answer my question," Dampfang hissed back, his tail starting to lash. "You basically coddled Lizardstrike all through out his training, but you've totally neglected my apprentice, who's worked his tail off for this!"
"Do you think Lizardstrike didn't deserve to receive his warrior name?" Sedgestar asked, his voice turning dangerously soft.
You're treading on thin ice, Dampfang. Frostmask thought, shooting him a glance from narrowed eyes.
But, Dampfang had hardly looked at her this whole time.
"I think no one would have been surprised if it took Lizardstrike a bit longer than normal to get his name, given his situation," Dampfang said, surprisingly diplomatically.
He'd also managed to cool some of the anger in his voice, and his lashing tail settled for just twitching.
"But, there's no reason to delay Cedarpaw's."
"His ceremony has not been delayed," Sedgestar said with a sharp huff, his tail starting to flick as his patience came to its end. "He hasn't even reached the standard six moons of apprenticeship. What you are asking for is an early ceremony. And, you are not making a very strong case for it."
Dampfang stiffened, his body becoming entirely still.
"Is that your answer then?" Dampfang asked in a low voice.
"Yes," Sedgestar responded, giving a curt nod. "Come back again when you can make a better argument, or when Hollowpaw and Cricketpaw have also completed their assessments. You are dismissed."
Dampfang immediately turned on his heel and exited the cave, his tail whipping behind him again. Once he'd stomped out of the tunnel, Frostmask glanced at Sedgestar.
"How often do cats normally meet with you like this to complain?" she asked.
Sedgestar's gaze was foggy, but they cleared as he blinked, as if he'd pulled himself out of his thoughts in an attempt to focus in on her again. He gave a slightly strained purr.
"You'll find that it happens more often for some than it does to others," he said distractedly, in a sort of non-answer.
Frostmask's ears slanted back, unhappy that he hadn't really bothered to give her a proper response, but lacking the energy to press harder and try again.
"Can I go now too?" Frostmask asked.
Sedgestar sent her off with a nod, his expression weary. Frostmask quickly rose to her paws and slipped out of the den.
As the morning winded down, the camp grew busier as patrols returned, hauling in large loads of fresh-kill and then staying in camp to eat and rest for sun-high. The weather today was lovely and warm, hinting at the quickly approaching green-leaf, and everyone seemed excited to be outside, sunning themselves and visiting with friends.
Frostmask turned, about to pad around the edge of camp, and almost ran smack into Dampfang. He had lingered at the base of the Oak Tree in the shade of the roots, on the far side of the trunk from Sedgestar's den entrance. Frostmask quickly stepped to move around him, but his gaze snapped to hers.
"Frostmask," he growled, suddenly acknowledging her for the first time this morning. "You need to convince Sedgestar to make Cedarpaw a warrior."
Frostmask sighed, her ears flattening.
"And, what makes you think I can do that?" she asked flatly.
Dampfang stared at her for one long moment like she was stupid.
"Because you're the deputy," he said, sneering slightly at the title.
"But, you heard Sedgestar's answer," Frostmask insisted, her tail flicking with irritation. "Just wait another quarter moon, and Cedarpaw will be a warrior. It's not a big deal. Why does it bother you so much to wait a few more days?"
"It's not about what's bothering me," Dampfang growled, his fur bushing out. "It's what Cedarpaw deserves. He's worthy of his warrior name."
Frostmask sighed again.
Why did Dampfang insist on having the same conversation a hundred times over? Did he just take that much joy in nagging at her and Sedgestar? It felt like his constant pestering was taking moons off her life.
Maybe that's why Sedgestar looks so tired.
"And, he will get it. In a quarter moon," Frostmask sighed, starting to pad off.
Dampfang released a loud, wordless hiss at her back.
"It's no wonder Sedgestar made you his deputy," he sneered, his voice saturated with rancor. "You're totally spineless."
Frostmask froze, the fur on her shoulders starting to bristle as anger stirred in her gut.
"Excuse me?" she said, turning back towards Dampfang with deliberate slowness, her muscles tensing.
He bared his teeth at her.
"You heard me," he growled. "You want to know why he picked you? It's the same reason he chose Grovepelt all those seasons ago. See, all Sedgestar wants in a deputy is a meek little kit to mew, 'Yes, sir,' at his every command and lick his feet. He got that in Grovepelt, who loves him like a son and thinks he can do no wrong. But, now that Grovepelt's retired, what better cat for the job than the lowly little rogue Sedgestar raised up from nothing to his second-in-command? Blindly devoted, like a dog."
A growl began to rumble in Frostmask's throat.
"You don't know a thing about me," she spat, stalking back towards him.
Dampfang released a harsh bark of laughter.
"No, Frostmask. I know everything about you," Dampfang said, his purr of bitter humor distorting in his throat into a furious rumble. "I've known you practically your whole life, since the moment your mangy, flea-bitten pelt was dragged into this Clan."
He put on a mocking, high-pitched voice for a moment.
"'I'm the little rogue, Frostmask, but I love ShadowClan. I'm so devoted, so eager to please, to show that I belong here.' Well guess what? You don't. All you've done since you've gotten here is weaken the Clan from the inside. If Sedgestar had any sense, he'd have purged you like the blight you are seasons ago."
"You're wrong. I've only helped ShadowClan," Frostmask hissed between her fangs. "Every moment of everyday, with each piece of prey I've brought back to feed our clan-mates, with every drop of blood I've spilled defending this Clan."
