Willowbounce's Tale

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

    When Willowkit opened her eyes the next sunrise, Splashkit wasn't next to her. Her head shot up in panic, remembering her mother's orders. But instead of seeing her mother's face poised to scold her for not watching her sister, she saw a black pelt. Willowkit glanced to her side, seeing the tail of the cat she was nestled against. The tail curled around her belonged to...Bloodclaw!? She thought. Oh no! Did I wander into his nest by mistake last night? He's going to claw my fur off if he finds me here! Willowkit thought, beginning to panic. Bloodclaw had been more edgy in the past moon, she wondered what happened to his nice self. Maybe I can just crawl away and he won't ever know I was here. Willowkit began to plot her escape. But before she could make a move, the large tom stirred and lifted his head. Willowkit widened her eyes in fear, waiting for punishment.  Bloodclaw looked at her for a moment, seeming to be as confused as she was, but then his gaze softened.
    "Oh, Willowkit you're up. Good morning." He murmured. He then bent his head over hers and nuzzled it, like a queen would to her kit. Willowkit widened her eyes when he didn't get up.
    "B-Bloodclaw..why am I in your nest?" Willowkit whispered. His gaze became unreadable, as if he was surprised she didn't know why.
    "Willowkit..do you remember last night?" He asked her. Willowkit thought hard to remember what happened. Her mind was too clouded, so she shook her head. Bloodclaw sighed quietly, seemingly like he didn't want to tell her this.
    "Last night a patrol went out. Our clanmates Frostspots, Shredtooth, Stormcloud and Rainstripe were part of it. The patrol was looking for any prey they could find." He paused to look at something past her. She sensed a little heat come off his pelt, as if he were blushing. His expression however, did not change. She glanced behind her to see Leaffall staring back at Bloodclaw and her. Willowkit remembered how the two cats had become mates. Bloodclaw looked back at her.
    "A-Anyway..they did end up finding some prey. But after they returned the prey, they went out again to get more. Not long after, a hawk spotted them and started to circle." He paused when Willowkit gasped. She remembered some things from last night. The freezing cold ground beneath her paws, Frostspots worn face, and a blood-curdling screech. Bloodclaw wrapped his tail around Willowkits small body.
    "You apparently were awake and at the edge of the den, which you shouldn't have been." He scolded her with a sneer on his face. Then his gaze softened back to unreadable.
    "And while they were trying to run away from the hawk, Frostspots slipped and they hadn't noticed. That's when you ran out to her, StarClan knows how you managed to reach her. But a heartbeat after you reached her, the hawk swooped down and took her. Then Shredtooth tried to take the hawk down. Foolish she-cat." He added at the end under his breath. Willowkit wrinkled her nose in disgust at Bloodclaws attitude.
"She wasn't foolish! She was brave!" Willowkit protested. Bloodclaw gave her an icy cold look, one that seemed to rip through her pelt like badger claws.
"Don't disrespect your warriors you dumb kit!" He said snarling his fangs in front of her face. Willowkit flinched back in fear, but he caught her with his tail. Willowkit pinned her ears and murmured an apology.
"I'm sorry I can't hear you. Speak up!" He sneered at her, forcing her to voice her apology louder.
"I-I'm s-sorry Bloodclaw.." Willowkit said a little louder. His expression told her he wasn't satisfied.
"Say it louder, Willowkit." He said in a cold tone. Willowkit shook her head and bent her gaze to her paws. She could feel his reddish-brown eyes raking her. She felt his tail move under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. He locked eyes with her, his hard stare more threatening than any she had ever seen. Willowkit suppressed a shiver as her ears flattened and her eyes widened.
"Say it. Now." He whispered, barely audible. Willowkit swallowed her guilt, trying to make words come out of her mouth. After she didn't speak for a heartbeat, she saw him draw a paw to her shoulder. She notice him unsheathe his claws.
"I-I'm so sorry Bloodclaw! I won't talk back!" She spurted out her words quickly, her voice finally escaping. She saw him withdraw his claws and his paw. His gaze relaxed a little.
