Lillyheart's Secret

Chapter Thirty-eight

"Whoa now!"

Lillyheart sidestepped as Lizardkit and Minnowkit ran by, followed closely by Poppytail, who quickly overtook them and dragged them close to her. "You little rascals are fussing up the whole camp, and scaring your poor old mother. Now you better come back to the nursery with me, because trust me, you dont want to try my patience."

Lillyheart chuckled as the black queen ushered the kits back toward the nursery. "You've got your paws full with those two, don't you?" She called out, tail twitching in amusement.

Poppytail let out an exasperated sigh. "At least their sister is easier to deal with. Though I do with we could drag her out of the nursery sometime."

Softpelt appeared in the entrance to the den, looking apologetic. "So sorry!" She mewed to Poppytail, before turning her attention to her sons shuffling their paws in front of her. "You two go on in now and settle for your nap. Splashkit is already waiting for you."

Lillyheart padded up to Poppytail and brushed against her, flicking her tail in a greeting. "They're just so rambunctious." She watched the kits bound into the den, then turned to face the queen once more. "And how are yours? They should be becoming apprentices soon, right?"

Poppytail smiled sadly and ducked her head. "Oh yes. It's all they ever talk about anymore, but I can't believe how quickly they've grown. Especially Willowkit, after everything that happened this past leafbare."

A shiver just at the mention of that time. Lillyheart stepped away and cast her eyes elsewhere in the camp. "Leafbare was hard, yes, but the moons keep coming. We can't be stuck dwelling on something that we can't change anymore."

Poppytail sighed, swishing her tail in a wide arc. "I suppose so. At this point, we just need to be preparing for the coming cold. How has hunting preparations gone?"

Lillyheart perked up. "Oh, it's been great! Murkfall had the idea that we find a way to dig holes near the waters edge before it gets too cold, and then when the frosts hit we can bury prey and it was last and not rot that way!"

Her eyes took on a shining quality as she smiled. "I have no clue where he comes up with these ideas, but he's taken so readily to being deputy, I'm just glad he's able to help the clan in this way now."

Poppytail nodded again, then stilled, ears pricked forward. "I should probably be getting back to the Nursery, then. It was nice chatting with you, Lillyheart!"

Lillyheart flourished her tail in farewell, then waited until Poppytail was no longer looking, and drooped. Great stars in the sky, she was so tired. And despite with how wonderfully Murkfall had been caring for the clan, this little voice kept telling her something was wrong.

But no. This was a good thing. Creekstar could recover from losing her mate, the clan could grow under his guidance, and they could maybe even find a way to relieve the growing tensions with Windclan.

Even though Thunderclan had become more peaceful under the leadership of Frecklestar, Windclan continued to seek confrontation around the lake.

Lillyheart shivered, even though the sun was beating hotly against her fur. Something was very wrong in the clans, but she didn't know what.
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"I'm just so tired," Murkfall complained into Lillyheart's fur, eliciting a chuckle out of the she-cat. "I can't get Creekstar out of her den to do anything, and we need to make apprentices and warriors soon, but she just keeps sitting there, staring blankly at the ground."

Lillyheart swept her tail comfortingly across his side. "Don't worry, Murkfall. She actually came out to get her own freshkill today! Surely that's a good thing."

Murkfall shifted so he could look at Lillyheart. "I guess so," he mumbled, tucking his nose back into her fur.

Lillyheart exhaled softly and licked behind his ear. "Darling, I'm so sorry that everything is that hard on you. I suppose with Lizardtuft as the deputy, it all seemed as easy as could be."

Murkfall sighed. "That's the thing, though! I want the clan to watch me and think it all seems easy. I want clan life to go on without any problems, I want Creekstar to be active and to actually lead like she used to!"

"But you're already making it so much better!" Lillyheart cried, flicking her tail over her mate. "Don't belittle yourself like that, Murkfall. You deserve to be deputy, and if the moment ever comes, you will be a fine leader."

Murkfall's eyes darkened and he grumbled something that Lillyheart couldn't quite catch. He cleared his throat, then stroked his tail across Lillyheart's side. "I hear Poppytail is going to be staying in the nursery as a permanent queen," he said, in a pitiful attempt to change the subject.

Lillyheart allowed it, and leaned back, stretching out a bit. "Yes, we had spoken of that the other day. She doesn't have much experience in being a queen, so I'm not sure how helpful she'll be in that aspect, but I know she definitely doesn't want to be a warrior again."

Murkfall nodded. "Of course. I'll see if I can talk with Creekstar about it, but I don't know if we'll have much need for her in the nursery once Softpelt's kits are made apprentices."

"Oh!" Lillyheart perked up, a soft smile growing on her face. She curled her tail to twine with Murkfall's and pressed her forehead against his own. "I wanted to talk with you about that."

His green eyes held her gaze, curiosity mixed with the slightest glint of apprehension. "Oh? And what did you want to talk about, my flower?"

Lillyheart took a deep breath and pulled away, still staring into his eyes. "Pretty soon, Softpelt won't be the only queen in the nursery."

Confusion clouded his gaze, but all of that was cleared away by her next words.

"I'm expecting kits."

*dances*
There's some nice Lillyfall fluff as we start to finish up the book! Only two more chapters left, so it's gonna get crazy f a s t

Would you guys want bonus chapters, like AUs or certain POVs? Please let me know in the comments!!

Gotta get some sleep now. G'night!