Warriors: Back to the Wild Book#3

Chapter 17

Mousepelt splurged whatever was left in her stomach. She shook as she looked at the blood on her paws. She quickly jumped in to the shallow part of the stream and let the current wash away.

When the blood washed off, Mousepelt climbed out and started pacing around. Her claws were kicking up dirt as they kept digging in to the ground. The screeches of Badgergrowl were still ringing in her ears. The terrified faces of the two cats she cared about. The blood sticking to her fur.

"You seem tense." Mousepelt spun and saw Silversol standing behind her.

"Leave me alone!" Mousepelt shrieked. "I don't want to do this anymore! You almost made me kill innocent cats! I almost hurt Ravenclaw!"

"Why should you care about him?" Silversol sneered. "He was just going to ignore you the moment I died."

"I don't care!" Mousepelt wailed. "At least I felt something, while I'm here I feel nothing! It's like I died and I've gone to my own personal Dark Forest! I want to leave now!"

"Too bad!" Silversol snapped. "This is your new home now! There's nothing out there for you! You're known as a traitor to every Clan, once a Clan cat sees you, they have orders to kill you!"

Mousepelt blood froze. She drew her ears back and began to shake. How could they do this to her? After all she's done for them, they call her a traitor and make a law to kill her on sight. She saved their kits, she almost froze to death trying to get medicine for ThunderClan's leader. Did Amberheart even tell her Clan that Mousepelt almost died for Whisperstar.

Lashing at the Dark Forest cats around her, Mousepelt bolted off to her tunnel and collapsed on the cold ground. She dug her claws in to the dirt as images of Ravenclaw, Navi, Coldeyes, Frogstump, and Amberheart appeared in her mind. Navi. She then thought bitterly. It was all her fault. If she hadn't abandoned Mousepelt none of this would have happened. Mouse might have been happy for once. Then... She wouldn't have met Ravenclaw, or Coldeyes, or Frogstump. They actually believed and cared for her. Did they stand up for her?

Mouse pawed at Navi's stomach, trying to make the milk come.

"Oh, stop it!" Navi spat, her green eyes tired and sad. "I'm trying my hardest you ungrateful kit!"

Mouse drew her ears back and lowered herself down, terrified her mother would bite her.

Navi looked away and down from the little kit. "I'm sorry," she choked out, "I don't know if I can do this anymore......"

Mouse hid behind the Nofur stupid box as her Nofur flung another shiney object at her. The she-cat Nofur stormed out the door earlier and the tom had been suckling from the object and throwing them at Mouse.

A noise was heard at the den entrance and the Nofur immediately stormed over to Mouse, snatched her by the scruff, and stormed over to the entrance. Grabbing the shiney ball on the brown wood, the Nofur swung it open. He shoved Mouse in to the chest of the Nofur outside and slammed the entrance shut.

The Nofur sweetly scratched underneath Mouse's chin. The little kit twitched her tail happily enjoying the the nice company of the new Nofurs home.

That's when the entrance opened and the tom Nofur walked in with the big portable nest. The she-cat set Mouse on the floor as the tom set the nest down in front of her. He opened the entrance to the nest and a golden she-kit cautiously stepped out the nest. Her green eyes darting everywhere around the Nofur's den.

The tom bent down and gently wrapped a pink tendril around the kit's neck. Mouse tilted her head. How come she didn't get the pink tendril? It made the golden she-kit look cute. The she-cat then bent down and picked the kit up, cooing happily. The tom rubbed Mouse's head, got up, and followed the she-cat. Mouse mewed once, but no one came. They were too busy with the new kit.

Mousepelt jolted awake at the horrible memories. She scowled at the memory of always being the insignificant cat of every home she came to. What did she ever do wrong? Navi should have been the one in this tunnel. It was all her fault. She was the one who gave Mouse away to those awful Nofurs.

The brown she-cat got up and made her way out the caves. She looked around until she spotted the bush she was looking for. Careful not to puncture the berries she took from the bush, Mousepelt wrapped them up in a leaf and pounced up the trees. She pounced from tree to tree, making sure no cat saw her. She then jumped down behind the den in ShadowClan. Listening for any voices, she shoved an opening and walked in.

Navi looked behind her to Mousepelt and flicked her tail.

"I was wondering when you'd reappear," Navi spoke quietly, "you've been gone for a good two moons, you've gotten bigger."

"Shut up," Mousepelt ordered, setting her leaf of berries down.

"You know the Clans have been given orders to kill you the moment they see you." Navi went on.

"I said, shut up," Mousepelt growled.

"Ravenclaw made a huge scene at the Gathering," Navi ignored the she-cat, "yowling, blaming Amberheart, biting my paw," she lifted her paw to show a herb was wrapped around it, "then he ran back here in defeat."

"I told you to shut up!" Mousepelt screeched. "None of this would've happened if it weren't for you! You're the one who started this whole mess! You, my own mother, abandoned me on a horrible Twoleg nest, forced me to a shelter, then to a home where Amberheart was the good little kit! You should be in caves with the Dark Forest, not me!"

She then shoved the berries to Navi. "You know what these are? Death berries! Just eating one can kill you. I want you to eat them, all of them!"

Navi looked at the berries for moment then looked up to look at Mousepelt in the eyes. There was no emotion. Nothing.

"I was abandoned by my Twolegs, I fended for myself in the city," the cream colored she-cat started, "I met a tom, who I thought would stay with me, but he left me with you. I tried to fend for both of us, but I was too weak. What do think is going to hurt me more? Living with the guilt that I did this to my kit, or die now and never see the after effect of your fate."

With that, Navi made her way out the elder's den, leaving Mousepelt alone. The she-cat shivered. She glared down at the berries. Did she have it in her heart to eat them herself and die.

Letting out a wail, Mousepelt bolted out the den, ignoring the surprised looks on her old Clan. She ran out the camp and retreated to the tunnels. Burying herself in to her paws, she lied there and wailed like the abandoned kit she was that night Navi left her.