(Warrior Cats)SmokeTrail's fire

Chapter 29- Premature

Softstar was getting worse.

Padding towards his den I heard yelling from inside. Without letting myself be known I peeked in.

"Softstar I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I was just scared, okay!? I just-"

"This has nothing to do with being scared! You should have told me! If I knew you were already so far along I wouldn't have sent you hunting and on patrols!"

He was backing her up to the wall until he slashed her stomach. I rushed in and knocked him to the side, and without saying anything to him I rushed the queen to Dreamheart's den "Dreamheart!" But realized she wasn't there.

Instead all rushed to the nursery. There was Dreamheart, crouched by rabbitleap. Quickly, Dreamheart turned and rushed over "what happened?"
"Softstar snapped. I don't know what's going on with him." I replied as Dreamheart laid the queen down.

Another rush of adrenaline and it was over. Rose was fine, but had now kitted prematurely. The kits were small but healthy according to Dreamheart. It was a little tom that was the largest of his litter. He had wet brown fur that sparkled as his mother groomed him.

I smiled and turned my back to her and my smile faded as I gazed now into rabbitleap's shimmering eyes. I padded over to her quickly "rabbitleap what's wrong-" "smoketrail I don't know what to do...the kits are starving but they won't eat! I'm scared that they'll die...."

"Calm down, rabbitleap, I'll get Dreamheart to check on them, they'll be fine, I promise you..." I licked her gently on the ear. "I'm going to go check on Softstar. The gathering is tonight and he isn't quite himself."

Rabbitleap nodded as I returned to Softstar's den. I paused outside and called out for him "Softstar?" Before padding in when I didn't receive a response. The young leader was laying in his nest with his paws tucked under his chest. "What do you want?"

"The gathering is tonight, remember? Have you decided who will go?" I asked calmly, though deep down, I wasn't sure if he was even listening to me.

He was silent for a moment before he lifted his head yet avoided meeting my eyes "oh...yes.....you will go.....I will also take young ashpaw....Applepaw, waterpaw....uhm......"he listed off cats to me and I gathered them and soon we were off to fourtrees. I trembled with excitement at the thought of seeing my old friends.

Goldeneyes padded up beside me as we walked "are you excited? This is our first gathering as windclan warriors. Well....sort of..." he meowed.

As we reached the top of the hollow, the familiar scent of shadowclan filling my nose as well as the scent of thunderclan. I rushed down into the hollow with clear excitement present.

"Calm yourself." Goldeneyes meowed, but I ignored him, and frantically began to search until I ran straight into a young cat who yelped as we both fell to the ground. "I'm sorry!" The cat apologized, helping me to my paws.

As I got to my paws my eyes widened as much as the moon above us. "Are you Okay? You look a little shocked." The cat meowed curiously, flicking one of her blue-gray ears with confusion.

"Wavepaw...." I whispered half to myself. She still looked a little confused. "My name is Wavewater....do I....know you from somewhere?" She asked. On either side of her appeared the two cats I had once known to be Vixenpaw and wildkit who I could only assume had received her apprentice name.

Vixenpaw ran right up to me and pressed her muzzle to my neck."Smoketrail! I'm so sorry..." she backed up and gazed up at me with beautiful eyes. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"I had my warrior ceremony after you decided to stay in your birth clan. I'm vixentail Now! Sakurabloom passed away, but by then, I....." she trailed off.

"No....are you-" she cut me off "I had already fallen in love. I've given my medicine cat position up to Wavewater who has peachpaw as an apprentice! Besides, I had no choice because-"

"Vixentail!" A Tom's voice called, making both of us jump. The tom was a white tabby with clashing yellow eyes. He padded up to vixentail and licked her cheek " hey there windclan cat. I'm snowscar."he meowed.

He was one of angelwing's kits. He'd had a brother named bluekit and a sister named wavekit, but they'd both died from sickness. I was surprised he was alive and with a she-cat a few moons older than him.

"So what was It you were trying to tell me?" I asked but noticed  that the Tom's tail brushed against her belly, causing her to smile. I Also then realized her belly was clearly becoming swollen. It hit me.

"You two are having kits?" I asked as if I hadn't seen the belly with my own eyes. She nodded with the word "again." And I began to open my mouth to ask what had happened, but the look I vixentail's eyes already told me it was a painful memory for her.

I'd ask her mate later.

"There was quite a lot of deaths in windclan...." I decided to mention, flicking my tail at Softstar who was sitting motionlessly on top of great rock.

"He took over after adderstar? But I thought-"
"It was iceglare. He became icestar. Something happened between him and I and all I really need to say is he felt guilty and did it to himself. On the other hand, I had a kit by him. Faithkit. She's adorable. She has bad anxiety but gets along with practically everyone. "

Vixentail nodded "and Goldeneyes?"  "He's around here somewhere. He wasn't exactly happy about what happened but he treats her like his own daughter. Weber been through a lot with kits so it's a good thing that she managed all this time. She'll be my first kit to make it to apprenticehood..."

Suddenly a yowl sounded from the great rock, alerting me. It was Splitstar who had called the meeting, for Softstar was arguing with one of the other leaders. It was her. I recognized her from when I had first gone to shadowclan. Her white fur gleamed in the moonlight.

"Softstar, Palestar please stop you squabbling so that we may continue or at least begin our meeting?" Splitstar meowed. I could tell she was in a very bad mood but she had good resolve.

"I'm sorry, " Spat the other female leader "but Softstar here is accusing my warriors of being on his territory! She hissed. "

Splitstar ignored her and went on with the meeting. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a flicker of light. Other cats around me began looking around too. The clearing was quiet except a loud cracking noise. the sky was beautiful with the colors rhst exploded, suddenly i saw the light again. That's what it was. At first I thought it might be fire but no.

Mint appeared from the edge of the hollow, his mate dawn had a collar around Teaneck thst shone. Her belly was flat and there were kits near her paws. Beside her, Ashpaw's older brother stood. A dead cat hung from the mouths of each of the three older cats.

Palestar's eyes went wide, but instead of on the bodies of any of the cats, her eyes fixed on Mint. "My son....."