"I suppose you call having RiverClan, SkyClan, and WindClan snarling at our borders because of your appointment to deputy 'helping' as well?" Dampfang sneered, malicious glee flashing in his eyes. "Did it also help the clan when Swoopstrike died because you and Autumnleap bit off more than you could chew during a fight?"
Frostmask dug her claws into the loamy, camp ground.
"Don't you dare talk about Swoopstrike," she snarled, a red haze starting to form at the corners of her vision.
"Not to mention the sorts of future disasters that must await ShadowClan because of your appointment to deputy," Dampfang barreled on. "If you weren't here, Sedgestar would've had to make a sensible choice for deputy. Someone who wouldn't've pissed off the other clans just by existing, and it'd be someone who could also stand up to him. Who'd be able to call him out when he was making frog-brained decisions. Who could keep him from turning ShadowClan into SedgeClan."
"Ha. Like you?" Frostmask spat derisively, curling her lip up as if his words reeked like crowfood. "Face it Dampfang, you'll never be leader of ShadowClan. No cat here would ever want you as their leader because everyone can see that you're nothing but a spoiled, petty child, who just expects to be handed everything he wants in life, without having to work for it at all!"
Dampfang's green eyes blazed with wrath, and he rose to his paws. His muscular shoulders rippled as he crouched down, claws unsheathing.
"How dare you, you little b—"
"What's going on?" Pineshade suddenly interrupted, her voice ice-cold.
Frostmask blinked in surprise, abruptly torn out of the haze of anger that'd enfolded her body and honed all her attention towards Dampfang into a single, sharp point like a razor-edged claw. She glanced over at Pineshade. She must have come here looking for them— this little corner of camp, tucked between the back of the Oak Tree and the thorn barrier wasn't exactly a highly trafficked area. But, it was hard to say if Pineshade was here because their voices had risen enough to catch her attention, or if she had simply been wondering where they went.
Pineshade glanced from Dampfang to Frostmask and back, her ears flattening with concern and suspicion as she waited for one of them to answer.
"Nothing," Dampfang growled finally, straightening from his crouch. "We were just having a debate about our different philosophies on leadership. Right, Frostmask?"
His eyes darkened with an unspoken threat as he glowered at her.
"Yeah," Frostmask spat venomously, her tail lashing. "Just a friendly debate."
She whirled around on her heel and stormed off.
"I'm taking Cedarpaw out," she heard Dampfang growl to Pineshade from behind her.
"Now? At sun-high?" Pineshade asked, doubt plain in her voice.
"Yeah," Dampfang growled. "Training at weird times will be a useful experience for him."
Frostmask glanced over her shoulder to see him storm out from behind the Oak Tree, irritably flicking his tail at Cedarpaw from across camp to tell him to follow as he headed straight towards the thorn tunnel. Cedarpaw had been eating a vole with Hollowpaw, but when Dampfang summoned him, he quickly choked down the rest of his food and scrambled after his mentor, leaving his sister to bury the scraps. As the two of them vanished out of camp, Pineshade's voice rang out.
"Frostmask!"
Frostmask didn't stop stalking away, but Pineshade bounded over to her, her brow furrowed and tail twitching.
"Do you want to tell me what actually happened back there?" she asked, searching Frostmask's face with a concerned gaze. "You two looked a heartbeat away from tearing each others fur off!"
Frostmask lashed her tail.
"Don't you believe your mate when he says nothing's wrong?" she snarled. "Why bother asking me?"
Pineshade blinked in offense at her tone, her lip curling up slightly.
"Because I'm worried about you, frog-brain, and I know he's lying! He basically just ran out of camp to avoid talking about it!" Pineshade hissed.
Frostmask heaved out a sharp exhale, trying to calm down. Dampfang had wound her muscles into knots and fury still rolled in her stomach like a raging river, but she really shouldn't snarl at Pineshade. She hadn't really done anything wrong.
Besides being Dampfang's mate.
But, that frog-brained decision spanned the past several moons and wasn't something that Frostmask should throw in her face if she wanted to have any sort of productive conversation.
"Okay. I'm sorry," Frostmask grumbled, coming to a stop at the edge of camp. "He just got me really worked up. He…"
Frostmask's voice trailed off into a growl, and she stared down at her feet, flexing her claws. Pineshade stared at her for a moment.
"…He was talking about how you shouldn't be deputy?" Pineshade said for her.
"Yeah… Good guess," Frostmask muttered to the ground.
Pineshade huffed and rolled her eye.
"Not really. It's all he talks about these days," Pineshade growled. "I've been trying to make him stop. You've gotta believe me Frostmask, I'm trying. I've tried everything. I'm this close to clawing out his tongue as a last resort."
Frostmask released a soft huff of bitter amusement.
"Yeah, right," she muttered sarcastically.
"Okay, that last thing was a joke," Pineshade admitted, her ears flicking. "But, I meant everything else. You've got my support, Frostmask. I don't agree with him or the other clans. And, it's completely stupid to think that our dead clan-mates in StarClan wouldn't support you too. If Dampfang thought about it for a moment, he'd realize that. But, he's too blind with jealousy to see sense. I'll keep arguing with him about it, though, a thousand more times if I have to."
Frostmask glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes.
"Do you do anything but argue these days?" she asked quietly.
Pineshade grimaced, shifting her weight uneasily. Her gaze flitted away, avoiding Frostmask's eyes.
"It's been a while since we didn't," she confessed in a soft voice.
"Do you even like being around him anymore?" Frostmask pressed. "At all?"
"Frostmask…" Pineshade said, a soft warning in her voice.
