"Shadowwhisper, i'm sorry..." Mintleaf whispered. Her amber eyes brimmed with pain.
"You shouldn't have died. Sun Stripes will take good care of your kit." She shut her eyes. The pain seemed to sweep through her in waves.
Shadowwhisper stood still and quiet. "The star-cats have cursed me. I know I never should have had kits!" She wailed. "Star-cats, forgive me! I will make it up to you!"
Mintleaf pushed her muzzle into her daughters black fur, holding back tears. The tiny kit next to her was squirming, mewling loudly for its mother.
"You're so beautiful..." Mintleaf murmured sadly. "Come on, little one. Snowclan will take good care of you...and me..."
Before she picked up the black-and-white she-kit, she dug a grave for her daughter, then covered it up. She took a moment to cover it in flowers and undergrowth before picking up the kitten.
Sighing, she padded towards Snowclan territory. "I heard Dappled Sky has some newborns. She will take good care of you." She heard the patter of paws coming to the border. A border patrol was coming.
She placed the tiny kit in the grass then bounded into the bushes before the Snowclan cats arrived.
She scented only one cat, and recognized him instantly. Sun Stripe! She jumped to her paws and dashed out of the bushes.
Immediately his fur spiked and he let out a long hiss. "Mintleaf!" He snarled. Mintleaf flattened her ears. "I...This is Shadowwhisper's kit..."
Her gaze trailed to the kit. "I... I need to join your clan. I cannot live in Featherclan, knowing my daughter has died, and every cat will eventually find out that I had kits."
Sun Stripe's face was twisted with rage. "You left me!"
"It was for the good of the clan!" She insisted. "You need to take us in!" She wailed. Sun Stripe narrowed his eyes. "You chose your clan over true love!"
The words stung Mintleaf. "I'm sorry. I regret what I did. I wish it could just be another way." She murmured.
Sun Stripe gazed down at his golden paws. "I kind of left you, too..."
Mintleaf looked up sharply. "You didn't take another mate, did you?" She mewed, her voice full of pain.
"Dappled Pelt."
Mintleaf flattened her ears. "You say I left you, then you leave me!" She hissed. She felt rage pulse through her. "You fox-heart!" She snarled.
Sun Stripe looked at her, his blue gaze mournful. "I'm so sorry, Mintleaf. I still love you, but... it's complicated." He shuffled his paws anxiously.
"I'll ask Snowclan if you can join, if that's what you must do."
The kitten by Mintleaf's paws was probably close to freezing to death, and she gazed at it in surprise. She immediately grabbed the kit in her jaws and tried to heat it up with her breath as much as she could as they headed to Snowclan's camp.
