Stonestar's Story

Chapter 12

A few days had past since the battle against DawnClan. Day after day Stonepaw did everything she could do to care for her mother. The only time she wasn't in the medicine cat den was to train or to sleep. She rarely hunted. Starclaw wasn't getting any better.

"Are you feeling any better, Starclaw?" Stonepaw asked as she walked into the medicine cat den.

"A bit..." Starclaw said. She said that everyday when Sonepaw asked.

"Do you need anything? Water, prey, should I get Blossomtail?" Stonepaw asked. Starclaw chuckled but that turned into a small cough.

"I do wish to have someone to talk to." Starclaw replied after she had stopped coughing. Stonepaw sat down.

"Is there something on your mind...?" She asked. Starclaw nodded.

"I feel as though StarClan is calling me. Its obvious I'm not getting any better and...I need to tell you something." Starclaw said. Stonepaw couldn't believe her ears.

"Starclaw please...don't talk like that!" Stonepaw said sadly.

"Just...listen to me. I need to tell you something."

"W-what...?" Stonepaw asked.

"I know this may be hard to believe but...I...I'm not your mother." Starclaw looked at her paws. Stonepaw stared at her for a second. She felt out of breath. "Please, believe me! I...I may not be your birth mother but in my eye's you are my daughter!" Starclaw said.

"You'r joking right?!" Stonepaw asked in a sad whisper.

"I wish I was..." Starclaw sighed.

"All this time...I was never you daughter..." Stonepaw swallowed a sob.

"Go to Ferntail." Starclaw sighed.

"What? Now you'll say she's my mother I bet!" Stonepaw sighed. Starclaw shook her head.

"She's not your mother. She knows how you were found." Starclaw retorted quietly.

"Fine...goodbye..." Stonepaw stood up and turned.

"Just so you know I always loved you! You were always my daughter!" Starclaw said quickly.

"And you were always my mother..." Stonepaw said before dashing away to the nursery. As she pushed past the vine screen Ferntail looked at her.

"oh hello, Stonep-...Is something wrong?" She asked. stonepaw sighed.

"Starclaw said...she wasn't my real mother..." She said quietly.

"Oh...I didn't think she'd tell you until you were a warrior. But...I guess your ready to hear the story now..." Ferntail sat up, her belly swollen and fat. Stonepaw sat down ready to hear the story. "Once when I was on patrol, with Whiskernose, Jadefang, Flametail, and Reedclaw we were walking near the SnowClan border. We heard mewling. It was so close by. Then we smelled the strong scent of SnowClan. And we smelled the scent of newborn kits." Stonepaw stiffened. "We looked around to see if we could find any kits or SnowClan cats. Whiskernose looked around but didn't find anything. Neither did Flametail. Reedclaw found blood around a tree but that was it. It wasn't until we heard the mewling again that I found you. You were curled up alone in a makeshift den. At first Reedclaw and Flametail were furious that a SnowClan cat invaded our territory but Jadefang and I convinced them we should take you back to camp. As we walked through the forest all we talked about was who would nurse you. Starclaw was chosen because she had plenty of milk. And she had just had a litter of kits." Stonepaw drew in a sharp breath.

"I...I have siblings?" She asked, her eyes wide. Ferntail closed her eyes and sighed. She shook her head.

"No. They died during that leaf-bare." She retorted.

"But who was my adoptive father?" Stonepaw asked. Ferntail shook her head again.

"He also died in a battle against CrystalClan. His name was Adderear. He was a brave warrior. You would have liked him." Ferntail sighed.

"Oh..." Stonepaw looked at her paws. "Continue the story please..."

"Well we got back to camp and Starclaw was overjoyed to have a kit of her own. We named you and called you Stonekit. We decided not to tell you until we knew you were ready." Ferntail finished her story with a long sigh. Stonepaw couldn't breathe. Suddenly after a long silence, Blossomtail came running in.

"Starclaw is dead!"