Her relationship with Dampfang still seemed to be a forbidden topic of conversation, then.
Frostmask flicked her tail with annoyance, but conceded.
"Alright, we don't have to talk about it," she huffed.
Frostmask inhaled deeply. The majority of her rage had faded, but she was still trying to wash away the stinging aftertaste of anxious energy as her gaze flitted across camp. It was properly sun-high now, and most of ShadowClan was out in camp, relaxing, totally oblivious to the strength of the tension that had just been crackling between Frostmask and Dampfang like lightning.
Frostmask's gaze was drawn towards the nursery, and her heart softened as she spotted Autumnleap lying outside it. His tail-tip flicked back and forth temptingly near the den's entrance, and in the shadows beneath the brambles, four pairs of eyes peered out. They were all completely captivated by the bushy, auburn tail, tracking it as it flicked from left to right and back again.
Frostmask purred quietly, starting to finally, fully calm down.
I should go visit the kits. That will be the perfect thing to take my mind off of Dampfang.
"Want to go see the kits with me?" she invited, glancing back over at Pineshade.
Pineshade blinked uncertainly.
"Have they left the nursery yet? If they're still just wiggling around in their nest, I think I'm good," she said, flicking her ears.
"They're getting there," Frostmask said, starting to lead the way towards the nursery. "I think Autumnleap is trying to coax them out now."
Poolcloud's and Dewleaf's kittens had already reached the age when their ears and eyes had opened, although their eyes were still a murky blue— they hadn't yet settled into their true, adult colors. They'd just started to stumble around and speak rudimentary phrases as well, but they were a bit scared to wander out of the safety of the den and into the wider world.
"That's not a 'yes,'" Pineshade said, although she still padded after Frostmask. "Kits are pretty boring when they're not big enough to do anything."
"They're still cute though!" Frostmask protested with a purr. "Besides, don't you want to check on your namesake?"
Pineshade hummed in thought. Even as she pretended to deliberate though, Frostmask knew that, just by the fact that she was following her, she'd already made up her mind.
"I suppose," Pineshade said finally, her voice teasing. "Sprucekit is obviously the most superior of the kittens."
Frostmask spun around and lightly cuffed one of Pineshade's ears with her paw.
"Pineshade! You can't say that!" she scolded, narrowing her eyes disapprovingly. "It'd crush them to know that you have favorites!"
"They're not old enough to understand what that means!" Pineshade protested, purring as she ducked away from Frostmask, watching her carefully to see if she'd swat at her again. "Besides, I don't even think that they can hear me from over there."
"They understand more than you'd think," Frostmask warned. "So watch your mouth."
"Okay mom," Pineshade huffed, lolling her tongue out playfully.
Frostmask shook her head in exasperation, but an amused purr rumbled in her throat all the same. They resumed their path to the nursery, and Autumnleap's gaze flicked towards them as they padded over.
"Look who's come to see you!" Autumnleap meowed to the kits from over his shoulder, drawing their attention away from his tail and towards the approaching she-cats.
"Frostmask!" Fogkit exclaimed, although his pronunciation of her name made it sound a bit more like Frostmast.
None of the kitten had quite mastered the art of language yet.
Fogkit drew even closer to the den's exit, but he paused just short of the camp's threshold, his grey-and-white tail held high and waving with excitement. His littermates echoed his greeting, crowding around him. Frostmask purred indulgently, her heart warm.
Sprucekit was the first to spot Pineshade behind her, and when she did, she began to hop up and down in place, as if her eagerness made her unable to keep her paws still.
"Pineshade! Pineshade! Pineshade!" Sprucekit squeaked.
Sprucekit's affection for her aunt was obvious, and Frostmask couldn't stop her whiskers from quivering with amusement.
Well, if Pineshade's going to have a favorite, at least it's reciprocated.
A purr began to vibrate in Pineshade's chest, and despite her earlier protests about visiting, she lengthened her stride, over-taking Frostmask to be the first to reach the kittens. She ducked her head down, nuzzling them and purring even louder as the four pounced against her face, batting at the edges of her fur and her whiskers.
"Tell us how you lost your eye again!" Mudkit pleaded to her, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Yeah!" Sprucekit mewed in agreement, swiping at the air with a tiny paw as if she was fighting an equally tiny opponent.
"Pineshade should have never told you that story in the first place!" Poolcloud scolded, his head suddenly emerging from the darkness of the den to glare out at Pineshade.
"Hey, they're the ones that asked about it," Pineshade said with a shrug, her eye bright with mischief as she glanced up at her brother. "What? You want me to lie to your kits?"
"You didn't have the share all the gory details!" Poolcloud protested, his brow furrowing. "It's much too morbid for such young kits."
"We're not kits!" Lichenkit argued, her brow furrowing. "Mama says we're little warriors!"
Poolcloud glanced down at her, an affectionate purr starting to rumble in his throat.
"You're mom is just being nice," he said, smoothing down Lichenkit's fur with a soft brush of his paw. "You'll be brave warriors one day, but you've got a lot of growing up to do first."
As Frostmask reached the nursery, Pineshade scooted back to make room for her in the narrow den's entrance, and the kits greeted her just as enthusiastically as they had Pineshade. Mudkit even tried to climb up her long fur to get onto her back.
With her front half sticking inside the nursery, Frostmask could see that the den was empty beside Poolcloud and his kits. Larkfoot and Amberberry were supervising the older litter as they played out in camp, but Frostmask wasn't sure where Dewleaf had gone.
"Speaking of their mom, where is Dewleaf?" Frostmask asked, blinking at Poolcloud curiously.
