Warriors: Skytail's Reckoning (COMPLETED)

Chapter 12

"Fernpelt! Slatefall! Fernpelt! Slatefall!" Cheered the Clan as the two new warriors licked Redstar's shoulder before facing their Clanmates with shimmering eyes.

Skytail sat with Bluefeather, Wispwren, Sparkpaw, and Myrtlepaw as the Clan welcomed the two new warriors. They're full tunnelers now, she thought happily as she watched the two littermates took in their Clanmates' cheers.

Their parents, Hawkpool and Wolfleaf, rushed forward ahead of their Clanmates and congratulated them. Their other kits, Sapkit and Sapling kit, hurried forward and ran around their new warrior brother and sister while their parents laughed on in amusement.

Skytail watched the family with a pang of longing, remembering her family dynamic. She lifted her gaze to the sky and watched as the fluffy white clouds rolled gently across the blue sky. Was Maple watching her? What about Cherry? Was her mother as deranged as Marshpaw and Juniperpaw said?

"Skytail?" Sparkpaw's warm voice brought her back to reality and she looked down at the tabby she-cat. Her heart ached with longing to have a family and kits of her own, to love and watch grow up. For a brief moment, she was back in the barn with Maple, Cherry, and her brothers. Marshpaw and Juniperpaw were wrestling with each other and her parents were chatting aimlessly about the day. Her heart expanded as she gazed fondly down at Sparkpaw, itching to one day watch small versions of her run around and play.

The longer Skytail gazed into Sparkpaw's bright blue eyes, the more the ache hurt in her chest and she felt her fur optimism deteriorate.

"Are you alright?" Sparkpaw asked, her voice concerned and worried as she touched her tail tip to Skytail's shoulder. Skytail blinked the images of a happy family out of her mind and looked at Sparkpaw. "What's the matter?"

Skytail twitched her ear and twined her tail with Sparkpaw's. "Nothing," she replied, but her belly tightened uneasily. She wanted kits, sure, but was she ready? Did she want kits bad enough to have some when she became a warrior only a few sunrises ago? She shook out her pelt, decided against thinking about it right now. "What do you want to do?"

Sparkpaw got to her feet and stretched, arching her back as she yawned. "Right now, I want to curl up and sleep for a moon." She sent a playful look over at Skytail. "But, there's work to be done."

"Truer words have never been spoken, Sparkpaw," rumbled the voice of Lakespots as she padded up, catching the apprentices' last words. She looked between her apprentice and Skytail. "Logstorm wants us to do some battle training for right now." She nodded to Sparkpaw but flicked her tail at Skytail. "You can tag along if you want, but this is mainly for the apprentices."

Sparkpaw's eyes lit up with excitement and she lashed her tail away from Skytail's, making the warrior wince. "Who all are going with us?" She asked eagerly.

"All the apprentices plus a pawful of warriors," Lakespots responded.

Skytail blinked. "Why are all the apprentices going?" She asked, confused.

"To give them all training at once." Lakespots sounded matter-of-fact, and Skytail twitched her tail in annoyance. She looked at Sparkpaw. "We'll be heading out in a little bit, you'd better get ready."

Sparkpaw nodded respectfully to her mentor as Lakespots turned and padded away. She looked over eagerly at Skytail, her eyes gleaming. "You'll be going, won't you?" She asked, her eyes brimming with hope.

Skytail glanced at her and shifted her paws. "I don't know," she meowed reluctantly. Her heart broke as she saw the hope dimming from Sparkpaw's blue eyes. She took a deep breath and went on. "But, I will be watching you, just not practicing."