"Good. Now what I was saying was, Shredtooth tried to take down the hawk. But the hawk freaked out and started to go crazy. Anyway, she fell off and died from the fall." He said, seemingly having no remorse. Willowkit remembered watching Shredtooth's body fall rapidly, her screech of terror silenced as she hit the ground.
"Then the hawk flew away with Frostspots. Then your father found you and brought you back to the den. He left as soon as he brought you to safety. Want to know where he was going? To find Rainstripe of course. She went missing, presumably getting lost in the strange field. And then your sister went to sleep in Hawkwing's nest since she was 'too cold'." Willowkit felt something strange roll down her cheek. She realized it was a tear. Bloodclaw paused when he saw her begin to shed tears. He wiped them away with his tail.
"When I saw you alone in your nest, I felt bad and didn't want to be responsible for watching you freeze to death. So I brought you to my nest. Anyway, your father went looking for your mother. He came back soon after teary eyed. He found Rainstripes body on the far side of the field. Nestleberry said she froze to death in the cold." He was cut short as Willowkit collapsed in the nest. She began to sob. Not my mother! This can't be true! She's ok, I know she is. This whole thing is just a whole misunderstanding, right?  Willowkits thoughts raced as she tried to come up with a reason for this.
"I..I know this must be hard to hear and...I'm sorry. Especially after losing your sister.." He murmured, bringing Willowkit closer to his stomach to comfort her. She cried quietly to herself, but motioned with her paw to continue. He looked at her, a gaze of concern for her flashing his eyes.
"You're a brave kit, Willowkit. After they brought your mother's body back, they woke your sister to break the news to her. They were going to wake you, but I told them not to, since you looked exhausted. You don't have to worry about where your sister is. She's with your father. And of course by now most of the clans are up. So why don't I help you get cleaned up and then you can grieve ok?" He finished. Willowkits gaze was focused in front of her as she tried to process her mother's passing.
"O-Ok.." Willowkit murmured. Bloodclaw sat up, stretching. He groomed his fur before he helped her. She had already started, cleaning the places it was easiest for her to reach. Once Bloodclaw finished, he showed her how to clean hard to reach areas.
After a moment, Willowkit's pelt was shining.
"Look at yourself Willowkit, you look wonderful." He said. Willowkit smiled at him and thanked him for the important lesson. Bloodclaw went off in the direction of where Leaffall was. Willowkit assumed that he didn't want her to follow him, so she didn't. Instead, Willowkit wandered through her clans group, searching for her mother's scent. Finally she found it. She traced it to near the front of the den, where a few of her clanmates had gathered. She saw something she had hoped she would never see. She saw her mother's body, with Stormcloud, Splashkit, Spottedclaw and Icekit gathered around it. Willowkit felt tears rush to her eyes as she slowly padded forward. She saw the cats gaze up at her as she drew near. But their gazes were short lived, as they went back to grieving Rainstripe. Willowkit collapsed in front of her mother's belly, longing for the warmth that once came from it. But now, her mother's fur was cold and no heat came off her body. She pushed her muzzle ino her mother's fur and grieved. A few heartbeats later she felt Icekit's warm breath on her ear. He twined his tail with hers, comforting her. Willowkit pushed her muzzle instead into Icekit's pelt. She felt a little more heat than usual emit from him, he was blushing. Icekit put one paw around Willowkits shoulders, pulling her closer into an embrace.

That night, Willowkit slept with her sister and Icekit against her father. Stormcloud and Spottedclaw allowed Icekit to sleep in Willowkits nest since he seemed to be the only one who could comfort her. No matter how hard her father and the other queens tried, they couldn't comfort Willowkit. But when Icekit was allowed to comfort her, she seemed to be soothed quickly. Willowkit was thankful they let him sleep next to her. Icekit had his tail wrapped around Willowkit as they slept closely together in the nest. Splashkit however, slept separately from them and was huddled closer to Stormcloud. That night, Willowkit slept better than she had in what felt like moons.