Tadpoledrift's Mistakes

Chapter Nine

The silver she-cat stood up slowly, still waking up.

"I was just here to talk to Starclan." Tadpoledrift tilted her head to the side.

The short grey spotted she-cat raised her paw up and stepped closer to the Medicine Cat.

"Even so, it's clear to see you're expecting kits soon."

She looked down to her round belly and slowly sat down, putting a paw onto her side.

"Have you been chased out of your clan for breaking the code?" The she-cat's voice was calm and gentle as she stepped closer.

"No, I just..."

"Wanted a better life for your kits and raise them yourself?" She quietly asked.

Tadpoledrift nodded her head slowly.

The grey she-cat gave a kind smile to her and leaned over to press her nose into Tadpoledrift's shoulder.

Tadpoledrift sat and looked at the she-cat confused, she smelled like Thunderclan and looked the reverse of her mother's markings.

"You'll be fine little one, I'm sure you'll find your path eventually, maybe you could even join me in Thunderclan?"

The she-cat acted nothing like her mother, in fact, she seemed the complete opposite. Tadpoledrift started to think, her father would occasionally talk about kin in other clans and her mother did say she had some in Thunderclan.

"Ma'am?" Tadpoledrift quietly spoke up.

The grey she-cat still had a gentle smile on her face.

"You don't need to call me ma'am you know."

"I-..you look familiar from somewhere like you look a lot like someone I know."

The she-cat's smile partially dropped. "You don't remember my name? I'm Dovefern, your mother's littermate and thus your aunt. I guess you wouldn't really know me well since you've lived in a different clan from the rest of your kin all your life."

Tadpoledrift remembered now, she had met Dovefern right after she had become a Medicine Cat Apprentice. Dovefern had been so kind and comforted her after her littermate, Thymepaw, had died.

"I'm guessing you're not going back to Riverclan, are you."

Tadpoledrift shook her head.

"Mom said to go to Windclan." She noted.

Dovefern seemed to be a bit saddened by her niece's reply but nodded her head.

"If that's where she says to go, then I'll help you get there."

"Thank you, aunt."

Tadpoledrift forced herself onto her paws, her round belly made it hard to stand up as easily as normal.

"We'll be off then and should be getting there just after sunup, hopefully, your siblings will still be in camp."

The two she-cats walked out of the cave and down the path with so many paw steps that they couldn't be counted. Going down to the lakebed and along the side of it. Dovefern chattered on about their kin, kindness, and longing in her tone.

Tadpoledrift's paws quickly started to grow sore again and her kits started to kick her side once again, but she pushed herself on.

Her ears flicked as she heard a bush rustle, Dovefern tail rose up and she looked at it. Suddenly a tall snow-white she-cat leaped out and onto Dovefern, giggling and rolling over onto her back, a big smile on her face.

"Auntie you've come to visit again so soon?!" She leaped up and her tail waved happily.

"Not really visiting, I'm only here to help someone who has lost her way." Dovefern turned her head to look at her youngest niece.

Tadpoledrift lowered her head cautiously and looked to the white she-cat.

"Oh! You're Tadpoledrift then? Auntie's and the rest of us have been a bit worried about you." The tall she-cat stepped closer to her.

"Yeah I'm Tadpoledrift, I'm guessing you're one of my older siblings then. Why would you be worried about me?" Her head tilted to the side.

"Yes, I'm your older sister Icerain." Icerain held up a paw and pointed to her sister's sides. "And that there is a reason why we were a bit worried."

The silver she-cat was confused and tilted her head to the side.

"You know it was easy to tell you were expecting kits, you seemed so sick up there on the stones and it saddened me that Muddystar would have forced you to go."

"He didn't force me, I decided I would go." Tadpoledrift dipped her head.

Icerain seemed concerned by her answer and turned to Dovefern.

"I have to go back to my patrol, go on and take Tadpoledrift to Windclan's camp." With that, the snow-white she-cat bounded off and over the countless hills in the territory.

The two walked into the territory, in the near distance she could see the open camp, worry began to slowly grow in her mind as she remembered that Windlcan didn't have any dens.

As the two she-cats crested over the hills she could see it far away, burrows dug into the ground by badgers from long before even the first leaders set a paw onto this moorland.

Tadpoledrift's paws felt like they were going to give in by the time she had gotten to the camp, her aunt looked to her with concern then back to the camp.

A white and light grey she-cat spotted the two other she-cats as they walked into camp, leaping down from where she had been sunning herself.

"Dovefern, Tadpoledrift, it's so nice to see you both." She dipped her head to the two. "Have you come with news from RiverClan?" The white she-cat looked to Dovefern rather than Tadpoledrift.

"The only news is of Tadpoledrift leaving the clan, nothing more than that Kestrelwing."

Kestrelwing's ears lifted up and nodded her head, a smile forming on her face.

"I'll take her from here then and show her around the camp." She dipped her head again. "See at the next gathering aunt."

"See you later." Dovefern dipped her head and looked back to Tadpoledrift. "Be safe, okay?"

"Okay, Dovefern." The silver and white she-cat dipped her head and looked back to Kestrelwing.

"I'll show you around camp and then let you rest in the Nursery, maybe when we're there you'll get to meet our brother."

Kestrelwing trotted ahead, her younger silver sister trailed close behind.