Mudkit was still tugging on her fur, trying to climb up her side. Frostmask crouched down, allowing the kit to scramble up on her. He perched on her shoulders, his forepaws resting on the base of her skull as he purred with victory.
"She just went to go for a walk outside camp. I think being cooped up in the den all the time is starting to get to her," Poolcloud said.
"Mama'll be back soon, right?" Sprucekit asked, her eyes wide with a hint of worry.
This was probably the longest the kittens had ever been without their mother so far.
"Of course," Poolcloud soothed, blinking gently at his daughter. "But, while she's gone, you all have Frostmask, Autumnleap, and Pineshade to play with, so you're very lucky."
"Yes! I want a badger ride!" Mudkit declared from his perch on Frostmask's back, wiggling with excitement.
Frostmask twisted her head slightly to peer back at him from out of the corner of her eyes.
"I can't give you a badger ride in the nursery entrance," she said. "We'd have to go outside. Is that okay?"
Mudkit paused, some of his excitement fading as his gaze flickered nervously from Frostmask to Poolcloud as if looking for permission. Poolcloud nodded at him encouragingly, and Mudkit's littermates stared with wide eyes, waiting to see if he'd be the first one willing to exit the den.
"O-okay," Mudkit meowed hesitantly.
Frostmask purred soothingly.
"Alright, hold on!" she said.
Frostmask waited until she felt Mudkit's paws bury deeply into her fur. His claws even lightly pricked at her skin, but they were much too small to do any damage. Once she was sure that he was securely clinging to her shoulders, she carefully backed out of nursery, straightening up after she was clear of the brambles. Although Frostmask wasn't a particularly strong cat, she still barely noticed Mudkit's weight on her back. At this age, the kits hardly weighed more than scraps of moss.
"Ooo!" Mudkit squeaked with excitement, squirming as he peered around at the camp from his vantage on her shoulders.
Frostmask trotted in a small circle, making sure to keep close to the nursery entrance, so Mudkit wouldn't lose sight of his father or littermates and get scared. Sprucekit, Fogkit, and Lichenkit watched him with wide, eager eyes from the nursery. None emerged to follow him, but all seemed excited at the prospect.
Once Frostmask completed a second circuit, she returned Mudkit to right outside the nursery, crouching down so he could hop off her shoulders in front of the den. Mudkit puffed out his chest, his white and brown fur fluffed up with excitement as he stood on his own four paws outside of the nursery for the first time.
"I did it!" he crowed. "I went outside!"
"You didn't do it!" Lichenkit protested. "Frostmask did everything!"
"I want a badger ride too!" Sprucekit said, ignoring Lichenkit.
She shoved past her and lunged towards Frostmask.
"No! Me next!" Fogkit wailed, also racing to reach Frostmask.
They both hesitated at the den's exit, but only for a heartbeat before they took the plunge and dashed outside, squeaking with excitement as they bounced around Frostmask's paws with Mudkit. Lichenkit's tail twitched in offense, but she padded outside behind them, not hesitating as her paws crossed the threshold, as if she hadn't even been afraid to step outside at all.
After only a moment of being outside, Fogkit seemed to forget his eagerness for a badger ride, and now he pounced on Autumnleap's tail, mauling the fluffy auburn pelt with an enthusiasm that was adorable at his age, but would be absolutely vicious if he was older. Mudkit bounced up to Pineshade, going back to begging for her battle stories. Poolcloud emerged from the nursery to take a seat right outside the bush and keep a close eye on his kits. He seemed equal parts proud and terrified to see them out of the den for the first time.
"Don't go far!" Poolcloud said, his brow furrowing with worry as he watched them spill out into camp.
"Don't worry," Larkfoot called from across the clearing, her voice warm with affection as she spotted the young kits emerging from the nursery. "They just took their first steps outside. I don't think they'll be climbing the Oak Tree yet."
The older queen's instincts seemed accurate. The kits stuck close to the three warriors and their father, hardly wanting to stray more than three tail-lengths away from the nursery entrance, to Poolcloud's clear relief.
"Badger ride! Badger ride!" Sprucekit chanted, dancing from paw to paw in front of Frostmask.
Unlike, Fogkit, she seemed much more set on it. Autumnleap purred at Sprucekit's begging, his tail still flicking from side to side to make it a more appealing target as Fogkit continued to chase after it.
"I think the deputy has more important things to do than to give you all badger rides," Autumnleap teased, his amber eyes glinting with amusement.
"Nonsense!" Frostmask declared, crouching down so Sprucekit would be able to climb onto her back. "This is definitely the most important thing for me to do right now."
Sprucekit clumsily reared up, placing her paws on Frostmask's side as she prepared to scramble up onto her. But, she hesitated, her expression creasing with confusion.
"Uncle Dampfang says Frostmask's not a real deputy," Sprucekit said.
Frostmask tensed, and Poolcloud, Pineshade, and Autumnleap all froze as well. Autumnleap's tail even stopped flicking for a moment, although Fogkit continued to bat at it.
Annoyance prickled through Frostmask's pelt, but not towards Sprucekit— only Dampfang.
He shouldn't be filling the kits' heads with lies!
"Dampfang must be confused," Poolcloud said slowly, exchanging a quick glance with Frostmask. "Frostmask is the deputy of ShadowClan."
Sprucekit shrugged.
"Okay," she chirped, unbothered.
She scrambled onto Frostmask's shoulders.
"Badger ride!" Sprucekit cheered.
