Heartstar's rise : Book Two

Ch. 58

The air was cool. Crickets chirped. A gentle breeze blew. Flowers swayed. The moon shone. Heartstorm slowly got up and looked around. He stood in the middle of long grass with beautiful flowers. He took a deep gulp of fresh air. Where was he? StarClan, of course. It was so calm. Beautiful. It was nice here. He didn't have to worry about his life. He wished he could stay here forever. He didn't want to face his life back at RiverClan. Face the death of Sagekit. His heart ached. He sat down and stared at the horizon. Then a beautiful cat appeared. She padded towards Heartstorm quietly. Heartstorm recognised her. It was Brightheart. Instead of welcoming her, he hissed. 

            "Why did you take him?" he cried, his voice cracked and he sat back down, shivering. 

             "Heartstorm," Brightheart said quietly. 

             "You took him! He was only one moon old! ONE MOON!" yelled Heartstorm, breathing heavily. 

              "Heartstorm, I'm so sorry for you loss," Brightheart said gently. 

               "You took him!" accused Heartstorm then more softly. "Why?"  Brightheart sat beside Heartstorm. 

               "He wasn't well. He was weaker than the others. He wouldn't be able to live happily like that," Brightheart explained. Heartstorm leapt to his feet, lashing his tail and back away from Brightheart. 

               "He was getting better," growled Heartstorm. "He had just learnt to walk." Brightheart sighed. 

               "I need to show you something," she said.      

               "I don't want to see anything from you. I don't want to see you again," snapped Heartstorm. But he didn't mean it. Then the grasses parted and Heartstorm frowned. A small kit pushed through the grasses. He's eyes were bright, his legs strong and he seemed healthy and happy. He scampered to Heartstorm and smiled at him. Heartstorm stood still, shocked. Unable to move. His mind swirled. 

                "Sagekit?" he whispered hoarsely. 

                  "Hi Dad!" cried Sagekit. "Why are you sad? Please don't be sad!" Heartstorm forced a small sad smile. He glanced at Brightheart who was gazing at Sagekit with love. 

                 "Hi Sagekit," murmured Heartstorm. 

                  "It's nice here," said Sagekit. "I can even hunt!" Heartstorm watched, unable to say anything. At loss for words. He bent down and licked Sagekit warmly. Sagekit grinned up at Heartstorm. 

                   "I can even swim and climb!" added Sagekit for good measure. 

                    "That's- that's great," choked Heartstorm. He wanted to keep Sagekit by his side forever, never let him go. But Sagekit scampered away, playing in the long grasses. Heartstorm watched, tears brimming in his eyes. He closed his eyes. When he opened them, Brightheart was by his side once more, staring at Sagekit who was playing about in the grass. 

                    "See how happy he is here? He can do anything. Nothing can stop him," Brightheart said. "He's better off here. I'm with him." Heartstorm could see that Sagekit was much happier. He really could do anything in StarClan but- but... Heartstorm wanted Sagekit back. 

                  "He could be happy, just like this, in RiverClan," Heartstorm replied stubbornly. Brightheart sighed.  

                    "I know it's hard for you. But you need to see he's happier here. Being smaller than the others won't stop him from doing what he wants," Brightheart said earnestly. Heartstorm didn't want to believe it. Sagekit could be just as happy in RiverClan. 

                   "My own grandson," whispered Brightheart. Heartstorm let out a small laugh. 

                   "He does seem happy," Heartstorm said. 

                   "I know it's hard to accept," said Brightheart. She seemed to be thinking about something else. Heartstorm wondered if she was thinking about Stormpelt. "But you need to let him go." Let him go. How was he going to do that? He stared at Sagekit. He was rolling about, a flower in his unsheathed claws. Sagekit's happiness was all Heartstorm had ever wanted, wasn't it? And he was happy now. Heartstorm looked down and sighed. 

                   "Yeah, ok, but take care of him, alright?" Heartstorm said, glancing at Brightheart. She smiled. 

                    "Of course," she said. Heartstorm padded to Sagekit's side and bent down. 

                    "Hey," he said softly. "Dad has to go for now. But your grandma, Brightheart will take care of you, alright?" Sagekit looked up, tilted his head but nodded. 

                     "Ok, I'll see you later," he said sweetly. 

                     "I-I'll see you," Heartstorm said slowly. He pushed back his sadness. "You have fun, ok?"

                       "Ok, I'll catch a mouse for you and Silverdrop. And I'll catch a pigeon for Bumblekit and Brightkit," Sagekit said. Heartstorm smiled and nodded. 

                     "Yeah, that would be great, thank you," Heartstorm said, forcing the words out. Sagekit beamed. 

                      "Bye Dad!" he squealed and ran away, through the green grasses. Heartstorm watched till the grasses grew still and there was no more sign of Sagekit.