Warriors | A Prophecy Reborn: Book 2. (A Path Beyond Stars)

~A Path Beyond Stars: Chapter 17~

Reedtail looked around. Everyone was still asleep and it was still a while before dawn.
"Reedtail?" said a quiet voice from outside the den.
"Yes, Coldpaw?" she said, getting up out of her nest and walking to her apprentice.
"Can we go hunting now?" he asked with wide, excited eyes.
"I think we'd best wait until Fernfeather wakes," she said. "And Stripedfur and Darkclaw are still guarding the camp."
"Oh. Okay." Coldpaw shuffled before turning to Russetfire's den. "I think Willowleaf had her kits some time in the night."
"She did?" Reedtail tilted her head off to the side. "What are their names?"
"The first one is called Echokit, after her mother. She named the second Amberkit, for her sister, and Spidertail named the last Ivykit, after his mother." When Reedtail gave him a skeptical look, he added with a shrug, "Willowleaf told me."
"Well, if you wish to go hunting, I'd suggest waiting for dawn to come," Reedtail said. "I'd rather go out there knowing you were safe rather than have a dog or twoleg sneak up on you as we hunt."
Coldpaw nodded in understanding, then turned to the Nursery. "Can we go see the new kits?"
Reedtail let out a silent sigh of relief. Thank goodness he wasn't as ignorant as she was. "Yes, but we'll need to be quiet, in case Fuzzyear and Specklefern are still asleep."
Coldpaw bounced happily to the Nursery, moving aside to let his mentor in. Willowleaf greeted them with a quiet mew. Lying next to her was a small brown kit, an orange-golden kit, and a small dark gray kit. The dark gray kit snuggled against Willowleaf's shoulder and the queen let off a soft purr.
"That's Ivykit," Specklefern whispered softly. The tortoiseshell queen yawned and looked happily at the kits.
"That one's Echokit," Coldpaw pointed out, nodding at the brown kit.
"And Amberkit," Willowleaf added, brushing her tail over the nearly ginger kit.
Reedtail saw the small gray kit snuggle further into Willowleaf's shoulder and smiled. They'll be warriors in another twelve moons, she thought. But before that, they should enjoy the time they have with their mother and father.
She thought back to her time as an apprentice, when her jealousy and bitterness had been quite excessive. She remembered thinking how spoilt and special Spiraltail and her siblings were to know their parents, let alone for them to still be alive when they became apprentices.
That time Whitestripe had attacked Reedtail in the clearing when they were apprentices, Reedtail had been arguing with her about that exact thing.
And then, not long afterwards, Crookedfire had spread the rumour of her being a traitor. Although he had had no evidence and only few cats believed him, it was still a hit that she shouldn't have had to take.
Now Runningstar was dead, shortly after Reedtail discovering that they were kin, and Stonestar was most likely the next to follow.
She flicked her tail unpleasantly as she thought about the amount of times she had wanted to claw everyone else's ears when they underestimated her. They had all had their mother at their side during their apprentice ceremonies and their warrior ceremonies... They all knew who their parents were...
I was never given the luxury of a mother at my side or a father to look up to, she thought bitterly. She used to look up to Stonestar as a very young kit, but her hope of becoming like him faded as she saw how respected he and his family were. Stonestar, Spiraltail, Whitestripe, Ashpelt, and even Grayfur, despite her being a former kittypet.
"Reedtail, are you all right?" Willowleaf asked, interrupting Reedtail's thoughts. She felt a frown formed on her face and quickly looked up with a half-hearted smile.
"I-I'm fine, Willowleaf," she stammered. "Come, Coldpaw, let's go check on Stonestar."
Coldpaw got up and padded away after Reedtail.
I hope to StarClan that he doesn't suffer the same fate as my mentor, she thought worriedly, wondering if the roles would be reversed.
Or perhaps it will be me? she thought with a shudder.