Frostmask complied, slowly trotting around as Sprucekit squeaked with excitement. But, her mood had soured some.
Leave it to Dampfang to ruin things, even when he's not here!
Frostmask gave her ears a small shake, trying to dislodge the thought, but it clung to her like a stubborn cobweb.
It's bad enough that he's so vocal against me by himself and with his friends. But, now he wants to turn these innocent kits against me too?
Frostmask finished Sprucekit's ride and deposited her back by her siblings near the nursery. Sprucekit went to go play with Pineshade, switching places with Mudkit, who hurried over towards Frostmask, tripping over his own paws in his eagerness to get to her.
"I think I'm too tired for anymore badger rides, Mudkit," Frostmask said, stifling a sigh as she lied down by Autumnleap, where Fogkit was still playing with his tail.
But, as soon as the words left her mouth, guilt prodded at her.
I shouldn't let Dampfang ruin the kits' fun too, she scolded herself.
"Okay, maybe I can be convinced to do one more ride," she said as Mudkit reached her.
"No. Not that," he said, his eyes sparkling.
He climbed onto Frostmask's forepaws, nuzzling into her chest fur. A soft purr began to rumble in Frostmask's throat, and she bent her head to rasp her tongue down Mudkit's back.
"Then what do you need, tadpole?" she asked.
Frostmask had picked the endearment up from Dewleaf, who often used it when referring to her litter.
"I wanna be deputy like you when I grow up," Mudkit said, gazing up at her with wide, shining eyes.
Frostmask blinked, her lingering annoyance towards Dampfang driven away by a sudden rush of affection. Purring, she rubbed her face against Mudkit's.
"I think you'd be an amazing deputy," she said.
"Really?" Mudkit peeped, his chin raising happily.
"Of course," Frostmask said, nodding solemnly.
The excitement of taking their first steps outside of the den seemed to have tuckered all of the kits out. Still sitting on Frostmask's paws, Mudkit's nuzzled closer to her, his head drooping as he started to doze off. Meanwhile, Sprucekit had curled up next to Pineshade's side. Their matching black pelts mingled together so well, the little spotting of white on Sprucekit was the only clear indication that she was there at all. Even Fogkit had fallen asleep, sprawled out on the ground with Autumnleap's tail-tip still clasped between his paws.
Lichenkit was the only left of the four still awake. She was inspecting the outside of the nursery, staring curiously at the unfriendly, prickly appearance of the thorns that protected the den.
Frostmask gazed down at Mudkit. He was leaned back against her chest, snoring slightly since his head was tilted back at an awkward angle. Not wanting him to wake up with an aching neck, Frostmask nudged him gently with her muzzle, and he shifted, curling up into a more comfortable position.
A soft, steady purr rumbled from Poolcloud, making Frostmask glance up at him, and they made eye contact.
"You're really good with them," he said.
Frostmask's chest warmed with happiness, but she flicked her ears, dismissing his praise.
"Just as good as Pineshade and Autumnleap," she said.
"They didn't give anyone badger rides," Poolcloud said, shooting a teasing glare at his siblings.
"No one asked us!" Autumnleap jokingly protested. "And, besides, I gave up my tail to be a chew-toy. That's got to count for something. Look, I still have a big, weird-looking tick stuck to me right now."
Autumnleap angled his ears back to indicate Fogkit, who continued sleeping blissfully, his claws tangled in Autumnleap's bushy tail fur.
"If by 'weird-looking tick' you mean 'absolutely adorable kitten,'" Poolcloud corrected, narrowing his eyes with a playful warning at Autumnleap, "then yes. You do."
"If we're still deciding who's the best aunt or uncle," Pineshade chimed in, "I'd just like to point out that, unlike Autumnleap, I've never called any of your kits a blood-leeching parasite."
She bent her head to nuzzle Sprucekit lovingly as if for emphasis, and Poolcloud nodded at her.
"Well that is definitely a point in your and Frostmask's favors," Poolcloud said, his tone solemn, but his eyes sparkling with laughter.
Pineshade's tail curled up in smug delight, and she shot a gloating glance at Autumnleap.
"I was joking! Obviously!" Autumnleap huffed, his ears flattening in a pout.
Poolcloud ignored him, turning his gaze onto Frostmask as he shifted back to seriousness.
"Have you thought about if you'll have kits?" Poolcloud asked.
Frostmask blinked in surprise at the sudden question, and her tail twitched with uncertainty.
Of course she'd considered it. How could she have not with Dewleaf's and Poolcloud's kits in the nursery? But, it wasn't something that she and Autumnleap had discussed in more depth than a passing comment. In fact, she could feel Autumnleap's intent gaze on her this moment, as if he was just as curious about her answer as Poolcloud was.
"I've thought about it," Frostmask said slowly. "But, I'm not sure what my answer is right now. I like kits, but my kits would be—"
Frostmask broke off abruptly, her brow furrowing.
Part SkyClan. 'Rogue-blooded.'
Would any of her kits be as easily loved by everyone in the clan as Dewleaf's and Poolcloud's kits were? Or, would their outsider heritage still stalk them, even with both of their parents in ShadowClan? Frostmask didn't have it in her to doom any of her hypothetical kits to experience the same prejudice she'd faced. Even without them existing, she still loved them too much for that.
Frostmask dropped her eyes from Poolcloud down to Mudkit, tracing the edges of his downy soft kit-fur with her gaze.
"I don't want them to have to experience the same things I did, growing up," Frostmask finally continued, choosing her words carefully.
