LostHope's Path

Chapter 17

ALL MY LOVELY READERS SO SORRY BOUT THE SPACING I HAVE JUST BEEN HAVING TROHBLES WITH THE STUPID THING AND YEAH ok enjoy my loves

It'd been many sunrises and sunsets since Tanglemeadow became Tanglestar, and ShadowClan was beginning to kick back into the rhythm of Clan life, mixed with the tedious work of rebuilding the apprentice den ("why us!" Rushingpaw had whined. "It's not like we have any elders! Can't we use that den?").

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Somehow, her kits were only two moons! It'd been a century, and Losthope felt like her time when she was kit-less was ancient history.

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'Its not that bad though,' Losthope thought as Iriskit and Pantherkit was wrestling, and Dustkit sleeping softly, curled in a ball, in the corner. 'But Thunderblaze never visit me, or them anymore.'

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Iriskit crashed from the knot of sister and fell into Dustkit who jolted awake with a strangled "MRRROW!" The mother shuddered, feeling the ghost of the memory... Of her own Clanmates blood curling in her claws from that horrible, horrible night. 'Dustkit was so alike Dustpaw, it was uncanny...'

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She was wrong to have killed him then. She was wrong to have lashed her anger in a simple mistake.

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Simple mistakes.

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Simple mistakes. They kill.

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"Serves you right for sleeping right through the match! I'm PantherClan." Pantherkit puffed pompously, "and Iriskit's IrisClan. You're DustClan!"

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"Grrr DustClan rawr stuff attack," murmured Dustkit, promptly pushing his muzzle under his paws. "Bother me some other time."

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Losthope glared at her kits suspiciously, a knot of worry curling in her stomach. Her paws numb with fear, she took a shaky breath and called her kits. "Kits!"

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The three bundles of fur and tail dragged themselves forward at their mother's paws, mewling various forms of, "yes?" "Hi!" "I'm not in trouble.. Right?!"

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"Not yet." Fear twisted and untwisted in her bones, frozen. "Y-you guys.. Where's you your sister? Specklekit?" she blurted out, already hearing the "She's gone, mommy!" Or, "the ThunderClan cat took her away and..." 'no, no...' She shook the thoughts away and waited for her kits response. "Well?"

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"I... I don't know where exactly.." Pantherkit stuttered slowly, and Iriskit butted in.

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"We were playing Clans and this scary she-cat came up to us and played with us but mom, don't worry she was ShadowClan cause she said and also she smelled like it but she had stars in her pelt and THAT was weird." Iriskit sprawled lazily on her back, snowy paws churning the air. "But then we got really tired and so she said bye but first she smiled and then started to lead away Specklekit. But it was okay, she said it was. She said that it was Specklekit's time to play with her in the stars and for you not to worry, cause it'd be okay."

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Losthope stared hard at the kits, who were nodding in agreement with Iriskit, and tilting their little heads in confusion.

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Little rays of late afternoon sun tickled tails down, little rays of drizzling, white-golden light in the nursery. Confetti and streamers for the kits. Losthope snapped her muzzle back to the kits, the mystery twirling circles