Warriors: Sun and Moon - Blood and Water

Chapter 3

  Moonshade was patrolling with Morningpool, Cedarheart, and their apprentices. They were on a hunting patrol, in the heart of the ThunderClan territory.  

They had split up to hunt in different directions, but were now regrouping. The cinnamon ticked tabby tom came back with a squirrel and a vole, Lilacpaw carrying one vole. Morningpool carried a rather large bird in her mouth, and Silverpaw carried a shrew. Moonshade had managed to catch a rabbit by the grace of StarClan.  

Trekking back to camp, mouths full of food that tantalized their tongues, the cats were rather silent.  

And then Silverpaw spoke, "I don't really want kits, you know?"

Moonshade was confused, but she saw Cedarheart immediately drop his prey and turn to the apprentice, "But being a father is so great! MY kits-,"

Morningpool interjected, "Your kits shouldn't exist; you pressured the poor queen when she was barely a warrior to have them, and she doesn't love you!"

"And you did?" Cedarheart growled at the grey and cream calico.

Offended, Morningpool gasped, "Yes, of course I loved you! I couldn't help that my body wouldn't conceive!"

His sneered at her, "If you truly loved me, you would have found a way."

"Whoa, whoa," Moonshade got into it with them, "what's going on here?"

Lilacpaw and Silverpaw were giggling. She began to understand that this happened often.

"Cedarheart is a foxheart who doesn't deserve those precious furballs!" Morningpool spat.

"Morningpool is a deceitful mouseheart who is just jealous of my kits," Cedarheart told his end. 

Moonshade sighed, "Or maybe you two are just being played by your apprentices." She flicked her tail at the mischievous warriors-to-be.  

The mentors eyed the young cats and then glanced at each other, but only briefly.  

Before either could speak, Moonshade meowed, "There are matters to put aside. And your past relationship is one of them." She turned on the apprentices, "And you two, what in StarClan's name do you find funny about stressing your mentors and causing them heartache?"

The littermates scuffed their paws on the ground. "Sorry," they mewed pathetically.  

"You better be!" Moonshade sniffed.  

Silverpaw spoke up, "I really don't want kits though."

"Neither do I," Moonshade replied grimly, recalling that Riverice was still upset with her over the matter.

Morningpool, more gently now, said, "Why is that? Dusttail has kits."

Silverpaw scoffed, "Dusttail, Dusttail, Dusttail! I'm not him! Everyone thinks I am just because we were both born she-cats, but are really toms. Is this concept really still so new to the clans that everyone lumps us into the same?"

Cedarheart twitched his tail, "Well, it is something Foxmask is still ferocious about. Try telling her a tom had kits and she'll claw your ears off!"

Moonshade was pleased that she had brought the patrol back together. It wasn't much longer that they gathered their prey and began back toward camp once more.  

Not long after returning to camp did the first storm of newleaf begin. Fat raindrops pounded the dirt floor, and wind howled overhead. Thunder roared and lightning lit the sky every so often.

And then, a ferocious breeze swept into the hollow. It tore a bramble from the nursery. Cloudeye leapt into action, grabbing the tendril to put it back into place, but in the moment he grabbed it, lightning struck and illuminated the entire camp, blinding the cats who were watching. A heartbeat later and the smell of singed fur found its way into their nostrils.