Frostmask's earliest moons in ShadowClan were a sensitive subject in their group, and one that Frostmask tended to avoid discussing, unless it was just her and Autumnleap alone. She knew that Pineshade still felt guilty about her kit-hood bullying, and Frostmask didn't like making her feel bad, especially not when she was one of her closest friends now.
"So, I don't know," she concluded.
She glanced back up at the group. Pineshade was carefully avoiding her gaze, instead focusing on picking tiny specks of dirt from Sprucekit's fur, but Frostmask could tell from the backwards slant to her ears, she was uncomfortable. Poolcloud's eyes were round with sympathy as he gazed at her, and Autumnleap gently brushed his tail against her flank.
"You really think your kits would be treated poorly just because you weren't born in ShadowClan?" Poolcloud asked.
"It's possible," Frostmask muttered, dropping her gaze again. "They'd be the kits of a rogue."
"They'd be the kits of ShadowClan's deputy," Autumnleap growled emphatically.
Poolcloud nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, if anything, our clan-mates will be fighting each other to be their mentors, just to get in your good graces," he added.
"I don't know," Pineshade suddenly broke in.
The low mutter of her voice drew Frostmask's attention, but she still didn't make eye-contact with her.
"Just because our clan-mates have accepted Frostmask, doesn't necessarily mean that they'd accept her kits. Cats can be cruel, especially young cats, who are too foolish to know any better."
Pineshade's gaze finally met Frostmask's.
"I know I was," she said, her ears flat with embarrassment.
"Because someone was influencing you when you were a kit and an apprentice," Autumnleap grumbled, his eyes narrowing.
Frostmask expected Pineshade to retort back, but she just shifted uneasily, looking away from him.
That was an angle Frostmask hadn't considered— not just Dampfang being against her kits, but him convincing others who might be neutral or supportive otherwise, to be against them as well. He's already tried to tell Sprucekit that Frostmask wasn't a 'real' deputy, so was it really that much of a stretch to imagine that he'd also try to tell them one day that her kits weren't 'real' ShadowClan cats?
"My kits are kind, though," Poolcloud said, sweeping a proud gaze over Lichenkit and his three sleeping kits.
Pineshade arched a brow.
"Aren't all kits born kind?" she asked.
Poolcloud frowned slightly.
"But, they'd listen to me and Dewleaf if we told them to be nice to Frostmask's kits," he argued.
Pineshade exhaled a sharp, incredulous breath.
"As much as I listened to Redclaw and Weaseltail?" she asked.
Poolcloud shifted his paws, having no answer for that. Frostmask's ears twisted back, feeling more disheartened as Pineshade's eye flickered to her and caught sight of her expression.
"But, I'm sure things will be better once the clan has grown more used to you being deputy," Pineshade said, her tone quickly turning supportive. "The grumbling of the other clans will settle down, and in ShadowClan, kits will grow up only knowing you as our deputy. The overall attitude of the clan will shift."
Frostmask's tail-tip twitched slightly. Judging by the way Dampfang just seemed to grow more aggressive to her by the day, at this rate, she wasn't sure if the clan would ever fully accept her as long as he was breathing.
But, she kept that worry to herself. The last thing she needed was to someone overhear her saying the phrase 'as long as Dampfang is breathing,' and then have that get back to him. Stars, before she could say 'mouse' Dampfang would be dramatically proclaiming that his life was under threat by the evil rogue Frostmask.
"You're not planning on having kits anytime soon, right?" Pineshade prodded, refocusing her attention.
"Yeah," Frostmask said. "I want to focus on figuring out how to be deputy, before I add figuring out how to be a mom into the mix."
Pineshade nodded.
"That makes sense. So, there's plenty of time for things to get better, and for you to make up your mind," she said. "You could wait for seasons before coming to a final decision. After all, Redclaw and Weaseltail were senior warriors by the time they decided to have a litter."
Frostmask blinked gratefully at Pineshade for her support.
"That's true," she agreed.
"And, look how absolutely perfect Poolcloud and I turned out," Autumnleap joked, puffing out his chest and shooting a teasing glance at Pineshade. "And, Pineshade is... er... adequate, I guess."
Pineshade's face immediately scrunched up in offense, and she rumbled a low growl.
"If I didn't have a kit sleeping on my flank, I'd claw your ears right now," she warned.
"No threatening violence to each other in front of the children!" Poolcloud scolded.
"That's got to be a point in my favor," Autumnleap said, gazing imploringly at Poolcloud.
Poolcloud sighed.
"Fine," he said. "One point for Autumnleap, and another for Frostmask."
"Yes!" Autumnleap cheered to himself in a loud whisper.
Pineshade scowled at him.
"Not fair. You baited me into saying it," she grumbled.
Poolcloud rolled his eyes in exasperation at his littermates' bickering, but he purred as he glanced at Frostmask.
"For the record though, I think as the point total reflects, you'd make a great mother… Although, that doesn't mean that you have to have kits," he added hastily. "But, if you did decide to one day, you'd be good at it."
"Thank you," Frostmask murmured, dipping her head shyly. "You know, you're a pretty good parent yourself. Definitely better than me since you, you know, actually have kits."
Poolcloud purred, his gaze warming at her praise.
"Well I better prove that by getting them back into the den to rest," he said. "They're all worn out."
Poolcloud rose to his paws to gather them up, purring softly all the while.
"Poor sleepy kittens," he cooed, scooping Fogkit up first to carry back into the den.
Fogkit barely twitched as Poolcloud padded off with him. Once the kit had finally been removed from Autumnleap's tail, he sighed with relief, languidly swishing it from side as he stretched out his forepaws before rolling onto his back.
