Rising Sun- A Warrior Cats Fanfiction ✔️

Chapter 31

Sunflame's muscles ached all over. He'd been hunting since dawn, and the sun was just setting. He'd caught lots of prey, enough, combined with the rest of his patrol's, to feed the Clan for a while.

At that very moment, he longed for sleep, but as he walked by the nursery, he felt a strong urge to check on the loner-queen.

He paused, before gently poking his head through the entrance. "Hello? Calisse?"

"Hello!" It came as a welcoming purr, so Sunflame stepped in. "Sunflame, right? Yes, that's your name. Thank you for checking in on me. Everyone here's so nice!" The she-cat mewed while she groomed her kits.

He nodded, glad that the she-cat was setting well. "Well, you'll want to go back to your farm soon, so don't get too-"

The she-cat interrupted him. "Actually, Sunflame, I was planning on staying here. I'm... Not entirely sure where I am, but you're all really nice. I want to train my kits to be warriors! Then they'll be big and strong and can protect me!"

A soft purr emitted from Sunflame's chest. "This is ThunderClan. And you wouldn't be training your own kits; you might be to soft on them. They'd get other cats to be mentors." At her offended face, Sunflame shook his head quickly. "I know you want to teach them everything, but you can't do that in ThunderClan."

The she-cat's eyes narrowed quickly. "You don't want me here, do you? You don't want me to stay here. You want me to leave." She looked so hurt that Sunflame had to shake his head.

"Of course I want you here!" He paused, glancing away, embarrassed. Now she's probably thinking I'm some creepy tom. Way to go, Sunflame. He sighed. "I mean... You are welcome to stay here, as long as Bumblestar, our leader, says so." He finished off with a quick glance around him, hoping nobody had heard his outburst.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." The queen muttered, turning back to her kits, gently nudging them back to the curve of her belly.

With one last frustrated glance, Sunflame exited the den, muttering, "She-cats..." Under his breath.

~.~.~

Outside of the den, the camp was surprisingly warm. Cats all around him were chatting happily.

"This leaf-bare has been easy on us, and newleaf is on its way!" Sorrelspots exclaimed to Cherryblossom- the two she-cats were sitting under the shade of a large willow that overhung that part of the camp. The ginger and white she-cat replied with a purr.

The next thing he heard made him purr softly to himself. Pebblesplash and Oakfur were sharing tongues quietly. "I think I'm expecting kits!" She mewed quietly to Oakfur, who must be her mate.

He stopped what he was doing and rubbed his cheek gently against hers. "And I thought you were just getting fat!" The tom joked.

Sunflame continued on his way to the warriors den to make himself a nest, but paused when he felt a burning sensation in his pelt.

He spun around to see Amberpaw looking at him, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't work out whether she was going to or not.

To help her out, Sunflame padded over.

Amberpaw glanced over her back, as if wanting to walk away, but stayed where she was. "Hi, Sunflame." She mewed quietly, paws shuffling awkwardly. "Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "You looked like you wanted to say something."

The she-cat glanced away, eyes focused on her bedraggled tail. "Well... I just came from Silverleaf. She... She said that I had to have my tail taken off."

Sunflame gaped at her, then at her tail, then at her again. He'd known it was causing her a nuisance- Owlsong often spoke badly of her apprentice's balance and how bad it was- but he hadn't known that it was that serious.

"Is that even possible?" He asked her incredulously. She shrugged.

"I suppose it is. Anyway, if you can spare some time away from that rogue queen, could you come and sit with me? I... I'd feel better with you there."

Sunflame chose to ignore the jibe about Calisse and instead nodded quickly. "Of course I'll be there." He mewed, gently nosing her cheek.

She thanked him with a purr, before padding off, headed for the apprentice's den.

The golden tom sat there for a few more moments, breathing in her scent. It was strangely calming as he glanced over to the Warriors den. My sister should be here with me... He thought yet again, casting a glance up to the starlit sky. A cloud slowly drifted past to reveal Silverpelt.

Sunflame tried to imagine his starry ancestors watching him, but he could picture nothing of the sort, just great darkness.

With one last sigh, Sunflame eventually decided it was time to find a space in the Warriors' den.

Only one space remained, and it was right near the entrance, beneath a small crack in the rock. No wonder nobody's taken this spot, he thought unhappily. They don't want to get wet if it rains.

Taking the spot after a few moments' hesitation, Sunflame curled into the nest and after what seemed like moons of tossing and turning, the soft breathing of cats eventually lulled him to a sleep of some sort.