Warrior Cats: Wolfheart's Destiny

Chapter 2

It was midday, and SnowClan cats were enjoying a breath of sun before winter clouds took over the sky. Snow-flecked cats prowled through the forest, searching for fresh kill to give to the Clan. This leaf-bare in particular was leaving few signs of other life in the forest, forcing SnowClan to resort to few frozen berries and nuts from squirrel nests. As the wind picked up, the slightly swaying trees cast a soft falsetto over the land as their icicles softly blew.

Smokekit and Wolfkit breathed a sigh of relief as Scorchpaw padded away, resting his tormenting ways. But sooner than Smokekit's eyes became jovial at the exit of Scorchpaw, his eyes darkened once again, 

"Look behind you..." He whispered in urgency, as the a chilly winter wind pecked at their pelts. Wolfkit froze, her eyes widening as a familiar scent surrounded her, loomed over her.

"What's going on here?" The cats deep growl snapped Wolfkit out of her frozen trance. The meow hit her like a stone, and stabbed her heart like claws.

"Uh..." Wolfkit whirled around to see a familiar tom. He was strong, tall, and had a pelt of freshly fallen snow. He glared down at them with eyes of pure ice, as strikingly blue as a sunlit lake.

"I don't see why you should be yelling at an apprentice, Wolfkit!" It was her father, Icestorm. His glare burned into her pelt, scarring her with a thousand thorns.

"I-I'm sorry, Icestorm. But Scorchpaw was being mean to Smokekit, and I, and I..."

"And you what? Talked back?! You have no right to do that! Scorchpaw is older than you, therefore, you can't talk back to him, do you understand?!" Icestorm's mew had risen to a yowl, sparking the attention of the whole Clan. Jadeclaw and Fallowstar looked up from their conversation to observe the commotion, and a returning patrol stopped in their tracks. Wolfkit's pelt burned with embarrassment. They were all watching her be humiliated by her own father. All of the sudden, anger rose in her throat,

"He was being mean to my brother! Am I just supposed to let him do that? He can't be the boss of us!"

"But he is!" Icestorm hissed, his pelt bristling, "You best figure out your place in this clan, you little kit." Wolfkit winced, her eyes wide. Her ears flattened as she raced back to the nursery, suppressing yowl of pain. This was her own father.

As Wolfkit entered the nursery, she was greeted with the wide eyes of Ferndapple.

"My dear, are you alright? You look very distraught!" The queen's concerned mew calmed her. Wolfkit didn't respond, shunning to groom snow from her pelt.

"Well, something is clearly the matter!" Ferndapple concluded, drawing Wolfkit closer with her tail. The tiny kit drank in the queen's warm scent of honey and milk, immediately sinking into her fluffy fur.

"There, there," cooed Ferndapple, "you're okay. You're safe with me. Now, what happened out there?" Wolfkit gazed up at her, mentally deciding upon whether she should tell her or not.

"Well, Smokekit and I were going to play mossball with Feathershade's kits, but then Scorchpaw came over, and started teasing us!" Wolfkit suppressed a wail, her tiny heart beating rapidly.

"That Scorchpaw," Feathershade chimed in, shaking her head, "he's always been trouble. I don't see why your father is so fond of him!"

"That's the problem!" Wolfkit cried, "My father then came over, and yowled at me for talking back to the apprentice! It was awful!" Wolfkit buried her face into the queen's chest, the only way to cease her yowls of inner pain.

"Oh, my dear Wolfkit," Ferndapple slowly blinked, "your father has been like that ever since you were born, ever since your mother died." The dappled silver she-cat slowly shook her head.

"You'd think he'd be all over you, as the last living memory of Wolftooth, but I don't know what's going through his mind..." All of the sudden, Icestorm burst into the nursery, his eyes blazing with fury,

"How dare you!" Her growled at Wolfkit. Feathershade gasped, shrinking back into the corner with her four kits.

"What did she do, Icestorm?" Ferndapple spat, narrowing her forest green eyes.

"How dare she go crying to you. You! You aren't even her mother! I'm her father! How dare you steal my kit!"

"I didn't steal her!" Ferndapple retorted, her eyes burning, "Wolftooth was my best friend! She asked me to take care of her! And maybe is you weren't so cruel to her, she would love you. All you've ever done is scorn her for being different, for standing up for Smokekit." Icestorm gasped, not expecting such an argument from the queen. He took a heavy breath, glaring at Wolfkit. The gray kit watched as the two argued, wishing the wouldn't waste breath over her silly little problems.

"You go, go cry to this mother of yours. Just know, don't come to me. I'm not good enough." Icestorm growled right at Wolfkit, stepping closer with each word.

"M-Maybe if you loved me a little bit, I would cry to you! And Ferndapple, she's given me more than you ever have or could! She isn't my real mother. But I love her." Wolfkit spat, her heart pumping faster and faster. Ferndapple gasped, in awe at the kit's cunning words.

"You little fox-heart! How d-" Icestorm began, but Wolfkit cut him off. With a wail, she pelted out of the nursery with scars that could never be healed. Scars from the words of her father.

"Wolfkit!" Came the call of Smokekit, who was arriving from a meal with a kind apprentice. Wolfkit blocked him out his mew, her tiny legs barely touching the ground as she ran. Leaving room for no distractions, she veered left towards camp exit, and pelted into the unknown forests beyond. Her mind raced with overloading thoughts, as she finally reached a small clearing in the heart of the woods.

"Wolfkit! Come back!" Smokekit's faint mew echoed through the trees, soon lost to the wind. Wolfkit shivered, yowling,

"Just leave me alone!" The tiny kit curled up in a snow bank, blinking water out of her wide, green eyes. Didn't her father love her? Didn't he care? She had just been trying to help her brother! With a silent sob, Wolfkit shivered the ice and snow out of her gray pelt, gazing up at the forest.

Large, frost coated oak trees surrounded her, as if they were guarding her little clearing. Snowbirds chirped, their lullaby soothing Wolfkit's mind. Snow and sleet swirled around her, clouding her view of the outside world. This was where no one could hurt her. This was were she was safe.

Deep inside, Wolfkit knew that she would have to get back to camp sooner or later, but for the time being, she wished to just be by herself. To think. To wonder.

The sun was setting, and with a tiny yawn, Wolfkit curled up in a clump of frosty ferns, and let the whistling wind lull her to sleep.

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A/N: Hey there! Here is the constantly requested second Chapter! Yay! I hope this isn't too much action, I just wanted to establish Wolfkit's relationship with her father early on in the story! I hope you enjoyed! Once this Chapter reaches 50 views (whole story reaches 200) I will update! Thanks for reading! Please vote and comment! Requests for characters are open!
~Zephyr ^.^

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