"Wake up, eat and play to your heart's content, then go right back to sleep. I wish I had that life," he meowed wistfully, gazing out at Frostmask and Pineshade from upside-down.
"Isn't that exactly what you do already?" Pineshade sniped, her eye narrowing.
"I'll have you know that I went on a patrol this morning!" Autumnleap huffed offendedly, rolling back onto his stomach. "Tell her, deputy!"
Poolcloud had already taken Sprucekit in as well, and now he returned to get Mudkit from Frostmask. The kit was already sleeping so deeply he didn't stir at all as Poolcloud lifted him by his scruff. Frostmask turned to Autumnleap.
"I know I assigned you to a patrol, but if you actually completed it, instead of say, napping, how am I to know?" she said, blinking with exaggerated innocence.
Autumnleap rolled his eyes.
"My own mate, turned against me!" he groaned dramatically.
"Oh Lichenkit, be careful!" Poolcloud suddenly interrupted, pulling their attention back towards him.
The little blue-grey kitten had drawn even closer to the edge of the nursery, and Poolcloud had sprung forward to stop her from actually touching the side of it. Her nose was less than a whisker's length away from the bush's spiny brambles as she sniffed at them curiously.
"Those thorns are sharp!" Poolcloud scolded.
"I was careful!" Lichenkit protested as Poolcloud scooped her up and carried her back inside the den to the others.
He placed her down on the pile of her drowsy littermates, freeing his mouth from her scruff so he could respond.
"Okay. But, you must be tired too," he said.
"I'm not, Papa!" Lichenkit said stubbornly.
Poolcloud shook his head with an air of exasperated fondness, and he wrapped his fluffy tail around his kits to keep them in place.
"I'm not!" Lichenkit reiterated. "And, I wasn't going to touch thorns!"
Frostmask purred as the other kits stirred at the sound of Lichenkit's protesting, and three more pairs of sleepy eyes peered over the edge of Poolcloud's tail like owlets in a nest.
"You know you won't always be able to stop them from pricking their pelts," Autumnleap added to Poolcloud, gently teasing.
"I can sure try!" Poolcloud protested, curling his tail more tightly around them.
After only a few moments had passed, Sprucekit, Mudkit and Fogkit started to drift back off, and despite her protests, Lichenkit's eyelids begun to droop too.
Frostmask purred and stretched her legs out before rolling over so her fur brushed Autumnleap's. A purr rumbled from Autumnleap to match hers, and Frostmask closed her eyes. With the warm sun beating down on her pelt, it seemed like the perfect time for her to take a nap as well. She could forget about her troubles with Dampfang for a while in the soft embrace of sleep.
It felt like Frostmask had her eyes only closed for a heartbeat before someone was quite loudly clearing their throat in front of her.
Frostmask's eyes blinked open to be greeted by Dustleap, who was staring down at her with the look of mild disdain of someone who had just discovered that their den roof had leaked, and their nest was soaked through.
"Are you planning on sleeping through the evening?" Dustleap asked, his tail-tip flicking with annoyance.
Frostmask's eyes flashed from him and to the sky. She still wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, or if she'd been asleep at all, but it had already passed sun-high. She'd either lost track of time playing with the kits and talking with her friends, or napped for too long. Autumnleap and Pineshade were still hanging out by the nursery too, their eyes closed as if they'd also been sleeping, but they both stirred at the sound of Dustleap's voice.
Hot embarrassment crawled through Frostmask's pelt, and she scrambled to her paws, pushing herself into a sitting position.
"I— uh," she weakly attempted.
"You know WindClan has been more aggressive lately," Dustleap berated, continuing before she could find the words to respond. "We have to be prompt with our patrolling or they'll see it as weakness. When were you going to send out the sunset patrol down the WindClan border?"
Frostmask fidgeted, her fur itching. She felt like an apprentice being scolded by a mentor. But, she was supposed to be the deputy!
"Um, I— I was—" Frostmask floundered, her tongue tripping over itself as her thoughts whirled, still scattered from sleep and from Dustleap's harsh attention as he put her on the spot.
"She already has, frog-brain," Pineshade huffed, suddenly cutting in.
She rose to her paws and arched her back in a deep stretch.
"I'm leading it."
Frostmask blinked, surprised for just a moment before gratitude flooded her instead.
Thank you StarClan for Pineshade!
Frostmask swallowed back a relieved purr. She tried radiate her thankfulness towards her friend silently, but Pineshade was careful enough that she didn't make eye contact with her and risk giving up the ruse.
Dustleap glanced over at Pineshade as well, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"I didn't know Frostmask could send out patrols in her sleep," he commented snidely.
Pineshade released a brief mrrow of amusement.
"You are aware that a cat can close their eyes without sleeping, right Dustleap?" Pineshade asked, arching a brow.
Dustleap blinked, uncertainty starting to seep into his expression as Pineshade spoke with cool confidence. He shuffled his paws, his ears flattening awkwardly.
After a few heartbeats passed and he didn't respond, Pineshade turned to glance over at where Cricketpaw was grooming in front of the apprentices' den a few fox-lengths away. She called her apprentice over to her before turning back to Dustleap.
"If you have nothing better to do than to just stand there and growl at our deputy, you can join us," Pineshade added drily. "Or, would you like to apologize to Frostmask first?"
Dustleap scowled irritably at that, but he softened as Cricketpaw came trotting over.
"Yeah, come with us, Dustleap! It'll be fun," Cricketpaw meowed, blinking up at him.
