Starlight

Chapter 11

"Did you really kill a hawk?" Tumblekit asked, climbing over Feathertail's back as she laid with the queens.

Mistyfoot had brought her kits out a tail-length from her nest to give them a bit of the warming sun, and since they were now old enough to stumble around on clumsy legs, she figured it was time she let them wander a bit.

Feathertail nodded. "Heavystep and Hailpaw helped too," she meowed.

"What does hawk taste like?" Tumblekit's sister, Minnowkit, asked from beside her mother. After bringing the hawk into the camp, Leopardstar had pulled Mothwing away at once while Dawnflower divided the hawk between the queens, elders, and anyone else in the camp. Feathertail was now full and was loving the chance to lay in the sun with the queens and their kits.

Dawnflower tipped her head to one side. "Well, I suppose it tastes a bit like any other bird, but it's just a bit tougher and the feathers are larger which are great for nests," she explained.

"Can we have feathers in our nest, Dawnflower?" Pebblekit asked. "We can even put feathers in Mistyfoot's nest for Stonekit, Eelkit, and Shellkit!"

Mistyfoot purred, nudging Eelkit to his feet with her nose when he stumbled. "There's a lot of feathers for everyone to use," she meowed. "We can all have feathers in our nests."

"As soon as we get the dens sorted out," Feathertail reminded her.

"I want my own den!" Tumblekit exclaimed. "I don't want to share a den with stinky Pebblekit!"

Her brother jerked up, offended. "Well, I don't want to share a den with you!" he retorted, turning his back on her.

Growling, Tumblekit lashed her tail behind her before lunging at her brother and bowling him to the ground. The two kits rolled around together in a tight ball of playful hissing. The ball of black and gray ended when Tumblekit rolled head first into Heavystep's leg, a loud "Oof!" escaping her. Heavystep looked down at her, a water vole and a decent sized fish hanging from his jaws. Petaldust and Swallowtail appeared a moment after, prey in their jaws as well.

Swallowtail placed her catches down. "Where's the prey pile going to be?" she asked when she caught sight of Feathertail and the queens.

Feathertail flicked her tail toward a hazel bush stretching over a part of the ground. "We've decided to put the prey there until the rest of the camp is built."

The patrol dropped their prey at the indicated spot and quickly separated. Swallowtail bounded away to find Reedwhisker, and Heavystep left the camp with Hailpaw for some battle training. Petaldust, however, padded directly toward Feathertail, her ears flicking uncomfortably.

"Can I speak to you? Privately?" she murmured.

Curious, Feathertail nodded and climbed to her paws, carefully stepping around Mistyfoot's kits.

She followed Petaldust under a bramble ticket where a few nests had been made. Crouching, Petaldust looked up at her, her green eyes glittering with emotion. "I want to thank you," she began. "Heavystep told me what happened, and I'm grateful that you saved my kits. I remember how big the hawks were in the mountains, and I can't imagine facing one alone like you did."

"I did what any warrior would do, Petaldust," Feathertail murmured.

The tortoiseshell warrior shook her head. "That's not true," she argued. "Many cats would hide and save themselves, rather than try and save other cats. You've done a great service to the future of your Clan, and I could never repay you."

Feathertail shuffled her paws. "I remember what it was like to be an apprentice and facing what I assumed was certain death." Her words made Petaldust flinch harshly, and she knew her meaning had gotten across. "I didn't want Volepaw to experience the same thing and not survive it."