Warrior Cats: Sprout || Book One

Chapter Five

"You know, you don't need to come with me," Lily pointed out to Luna, who was padding doggedly at her heels.

The soft grey she-cat rolled her eyes and pounced at Lily's tail, missing by a mere inch. "I want to," she promised.

"But why? You're house is that way." Lily gestured vaguely with her tail to the western portion of town.

Luna grinned loyally. "You're my best friend. I love spending time with you. And besides, I need some exercise." She stuck her tongue out teasingly. "I just spent an hour on Diego's porch, just sitting until you and Clara finished your little chat."

"It wasn't little," Lily whined indignantly, skirting a heap of spilled trash. A foul, ochre liquid was gushing sluggishly out of the tepid bags, like blood from flesh. She flinched slightly at the analogy, recalling her vision of Diego's gore-spattered yard and the desolate wasteland surrounding it. "It was important."

Luna had stopped and was searching Lily's gaze. "Are you okay?" she inquired intuitively. "I'm really sorry if I said something wrong."

Lily halted too, sighing heavily as she did so. "You didn't. I'm the one that should be sorry for making you think you'd done something wrong."

"Is this about your seizure?" Luna queried apprehensively.

Lily hesitated, and then replied with, "No, no it's not. It's... it's about Missy."

Luna nodded slowly and wisely, as if she had been around for many seasons, and not a five moon old kit. "So that's what you were talking about. What did Clara say when you told her about your fight?"

Lily shrugged, and kicked a stray pebble into the gutter. "Basically to just tell her how I'm feeling. To have a- a 'heart-to-heart.' I don't know how I feel about it."

Luna cocked her head. "I know you like you're my other half," she murmured. "You never get mad, and if you do, you hate it. You always feel guilty after. You get annoyed and frustrated, sure, but never truly mad. So why not just apologize?" They began to walk again.

Lily sighed and quickened her pace, her paws a white blur. "I guess," she grumbled. "But it's not like I don't want to apologize. That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

"I don't really think Missy is the heart-to-heart kind of cat. She's sort of... I dunno... blunt, almost. Insensitive. She won't listen to what I have to say. When Clara was explaining it to me, I felt kinda hopeful, like everything would get better. But, now that I'm thinking about it, it could never be that simple." She averted her gaze. "She hates me."

Luna gasped as if Lily had began to spout ghoulish profanity. "Don't- don't say that! Missy loves you as if you were her own flesh and blood! She just had a little trouble showing it, that's all."

"No mother who loves their kit acts the way she does around me. I've seen Clara and Diego and Lucas and his parents. Missy and I are not like that."

Luna said nothing, her jaws agape; she sped up monumentally to match her brisk pace.

"It was so much easier when Buddy was around," Lily mewed softly. "If he didn't love me, he at least tried not to let it show."

Luna suddenly swerved in front of Lily, forcing her to a abrupt stop; she hissed in morbid distaste. "Stop it!" she wailed plaintively. "They do love you! I'm sure of it! I don't know why Buddy's not around anymore, but I'm sure it's for a good reason."

Lily took in a long breath. "Can we just talk about something else?" Her voice was taught, strained. "If that's okay?"

Luna hesitated, plucking at the unforgiving  cement. "Okay," she meowed decisively. "If you want."