A Star Among Planets (Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter 99: This Can't Happen!

    Halftail groaned as he felt every fiber of his body yowl in protest when he tried to move. He couldn't even remember where he was, or why he was laying down, or even why he felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on him. All he did know was that he was in pain and he could barely move.

    Suddenly, the door swished open as Kanan came in and looked like he had just wrestled with a Sarlac. He sat down on the bed and smiled when he saw Halftail awake. "Hey."

    "Hey," murmured Halftail as he tried to get up, only to slip and nearly fell off the bed. Kanan stretched out his hand to stop Halftail from falling forward. "How long have I been out?"

    "Just a few hours or so, I'd say. I've been talking to those two Lasats, and can I just say that I needed a break. I thought hiding in here would be safe and it will be perfect if no one messes it up," he whispered to himself as he curled his hand into a fist.

    Halftail nodded as he rested his head against Kanan's knee, hoping that everything would stop spinning around him. "W-What happened," he stammered lazily.

    "Birchfoot had to induce a fit. Said that if he didn't, it would come out when you didn't want it to," explained Kanan as he ran his fingers through Halftail's fur between his ears. "It was some fit that you had. Good thing that you didn't have that during a battle."

    Halftail nodded in embarrassment. "Er, yeah. So, where is Birchfoot?"

    That's when Kanan paused and his whole demeanor changed. The fur along Halftail's spine stood on end as he faced him. "Kanan," he half growled, half spat. "Where is Birchfoot?"

    "Adlerleaf went into labor," answered Kanan finally.

    Halftail's eyes widened to the size of round moons. "Labor?! But, she's a moon early. She can't be going into labor now!"

    "She's not going into labor," corrected Kanan shortly. He cleared his throat as he forced his voice to remain calm and unchanged. "She already had her kits, five of them. But....."

    He trailed off and Halftail didn't need an answer to that. He had seen it before many times; Adlerleaf dead and the reason why. He had warned Swifttail of this, but now that it was already there, it just made everything seem more real.

    With numb paws he leaped from the bed, not even sure if he was fully aware of where he was going. He gulped, stalking forward with Kanan following, just to make sure that he didn't end up injuring himself. A shudder passed through him as he went through the hallway and then to the hanger where everything was different.

    It smelled of milk and blood, mixed with the sound of murmuring and soft sobs. He continued forward and saw Bluefeather and Birchfoot speaking quietly to each other. Their heads were bowed together and expressions one of grief and fright. They looked over to Swifttail periodically as if they were debating on what to say about him.

    Halftail stalked forward and saw his son laying with five kits curled at his underbelly and Adlerleaf beside him. She looked almost frozen and unmoving with her eyes slightly opened and expression blank. There was more blood on the ground than Halftail had ever seen in his worst battle. Grief immediately overwhelmed him.

    "Swifttail," he rasped as he came up to his son.

    His son looked up and lifted a paw to wipe it under his nose and mop up his eyes. "Oh, hi, Dad," he whimpered, flicking his head over to his kits. "Meet Eaglefeather, Leafshine, Snowfall, Adderfang, and Blizzardstorm."

    "They're beautiful," agreed Halftail as he looked over at Adlerleaf, despite himself. "I'm so sorry."

    Swifttail started to cry once more as he looked down at his kits. Halftail noticed that Eaglefeather wasn't moving. He looked nearly as stiff as his mother and Halftail reached out to grab him gingerly. The kit didn't move and Halftail couldn't feel any pulse.