Warriors: Blossomfall's Reign(Sequel to WBI)

Chapter Twenty-One: A Disappointment

Bumblestar POV

Blossomfall's kits were five moons old.

Shadekit did not respect me or fear me. The insubordinate little flea-brain defied me at every opportunity possible. He must have inherited his mother's qualities. Shame, really.

Nightkit, however, held the values of a true warrior. He was a mindless thing, which was how I liked my cats to be. He walked around camp reciting the sayings that I had taught the kits, fully believing them.

Nightkit paraded around proudly past the warriors den with his brother following behind him. "Harm to your enemy is cause for celebration! Fear is stronger than love! Words mean nothing if there is no strength to back them up! Defend yourself, then others! Always obey your leader!"

I watched him from where I sat in a shady patch of grass and chuckled slightly. I was very pleased with this behavior from the young kit, seeing the potential of gaining the invaluable asset of a loyal, obedient, no-questions-asked warrior. I took a small bite of a thrush and pondered making Nightkit an apprentice early. Foxleap said something about activity on the WindClan border and I nodded, pretending to be listening to him.

"Bumblestar is still stuffing your brain with that nonsense, huh?" Shadekit hissed.

Nightkit whipped around, eyes glowing with fury. "It's NOT nonsense!"

Shadekit narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Our mother would be ashamed of you!"

"I don't CARE what my mother would think! SHE'S DEAD SHADEKIT!" Nightkit snarled.

"Yes, and your integrity apparently died with her," Shadekit spat, stomping off to the nursery.

I rose to my paws and followed him. Foxleap stopped mid-sentence and hissed in irritation. "Bumblestar, I'm in the middle of giving you my report and you just get up and leave?"

"This is more important!" I snapped.

I hurried across the camp and crouched by the entrance to the nursery. I heard voices inside, the soft, urgent voices of Fawnkit and Shadekit.

Fawnkit and Redkit were Streamheart's kits, nearly old enough to be apprenticed, only a few days shy of reaching the age of six moons. Redkit was characterized by her fiery temper and her lack of empathy. She was obedient, however, and I respected a slight bit of personality I suppose. She was much better than her sister, Fawnkit, who was too weak for my taste, and certainly much too compassionate. ThunderClan was not meant to raise "kind" cats; ThunderClan was designed to create vicious but loyal warriors, capable of ruling over the other Clans around the lake.

"Shadekit," Fawnkit whispered. "We're not safe here. Bumblestar will kill anyone who disagrees with him. We must leave as soon as possible."

Shadekit sighed from inside the bramble thicket. "Our days are numbered if we stay here. But the question is, where is there to go? Surely not to WindClan? From what the warriors say, WindClan hates ThunderClan."

"Our only hope is to flee to ShadowClan," Fawnkit replied. "Let's leave tonight, once every cat is asleep. We can sneak out through the dirtplace."

I heard pawsteps behind me and turned around to see an annoyed Foxleap approaching. "What could possibly be so important as to interrupt my report, Bumblestar?"

"Shadekit might conveniently, um, disappear soon," I snarled to my deputy.

Foxleap said nothing, just stared wordlessly into the distance. I took that as a sign of agreement and stormed off. Shadekit was officially hopeless. Now, it was time to test Nightkit's loyalty. And if Nightkit wished to survive to see tomorrow morning, then failing was not an option.

A/N: Welcome to Day 1 of Update Week! I will see you guys tomorrow with Chapter 22! :D