Ghosts of the Clans

Chapter 14

"Icewing, you can't continue doing this, Mapleshade and Tigerstar will shred you!" Minnowtail hissed in her ear. The snowy-white she-cat shook her head. "No, Minnowtail. You don't understand."

Sighing, Minnowtail left Icewing to gaze at the stars. For three moons already, the white she-cat had been doing guard duty in the night, not going to the Dark Forest. Shredtail and Mapleshade had asked Minnowtail more than once where she was, and all Minnowtail could do was shrug. Didn't Icewing realise that if Brokenstar found out that she was silently rebelling, she could end up like Beetlewhisker, her son?

Sitting down to gnaw at a carp, Minnowtail reflected that since she never had kits before, she wouldn't know the grief of a mother when losing her kits. She had never once felt attracted to a tom before, especially not Pouncetail. Alright, she did like Mousewhisker as an apprentice- but only as a friend.

Robinwing? The pale-furred tortoiseshell-and-white tom was a good friend, and might make a good mate. But Minnowtail never, ever thought of taking him as her mate.

Rainstorm? Sharing prey with Pinefur, their shoulders touching with ease. She wouldn't be surprised if they had kits together soon.

Sure, Rippletail was attractive too, talking together with Petalfur and her littermate, Grasspelt. But no, definitely not her type. Plus, wasn't Otterheart his mate? They had Rushtail and Troutstream together.

"Hey, Minnowtail! Wanna join us? You look kind of lonely," Sneezecloud called from where he was sharing a trout with his littermate, Mallownose. Both toms looked friendly, and Mallownose invited her with a twitch of his tail.

Once she'd settled, Pebblefoot also came over. "Have you seen Duskfur's kits? They're so cute!" he purred. The brown tabby she-cat had given birth to two kits three sunrises ago.

Mallownose swallowed his mouthful and mumbled, "Really? I'll see them now, since I'm done over here." Quickly finishing her carp, Minnowtail added, "Me too."

They padded to the nursery side by side, but just as they began to relax in the presence of one another, Mallownose's pelt brushed against Minnowtail's. "Sorry!" he squealed, leaping back. Minnowtail in turn gave her chest a lick, embarrassed.

She let the light brown tabby tom go in first, and heard his deep-throated purr in the nursery. A moment later, he emerged, his amber eyes glistening. "They're so cute!" he gushed. "So were you, when you were born." Graymist, who had just arrived, came to her son to lick his ear. Her gaze drifted to Voletooth, her former mate. When Graymist had found out she was expecting kits, the small brown tabby tom had been so nervous that he had straight up broken up with her, unwilling to bear the burden of being a father.

"Come on, Minnowtail. We're waiting!" Robinwing came up to queue behind Graymist. "Sorry," she apologised and pushed inside.

A milky scent hung in the air, and her eyes took a few heartbeats to adjust to the darkness. When she could see clearly, she saw Duskfur curled around two kits, a pale brown she-kit with amber eyes and a gray-and-white tom with dark gray-green eyes. When Minnowtail leaned close, the pale brown she-kit batted her nose with on soft paw, and Duskfur let out a purr.

"They're beautiful," Minnowtail breathed, then dipped her head and left the nursery.

Ouside, Reedwhisker hurried over to her. "How are Duskfur's kits?" he questioned, one paw clawing at the soil. "They're so cute! But why don't you visit them yourself?" Minnowtail asked the deputy curiously.

"Erm, maybe later," he answered, and hurried away to join Swallowtail, his mate, and yet Minnowtail saw him glance back at the nursery almost wistfully.

She let out a sigh, narrowing her amber eyes. Something was fishy about the black tom's behaviour.