"…Alright," Dustleap gave in, affectionately brushing his muzzle against his daughter's forehead.
To Frostmask's surprise, Dustleap then obeyed Pineshade and turned to her.
"I'm sorry," he meowed, his tone genuine. "I didn't see you assign anyone to the patrols."
Frostmask nodded, doing her absolute best to keep her expression neutral so that Dustleap wouldn't know that Pineshade was telling him nothing but a load of snake-dung.
"It's alright," she said. "Make sure that WindClan knows that ShadowClan isn't to be trifled with, right?"
He nodded.
"Of course," Dustleap said.
"Mosspounce, want to come too?" Pineshade called, glancing at the nearby she-cat.
Mosspounce's mouth opened widely in a toothy yawn, but she rose to her paws without complaint.
"Sure!" She trotted over.
As the four cats began to make their way over to the thorn barrier, Frostmask discreetly stepped closer to Pineshade so she could whisper in her ear, still deeply grateful for her quick thinking.
"Thank you. Thank you," she said in a voice barely above a breath. "You know that you're my best friend, right?"
Pineshade's whiskers twitched, amusement sparkling in her eye.
"I thought that was Autumnleap," she whispered back.
"He didn't save my pelt just now," Frostmask responded drily with a flick of her tail. "Although, asking Dustleap for that apology was a bit much."
Pineshade gave her head an almost imperceptible shake.
"No. They need to learn respect," she whispered. "And, I'll claw it into them if necessary."
Frostmask blinked, her brow furrowing.
By making them apologize when they're totally right, and I'm wrong?
She huffed in quiet exasperation, but Pineshade just playfully batted her ear with a paw and walked off, catching up with her patrol at the thorn tunnel and then taking the lead as she dived into the dark hole in the barrier.
As Frostmask gazed after them, she was suddenly struck by the ease in which Pineshade had stepped up to fill the gap of Frostmask's stammering and command their clan-mates. She'd so easily asked for Dustleap, a warrior much more senior than them, to apologize to Frostmask, and she'd somehow not made him furious as she did so.
Frostmask had known that Pineshade had a natural talent for leadership since their apprentice days, but it seemed all the more stark now in comparison to Frostmask's ineptitude.
Frostmask's ears flattened as embarrassment rushed through her again, and she sent another glance up at the sky and the decidedly lowering sun.
How could she have missed the proper time to assign patrols, again? She'd hardly ever been late to training as an apprentice or patrol assignments when she was just a warrior. Shouldn't this practically be instinct by now?
Frostmask's brow furrowed.
But, before I had other cats keeping me accountable— I didn't want to make Swoopstrike angry, or disappoint Grovepelt. Now, though I just have myself to count on. And, the clan, of course, but it's kinda hard for that to motivate me when I know a bunch of them don't even want me doing it…
Frostmask sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly.
At least Dampfang is already out of camp. He would have been so much worse than Dustleap. Although I wouldn't have even been able to deal with Dustleap if it wasn't for Pineshade… She should've been made deputy instead.
Heavy disappointment sunk in Frostmask's belly. But, it was hard to tease apart if the disappointment was because she was failing her clan as their deputy, or if it was disappointment that Pineshade hadn't been chosen for deputy…
But, things would be so much simpler if she had! Maybe Dampfang would have still been jealous that he wasn't deputy, but he'd be nowhere near as terrible to her as he was being to Frostmask. The other clans wouldn't have any grounds to complain. And, Pineshade could do the standard deputy duties better than Frostmask.
Why didn't Sedgestar pick her?
Frostmask gave her head a small shake, trying to put a stop to the thoughts.
Wishing that Pineshade had been chosen was as useless as wishing that the sky was yellow instead of blue. Whatever Sedgestar's reasoning, he'd picked Frostmask instead, and it was too late to do anything about it. She just had to deal with it. And, so did everyone else.
Frostmask rose to her paws, glancing over at Autumnleap.
"I better go send out the other patrols since Pineshade isn't here to save my tail again," she meowed.
Autumnleap blinked in surprise.
"You mean you didn't ask her to lead that patrol?" he asked.
"She was that convincing, huh?" Frostmask asked, faint dry humor in her mew.
He frowned slightly.
"Well, I didn't know! I was sleeping," Autumnleap said, his voice edged with embarrassment that he'd been fooled.
Frostmask huffed quietly.
"Yeah. So was I," she murmured.
Frostmask turned to face her clan-mates, most of who were still scattered out in camp, lying around, and she squared her shoulders.
Maybe she didn't have Grovepelt or Swoopstrike motivating her anymore, and maybe a lot of her clan-mates didn't like her as deputy. But, she still had cats who were counting on her— her friends, Lizardstrike, the kits… So, no matter how difficult this was, how many times she'd trip over her own paws and mess up, she had to keep toiling at it.
"Hey everyone! Come gather up for sunset patrol assignments," she called.
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading! Also a little announcement about the update schedule: it's been great to be able to do weekly updates for the past month or so, but beginning now, they won't be as regular. I'm just too busy with graduate school at the moment to promise a weekly update. Rest assured though, that I will still be writing, even if I can't do it as much as I'd like!
Brian.H.H: Aw yeah it's been nice to write some happy, fluffy scenes with the kits, and everyone hanging out, relaxing. ShadowClan had a rough time of it for so many of the past chapters, especially while they were still in their winter, so it's definitely nice to change things up with a lighter tone! (At least for now…) And, yes, totally haha, Pineshade has SO much gloating ammo now.