Warriors; MoonClan: Fire [ 1 ]

Chapter Twenty-One

"No, no no no!" Grayfoot whispered, standing over the body of Hawkstar. "Yes, yes yes yes," he croaked. Snow  froze the forest. Tears filled Grayfoot's eyes. "Please, don't go!" he begged. "Don't worry, Grayfoot," Hawkstar mewed.

Mooneyes watched from the corner of the camp. He flattened his ears and looked away, wearing a grief-stricken expression. "Frondburrow has come," Hawkstar told them. From what Mooneyes had heard, Frondburrow had been Hawkstar's mate many moon ago, before she died unfortunately from something medicine cats couldn't fix.

Hawkstar looked at Grayfoot. "Do well, young Graystar..." His voice trailed off in a sigh as let out his last breath. A faint outline of Hawkstar, looking young and well, appeared. His gaze flicked from cat to cat, finally resting on Grayfoot. He gave a slight nod, and Grayfoot returned it. The Hawkstar outline padded away.

Darkcloud looked at Grayfoot. "Graystar!" she started to call. The rest of the Clan joined in. "Graystar! Graystar! Graystar!"

Grayfoot looked at all of them wearing a solemn expression. "Yes, I am Graystar," he mewed. He gestured his tail over to Dappleheart, "and I am ready for my leadership ceremony." His belly let out a loud rumble. Mooneyes turned his gaze to Ripplefawn. Ripplefawn got up to sit beside him. "I remember when Hawkstar lost his fifth life."

"What?" Mooneyes meowed, not listening.

"I remember when Hawkstar lost his fifth life, I was a kit then." Mooneyes got up and picked out a shrew from the fresh-kill pile, taking it back to Ripplefawn just as Grayfoot left. "Starlingfeather was a good father." 

"Who was you mother?"

"Ratfall."

"What kind of name is that?"

"Driven off a cliff by rats."

"When she was a newborn?"

"No, silly. She used to be called Primroseheart."

"Was it a long cliff?"

"Long enough to fracture her leg, which healed more perfect than usual."

Mooneyes got up. "I'm going out," he meowed.

Ripplefawn nodded. "Okay."

Before Mooneyes left, he glanced back at the kits. Emberkit was staring in disbelief, Littlekit's face was plastered with frozen tears. Drizzlekit was in a disturbed sleep. Barkclaw was singing them a lullaby.

"Paws on snow, never you feel cold," Barkclaw mewed. "I am here, never to go. As you fall asleep, know he never truly leaves. He is there up in the stars waiting, waiting for you, old and weak to come."

Mooneyes stopped listening. He walked out of camp and past trees, soon finding him at the border between ThunderClan and just a forest filled by no one. He looked to the side as he heard a branch rustle. Strained breathing came from it. As if... trying not to make a noise.

He slid out his claws and readied himself for anything. An attack from a rogue it could be. He stared past the bush. He saw the Twoleg pelt-den. He gasped and turned as a Twoleg kit rushed out from the bush. Mooneyes screeched in surprise as its hairless paws wrapped around him. He writhed, ready to bite it. The Twoleg held him closely and walked off with him towards the nest. Mooneyes writhed harder. The Twoleg looked at him and bared its teeth. Mooneyes knew Twolegs didn't bite, but he didn't wish to find out the ones who do.

He dug his claws into the arm of the Twoleg and propelled himself forward as the Twoleg let out a shriek of surprise and pain and ran off. Heart pounding, he didn't dare look back. A squirrel ran out in front of him and he stepped on in, making him stumble and fall. He looked back and saw another Twoleg, this time an adult, swipe its hairless paw over the kit's face and start to scold it.

Mooneyes picked up the squirrel which gave a feeble jerk as he picked it up then died suddenly. I must have crushed its heart, Mooneyes thought. He  walked back towards the camp with the squirrel and put it in to the fresh-kill pile. "Your fur is ruffled," Darkcloud noticed as she stepped out of the nursery. "It's nothing," Mooneyes reassured her, or at least tried to. "Mothers know their kits," Darkcloud insisted. "Tell me what's wrong." 

"I went outside and a Twoleg kit picked me up then I scratched it and watched another Twoleg slap it." Darkcloud looked at Mooneyes. "Twolegs in snow? That's a first." 

Mooneyes looked over at the kits again. They'll be apprentices soon, he noted. They were fast alseep.  His paws were wet from snow melting on his paws. He went into the warrior's den to sit beside Weaselface. "Nice squirrel," Weaselface told him. "Thanks, probably the last one we'll get this season," Mooneyes replied. "So, what do we do now?"