Warriors: Hollyleaf's kits

Chapter 5

--Hollyleaf's POV--

Hollyleaf led her mate towards Molepaw's nest. The small tom was limp, stiff with death. He felt cold when she put her paw to his pelt.

Fallen Leaves bristled, his eyes widening. "He's dead! This wasn't supposed to happen!" He yowled, the stars in his pelt blazing. 

Cherrypaw buried her muzzle in her brother's fur, her cries echoing around the cave.

"I'm sorry," Hollyleaf whimpered, touching the apprentice's shoulders with her tail. Grief flicked in her green eyes.

Fallen Leaves sniffed Molepaw's chest wound, his nose wrinkling. "He died from infection. But how could.... how could he of died? I cleaned that wound," he mewed.

Hollyleaf gazed at him. "It's not your fault if you think it is, Fallen Leaves." She sat down, glancing down at Molepaw, sadness in her eyes.

Fallen Leaves sat down too, grief glittering in his eyes. "This is all my fault! If I had stayed up, Molepaw wouldn't be dead!" He growled.

Hollyleaf growled. "What did I tell you about blaming yourself? You need to realize that not everything is your fault! I love you, and you should love yourself," she whimpered, her tail curling around Fallen Leaves.

Fallen Leaves glanced down at his paws. Hollyleaf, you have a power. I should tell you. "I-" He then quickly stopped. No, now is not the time. He got up and turned to Cherrypaw. "We'll need to bury Molepaw soon," Fallen Leaves informed.

Cherrypaw didn't move, instead, she whimpered with sadness. "I can't leave my brother here! His spirit will be forever trapped in these tunnels!" She cried.

"No, his spirit will make it to StarClan," Hollyleaf reassured. She placed her paw on Cherrypaw's back. "I know you probably don't want to hear this now, but you need to return home to your Clan. They will be worried about you." 

Cherrypaw didn't respond, she only buried herself in her brother.

"Who is your mother? Father?" Hollyleaf asked.

"My mother is Poppyfrost and my father is Berrynose," Cherrypaw responded. "I-I don't want to go back, I want to stay here, with my brother," she whimpered.

Hollyleaf leaned back and looked at Fallen Leaves, who looked guilty as ever. "I'm going to go hunt deeper in the tunnels. I'll be back," he quickly stuttered, running off. 

Hollyleaf wanted to follow after her mate, but she couldn't leave Cherrypaw behind. "How about I try to cheer you up?"

"You won't be able to cheer me up," Cherrypaw whispered, her ears folding back.

Hollyleaf looked around, her whiskers twitching. "You know, I was ThunderClan once," she mewed, leaning close.

"You were? If you're ThunderClan then why are you in here?" Cherrypaw asked.

"I did something bad and I just left. I couldn't deal with it. But now that I'm with Fallen Leaves, I feel better," Hollyleaf meowed, her eyes shining.

"What is your name, then?"

"I'm Hollyleaf," Hollyleaf responded. "I'm the sister of Jayfeather and Lionblaze," she meowed, her tail flicking.

"I heard about you! You were the cat that spoke out at the gathering and then-" Cherrypaw gasped. "I thought you were dead! Everyone in ThunderClan thinks you're dead right now! Are you a spirit?" Cherrypaw asked.

"No, I'm not a spirit," Hollyleaf answered. "The tunnel collapsed behind me when I ran in, so I guess they thought I died," she explained. Thinking back on it, she hated knowing that her brothers thought she was dead.

"Why did you run away? Was it too embarrassing to live in the Clan knowing Leafpool is your mother?" Cherrypaw asked, her ears pricked forward.

"No, it was something else," Hollyleaf mumbled. 

"What was it?"

"I can't tell you," Hollyleaf whined. She sat up. "When you leave to go back to ThunderClan, please don't tell anyone about me. They'll all think I'm a traitor for living in the tunnels. Right now, they think I'm dead," Hollyleaf meowed, her voice echoing in the walls.

"But.. I don't want to leave. I want to stay! My brother died in this very cave, and I want to stay with him. He matters deeply to me!" Cherrypaw whimpered. She turned back to the corpse of her brother, deep sadness in her eyes. "I want to be left alone now." Cherrypaw then curled up beside her brother and closed her eyes.

Hollyleaf slowly backed away from the small apprentice. If she doesn't want to leave, then that means she'll have to live down here. Hollyleaf looked down. What if her Clan comes looking for her and somehow they find me? I have to convince her somehow that she should go home. She's a danger to me being caught! If I'm caught, they'll probably kill me after finding out what I did!

Here y'all go