LostHope's Path

Chapter 16

A/n: before you read this chapter, you dears, look at the media. Look at it and love it's beautiful kawaiiness... Thrushflight's sass is on point... look.... Okay now you may devour chapter sixteen of Losthope's path.

" Honey..." A soft voice began.

Silence, then a muffled response mewed from a giant bundle of pine boughs. "Whatffh."

"Shh... I just wanted to get you up." A fluffy gray shape let out a little huff as Thunderblaze curled around the she-cat, his warmth puddling her. "It's almost sunhigh, you know."

Losthope stretched her paws out, becoming splayed on the ground, sunk deep in a nest of evergreen. "Sunhigh and you didn't wake me up, Thunderbutt?" She moaned, her eyes stuck shut from the broken night, peering through slitted eyes.

Raggedstar's scent lingered, it's flavor pure ShadowClan. And though the warrior knew Raggedstar was dead and buried by some of the older warriors, Losthope could swear she still felt Raggedstar's hiss on her fur, her perfecting her apprentice's moves.

But perhaps it was just an echo.

The dark ginger she-cat struggled up, feeling unbalanced and shaken as she padded through the clearing, walking next to some cat, but not really with them, then into the nursery.

A dark cloud of sour emotion curdled the air of the nursery.

"Parrotfur?" Losthope meowed in a tremulous voice. "K-K-....K-Kits?"

A rustle of bracken-sound crackled through the air followed by several tiny squeaks and splashes of pawsteps. 'Kit sounds!' Losthope was blown off her three already-unstable paws as furry figures ''attacked her''.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Pantherkit squealed. "I tried my first squirrel! And it was-"

"You're BACK!" Iriskit squealed.

The dusky brown and gray tabby tom-kit crashed into the knot of his kin. "GuesswhatguesswhatguessWHAT!"

"Chicken butt!" Iriskit interrupted, jumping on his back.

"and SO ANYWAYS BEFORE DUSKIT SO RUUUDELY INTERRUPTED ME-"

"Shut up, she'd want to hear my story first!" hollered Dustpaw. "SO Parrotfur took me out into the camp edge and I saw a h-hugeeee I TELL YOU HUUGGGEEE-"

"Ermigawd, Dustpaw... it was only a medium-sized thrush." Pantherkit sneered.

"Ohh snap!" Iriskit cried, flopping to the ground. "Don't you need some aloe for that burn Dustk-"

"NO I SWEARRR it was HU--" Dustpaw's tabby foot squashed down his sister's black ears as he clumsily scaled her, then toppling on Losthope. "-GE! HUGE! And I'll catch one just like it when I'm a warrior!!!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Pantherkit snorted.

"In your wildest dreams." The tiny Specklekit whispered faintly, laughing.

"Oh, stop it you four. I'll listen to all your stories, right after I get poor Parrotfur some fresh-kill. I'm sure she's too exhausted to herself." Losthope giggled, lifting off her children from her battle-torn back.

"Okay!" They chirped in unison, spinning around and then fledded away, screeching with laughter.

The dark ginger she-cat sighed happily, because her kits were safe, and so was the Clan. Raggedstar was the only death, thank gosh she was the only, and though the camp and he dens were shredded from the attack everyone was healthy. A new deputy would be appointed next moon so ShadowClan could repair the camp back to its original strong self. Tanglestar would suffice as a leader, Losthope was sure of it.

The warrior was almost out the door when she felt a tiny tug on her tail. "Mom?" A stray Iriskit whimpered. "I-I...I thought you weren't going to come back." The she-kit's gaze fell and she shuffled her paws. "If you d-died then it would be m-my fault! I-it's me and Pantherkit and Dustkit and Sp- well no nothing is EVER Speckledkit's fault, but mostly mine. Oh, mom...I'm s-so so s-sorry... I know I'm just a burden in this family."

"You're not a burden!" Losthope exclaimed, confused. "Why would you think that? It's Thunderclan that's the problem. I couldn't ask for more perfect children. Including you."

"I-I guess I'm glad y-you think so..." Iriskit mewled, then blinked and scampered away, yowling, "wait UP! Guys...!"

Losthope giggled and padded from the laughter and into the darkness.

"Heatherfrost but pl-" a light brown tom pleaded, practically running around in circles around the black she-cat to keep up with her long walking strides.

"No way, Rabbitpaw!" The mentor snapped, wheeling around to glare at him. "Not until Mintpaw says it's okay for you to go out and collect new bedding!"

Losthope cocked her head and observed, curling her tail up in confusion. 'Apprentices actually wanting to go out on duties? What?'

"B-But my nest isn't..." faltered Rabbitpaw. "You try sleeping in a dead cat's moss!" He cried, whimpering and tucking his stub of a tail between his legs.

Heatherfrost said nothing, her icen eyes filled with half-hidden cries.
"Nobody asked for this battle," she whispered. "Nobody asked for such a great cat to die."

Losthope's ears flattened in shame. "I'll get him fresh moss so he won't injure his paw anymore," the she-cat muttered and pushed into the evergreens.

She averted her gaze forward, begging them not to see again the shell of Raggedstar etched ghostily in the lichen. Shrieks and shouts of those annoying kittypets by the Twoleg-Nest echoed the tops of the trees.

'I haven't gone there for moss in a while.' She thought slowly, picking cautiously to the boxy structure and the overgrowth around it. 'Be careful, Losthope...'

"Give eet back right now!" Shouts of unfamiliar kittypet voices made Losthope wince. "I'll keel you!!! Keel you!"

"Never-ever-ever... you little son of a-" the screechier (if that was even possible) one of the two used a word Losthope didn't know. 'Just leave already!' She begged silently as the two shrimpy toms brawled on the beautiful...soft-looking...luscious moss...

Then she sighed and began to pad off back to find moss another place. Those toms were hardly older than her own kits. Kittypet blood... Was still cat's blood, and too much of it has been spilled lately. Losthope shuddered as she dragged a cloak of the mustier moss that had been peeking from under a pine, and into ShadowClan camp.

A/N: IM SORRY IT ENDED REALLY CRUMMILY K JUST CANT TYPE ANYMORE. I miss writing on a computer with actual italics for thinking and not having to text... Blah.