eternal: hyacinth || warrior cats

prologue

foxglove

~~~

LILYLIGHT WAS DEAD before her newborn kits even started breathing.

Clearfrost had turned away from the queen for only one second to nip open the sacks. When she finished, the calico she-cat had already passed away.

"Lilylight." Featherflight, Clearfrost's mother, who'd stayed by the calico queen's side for the entirety of her difficult birth, nudged Lilylight softly with her nose. "Come on, get up, it's time to meet your kits."

Featherflight's belly was swollen; it wouldn't be long before her new litter came, and Clearfrost would receive some siblings.

"She's dead." 

The medicine cat's voice held very little feeling as she broke the news to her mother. She wasn't an emotional cat. Not anymore, at least. She didn't have much sympathy for any of her patients; she wasn't there to comfort them like their mother, only to get a job done. And a well done job she'd always perform, indeed.

"Oh my." Featherflight's ears folded back onto her head, her eyes flickering with shock. "A-are you sure? How can she be-?" The gray queen's thought was left unfinished, a wail escaping her throat as she thrust her nose into Lilylight's pelt, grief deep in her eyes.

"It was bound to happen," Clearfrost meowed, flicking her ears, watching Lilylight's three new kits squirm around on the nest. "She's been struggling a lot after Icestrike's death. Her body was already weakened because she refused to eat, and her entire mental state wasn't great. There was nothing I could do."

Saying those words, talking about Lilylight and Icestrike, felt bitter on Clearfrost's tongue. She gave her mother a pointed look, but the ragdoll queen didn't notice.

Featherflight's pelt twitched at Clearfrost's bluntness, her voice choked as she spoke. "Have some empathy. Who wouldn't be scarred after their mate's death?" The gray queen stared down at Lilylight's body, eyes shadowed with sorrow. "I can't believe she's..."

"Dead? Well, she is," the medicine cat finished. 

After moons of wars between ShadowClan and RiverClan, Clearfrost would've assumed that her mother, like many of their other Clanmates, would be desensitized to lost cats. She could hardly count the number of her Clanmates that had died in a battle against RiverClan; Lilylight's mate, Icestrike, was one of them.

 Featherflight shot Clearfrost a pointed look, making the medicine cat's pelt fluff in protest. "Well, it's true. What do you want me to say? 'Yes, mother, I know it looks like Lilylight's dead, but don't worry, I have some herbs in my den that will bring her back to life!'"

Featherflight ignored her daughter's words, pressing her muzzle back into Lilylight's fur as her body shook. 

Clearfrost heaved a sigh. She needed Featherflight to stop crying. She hated the sound.

The medicine cat scooched closer to Featherflight, uncomfortably brushing her pelt against the gray queen's. She didn't think it offered much comfort, but a simple pelt-brush was all it took for Featherflight to lift her head from Lilylight's pelt and reduce her crying to a sniffle.

"Her poor kits," Featherflight mewed sadly, "without a mother, and without a father. Oh, what are they going to do? I'm not ready to nurse yet. What are they going to eat until then?"

"We'll figure something out," Clearfrost responded simply. "They aren't the first kits to be born without someone to nurse them."

Featherflight gazed down at the three newborns, sympathy deep in her eyes, watching as they wiggled themselves close to their mother's dead body, mewling for milk. "I just wish I could do something to help."

"If you want to help, go inform Ivorystar," Clearfrost meowed. "I'll take care of the rest."

Featherflight's ears flicked, as if she just remembered that it was pretty important to fill their leader in. "Right, of course." She shot to her paws and ducked out of the den, leaving Clearfrost to let out a breath of relief.

The medicine cat turned her attention onto Lilylight's kits, approaching them cautiously. She studied them, taking note of their genders (two toms and one she-kit) along with their pelt design.

Gray tabbies, all three of them.

"Well, Lilylight got her wish," Clearfrost murmured to herself, remembering the countless times the calico had prayed to StarClan for her kits to look like her deceased mate. And, by some stroke of luck, all three had inherited Icestrike's gray tabby fur. 

Finding no comfort in their mother's body, the three kits started wiggling towards Clearfrost instead, snuggling themselves into her long fur.

"No, no," Clearfrost mewed, wrinkling her nose. "No, I'm not your mom. Go away."

But it was no use. Clearfrost was warm, unlike Lilylight's rapidly cooling body. By the time Ivorystar entered the nursery, the three kits were tucked nicely into Clearfrost's side, purring softly amongst themselves.

Ivorystar, being Clearfrost's littermate, couldn't resist teasing her sister a little. "Clearfrost, I see you bonded with these kits nicely."

"Oh, shut it," Clearfrost mewed without bite. Out of all the cats in ShadowClan, Ivorystar was the one the medicine cat felt closest to, the only one who could draw any sort of emotion from her.

Ivorystar's face grew solemn as her gaze turned to Lilylight's body, a small flicker in her green eyes. "Poor Lilylight."

A quiet fell over the nursery, and Clearfrost twitched her pelt. Normally, she enjoyed silence, but seeing the intense way Ivorystar was staring at deceased calico queen, she felt the need to say something.

"Poolmist didn't come to the half-moon meeting yesterday," Clearfrost informed. "I think Rainstar forbade her."

"We'll see if RiverClan will continue attending the Gatherings," Ivorystar meowed, tail-tip twitching with thought. "I know Tigerstar and Swiftstar said they wanted to keep ThunderClan and WindClan out of this fight, but I wonder if perhaps it's time to approach them for an alliance."

"Maybe," Clearfrost replied with a shrug. "But Swiftstar and Rainstar are pretty close. I don't know if WindClan would be willing to help us."

"ThunderClan, then," Ivorystar mewed, nose bridge wrinkling at the thought. "But that's not important, forget it for now." She nodded at the kits. "What do we do with them?"

Clearfrost spoke quickly. "I'll take them."

She didn't think she'd ever seen such a high level look of surprise on Ivorystar's face.

"You'll take them?" her sister choked out finally. "You?"

Clearfrost shrugged. "Why not? Featherflight can't handle it once her new kits come, and I don't think we can spare any warriors from fighting to watch over these kits. There's nobody else."

Ivorystar looked hesitant, her eyes narrowing. "Clearfrost..."

Seeing this, Clearfrost pressed. "You know there's nobody else."

The ShadowClan leader huffed a sigh, giving in. "Fine. What are you going to name them?"

Oh. Names. That hadn't occurred to Clearfrost.

"Viperkit and Snakekit for these two," Clearfrost meowed, touching her tail to each of the toms. "And for this one... Mintkit." She hoped that Mintkit would grow up to be a medicine cat, hence the name.

Ivorystar flicked her tail. "Ah, you're becoming a mother already," she mewed dryly as Clearfrost rolled her eyes at the ShadowClan leader's teasing. "Well, I suppose it's time to go arrange a vigil. Again." And with that, she ducked out of the nursery, leaving the medicine cat and the three kits alone.