Red Snow

CHAPTER 9

     The soft light of dawn peeked into the large badger set where LostClan was making its home. Cherrymoon blinked her amber eyes open and saw that most of the Clan were already up and moving, and she was one of the last to wake up. She heaved herself out of her nest and opened her jaws in a massive yawn as she padded out into the clearing.

     "You're up!" Lakekit squealed and hurled onto the ginger cat's back.

     "Great StarClan, you've gotten heavy!" Cherrymoon purred and shook the lively kit off. It had surprised everyone when she made it through leaf-bare, and not to mention the fox attack that had ruffled all of them. Thankfully, they didn't have more than a few tufts of fur missing. It was new-leaf now, and Lakekit was almost ready to be apprenticed. Maybe Shellstar will choose me as her mentor?

     "Lakekit! Leave Cherrymoon alone! I'm sure she didn't want to start her day with you jumping all over her." Leafdusk scolded her kit, and huffed when the tiny kitten scurried over to her next.

     Cherrymoon sighed, "I don't mind." Secretly, she had always thought Leafdusk was jealous because Lakekit was so fond of Cherrymoon, but she pushed the thought away. They were both equally affectionate towards the little creature.

     The mother purred when her mate and Cherrymoon's brother, Palefrost, came up to them. The pale tom had grown into a strong cat, and was no longer the annoying, grumpy furball he used to be. Deciding to leave them alone, Cherrymoon strolled out of camp and into the forest, where most cats sunbathed. She saw Shellstar watching the Clan from the Dirtpile, while Mouseclaw and Nightfang drowsily shared tongues. Echoleaf stared through the trees, and Splashfoot sat next to her. Splashfoot, a gray and black she-cat, had just recently joined them after being abandoned by her twolegs. LostClan was hesitant to accept her at first, but since then she had proved herself to be a strong, loyal warrior. Everything looked normal, so Cherrymoon padded farther into the forest to go hunting.

     "Where are you going?"

     She stopped in her tracks and found her amber gaze staring into Shellstar's pale green eyes. "Hunting."

     "Not by yourself." He growled.

     Her jaws parted slightly. "Why? I'm a warrior, not a kit. I think I can fight off a few shrews."

     Shellstar tipped his head disapprovingly. "Remember the foxes? Its dangerous out there, and the dawn patrol smelled fresh rogue scent."

     She scoffed, "fine. I'll go get Palefrost." As she tried to veer around the leader and find her brother, the massive tom stepped aside to block her. "What are yo-"

     "Don't bother getting Palefrost, I'll go." He declared.

     Cherrymoon shrugged, "okay," and she led the way towards her favorite hunting spot. It was a giant willow tree in a field of poppy flowers that she had discovered within their first moon of leaving in the old badger set. When she looked behind her, she saw that Shellstar's jaws were open in awe.

     "Its.. beautiful." He whispered, then shook his head and remembered what they were doing. "Right, hunting." He started sniffing the air and Cherrymoon watched as he disappeared behind some bushes, following a trail.

     The ginger cat snorted in laughter at how easily distracted the leader was. One moment he'd be yelling at her, and the next he'd be praising her fighting skills. So strange.

     Suddenly she picked up another scent. She sank low to the ground and followed the trail, until she saw a flash of what looked like brown fur. Mouse? Tasting the air again, she decided it definitely wasn't mouse. She silently stalked forward and almost tripped over the brown- no- golden, tail. Sitting lazily in front of her was the kittypet, Star. "Thought I wouldn't see you again." Cherrymoon sneered.

      Star lifted her head and waved her tail. "Greetings." She was eating a plump looking rabbit.

     Cherrymoon didn't return the gesture, she was staring at the prey. "Did you catch that yourself?"

     "Oh yes." Star meowed cheerfully. "I've been hunting since I was kitted."

Tilting her head, Cherrymoon asked, "aren't you a kittypet?"

Star looked hurt, almost offended, when Cherrymoon asked her. She stood up and arched her back. "No!"

"Keep your fur on! I was just asking." She growled, then remembered what she had told her moons ago. 'I'm supposed to help your Clan.' Curios, Cherrymoon crept closer. "What do you know about LostClan?"

"Not much." Star seemed to have calmed down, as she was grooming her fur. "Why?"

Snorting with impatience, the warrior kept pestering. "Then how do you intend to help my Clan? Unless you were just trying to ward off unwanted visitors?"

"Of course not. I only told you what these weird cats told me. They smelled like rain, and their fur was shiny, like there were stars in it. They really did give me a scare the first time they came to me! Now we're friends." She finished proudly, and wrapped her tail around her paws, pushing away the rabbit bones.

Cherrymoon pricked her ears, "do you know their names?" They had to be StarClan cats. Stars in their fur? But why would they choose this rogue to deliver an important message? Maybe because her name was Star.

Star bit her lip as she tried to remember. "There was one named Doveshine I believe."

ShadowClan.

"And I think Lichenpool and Swallowsky."

WindClan and RiverClan.

"Oh! And Brooktail." Star purred. "She was my favorite."

Cherrymoon's jaw fell open. "Brooktail is my mother!" It has been moons since her mother's death, and knowing that she was safe in StarClan was the most reassurance she could ever have. "What else did they say?" She begged.

"What's going on here?" Cherrymoon turned around and saw Shellstar leaning over her shoulder. "This is the rogue we scented!"

"It's okay, Shellstar! She's been talking with StarClan!" The ginger cat meowed eagerly.

His whisker twitched in interest, but then his face turned serious again. "We have enough medicine cats. Go home to your twolegs. You're much too pretty to be a rogue." He spat.

Cherrymoon frowned. "How could you send her away? She had stuff to tell us." When she turned around to tell Star to say, the she-cat was already gone. She turned back to Shellstar, fury in her veins, and it only burned more when she saw amusement in his eyes.

"I love it when you get all angry." His hard green eyes turn soft, an expression she had never seen on him, or anyone.

She swallowed, and took a deep breath. What does he mean? When he cleared his throat and started giving orders again, she felt like she could breathe again. They padded back to camp in silence, but she found sleep hard. Was it because of the excitement she felt when talking to Star? Or was it the nervous feeling in her stomach after she talked to Shellstar?